Been There, Done That: Brides' Advice Thursday, April 30, 2009

I love that photographer Samantha Warren asks her clients to offer advice to future brides. In her column "Bride's Side," Warren has collected quotes & interviews from brides on what they'd do differently. Notable quotes:

Detail that was worth it: The placement settings were a huge hit! Female guests found their table by picking up a paper Eiffel Tower with their name on a heart at the top. The guys were thrilled with the silver, black, blue, or white matchbox cars that bore their names. They were like little boys when describing the car they received, or traded for, or even stole from a friend at their table: “I'm not a PT Cruiser, I'm a '69 GTO!” --Andrea & Cory, 2/14/09


What I wish someone had told me about getting married was that you will feel every emotion possible, from feeling overjoyed to overwhelmed, to excited to fed up! This comes from something else that I didn’t realize—that everyone has an opinion about what you should do, but if you are lucky they will help you stay true to what really is important to you. While it is very important to do what makes you happy, please do not ignore logic! --Diana & Jason, 6/20/08

Prepare for the rehearsal dinner well in advance. Giving yourself plenty of time to plan your ceremony and reception is obvious - giving yourself plenty of time to select the right gifts, wrap them and write heartfelt cards for your closest friends and family is much easier to overlook. I was 30 minutes late for our rehearsal dinner because time ran out and ended up writing all the thank you notes when we returned from the rehearsal. I would not recommend this strategy. --Stephanie & Bryan, 5/10/08

Sometimes, the best moments are ones you didn't see coming. At our wedding, we requested a specific last song that had meaning to us. In the middle of that song, all of our guests gathered around, tears flowing and there was a spontaneous, emotional group hug. Jimmy and I did not see it coming (could never have planned that) and we still get teary thinking about it; that song gives us chills now and is extra special to us. It is our favorite moment of the day. --Kristina & Jimmy, 5/24/08

Wedding Wednesday: Stephanie & Noel Wednesday, April 29, 2009

This week's featured wedding was beautifully photographed last September by the incomparable Susan Stripling. Stephanie & Noel's wedding is beautiful for all kinds of reasons, but I have to admit--I love this wedding for its beauty and for the photography! I can't help it, I'm a visual girl. :)

Negotiations Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My fiancé & I decided to book our venue, which we absolutely love. But we went to sign the contract and ran up against a few obstacles...

- The contract is an old one, and we have to write in all the new stuff. I know it's not a big deal and handwritten additions to a contract are still binding, but it bugs me anyway.
- They are really pushing for us to have an "unlimited bar package," and to me that means, "Please let us give you a bill of an undetermined amount!" I'd rather have a set allotment for drinks, but I can't figure out the logistics of this.
- There's nothing about clean-up in the contract. And, we forgot to ask about it during the meeting--oops.
- We forgot to ask if the prices are locked-in. What if the price of fish or chicken goes up, will we be charged?
- We need more time. 4 hours for ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner & dancing isn't enough.
- We thought we could rent the place for the evening, but we realized it doesn't include having the place free all day for vendor set-up. We'll now be paying for all day. (!)

I'm going to have my fiancé take care of this, because I can be kind of a hard-ass when negotiating. He, on the other hand, talks to people nicely and makes his requests seem so perfectly reasonable. A good skill to have!

Yes! More from Bershan & David's Wedding Monday, April 27, 2009

I love it when a bride takes something traditional and steps it up a little--this is certainly the case with Bershan & David's wedding! My most favorite creative element was the ceremony arbor--I've never seen anything like it. Enjoy!

I love Bershan's dress. It's not something I'd pick for myself, but without even knowing Bershan I'd say it seems to fit her personality. At the end of the night, she changed into another beautiful gown:

All photos, of course, by the amazing Justine Ungaro. Check her blog to see more of Bershan & David, and see all the movers & shakers present at their wedding!

Wedding Wednesday: Bershan & David Wednesday, April 22, 2009

One of the coolest things about being a bride *and* a photographer is getting a head start looking at so many beautiful wedding images. I couldn't wait to feature the recent wedding of Bershan & David, photographed by one of my favorite photographers, Justine Ungaro (also of unbride.com).

Bershan is a beautiful bride. She's wearing an *incredible* dress! The details & beading are astonishing. I love her makeup, and she & David make a lovely couple. I especially love the excitement on David's face upon seeing his bride for the first time.

Mrs. Ungaro isn't finished posting this wedding yet, so check her blog for updates. On to the images:

You're Invited Monday, April 20, 2009

Continuing with the "follow my instincts" approach to wedding planning, I believe my fiancé and I have chosen our invitations!

I've seen hundreds of invites online and spent some time with a friend last weekend looking at books. Until now, I hadn't seen any I truly loved. I don't like the trends with little strange motifs everywhere, and I certainly don't want to pay to have something "flat-printed" when it looks identical to something I could do with some creativity and my HP inkjet.

So just for fun, my fiancé and I stopped in at Paper & Chocolate, surely one of the prettiest stores in Dallas. They do wedding invites, and we spent a while looking at books. David picked a letterpress book, and voila! we found our invites. It was love at first sight! Check it out (click to see it customized many different ways):



I cannot explain how I felt to see this invitation, except to know that it was *the one*! I never even allowed myself to dream of letterpress, but David's advanced degree is in printmaking, so that gives us a great excuse. Plus, it was great to see him so excited about the process.

These invites are truly a work of art. They're printed on "ecologically sound" (I'll admit, my fiancé cares way more about this than I do) bamboo paper which is very thick and feels like cotton. When I saw this invite in person, I couldn't help but touch the paper over & over again. Of course, we'd change the colors (light pink, of course!) and perhaps the font. But we couldn't be happier.

I've only seen a few designs I even wanted to look at twice, and my mother pointed out that this invitation is similar to the few I've shown her. I didn't even realize that! There's something to be said for following your instincts!

Inspiration! Saturday, April 18, 2009

I'm one of those people who loves to do research, as long as it's about a subject I like. Well, I like weddings! There are SO many books out there, but I have some favorites:

So far I have...

Michelle Rago’s Signature Weddings

Wedding Flowers by Paula Pryke

Some books I’d like…

Fête: The Wedding Experience by Jung Lee

Colin Cowie Wedding Chic

Vera Wang on Weddings

See a pattern here? I love the books that teach you how to create an event: I’d like to design a look for the wedding and work inwards from there, instead of choosing a bunch of details and trying to work outward. That could get out of control!

For “being engaged” books, so far I’m reading:

What No One Tells the Bride

The Hard Questions

52 Fights (This one reads more like a novel).