Special touches and trends that can make your wedding day extra special
Spring is in the air, and so is love.
If the Save the Date cards filling up your mailbox are any indication, it's wedding season.
Now is the perfect time to get hitched before those North Carolina summers start blazing.
Planning a wedding can be a daunting task. You've got parents. You've got in-laws. And then you've got the big wide world of Pinterest, which can overwhelm anyone with its avalanche of creative ideas.
Your wedding should be a time of happiness, not stress. We took a look at some of the big wedding trends to give you a little help.
ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS
Photographer Faith Teasley loves telling a couple's love story - from the engagement through the wedding day - in pictures.
Teasley, who has a wedding photography business in Fayetteville, has seen more couples gravitate toward engagement photo sessions in settings that capture their personalities, rather than formal studio shots.
"We might go where they met, like a certain tree or a college campus," she said.
Engagement photos can be used for save-the-date cards and the couple's website and can be displayed at the wedding reception.
The sessions also help photographers get to know the bride and groom better before the wedding day, when the photographers will spend hours training a camera on the couple and their guests.
"It gets them comfortable in front of my camera," Teasley said. "Engagement sessions lead to better wedding photos. We're all comfortable with each other, and it just feels like we're hanging out on their wedding day."
For Carol Lima, who owns Caroline Lima Photography, there can be outfit changes and different locations, but the emphasis is on a site that reflects who the couple are, she said. She will collaborate with them to learn their interests, whether it's a lake if they like to fish or somewhere they like to spend time with their dog. She also scouts out pastoral locations that have simple backgrounds, lots of trees and greenery.
"When you add a lot to the photo, you lose the couple," said Lima, who lives in Raeford. "The focus needs to be on the beautiful."
She'll recommend poses and encourages them to interact - or steal a few kisses - while she snaps away. The direction tends to elicit her favorite shots.
"I want the moment in between," she said. "I want the giggle. I love the quiet moments, the one shared between a couple."
GOING DIGITAL
Having a wedding website is standard protocol to let your guests know about accommodations and registries and to share details about the big weekend. But after that, there's much more you can do digitally to help you plan and document your nuptials.
Pinterest can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, there are so many amazing ideas that look oh-so-cute and would be great for your hair, favors, dresses and the like. On the other, there are so many amazing ideas that you don't know how to choose.
When it comes to your big day, pick one theme and search accordingly. Do you want your wedding to look rustic or shabby chic? Maybe you have a color scheme in mind. Don't be afraid to be crafty, but stick with what's simple. You might think you have lots of time to execute a DIY wedding (and maybe you do). But be discriminating when it comes to picking projects. A DIY wedding takes more time than you might think, and you don't want to be stuck wrapping favor boxes the week before your big day.
When in doubt, pin your discovery. It's easier to pin now and delete later than it is to find it again.
Documenting the wedding
As soon as the bride is framed in the doorway, the cameras come out. From professional cameras to smartphones, weddings and receptions are extremely well-documented affairs. How do you get all those photos when it's over (and so you're not checking Facebook the entire night)? Tell your guests to download a wedding photo sharing app. WedPics, for example, lets you set up a private photo album with a real-time photo feed. There are five filters, and guests can upload photos, make comments and interact with other guests. Head to wedpics.com to download high-res photos and edit the galleries. WedPics, and a similar app called Wedding Party, are free. You also may consider setting up an Instagram account or feed (#love) for your guests, as well.
THE SENDOFF
Rice and birdseed are things of the past. Sparklers are the new bubbles. True, bubbles are pretty for pictures, but the soapy solution, if it lands just so, can stain your gowns. Make your grand exit a photogenic one to remember. With a nod to the traditional sword arch found in military weddings, distribute sparklers so your guests can create an arch for you to walk through. Order monogrammed matchbooks with the wedding date so your guests have a memento. The bride and groom should carry the sparklers, as well. Do a big dramatic dip at the end and seal it with a movie-worthy kiss. Trust us, it looks really cool.
Helpful tip: Teasley, the photographer, suggests buying wedding-friendly sparklers at sparklersonline.com. Others are too smokey, she said. Also, she said, some venues don't allow them for safety reasons, so check with the venue before lighting them up.
Other options to consider are sachet packets of lavender, rose petals (held in monogrammed paper cones), ribbon streamers, colorful confetti, and a procession led by a kilt-clad bagpiper.
BOUQUET ALTERNATIVES
When Kirsten Hausman was planning her wedding three years ago, she wanted something different than traditional flowers. She also wanted something eco-friendly within her budget. When she found unique paper flowers, she decided to make her own. By the end of the wedding, they were gone.
"The guests took them," she said with a laugh. "I was onto a good idea."
What started as a hobby for the Durham resident has turned into Flowerthyme, a full-time business of making the colorful paper bouquets. She sells them at itsflowerthyme.com and on Etsy.
"They have a quirky personality," Hausman said. "It's wonderful to keep your bouquet forever. You can display it in your house, or give it as a gift (to the wedding party) to let them know how important they were to you that day. It's a really cool option."
She carries paper in 60 colors of stock and can custom-match paper to the wedding colors. She likes to use recycled and old paper, even using sheet music, vintage maps and dictionary pages to customize the bouquet.
A bride can order a bouquet just for herself, Hausman said, or she can order smaller arrangements for bridesmaids and flower girls as well as corsages and boutonnieres for other members of the wedding party.
OTHER TRENDS
Animals allowed
If you have an outdoor wedding - and a well-behaved dog - why not invited your best canine friend? If your pooch is especially patient, you can consider dressing him or her up. The dogs can be part of the wedding procession, or can just sniff around the tables for wedding cake crumbs. Just keep lots of water bowls handy.
Wedding cake toppers
It's no longer about a plastic bride and groom plunked at the top of your wedding cake. Head to Etsy to buy customized toppers - birds, animals, your likeness - that reflect your wedding colors and personalities.
Fans
Keep your guests cool, particularly during hot Southern summers, with customized fans. Fans can be made in your wedding colors. Print the program on them, or have them serve as table numbers so guests can fan themselves at the reception.
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