I, of course, am a sucker for a sweet shot with a camera!
And all things pink.
Congratulations to these two who are so handsome and lucky in love! Photographed by Nasilele Photography (click for full post).
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Here's a great engagement shoot I found via So You're EnGAYged, which celebrates its 6 month anniversary this week. All week they're featuring beautifully photographed weddings and all kinds of ideas & inspiration. This shoot comes to us from Nasilele Photography and features a very nice photojournalistic look.
I, of course, am a sucker for a sweet shot with a camera!
And all things pink.
Congratulations to these two who are so handsome and lucky in love! Photographed by Nasilele Photography (click for full post).
I, of course, am a sucker for a sweet shot with a camera!
And all things pink.
Congratulations to these two who are so handsome and lucky in love! Photographed by Nasilele Photography (click for full post).
comments: 0
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Since a few of my major vendors are already booked, I thought I'd post something about the selection process.
I am super excited to work with our DJ. I thought (for about 5 minutes) of having an iPod reception (remember, I was in "garden wedding" mode), but I gave up on that idea fast. There are just too many variables, and asking a friend to DJ our wedding instead of being an actual guest seemed kind of sad, and we didn't have anyone we thought would volunteer. That said, I think an ipod wedding can work very well if you're creative & have the resources (sound system, a consistently working laptop, etc.). Because we are into international music and mixed genres, I didn't even consider a live band, although I do plan to have live music for the ceremony & cocktail hour.
So I knew I wanted a DJ. I know that FH and I are *major* music fiends, and we needed someone with the expertise and interests to be able to play several different genres and get the crowd to relate to them all. I also wanted someone who could keep the party moving. Our party would be quite a challenge; we'll have people of all ages, from 2- and 6- year olds up to people in their 80s, and we want them all to have a great time.
Other than that I had no idea where to start with this, no idea about price points or anything except what theknot.com calculator said a DJ should cost. I started emailing at random. I started by looking at the vendors in the one place I'm familiar: other photographers' blogs. Seriously! I already subscribe to a million photography blogs, several of them local, and it's a great resource. If the people were having a great time in the photos, I paid extra special attention to who the DJ was.
I sent out brief emails saying we were looking for a DJ with experience with multicultural crowds and an interest in different genres of music.
One person wrote back and said I was "weird." Another didn't respond.
Then, I found one more DJ on WeddingWire. He just had a nice look about him, and his website was pretty good. I emailed him and not only could he accommodate us, but he seemed excited about it! On speaking to him, he was just as congenial and knowledgeable as his emails suggested. I liked him so much that I figured his price was high -- and it was. A quick search, however, revealed that what I thought was "high" was "average for this area."
It was four months before I called him back to book him for our wedding. In the meantime, I discovered that he was DJ for a wedding of one of my coworkers, who had a beautiful wedding about a year ago. I felt comfortable with him, and it was a no-brainer.
We'll see how it goes next summer, but I have a pretty good feeling about it. We'll be meeting in December to talk about details, song lists, and schedules. I'll be compiling my song list in the meantime!
I am super excited to work with our DJ. I thought (for about 5 minutes) of having an iPod reception (remember, I was in "garden wedding" mode), but I gave up on that idea fast. There are just too many variables, and asking a friend to DJ our wedding instead of being an actual guest seemed kind of sad, and we didn't have anyone we thought would volunteer. That said, I think an ipod wedding can work very well if you're creative & have the resources (sound system, a consistently working laptop, etc.). Because we are into international music and mixed genres, I didn't even consider a live band, although I do plan to have live music for the ceremony & cocktail hour.
So I knew I wanted a DJ. I know that FH and I are *major* music fiends, and we needed someone with the expertise and interests to be able to play several different genres and get the crowd to relate to them all. I also wanted someone who could keep the party moving. Our party would be quite a challenge; we'll have people of all ages, from 2- and 6- year olds up to people in their 80s, and we want them all to have a great time.
Other than that I had no idea where to start with this, no idea about price points or anything except what theknot.com calculator said a DJ should cost. I started emailing at random. I started by looking at the vendors in the one place I'm familiar: other photographers' blogs. Seriously! I already subscribe to a million photography blogs, several of them local, and it's a great resource. If the people were having a great time in the photos, I paid extra special attention to who the DJ was.
I sent out brief emails saying we were looking for a DJ with experience with multicultural crowds and an interest in different genres of music.
One person wrote back and said I was "weird." Another didn't respond.
Then, I found one more DJ on WeddingWire. He just had a nice look about him, and his website was pretty good. I emailed him and not only could he accommodate us, but he seemed excited about it! On speaking to him, he was just as congenial and knowledgeable as his emails suggested. I liked him so much that I figured his price was high -- and it was. A quick search, however, revealed that what I thought was "high" was "average for this area."
It was four months before I called him back to book him for our wedding. In the meantime, I discovered that he was DJ for a wedding of one of my coworkers, who had a beautiful wedding about a year ago. I felt comfortable with him, and it was a no-brainer.
We'll see how it goes next summer, but I have a pretty good feeling about it. We'll be meeting in December to talk about details, song lists, and schedules. I'll be compiling my song list in the meantime!
comments: 0
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Despite our wedding being almost a year away, there are some things we've already decided. For some reason, neither of us can get excited about wedding cake. We always laugh when that cake show commercial comes on and the baker says, "The cake is the center of the wedding!" Really? Cake?! The center? Of the WEDDING? And then we dissolve into giggles.
I don't know why; I've been to plenty of weddings and had some pretty good cake. But I just can't justify paying $600-$1,000 (or more!) for what might just turn out to be expertly decorated waxy sugar. Although I definitely appreciate the artistry of those cake bakers & decorators; I know it's hard work!
So far, we've come up with the idea of having a cake display table. I'd love to have some cakes from our favorite local stores (Whole Foods makes an amazing plain round cake), accompanied by some photos on display and, Mr. PinkBroom's idea, to have some interesting or humorous cake toppers. I believe my mother saved her cake topper from her marriage to my dad nearly 40 (!) years ago; maybe we could put that among them.
I love this cake table from Jill & Mike's wedding:
For the record, I can't stand those cake toppers showing the bride dragging the groom away somewhere, those are awful. But maybe we could find a way to display a bunch of little humorous cake toppers, like this one currently making the rounds:
Ha!
Anyone else out there doing something alternative for your wedding cake?
I don't know why; I've been to plenty of weddings and had some pretty good cake. But I just can't justify paying $600-$1,000 (or more!) for what might just turn out to be expertly decorated waxy sugar. Although I definitely appreciate the artistry of those cake bakers & decorators; I know it's hard work!
So far, we've come up with the idea of having a cake display table. I'd love to have some cakes from our favorite local stores (Whole Foods makes an amazing plain round cake), accompanied by some photos on display and, Mr. PinkBroom's idea, to have some interesting or humorous cake toppers. I believe my mother saved her cake topper from her marriage to my dad nearly 40 (!) years ago; maybe we could put that among them.
I love this cake table from Jill & Mike's wedding:
For the record, I can't stand those cake toppers showing the bride dragging the groom away somewhere, those are awful. But maybe we could find a way to display a bunch of little humorous cake toppers, like this one currently making the rounds:
Ha!
Anyone else out there doing something alternative for your wedding cake?
comments: 0
Friday, August 28, 2009
Labels:
my wedding,
planning
On the sidebar, I've added a task list so you can see my wedding progress! As you can see, I've got quite a bit to do, which seems normal for someone with 11 months left.I decided to list items based on what I've done so far, rather than what still has to be done, because that would get seriously overwhelming.
comments: 0
Monday, August 24, 2009
Labels:
art,
invitations
I was reading my Weddingbee RSS feed and "discovered" Momental Designs, a company that does handpainted invitations. Really! Handpainted! Here's how she does it.I loved reading about Kristy Rice and especially her blog, where she features her current projects and customizations. Her "blooms" series is my favorite. This one is called "painted peonies":
We aren't ordering invites for a few more months, and a while back we picked these beautiful letterpress ones from Smock. I still melt whenever I see them!
Quite a contrast. I do love the idea of the hand-painted; it's elegant but so very different from a "typical" invite. Plus I thought it'd be perfect, since FH is an artist... so our guests would immediately make a connection there. On the other hand, the letterpress invites are undeniably beautiful and more likely to make an impression.
My fiancé, with his MFA in printmaking, has a lot to say about the invites. Like me, he really wants to send "something we can be proud of" to our guests (he came up with that on his own, I swear!), and I love that he's so involved. So, the final decision will (mostly!) be up to him. We'll see!
comments: 0
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Well, I promised you a sketch! If you've been reading my blog (ha!), a while back I posted about my dress inspirations. At the time, I was choosing between an ethereal, organza-y outdoor looking dress, or a classically styled gown.
Since we've gone for the indoor wedding in a chic (to me, at least) downtown club, the classically styled gown seems best! And honestly, I'm excited about it. I'm a classic girl, and the organza thing is great (I don't know if I can let that outdoor wedding dream go), but I have always drooled over beautifully styled ballgowns, so I'm happy with that!
In my last dress post, I mentioned having several inspiration pictures to show the seamstress. I had an idea in my head how these would be combined, but hadn't fleshed it out yet. Stylistically, my favorite designers are Priscilla of Boston/Melissa Sweet, Suzanne Neville, and Lea Ann Belter. No matter what direction my search went, I kept being drawn to their dresses over and over again.
Once I studied dress shapes & took a serious look at my body type, I began to go towards dresses I knew could look good on me.
My favorites included this Priscilla of Boston 4119...
I know that I like to wear wrap-style dresses, and I liked this one by Suzanne Neville... especially the way the fabric looks.
And, two "left field" picks: I love the way this Melissa Sweet dress sparkles (also, this dress cemented for me how I want to wear my veil)... click the video to see the sparkles in action!
And I love the crisp, clean look of Lea-Ann Belter. I especially love her for the way she uses fabric, particularly silk dupioni (I'm going to do a whole separate post on fabric one of these days!).
But none of these would work as-is. I need a modified neckline, and a dropped waist that's a little higher than what's pictured here.
Truthfully, I was hoping a designer/seamstress could look at me, look at my pictures, and put something together. I guess that's a little much to ask. After all, most of us don't look like bridal models and it's the rare seamstress that can visualize things that well!
And I couldn't, either, until this dress came out (from Mori Lee's new plus size line):
Finally, a form-fitting dress on a model that looks... well, she looks beautiful! But she also looks a little like me. My mom pointed out that I have a similar body type to this lady, and I like the overall shape of the dress. That was the push I needed, and I finally created a sketch.
Are you ready for the unveiling? Here it is...
It has the asymmetrical bodice/skirt like the Priscilla of Boston, the wrap-style top of the Suzanne Neville, the neckline of the Mori Lee. For fabric, I was inspired by Lea Ann Belter, so I plan to use silk dupioni, and of course, I plan to add sparkle. I found some beaded lace that is almost identical to that used in the Melissa Sweet dress.
I may end up changing the fabric, but that's a long way off (and with everything I've learned about fabric, it deserves its own separate post).
In the meantime, there it is... I think it's my dress!
*Updated: Originally I forgot to post the back of the dress. It's there now.
Since we've gone for the indoor wedding in a chic (to me, at least) downtown club, the classically styled gown seems best! And honestly, I'm excited about it. I'm a classic girl, and the organza thing is great (I don't know if I can let that outdoor wedding dream go), but I have always drooled over beautifully styled ballgowns, so I'm happy with that!
In my last dress post, I mentioned having several inspiration pictures to show the seamstress. I had an idea in my head how these would be combined, but hadn't fleshed it out yet. Stylistically, my favorite designers are Priscilla of Boston/Melissa Sweet, Suzanne Neville, and Lea Ann Belter. No matter what direction my search went, I kept being drawn to their dresses over and over again.
Once I studied dress shapes & took a serious look at my body type, I began to go towards dresses I knew could look good on me.
My favorites included this Priscilla of Boston 4119...
I know that I like to wear wrap-style dresses, and I liked this one by Suzanne Neville... especially the way the fabric looks.
And, two "left field" picks: I love the way this Melissa Sweet dress sparkles (also, this dress cemented for me how I want to wear my veil)... click the video to see the sparkles in action!
And I love the crisp, clean look of Lea-Ann Belter. I especially love her for the way she uses fabric, particularly silk dupioni (I'm going to do a whole separate post on fabric one of these days!).
But none of these would work as-is. I need a modified neckline, and a dropped waist that's a little higher than what's pictured here.
Truthfully, I was hoping a designer/seamstress could look at me, look at my pictures, and put something together. I guess that's a little much to ask. After all, most of us don't look like bridal models and it's the rare seamstress that can visualize things that well!
And I couldn't, either, until this dress came out (from Mori Lee's new plus size line):
Finally, a form-fitting dress on a model that looks... well, she looks beautiful! But she also looks a little like me. My mom pointed out that I have a similar body type to this lady, and I like the overall shape of the dress. That was the push I needed, and I finally created a sketch.
Are you ready for the unveiling? Here it is...
It has the asymmetrical bodice/skirt like the Priscilla of Boston, the wrap-style top of the Suzanne Neville, the neckline of the Mori Lee. For fabric, I was inspired by Lea Ann Belter, so I plan to use silk dupioni, and of course, I plan to add sparkle. I found some beaded lace that is almost identical to that used in the Melissa Sweet dress.
I may end up changing the fabric, but that's a long way off (and with everything I've learned about fabric, it deserves its own separate post).
In the meantime, there it is... I think it's my dress!
*Updated: Originally I forgot to post the back of the dress. It's there now.
comments: 1
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Donna is much braver than I am, as her wedding to Eric features two things I just said I wouldn't do: an outdoor wedding in July (!), and bright colors! Both of them work to great effect in her Maryland wedding earlier this summer.
Here are some gorgeous shots (by The Regetis) of the bride & groom looking absolutely beautiful. Standouts for me are Donna's dress and especially her makeup - it's beautifully done and matches the color scheme!
Years ago, I had a dream of my own wedding and the flowers were in these colors:
I see lots of brides using the "wedding wands" or some variation thereof. I imagine they're a great alternative to throwing rose petals or rice (no cleanup!) and if you have them in bright colors, they photograph very nicely!
Love those juicy colors! See more of them at Style Me Pretty. Congratulations to Donna & Eric!
Here are some gorgeous shots (by The Regetis) of the bride & groom looking absolutely beautiful. Standouts for me are Donna's dress and especially her makeup - it's beautifully done and matches the color scheme!
Years ago, I had a dream of my own wedding and the flowers were in these colors:
I see lots of brides using the "wedding wands" or some variation thereof. I imagine they're a great alternative to throwing rose petals or rice (no cleanup!) and if you have them in bright colors, they photograph very nicely!
Love those juicy colors! See more of them at Style Me Pretty. Congratulations to Donna & Eric!
comments: 0
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Michelle, author
I love pink, and I'm jumping the broom! I'm a teacher by day, photographer by weekend. And now, a bride, too! Follow me on my adventures in wedding planning, and find & share ideas for your wedding day!
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