A Master Wedding Planner tells all...

Iowa is very blessed to have great photographers! Our early June wedding ceremony took place at the Living History Farms Church. This couple chose Erik Notz from Inspired Images as their photographer and I think they made a great choice. He has promised to send me some pics of the wedding and you know that I will share them with you as soon as they cross my desk.

http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

Every once in a while, I have the opportunity to meet a vendor that has the same passion and drive that I share for this wonderful industry that we work in. I met such a vendor last night - Huffaker Photography.
What can I say about this husband and wife team except that they get it!
Their pictures tell a thousand words without uttering a single sound. Their perspective is complete and without a doubt some of the best that I have seen. Their passion is sincere and to the point and their drive is huge, letting me know that they will be around for a very long time.


But it is their black and white photography that really captures my attention! Wow! It is beautiful, classic, timeless, and absolutely stunning! If you admire these type of pictures, then this is absolutely the photography duo for you. Hands down, they totally get it! Here is a sample of their work. Love it!

http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

I can't wait to share these great pictures from one our brides last year. She is a lovely person. http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

When I work a wedding with Lance Harding, I know that his videos will be amazing. He never fails to disappoint as is the case with last Saturday's wedding of David and Maria.

A videographer will catch moments that your photographer can't because they combine pictures with movement and sound; a living testimony to the entire day, caught on tape to relive again and again. How could you not want that for one of the most important days of your life?

Here is Lance's demo video. Enjoy! http://hardingvideography.com/video-demo/

I wanted to share photos from our other wedding last Saturday.

http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/2009/07/last-saturdays-other-wedding.html

Here is the latest blog post of a beautiful wedding we had last weekend. The bride was a sweetheart! http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

Here is the latest blog postings with new Pictures from Drescher Photo and Design. http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

This morning, I am featuring a guest blogger - yes we are really in full mode now that the 4th is fast approaching!

Jen is actually one of my brides who is getting married next year. She have a lovely , quick spirit that I am sure you will see as you follow her writings. Enjoy!

DIY Download: Cello Bag Labels! by Jenny Bryde

DIY projects are really great for anyone who is looking to keep their wedding budget in check or for those couples who want to add a personal touch to the elements of their big day. Depending on the time, money, and know-how for each engaged couple, the wedding can be partially or wholly made up of DIY.
Some DIY projects seem unreal unless you have specialized knowledge or connections to a specific skill. For example, I would not suggest to any bride that she create her own wedding dress unless she had some kind of seamstress or tailoring background. The results could end up being not what she wanted, a waste of time, or a drain on money. If a bride had made complex garments before, however, and decided to make her own wedding dress, she could save a lot of money and have a customized gown with her own personal flare literally sewn in.
Other DIY projects are completely user-friendly for most couples (even for those of us who are not Martha Stewarts). Often couples and perhaps their friends and family may feel comfortable tackling something such as creating fun place cards for their guests to find their seats...maybe white paper bag luminerias...maybe a special favor for their guests to take home as a momento of the day.
Today's DIY project comes to us from a fantastic website called Flights of Fancy. It is an adorable DIY favor project that leaves you with vintage-looking cellophane bags for edible favors that leave your guests with a homespun feel... http://blog.qcweddings.com/

We are working on four weddings this week. The phone rings for one bride while the other is on hold, another's linens arrive and the color is all wrong and we are two days late waiting for a shipment of vases. You have to love this business! Having an amazing team to help keep my sanity is key in this operation. Bless their hearts that they love what they do almost as much as I do - You would have to to iron 56 tablecloths!!

We are going on site today to surround a large old tree in the backyard of my outdoor wedding with twinkle lights. Then we will set the tables up and mark them so that when we have to set up on Saturday in less than 45 minutes, we are ready to go. Organization and paying attention to the details are key when planning out events. If you have ever planned a party for 50 then you can appreciate the work that goes into planning an event for 700 (our Ames wedding)!

We are still looking for help, so if you want to join us.....

Here are pictures from last Saturday's wedding: http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

There are certain things that you should never do when planning a wedding. Here are a few of them that go across the board---never do these things!

1. Under any circumstances, do not - DO NOT - place your registry information on your invitation. Guests will find out where you are registered well enough, they don't need you telling them to buy you a gift.

2. Do not keep your guests waiting for dinner. If your invitation says that dinner and dancing are immediately following the ceremony, then that is what should happen. Plan your day accordingly. Keeping guests waiting without food and drink while you decide to bar hop between the ceremony and the reception is wrong. Even if you have a social hour; the word "hour" should be your hint.

3. And speaking of bar hopping......

4. Don't skip out on paying your vendors. If you have both agreed on a price then you owe them their fair share. Don't make them pay for your wedding just because you decided not to pay the bill. If there is a dispute, then that is an entirely different matter, but whatever the cause, be fair and even minded.

5. Don't ignore your guests. Under any circumstances should this rule not be overlooked. Your guests came to YOUR wedding for YOU! Your guests have plenty of things to keep them busy, so the least you can do is to thank your guests for their time and presence at your wedding. Be gracious at all times, because a gracious bride and groom are ones that are well remembered long after the wedding is over!

Here are some pictures from a recent wedding that we helped with. Adorable couple! Great photography!!
http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

Want to follow some customs from other countries for your wedding? Try adding these traditions from around the world to your day to add a unique and special quality that your friends and family will find endearing.



Denmark: It is a tradition for the groom to select and arrange the flowers for his bride’s bouquet on the morning of the ceremony.

An eighteenth-century law forbade brides to wear makeup to prevent the grooms from being “fooled” by false beauty.

Cats are thought to bring luck to marriages. One belief if that feeding your cat from an old shoe before the ceremony will ensure good fortune.

Korea: A pair of wooden ducks accompanies the bride and groom in a traditional Korean wedding as a symbol of love and fidelity, because ducks are believed to mate for life.


In some Jewish wedding, the groom is required to see the bride before the actual ceremony – to confirm that she is his betrothed.

Although most modern weddings take place on a Saturday, in English folk rhymes, Wednesday is the best day for tying the knot.

In a traditional Scandinavian ceremony, the bride wears a gold crown. Afterward, she is blindfolded and crowns a bridesmaid – the next to wed.

The superstitious Italian Groom carries a piece of iron on his wedding day to protect him from the evil eye.

In ninth-century Europe, many men broke casual promises of marriage, so the Pope instituted an engagement ring as a symbol of – and an investment in - the couple’s union.

Here is today's blog post. Some of these are really adorable. http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

I have been burning the candle at both ends lately trying to keep up with the many hats that we wear around here; it is deep into wedding season you know. As a result, a quickly caught cold waylaid me yesterday and put me down for the count. I felt miserable, didn't want to do anything (if you know anything about me, that is NOT me!), and generally tried to fight it. I gave up around 5 pm and took a nap. Wow! If I had known how good I felt after that nap, I would have done that a lot sooner! The nap only lasted 2.5 hours, but who knew?

Why am I telling you all this? To make a point that if you are feeling stressed about your wedding, having trouble with a particular problem or person, can't seem to make rational decisions, are having trouble keeping up with a personal life, work, family and planning a wedding, take a nap!
Okay, well maybe not like that.... however, I have known brides who try to do it all and fall short with their fiancee, co-workers, or wedding plans and suddenly Bridezilla is knocking on their front door. Taking a day for yourself, a week-long break from the plans, having date night or just simply getting a good nights rest can do a world of good toward your disposition of life on the next day. Sounds too simple, but it is so ever true.

Taking care of yourself is a not a luxury while planning your wedding day, it is a necessity. You won't be effective for anyone if you aren't feeling good for yourself.

Do you ever have one of those weeks where you work and work but by the end of the 5 days, you wonder what you accomplished? Oh, you really did get some things done, but the pile to do is still as tall as ever? I know that happens to most of us at one time or another. I think that is why "Day Planners" where invented!

Even though there may be 24 hours in a day, on your wedding day, it may seem like there were only a few! Time can really escape you and by the end of the night, you won't believe that your day is over! All of those months of planning culminating into approximately 5.5 hours of fun with friends and family (the average time spent with wedding guests averages out to be 5.53 hours).

In the wedding world, this is why you want to hire a videographer because ever second counts and you don't want to miss anything! If you ever needed a good reason, here is a clip from a couple's wedding that I know they will play over and over again in their lifetime because of what their videographer caught on tape. Timeless memories preserved forever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPmYbP0F4Zw

Here is the blog for Sunday's reception. I have to confess that I love black and white and apple green! http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

Here is the blog post for our outdoor wedding Ceremony http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

Here are some pics from one of last week's 2 weddings: http://weddingsiniowa.blogspot.com/

There are weddings all over the world at any given time. Couples are always falling in love--love has no respect of boundaries or countries.

I typed in the word "cute weddings" the other day and found this adorable movie in Korea about a couple who fall in love. The movie plot sounds fun, but if I want to watch it, it would have to be in subtitles.
http://www.hanfever.com
Actually, I would bet that without the subtitles, I would still get the just of the movie. Love is universal--it is no respecter of person, class or race. That is why we say that everyone is equal at a wedding. There is no upper or lower class, there is only a bride and a groom, friends and family celebrating two people in love.