It's All About You

He's asked for your hand. You've said "Yes!" You've picked a date.  The location has been selected and your bridal party confirmed.  Now all that's left {besides saying "I Do."} is to tell the world {or your close circle of friends & family} all about your special day.  

Long gone are the days of conveying details by word of mouth.  Now everyone immediately goes to www.sallyandrichard.com {i.e., www.[insert bride's first name]and[insert groom's first name].com} to find out all the juicy details.  Just like a company website says a lot about the company, your wedding website says a lot about you and your intended and what your day will be like. 

Do you want a site that says the two of you are inattentive and our Day will be generic, or do you want a site that says the two of you are on top of your game and that your Day will be an event people will be talking about for years to come.  The custom websites by Wedding Window help you to be the latter.  You can get your own domain name -- KatieandJake.com -- and select a design that coordinates with your wedding colors and theme.  They even let you try it all out for free!

The part I like most is the back-end webware they give you.  It helps you create your guest list/mailing list, track RSVPs, create a wedding budget, track the gifts that you have received, and so much more.  It allows you to not only look like you're on top of things, but actually be on top of things.  What more could you want!

Destination...Wedding

Fustic House

Barbados

A Butler, a Security Guard, a Chef, a Gardener, a House Manager and Housekeepers....now that's what I call wedding staff.  Destination weddings are all the rage now and Barbados is an idyllic locale.  For couples who want to go straight from the alter to a sun & sand honeymoon, or if you are faced with a 500+ potential guestlist and want to weed out all but your true friends and family; a destination wedding is perfect.
 
For an intimate wedding on the isle of Barbados, a villa is the perfect solution and Fustic House is the perfect villa.  Sitting on 11 acres, this estate is set up on the hill overlooking the Caribbean sea.  It is the ultimate in seclusion and an ideal setting for a private wedding and intimate reception in the splendid gardens designed by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan.

There are 7 luxuriously appointed suites with open-air showers spread throughout four separate wings.  During your stay you and your guests will be treated to exquisite meals made to your taste by the the head chef {I sampled his cuisine when I visited this house and it is superb; the best food I had while on the island}.  The best part of your stay, when you're not eating, is swimming in the Oliver Messel designed lagoon swimming pool, which is carved directly out of the coral ridge. . . Absolute perfection.

Thank You...No Thank YOU

I'm an old-fashioned girl and my mother taught me that all gifts require a proper handwritten thank you note.  However, this tradition can be a bit daunting when you are getting married.  There are thank yous for the engagement gifts, the bridal shower gifts and finally the wedding gifts.  And with wedding guest lists in the 2-300 range {or even in the high 100s} your thank you note list can easily reach 500.  Sure you could do electronic thank you messages or non-personalized mass thank yous.  But if you are having a formal wedding or are a traditional bride, you understand the necessity of a handwritten thank you.

I for one get hand cramps just thinking about writing 500, 300 or even 100 thank you notes.  So I was thrilled to hear about a new company called Thanks For Everything.  They will draft unique, thoughtful, personal messages for each gift you receive and will "hand write" {well using a printed script that looks just like real handwriting} each of your notes if you wish, AND will even mail them.  Doesn't get much better than that.  If your wedding budget is already through the roof, you might as well allot just a bit more for this time/image saver.

Sample of how the "writing" looks.

This is what I call a Wedding Video

Angela & Matt's Wedding Highlights from A&A Video Productions on Vimeo.

My brother sent me a link to the video from a wedding he was in. He knows how I love everything wedding related {especially examples of weddings that are better than mine or items that I didn't have at my wedding}. Well, this video is a prime example. I chose to forgo a professional videographer because I heard tons of horror stories from other brides who paid big buck and got bupkus for their wedding video. Even the ones who did have a decent video, it was just that...decent.

The videos from A&A Video Productions, however, are in an entirely different league. If I had known about them {if they were even around back then} when I got married, I think I would've made room in the budget {do our guests really need an appetizer AND an entree?!?} for this. Check out their demos and see for yourself.

p.s.: I wish I could've posted the original video I saw but unfortunately for you I have to respect the couple's privacy.

Remember The Time

Everyone wants to standout and do something different/original with their wedding {especially if you are one of the last of your friends to get married}. The wedding guestbook is about as mundane and unoriginal as you can get. I've seen it all, but this, in my book, takes the cake.  I love just about anything engraved and this is just downright hot.  Assuming it's done right {i.e., monitored closely by your wedding planner or his/her staff}, an engraveable silver photo mat or silver tray with well wishes from all your guests {or at least their names} is definitely different. And even something you might actually want to continue to display after you're married without it looking silly.

Let Her Eat Cake!

I love cakes...fancy cakes that is.  I try to find any excuse to have a fancy cake {or cupcakes, but more on that later}.  I think it goes back to my absolute catastrophe of a wedding cake {five years later I'm still trying to get over it}.  So I was excited to try out the cakes from Lara Lea at an Expectant Moms event last year.  Sometimes cakes are pretty but don't taste very good.  Lara's cakes were both beautiful and delicious, and Lara is just as sweet as her cakes, with perfect southern charm.  So why not have an engagement party cake, a bridal shower cake and, of course, the wedding cake!  There's no such thing as too much cake.

THE Wedding Photographer

Not every photographer has what it takes to be a wedding photographer, but Willi unquestionably does.  He is the perfect combination of artist, perfectionist and personality.  His website -- www.williwongphotography.com -- takes you through the story of his work.  The images simply speak for themselves.

While most photographers have to edit their photos to achieve awe inspiring pictures, Willi can simply shoot and deliver.  We have used him so often -- for our engagement, our new expanded family, and our extended family photoshoots {quite stupidly we did not spring for him to shoot our wedding in Barbados} -- we now refer to him as OUR family photographer.

But he's not only a wonderful photographer, he's such a great person too.

My favorite designer...

I thought it fitting that my first "Wedding" post be about the designer of my wedding dress.  Admittedly, I wasn't a fan of Reem Acra until I found My Dress.  There are so many wedding dress designers out there, it's hard to pick just one.  However, once I found My Dress I began to focus on her other lines and was instantly smitten.  

I found my dress purely by accident.  I was shopping for my wedding dress with my girls at Kleinfelds {more about this Wedding mecca later} and I was trying on all of the standard ball-gown/princess silhouette style that I had decided on, when I saw a blue {yes blue!} gown on a mannequin.  It looked so avant-garde and straight off the runway I just had to try it on for kicks.

When I put on what became My Dress, I had The Moment that all brides hope for.  I knew then that there was no other dress for me.  I was getting married in Barbados and the color of the dress perfectly matched the color of the Caribbean water and sky.  I knew it had to be mine.  My best girlfriend did too, because she was so excited she kept tripping on the edge of the dress as I walked out to model the gown in the showroom!  The look in her eye just sealed it for me.  

Then I only had to hope my daddy wouldn't pass out from the price tag. ☺

My Dress