My friend showed me this http://www.ecoronado.com/photo/not-on-my-wedding-day?context=popular. It’s so funny! Anything can happen at a Coronado Beach wedding, beware.

Hysterical.

My sweet bride, Kara, ended up with a gorgeous wedding. She looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her.  Here are some pretty details surrounding her wedding day:

Her wedding colors were lavender and raspberry

Flowers by Belle Fiore Designs

Kara and JP got married in the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington

Wedding cake by Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe

The Key Bridge Marriott offered lots of space for guests to spread out during the reception

The beautiful view that the Capital View Ballroom offered us all night long

Professional wedding pictures to come!

Pretty ceremony details of green and yellow!

Jane and Josh got married at Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Charlottesville and the reception was held at Ash Lawn- Highland. They had the most gorgeous April wedding day – sunny and 72 degrees. Here some beautiful moments from their wedding:

Two of Jane’s brothers, Charles and Will

The table centerpieces were made a slate boards covered in local cheeses, fresh bakery bread, herbs and fruit.  It had a very French-country feel to it and proved a hit with guests as they waited for their turn at the buffet.

Each bridesmaids wore a  black dress in her own unique style.

Rachel De Jong of Rachel’s Fine Baked Goods made a wedding cake to die for! Chocolate Peanut Butter was the flavor and it was so rich that you had to wash it down with a glass of farm fresh whole milk – compliments of the groom’s family!

Jane’s three brothers played a song for the bride and groom’s First Dance. They are all super talented and if you think you recognize the brother in the middle, it’s because he is the lead singer of Parachute! Just a fun little fact!

Aaron Watson Photography captured this gorgeous wedding day back in October. The wedding and reception were both held at Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard. I love this couple and, lucky for me, get to live near them very soon! Here are some shots of the wedding party before the ceremony began:

These are some of my favorite details from Brett and Nathaniel’s January 9th wedding.

The wedding took place in Williamsburg, VA at Williamsburg United Methodist Church and Colonial Heritage

Brett and Nathaniel had such a personal and gorgeous ceremony. I wish I had sound bites from their vows. They each wrote their own and read them to each other for the first time during the ceremony. I’ll post more pictures when I get the professional ones back from the photographer!

Patrick and Jenny got married on May 23, 2009. They had a gorgeous lakeside venue complimented by a warm, sunny day.

Location: Lake Ritchie in Bealeton, VA

Photographer: Kristen Gardner Photography

I just love them!

Be very mindful of the relationship between your ceremony start time and the type of reception you offer.  I know this can get tricky when you are trying to save money or do things on a tight budget. Many people think, “I’ll get married at noon or one o’clock and then have an hor d’oeuvres receptions,” or, “I’ll get married in the evening and have a drinks and desserts reception.” It is totally possible to do that, however not the best, most thoughtful way. If you can only afford an hor d’oeuvres reception, plan your ceremony time at a mid-meal point in the day – such as 2pm or 3pm. This way your guests will have already eaten lunch and your reception will end before the dinner hours are up allowing them to grab dinner on their way home. If a dessert reception is all you want to offer, then again, place your ceremony at a mid-meal time of day or late at night. In the event of an evening wedding with desserts only, try not to have a ceremony earlier than 7pm and make it loud and clear on your invitations that it will be a dessert only reception. If you have an evening ceremony between 5-6pm and do desserts only, consider allowing extra time between the ceremony and reception start time so that guests can grab a quick dinner somewhere on the way.

Typically, wedding receptions should look like this:

• 7am-10am Ceremony Start Time: Brunch Reception
• 11am-1pm Ceremony Start Time: Lunch Reception
• 2pm-3pm Ceremony Start Time: Hors d’oeuvres, Cocktail Reception
• 4pm-7pm Ceremony Start Time: Dinner Reception
• 8pm on Ceremony Start Time: Dinner, Cocktail or Dessert Reception

It’s not always fun to figure these logistics out. If you are dealing with a site location that only has certain time slots available for your ceremony, pick the one that allows you to have the type of reception you can afford. A word to the wise: Everyone is happier when they’ve been fed!

Not to beat this to the ground, but folks there is a real difference here. Most all wedding and reception venues will offer a staffed site coordinator. That is fabulous and will do wonders for your wedding such as – adjust AC when the air gets too stuffy, dim the lights when dinner is over, collect your bar tab, etc. Perhaps it is easier to list what a “site coordinator” will not do:

• He/She will not make a detailed timeline of events that covers the minute by minute schedule involving all aspects of your day.
• He/She will typically not have coordinated the schedules of all wedding vendors participating in the day.
• He/She will not make sure all parties involved make it safely to the ceremony dressed, photographed, and flowered.
• He/She will not organize your bridal party introductions and make sure the MC is perfectly clear on correct name pronunciations.
• He/She will not make sure the MOG and FOB are given a 5 minute heads up as to when their dances will begin.
• He/She will not personally direct the bride and groom at all points during the event so they know what on earth is going on. (Even though you’ve planned your day for months, you will lose all concept of the event when it’s actually your wedding day. It’s a joyful thing.)
• He/She will not give a heads up to the “toasters” so that they are well prepared to speak into the mic at the proper time.
• He/She will not cue the arrival of the get-away car to be waiting for you outside.
• He/She will not make sure all of your personal belongings, purses, luggage, etc. is safely in your get-away vehicle.
• He/She will not take the burden and load off of your family’s back.
• He/She will not have gotten to know you personally through the months of planning and will not be able to share in your desired goal for the evening and be prepared to answer last minute questions knowing exactly what you’d say!

A wedding coordinator will! Those are some of the main misconceptions that brides have when they hear that their venue offers a site coordinator. Again, they are fabulous to have around and will work flawlessly in conjunction with your wedding coordinator. These reasons are precisely why I pursued my own business instead of going to work at a great venue as their site coordinator. I love the details and personal organization of the bride’s entire wedding day. I hope this helps define the roles and give you a better idea of who all needs to be involved in your day.

If you are planning an outdoor summer wedding, be mindful of more than just the heat – pay attention to bug activity. So many brides dream up the most romantic setting of white tables and chairs under white lanterns hanging from trees with the backdrop of a starry night. Undeniably gorgeous but very inviting for tiny, winged guests.  While you may not even notice because you are wrapped up in your wedding day bliss, your human guests will surely be busy swatting away the pests.

You don’t have to ditch the idea of an outdoor wedding and reception altogether, just make sure that you provide plenty of tiki torches, citronella candles, bug spray and an optional air conditioned indoor space for the wedding guests. Your table centerpieces could somehow incorporate the citronella candle and a travel size bottle of bug spray. There are plenty of ways to get creative and make your wedding a delight for everyone involved!