Thank you to all of my wonderful readers who have been following along with this blog. Though I adore wedding planning, writing about my own wedding every day made me feel a little blue, and I wanted to branch out to other topics. I hope you’ll check out my new blog, Defining Wellness, which is all about living a well-balanced life . . . and that of course includes participating in hobbies such as event planning and video editing.

I hope to see you at the new blog!

While it has become a more common occurrence for brides-to-be to hire a wedding planner to help with their special day, there are still many tasks that need to be accomplished on your own. The wedding planner isn’t going to pick your gown or your bridesmaid dresses for you . . . and that’s a good thing, because that’s one of the most fun parts of planning a wedding!

Picking a bridesmaid dress is almost as important as picking your own wedding dress (okay, not quite, but it’s important). The color and style of the bridesmaid dresses can set the mood for the entire wedding. For example, I fell in love with a coral-colored bridesmaid dress, so my peach color scheme became inundated with bold splashes of coral .  

Make sure the girls like the dress you choose for them, because they will want to feel comfortable, and of course, beautiful, on your big day. I tried on several bridesmaid dresses and tried to imagine each of my bridesmaids in each dress. I also asked my bridesmaids what they liked and didn’t like about certain dress styles, and I had them try on a few specific dresses to get their input.

Ultimately, it is your decision because it is your wedding. Try to keep a nice balance between your wishes and your bridesmaids’ feelings.

Also, make sure to consider the climate and the formality of the event. Will your bridesmaids need a wrap? A wedding in November could feel like the middle of winter or the middle of spring. Do you want the dresses to be floor-length, 3/4 length, or knee-length? Consider the look of your dress and the overall look and feel of the wedding. Don’t choose knee-length bridesmaid dresses if your gown is going to be big and formal.

Finally, don’t stress! Though you can’t hand this job off to your wedding planner, you CAN have fun doing it on your own. Just keep in mind that you will NOT please everybody, but if you trust your heart and act with everybody’s best interest (including your own) in mind, you’ll have a gorgeous event bedazzled with beautiful gowns.

My previous post, The Best Videographers in the World, generated a lot of discussion in the wedding video industry regarding the merits of different types of awards. In my opinion, the bottom line is that a talented videographer deserves every award that he/she gets. Industry professionals, brides, and the general public may value some recognition over others, but being a smart consumer means looking past all the awards and examining the work. The work of Dave Williams and DVideography, for example, speaks for itself, and the awards are all icing on the cake. Check out Dave’s post, “Top 25 Videographers – Legitimate or Just a Popularity Contest?” for more information.

I saw these Wed Libs at Barnes and Noble this past weekend and immediately thought of my bloggin’ brides! I TOTALLY would have loved playing these at my bridal shower or bachelorette party! What a fun twist on the ever-addicting Mad Libs and a great way to get everybody laughing and having fun. This is such an awesome gift idea for the bride-to-be. Check it out on Amazon at this link: Wed Libs on www.amazon.com. 

[Photo from www.amazon.com]

Here is yet one more reason to hire a videographer, and not just any videographer, a blow-your-budget videographer. Ok, we didn’t really blow our budget, but we went with the creme de la creme, and DVideography was worth every penny. And in fact, we were surprised at how affordable such a top-notch videographer was. If you can fit videography into your budget, do it, and do it to the max.

Ok, so on to the subject of my post. (Can you tell I am a video and photo fanatic?) We got all the raw footage from our videographer so that we had EVERYTHING — for posterity, and to play with. All the videos you see on this blog are edited by me using our raw footage .  . . including this next video. I spent a long time on this baby. I created a holiday greeting that we sent out on DVDs, along with our photo cards and Christmas letters. It was a special Christmas package, indeed. What a great way to share the highlights of our wedding day with both guests and those who could not attend. Ahh, the wonders of video. 

This is a really special treat . . . I hope you love watching it as much as I loved creating it.

Choosing the right hairpiece for your wedding day can be a decision almost as time-consuming as choosing the right dress. Here are a few tips to help make shopping for a hair piece fun and easy:

1. Know how you’ll be wearing your hair. I’ve known for years that my hair would be half up and half down on our wedding day. Had I been wearing my hair all up, this would have made my choices much different.

2. Get inspired by pictures. Look in magazines, books, and web sites, and pay attention to the overall picture. For example, I found this photo of my “dream dress” several years before our wedding, and I fell in love with the sophisticated hairpiece that the model has on in the photo. Though this “dream dress” wasn’t my dream when I tried it on (see my post about my dress), I ended up with a dress that was similar in style. I knew I wanted a hairpiece that would complement the glamour of my dress — a princess tiara just didn’t fit the look I was going for. 

[Photo taken from Eve of Milady web site]

3. Think about your veil. Will the hair piece work well with the veil — will you attach the veil into the hair piece? Put it over the hair piece? Talk to your hairdresser about your options.

4. Narrow down by style. Do you like tiaras, combs, or pins? Do you want any flowers in your hair? Or perhaps you just want to wear a veil.

5. Look for hair pieces EVERYWHERE you go. I looked in every bridal shop in the vicinity of our home and every bridal shop I passed when I was on my way to somewhere else. I bought my hair piece at The Wedding Touch in Frazer, PA. Though I was only lukewarm about the wedding dress styles available at The Wedding Touch, I was blown away by their incredible selection of hairpieces. Don’t rule any store out based on your impression of their other products. Even Nilah, my tailor, had an amazing selection of jewelry and accessories that I fell in love with!

6. Bring a photo of your dress! This was extremely helpful to me when I found my hairpiece at The Wedding Touch. I looked at the photo of my dress alongside the hairpiece to make sure they’d complement one another. 

7. Make sure you can return the hairpiece if it doesn’t look right with your dress, and then try it on during a dress fitting. This clinched it for me. The piece looked perfect with my dress!

My hairpiece was an elegant comb by Elen Henderson Designs (also called Malis Henderson). I love the sophisticated look of the piece — it’s unique and flowy, just like my dress. Though I hated to take off my gorgeous veil, the comb was absolutely beautiful in its own right, so I had fun showing it off during the reception. The comb of my veil slid right underneath the hairpiece, so no issues there! And the piece was comprised of crystals, so it perfectly complemented my dress and jewelry (both had crystals). It even had a flower that was simliar in shape to the white stephanotis flowers in my bouquet! It was meant to be!

Here are some photos of the hairpiece (and the box it came in). By the way, I requested that a new hairpiece be shipped to the store . . . I didn’t want to wear the display piece because I wanted it be brand new and in perfect condition for our wedding! Don’t hesitate to make this request — the saleswoman thought it was a great idea.

And here it is, sparkling in all its glory on our wedding day.

Yesterday, January 5, 2009, EventDV Magazine (a well-respected and up-to-date resource for event videographers) announced that voting is open for the 2008 EventDV 25. The EventDV 25 is the magazine’s list of the hottest, most influential videographers in the WORLD. Our videographer, DVideography, was named to the list in 2006 and 2007!!

[Screenshot taken from www.eventdv.net]

The really cool thing about this list is that its voted on by videographers, for videographers. So to be named to the list, you really have to know your stuff. No popularity contest here. Polls will be open until February 9, and winners will be announced in early March. Keep your eye on EventDV.net to see the results! Will your videographer make the list?

To see last year’s winners, click here: 2007 EventDV 25

My husband and I pondered favor choices for a long time. Edible or non-edible? Present them on the table or at the exit? Based on our experience, I think edible favors presented at your guests’ seats are an excellent choice. And though this post isn’t about our favors, we did not choose edible favors and we placed our favors at the exit. I loved our favors (and the guests who took some did, too), but this is one small element of our wedding that I might do differently if we had it to do all over again.

So why not delight your guests with an absolutely phenomenal and edible favor? These won’t be left behind.

Cupcakes Gourmet is a cupcake bakery located in Frazer, PA that now ships its mini cupcakes nationwide (to Continental U.S. addresses only)! Cupcakes Gourmet has been awarded with Philadelphia Magazine’s “Best of Philly 2008″ and Main Line Today Magazine’s “Best of the Main Line & Western Suburbs 2008.” 

[Photos from Cupcakes Gourmet web site]

Each cupcake is hand-made with ingredients of the highest quality . . . and no harmful trans-fats (very important to this nutrition fanatic)! Not only do they taste incredible, but they look pretty, too!

[Photo from Cupcakes Gourmet web site]

With delicious flavors like chocolate vanilla, classic vanilla, red velvet, triple chocolate, peanut butter, and dark chocolate vanilla, you can’t go wrong.

[Photos from Cupcakes Gourmet web site]

If you live locally, they’ll even customize your cupcakes with designs or lettering. If you don’t live locally, they’ll individually wrap your mini cupcake favors and ship them to you. As if the cupcakes aren’t pretty enough by themselves, you could really get creative here. Add a tag with your monogram or a romantic quote, or add some pretty ribbon. 

Unique, beautiful, and delicious!

In four of my previous posts, I have written about some of the key elements that made the LOOK of our reception so special . . . I haven’t even gotten to the music and the food and the fun . . . yet!

In A Perfect Reception: Part I, I discussed flowers. Part II was dedicated to lighting, part III to stationery and calligraphy, and part IV to the cake. I worked hard to have all of the colors and styles of these different aspects coordinate together. What this meant was COMMUNICATING SPECIFICS to each vendor so that they knew what the other vendors were doing.

This was especially true when it came to putting everything together at our perfect location, DuPont Country Club. The staff at DuPont were very detail-oriented, a must for a flawless reception. Our coordinator, Leah, was great about working with me via telephone, email, and in person. I provided her with as many details as possible, and I typed them all up.

I organized my notes by room, so there was one section for the Wedgwood Room, one for the Upper Terrace (our cocktail hour was held in both lcoations), one for the Crystal Ballroom, one for the ladies’ room, one for the men’s room, and one for the staircase leading to the outside. I specified which color linens should be on which tables, where candles should be placed, how escort cards and placecards should be arranged, where our guest book and favors should be placed, and so on. Though my notes had lots of details, they were organized in an easy format. 

Our day-of coordinator said she never had to do so LITTLE work before, since I had typed up everything for her. The way I see it, the less she had to worry about, the more thorough she could be. 

When you are choosing a location, make sure you have an opportunity to talk with the staff with whom you’ll be working. Of course, they should be courteous, helpful, and detail-oriented, but the more you work with them, the better your day will be!

Other key features that led us to choose the DuPont Country Club were the gorgeous interiors, the beautiful views, the delicious cuisine (and lots of options), the AMAZING cake, the elegant linens and tableware, the impeccable service, the large screen for playing video, and the fair prices. All things to consider!

Choose a great location, focus on detail, and you’ll enjoy your perfect reception. Here was ours . . . 

I wanted the look of “candleglow.” Explosions of peach, coral, white, champagne, and gold + lighting + candle placement + floral placement + crystals and ice + the hard work of DuPont staff = a glowing reception.

Notice the coordinating peach calligraphy and peach linens and the coordinating gold plates and gold menu text. 

This napkin fold is called a “flat fold.” The fold creates a pocket in which to place a menu . . . elegant! We asked our reception coordinators to create flat folds for us, and they were happy to oblige! Don’t forget this nice touch if you like it!

A few shots of our sweetheart table. The table was strewn with rose petals, and decorated with my bouquet and all the bridal party bouquets. Before we entered the ballroom:

After we entered the ballroom:

My pretty placecard. I highly recommend calligraphy for a sophisticated touch.

Some of the yummy food. Chocolate fountains are always a big hit with guests . . . guests can dip marshmallows, fruit, cake, cookies, pretzels, and anything else you can imagine! DuPont Country Club provided so many choices of hors d’oeuvres, salads, soups, entrees, and cake flavors. It was a lot of fun taste testing and choosing our favorites. Try to find a location that provides you with lots of options!

And finally, a very happy bride thanks the wedding coordinator!

This completes the series of “Perfect Reception” posts, but you can rest assured knowing there will be plenty more reception tips and ideas along the way!