Today I wanted to share a little bit of advice regarding the toasts that will inevitably occur at your wedding. I’ve experienced a few weddings recently where the toasts were exceedingly long-winded {I cringe when someone pulls out 3 typed pages!} and a few where there were so many toasts that I watched several guests leave after #7, 8 or 9. And, many times I’ve seen the open microphone toast stall the night for 30+ minutes, not only throwing off the timeline for the entire evening, but also cutting into the dancing time, putting the photographer and videographer in a time crunch to get their shots of the important moments {because they ran out of paid time} and generally boring the crowd into sleepiness.

These are the types of things that can make or break a reception. It can be extremely hard to get your guests to bounce back and hit the dance floor after a heavy meal followed by sitting for up to an hour. The evening needs to continue to flow if you want guests to stick around and have fun. Here are my personal suggestions for toasts:

1. Keep the number of people toasting to less than 5. Preferably 3 ~ Father of the bride {or the person walking her down the aisle}, The Best Man and Maid of Honor.

2. Coach your “Toasters” ~ remind them that this is a time to toast to the celebration, not to tell stories about drunken evenings in Mexico, how you escaped {or didn’t escape} getting arrested together, how the groom had the coolest mullet in school, etc. It’s certainly OK to talk about how you know each other or met and share one or two heartfelt, BRIEF moments of significance. But again, this isn’t story time and 7 minutes feels like 30 when you’re in the crowd, seated after a heavy meal.

3. If you MUST have more than 5 toasts or feel like an open microphone is absolutely necessary, do it at the rehearsal dinner. During the rehearsal dinner there is no anticipation of the next activity to come ~ therefore, people are much more patient and receptive. It’s also a more intimate environment where the toasts can be appreciated so much more. Best of all, you’re not paying your vendors to wait through the toasts, potentially missing shots of your first dance, cake cutting or garter/bouquet toss.

Just my two cents! Cheers!

Now, every girl has the right to change into more comfortable shoes at her reception. However, I have to admit that I’m not such a huge fan of flip-flops with a wedding dress, unless you’re on the beach. But I do understand that at some point those 4″ heels have to come off if you’re going to be able to get your groove on at your own reception. While out shopping for myself just the other day, I ran across these classy, fun, flat sandals at Macy’s. Not only are they cute, they’re comfy, too! {Somehow I resisted the urge to splurge and buy them for myself but they’ve been on my mind ever since} I think these are the perfect compromise for the bride who wants to change into a more comfortable shoe for the evening. The name of these shoes? Steve Madden “Bride”. Go get ‘em girls!

The Vendors Perspective, continued! This time by my wonderful and talented friend Jackie of Jacqueline Photography. The cool thing about Jackie’s post is that she tells it both from the perspective of a recent bride, and the perspective of a vendor {who has to set her camera down much too often to take care of a coordinators responsibilities}. I was a bridesmaid in Jackie’s wedding and helped as much as I could  ~ but from that position I wasn’t able to do much on the day of, unfortunately!  Jackie is one of many brides who, in hindsight, regrets not hiring a coordinator. And now, she’s a vendor who can truly appreciate what we do and how it allows her to do a better job of capturing your day! Check out her perspective below:

Before I got into the wedding industry, I was under the impression that wedding coordinators were for the brides with huge budgets and elaborate designs.  Being a bride myself {almost 2 years ago} I was the “do it yourself” bride and wanted to be in control of everything. Besides, I had seen so many ideas and have a ton of great friends in the industry! I kept telling myself I can totally pull this off myself!

Well, the day came and I felt like my wedding was the most unorganized wedding EVER.  Everyone was coming to me asking me questions about this, that and another and by that point I didn’t care anymore! I just wanted to focus on my soon-to-be husband, Scott.  With Aimee as one of my bridesmaids, there was only so much she could do, although in the grand scheme of things she really did help a lot. Looking back I wish I would have just bit the bullet and hired a coordinator {at least for the day of} so that I could have handed everything to them a few days before our wedding and been able to enjoy the day a little more.

Now being a wedding professional myself, I HEART wedding coordinators!  When I learn that one of my couples has a coordinator {and I’m talking about someone they hired, not one that is included with your venue}, I know that the wedding is going to flow smoothly and be pretty darn close to if not right on schedule.  In addition, I know that I will be photographing the gorgeous details that the coordinator pulled together that will reflect the couple’s personalities.

A lot of times the photographer has to play the role of coordinator, helping to dress the bride, find the bouquets, pin the boutonnieres, showing the bride and groom how to cut their cake, tracking down the toss bouquet and pulling a chair on the dance floor for the garter toss, just to name a few.  We don’t mind doing these tasks. However, we are forced to set our cameras down while doing these tasks and therefore we’re not taking pictures.

The truth is, hiring a coordinator can actually save you money on your wedding as well.  They work with many top professionals in the wedding industry and know which vendors to recommend to their brides based on their personalities and budget. A lot of times vendors will have special pricing for coordinators which saves you money, too.  Not every coordinator is the same though! You should choose one who you feel comfortable with, who you could see yourself being friends with. This way you will be able to express your vision to them easier and trust that they will make it happen!

Thanks Jackie! We HEART you, too! Check out Jackie’s amazing work!

Photo by Sacramento Wedding Photographer, Jacqueline Photography

Many  couples ponder whether or not they should have an engagement session with their photographer {something that is often included in photography packages}. I often have couples ask whether they may be able to swap out the engagement session for other items in their photography package, or eliminate all together in order to save money. My opinion? Every couple should have an engagement session. Why? a) This is your opportunity to get to comfortable with your photographer prior to your wedding day. This is a HUGE benefit for both you and the photographer and will produce much better wedding day photos! and b) You just might regret it if you don’t do it. It’s part of the process ~ part of the excitement and the fun, and it makes it feel more real when you engage in these activities together. It’s one more sweet memory that you’ll have {and a chance to include your groom in the process, too}!

Here is some invaluable information and advice on your engagement session from my wonderful friend Jackie of Jacqueline Photography:

The love, the romance, the silliness; that’s what your engagement session is all about. It’s about the two of you, your story, your life journey which brought you to this point together. This session is so important for all of us. For myself {the photographer}, I get to know the two of you better than if we were to just sit over coffee chatting for a few hours. I get to watch {and photograph} the two of you interact, see how he holds you tight like nothing in this world will take you from his arms and the way you look at each other like you can see to each others soul.  I get to know your story, how you met, how you fell in love and how he popped the question. For you, well you just get to have fun while I capture it! This session is so important for couples to take advantage of because it’s a perfect opportunity for the couple and the photographer to get to know each other, and for the couple to get comfortable in front of the camera {like practice before the wedding}. Couples who have an engagement session know what to expect on the wedding day and feel so much more comfortable in front of the camera because they know what to expect and what is expected of them. Here are some tips to get the most out of your e-session:

*Choose a location that is personal to you both; maybe where you had your first date, where you met or where you got engaged. Or if you have a favorite place you love going to, even if it’s going to an ice cream parlor and sharing an banana split. This will make your pictures more personal. If your ideal location is out of town ask your photographer if they will travel, most of the time they will.

*Schedule your hair and makeup trial run on the day of our session. This way you can look extra fabulous and test out the hair and makeup, see how it photographs and make sure it lasts all day.

*Coordinate your outfits. You want colors that compliment your skin and feel free to be edgy! Pick an outfit that you feel comfortable in and that flatters your figure. High heels make your legs look longer, leaner and stronger! Plus, how could you not feel sexy in heels?? Guys, don’t be afraid to have some fun with your footwear as well.

*Props are so much fun to incorporate into your session! We can discuss which props would be great for your session but if you both love sports bring jerseys of your favorite teams and a football or baseball and glove, or if you love music and play an instrument bring it! If you both love to go bike riding bring your bikes. Feel free to bring your pets to incorporate into the pictures as well.

*And finally, just have fun with the session! This is your chance to be silly, be romantic, be serious and just be you. I want you to pretend there is no one around and act like you just stole a kiss while no one was looking. Your wedding is all about celebrating your love and we want to portray your love and your personalities in your pictures.

Start thinking outside the box and get creative with your session and you will love your pictures that much more.

Photo by Allison Stahl

We often get inquiries from brides {and sometimes grooms} for “Day Of” Services for weddings. This usually means that the couple feels that the pre-planning is pretty much handled and they just need someone there on the day of the wedding to ensure that things go smoothly. Totally understood! “Day Of Coordination” is one of the many services that we happily offer.  But I do have to say that I personally feel that the term “Day Of” is a little bit confusing. So, I just thought I would take a brief moment today to talk about exactly how “Day Of” services work and what we provide when someone comes to us asking for this particular service.  The fact is that it would be very risky for us to step in on the day of, or even a few days before a wedding, and promise our clients that we will do an amazing job. There is definitely a good bit pre-work and interaction with our clients that is required before we can say with confidence: “We’ve got it! You can relax now!”

I asked my good friend Alison Ulshoffer of Alison Ulshoffer Events & Design for her take on “Day Of” Planning and here’s what she had to say: “We decided at the beginning of 2009 that “day of coordination” was in theory, not practice, a great service for brides + grooms. I quickly learned it’s actually a disservice to our clients to try and step in the “day of” their wedding. There is simply too much communication that needs be done prior to a wedding. We feel that a “month of” coordination is much more reasonable to really get a handle on all of the many details that need to be taken care of. There are so many savvy brides who have done an incredible job planning their wedding. We don’t feel that it can be carried out with a couple days of phone calls and emails. Building a relationship with clients is so important and the more time to build that relationship the better”.

Like Alison and her team, we typically begin to work with our clients 4-6 weeks in advance of your wedding when providing “Day Of” services {which, for most planners, truly is more of a “Month Of” service}. We begin with an initial consultation where we gather more detailed information than most people probably even know exist about the details of a wedding. This takes time. It takes interaction between us and our clients. It takes us getting to know you and your every want, need and desire for your wedding day {all the way down to the comfy shoes that you want us to set next to your chair for you for when you’re ready to dance the night away}. It’s all of these little details that we gather from you and your vendors before the wedding day that are the keys to making your wedding everything you had hoped for. And you’ll find that knowing that we are aware of, and in tune with, your every desire will allow you to truly relax and enjoy every moment of  your wedding day. All you’ll have to do is focus on looking fabulous as you prepare to walk down the aisle to meet the love of your life at the altar!

Bottom Line: The more time in advance of your wedding that you spend with your Wedding Planner, the more fabulous your wedding will be! If you are unable to fit “Full Service Planning” into your budget , or you simply feel that you’ve got the pre-planning handled, it is absolutely a great idea to hire a “Day Of” planner at the very least. Just remember when you are planning and budgeting for this service that you should take into consideration that your planner will begin providing their services to you several weeks in advance of your wedding day. This might mean that there are more hours required for this service than you had anticipated having to pay for when hiring a “Day Of” planner but it will be well worth it in the end!

Five Ways to Save Money

• Pare your guest list. It’s the best way to trim costs across the board. If you’re having a $100-a-head reception and you invite 25 fewer guests, you’ll instantly save $2,500. For help deciding who should stay and who should go, follow Marino’s rule of thumb: “Invite only the people you think you will know and be friends with in five years.”
• Take the show on the road. You’re from a big urban metropolis; your fiance is from a small city or town. As long as it doesn’t unduly inconvenience any one side of the family, consider having the wedding in the smaller city. Weddings in Portland, Oregon, for example, average about $25,000 — about half the price of a San Francisco shindig.
• Hire a planner. Here’s a case where it might pay to spend a tad more money. A well-connected insider can often get discounts by negotiating with vendors. At the very least, the cash you save may well pay for her fee. Just be up-front about how much you can afford before enlisting a planner.
• Trim a bit here, a bit there. A little scrimping across the board can add up to big savings overall. Besides, your guests likely won’t notice — or care — if you skip the printed programs, shorten the cocktail hour by 15 minutes, or forgo elaborate altar decorations.
• Seek out unexpected sources. If you are very close to family members outside your immediate family, you may be able to ask for their help. Your grandmother, for instance, might be willing to pay for your wedding cake or your gown in lieu of a wedding gift. “Don’t put anyone on the spot,” says Marino, “but do get creative.”

From Martha Stewart Weddings

During our recent trip to Mexico, we discovered oh so many reasons why it is beneficial to plan a destination wedding! Aside from the knock-your-socks off scenic backdrops that many locations offer, here are some other reasons to plan your wedding (or let us do it!) away from home!

1. Avoiding “Local Stress” ~ Guests coming into town, their accommodations, family being involved, overwhelming yourself with entertaining out of town guests while prepping for your big day and the million questions that everyone will undoubtedly be calling you with because you live here! ~

2. Cost Savings ~ Did you know that with the right connections, you can get flowers for 50% less than what you would pay in the US in many destinations, such as Mexico? Another plus: some hotels will waive your site fees when you meet their room block minimums. Negotiating power is tremendous as well and in the slow seasons you can get amazing deals! ~

3. Multi-Day celebrations with your closest friends and family made easy ~ It’s easy to plan the entertainment for your friends and family in a destination locale – with so much to do, and hotels at the ready to assist – you can create an “experience” for your guests beginning upon their arrival and ending with a brunch before your honeymoon departure. From a spa days to scuba diving and historical tours, it’s all easily attainable! ~

4. Wedding to honeymoon transition ~ You may want to switch hotels to escape to your own private romantic location, but your wedding destination spot will likely be a great honeymoon spot as well! ~

5. Weather ~ The weather in most destination spots during March or November is much better that what we typically experience here in the US! This opens you up to more possibilities for your wedding date. It also allows you and your guests to enjoy the outdoor activities that everyone loves while taking in the incredible scenery. ~