Here's 7 Secrets to Having the Wedding of Your Dreams!

SECRET #1: How To Guarantee Your Wedding Lives Up To Your Dreams.

Believe it or not, the wedding photographer you select to photograph your wedding can make or break your wedding day. Yes, I kid you not, your wedding day - not just your photographs! Why? Because he's THERE - with you and your family, in person - interacting with all your family and guests - and representing you every minute.

Now, HONESTLY, we're not just talking about wedding photography here - we're talking about YOUR WEDDING - how YOU FEEL on your wedding day, and how smoothly and romantically everything goes. You see, your wedding photographer determines this, by the way he helps you plan your wedding, the way he treats you and your loved ones, and the way he conducts himself throughout the day.

Amazing Secret Revealed - What Other Wedding Photographers Don't Want You To Know!

So here's the secret: Meet the photographer - IN PERSON - before you hire anyone to photograph your wedding! Most brides don't realize that many studios hire part time wedding photographers to photograph their weddings for them -a lot of the low end studios might hire high school and college kids, friends, relatives, etc. This means that you go to a studio, talk with a salesperson, look at their samples, and make a decision - without really knowing who will be photographing your wedding! And if it's not just the right person doing the photography, and interacting with all your family and guests, everything can be ruined!

So, when you're talking with a potential studio, ask them the following questions:

1. Who did these photographs you are showing me?

2. Who, by name, will be the wedding photographer of our wedding if we hire your studio?

3. We want to MEET this person, BEFORE we hire your studio.

Then, when you meet this person, ask him or her the following questions:

1. How will you dress at my wedding?

2. Did you do ALL the samples of wedding photography we saw in the sample books? If not, show us YOUR work, please.

3. How long have you been photographing weddings? Is it digital or film.

4. How long will you be at my wedding? Will the time be stipulated on the agreement.

5. Before you leave our wedding, who do you check with first to see if there's anything else we would like you to do?

6. Do you work from a checklist of photos? (You NEVER want a photographer who needs a checklist doing your wedding photography! He'll spend all his time looking at the list, and miss all the wonderful, romantic and spontaneous moments of your wedding!) Then, decide if you REALLY LIKE HIM, as well as his work! Because he's going to be spending a lot of time with you and your family and friends, on your important day. Quite a few more details need to be cover and stipulated on written agreement / contract that either the studio representative or actual photographer will sign and the bride and groom.

Do Not Give Up Your Dream Wedding Even in the Current Economy - Learn How to Plan and Budget It

Does the cost of having the wedding of your dreams frightens you? With the rise of oil prices and in view of the current economy, many brides and groom are afraid that having the wedding of their dreams is out of the question. Is it? No! You can have your dream wedding for a fraction of the price you thought it would cost, as long as the bride and groom plan together, set and adhere to a realistic fixed budget, use good organizational skills, ingenuity, flexibility, hone your negotiating skills, and enlist the help of friends and family. Many components go into planning a wedding day. Many details need to be completed and intertwined to create not only a wedding but a dream wedding as the bride and groom pictured it. Today, about 70% of the marrying couples pay for their own weddings so, setting a realistic wedding budget and sticking to it is a must if you are to keep the cost of your wedding within your budget. There are many options to choose from and many ways to save. So keep on reading.

Now, get creative and examine your options.

SEARCH THE INTERNET

Search the Internet thoroughly and you can save time and money. The World Wide Web Provides you with information and resources for making purchases on-line. Many wedding web sites provide links to wedding related businesses that could be your answer to quality products and services. A-wedding Day offers you a series of wedding planning articles that concentrate on how to choose and work with wedding vendors, professionals and service providers, a wedding resource directory, a wedding planning checklist and a discount bridal mall where you save on wedding gifts and accessories.

SET YOUR PRIORITIES AND YOUR BUDGET

As you plan your wedding create three categories:

Must have 

Optional 

Nice to have.

Base your decisions on availability, on your budget and on your ingenuity. Once you decide what your priorities are, use your ingenuity and creativity. Involve yourselves, your friends and your families in at least some of the preparations. Loved ones will appreciate the opportunity to contribute to your happy day, have fun and save you money. Choose vendors and service providers who can assure that your priorities will be met and that yours will be the wedding you dreamed of. Before you do, read the series of wedding planning articles devoted to choosing and working with wedding vendors, professionals and service providers.

16 Things a Bride and Groom to Be Need to Ask Their Wedding Venue

Is the wedding venue available on our wedding day?

Sounds like an obvious first question doesn't it, but you really need to ask it first. There is no point visiting a potential wedding venue, falling in love with the idea of getting married there and not being able to make your dreams happen because another bride and groom got there first. 

If you've already chosen your special date, then we suggest you telephone the wedding venue ahead of the visit and state you can only make that date, if they are already booked up then get back to the list and find another fantastic wedding venue.

How many guests can be seated for a meal at the wedding venue?

This is fairly crucial, you don't want to book a wedding venue that have a seating area for 250 people if you're only inviting 60 to a sit down meal. 

In turn you also want to ensure your guests can sit comfortably without being crammed into a small venue, or even worse, being left to feel as if they're shoved in at the back, and can barely see the top table. Once you've got a rough idea of how many wedding guests are being invited, you need to make sure your chosen wedding venue suits your requirements. 

Request to see a sample seating plan, ask about whether they have round tables, maybe even ask to see photos of previous wedding meals and how the tables are laid out. This will give you a good indication of whether you can seat your wedding party and ensure everyone is happy.

How many guests can the wedding venue accommodate for the wedding reception?

Some couples prefer to have a small and intimate wedding ceremony, and then follow that with the mother of all parties in the evening. If this is your plan, be sure that the wedding venue can accommodate this. You don't want to have 200 evening guests descend on your wedding and find them all squeezed in, or unable to get to the bar. Again, the flip-side is that you don't want to find out your wedding venue has a separate dance floor and bar area that resembles a barn - the single easiest way to have zero-atmosphere at your wedding reception is to find the wedding DJ or band playing to a half empty hall, with your wedding guests sitting around the edges not mingling.

What time can we access the wedding venue?

"Exclusively yours for the entire day!" .....says their website. But what does that mean exactly ? Each wedding venue will have their own rules of when you can access the building on your wedding day. 

Simply confirm what time you can arrive ahead of the wedding, you don't want to be left standing outside waiting for the cleaner to turn up.

How to Plan a Wedding - Step by Step Guide

Planning a wedding can be a daunting and very stressful task. We highly recommend you take six months to a year to plan your wedding and will outline for you an easy-to-follow schedule.

Twelve months before the Wedding

• Get yourself a binder with paper and dividing tabs.
• Discuss with your fiancé and his/her families, plus your own, to determine a budget.
• Decide on your wedding theme e.g. Christmas, Fall, Snowflakes, Black and White, etc.
• Select a wedding date with your fiancé and families.
• Decide on your wedding attendants.
• Book a ceremony and reception location(s).
• Book your professional wedding photographer, florist, caterer, videographer, and DJ or wedding musicians.

Nine months before the Wedding

• Make an appointment with your officiant. For most religious ceremonies, you may be required to attend pre-wedding counseling. For civil ceremonies, your officiant may require a meeting to discuss your wedding ceremony.
• Wedding gown shopping and first fittings should be looked after at this time.
• Shop for your wedding accessories, wedding veil or head piece, and wedding shoes.
• Begin preparation of the guest list. Be sure to include both sides of the family as guest lists are often a contentious issue. It will take time to decide on long lost cousins, work friends, neighbors, etc.
• Decide on gift registry locations and register.
• Begin your search for your honeymoon location. If you are getting married during a peak holiday season such as Christmas, you may need to book your honeymoon up to nine months in advance.

The Hottest Trends In 21st Century Wedding Ceremony, Reception And Bridal Accessories

Ask any engaged couple what they want their wedding to reflect and you can expect an almost unanimous answer. Today brides and grooms want their wedding to be very personalized and reflect who they are and what makes them special. So, what makes a wedding personalized? or What is a personalized wedding?

What was once the norm, is no longer. Gone are the days when all you chose were your wedding attendants, invitations and attire. When you hired a hall you expected them to provide the caterer, the decorations, the musicians, the cake and the flowers. This is how weddings were planned when I got married. Today, brides and grooms want and get involved in every aspect and plan both ceremony and reception.

A 21st century wedding includes many elements that when put together create the feel and the atmosphere and make it special and personalized. Whether they plan a most formal evening event or a whimsical afternoon wedding party, brides and grooms planning a wedding today give it their personal touch. You did notice that I said brides and grooms. The newest and most welcomed development is that today wedding planning is not merely the responsibility of the bride and her family. Today, most grooms actively participate in planning the wedding with their brides and are making creative choices as well. The majority, loves it!

They pay special attention to assure that rather than helter skelter, everything in their wedding, from its color scheme to the wedding theme and everything in between, will coordinate well giving the wedding an aura of wholeness. 

The possibilities for personalization are endless.

Many 21st century brides and grooms choose their wedding date to correspond with someting personal to them. Whether it is connected with a first date, engagement, a birthday, a specific season, a holiday, a numerical sequence like 777 (July 7, 2007) or 888 (August 8, 2008) or even The day their parents or grandparent got married, the date chosen often has a special meanning. 

They choose their wedding color scheme and follow with coordinating as many aspects of the wedding with it. When you attend a current wedding, look around. Is there a color that runs throughout? most probably.

Nostalgia has its place too. Thus the old tradition of - Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue and... a Lucky Sixpence in her Shoe! is adhered to by most brides. It is emphasized because as part of who they are, it is becoming quite common for brides and grooms to get sentimental and either copy or use the actual wedding gown, cake top and other wedding related family heirlooms their grandparents or parents used at their weddings. Brides often carry family hankies and wear ancestral jewelry -Something old. Most such items are on loan so by using then returning it, the bride has fulfilled the - Something borrowed as well. Every bride purchases wedding accessories for her wedding - Something New. The something blue has traditionally been a blue garter however as part of the personalization, bride may choose a blue flower, a blue ribbon, a blue piece of jewelry even a blue hankie with a blue decoration. Though no longer in circulation, the Sixpence coin is available for purchase.