Wedding Ideas

As photographers, Adam and I are there throughout the entire wedding process. We do our best to help you find other vendors, figure out your wedding timeline, offer advice on creative ideas to incorporate into you day... and we're there behind the scenes. We see everything that happens on your wedding day. And with each wedding we photograph, we learn something new to bring with us. For example, we've upgraded our sewing kit scissors that we always have on us to a larger, sharper pair. Our scissors have been used to cut the rings off the pillow, cut hanger straps off of dresses, and cut the aisle ribbon so processional could start :) So, we thought we'd extend our help even further by offering our "Wedding Words of Wisdom," which will be a regular addition to our blog now. Whenever we learn something new that can help with your wedding day, we'll post it! This week, we have some words of wisdom about getting dressed.

1) Label the tuxes and bridesmaids dresses. You'd be surprised how often we see these mixed up. Actually, they were mixed up on our own wedding day, too. Adam said, "Dude, my pants are too long." And our best man Dave said, "Dude, my pants are too short." Then they realized that they had switched their pants. Oopsies. So they changed their pants in the car on their way to our wedding :) I've seen the same thing happen with bridesmaids. The simple task of labeling with save a lot of chaos.

Instead of a typical bridal shower, make yours magical. You don't have to wait until the wedding to make the bride-to-be feel like a princess. Send out invitations full of glitter and a magical castle bookmark. Have faux pearl necklaces and a tiara for each guest as they arrive, so everyone can get in the fairy tale mood. 

Order a cake that is decorated as a castle or a glass slipper. You could do cupcakes decorated like carriages and pumpkins to put around the cake. Have a platter of fruit and finger sandwiches cut into flower shapes. Have pitchers of princess cocktails - Midori, raspberry liquor, vodka, topped with sour mix. Of course, have a non-alcoholic option available. Try a lemonade with pureed melon and raspberries to keep with the theme.

Have star shaped cards that you attach to sticks to make wands. They look especially great if you wind beautiful ribbons around them. Each guest can write advice or congratulations on them as a parting wish to the bride. Decorate a flower vase and have the guest put them in to create a bouquet of warm wishes.

Set up tables with white table clothes with see through silver fabric over it. Sprinkle the table with flower petals and use Cinderella style place card holders. Have candle holders shaped like Cinderella's carriage or fairy godmothers. 

A glass slipper prize for a bridal shower game of charades is a must. Place pieces of paper in a fishbowl for teams to pick from. Make sure to add in a few ideas that will make everyone laugh. You don't want to let the games get too serious.

You can video the party to give to the bride after the wedding. It will be a memory she'll always treasure.

It's the problem that plagues every bride: How do I keep my lipstick in place? In just a few careful steps(and without any long-wearing lip stains), your color can stay put through the ceremony, the reception, and even the after-party for two.

What you'll need:

Most brides are looking for ways to cut costs in their budget. While creating a DIY invitation can save money. Be sure to look at the total cost before purchasing the supplies.

One resource that I refer my brides to is a party supply store - Party City. In addition to party items, the have basic wedding resources.

You have booked your venue, bought your dress, picked your favors. Have you registered? Wedding registries today have gone beyond china and bed linens. See what is new in the world of wedding registries.I searched online for unusual wedding registries this is what I found:

Honeymoon Registry

I received a request for information recently and the sender stated, "One of our guests has offered to shoot it for us and their offer is attractive considering your asking price". Although I can understand budgets, it is unfortunate that clients compare professional services with their friends who happen to own cameras.

My respsonse was to ask these questions of anyone, especially friends and family, who you are considering captuing one of the most important days of your life:

Sample Sales

Suppose your wedding is next month and you need that gown now? Or suppose you love the sample but it’s just been discontinued? Or else you love the sample but can’t afford to special order it? You do realize next season a whole new stock will be arriving? This means your salon needs to get the old out of the way. And all those gowns with full skirts just hanging there take up space, or haven’t you noticed? While sizes are limited and samples mostly run sizes 6, 8, and 10, the good news is that sample markdowns usually go half off, sometimes less. Some salons have sample sales they advertise a couple times a year while others offer marked down stock continually. Absolutely love that gown you just tried on? Offer to buy it. Yes, that same gown. Ordinarily samples are not for sale but this may be the time they’re moving in all those spring confections, especially if it is in less than perfect shape, which, more than a few samples tend to be.

I have noticed a trend recently in wedding photographer's web pages of trying to clear up the confusion over the various styles of wedding photography. New names have emerged for these styles: Documentary, Illustrative, Fine Art, Classic, Contemporary, the now familiar Photojournalism and of course Traditional. Also we now hear photographers talking at length about how they only shoot weddings using "available light" and promise you that they won't use flash

A planner refers to a person that plans each and every aspect of your wedding and corporate event. The success of an event whether wedding or any corporate meeting or seminar depends upon the competency of the planner. No doubt, marriages are made in heaven but a professional wedding planner recreate the aura of heavenly experience on earth and fascinate your guest with their exceptional service.

They manage the overall wedding event and ensure that everything goes exactly as planned right from the initial stage to the closing stage. They will not only assist you in making right selection and choose the perfect wedding vendors and venue but also maintain a balance in what is happening, when it is happening, who is doing it while keeping a strict watch that everything goes within budget.

Having some conflict while trying to decide on a guestlist for your wedding?

Here are some tips on how to keep the peace and still have the crowd you want.