Trash the Dress

Trash the dress is a image captured usually when the bride and groom are in water ultimately ‘trashing’ the wedding dress – this could be jumping in the water from a great height or half submerged on a beach ect. Trash the dress is becoming more and more popular among couples. Coming from a photographic background I can understand the appeal. From a photographers point of view you get to take a different sort of shot and have fun with it. The bride and groom also benefit from a trash the dress shoot as you can get a selection of truly amazing and original images. It does make for a fantastic photo on the wall.  There a few pros and cons to ‘trash the dress’ – many people often won’t use the dress they got married in and may decide to shoot after the wedding day. Especially if it involves a more dramatic composition, such as; jumping from a great height and into water, it would probably be a bit strange to turn up to your reception soaked to the skin. You may choose to do the shoot a while after your wedding – a nice chance to wear your dress again.  Some people even decide to shoot some months down the track, often in a more appropriate season to trash their dress. It is probably a good idea not to dry clean the dress prior to the shoot. Not all of the trash the dress shots that I have seen look effective, some of them even look a bit outdated, but then again some of them are pulled off well and look simply stunning.

These are some photos of Megs and Nate’s wedding (see the blog about it here) that I did last year where Megs wanted to have shots taken in the water, she was wet at the reception (not that you could tell unless she told you), but that didn’t stop them from having an amazing time, and getting some beautiful shots. Thanks to Steve Sowden for the use of his images check out his website here.

Have you seen any amazing trash the dress shots or know anyone who has had an amazing shoot?

Tips for a stress free bridal party

I recently blogged about the responsibilities of the bridal party, however not everything falls on the party, there are certain things that the bride and groom should and shouldn’t do.

DO-

* Be up front early on with what you need the bridal party to do and what they will be expected to pay for.

* Consider who they will be partnered with, and what they will be wearing – make sure that they are comfortable with all aspects of the wedding.

* Make sure they are the right people for the job (see my blog about selecting and honouring people in your wedding party).

* Make sure the dates of all of your hens days, bucks days and bridal showers are all not too close together, I know that the wedding day IS all about you, however be wary that they have other commitments in their life that they need to work around.

* Trust the nearest and dearest to you to help when they offer a hand, you don’t have to do everything yourself.

DON’T-

* Don’t expect that for weeks on end before the wedding your bridal party will be free to help with things required for your special day.

* Don’t make every job that needs to be done, a necessity for only the people involved in your wedding party. If name places need to be hand written, ask for someone’s help but make sure that people know that they don’t have to do it. This can be a great way to include others that are not in the bridal party – get others involved in helping with different things that they may be good at or interested in. Not only do you get the job done, but your are also including others giving you a chance to spend more time with people who you are close with but are not necessarily a part of the bridal party.

* Don’t get upset at your friend if she tells you that she will be heavily pregnant at your wedding, realise that this is a major thing to happen in your friends life, just as much as your wedding is in yours, work around it, make sure she is up to being a part of the bridal party, try not to get cross if she’s not up to the responsibility.

* Don’t expect your bridal party to know what you need or want them to do, communicate with them and ask for help when needed, don’t get upset because they can’t read your mind. Say ‘thank you’ when they help,  making things easier for you. A grateful thanks goes a long way, and may come in handy if your prone to stress  or snap.

* Don’t forget that these people love you and you love them, remember that they want the best for you on your special day and try not to turn into bridezilla or groomzilla.

Do you have any tips for people in bridal parties or brides and grooms when it comes to the bridal party?

Thanks to Corey Brown for more great images, check out his new website for Vision House Photography here, or the new blog here.

Love letters before the ceremony.

I think that love letters are a beautiful idea; it is a great way to express your love, to your partner on the morning of your special day. All your thoughts that you may like to voice to your partner but don’t wish to share with anyone else, or include in your vows. This could be a great way to talk about your feelings leading up to the wedding, what you hope for the day and what you hope for your lives together. You could talk about your hopes and dreams or just use it as a time to tell the other person all the things that they do for you that makes your life easier. You could talk about why you love them, about special experiences in your relationship and why you decided to take the next big step.

Writing a love letter is something that you would need to plan time for, I would imagine it would be something that you would want to do when you are alone, and for the bride, something that you would probably want to do before you have your make up done in case you become slightly emotional. Although if you are doing a first look photoshoot, (check out my blog about this here) it would make for some beautiful photos.

You could always put them in a time capsule or wine box (see my previous blog about this here too), it is a great keepsake for you to look back on after a few years and bring back all the memories of your lovely day. I personally love to look at old cards, letters and photos; the memories that they bring back are usually powerful, happy ones.  It is a day that you will remember for the rest of your life but I think that a love letter is something that not only you but your children and grandchildren would be interested to read for years to come. I know I would love to read love letters written by anyone close to me.

You could also adapt this and use it to write letters to all of your bridesmaids, and let them know how much you appreciate all of their love and friendship. It would be a good way to thank them for their support leading up to the day, and a great way to apologise if you feel you may have been a little bit of a bridezilla!  You could also do this for your parents too, it is always nice to have people tell you that they care about you and that they are important to you. It is a beautiful sentimental thought for your wedding that doesn’t cost a lot of money – just your time and words from your heart.

To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart. Phyllis Theroux

Thanks to Kirralee for the use of her beautiful images, check out some of her other lovely shots here.

Beautiful save the date card.

A couple of weeks ago I got a beautiful surprise in the post, one of my dear friends is getting married next year in New Zealand and has sent out a beautiful ‘save the date’ card. I knew she had set the date of the wedding, but had forgotten that she had recently asked for my address. I love the idea of a stylish save the date card and I am now even more excited to see what the invites look like. I have recently had a little sneak peak at her Pinterest boards and have an idea of some of the her inspirations for the wedding.

Some people might think that it is early to send out your save the dates, when her wedding isn’t until next march, but I think it is a really good idea when you are inviting guests that live overseas or you are having a destination wedding – people may need to book time off work and organise flights and accommodation.

Can’t wait to share her invites with all of you when they arrive in the mail!

Pinterest – a new way to plan your special day

I am new to Pinterest but and somewhat intrigued by its attributes. It is a great tool to use when planning a wedding, or any event for that matter. It is also great for checking out wedding suppliers, so you can see what’s out there and if it suits both you and your partner’s style. When it comes to suppliers Pinterest may not be helpful with your search for a DJ or Band, however it may be useful for hair and makeup and floristry.

I have a few friends that are planning a wedding and I can’t think of a better way for them to keep all their inspiration in check. Anyone could log into your Pinterest page and see what inspires you and what you may have in mind for the ceremony – a useful tool for any couple. You may decide to organise your pins into folders, like; dresses, bridesmaid’s dresses, flowers, invites and cake. Pinterest may even act as a template for what kind of photographs you want on your special day. Meeting with your photographer and presenting them with inspirational examples of previous wedding ceremony images, is a great way to ensure you’re on the same page before the big day. This also applies to your cake decorator, hair stylist, make-up artist and stationary designer. They themselves may have Pinterest boards and this will give you an insight into what they like and think is stylish.

However, be wary when you pin anyone can find you on Pinterest can see what you are pinning, so if there are some things that you would rather keep to yourself, think twice before you pin it.

Are you using pinterest to gather inspiration for your special day or share ideas with your bridal party?

Bespoke Weddings

What is a bespoke wedding? Bespoke means made to order or rather ‘custom-made’. Ultimately your wedding should be designed to fit both you and your partner’s personal aesthetic. You should make sure that your wedding reflects this and not that of what may be considered the norm. Your wedding is something that you put lots of time and care into preparing, you will spend hours looking at dresses, finding the venue that’s best for you and creating the invitations. When it comes to the ceremony you don’t necessarily have to settle for the ‘stock standard’. No one would pick the first wedding dress they find with out a fair amount of research beforehand – you should feel beautiful and special while still maintaining your sense of style. Your ceremony should reflect that too.

I find a bespoke wedding sensible. I love the idea of getting to know couples, listening to their story and what they want in their wedding. Writing a wedding from scratch gives couples a one off ceremony that represents them and their ideals. For me it makes the whole process more interesting too, personalising the wedding and finding out things about the bride and groom is a great experience. Not only do you get to have a wedding that reflects both you and your partner, but having a celebrant who knows more about you helps when the ceremony is being delivered. It is exciting for me to know what things are important to the bride and groom and to get insight into who they may want to be involved in the ceremony.

It is a great way to create a ceremony that speaks not only to the couple but also to the hearts of the people that the bride and groom have invited to share their special day with them. A bespoke wedding is a lovely opportunity to say what you want to say, about yourselves, your relationship, your goals and hopes and dreams for your future together.

Thank-you to Lauren from Purely Taken. Photography, for the use of her lovely images, check out her website here, or have a look at her latest blog here.