For those of you who don't know of it yet there is an annual Bridal Dress Sale called "the Running of the Brides". We have put a link of it below for you to see. We are working on bringing something similiar to Orlando in May. We will be sure to keep you up to date, so make sure you subscribe to this feed. More details to follow in the next month, but until then, enjoy this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZxZYUDK_sM
Christmas is coming. Along with all of the fun, food and good times that come with the holidays, also comes a whole bunch of New Proposals. There are three big days of the year which typically account for 33% of all the weddings are proposed to on these days. I gave you one of the days, here are the other 2:
New Years Eve
Valentines Day (Feb. 14th)
If you are not engaged yet, here is what happens to the typical Bride when she gets engaged:
1. All the dreams now become the stress of planning a Wedding. If you are typical, you have been to other Weddings and you have sat there and silently critiqued that wedding. You are looking at the form and function of everything there and mentally comparing it to your desires and tastes. Now that it is your Wedding that you are planning, you have a fully different point of view and things get really serious really quick.
2. Everyone comes out of the wood work with their ideas and thoughts. It will seem as though everyone has an opinion on your Wedding. Be aware of this and let these thoughts and ideas roll off your back (if they are goofy ideas let them roll off-If they strike you well, go forward with them). Some will be agressive with you and really push you with their thoughts. Be ready for this, but don't over react. Usually, they mean well, just keep them in mind.
3. It will seem as though the world is on your shoulders. You will have to continue doing all your usual stuff as well as now plan this huge event (which typically Brides haven't done before). Take this one step at a time, don't try to take it all on yourself at once. Sit down and write out your plans. Talk with your fiance and your relatives (the ones who matter-Mom, Dad, Future Mom and Dad) and get on the same sheet of music.
Your engagement can be a fun time filled with many great memories. Plan as best you can, enjoy yourself and have some good times that you will look back on fondly.
I have been in the wedding industry since 1992. In that time, there have been many different evolutions to various products and services. The one service that seems to have changed pretty drastically has been Videography.
Videography is considered by many Brides to be a luxury until after their wedding when they wished they had a professional shoot their wedding. The idea of Uncle Joe, their Brother, friend or relative shooting their nuptials and the party with their hand held camcorder sounds great until they get the video back several months later and half of the video is of the floor or some silly stuff which is of no consequence.
Were a professional Videographer to simply use the same equipment, you would see a night and day difference. You would see them capturing the important moments like the moment the first tear comes down the Brides face (or even the twinkle in the eye of the Groom when he sees his Bride for the first time in her dress). They know things like lighting, they understand the personalities involved and they know weddings in general because this is what they do all the time.
If you add the fact that their equipment is better than the typical consumer brand and will show more vibrant colors along with better lighting in places that a consumer camera will not, you can start to see the value of what they do.
A typical Videographer will have 8-10 hours of back end editing to every one hour of shooting. Each wedding is a full week's worth of work. With their training (and most of them who belong to the Professional Videographers groups go through several trainings a year) and their experience, they are more able to best capture your day than would even a person who is "good" with a video camera, but lacks the training and the experience.
One of my Videographers once shared this story; He was doing the table interviews with the Relatives. He got to Grandpa and Grandpa gave a very eloquent, touching greeting to the newlyweds (which was uncharacteristic for him). Turns out, this would be Grandpa's last time on video. He passed on shortly after the wedding. When the Bride received the video and saw for the first time Grandpa's touching words, she cried.
It is my advice to make room in your budget for this very important service.
Here are some interesting Orlando Wedding Trends I have heard of lately:
The colors for weddings are changing rather dramatically. Pastels are out and more earthy,metal colors are coming in (copper being one of the most mentioned).
Brides are spending less time in their engagement. There are many instances where Brides are putting off the various decisions to buy things, even when they have already selected the vendors.
Grooms are getting more involved. In the past Grooms have been hard to motivate, but lately Grooms are much more involved in the planning process. One couple I spoke to said they make all decisions and go on all appointments together. Good for them! The Brides need and deserve an extra hand in planning their weddings!
The food is changing. More exotic fare (Mediterranean and middle eastern fare) as opposed to the average Chicken and beef selections. Fish is becoming more popular as well on many caterer's menus. More appetizers are being offered and less alcohol is on the agenda (open bars are shrinking if not going away all together, being replaced by Beer and Wine or cash bars).
Invitations are becoming more and more unique. The standard invitation with save the dates and RSVP's are being replaced with Custom invitations which have a unique view of what each couple represents.
Please share any and all of your ideas here and let us know about your wedding plans.
Many Brides are Brand new to the Wedding Planning experience and are not sure where they should start. Here are a few helpful ideas:
The most important thing is that the 2 of you show up with a valid marriage license and say "Yes". After that, you will need to plan based on what your ability is and what your priorities are. Most Brides start with the ceremony location or the Reception location. Sometimes these are one and the same. Most of the popular place book out as far a 18 months in advance. It is important that you realize that 65% of all the weddings in Orlando happen on a Saturday. You should first determine by what you want, in other words, visit the places and ask for a site tour to make sure it is up to what you are expecting. You should always go with those who will influence you and the groom on the final decision as it will be hard to convince them of something with them only seeing the price tag.
Another important first stop should be the Bridal Gown. Most Bridal Gowns are ordered from the manufactuer and take time for them to be made and sent (3-4 months). You should allow plenty of time for fittings and atlerations so you can make sure that you dress fits you perfectly on your Wedding Day. There are so many selections out there for your consideration. It is wise to find the style of dress that you want first and then when you go in to start trying on dresses, you will be able to find the perfect match.
Take notes in your Orlando Brides Wedding Planner and that will help you make the best possible decision!
New Page: How to Select the Right Wedding vendor
Many times when I speak with Brides, they will ask me "How do I find the right wedding vendor". The answer to this can be as different as the number of brides combined with the number of wedding vendors.
The order in which you should place value of a wedding vendor should be as follows:
1. Personality mix. You need to have the right chemistry with your various wedding vendor. There may be some types of wedding vendors which
you will not mix with as much. You can then go to the next priority on the list. Think about a photographer who you will spend all day with or a
Wedding Planner who you will meet with and interact with more than many other vendors combined. Your personalities have to mix well in order
to come out with a wedding you will be happy with.
2. Quality/Service. Most wedding vendors are not a common commodity. The quality from one vendor , the experience and the passion that they
put into their finished product/service varies from vendor to vendor. It is wise to meet and judge based upon your criteria, your needs, and your
judgement rather than basing what they do only on price.
3. Price. Price is the last thing you should use to judge a wedding vendor. No of course you need to be able to afford them based upon your priority
and what you feel you can afford. Imagine this: you save a few hundred dollars hiring a various vendor and they come way short of what you
expected for them. If this vendor has any affect on any other part of the wedding which you had spent thousands of dollars on, how much did
you save by possibly ruining the other part.
Spend time getting to know what the vendors have to offer you and how they can benefit your wedding. Not all Brides are a match for a given vendor. It is worth your time to meet with the people who will provide the products and mostly those who will provide the services for your Wedding Day.
Welcome to the Orlando Brides Blog. Here are some fun stats that may help your wedding planning:
The average Orlando Bride is...
Are goal is to make wedding planning fun again. We will help you remove the stress from planning your Wedding in Orlando and give you the tools to make the hard decisions seem easy.
Stay Tuned!