Wedding Blog

It’s Friday again. I can’t believe that we are already into February, 2010!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s wedding blog. We are always trying to come up with new ways to present you with useful information. I think “Ask a PWG Wedding Pro” is going to become one of our most popular segments.

Today I want to discuss children at your wedding. More and more of my clients want to include children on the guest list. Sometimes the couple has children of their own and other times they have family and friends with children that they don’t want to leave out.

As a mother of three, I can tell you that there are a few things to remember when inviting children to the wedding particularly if they are younger than the age of ten.

1. Sitting still and quiet during a wedding ceremony is nearly impossible.
2. Sitting still and quiet during a five hour wedding reception is definitely impossible
3. The more the parents want to talk to the friends, the more attention the children need.
4. And finally, the dance floor is a great place to run around and burn off energy.

With that in mind, couples ask me all the time how to entertain the children. Check out some ideas after the photo.

Professional images courtesy of Jeff Hawkins The one of the face painter and balloon art are random selections from my library.

Here are a couple of my favorite ideas for entertaining kids at your wedding:

• Create a play area for them. Put in a low table covered with butcher paper and stock with crayons so they can work together to create a mural. Make sure to have extra paper for those artists who like to work solo.
• Serve them food they will enjoy. My little ones love to choose what they eat, so I think a kids’ buffet is a fun idea that will keep the group entertained for a while. If you don’t have enough children attending to warrant a buffet, serve them a plated meal of kid-friendly food.
• Put up a children’s bar. Stock a children’s bar with soda, water and mixers to make Shirley Temples. It will make the kids feel special and it will keep them from crowding the adult bar.
• At some point in the evening, ask your entertainment to play kid-friendly music It doesn’t have to be for long, but the kids will have a blast if they have the opportunity to dance to some music that they recognize. You will also get some amazing photographs and video!
• If you have the budget, bring in some special entertainment. Caricature artists, face painters, and balloon artists are a small sample of the fun entertainment you can bring in for the children at your wedding. A few of my clients have done a separate room with supervised Wii tournaments, kid’s DJ, movies and more!

I would like to include your children’s entertainment ideas on my wedding blog. Please post information for me here or send me an email to susan(dot)southerland(at)pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Enjoy your weekend!

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan

Today we introduce a new segment here on the Perfect Wedding Guide Wedding Planning Blog – Ask a PWG Wedding Pro. Each week, we will select one of our vendors from across the country to answer common questions for brides regarding different aspects of wedding planning.

This week, we caught up with photographer Diana Ard from Absolutely Perfect Pictures in Houston, TX, to hear her perspective on working with couples to ensure they find the perfect wedding photographer and have exceptional wedding photographs.

PWG: Do you tend to create more traditional or photo-journalistic photographs when shooting a wedding? Do clients typically prefer a balance?

APP: Brides do want an even mix of candid and traditional images. When we shoot a wedding we not only have a balance of candid and traditional shots, we add in a great mix of fun and energetic poses as well as a vast array of decorative shots and custom graphics. Brides do want candid as well as posed shots, but where some photographers fail is the balance of close ups as well as over all shots.

Naturally a good wedding photographer knows the need to have shots, like bride entering, ring exchange, cake cutting and toasting as well as the first dance and departure. We make sure to get that, but then we have our favorite shots. Like groom looking through the ring, or groomsmen stopping groom from entering church, bridesmaids assisting bride, “strike a pose” during bridal party formals, bridal party jumping in front of facility, rings within bouquet, the classic dip and many, many more.

PWG: How much time do you typically spend preparing and shooting a wedding?

APP: As a rule we visit the facility prior to the wedding day to familiarize ourselves with it’s location, it’s lighting and all that it has to offer (for back rounds). We also contact the venue liaison to inquire about any rules or concerns as well as helpful hints they may have for us.

On the wedding day we get there early so we can get shots of the dress hanging up with the bouquet and shoes, as well as shots of the venue before the guest arrive and disrupt the decor. Also after the ceremony we make sure to get a good 5-10 minutes with just the bride and groom, because those will be the images they cherish and display.

PWG: Costs for a wedding portfolio can really vary — what tips would you suggest for those who don’t want to be completely extravagant?

APP: Photography is the third most important decision you will make next to the groom and dress. You can scrimp and save in lots of places photography should not really be one of them. A good experienced photographer can make the event, just as an amateur can break the event. Most brides know that to really save money, [you should] have your event on Friday or Sunday. Most vendors have a discount for non Saturday event. If you have to save on photography then skip all the prints and books and go for the disc of images. Odds are you can find a lab to get prints from at cost (do not use a store kiosk, use a lab and add a luster overcoat). If you are computer savvy you can usually create a book that is good. It may not have the feel of a professional design but it will have the best possible images. As a rule most brides use their images more digitally than in print.

PWG: What tips would you offer for a bride-to-be searching for the best photographer for her wedding?

APP: Obviously you will want a photographer whose work impresses you. They should have a fully functioning website that offers a proofing gallery. We upload our images usually within three days and mail the disc of images with in 10days. Most importantly they should bring 2 photographers to guarantee complete coverage. They should be easy to deal with as well as accommodating. I have found that bride like that we coach them through all the best shots. A good photographer should have at least 8 weddings to show you, so you can see that they are consistently good not just lucky. You want to see real brides, real weddings . . . not just a few great shots of the most beautiful bride who may even be a paid model.

To learn more about Absolutely Perfect Pictures, check out their vendor profile on PerfectWeddingGuide.com. Also, if you have a question you would like to see answered in an upcoming “Ask a PWG Wedding Pro” wedding blog segment, email us at profiles [at] pwg [dot] com!

Today’s real wedding blog story comes to us from the northern United States. Natives of Detroit, MI, Jessica and Dan were married at the historic Dearborn Inn this past September. Built in 1931 on the grounds of Ford Motor Company, this charming venue represents a unique blend of the foundation of Detroit’s history with true wedding elegance.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Jessica and Dan. I’m sure all of the readers out there will enjoy your experience as much as I did! Please read on for Jessica’s version of their amazing wedding story.

“With a vision of a fairy-tale wedding, I worked tirelessly on every element of my wedding to make it perfect.

I had a monogram created that would be used throughout the entire wedding; from sealing my wedding invitations, to the cover of the ceremony programs, to the menu cards, and finally with the ice sculpture.

I designed and hand-sewed a flower petal tablecloth (with the help of my mother and one bridesmaid) that would be used to display my cake.

My husband works for the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball Team. We are both die-hard Tiger fans…it is what our first conversation was based around, and how we met. Dan proposed to me at Comerica Park, and we had our bridal shower in the Tiger Club.

We wanted to include elements of the Detroit Tigers in the wedding. That is why our signature drink was a ‘Tiger-Tini’, and why we decided to serve ballpark hotdogs (served right out of the same ballpark bags that are used during games), along with soft pretzels as our late night snack.

The theme of our wedding was ‘Sweet Love’ so we made sure to have ’sweet touches’ throughout the night. I created a 24-foot apothecary table that featured all pink colored candy and treats. Some specialty sweets that I had created were chocolate covered pretzel rods drizzled in pink chocolate, and a pink cupcake station.

The escort cards were attached to a sugar cookie featuring our signature “g” monogram. Also, as guests left, they were able to take a box of wedding cake home with them.

Our wedding was really the perfect ‘Sweet Beginning’ we were looking for. Because Dan and I are so close with our families, we chose to have my mom stand in as the Matron of Honor, and Dan’s dad as the Best Man. We couldn’t see anyone more important than our parents standing next to us on our big day.”

Do you have a real wedding story you would like to share? If so, please email me at the address below with your experience and some photos. You might be the next bride featured in this wedding blog!

If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan(dot)southerland(at)pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan

As promised in Friday’s wedding blog, today I am going to give you a procedure to follow as well as some good questions to ask during your interviews. All of this information (and much more) can be found in the Perfect Wedding Guide Wedding Workbook.

• Before getting in your car, use Perfect Wedding Guide and PerfectWeddingGuide.com to research vendors. You can get valuable information by looking at advertisements. You will probably see some favorites who you will want to meet.
• BUT, don’t make appointments until you visit vendor websites. You will get further insight into their styles and personalities and you may even find pricing.
• Call or email to have information sent. This will give you further insight into your potential vendors personalities. Does the vendor sound eager to speak with you, or disinterested? Is he excited about his work, or nonchalant?
• Set appointments with three vendors per category. This will give you time to get over interviewing jitters and it will expose you to different styles and portfolios. You never know what good ideas you will get from looking at your vendors’ work.
• Compare vendor features. Just because one vendor is lower in price, it doesn’t mean he’s the better deal. Make sure you understand what is in each vendors package.
• Look for personality as well as product. You need to surround yourself with vendors who make you feel good on the wedding day. If a vendor’s personality doesn’t match your needs, go to someone else.
• Follow your instincts. If you don’t feel comfortable with a vendor, move on!

As far as specific questions go, I reached out to my favorite vendors to see what each thought was important. One of my videographers, Paul Duhon responded with some good ones:

1. On the day of my wedding what will you be wearing? I think this question is more important for photo and video. I often see other photo and video vendors wearing things that make them look like guest. It is my feeling that we are there to document the day not be a part of it. Some vendors like coordinators, and musicians should be dressed nicely because their roll is different.

2. Are you going to be the one at my wedding? This is a good question for videographers, photographers, and DJs as some may double-book and then choose which wedding to do.

3. Can I see one of your full wedding samples? This is a GREAT question for couples when they are meeting with videographers. It is super easy to take 2 hours of footage and pick out the best 2 minutes and then add music. In seeing a full wedding sample you really get to see what your video may look like and you also get to hear the quality of the natural audio (which I feel on a wedding day is SUPER!! important)

4. Lastly when I meet my couples for the first time I always stress how important it is to me to document their special day in a non-intrusive way. I tell them things like ” I want to record your wedding for you to remember forever but without being a part of your day.” I have heard a few stories from couples who have attended other weddings and just felt like the photographer or videographer was in their face the entire wedding. I completely disagree with this style. I will rarely ever step on the dance floor at a receptions and I don’t ever stage things for the video. As much as I love recording weddings I love the actual wedding moment even more and would never want to alter that experience for anyone.

Thank you for the great advice Paul!

Be sure to come back to the wedding blog tomorrow for Real Wedding Wednesdays. Also, on Thursday we are starting a new feature called “Ask a PWG Wedding Pro.” You will get to hear from Perfect Wedding Guide wedding vendors from all over the country!

If you have any comments about interviewing wedding vendors, I want to hear from you! Leave a post for me here or email me at susan(dot)southerland(at)pwg(dot)com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan