Wedding Ideas

Things have changed a lot since your parents got hitched! Check out the new and improved ways modern couples are creating unique, thoroughly personal events.

Ready to start planning your dream day? Your first step: Toss out those notions you may have about how things "should" be done—you know, the traditional rules handed down from generations past that require you to invite all of your parents' friends and serve a fancy sit-down dinner in a hotel ballroom or at a banquet hall. While it's true that a wedding with those elements will never go out of style, it's okay to change the rules a little, or even a lot, to suit your style as a twenty-first-century couple. Check out the new set of guidelines brides and grooms are following today.

The location. The cake. The dress. The invitations. The honeymoon. The vows. The photographs. The food. The music. There’s so much to think about when getting married that most couples forget one of the most important elements of all: their wedding dance.

The wedding dance is your first step forward as man and wife. It is your opportunity to show everyone how beautifully you move together.

Couples are surprised to find there is no mandatory design for a wedding ceremony. Ceremonies can be traditional or as unique as each couple; it’s your day – you can have it your way.

Although there are a few standard lines an officiant needs to incorporate into your ceremony, for the most part it is all about your sonnet from one heart to another. If you want a ceremony created especially for you, make sure to choose an officiant who acts as guide and co-creator, rather than a director.

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.

1. Are they really pros?

Recent advancements in technology have made camera equipment and editing software very affordable. The downside of this is that now there are a lot of wannabes calling themselves "cameramen" and "editors" when really they are just "guys with a camera and some software."

This month we have collected coupons from 25 different stores!

Stationery Coupons

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.

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.

The Handfasting is a beautiful ceremony that can augment your vows and ring exchange. It was originated in the 1600’s, in Europe,  when very few weddings were being sanctified in the church. It was essentially, a commonlaw ritual, and it makes a beautiful contrast to the more formalized vows that are included in most modern ceremonies.

In the version that I have written , multiple colored cords, (some of which are embellished with beads, gemstones and charms), are draped over the couple’s hands as promises are read. Very often, a close friend. the couples’ children or one of the bridal party will assist in draping the cords; this is a great way to make them active participants.

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.