Wedding Wednesday - Photo Tip

One detail that very often gets left out of wedding photos is the invitation suite. You've most likely spent time and $$ designing these, so why not include it in the memories captured? Tip - chat with your photog before the wedding day and ask their preference on shooting these. Some photographers will shoot onsite while shooting other details (jewelry, shoes, etc), and some prefer to shoot them in their studio before/after the wedding. Save at least 1 full suite especially for this.

As seen on Weddings Unveiled

Photography: Audra Wrisley

Stationary: C&V

Ring: Trumpet&Horn

Ring Box: The Mrs Box
Silk Ribbon: Frou Frou Chic

Wedding Week Wrap-Up

As we wrap up Wedding Week, we'd like to leave you with a few tips that you won't necessarily find in your timeline.
Emergency Wedding Kit: As the saying goes - sh*t happens. Make sure you have the tools in place to solve any minor accidents - a sewing kit, a stain remover, headache medicine, mints, etc. No one has time to run to a CVS when they're getting their hair done.
Plan B: In the DC area, our weather is unpredictable. If you are having any portion of your celebration outside, make sure you have a backup plan. Whether it's a tent, an indoor space, or umbrellas - you need to have a plan in place so that no matter what happens on your wedding day, you will be able to enjoy it stress-free.
Rehearsal: Conduct a ceremony rehearsal the day before your wedding, so that on the day of the wedding you and your wedding party know where to go and what to do. A few simple walk-throughs of the ceremony will avoid awkward moments during the real deal. 

Good luck with wedding planning and if you decide that you need professional assistance, our new head Planner/Coordinator Stephanie would be happy to sit down with you to discuss your needs. Shoot us an email at info [at] studiodbi [dot] com.

Have a Happy Friday!

*image by Nat Wongsaroj

Finding the Right Vendor

We continue Wedding Week with finding the right vendor. Vendors play such an significant role in your planning process - they are essentially responsible for making sure your event runs smoothly. So how do you find the right vendor that not only gets you but that you can also trust with your big day? It's all about research, asking the right questions, and clicking. Here are a few areas to focus on:
STYLE Check out the vendor's portfolio. With catering schedule a tasting or attend an event they're catering - look out for flavors and presentation. With a vendor like photography check out their previous work - a photographer might be skilled but if he or she doesn't shoot in the style that you relate with you will never be happy with the end result.
REPUTATION Reviews will give you a really good idea of what you can expect from a vendor. Websites like weddingwire and yelp do a great job at filtering fake reviews, and who better to hear from than past clients? Never be afraid to ask to for additional referrals (or to even speak with previous clients). Another great place for referrals? Ask the vendors you've already booked and have enjoyed working with - chances are they surround themselves with those similar to them in work style.
CONSULT QUESTIONS You should take your vendor consultations as an interview, because that's essentially what it is. Ask your vendors the tough questions - have they worked at your venue? How many weddings do they do per day? Who will be working your actual wedding? Will lighting impact any of the end results (e.g. photography, videography, flowers)? How those vendors answer these questions will help you narrow down your selections. 
COMPATIBILITY Just like with your significant other, bestie, or professional interaction, when you click you click. This also applies to vendors. Book those you'll have fun working with and have your working style - you're planning a big party after all :)

Top 5 Online Wedding Planning Tools

Welcome back to our planning week and today we're looking at our Top 5 Online Wedding Planning Tools. The great thing about planning a wedding nowadays is how many awesome online resources we have. The tough part is which one to choose. No worries - we've done the filtering and below are our faves, based on the needs. 
5) REGISTRY - Merci Registry: Registries are just not the same anymore. Not everyone is looking for a blender or a knife set, and this tool lets you register for whatever you might want (Honeymoon? Charitable cause?). Add a link to your wedding website and voila! You're ready to give+receive.
4) WEDDING WEBSITE - Appy Couple: Wedding websites are great because they allow you to post all of the information not fitted for the actual invitation (directions to the venue, registry, and additional photos) and keep your guests up-to-date. Appy Couple goes beyond a basic wedding website - it has the capability of managing your guestlist as well as the timeline. It also has an App, which allows for the planning process to be interactive. (It doesn't hurt that one of our couples was a beta tester/bunny for this application back in 2012)
3) VENDOR SEARCH - WeddingWire: We love this website to find vendors in various regions. You can view endless photos, reviews (SO important for finding reliable, reputable, and compatible vendors), and contact information. They also have great webinars and wedding planning tools.
2) VISION DEVELOPMENT - Pinterest: this little tool became available a few years back and has been a fabulous resource to help convey your vision to your vendors. While descriptive words are great, they sometimes mean different things to different people. A photo will get everyone on the same page.
1) ORGANIZATION TOOLS - Google Weddings: Google is always coming up with ways to simplify our lives, and they've done it again. This tool will not only help you with your venue search, but will also help you get organized and send out Save-The-Dates.

Top 5 Wedding Planning Tips

You've gotten engaged, told all your family and friends, and then reality hits - time to plan a wedding. Whether your vision is a grand celebration or an intimate affair, proper planning is the key to its success. This week we'll cover a myriad of topics and provide you with various tools and tips to make the planning process a little less hectic and a lot more enjoyable.

Today we're covering our Top 5 Planning Tips:
5) Get Organized: Whatever is the right method for you. You'll be juggling vendor consults, guestlists, tasting appointments, the wedding party, fittings, and much more. Get a system in place so that it's smooth sailing all the way to the altar (obligated wedding cheesiness).
4) Vendor Compatibility: Whether you're booking a dj or a caterer, personality, style and fit is extremely important. You'll be working with most vendors for 3-12 months and if you don't vibe, neither will the end result.
3) Do The Research:No matter who's paying for the wedding, it's an investment  - just like a car. And just a like an investment, you need to do the research. If this is your first time planning a wedding you might be a little sticker-shocked. Find out how much things cost, what your different options are, and where to source the right services for you. And all this research will not only help you ask the right questions in your vendor consults (getting you closer to picking the right vendor for you - see tip #4), but will also help you set a realistic budget...which leads us to #2.
2) Budget, Budget, Budget: Whether your wedding is a diy affair or a grand celebration, budget will drive everything. It's not only important to sit down and realistically understand your numbers for yourself, but it will also greatly help vendors make the appropriate selections when putting together quotes and proposals.
1) Enjoy it! Your engagement is all about family and friends coming together, and at the end of it is a celebration. There's no other time like engagement time and it'll be gone before you know it.

Good luck!

*image by Paired Images

Tomorrow we bring you our Top 5 Online Planning Tools - you can't get the job done right without the right tool.

The Pros of Rehearsal Dinners

Rehearsal Dinners are a great way to start catching up with your wedding guests. Usually, these dinners are a little more intimate, but that doesn't mean they're just for eating a meal. Use rehearsal dinners to do whatever you don't have the time for during the actual wedding, like speeches. Let's say your wedding party and family are all dying to speak (can you feel the love?) - use rehearsal dinner as this opportunity. Nothing is worst than ongoing speeches at the actual wedding. Your guests get bored and there's less time for dancing and celebrating. Also, those embarrassing moments shared by the speech-givers are probably best left in the company of those closest to the two of you...am I right?

Rehearsal dinners are also a fantastic opportunity to execute a totally different creative vision from the actual wedding. If you're like me, you have problems limiting yourself to just one wedding vision, so why not do your rehearsal dinner completely differently? A recent DBI couple decided on a berry-tone elegant wedding, full of whimsical touches (remember the huge poppies?). However, for their rehearsal dinner they requested a Southwestern-inspired design full of succulents, proteas, and rocks (pictures below). With two different designs their guests were continuously surprised and it allowed the couple to live out two different visions.

 

Additionally, because rehearsal dinners are usually smaller than the wedding, they give you a chance to focus on the details that would either be too time-consuming or not budget-friendly for a full wedding. Favors, printed materials (place cards, menus), and unique centerpieces are all a go for rehearsal dinners, so don't forget these when talking to your stationary designer or florist. 

You're Engaged - What Now?

We are currently at the height of engagement season - majority of the couples get engaged between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. If you are one of the lucky couples who gets engaged during this Holiday Season you might be wondering "what's next?". First, congrats and enjoy with your loved ones!

Next, it's time to start planning. The first step in planning is deciding on a budget - this will guide EVERYTHING (venue, guest count, type of cuisine, etc). Just like any big financial purchase you need to know the parameters you're working with.

Next, prioritize what is most important to the two of you. Create a full list of everything you'll need and start numbering beginning with top priority - is it accommodating all of mom's invites? Is it food? Music?

After you have your list, check out this budget allocation on Project Wedding to give you a sense on average how a wedding budget breaks down. This breakdown will most likely not align with your prioritization chart 100% but that is why your priorities are YOUR priorities. If you must have an abundance of flowers then you might have to move part of your lower priority's budget to flowers. It's a balancing game - just like your checkbook. And to really keep track of your budget head on over to Real Simple and print their Wedding Budget Worksheet.

As you start researching your vendors remember one thing - have a good time. You are essentially planning a big dinner party with all of your family and friends, so no reason to cry or get stressed out. And if you do feel overwhelmed? Hire a wedding consultant - we throw awesome "dinner" parties.