Please oh please, send him to the tailor

Lindsey by Impressions Photography

Ladies, some of you will have 3-4 alteration appointments to ensure that your dress fits like a glove.  Why?  So that you can not only look your absolute best, but so that you will feel your absolute best. 

However, our grooms, for some reason they tend to fall through the cracks.  Some of you will stand next to your groom and pose for photos while he is wearing the most ill fitting suit or tuxedo because the same thought was not put into how well his attire looks. Can we just stop this madness?

Alright, maybe its not madness, but it is important.  He will thank you.  Your photographer will thank you.  Please send your groom to the tailor.  Have him properly measured and his suit or tuxedo fit to a T. Please trust me when I say that you will be so glad that you did

Lindsey & Derek by Impressions Photography

Why You Should Get Engagement Photos

If you are engaged and planning your wedding I highly encourage you to have engagement photos. Not only are these photos a great keepsake and so fun to do, but they have come such a long way since the traditional staged portraits from the '90s. They are now so much more fun and creative.Check out Aly & Michael...
 

Photos by Concept Photography Save the Dates created by Minted.

Reason #1: Getting engagement pictures done will give you and the photographer the opportunity to get acquainted before your wedding day. This means one less stranger that will be in your face wedding day. Plus after working together once you will feel much more comfortable being yourself.

Reason #2: While you will love your wedding day photos, there will come a time that you wish you had another great picture of you and your groom outside of your wedding dress.

Reason #3: Engagement Pictures provide a great picture for your Save the Dates and for wedding websites. They are fun, corky and totally natural.

 Here are a few more Engagement Pictures from our clients that we are dying over!

Christy & Keith our 2011 Grand Wedding Couple. Photo Credit Maria Glassford

Kate & Ryan. Photo Credit Ashley Brockinton

Aly & Michael. Photo Credit Concept Photography

Liza & Todd. Photo Credit Maggie Stolzberg Photography

Nick & Sara our 2010 Grand Wedding Couple. Photo Credit Riversedge Lifestyle Photography 

How to tell them what to wear

Hands down one of the trickiest (kinda) parts of the wedding invitation elements. Deciding on the attire wordage ranks right up there with getting your eyebrows waxed. It's no fun, but ya kinda gotta do it.Here are some articles and tips I found helpful from Wedding Channel, the knot, Destination I Do and Martha Stewart Weddings.

Now here's my 2 cents for destination weddings:

Island casual: Light weight and casual wear. Most guests will take this as nice shorts and short sleeved button up shirts or polos for the men and simple sundresses for the ladies.
Island/Tropical elegant: Again lightweight, and short sleeved, but adding a minimum of slacks and a full length sundress. Certainly less than sequins and ties though.
Resort elegant: Nearly the same as cocktail, only with lightweight fabrics being appropriate. No shorts, no sundresses. Yes to ties & slacks and cocktail dresses without sequins.

I do find it nice to state on guest guides when hats and/or wraps would be a benefit or appropriate.
{Quick Tip} J Crew currently has the best hands down grooms/groomsmen destination wedding suits available. Just sayin.

Some of my favorite spring '07 photos

Picture 1, Amanda. This photo was caught during a moment of outright laughter during the ceremony. The wind was coming at just the wrong direction and Amanda's parachute, ummm, I mean- veil proved to be a constant source of laughter through the ceremony. Fitting, because Amanda was the most hilarious client I have ever had. She really should go on a comedy tour. She had me in stitches for nearly a year. Photo Credit: Impressions Photography

Picture 2, Traci & Steve. Ok, I know everyone does this shot, but there was something about Traci & Steve when they were spinning about. They were totally lost in each other- and it totally came through in this image. Photo Credit: Julie Goodacre Photography

Picture 3, Jim showing off his newly adorned ring finger to friends. Ok, hands down, this is the most memorable shot and it is SO Jim. Jim was one of those grooms who came to his wedding excited to marry his bride and totally ready to celebrate his marriage with his closest family and friends. Susan & Jim's wedding was just down right fun. Photo credit: Gigi Hamlett Photography

Thank you fabo photographers for sending me images!

Fuschia & Orange

No longer do I live in fear of Orange or Fuschia! This weekends destination wedding events were great. Lots of color, great music, fantastic entertainment, and a very happy bride & groom. Click here or on Susan & Jim on the sidebar to go to their wedding blog.

Amanda & John Got Hitched

Leave it to the most comical couple on the face of the earth to really teach me how to plan a truly memorable Welcome Reception. The Groom & Best Man showed up as Dumb and Dumber's Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne! I nearly pee'd my pants I laughed so hard when the bride said, "Kelly, look out the window!"
You can see a few more photos of Amanda & John on their wedding blog. All my wedding blogs are down below on the right (the sidebar).

The new wedding toast drink: TEQUILA!

Move over champagne, here comes something newer. Yep. It's new and very cool. I love the idea. This new celebration toast is a toast that the bride and groom give to their guests to say "We're so glad you came to celebrate with us- let's have a blast!" Its a great surprise for your guests, and really gets conversation going, and for sure will produce awesome photos.
What I recommend:
*Use a really good tequila, like Patron.
*Serve it in mini shot glasses with a lemon slice and salt on the side. A full sized shot is not necessary.
*Do the toast right after your 1st dance, before dinner. That way you have everyones attention and they'll be eating right away.
*Have the servers take the shot glasses and used slices away as they drop the salad course.

The Wedding Budget Series, Part 1: How much does the average wedding cost?

I have tried and tried to come up with a fail safe for this question and the truth is: There's no such thing as an average cost. I can tell you where to find out the average amount spent across the USA, but in no way will that hold up when it comes to your planning. Here's why; no 2 weddings are the same. In fact, I've never had 2 that were even remotely close to each other. I've planned weddings that were hundreds of thousands of dollars and I've planned weddings that were a couple thousand, and everything in between. Let me give you an example of how 2 weddings at the same to-die-for location, with the same amount of people can be so different in cost. Let's say there are 75 guests.
Wedding A:
The bride and groom decide to have their wedding on the beach on a Sunday at 11am. That way they can enjoy the gorgeous view of the Gulf of Mexico for the entire length of the ceremony & reception. Instead of a rehearsal dinner, they invite everyone out to the beach at 7:30pm, a half hour before sunset, play their favorite beach tunes on a portable cd player, and serve ice cream bars out of a cooler as they watch the sun go down. For the reception they choose a brunch buffet, which includes Salmon, Chicken, and ziti. They decide to host a consumption bar because people don’t typically drink as much during the day. For music, they hire a really good DJ to cover the entire event, but also have a soloist for the ceremony. For décor, the bride decided to stick with all roses in just 2 colors. Since it’s a Sunday afternoon, they were able to get a good deal on photography and videography coverage. The bride and all her bridesmaids had a Pina Colada-n-Papers party and made all the save the dates, invitations, and placecards.
Wedding B:
The bride and groom decide to have their wedding on a Saturday at 6:30pm. For the rehearsal dinner, they treated all 75 guests to a sunset cruise and a clambake on a nearby island. Their ceremony is on the beach with chivari chairs covered in a sheer light flowing wrap. A beautiful sunset cocktail hour with a mojito and martini bar, cigar roller, and a sushi station. A dinner under the stars is their dream. They choose a plated 5-course surf and turf meal for their guests with a five-hour open bar and wine service during dinner. For music, they have a string quartet at the ceremony, steel pan and guitar at the cocktail hour, a 12-piece band for the reception, and a DJ for the after party. For décor, the bride brings the florist a photo of Donald Trumps wedding reception and says, “I’d like this, only in my colors”. For the wedding stationary, the bride goes to a custom stationary designer and calligrapher for the save the dates, invitations, menus, programs, and place cards.

In both cases, the couple is getting their dream wedding at their dream location. So can you see how giving an average is difficult? The cost of each of these weddings- how about I let you make your best guess? Post your estimates via the comment link and I’ll post the answer and winner tomorrow. The winner will receive the next issue of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style- since it was the winner of the last survey. This is open to everybody: brides, grooms, wedding professionals…hope to hear from lots of you!

What makes a wedding a destination wedding?

des*ti*na*tion (des'ti-nAy'shen) n. The place to which one is going or directed.
There's a little debate about this, but I will tell you what I think. A destination wedding is one where the wedding is taking place in a location such that the majority of guests are travelling. So, even if the bride and groom live at the wedding location; if all the majority of their guests have to travel to get there- its a destination wedding.
What makes this different from a regular wedding is that while it is more complex in the planning, it also provides for a more intimate experience and quality time spent. Because everyone is going to be together for at least 2 days, you'll actually get to spend time having fun with your guests! Not just the 5 minute quick, stop by to say "hello thanks for coming", during the tour of the tables at your reception dinner. Read back a few posts to see what a destination wedding weekend can be: Documenting your entire wedding weekend
Do you have to do all these events? Absolutely not! But considering that all the people you care about most are travelling to celebrate with you, take advantage of it!
Chances are when you are having a destination wedding that you will have less "yes" RSVP's than if you have it at a location central to the majority of invited guests. So a destination wedding can certainly be less costly. Also, many popular wedding destinations are just plain old less expensive than "home". It's just like that house buying show on HGTV, What you get for the money I think its called; what $30,000 buys you in New York City buys you a whole lot more on Sanibel or Captiva Island. A destination wedding can actually be a budget saver.
So then whats a destination wedding planner? A destination wedding planner is experienced in planning not just weddings, but also experienced in weddings where there are travel and multiple events for the guests involved. Some destination wedding planners only plan weddings in the area they reside in, and some destination planners will also help you plan a wedding outside of the region. Tip: when you're looking for your wedding planner, they may not call themselves a "destination wedding planner", just ask if they have experience planning them.

A camel, a giraffe, Cinderella, and a pig.

I had the most incredible weekend! Friday I went for a site tour at the most unbelievable, one of a kind, out of this world venue I have ever seen. I am just dying to have an event there. Very pricey I'm certain, but guaranteed to be worth every penny. Now considering I see many a venue, for me to say that my jaw dropped at every turn- that means this place is something else. And it wasn't just the venue- the staff is incredible. I met one of the owners as he was taking his camel for his morning ride. Then I fed carrots to the resident giraffe (I think his name is Shelton) as I talked logistics with the Director of Sales. Even the executive chef stopped by to introduce himself. I have never been so impressed.
Saturday I had a Cinderella wedding. Oh the bride looked just beautiful. It was very much a fairytale wedding, right down to the horse and carriage and handsome prince of a groom. I had such a wonderful time watching them together. They're very much one of those couples who are just so in love. I cried no less than 5 times.
Sunday we co-hosted a pig roast-birthday party at our home. Donna, I know you are freaking out about this, I told you not to read my blog today! It was freezing by Florida standards, but a great time was had by all. I even learned how to play "Cornhole". I think its an Ohio born outdoor game. Something between horseshoes and plinko. If that makes any sense.

How'd it get to be December already?

It's been a month and there have been 2 really great weddings! I can't wait to share the pictures from both. Just this weekend was Julie & Phils. What a great couple. I had so much fun planning with them. For their rehearsal we had a tropical elegant dinner, beach front under a tent. The kids had their very own space- and totally took advantage of it. Finally Saturday, after a beautiful church ceremony they had a perfect Christmas themed wedding reception. Priority number 1 for Julie and Phil was the DJ. And boy did we have the perfect DJ! The dancefloor was at max capacity the whole night! It took a huge portion of planning time and a big chunk of the budget to get that DJ- but it was worth it because it was what was most important to the bride and groom. To see the photoshow, click the link on the right.

And last month was Krista & Chris's Vintage Hollywood wedding. It was amazing- by far the most personal ceremony I've witnessed. The Pro pics will be out soon, so I'm going to wait for those before I post too much more about it...something to look forward to for sure.

Voicemail greeting of the year

Today is a wedding day and I was about to call my bride to give her a warm welcome to her wedding day when I remembered this. I forgot to blog about it several months ago, and its just too good to pass up. On the morning of one of my weddings, I called the bride just to check in on her before I went to the ceremony venue to prepare. I did not make this up! Her voicemail greeting said:
Quote:
"Today is my wedding day. I am the bride. I want to enjoy today and I do not want to take any more stupid phone calls with stupid questions that are going to stress me out. So don't leave me a message and don't expect a return phone call. Call my wedding planner. Kelly knows eveything. She can answer all questions because she knows all the answers. Again- don't call me. Call Kelly the wedding planner. Her number is 555-5555. Or you can call ####### (groom), because he went out drinking all night and deserves it."

Dresses!

The wedding dress. It is what makes a bride a bride. And I'll be darned if I don't cry at the sight of nearly every single one of my clients in hers. It just makes me so happy, because I know what they're feeling. It's one of the best feelings in the world. Everything you've been planning for is finally here. You look stunning, feel beautiful, and you're about to get married to the most amazing guy on earth.
With that said...here is what my next few brides are wearing! Actually, 2 of them are Watters dresses and I couldn't get a photo that worked in the photoshow, so to see them go to the Watters website a,Styles 1088b and 7086b.


Saturday is the 1st wedding of the season! I'm so excited. Sad too of course, because I really enjoyed planning this wedding. The bride & groom actually live here locally, which is not typical. It was fun to be able to actually meet with her a few times over the last 5 months. And yes- we put this wedding together in just 5 months. It worked out well though, we stuck to the same task list, and just made quick decisions and a few compromises.
It felt like it was the longest summer. I think maybe because there were no hurricanes this year. Thank goodness we're just about over that hump.

Rockin Organists, Mylin's Cd, & the whole tour.

Well, somehow, no thanks to a certain airline way at the top of the alphabet, I made it home. L.A. was fun, but no way could I go back to living there. I love the laid back style of Florida. Poofy hair weather and all. I swear it was 500% humid today.

I got a call from a client today. Her 1st words when I answered were, "That organist ROCKS!" I swear I nearly fell off my chair laughing.
Another client sent me an email that she and groom met with the cake baker, and picked out a mad hatter cake! I'm really excited to see it. The baker is so talented and I'm sure it will be an awesome display. I'll be sure to post a photo after the wedding. Less than a month away! Hatter? Is that right? Or is it hadder? Who cares. You know what I mean.

Before I forget, I met with an old friend of mine while visiting California. Actually she was my 1st roomate. Oh my gosh we had so much fun. We lived in Greenich Village in the littlest dorm-like room ever. We made Ramen Noodles in the sink. We went clubbing at Limelight 3 to 4 nights a week. And we frequently snuck into the tv room to catch Adam Sandler on SNL. Those were the days....Anyhoo, she just released a new cd, check it out if you are looking for something new. Plus she's my friend and I want her cd to go quadruple platinum. I think that would be pretty cool for her. You can get to her site http://www.mylinmusic.com by clicking the title above.

Last week I had the opportunity to get a private tour of Pink Shell Resort on Ft Myers beach. I was shocked. Here's why. I had been to this resort several times. In fact, I had been on 2 site tours prior to this one. Huge difference this time because the catering director showed me everything, a complete tour of the property. Apparently I got the "short" version previously. After eating at one of their restaurants, spending an afternoon at their spa, seeing 4 of the different room types, all the ceremony and reception sites, and then experiencing a mock wedding and reception, I have a completely different take on the place. Here's what I've learned- and want to share with all brides looking for their wedding locations: Schedule your site visit appointments for a time when the catering/sales director has the most time to spend with you. Don't take a "I can fit you in between" appointment. Tell her/him you want a complete tour of everything. AND if at all possible, eat at the venue & peek (don't crash) in on a wedding. You might be pleasantly surprised, as I was.

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

Whew; It is HOT!!! Really truly, it is insanely hot right now. No wonder nobodys getting married outdoors!
This weekend I hosted a birthday dinner party for my best friend Becky. Dinner for 12 is much more work than I had anticpated. But, leave it to the wedding planner to go all out. I couldn't just have the meal catered- it had to look good too. I got to use one of the hot new color combinations, tiffany blue & chocolate. I thought it came together well. I wanted all the guests to feel great too. So I made them all wear cocktail attire. The husbands weren't particualrly thrilled, but it was so much fun to have everyone dressed up. It was a real blast, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves, the endless bottles of great wine, and six course meal!
The chef, Julio, is actually a groom to be. His wedding is Saturday, and he's really excited about the event. As am I of course. Pictures below!

Thank you to all the men & women who have served our country. Where we we be without you? Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I had the great honor of planning Mandi & Andy's destination wedding, which took place earlier this month. It was without a doubt the most emotional wedding weekend I've ever been a part of. The groom is currently serving in the Army, and as I write this entry, he's back in Baghdad. We didn't know when Andy would actually arrive for the wedding until the day before he got here. His arrival was the most touching moment I've ever witnessed (look back a few posts). Many of the family members from both sides of the families also served in the armed forces.
For the rehearsal dinner, we planned it as a welcome home soldier party. We decked the place out in Red, White, and Blue. The brides mom also added "support our troops" yellow ribbons, and each guest wore a yellow lapel ribbon. The room looked great and was the complete opposite of the pink and crystal themed wedding the next day.
My tip of the day: Don't be afraid to go out and do something totally different for your rehearsal dinner. Host a casino party (these are SO much fun), have a luau, have a dessert only party, have a tailgate party, host a wine tasting... the possibilities are endless!
Todays picture: A snapshot of the Welcome home party decor. Sometimes piling it on is great!
Todays link: Here's a website I found if you would like to send the troops a message.
http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/Message.aspx?SectionID=5

To all the moms out there, I hope you've had a wonderful Mothers Day. I spent the day with my family and friends...another beautiful Florida spring day.
Today the mother and father of the bride for the next wedding arrived into town. Not too much hoopla surrounding their arrival. However, this past Monday, when the bride saw her groom for the 1st time in 5 months, and he finally had the opportunity to formally propose, it was a moment like nothing I have ever experienced. The groom has been serving our country in Baghdad all year. The below link (cut and paste!) will remind you of why we have weddings, why we marry, why we celebrate love.
Special thanks to Photographer Gigi Hamlett for providing the incredible photos (http://www.g2wed.com/)

Link: www.esocialites.com/LenttzPiazza.html
Todays Picture: That's me!