Happy Wednesday everyone!!! Traveling for the past week was fun, but boy am I glad to finally be HOME… mostly because I’m spoiled with my big desktop computer and fast internet! :) For today’s feature, I have a lovely wedding from Focus Photography for you all. A light, blush pink paired with navy, combined with vintage elements and a chic style make for a pretty awesome wedding if you ask me! The lovely bride Nicolle will also be sharing her wedding insight with us- keep an eye out for it… you might learn something new! :)
What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?
Soon after I got engaged, I created my wedding planning binder (a suggestion from a married bridesmaid) that really helped me stay organized and communicate well with my vendors. I kept inspiration pictures for everything in it (flowers, hair, makeup, dress, centerpieces, escort cards, etc) and brought it to all my meetings so every vendor could see my entire vision. I got a lot of praise from them for being so organized! I also kept a calendar in it to mark important deadlines, and copies of all my contracts so I could easily refer to them at meetings and on the day of the wedding. My maid of honor (who works in event planning) came to most of our venue meetings which was also a huge help because I had NO idea what questions to ask! Our bridal party and family were actually really amazing and helped with so many things before and on the day of the wedding, I don’t know what we would do without them!!
What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?
We didn’t have an unlimited budget, so I did extensive research to make sure I was getting the most for our money. With that in mind, we prioritized our vendors, venue being the most important and photographer being the second most important. I followed my intuition with most of the vendors, and decided to work with people I felt comfortable with and who seemed very knowledgeable and reliable.
Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?
Our photographer did something pretty cool – they gave us a large masonite print of our favorite engagement photo to display at the wedding. We also got a free 2012 calender with our wedding photo album! Our videographer made a ‘teaser’ video for us about a week after the wedding, which was really awesome too because we got to watch it while we were still on our honeymoon.
What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
One of my favorite moments was when we did our “first look”. I was so anxious all morning, and as soon as I got to hug Matt all my anxiety melted away. I was also just obsessed with our venue and couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else! Other than that, the feeling of having every single person we care about there with us to celebrate and support us was a uniquely wonderful feeling that I will cherish forever.
What is your best piece of advice for other brides?
If you can, hire a coordinator or planner! I wish I had hired a wedding planner, but in the end we had a day-of coordinator and without her it would have been utter chaos. I think I would’ve saved myself a lot of stress if I had someone helping out beforehand, because there are just a ton of tiny little things you never think of until it’s too late. I enjoyed a lot of my DIY projects, but making sure it all comes together how you planned while you are also trying to get ready for the wedding is super tough!! Also, make sure to take mental snapshots all day long so you remember the day. I did this, especially during the ceremony (looking out at the guests helps) and I am happy to say it WASN’T all a blur!
Yep, that advice is pretty spot on- I of course totally agree. :) Nicolle, thank you for sharing your wedding with us, and thank you to Focus Photography for capturing such gorgeous photos of it! Oh, and I do have a little something else for this feature too… the teaser video from Mawwiage Films!
Matthew & Nicolle Kasch from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.
There’s just something so amazing about having moments captured on video, don’t you think?!
Well, I don’t know about you, but I just love the blush pink with the navy… and the postcards inside frames as table numbers are awesome! They give the tables an extra pop of color- love it! What are your favorite details from this vintage chic wedding?
vi nguyen:
February 22, 2012 10:40 am
Hi, Such a lovely wedding and beautiful bride! Where did you get the super cute robes for your bridesmaids?!charlotte:
February 22, 2012 10:49 am
I lovelovelove your blog even though i never comment. however, i had to tell you that i love having the video in addition to the pictures! not sure if that's something you've done before or try to do often, but it's definitely great to see. i love watching wedding videos and it's so cool to see certain things come to life - especially seeing them walk down the aisle with guests throwing the rose petals after seeing the photo teasing that above! love it.Lauren Grove:
February 22, 2012 11:09 am
Awww, thank you Charlotte!!!! I do try to add in the video whenever it's sent to me, and thankfully the bride sent over the link with her interview answers!! :) Love YOU... and feel free to comment more!!! :)Nicolle:
February 22, 2012 2:34 pm
Vi Nguyen - Thank you!! The robes actually came from Forever 21, and I ironed on rhinestone monogram letters to each one. Even though the robes were inexpensive, I wanted to make sure the girls could wear them after the wedding so I opted for monograms instead of "bridesmaid". Charlotte - I 100% agree with you about the video, which is why I made sure to send it in to Lauren! During my planning I always LOVED seeing everyone's videos. And I highly encourage brides to get videographers, because it was for sure worth it!