Celebrity Summer Weddings 2012

You know those gossip magazines that have the "celebrities are just like us" sections?  There are photos of celebrities taking out their trash, buying groceries or taking their kids to the park... in $4,000 dresses and multi-million dollar cars. Yes, celebrities do "normal people" things but they always do everything in a big way.  So when celebrities get married, the celebrations are that much more amazing.  Here are a few of the summer weddings so far including some from this past weekend. Enjoy!

Julie Benz went all out on her May 5th wedding, celebrating with a " Cinco de Mayo" theme to honor her new husband's Mexican heritage.  So many great details but I think the Patrón bottle favors are my favorite!  

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On May 19th, famously laid back Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg tied the knot with his long time love in their backyard. The newlyweds made headlines for being so low key- in fact guests thought they were showing up to celebrate the bride's graduation from medical school!

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Top 3 Biggest Avoidable Mistakes At A Wedding

I have been to many, many, many weddings.  Probably even more than your one friend who had like, oh my God, 15 weddings to go to that one year.  My job as a wedding planner is to not only map out the logistics but let my clients know what their wedding day will really be like.  Which is to say that aside from all the wonderful loving feelings, it is a LONG day that has a few keys areas you won't anticipate but that I can help with of course.  Here are my top 3 things that people don't realize that they need to know for the big day.  And since my clients are the most awesome people ever, I am using their photos as examples of what to do. Enjoy!

#1. Say your vows loudly enough for everyone to hear, even the nosebleed seats.  Time and time again, the number one guest criticism of ceremonies is not that they can run long but that the vows were very hard to hear.  This of course can be fixed by one of two things; microphones or talking loudly.  The majority of the time microphones are not included or only set up for the officiant.  Which means that the couple needs to remember to speak louder than normal.  Yes, it will feel awkward but if your guests can't hear your vows, they won't feel as connected to all the intense emotion between the two of you.  And then everyone misses out.  

Photo Credit: Thomas Graves Photography

#2. NEVER EVER clap with a microphone in your hand. EVER.  Anyone who has seen this in action can attest to the cringing feeling this can bring on, at least it does for me.  If you are handed a mic at a wedding then you are either the newly married couple or someone giving a toast.  In both cases, you do not need to clap when you say "let's give so and so a hand", just saying that line is your metaphoric clapping.  And while we are discussing mic's, please resist the urge to talk with your hands.  The sound will go in and out which is distracting, not allowing everyone to take in the full emotion of what you are conveying. 

Photo Credit: Perskie Photographics & Design

#3. Let your guests know that you appreciate them.  All guests want to congratulate and take photos with the happy couple.  Whether you decide to welcome guests after the ceremony or during the cocktail hour, visit each guest table during dinner hour (after you both eat of course) or just make rounds on the dance floor, make sure that you stick to your plan for welcoming guests.  Great food and fun music is lovely but your guests travel to see you and making sure that they do is a top priority.      

Both Photo Credit: Be Photography LLC

Barbie & Ken Get Married: A True Story

In July of last year the wedding industry was hit hard by one French photographer, Beatrice De Guigne. Don't recognize the name? Well there's a good chance that you already know her work. Beatrice rose to international fame with her genius idea of creating a photo shoot focused on what it would look like if Barbie & Ken got married. Within weeks, this creative, quirky and straight out awesome photo shoot went viral (it was featured on Glamour magazine's website in August and was featured on the official Barbie website in September).  After that, pretty much anyone who had any interest in weddings was sharing this over and over and over.

Skip to today when I was looking over my Google Reader scanning wedding blogs per usual and I saw that this photo shoot had resurfaced. This time I went looking for more, checking Beatrice's website to see if she had created any other Barbie & Ken photo shoots... and the answer is YES! Obviously the wedding photos are the most popular but Beatrice started all of this fantasticness in 2010 with Barbie boudoir photos (hilarious), adding along the way with ceremony and reception photos and as recently as this February she did a trash the dress shoot. She is based in France and even though her "English website" is mostly in French, I managed to pull the Barbie & Ken shoots all in one place. First William & Kate, now Barbie & Ken... I guess that fairy tales really DO come true! Enjoy!

Barbie's 1st Boudoir Shoot

Barbie's 2nd Boudoir Shoot

Barbie's 3rd Boudoir Shoot

The Quick List: Memorial Day Celebrations

Memorial weekend 2012 is upon us in less than 24 hours.  Here are a few last minute tips to throwing a celebration that your family & friends will be talking about all summer long!

#1. Fun Printables.  These FREE party printables are great for any summer party but why not kick off the summer with a bang?!

#2. Patriotic Food & Drinks.  There are endless wonderful patriotic ideas, I have picked my top 3 for you based on creativity and cost effectiveness: American chips and salsa, healthy fruit skewer flag and star spangled s'mores.

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#3. Keeping the Party Going.  Make use of all the outdoor space which is the best part about entertaining in the summer months!  Get out all the games you have; cornhole, ring toss, horseshoes and even set up a baby pool for guests to cool off their feet.  For shindigs that continue into the late hours, break out the tiki torches.  And as always, make sure to stock up on the essentials (food, alcohol, propane, ice, etc.) since grocery stores will be closing early all weekend.  Enjoy & stay safe friends!

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The Quick List: The Latest Great Wedding Resources

The merging of technology into the wedding industry is not only unavoidable but totally necessary.  There are so many companies/ online resources that help couples do practically everything from tracking the to do list, budget updates, vendor checklists and my personal favorite are all the new apps available for couples and guests.  The resources I am featuring today are those that I have looked into and liked but have not used and I'm definitely not getting paid for advertising.  Just some new, creative companies that I think are worth looking into on your wedding planning journey.  Enjoy! 

#1. Upload Wedding Photos Live.  Wedding Snap is such great resource.  This company specializes in capturing and displaying all the photos your guests take on your wedding day.  They offer a FREE app that guests can utilize to upload directly from their phones or they can upload easily from their cameras onto one central password protected site.  While there are many photo album sites that already offer this service, this company is specifically wedding minded with the ability to upload a LIVE slide show as guest upload photos throughout the day.  Plus there is unlimited room for photos up to a year which is very generous. 

Inspirational Couples

Every now and again while reading through hundreds of wedding blogs and articles, there are a special few couples that stick out as extraordinary.  Marriage is not only a committment between two people but a compromise of how to travel through life together.  I love when couples make their own path together, read on to be inspired.

The first amazing couple is traveling the world for TWO YEARS and having a marriage ceremony in each cool place they visit.  Alex & Lisa are awesome enough to keep a blog with updates and information, documenting their ceremonies in England, Quebec, Hawaii, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and they are still on their way!  You can keep up with them on their Facebook page, Twitter page and their YouTube account.

  

The Quick List: Even More Gowns

Obviously I love all things wedding-centric and I especially get excited when more and more companies enter into the wedding industry.  The latest additions are Isaac Mizrahi for Kleinfeld's, British powerhouse company TopShop and BeBe.  Isaac and Bebe's lines are currently available and TopShop will be debuting in June... just in time for the summertime newly engaged!

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