Blogs

Most brides and grooms pray to Mother Nature for days — or even weeks — leading up to their wedding day for a nice sunny day. As a natural light professional wedding photographer, I am here to tell you that the truth is, in most cases, you actually will get better photos on an overcast or cloudy day. This may be a shock to most people, so let me explain why. Direct sunlight causes heavy shadowing and an emphasis on lines and imperfections on the face, which makes for unflattering photos. I am going to share with you some tips and advice on how to get the most beautiful images possible on your wedding day by planning your timeline for the best light possible!

1. Avoid Early Afternoon for Your Photography

The strongest, most harsh light during the summer months tends to rage from around 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. This is the worst time frame lighting-wise to take photos. The best times to have your photos taken, if it’s a sunny day is one to two hours before the sun sets. If you schedule your wedding day to start a couple hours after the sun is at its peak, you will end up with better-looking photos.

Jack Bermeo has helped hundreds of couples plan the happiest day of their lives and along the way, he's heard every proposal story imaginable. So, when the tables flipped, and it was his turn to ask for his longtime girlfriend Sophia's hand in marriage, the CEO of LJDJs Event Design & Entertainment in New Jersey found himself in an unusual predicament. How does a professional wedding planner pop the question in a unique way that has never been done before? 

His answer: Pull off the ultimate bait-and-switch by staging a fake wedding that's actually all for them! We're talking an 80-person guest list, DJ, flowers, a cake, the works. Jack enlists Danny and Chris to play the role of the happy grooms (they're just good friends), along with clients and business associates to act as the bridal party and parents. The couple's friends and family are in on the plan, too.

During the first dance, Jack professes his love to his unsuspecting bride-to-be and the mother of his child, but as he gets down on one knee, she exclaims, "No, you can't do this right here!" (She doesn't understand why he's stealing the newlywed couple's thunder.) When she realizes the truth, naturally, she says yes!

Watch this incredible proposal unfold:

In the video, prior to getting engaged, Sophia explains that she would have been happy with any proposal no matter what the setting was (their shower, their living room, etc.) She never expected that Jack would execute such a memorable event.

No, these are not sister wives. These five women are wives who happen to be sisters, and they came up with the best idea ever — a sister photo shoot in their wedding dresses.

While most brides would love any excuse to wear their wedding dress again, one of the sisters, Cassie Gant, explains their motivation: "We did this shoot as a thank you to my parents for their love and support in not only our weddings, but in our marriages."

How sweet is that? Check out their laughter- and twirl-filled shoot by Rachel Blackwell!

Photo Credit: Jeff Loves Jessica on Jenna Lou Designs via Lover.ly

Q. When is the best time to give our attendants their gifts?

A. Most brides and grooms give their gifts to the wedding party at the rehearsal dinner. Following the main course, dessert is served and the toasts begin. Just so you know, it is customary for the best man to start off by toasting the couple, followed by the groom’s father (traditionally the groom’s parents are the hosts of the event). Afterward, you can acknowledge your attendants and give them the gifts. How you do so is entirely up to you. You can keep things lighthearted and fun or be a bit more sentimental. You can make a general announcement and dispense the gifts all at once, or you might want to say something special about each member of your wedding party before presenting that person with your memento. Do what feels most natural and comfortable. I’m sure your friends will appreciate however you choose to honor them.

—Diane Forden

We're in love with Danielle and Paul's super sweet photo shoot to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. They enjoyed a desserts-only picnic for two, took a bike ride along the lake, and ended the day by making a wish and releasing balloons into the sunset sky. Check out the gorgeous photos: 

Designing your dream day at a price you can afford is one of the hardest aspects of the wedding-planning process. As helpful and inspirational as social media is for brides, it can also be our worst nightmare in terms of budget.

As a wedding planner, I see this all the time. A client might not realize that the inspirational wedding vision she is building on her Pinterest board would cost her close to $300K when she is working with a $45K budget. It's raised the bar of creativity — there is no doubt about that — creating more pressure that your wedding will stand apart from the rest. Sure, there are a number of wedding DIY blogs and step-by-step guides to try, but there are also a lot of over-the-top wedding trends coming at you from all angles. 

Reality television and the overload of celebrity wedding coverage have also contributed to larger-than-life expectations for the average bride. As much as I enjoyed watching the elaborate nuptials of Kim Kardashian and The Bachelorette unfold, unlike the average bride, I also know how much these types of productions cost since I work in the bridal industry.

One of my favorite tasks is determining a couple's vision, helping them decide which aspects of their dream wedding they simply can't live without, and then figuring out how to make everything fit within their financial means. Here are a few common obstacles that I run into with my clients:

Laura Wilson's wedding dance with her father has truly touched our hearts, and we're not alone: Over 350,000 people across the world have shared it on Facebook.

The bride abandoned the dream wedding she had planned and decided to get married a week earlier, instead, at the UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. That way, her dad, David Haliburton Wilson — who suffered from a rare form of cancer — could give her away from his hospital bed.

After she and her fiancé Robert Pantoja were proclaimed as husband and wife, she asked her father if he would share a special dance with her to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." Undeterred by the fact that he was unable to lift himself up out of bed, Laura encouraged him to use just his hands, instead. Watch their incredibly moving display of affection, here:

Sadly, David lost his battle on September 2 but his legacy lives on as a doting father to his kids. CBS Local News Los Angeles reports that his last words to his son-in-law, Robert, were "Rob, you’re the lucky one. You won the lottery; you got my baby girl."