First Look | A Good Wedding Trend?

Hi Everyone!

Today I am talking about the newer trend in weddings, which is the ‘First Look’.  I have already done a blog about ‘First Looks’, but since then, I have had my own first look with my now husband, Darrin. If you don’t know what a ‘First Look’ is, it’s when the couple see’s each other before the ceremony.  It’s usually just the couple, and their photographer. 

As a wedding planner, I have to always be practical with time when it comes to weddings.  If the couple has limited time to do pictures after the ceremony, I usually suggest seeing each other before hand so pictures can be done before the ceremony, and they aren’t rushed.  Some people, however, don’t want to mess with tradition, which I totally respect! 

When it came time to plan my own wedding, I already thought we would do a ‘First Look’, because we couldn’t have our ceremony until 6:00 in the evening, and I didn’t want a long cocktail hour.  Then I had to step back and think about it, and talk to Darrin. I had to forget about the technical side, turn off my wedding planner brain, and think about it as a bride.  Did I want that special moment when he see’s me for the first time as I walk down the isle, and stick to tradition?

Darrin said that he wanted to do a first look as well, which helped my decision a lot! I LOVED the special moment we had with just our photographers. You don’t get a lot of time alone together during your wedding day, so having that special moment was priceless for us. Time totally got away from me the day of the wedding, so I’m not sure what time we started pictures, but I’m pretty sure we had almost  three hours to do pictures of just the two of us, the whole bridal party, and family pictures. It worked out PERFECTLY! 

Here are some of the pictures from our first look! We wrote letters to each other before hand, which I LOVED!! It was absolutely perfect, and I am beyond thrilled that we opted to do a ‘First Look’.

He’s saying “did you see her?!” SO CUTE!

XO, Val 

photo’s taken by the amazing Red Arrow Photography!

MY WEDDING!!!!!

Hi everyone!!

It has been a CRAZY couple of months for me because I got married!! My wedding was on June 20, 2015, and it was the most perfect day I could have imagined! Yes, marrying my husband was the best part, but as a wedding planner, you know the other details mattered to me as well! ;)

For our venue, we wanted something very industrial and modern, but also somewhere we could have both the ceremony, and reception. I had no idea that The Akron Art Museum did weddings, but I am beyond thrilled that they do! It was the most perfect venue we could have imagined! I brought my husband there, and he took one look at it and we both knew there was no where else we wanted to say “i do”, and dance the night away. 

I’m going to be doing a post on each of my amazing vendors very soon!! I am extremely lucky to work with so many amazing people in the wedding industry, so picking vendors for my wedding was easy!

I am beyond thrilled that my dream photography team was available for my wedding day! I actually think I would have picked another day if they weren’t! I’ve had the honor of working with Meghan Meeker of Red Arrow Photography on many weddings in the past few years! Not only is she and her husband Scott amazing photographers, they are also our friends! It was so incredible to have them be our photographers.  

Our pictures turned out even more beautiful than I thought possible! Here are a few of my favorites!

We were allowed to pictures in the exhibits! LOVE this one!

Hope you enjoyed reliving my wedding day with me!! I will be posting more very soon! :)

XO, Val 

Wedding Planning Timeline | Six Month Mark

When you’re at the six month mark of your wedding planning, there are a few things you want to make sure are checked off your list!

• Send out save the dates! At the six month mark is exactly when you should be sending out your save the dates! It gives people enough time to ask off from work, make travel arrangements, and change any plans if necessary.  Sending them out any earlier, people might misplace them, or completely forget they received it because it came too soon.  Sending it out any later and it might as well be the actual wedding invitation!
• Order your bridesmaid dresses! Bridal shops usually need six months to guarantee the dress will come in on time.  
• Make sure you have important documents! This is a little random, but check to make sure you know where your social security card is.  You’re going to be needing that when it comes time to get your marriage license and when, or if, you change your name.  So if it turns out you lost it, give yourself plenty of time to get it replaced.  Also, of you don’t have a passport, now is the time to get one if you’re traveling out of the country for your honeymoon. 
• Now is a great time to book your honeymoon! Do you research, go over how much you have to spend on it, and talk to a travel agent.  If you’re getting married in the summer, talking about tropical beaches in the middle of the winter will help boost your spirits!! ;)
• Decide on the color theme of your house: If you don’t already have a home together, now is the time to decide on the feel of your new home together.  You need to know what colors you want, so you know what to register for in the next couple months.  
• Decide on a hotel: You’re going to want to have a block of rooms at a hotel close to the where you’re having your wedding.  Start researching local hotels, and see how well they can accommodate you, and your guests.  Find one that has a pretty reasonable price.  Also see if they have a shuttle to get guests to and from the wedding.  Ask if they can do “welcome bags” for your guests, and if it will be an extra cost.  

I hope this was helpful! Like always, feel free to comment below with any other advice! 

XO, Val

winter wedding by vebullock featuring white bouquets

OKA white bouquet
$42 - okadirect.com

Tips For Engagement Pictures.

Hi everyone! Today I’m talking about engagement pictures!! 

Engagement pictures are a fun way to capture the excitement of being engaged! They might be the first professional pictures of the two of you, and they will be great to use for your ‘Save the Dates’, and maybe displayed at your wedding! They will also be an amazing keepsake!

One of my favorites pictures from my engagement session!

Here are a few tips I have learned from other couples, wedding photographers, and though my own experience. 

• First off, I highly recommend getting engagement pictures taken with your wedding photographer! It might seem unnecessary to some of you, but they are a GREAT idea! They get you and your fiancé comfortable with your photographer, and it also gets you used to posing together, and helps you and your photographer find the best angles for you.
• If you're going to have your makeup done for your wedding, try scheduling your trial on the day of your engagement pictures! Why waste that beautiful (and expensive) face of makeup sitting at home when you could get some serious use out of it! If you're not used to wearing much makeup, it might look like too much, but wait until you see the pictures!  You always add a little extra so you don't look washed out in pictures.

I’m a huge ‘Friends’ fan! 

• Dress comfortable and appropriate for the season.  By comfortable I don't mean sweatpants and a T-shirt, I mean your favorite pair of jeans that look great on you, and that adorable top you paid too much for that you were saving for a special occasion! Wearing a floral print strapless dress for your fall engagement picture will look a little off. Try sticking to your normal fall wardrobe.  Also, don't make your fiancé wear something he's not a fan of just because you think it's what he should wear.  Let him also feel comfortable in his outfit- as long as the colors don't clash!

I hope this was helpful! If you have any other tips, feel free to leave them down below!!

XO, Val

So, You Think You’re Invited To The Wedding?

Finding out a couple is engaged is exciting for everyone! You want to know everything about the wedding: date, venue, dress, and most importantly if you’re invited!! If you’re not close family, or one of the bride and/or grooms best friends, don’t assume you are going to get an invite. The couple may have limitations due to budget, space in the venue, or they simply would prefer a small, intimate wedding.  Wait for them to bring up if you will be there to celebrate with them, or wait for the ‘save the date’ in the mail. You can still be excited for them, without asking. 

You may think that since you’re friends with the engaged couple, it’s okay to say: “I’m invited to your wedding, right?” but that is NEVER okay, and ALWAYS rude.  You’re putting the couple in such an awkward situation by putting pressure on them like that.  They may already know that you unfortunately didn’t make the final cut, so they now have to tell you off-guard that they can’t invite you, or they have to lie.  For the engaged couple, it’s best to say, “we’re still figuring out our guest list and budget, but we hope we’re able to invite everyone.”

If you’ve never planned a wedding before, you may not realize that inviting just one extra guest could cost the couple upwards of $100! It’s a meal, dessert, and drinks for one extra person. Plus with more people means more tables (which may not be included in the venue cost, so it’s an extra rental cost), and another centerpiece, and if it’s a floral arrangement, they really add up!

So really think before assuming you’ll be getting an invite.  A lot goes into planning a wedding.  I know first hand that the hardest part about planning a wedding is trying to please everyone.  You may not understand the stress the couple has already experienced trying to find a wedding date that works with everyone important in their lives, as well as getting their dream wedding within their budget, in the process. You adding one more thing for them to stress out about isn’t fair.  

First be excited for the couple, and wait patiently to see if you will be with them on their special day. 

XO, Val 

My Tips on Registering.

Today I'm going to give some of my advise on registering for your wedding!!

target.com

• First off, don't register too early!  I know it may be tempting to register the second the initial excitement of the engagement wears off.  Unless you’re having an engagement party, theres really no need to register right away.  If you are having an engagement party, you don’t have to register for everything, just enough for the party.  In my opinion, you shouldn't register until about six months before the wedding. If you register too early, those items may not still be available when people go to buy the gifts.  There also may be seasonal items you register for, without knowing that they are seasonal. You also might even know what you want a year out from the wedding.  
• Register at two or three different stores. Just because there are four Dillard's within a 10 mile radius of you, doesn't mean everyone has one close to them.  Some people prefer to go into an actual store to buy a gift, rather than buying it online.  
• Don't just register within one price point.  Register somewhere affordable, like Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, somewhere in the middle, like Macy's or Dillards, and somewhere a little more luxurious, like Crate&Barrel, or Williams Sonoma.  Some people will want to buy you a bunch of smaller, less expensive items, and others will want to buy you one big ticket item.  
• Don't go in blind! Sit down together and decide your color scheme for your house, and the overall feel you want for your home.  Also, make sure you know what size bed you will be purchasing- if you don't already have one- so you know what size bedding and sheets to register for.
• If you don't have a home together yet, make sure you are registering for all the essentials.  If you're starting from scratch, this list from Real Simple is great!!
• Make a home together! Some other advise I would suggest is, if one of you have a house, and the other is moving in, try selling what you can, and buy and register for things together.  The reason for this is, you want it to feel like YOUR home, not his home and you're a guest.  
• Make sure you're not registering for the same item at multiple stores.  For example: stick to bedroom and bath items at Macy's and all kitchen items at Target.  You don't want to receive two different knife sets because you forgot you already registered for one at another store. 
• So you'd rather just have cash instead of gifts? It makes sense to think that if you only want money for your wedding- because you already live together so you have a lot of stuff for your home- you'll only register for enough for your bridal shower.  That is a good thought, but it may backfire.  Some people just prefer to give gifts, so if there isn't anything left on your registry two days before the wedding, they may just buy you something they think you might like.  Make it a point to let your family and bridal party know that the two of you would prefer money for a down payment on a home, so they can spread the word to guests if they ask.  If you have a registry somewhere, the store is usually pretty good about letting you return items for something you'd prefer, if guests do buy you something you didn't register for.  
• Don't put where you are registered on your wedding invitations!! Why is this you ask? Guests are not required to bring you a gift, even though most will bring one.  Originally guests would find out where the couple was registered though word of mouth, now it's more common to include your wedding website somewhere in your invitations.  Your website will give people your registry information, and other information about your wedding.  

I hope this was helpful for you!! Is there any other advise for couples who are registering? Leave a comment below!!

XO. Val

Wedding Planning Time Line | Eight/Seven Month Mark

If you've had a year to plan your wedding, by the eighth and seventh month mark, most of the big things should be taken care of (deciding on the date, deciding on the theme, picking a venue, figuring out the approximate number of guests). There are, however, a few things that could be done at this point.

• Engagement Pictures: If you haven't had engagement pictures yet, now is a great time! If you're having a summer wedding, fall is a great time to have pictures taken.  If you're having a fall wedding, summer is a great time to have them! 

one of my engagement pictures via Maddy Hastings

• Bridal Shower/Bachelorette Party: Since a lot of the big wedding plans are taken care of, you can start to think about planning your bridal shower and bachelorette party.  Even though these are both usually thrown by family and your bridal party a month or two before the wedding, it's still good to give your input. Do you want to go to Las Vegas for your bachelorette party? Or have a low key night with friends at a nice restaurant? Make sure you are clear about this a head of time before any planning starts.
• Buy Your Wedding Dress: By this point in the planning process you would have looked at hundreds of dresses online, and probably tried on plenty, too.  If you haven't bought one yet, you really need to.  Bridal shops need up to eight months to order your dress.  You don't want your dress selection limited to the sample dresses because you waited until six months before.

Hayley Paige

• Designing Save The Dates: If you're sending save the dates, now's the time to start finalizing your guest list.  You're going to be sending them out six months prior to the wedding, so at eight-seven months you'll need to figure out who you're sending them too, and start designing them.  
• Find Your Bakery: You should wait until you figure out how much your venue, food, and alcohol is gong to cost (that will be most of your budget) before you decide on your dessert.  If it's in your budget, go for that beautiful 5-tiered wedding cake you've always dreamed of! If it doesn't fit, go for a small 3-tiered cake to cut, and sheet cake (hidden in the back!) or cupcakes for the guests, that will save you money!  
• Finalize your photographer, videographer, florist, and DJ: Make sure by this point you've signed the contact and given the deposit for these vendors! 
• Start thinking about your honeymoon: Decide where your dream destination would be, then visit a travel agent to see if you can find a deal that fits into your budget.  Be open to alternative locations that have the same feel.  

Happy Planning!

XO, Val