From Your Guest’s Perspective

You See: A dirt stain on the bottom of your dress from your photo session earlier that day.
They See: A beautiful wedding dress that flows as you walk down the aisle.

You See: One of your groomsmen forgot his shirt and has to wear an ‘off white’ shirt instead of an ‘ivory’ shirt.
They See: A perfectly matched bridal party, especially the men who look handsome in their tuxes/suits.

You See: The florist forgot to bring an extra flower for your best friend who is singing in your wedding.
They See: A beautiful girl who is standing in front of the entire church singing her heart out for you.

You See: The font on the escort cards were improperly printed and were in the wrong font.
They See: They are blessed to have a seat at your reception and be a part of your big day.

You See: Not everyone is on the dance floor all night long.
They See: A great opportunity to meet and catch up with your family and friends while enjoying an occasional dance.

You See: An overall great night that had a few hiccups along the way but you are married and happy in the end!
They See: A seamless and perfectly planned out evening without a single flaw!

I could go on and on with what you should expect to go wrong on your big day and all of the small game time adjustments you will need to make that no one will ever know about. You spent a year planning and have every move played out in your head. Your guests don’t know what to expect, they are coming in with an optimistic view and aren’t dissecting every detail. They are always appreciative of being a part of your day and will never notice if your processional begins 10 minutes late or your wedding cake has strawberry instead of raspberry filling.

Always remember that your view of the day and your guests’ view will be different and don’t sweat the small stuff :) !!

To Clean or Not to Clean?

I am curious to find out the percentage of brides who professionally cleaned their dress and the percent of brides who still have their dress in the original state from the wedding day.  I will be honest, I had all good intentions for my beautiful wedding dress post nuptials, but I didn’t plan accordingly. After the honeymoon we quickly moved to a new city, moved into a new apartment and changed careers.  Long story short, weeks quickly turned into a months … and embarrassingly enough 2.5 years later my dress still hangs proudly in the closet.

Leave comments and let me know what you think. Is it worthwhile to clean your dress? How did you  plan ahead to ensure it made it to the cleaner? Was your dress cleaning an afterthought or pre planned? What was your main incentive to have your dress cleaned?

Guest Post :: Grooms list for Ensuring a Happy Marriage

Advice sent from a true gentlemen and happily married man! This is for you boys :)
  • Always put the toilet seat down
  • Place dirty clothes in the hamper/laundry bag instead of the floor
  • Carefully choose the side of bed you sleep on your first night after marriage…..you will spend the next 30 years sleeping on that side
  • If a household repair needs to be done, save time, money pain and suffering by paying someone else to fix it
  • When asked if her shoes match her outfit, always answer with the question “How do you like them?”. She already knows the answer, she wants to prove you don’t.
  • If she asks if an outfit makes her look fat, immediately respond with faking an injury and getting out of the room.
  • If she is upset, go ahead and say you’re sorry. You can figure out later what you did.
  • When she experiments with new recipes that don’t work, use adjectives such as interesting, exotic, “once in a lifetime” taste. If that doesn’t work, fake an injury and get out of the room
  • Finally, always remember when Mom is happy, everyone in the house is happy!!

What is more advice from grooms or newlywed men to share on how to stay married and enjoy every moment?!

Engagement Pictures : Casey + Blain

Chicago is a city that you can’t turn the corner without having a picturesque backdrop.  Whether it is the city skyline and lights or the subway and newsstands shown in these fabulous engagement session photos from SB Childs Photography, each photo has a personality of its own! You can tell that Casey and Blain weren’t afraid to venture all over the city to ensure great photos.

I LOVE these city shots and for all of you brides who live in Chicago, I hope you all are taking advantage of what a wonderfully diverse city we live in and start getting creative with your photo shoot locations!

Source: SB Childs Photography

Photographer Thomas Marlow’s Photos Come Alive

I love seeing photographers who are constantly coming up with new creative ways to use technology with their photos.  I especially think Save the Date’s have come a long way, and this short video from Thomas Marlow stands out as such a fun and innovative idea for an old concept!    Watch as his photos are put in motion and to music to let upcoming guests know to save the date. He takes what is usually a still photo and adds movement with a fun message  Also, he sent me a fabulous engagement session that is full of life and laughter as the couple is playfully baking cookies.  I love how the kitchen starts out clean and ends extremely messy – that is the best way to bake cookies I think!

Enjoy the photo videos, I did!

Allison & Jared are Getting Married!! Save the Date!! Engagement Photo-Shoot. from Thomas Marlow on Vimeo.

Amy & Abe – Love & Cookies – Engagement Session from Thomas Marlow on Vimeo.