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St. Simons Wedding Planner :: Island Destination Weddings | Wedding Advice
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Go D.I.Y.

Going D.I.Y. for your wedding is not only creative, but smart!  If you have a knack for making beautiful items with your hands, or know someone who does– this is a great time to show your stuff and really wow them!  When isn’t the time for D.I.Y?  When you don’t have the time, ability or resources.  Also consider the formality of your event– don’t skimp if you are having a formal or ultra-formal affair.  D.I.Y doesn’t have to look like you made it.  What are some good projects?

  • Rhinestone monogram cake topper as pictured (yes, that’s a D.I.Y.!)
  • Centerpieces (check the blog for a fabulous example)
  • Programs, invites, menu cards
  • OOT Guest bags
  • Favors

The possibilities are literally endless!  If you’re not too crafty, enlist the help of someone who is. Make sure you allot enough time in your wedding planning to create your masterpieces as last minute jobs will look just like that– last minute jobs!
 

For more ideas, check out a favorite of mine, www.diybride.com

Signature Drink of the Month: Apple Sour

Signature Drink of the Month:  Apple Sour

Pucker up!  This is sure to add some twang to your menu and get your guests talking. 

Ingredients:
 

2 oz of bourbon

1 oz of sour apple schnapps

Splash of apple cider

Pour all ingredients into a shaker and shake rigorously.  Garnish with a thin slice of a Granny Smith apple.  If you want to add a little kick of color, add a lemon peel spiral. 

This is great if you are one of the brides capitalizing on this season’s hottest trend:  green.

Put Your Wedding On the Map!

You’ve got the wedding website by now, right?  Good for you!  Let’s say that your wedding guest list is made up of about 50-80% OOT (out of towners). It may even be more.  Wedding Mapper is a great free site to use in conjunction with your wedding website (or alone) to let your guests where everything is.  Simply answer three easy questions and a map will be generated for you.  Next, you plug in your pertinent locations.  These could be your ceremony and/or reception site, rehearsal dinner, lodging, entertainment, etc. 

 click to view larger image

And voila! You are done– now your guests have accurate info to the Who’s Who and What’s What in your wedding town!

Read This BEFORE You Book Your Photographer

Mark Eric Louisiana Wedding Photographer

One thing I tell my brides to splurge on is photography. Rightfully so: this is the actual tangible piece of the past that tells how the love story unfolded.  Photography is your window to the past, don’t skimp on it.

Being the highly opinionated, yet always fashionable wedding planner that I am (shameless, gratuitous plug LOL), I have my own notions on what you should do.  At any rate, I talked to a few photographers to get a different perspective. I really wanted to talk to someone who does this visual storytelling for a living. Here is what they said…

 

One thing we agree on is that you should interview at least 2-4 different photographers.  Don’t go by price alone.  You really need to mesh with your photographer. If you “kinda don’t like” him/her in the planning process, trust me when I say, you will hate them on the wedding day.  You want to feel completely comfortable in front of the camera with this person.  They should be able to pick up bits and pieces of your personality from previous consults and bring out those nuances during the wedding day.

wedding ring photo by Mark Eric

Another thing we agree on is that you must find a photog whose strengths are in the type of wedding photography style you want. My new found, ultra fabulous photographer friend, Mark Eric says, “Brides should look for a photographer that shoots their style. It’s much easier to hire the right photographer for your style than it is to try to convert a photographer from his/her natural style into something that suits you.”  He says that a photographer who shoots mainly traditional portrait style photos is not the right match for the bride who wants to capture the energy and emotion of her wedding day.  Likewise, a bride who wants “flawless” standard photos won’t be too pleased with a photojournalist.

So what’s a girl/groom to do?

Really think hard about what you want for your wedding.  Do you want all manipulated, posed shots or do you want to remember the day exactly how it happened?  There is no right or wrong answer; we all have our preferences, and remember: it’s your wedding.

But to make it easier on you, here are some other tips from Mark Eric:

  • Look for a photographer that can easily be reached.  There are many part-timers in the industry who will focus on the bride if and when they have time.  Communication is very important.
  • Look for a photographer that has back up equipment.
  • Look for a photographer that is respected in his/her community.  It’s usually fairly easy to find someone that has used the photographer.  Try to get 1st hand knowledge from a former client (and not one that the photographers uses in the testimonials on the website- of course those are going to be biased).
  • Look for a photographer that can offer a 2nd shooter, depending on how much coverage you want.  Do you want coverage for the groom’s preparation as well as the bride’s?  Many great moments don’t get photographed during the formals because the photographer is occupied with the portraits-  meanwhile in the background, families are sharing hugs, tears, and laughter.
  • In their work, look for variety.   Are they all of the same faces?  If so, it’s possible the photographer hired a model to create his portfolio-  and it’s usually pretty easy to make a model look good.  How do they do with normal people?
  • Look for quality as well, both in exposure and print.  Is the exposure good (nice skin tones, great colors that pop)?   Is the print on quality paper or is it a drugstore print?  Is their work displayed in a nice professional album, or do they have 4×6’s slipped into a Wal-Mart photo album?

All in all, Mark Eric stands by the 3 P’s: Personality, Professionalism, Portfolio.

Mark Eric is a fabulous photographer based in Louisiana.  He is also the genius behind the Trash The Dress website.  His fabulous eye for emotion and passion during the wedding day has not only made him an asset to me but also to every bride who has the opportunity to book him. Mark Eric’s tagline is “Inspire m.e.” (his initials, if you didn’t catch that).  Thanks, Mark Eric!  You inspire us too!  See more of Mark Eric’s work.

Oh Sugar….Honey, Honeymoon

Planning your honeymoon can be almost as hectic and trying as planning your wedding.  Wait, you didn’t know that?  Ok, well forget I said that.  Instead, let’s focus on your honeymoon being a relaxing reprieve to the planning madness you have both endured.

 But again, enter the tough choices:  Where to go? What to see?  CNN Money just released their Top Ten Honeymoon Destinations.  There are are so many things to consider when planning your honeymoon– are you naturists, resort bunnies or high styled sightseers?  That will help you determine on where you want to go and stay.  Do you want to rough it on your own in the streets of Brasil or stay at an all inclusive in Jamaica?  I know, I know. Again with the tough questions. 

What’s the price tag?  It doesn’t have to be as hefty as you think, and you don’t have to resign yourself to the champagne glass tubs at the Poconos. We give away free honeymoon registries to bridal couples– clients or not!  Ditch the pots and pans, honey.  Instead register for something that you really want and will use– like a night’s stay at your resort or an exciting excursion or even a spa upgrade.  No more macrame plant holders from Aunt Doris.  They are easy to set up and one of our customer service specialists will be on board to help you get it started.  Just plug in your honeymoon information, send out your cards or put the link on your wedding website and watch your gifts come rolling in!  Get your free honeymoon registry today!

What NOT To Do For Your Wedding: Invitations

Invitations set the stage for your event.  They give the basic info, but you choice in invite could be the difference between “Oh my gosh, honey, come here! Look at this!” to “Ugh, great. Another wedding”.

 Pick the invite that is expressive of who you are as a couple as well as what you want your event to be. Get your guests excited about your wedding, literally on the edge of their seats for what will come next! 

What NOT to Do:

  • Improperly word or address your invitations.  Instead, get help from books or sites like MyGatsby or Beau-Coup.  Avoid faux pas by going directly to a reputable source like a wedding planner or invitation specialist/dealer.
  • Choose more invitation than you have “stamp money”.  When factoring your invitation budget, remember to count: extras, envelopes, and STAMPS!  Remember the weight of our evelope will determine its postage, and Uncle Sam is merciless when it comes to improper postage.  Also remember the stamp(s) for your response envelope.
  • Ask for money. Period. Don’t journey to the land of tacky and uncouth.  Asking your guests to return their RSVP with their part of the meal is horrible.  This probably has never crossed your mind. I have email to prove it has crossed someone’s!

What TO Do:

  • Lay down the law early.  If you do not want children at your reception, tactfully word it on your response or reception card, not on your invitation! We will discuss the little people in another WNTDFYW.  If you have an invitee that will take total advantage of the “and guest” allowance, send their response card pre-filled.
  • Choose an invite that is reflective of who you are as a couple and what you want your event to mean.  It should set the tone for your event and complement your theme.
  • Order in advance and order plenty of extras!  Start addressing and assembling your invites as early as possible. Time flies when you’re planning your wedding!

How Much Is That Wedding in the Window?

125×125banner.gifWedding websites are the perfect way to spread the news about your wedding.  Having a destination wedding?  Get a website.  Have an extensive activity filled weekend?  Get a website.  In love with the idea of your wedding period?  Get a website.  It really helps guests pinpoint the important informatin such as the Who, What, When, Why and How Much! 

We are now teaming up with Wedding Window– they have some of the best wedding websites out there; just ask Star Jones.  She used Wedding Window to create the wedding website for her diva styled wedding.  We’re now offering a free 7 day trial with Wedding Window. 

Try it out– see if you like it.  It is easy to set up, has a great interface and your guests will love the opportunity to have all of your wedding information in one place.  You can change your design as often as you like, add as much info as you want (polls, quizzes, accommodation info, seating charts, RSVP info, weekend activities and more). 

Playing Dress Up with Your Cake

We have talked about diva-fying your flowers.  Yes, darling, you’re welcome.  Let’s not stop there, shall we!?  What about the cake?  While you are typically the focal point of the ceremony (and rightfully so!), the cake is the focal point (at times) of the reception.  This is definitely true when there is a cocktail hour and your guests are roaming around your venue. 

Now, let’s divafy that cake!  The obvious:  The cake topper.  Some people have forgone the traditional “Man and Wife” cake topper (you know, the kind that looks like melted crayons?)  and opted for more visual representations of their love and personalities:  monograms, logos, themed objects, etc.   That’s My Topper has some of the best cake toppers I have seen in a long time. 

cascadingvinescakejewelry.jpgLet’s say you opt out of the cake topper, but still want some drama for your cake. No problem!  How about cake jewelry?   Coming in all types of alluring and romantic designs, cake jewelry is a fantastic way to play up an simple cake or enhance the confectionary production of your wedding reception. 

High Maintenance Bouquets

It has been the year of the Bling with weddings!  Everything has been “flossed” (are you writing down all of this lingo?)– flowers are no exception.   As you can see, these stephanotis receive the royal treatment (Jessica Simpson’s floral designer started this trend).  These are the Her Royal Highness Collection from Bouquet Jewels, on sale now at $29.99 for 25.

If you are more of a traditionalist, but still want to “diva-fy” (I heart that word) your bouquet, look into the gorgeous The High Society Buckle Collection.  These are the perfect touch if you added rhinestone buckles to your invites! These retail for $3.99 an come in a myriad of shapes. 

As we have said previously, personalizing your wedding is still the “in thing”.  Your flowers should be not left out of all the fun.  Check out the Monogram Collection.  The font is already sweet, but to set it in rhinestones make it uber-sweet.  These will cost you $12.99 per letter. 

Of course I cannot forget my local Golden Isles brides!  If you are shooting for a beach theme, Bouquet Jewels can still help. I personally love this starfish, which comes in three different colors.  It really does look great against that Stargazer. I can only imagine in a set of lush roses or callas!  *Swoon*  There is also a flip-flop (too cute) and a palm tree (very classy).  These range from $11.99-$14.99 each.Â