Post-Wedding Advice from a Birmingham Bride

As a bride you get a lot of advice from a lot of people.  I appreciate all the information that people are willing to share with me about tips for planning a great wedding but I don't think there's much that can compare to the advice from a bride that has just gone through all of it herself!

I am friends with a former coworker, Lauren, on Facebook, who just married the love of her life on September 25th.  After sufficiently stalking her page throughout her planning and flipping through all of her gorgeous wedding photos, I decided to give her a call and find out firsthand what she had learned from planning a wedding.  Lauren is super-easy to talk to and was happy to answer my barrage of questions about what happened throughout the planning of her Big Day.

First I started with the basics.  Which vendors did she use and in what order did she book them? 


Her first decision started with the venue.  She chose the historic Tutwiler Hotel for the ceremony and reception.  She fell in love with their beautiful veranda out front and decided that she would have the ceremony outside with the reception in the ballroom.  Food and beverage would be handled by the Tutwiler so there was no need for coordination between the venue and the caterer, which let her focus on other things.

Next she decided on her photographer, His Hands Photography, then the entertainment, the band Nationwide Coverage out of Huntsville, and also her florist, Tracy Sloan out of Warrior, AL.  These vendors were referred to her by friends and family and they ended up all being good choices.  Word of mouth referral is a great way to find good, reputable vendors.  Your wedding day is not a day you want to be disappointed with one of your choices.


After much debate and research, Lauren ended up finding her gown at Bella Couture in Mt. Laurel.  She had fallen in love with a Jim Helm design but the price just didn't fit with her budget.  Lauren, however, was not deterred by this small obstacle, she searched and scoured gowns until she found a similar dress by designer, Allure Couture, that was a better price but still stunningly gorgeous.

The next decision would be the cakes, except that neither Lauren or her fiancee were big fans of cake.  However, they are big cupcake fans, and Olexa's Cakes just happens to be a fan of BIG cupcakes!  Olexa designed a specialty, oversized cupcake for them to share for the cake-cutting and then provided a variety of flavors of normal-sized cupcakes for guests to choose their favorite.  I loved that the couple weren't afraid to veer a little from tradition, to provide an option that better fit their personality.  Weddings have lots of tradition, but it's the special touches and detail that really make it personal.


Last but not least they booked a vintage car through Coats Classic Cars and got assistance from wedding planner, Ouida Jones-Johnson, for the day-of coordination.

Lauren ended up having great luck with all of her vendors but the band, photographer, and the cupcake really stood out to her.  The giant cupcake was so original and too delicious not to love! The guitarist from the band was able to provide music for the ceremony as well, at a better deal since they were already booked for the reception.  And her photographer went above and beyond throughout the day which is so important because they are with you from the morning until that night!

So, after asking her about all of the things that went well, I asked if she had any regrets.  Without hesitation, she said that she wished she had been more prepared for Plan B.  It was not that she didn't have a plan set in place, but just that she had her heart set on the outdoor veranda for the ceremony and when rain started moving in, so did the stress.  I have certainly encountered this dilemma with other weddings before, and it even affected my own wedding planning when choosing a venue.  If you are planning an outdoor wedding, there is always a risk of having to move indoors.  And when it really comes down to it, you have to love the Rain Plan and be prepared for a last-minute change.

His Hands Photography stated that "Just as the outdoor wedding was starting, the rain started to fall. You would think that would be a bad thing but the most beautiful part of the day was how all the friends and family came together, doing whatever they could to make the ceremony absolutely perfect. The rabbi made a chuppah, people volunteered to hold it, friends carried everything inside... and made one of the sweetest most thoughtful ceremonies I have ever been witness to...THIS is why I love my job!

Handling last minute changes is really easier said than done but Lauren handled it in stride.  She knew that her nerves were building and wanted to do what she could to make sure that stress didn't rule the day.  She called in a Zumba instructor and she and her bridesmaids spent the morning having fun and burning off nervous energy.  I think this such a great idea and I plan to steal it for myself!  Stress relief will vary for each bride, but whatever you choose, make sure to add things to the day's schedule to make sure that you are relaxed and smiling for whatever may come your way!  This will be one of the most documented days of your life and any 'issues' that occur can all wait to be addressed the following week.  Her final advice - Enjoy your day!

Planning a Wedding: First Lesson Learned

Okay,  so you may have noticed that it's been a while since my last post.  It's not that I haven't had interesting things to tell you about in my planning,  it's just that I was too embarrassed to put it all in writing!  Already, I have had a major reality check in my planning process.  Yes, I have experience in the event industry, but maybe all that was doing was giving me a false sense of security.

When Mark & I got engaged at the end of July and set our date for next fall, I immediately was comforted that I had over a year to plan everything.  Well, instead of taking advantage of the additional time,  I gathered a little bit of information and researched different venues - but it was not enough.  We set a date for our big event, checked some availability of places, and then went to the drawing board on what would work for our needs:
-Is there enough space?
-Is it convenient for guests to locate and get to?
-Do they allow candles, alcohol, outside catering, and any of the other details that are 'make or break' in the decision-making process?

So, we gathered this information, made our decision and called the venue of our choice back with the exciting news!  Well guess what...it had been two months since I had originally checked their availability and now - the date was booked.  This was pretty tough news, since we had already told all of our friends and family that the date was set and now we would need to either go back to the drawing board to choose another venue, or move the date.  Neither was an easy option!

We ended up needing to be armed with more information than I had researched yet.  If we use outside catering, will they provide linens and glassware? How much will it add to rent these items?  Will the rental price of the venue really be a deal if I have to rent to supplement a lot of items?  Who provides what and at what price?  I realized that to start planning anything, I needed to know a lot more about everything.

Suddenly I felt like I knew nothing about the wedding industry.  Where was all my knowledge of budgets and why was everything in Birmingham booking up when we were still 12 months out?!?  Panic started to set in and I knew I needed to move a little faster if I wanted to get the vendors that I liked at the right price for my budget.

So my advice to you is - talk to every vendor that you like - and start early.  Don't be afraid to call and chat with vendors about what you are looking for and be sure to get pricing from all of them!  Knowing as much as possible is going to give you the power and confidence to make better decisions.  Start collecting as much information at the beginning as you possibly can, so that you can make an educated decision - and make it quickly if you are under a deadline.  And of course, set your budget, and try to make room for a professional planner to help you.  Even though I feel comfortable planning events, it's all changed now that it's my wedding and I'm the bride.  Why didn't I believe this when everyone has said it?  It's so much easier to help someone else plan an event! So be sure to enlist help early and don't procrastinate!