Carisa and Richard - Before the Big Day!

This is part 17 of the blog series about Carisa and Richard's wedding planning process up until their wedding on August 31, 2013. In addition to sharing with readers their love story and wedding planning adventures, insights and tips for brides and grooms planning their own wedding will also be shared!

After months of planning, numerous meetings, numerous meetings in bad weather, tons of DIY projects (and paper cuts), tomorrow is the big day! Carisa and Richard will be getting married tomorrow!!

 

If your wedding is also tomorrow and you are starting to feel a little nervous and jittery, here are some pieces of wedding wisdom:  

• You have done all that you can. There are literally not enough hours to buy a new wedding gown or reorder your centerpieces. Just try to relax tonight.
• Have faith in your wedding vendors and helpers. You chose them for a reason and there is no way that you could possibly be wrong, right?!
• Your wedding day is a day of celebration with all your friends and family that love you for who you are. They will not judge you for the veil you picked and will only support you in your decision to have all your bridesmaids in navy and white striped pantsuits.
• When going to bed EARLY, close your eyes and imagine how wonderful the next day will be. Most likely your dreams will reflect the same.
• Smile as much as you can. It is the best accessory you can have.

If you are wondering why all the smurf pictures in the last two blog posts, it will be revealed when we share Carisa and Richard's wedding pictures!

~Monica

Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

If you missed the first couple of blog posts on Carisa and Richard's wedding planning adventures, you can catch up on how they got engaged, set the date, found a venue, found a marriage commissioner, found a photographer, sent out invitations, took care of out of town guests, found a DJ, found a wedding gown, found a wedding cake, designed their décor,  chose their flowers and booked hair and makeup artists, drafting a wedding timeline, and final details.

Carisa and Richard: Final Details

This is part 16 of the blog series about Carisa and Richard's wedding planning process up until their wedding on August 31, 2013. In addition to sharing with readers their love story and wedding planning adventures, insights and tips for brides and grooms planning their own wedding will also be shared!

It has been a while since I blogged about Carisa and Richard's wedding. Not that we have been slacking but rather we have been busy with all the wedding details and lots of DIY crafts (we will share pics of our crafts in a later post!) With only a couple of days to go, I am trying to blog a couple more times before Carisa and Richard’s wedding so that the timeline of the blog series flows well. (Not that you guys would have cared right? Maybe I am just a little OCD.)

As the wedding gets closer, there are some final details that you will want to do either a month or week before the wedding.

1.     Schedule Meetings With Your Vendors

Most likely, you would have booked them a year ago when you got engaged and never communicated with them again. While most of them should still be alive and kicking you will want to go over the details of the services they are going to provide you. Here are some vendors you will want to reconnect with:

• Wedding commissioner: Perfect time to go over your vows. If you are writing your own, your wedding commissioner will likely nudge you along so you don’t procrastinate.
• Photographer / Videographer: Double check the contract you signed and determine whether or not the amount of time booked was enough for your photographer and/or videographer to capture all the events at your wedding. By this time, you should have a timeline drafted. 
• Venue Coordinator: Walk through your venue and meet up with the coordinator on to discuss timing, floorplans, menu tastings (Yum!), etc.
• DJ: Go over your song list for the wedding events, your do not play list, and any other special requests. (Try not to go overboard on the last one. Just because your DJ is a part-time magician, it doesn’t mean that he will want to perform that day.)

2.     Pay Your Vendors Ahead of Time

Go over your contracts and see when final payment is needed for your vendors. Most of them are a week before. Try to make as many final payments possible to avoid having to take out your credit card repeatedly on your wedding day.

3.     Have a Wedding Ceremony Rehearsal

Some clients don't feel it is necessary to have a ceremony rehearsal because it is just walking down an aisle right? How hard can that be? There are a couple of reasons to have (and to attend) a ceremony rehearsal: It ensures everyone understands their role and knows where they are supposed to stand during the ceremony; It gets everyone's timing to be close to perfect, afterall that is all you can strive for; It increase everyone's confidence. Not everyone likes to be the center of attention. But when you are walking down the aisle, you will be (briefly) the center of attention. Up until the bride walks down the aisle that is.

4.     Assign Tasks to Helpers

You can’t do it all and will need help with tasks such as greeting guests, receiving wedding gifts from guests, and putting out place cards and wedding favors. Ask your helpers ahead of time and make sure they know what to do.  

5.     Make Sure Everything Fits

Meet up with your seamstress for your final fitting. During this fitting, wear all the undergarments that you will be wearing on your big day and start breaking in your wedding shoes. If your feet are sore, the pain of them will show up on your face and wedding pictures. Not the greatest memory.

Relating to Carisa and Richard’s wedding, I am happy to report that all the vendors are alive and kicking and ready for their wedding this weekend! Can’t wait!

~Monica

Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

 

If you missed the first couple of blog posts on Carisa and Richard's wedding planning adventures, you can catch up on how they got engaged, set the date, found a venue, found a marriage commissioner, found a photographer, sent out invitations, took care of out of town guests, found a DJ, found a wedding gown, found a wedding cake, designed their décor,  chose their flowers and booked hair and makeup artists, and drafting a wedding timeline. 

How to Look Totally Handsome

It only seems like I am blogging more for guys/grooms. (Maybe it is because I realized that there are GUYS out there reading my blog. I don't think my BF even reads my blog. Mental note to test him on today's blog post.)

Previously we shared short tutorials on how to tie a bow tie and how to fold a pocket square. The only agenda was and is to help grooms look good on their big day. Afterall, it is his big day too! Here are some tips on how to look totally handsome on your wedding day or everyday. (Swoon...wouldn't that be nice?)

Get a Haircut!
OMG. Yes. I have to say this. Get a haircut before your wedding day. You can try to slick it back like the guys from Mad Men, but honestly, they have a great cut under all of that "slick."


Photo Credit: AMC / via: artofmanliness.com

Get a Suit that Fits Well
It is really hard for me to resist not running out of a room screaming when a groom tells me he is going to just rent a suit for his wedding. I know it is just for one day but why would you wear something ill-fitting on your wedding day when there will be tons of pictures taken? If the rental is necessary for budget reasons or is a close fit, ok. However, grooms: if you buy a suit you can wear this over and over again after the wedding. See it as an investment.


Photo Credit: denisesalceda.com

Wear Really Nice Shoes
Once again, it is an investment piece that you can wear after the wedding!


Photo Credit: modernmansworld.tumblr.com

Accessorize and Pull the Look Together
Ties, belt, watch, tie clip, cuff links all bring the look together! Pay attention to these accessories. (Think Randy Jackson. Whatsup dog?!) If you are totally lost on what little things to add, ask your bride. Likely, she won't mind shopping for accessories for you!


Photo Credit: sparklesandsensation.com

If my blog post still haven't convinced you to pay attention to how you look on your wedding day. Consider sharing this blog post with your bride and asking her if I am totally out to lunch. Most likely I am not and you will owe me lunch. (I like sushi.)

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

Friday Night Lights: Zach Gilford's Wedding

Earlier this week, I shared pictures of Sean Parker's 10 million dollar wedding and tips on how to fake a celebrity wedding. This wedding shows a celebrity having a down to earth wedding much like how regular folks like us gets married.

I started watching Friday Night Lights a couple of years ago starting with half of the third episode of the first season. The BF was watching it and I just sat down and started watching. I was instantly hooked. I had no idea how much of a big deal football is to small towns. I also instantly fell in love with how sweet the characters were. I ended up finishing the entire series but never bothered to watch the first 2.5 episodes. Loved the series!

On the show, Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) plays a really sweet young man that works hard, goes to school, plays football, and takes care of his grandma. Zach got married this month to Kiele Sanchez. From his wedding pictures, it shows that Zach really is a sweetheart in real life. Also, he is really buddies with Landry (Jesse Plemons)! Jesse was at the wedding with his guitar too! (Don't know where Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) was though.)

Here are the pics!

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

Very cool shot!

Photo Credits: jonaspeterson.com

How To Fake a Celebrity Wedding

I think it is absolutely ok to have the wedding of your dreams provided you don't go into debt for it. With some creativity, imagination, and smart use of money, you can have it all. If you have 10 million dollars to spare like Sean Parker, you can have a wedding like his. If your budget is a little less, you can still have a wedding that looks like a million bucks. Here are my top five tips on how to fake a celebrity wedding:

1. Flowers are key to a celebrity wedding. Lots and lots of it. Expensive blooms fill a wedding ceremony and reception venue. They pop up every where including the backs of chairs. Most over-the-top weddings include tall centerpieces, which add height and drama to the room. Many celebrities import expensive flowers such as Lily of the Valley and Lady Slipper Orchids.

How to fake it:

• Have elegant centerpieces filled with stems like Stephanotis or Cybidium Orchids, which are readily available year round and therefore less expensive.
• Instead of filling the center of the table with placed flower heads, place one on every place setting for a similar feel that requires far fewer stems.
• Using big flowers like Hydrangeas cuts back on price because fewer are needed, and using extra greens and seasonal flowers is always a good money-saving trick.

Preston Bailey

2. Professional lighting always adds the wow factor to a wedding and is crucial to setting the mood for your party. Celebrity weddings often have colored lighting on the walls, pin spotting to illuminate the centerpieces and pattern or monogram projections on the dance floor.

How to fake it:

• Use uplights around the perimeter of your reception room.
• Dim the lights in your reception room and use lots of candles to build up the ambiance.

Fete

3. Musical entertainment is a must at lavish weddings. Celebrities will hire orchestras, bands, or their favorite singer to perform in addition to having a DJ set the mood. (I was a celebrity, I would love to hire Usher for mine!!) The musical entertainment is often used at the ceremony in place of a traditional organ, at the cocktail hour or during the beginning of the reception as guests enter.

How to fake it:

• If you have talented friends, ask them to perform at your wedding.
• Consider hiring student choirs.
• Hire one talented piano player, harpist, or a soloist.

The Attitude Band

 

5. Changing dresses is very popular at celebrity weddings. The bride chooses two gowns instead of one, and changes into the second dress for the reception. The first gown is generally a more traditional white dress, while the second gown is often sleeker, more fun, and easier to move in.

How to fake it:

• Change up your hairstyle for the reception! You can let it down or curl it for an easy and different look.
• Change up your accessories. Obviously, you might not wear your veil at your reception. Consider changing your jewelry too.
• Chose a “convertible” wedding dress that has a removable or pinnable train!



5. Have a HUGE cake! Celebrities have lots of guests to feed at their wedding and lots of pictures are taken, it almost makes sense to have a huge cake for them.

 

How to fake it:

• Have some fake layers amongst your real cake. This is an easy way to create height.
• Place flowers in between layers to create height too.

 

Celebrity Bride Guide

 

Let me know if you have any more tips to share! I will definitely blog about them and share them with my readers! If you have pics on how you had a champagne wedding on a beer budget, please send them to me too! (weddings@wishahmon.com)

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon



Sean Parker's 10 Million Wedding

Sean Parker got married this past June to Alexandra Lenas. I learned of their wedding back in June (obviously) and read that their wedding cost roughly 10 million dollars. Rather than just reporting of their nuptials, I thought I'd wait a couple of months for the pictures. I mean who doesn't want to see what a 10 million dollar wedding looks like, right?!

You might know Sean Parker as the co-founder of Napster. If you are too young to know what that is (pre-Itunes), you might know him as Sean from The Social Network, played by Justin Timberlake (swoon...). Alexandra is a New York-based singer and songwriter. 

The couple, tied the knot in front of 300 family and friends in Big Sur, California, under towering 500-year-old redwoods which fit perfectly with their Game of Thrones-esque theme. (Really need to get on with watching this show.) This venue site reportedly cost $4.5 million.

The bride wore an Elie Saab gown and the groom's attire was selected by Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings costume designer Ngila Dickson. Costumes were also created by Ngila for all of the 364 guests that came to the wedding.

If you have 10 million dollars to spend, here are so inspirational pictures. If you don't have that kind of cash laying around, I will share with you later in the week on how to fake a celebrity wedding!

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

Photo Credits: Christian Oth and Mark Seliger via Vanity Flair

Taking a Break from Weddings (Two Weeks!)

Calgary summers are so short and I look so pale from working inside all the time. In between weddings, I will be heading out to the coast to attempt to get some color on me. (I've been told that I look healthier when I have a tan. If that is true, is the opposite also true? That I don't look healthy when I have the same coloring as a light bulb?) Sheesh...I get distracted so easily. Anyways, I will be MIA from blogging for two weeks due to a short summer vacation. If you want to see what I am doing on vacay and especially what I am eating, please check out our company instagram!

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

Bonita's Winery, Kelowna, BC

 

Wedding Anniversary Reminder!

I think most guys (and some gals) are worried about missing or forgetting an anniversary day. Your first kiss, your first date, and now your wedding anniversary.

Here is a solution to never forget an anniversary again! 24 hours before your anniversary, your ring warms up to remind you! Although the ring style is fairly unisex, this ring is advertised under the Men's Rings section. Just sayin'.

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

Photo Credit: alaskajewelry.com