Day 1539 – Planning Your Wedding In Baltimore Maryland – Your Dress And Accessories

Posted on September 27, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

One part of weddings that I LOVE is looking for and buying the wedding dress! I’m so grateful that I get to hang out at K&B Bridals pretty regularly!

Here are a few things I’ve learned from hanging out there!

– Make sure you try on all types of dresses. A lot of times, you’ll LOVE a dress that you had NO interest in when you were looking online. (This happened to me!)
– Dresses look a lot different on a hanger versus on you. Trust your bridal stylist to pick out something she knows you’ll love!
– Make sure you give PLENTY of time to find and order your dress. It’s best to give at least 12 months. It takes a while for the dress to come in and then you have to take into account the alterations!
– Don’t be afraid to buy on the first visit. If you fall in love with a dress (if you or someone with you cries, that’s a step in the right direction!) don’t put yourself through the struggle of trying on a ton of dresses that won’t measure up to THAT dress.
– Try not to take TOO many people with you to the appointment. Sometimes lots of opinions can make it harder to find your dress. If you do take a lot of people, make sure you’re ready to go with your gut and not worry about someone’s opinion.
– Have fun with it! 🙂

Here’s one of my favorite dresses from K&B!

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Also, you’ll want to take some time picking your accessories. This doesn’t HAVE to be done when you order your dress, but it can help! One of the benefits of shopping at K&B is they have an on site accessory designer, Randie of Faye Daniel Designs! What’s great about Randie is that she’ll CUSTOM make your jewelry! WOW! Her stuff is stunning! One of these days I’m going to get her to make me my own accessories!

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Day 1538 – Planning Your Wedding In Baltimore Maryland – Hiring A Wedding Planner

Posted on September 26, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

It’s no secret that I LOVE Moore & Co Event Stylists.

You may be thinking, well, I have a pretty small budget…I can’t afford a wedding planner! I’m not going to lie, I thought the same thing when I was getting married. Ha, how little did I know! The truth is, a wedding planner can save you lots of money!

Here are a few reasons to hire a planner, according to Moore & Co’s website:

Saving Money – “Hiring a wedding planner can save a great deal of money. Because wedding planners provide so much business to vendors, they are often able to negotiate discounts for their clients.”

Minimize Stress – “When it comes to the day of your wedding, the most important thing is that you are able to relax and enjoy it.”

Can Be Your Mediator – “A planner is a safe neutral person to point to for direction. It’s easier to tell your future mother-in-law, ‘My planner thinks we need to….’ instead of “I think we should….’ ”

Also, make sure you reach out to a planner early on in your planning. If you can book them before booking your venue, you can save even more. (This was something new I learned very recently!)

Also, they can bring all of your ideas together in a beautiful way. Check out this AWESOME reception set up by Moore & Co.

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Day 1537 – Planning Your Wedding In Baltimore Maryland – The Budget

Posted on September 25, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

Being a wedding pro, I have an inside look on weddings. I’ve developed many relationships with vendors and have heard lots of great advice on weddings over the years. I wanted to take 10 days to share some of those things with you!

Today, we’ll chat about the budget!

Note: I am NOT a planner, but have seen a lot of different types of weddings in my almost 9 years of shooting. The examples I’ve used are based on actual weddings, but I won’t tell you which ones. 😉 Also, note to my vendor readers, I am by no means negating ANY of your vital roles in a wedding, just giving a few options!

One of the BEST pieces of advice I’ve heard on this topic is:

Pick 3-4 of the MOST important things to you and your groom.

A few examples:

Focus on guests budget

Lots of guests
Time with guests
Great pictures

Maybe you have a TON of friends and family who have had a big impact on both of your lives, but you just can’t manage your dream venue.

Solution:

Find a venue that holds a lot of guests that fits in your budget
Do a first look so there are less formals to take after the wedding
Since you’re saving in other areas of your budget, you can splurge on a photographer
Have your wedding in the early afternoon (after lunch) and serve your guests dessert
Don’t have alcohol at your wedding
Have an after party at a local bar where you can hang out with guests (and friends you couldn’t invite to the wedding) and drink

Great food, top notch cake/desserts from the boutique dessert shop with your closest family and friends budget

You and your groom to be are big time foodies, LOVE desserts and want to share those loves with only the closest of your family and friends.

Solution:

Book your favorite restaurant for the afternoon before their dinner rush and have a set menu
Bonus points if the restaurant has music pipped in, so you can forgo a DJ
Get a cake or a ton of desserts from your favorite dessert shop

What Bret and I did with our budget!

I figured you guys might be interested in OUR wedding! The most important thing to us was lots of people and a relaxing day.

Solution:

To save on a venue fee, we had the wedding at my parents’ house (this is a saver in some ways, but we had to rent a LOT of stuff including – potties, tables, chairs, etc), but it was a very relaxing location. The kids at the wedding got to run around and play all afternoon
We purchased white linens that have since been used multiple times
We used the same chairs for the ceremony and reception
We had a family friend do the flowers
We had a friend do the cupcakes
We got lunch meat trays with sides from a local supermarket at $5 a person and my mom had a bunch of her friends make sure all the trays stayed full

Bonus: If you can book a wedding planner BEFORE your book your venue, they can save you even more!

Since I won’t tell you which weddings I’m talking about, I’ll share a picture from ours. 🙂

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Photo credit: Shawna Sherrell Photography.

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Day 1535 – For The Brides! Bridal Show On October 20!

Posted on September 23, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

To all the newly engaged followers! I’ll be setting up a booth at the Deer Creek Overlook Bridal Show in Street, Maryland! It’ll be a great time to meet lots of local vendors, some of my preferred vendors will be there too! Including K&B Bridals!

Just look how beautiful this venue is!!

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