Valentine Romance

Organic Photography

With Valentine’s day just around the corner, the big push for what you should be doing for that day has of course already started.  I think the push actually started months ago when Valentine candy was even out before Christmas was over, but anyways next Tuesday is the day.  Do you plan to go out that night, or maybe go out this weekend or the weekend after?  Will you create a romantic dinner at home? Just buy each other gifts? Plan a getaway?  The questions are kinda endless. The biggest question I always have, are you being romantic cause you want to be or cause of the date?

No matter what day you decide to celebrate, let us make a few suggestions.  For the next week, why not use your good plates, the good wine glasses, and real napkins.  Why not light candles throughout your dinning room, or your kitchen table.  Why not add candles throughout the room?   Pick a night to cook together, start with a bottle of wine, and cook together!  One of you can pick up the needed items from the store, and the other one can put the dishes away but take the time to create a meal together.  This works best if you put your phone in another room, don’t turn on the tv, though music is okay.  Why not buy a box of chocolates and enjoy biting into each one and figuring out if it is one you like or you don’t. Or even better feed them to each other and see if you can guess what they are.  Take one night to enjoy your partner’s choice in a movie and then the next night switch.  I also recommend that you both plan a night out and make the reservations and surprise each other.  You don’t have to go out for a huge pricey meal, but instead go out for drinks before or maybe just dessert.  Plus there are plenty of great restaurants that offering amazing deals this month, so do a little research and find the best deals.Have a little fun seeing who can find the best deal in town.   If you don’t have a babysitter, then why not pick up a take out order from that place you both have been wanting to go too.  Maybe just turn on your favorite song and dance around the house together, it doesn't cost you anything. 

 
My hope here is that I’ve given you a little food for thought on how to be romantic for more than just one day or at least how to make the one day really count.  I personally am not a huge fan of Valentine’s day, believe or not.  I don’t even own anything red, (someday I will share a photo of my cool walk in closet and you won’t see red. I do own a few pink items but I’m sure my mother bought them for me).  I am a huge fan of romance though, maybe that is why I love weddings.  While there are so many wonderful details to a wedding, my favorites are always the simple acts of love the couples share.  That first moment they see each other, be it during a first look or when one is about to walk down the aisle.  I love the moment when a couple is first married, and have a few seconds after the ceremony before anyone else hugs them or congratulates them. My favorite of all time, is when I see a couple both talking to other people look across the room, filled with friends and family and mom’s co-workers and they share an entire conversation with just a smile.  Those are the things I wish most for my couples, that they don’t lose that special connection, that they take time to still enjoy each other and love all moments, good and bad with each other.  So if you find yourself thinking of what to do this holiday, then make an effort to honestly take time to spend with each other and be a tiny bit more romantic.

Also do your best to shop local, (buy flowers from a local place)  & eat at locations that aren’t chains, and  support the places around you if you can. That has nothing to do with romance but just a nice reminder for you.

Things to consider for an outside ceremony

Last wedding season I was lucky to have a range of different ceremony locations.  I had a good chunk of them be outdoors, I think it is something many of us enjoy but there are always a few things to take into consideration when deciding on an outdoor ceremony location. 

Set the ceremony away from the sunshine.

Lots of sunshine!

SUNSHINE:  Make sure you figure out where the sun will be during your ceremony. Try to ensure that your guests and your wedding party isn't squinting throughout the service.  You want people to focus on the ceremony not on the fact that they can't see you. Try to pick a time for your ceremony that works with the level of sunshine if you can.

Two Roads Photography

SOUND:  Since you are outside, it is important to figure out how to make sure you are heard.  There are ways to hook up a sound system, this is a great thing to discuss with your DJ or musicians for your ceremony.  Your planner of course knows ways to help too.  If you decide not to use a sound system, make sure everyone speaks clearly, a bit louder than normal and have your guests sit closer together.  As the wedding couple, make sure you are looking at each when you exchange your vows instead of having your back to your guests.  Don't have your wedding party block you either.


BUGS:  It is a great idea to have bug spray available around the ceremony site.  Stick them in a basket, with packages of tissues and you are good to go.  Another product beside spray are bug spray wipes, they are easy to use but remember to have a trash can close by for people drop the wipes into after use.  You can fog the area a few hours before the ceremony, set up bug traps, or have a professional bug spraying company come out usually the week of the wedding.

SEATING:  What will work best for your style of wedding, budget and number of guests.  You don't have to have everyone sit if you plan on a short and sweet ceremony.  Though it is important to have some form of seating for certain guests, you don't want your grandmother standing for the whole ceremony.  Rented chairs, benches, blankets, hay and there are always clever choices to be made in seating.  Just remember, not everyone is going to want to sit on the ground and find the best solution that works for the space and your style.

Always be willing to work with the space you are in, remember to have a back up plan or even two or three of them!  Outdoor ceremonies can be amazing and taking the time to work out the details is important. 

Meeting both needs, chairs and blankets for a freestyle wedding.

I admit it...

Okay, I admit it, I've been lacking on the blog posts.  It is very easy to spend my late night hours checking out Pintrest, or creating a one of a kind cake stand for one of my couples.  I look at the blog, I even start them but then I have about 3 different topics to cover and well you get the picture. I'm going to spend one whole week posting in my blog. (Don't mind the fact that I'm starting this on Tuesday. :)  I have a few topics to cover and I may cover one or more a day but until next Tuesday there will be a new post every day. 


We will be covering Valentine's Day, our upcoming bridal show at the Mark Twain House & Museum. Feature a few of our favorite wedding vendors, cover a few pressing issues like Facebook Eventing your wedding, creative tips and more.  

2012 upcoming events

and many more to come, like a wedding show at the Mark Twain House & More.  Stay tuned!

Holiday Cheer

We here at ESTOccasions would like to wish you some holiday cheer.  Our offices will be closed from the 23rd until the 26th.  Feel free to send us an email during this time.  May your holiday season be filled with joy, happiness, good friends and family.  May all of your traditions continue, and with any luck we won't all gain an additional 10 lbs.  :)    
    HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Holiday Wedding Maddness

The holiday time is really upon us.   No matter what you believe in, how you celebrate or what you do during this holiday time, there is bond to be parties, gatherings and people who are going to ask over and over again how wedding planning is going.  Not only will they ask but they may even give unsolicited advice, or opinions about your planning. 

At the office party, you will hear about your coworkers daughter's college best friend's wedding and how they just LOVED that wedding.  Or how their cousins son DJ's on the weekend, and they don't mind passing along your name. My favorite is when brides tell me after the holidays how great aunt suzy wanted to know how long after the wedding will they wait to have kids. The other wedding conversation that comes up is how much you are spending. The simple thing is that you don't need to share this information and do your best to politely just exit the conversation.  Or tell people your planning is moving along well and that you are really just enjoying being engaged.  Don't feel as though you need to explain yourself and honestly most people ask only cause they are interested. 

 

As a planner, I do tend to pick the brains of people who I meet who are engaged or just got married. I warn them first and ask them if they don't mind if I ask them a few questions.  I also state it is for research because I can learn a lot from people who just went through it or are in the middle of it.  Everyone is different, and what they end up loving and hating, I find interesting.

So good luck as your work your way through this holiday time, only a few more weeks to go.  Soon it will be 2012, a whole new year of people asking you how it is going. :)  Happy Holidays!

Taking My Own Advice

Most couples who have been planning (even if they have a planner) find one or two tasks that just seem impossible or as far away from being enjoyable as they can be.  It is bound to happen, it can't all be fun all the time.  If it was, do you think you would enjoy the good times as much?  (Not sure why I had a sort of zen moment)  Anyways I can almost always pick the two things each couple won't want to do after they start, of course each couple is different.  

I find myself saying often "it is okay", " this is just a bump in the road", "think about the big picture" , "take a deep breath" and then walking them through the issue until we find a solution that works out best for them.  I have to do the pep talk first though, I have to bring my couple back to a point where they are listening, calm and ready to honestly tackle the task at hand.  The last few weeks have been interesting here at ESTOccasions and even I, have moments of "what the hell" though depending on the issue, there may be other words in that phrase. Most of us wedding professionals work for ourselves.  It is a balancing act (which for the most part I love and makes me good at what I do.   Example: Delaying the bride by 10 minutes to ensure the rental company truck won't be in any photos as they deliver a working oven this time to the catering company, all while smiling and letting her know that we are just waiting for a few guests to sit down.  Which was true and thank goodness for last minute folks.)  I have to balance between running two businesses, a household, a family and time to just breath.  It is what I love but I found myself this morning in a bit of stress.  The boys needing one thing, only have instant coffee in the house (bad choice but better than none), a full email box, appointments later today, deadlines and thinking how in the world was this going to work today.  So I took a deep breath, reminded myself that everything really is OKAY and I need to look at the big picture.  Slowly just went back to checking one thing off at a time and being thankful that I get to do something I LOVE every single day. Now I remember why I say these things to my clients.  :)

So if you find yourself this weekend, stressing while trying to figure out your long list of wedding tasks, remember to take a deep breath.  Tackle one thing at a time.  Know you can't make everyone happy and always, ALWAYS look at the big picture.  Your friends and family are coming because they LOVE you, they want to share in this moment with you, and maybe remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing.    This zennish moment has been brought to you by instant coffee, 5 hours of sleep and a happy wedding planner. :)