Videography: From Wedding Trend, to Wedding Necessity

Your wedding comes and goes so quickly. You definitely don't want to forget even the little things! While photography is beautiful and very important in a wedding, a video allows you to see, hear, and relive your the day. By hiring a videographer, you can experience your most special moments again, and even see moments you may have missed on the actual wedding day. Check out these top four reasons why a professional videographer should be a must in your wedding planning:

Don't Miss A Thing - Once the big day arrives, there is always a flurry of activity that makes the day seem to fly by. With so much going on, it can be difficult to savor the special, little moments, like the groom putting on his tux or the bride seeing herself in the mirror for the first time. A good wedding videographer can serve as your eyes and ears while you're celebrating!


Will & Charis - Tulsa, OK from Vélos Films on Vimeo.

Get Lasting Quality for Posterity - Let's face it, as advanced as the latest iPhone technology is, it is still no match for a professional. iPhone footage can be shaky, doesn't allow you to zoom, and doesn't pick up sound well. For a video that you will likely show your children some day, you want it to be as high quality as possible!


You make me happy from David Ruzicka on Vimeo.

Let Your Guests Celebrate - If you rely on a family member or friend for video, they likely won't be able to spend much time with you or enjoy the day themselves. Plus, you'll likely hear their laughs, talking, and cheers in the background. Hiring a professional who can devote the day to videography allows you to enjoy the day with the people you love!


Sarah and Allan from Senderey Video Productions on Vimeo.


mike // megan - breakers beach from 618 Studios on Vimeo.
A video is a great way to remember a special toast or moment.

Be a Movie Star for a Day - Worried that a wedding video will just be too cheesy? Gone are the days of ‘80s graphics and clipart. Today’s wedding videos often take a photojournalistic or even a movie trailer approach, integrating current music, interviews with the bride and groom, and comments from family and guests.


dead hearts: The Wedding of Victoria and Jason Evigan from Lightfield Lewis on Vimeo.

A wedding video can have a modern twist so that it reflects your creativity and style.

After watching these wedding videos, having your own is hard to resist! Share the links to your wedding videos with us below.....

Angela & Owen - Same Day Edit // Houston from 31Films on Vimeo.


*Sarah Madonia contributed to this article.

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You Just Got Married... Now What?

A Post-Wedding Checklist 

The wedding is over, you’re officially husband and wife, and you’re back from your honeymoon. No more excessive planning and stress! According to The Knot, the average engagement time is around 17 months, meaning couples spend more than a year and a half devoting their lives to wedding planning. It should be a relief to be done, right? But once you get back from your honeymoon, you suddenly find yourself with free time. So what are you supposed to do now?! Not to worry -- plenty of tasks still await! Here is your list of items to take care of after the big day to avoid the post-wedding blues!

The Basics: 

• Send thank you notes. (Proper etiquette says that you should have thank you notes in the mail no later than two months after your wedding date.) 
• Send change-of-address cards. 
• Follow up with photographer regarding proofs and album. 
• Follow up with videographer for video song selections and video viewing. 
• Clean and store your wedding gown. (Contact the store that you purchased your gown from for possible deals.)  
• Update your Will. 
• Send a wedding announcement to your local newspaper. 

 

Changing Your Name: 

• Be sure you have received your marriage certificate after the wedding. This will serve as one of your primary documents for changing your name. In some counties, the certificate is not mailed automatically, and you will need to send a request to obtain a copy. 
• Change your social. Simply go to your area social security office, fill out the SS-5 form (or get it online and fill it out in advance), and voila! For more information on what to bring, go to: http://www.ssa.gov/women/ 
• Change your driver’s license. Go to your nearest DMV. While you’re at the DMV, don’t forget to also change your name on your vehicle registrations, as well. Be sure to leave time to wait in line!  
• Change your passport. You have one year from your wedding date to change your passport for free. For information on what to mail, go to: http://travel.state.gov/passport/correcting/ChangeName/ChangeName_851.html 

Now, the U.S. government officially recognizes your new name! Congratulations!

Now you can change:

• W2 information at work 
• Payroll – talk to HR 
• Life insurance and retirement account beneficiaries 
• Insurance information 
• Credit cards 
• Bank account information 
• Vehicle titles 
• Voter Registration 
• Email addresses 
• Library card
• Alumni associations, gyms, and other organizations to which you belong 
• Social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) 

Just when you thought the To-Do List was completed, you have a new one to start on! But don’t worry -- no need to tackle these tasks immediately. Sit back, relax, and soak in wedded bliss!

*Sarah Madonia contributed to this article.

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Megan & B.J.: Irish Eyes Are Smiling

I definitely believe that a wedding should reflect the personality and style of the couple. Megan and B.J.'s wedding did just that, emanating brightness and warmth with just a touch of whimsy. Check out the beautiful photos by Dawn E. Roscoe Photography:

The Ceremony

Having a little fun at the altar.

LOVE it when a photographer captures these kinds of moments!

Bagpipers serenaded the couple as they exited the church. 

The hints of Irish pride didn't end there. 

The bagpipers led the way for a very grand entrance at the reception, and

guests enjoyed Irish cookies at the late night candy buffet. 

The garden-style centerpieces were perfect for the Columbus Park Refectory.

Photo by Camille Victoria Weddings LLC

Every bride knows, it's all in the details. 

Did you know that many caterers allow you to pick which napkin fold to use at your place settings?

A separate kids table featured a special surprise!

The couple's first mail as newlyweds came right at the reception, with this cute cardbox.

First Dance

Congratulations to Megan & B.J.!

Vendors:

Reception Venue: Columbus Park Refectory

Photographer: Dawn E. Roscoe Photography

Caterer: Conn's Catering

Florist: Emily Barge

Wedding Coordination: Camille Victoria Weddings LLC

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Let the Festivities Continue: How to Plan a Post-Wedding Brunch

Your wedding day is over, and after all that planning, you wish that the celebration could continue! If you are not leaving for your honeymoon right away, hosting a breakfast or brunch the morning after the wedding is a great, relaxed way to spend more time with family and friends basking in your big moment. Here are a few tips on how to plan a casual post-wedding breakfast or brunch.

Destination Decision 
First, decide on the location for the brunch. Generally, the brunch venue should be convenient for out-of-town guests. Often a willing friend or family member’s home is a welcoming yet inexpensive way to host guests. Alternatively, if you reserved a block of rooms at a hotel, you could arrange to host the brunch in a hotel ballroom, a hospitality hotel room, or the hotel restaurant. Keep in mind that the brunch can be informal. So, if the hotel has a complimentary breakfast, there is no reason why you can’t make that your post-wedding brunch. Simply indicate in the wedding weekend itinerary a time range for guests to stop by when the newlyweds and families will be in the hotel’s breakfast area.

Invitations 
You need not invite every wedding guest. The brunch is usually reserved for the wedding party, family, and out-of-town guests. You can keep it simple and inform the invited guests of the brunch via a wedding weekend itinerary in the hospitality bags or a small memo card along with your wedding invitations.

Menu 
A casual brunch calls for a casual menu. A continental buffet is entirely appropriate. But add any favorite dishes or local specialties that represent you and your spouse.

 Bon appetit!

*Mohy Ali-Fehmy contributed to this article.

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Nina & Robert: Vows On the High Seas

Maybe the Chicago River isn't the high seas, but saying "I Do" aboard a river boat, with views of famed architecture and the skyline, is definitely a fun and unique way to tie the knot. That classic Chicago ambiance carried into the evening with a downtown reception at the historic Rookery Building. Check out the stunning photos by Nakai Photography.

 

The First Look

The Wedding Party

All Aboard...Ceremony Time!

Here Comes the Bride

Part of being a wedding planner is quick thinking to handle those unexpected moments that can come up from time to time. With just 30 minutes to set up on the boat, we were confronted with a surprise giant photo of Wrigley Field on the wall of our "altar" area. From the photo, you can see that it magically disappeared. What did we use to cover it up on the fly? 

Tell us what you think below. We'll reveal the answer on Facebook.

The Rookery

What better venue than a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece for an architect groom?

History and architecture books served as decor for the guestbook table while paying tribute to this iconic venue.

The cocktail-style reception featured food stations and tables of varying sizes and seating arrangements for a casual flow.

Several different centerpiece looks created texture and visual interest in the room.

A Traditional Norwegian "Kransekake" Wedding Wreath Cake

Congratulations Nina & Robert!

Vendors:

Photography: Nakai Photography

Makeup: Laura Black Makeup

Caterer: George Jewell Catering

Florist: Cattleya Floral

Cake: Swedish Bakery

DJ: Toast & Jam 

Wedding Coordination: Camille Victoria Weddings

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Bridal Makeup: Tips for Doing it Yourself on Wedding Day!

On your wedding day, you’ll be the center of attention in photos, with guests, and in the eye of your new hubby. So don’t overlook the importance of putting your best face forward – with makeup! The key to beautiful bridal makeup is to simply look like the best version of yourself (not glammed up and unrecognizable). But you don’t have to spend a fortune on a professional makeup artists to do so. Here are some helpful tips that explain how to do your own wedding day makeup. If Princess Kate can do her own wedding makeup, then you can too!

Lessons From a Pro 

To start, you may want to get a lesson from a professional makeup artist at least a month before the wedding. A pro can give you application tips, color recommendations, and show you how to make your makeup last throughout the day. Take a close friend or relative to your appointment that can take notes of all of the steps while you're having your makeup done. Once you’re home, take a picture of your face. Then, take the makeup off half of your face and try to repeat the makeup artist’s look on your own.

Flawless Face 

A flawless face begins with beautiful skin. Drink plenty of water in the months leading up to your big day. Use a gentle exfoliating scrub that will buff your skin. If considering any skin treatments, like a facial or microdermabrasion, schedule them for two to three weeks before your wedding. These treatments can be great for your skin in the long-term but can cause redness or breakouts immediately after, so don’t wait until the last minute to have them done.

• Conceal, Highlight, and Use Foundation 

Apply primer on your eye lids (this will be key when putting on eye shadow), then apply concealer underneath your eyes and on any reddened or darkened areas of your face. Using a creamy highlighter or highlighter pen, apply the highlighter to the inner corner of your eyes, to the sides of your nose, on top of your cheekbones, on your brow line, and around your lips. This will brighten up specific parts of your face. Finally, dab a few drops of foundation on your face and proceed to blend with either your fingers or a foundation brush.

         *Suggested Products:
          Primer - Elizabeth Arden Eye Fix Primer
          Highlighter- Dior Skin Flash Highlighter Pen
          Foundation- Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Foundation or Bare Escentuals Mineral Foundation

• Powder & Blush 

To set your foundation in place, dust on a setting powder to complete the base. Then, apply a rosy shade of blush to the apples of your cheeks to add color to your face. Remember, the blush should give off a natural glow and not seem too overdone.

           *Suggested Products:
           Blush – Dior Blush in Pink Explosion or Nars Blush in Orgasm

• Contour

 This step is optional, but it will give you that high-cheekbone look. All you need to do is take a good bronzer, make a fish face, and blend the bronzer into the shallows of your cheeks right underneath your cheekbones and along your jaw line.

Eyes 

• Eyeshadow 

Since you've already applied primer to your eyes, you can begin to put on your eyeshadow. Pick light taupes and browns, if you want a natural look on your wedding day. But, if you usually rock a smokey eye, go right ahead! Use three colors from a palette. Start off by applying the lightest shade all over your eyelid, all the way up to your brow bone. Then, take the medium color and apply it to the crease of your eyelid and blend outwards. Finally, apply the darkest shade in the corners of your lid and blend well. Blending is key so that the eyeshadows don’t look patchy.

• Eyeliner 

Choose a hue of eyeliner that complements your eye color. Navy or charcoal colors tend to work for everyone. Then, line your upper lids right above and into your lashes. Drawing the line slightly thicker in the middle of your eye and then tapering it out to the corners can help open up the eyes. To brighten eyes, use a beige colored liner just on the lower inner rim or line with the same or lighter shade along the lower lashline.

• Eyelashes 

Even if you are not the crying type, it is inevitable that you will shed some tears on your wedding day. So, to be prepared for those tears (and the heat/perspiration), be sure to use waterproof mascara! Or for a more dramatic look, whip out those false lashes.

           *Suggested Products:
           Mascara – Guerlain “Le 2 de” Mascara or Maybelline Great Lash
           Eyelashes – Any M.A.C lashes

Kissable Lips 

On your big day, you’ve got to make sure your lips are nothing but kissable for your new hubby but still look great in pictures. To have the perfect camera-ready lips, first apply a lip sealant. Next, dab on a little bit of highlighter or concealer and blend well. Then, line and color in your entire lip with lip liner. Take your lipstick and apply a generous amount all over your lips and fill them in. Lastly, layer a gloss on top of your lips to give it a shimmery, kissable look and feel.

           *Suggested Products:
           Lipsticks/Lipstains from Yves Saint Laurent


If you go the DIY route for makeup, remember, practice makes perfect! So get those makeup brushes out and start playing!

*Mohy Ali-Fehmy contributed to this article.

 

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An Insider's Guide to Booking a Hotel Block

When selecting a hotel for your wedding guests, you want nothing short of comfort and convenience. But booking a hotel block is much different than your average hotel reservation and can be confusing, at first. Here are some easy tips to get you started.

Where to begin? 

First you’ll need to figure out approximately how many rooms you will need in your block. Count how many out-of-town guests you will have, including your bridal party. This total number of rooms should be as close to the exact amount as possible, in order to avoid additional charges or attrition fees (we’ll discuss those later).

Next, you will need to decide on the area of town where you’d like the hotel to be located. When choosing a location, think of the area that will be most convenient for your guests. Selecting a location near the reception venue makes it easy for guests to get back late at night. Or, you may want to choose an area that’s convenient to tourist attractions and entertainment for when guests have downtime to explore.

The next step is contacting hotels within the area you wish to search. Most hotels will give a special discounted rate when booking a block. To ensure you’re getting a good deal, check each hotel’s regular rates online beforehand to see how much of a discount off their regular rates they are actually giving you. You can also try out a website that gets group rates for hotels online. You’ll avoid calling each hotel individually and can compare multiple hotel rates at one time.

What in the world are attrition fees? 

When you book a block of rooms, most hotels will have you sign an attrition policy as part of the contract. Normally, your guests are responsible for their own hotel rooms. But you could end up paying, if you don’t fill up the reserved rooms. If the hotel’s contract has an attrition policy, you have to guarantee that you’ll fill a certain percentage of the rooms in your block (usually 80% of the block), and if you don’t, you will have to pay for the leftover rooms in that percentage that weren’t booked.

How do you avoid attrition fees? 

You certainly can try to negotiate the attrition fees out of the contract or, at least, try to get the required percentage of filled rooms reduced. However, the hotel may not budge, especially if the wedding is during a busy time of year. Nevertheless, there are still ways to avoid attrition clauses altogether.

Many hotels will allow you to book a complimentary block of anywhere from 10 to 30 rooms, without signing a contract or attrition clause. (They then only require the contract if you want to book more rooms beyond what's in the complimentary block.) So if you don’t mind having guests in multiple hotels, you can book the max number of rooms for a complimentary block at two or three hotels within a close traveling distance. If providing more than one hotel option for your guests, you may want to choose hotels in different price ranges so that there is an option to accommodate every guest’s budget.

What are some useful amenities? 

Certain hotel amenities can end up saving you time and money. First, be sure to ask how your guests will book their room from the block. At many hotels now, guests can use the same online system that they would normally use to book a hotel, and they will get a special online code to get the group discount.

Some hotels may have a shuttle that they will allow guests to use to get to and from the wedding activities, saving you a heap in transportation costs.

If you anticipate continuing the wedding celebration into the night, ask if the hotel has a bar where you and your guests can gather after the reception. Using the hotel bar as your after-party location is convenient for guests and gives you one less thing you have to plan.

What else should you consider before signing your hotel contract? 

• Try not to over-block rooms – underestimate the number of rooms you need. 
• Ask if the contract allows for downward or upward adjustments in the number of rooms in the block before a specified date when the attrition clause would go into effect.
• By what date must guests book their rooms in order to get the group rate? 
• Ask if the hotel will honor the group rate after the cutoff date, as long as there are rooms left in your block.
• Be sure to receive credit for all rooms that your attendees generate, including the bridal suite and hospitality suite (even if they are given as a complimentary perk) and rooms that may be booked by guests outside of the official cutoff dates.
• Upon departure, be sure to obtain a statement including attendees’ names, arrival/departure times, and room rates.
• Ask if rooms in the block will all be located on the same floor or in the same wing of the hotel.
• Can you leave hospitality bags at the front desk for guests to pick up as they check in? Is there a charge for doing this? 
• Can you have a hospitality room for guests? Is there a charge for it? Will it count towards performance in your contract? 

With these few tips, you’ll be a savvy shopper and avoid some of the pitfalls of hotel blocks. So get booking!

*Kristen George contributed to this article.

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