No, it was only one photoshoot, we just went three places. Click here to see more fabulous shots from our engagement shoot with Jennifer Pinkerton!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
"Every path you have trod..."
"...through wilderness, through war, has led you to this moment." Elrond, in the Return of the King movie
Aside from the herd of wild expections that always stampedes at the startling sound of an oncoming wedding, there is an entirely different reason that weddings are stressful.
A wedding presents a unique, once-in-a-lifetime challenge designed for a skill set you may or may not possess. If you happen to not be predisposed to event planning (aka, herding cats) and can't afford a wedding planner (a la Jennifer Lopez) then things are just a teeny bit more difficult.
As I was contemplating coordinating cars for the big day I was suddenly glad for all the event planning I did at school--even though planning trips to the movie theater or massive picnic outings are small fish compaired to planning a wedding, it still requires some artistry. Especially when you don't have a car yourself. Suddenly those student politics campaign events, afterparties, and elaborate surprise birthday party schemes (including a 4 town scavenger hunt and a murder mystery) are more important than I had dreamed, and not in the way I would have expected.
Even if you are the event planner type, there is the added challenge that this event is really more like a clock or a company than a typical event. You have to set up an incredibly complex machine, and it has got to run without you. You'll be there, but you won't be able to over see things, answer questions, adjust decorations, make sure everything gets done at the right time, or anything else. Your job, once you get to the day, is let go of everything you just spent months thinking about.
Currently I am keeping track of my bridal parties' arrival times, rental arrivals, who is where to help out when, making sure cars (cars short enough to go under the bridge between us and the ceremony) are available to move everyone from one place to another, realizing that for speed, we may need to assign people to cars for leaving the ceremony and going to where we'll take pictures, I need to figure out who is in pictures where, what the decorations will be, who will take care of them when we're gone. Making lists of things that need to be made, things that need to be designed, things that need to be talked about, errands, and then there are all those none wedding related things that still need to be done (my poor kitchen...)
And, of course, there is the breathless waiting for RSVP's.
But through it all, I really do enjoy coordinating large, complicated, things. Especially when they start coming together. With 51 days to go, things are coming together. My dress is done, my head is spinning with dance steps, half finished centerpiece ideas are sitting on my dining room table, the invitations are all out, my Maid of Honor has started planning a wedding shower, plans are in place and invitations out for the Yankee Engagement Party.
-the Lady
So close, to reachin' that famous happy ending.
Aside from the herd of wild expections that always stampedes at the startling sound of an oncoming wedding, there is an entirely different reason that weddings are stressful.
A wedding presents a unique, once-in-a-lifetime challenge designed for a skill set you may or may not possess. If you happen to not be predisposed to event planning (aka, herding cats) and can't afford a wedding planner (a la Jennifer Lopez) then things are just a teeny bit more difficult.
As I was contemplating coordinating cars for the big day I was suddenly glad for all the event planning I did at school--even though planning trips to the movie theater or massive picnic outings are small fish compaired to planning a wedding, it still requires some artistry. Especially when you don't have a car yourself. Suddenly those student politics campaign events, afterparties, and elaborate surprise birthday party schemes (including a 4 town scavenger hunt and a murder mystery) are more important than I had dreamed, and not in the way I would have expected.
Even if you are the event planner type, there is the added challenge that this event is really more like a clock or a company than a typical event. You have to set up an incredibly complex machine, and it has got to run without you. You'll be there, but you won't be able to over see things, answer questions, adjust decorations, make sure everything gets done at the right time, or anything else. Your job, once you get to the day, is let go of everything you just spent months thinking about.
Currently I am keeping track of my bridal parties' arrival times, rental arrivals, who is where to help out when, making sure cars (cars short enough to go under the bridge between us and the ceremony) are available to move everyone from one place to another, realizing that for speed, we may need to assign people to cars for leaving the ceremony and going to where we'll take pictures, I need to figure out who is in pictures where, what the decorations will be, who will take care of them when we're gone. Making lists of things that need to be made, things that need to be designed, things that need to be talked about, errands, and then there are all those none wedding related things that still need to be done (my poor kitchen...)
And, of course, there is the breathless waiting for RSVP's.
But through it all, I really do enjoy coordinating large, complicated, things. Especially when they start coming together. With 51 days to go, things are coming together. My dress is done, my head is spinning with dance steps, half finished centerpiece ideas are sitting on my dining room table, the invitations are all out, my Maid of Honor has started planning a wedding shower, plans are in place and invitations out for the Yankee Engagement Party.
-the Lady
So close, to reachin' that famous happy ending.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Note to self:
The advantage to having been in five weddings in one summer is that you have ample opportunity to observe behind the scenes. To see what works logistically and what doesn’t. To note the things that really shouldn’t be left until the last minute. And perhaps most importantly: to try to figure out how to make things easier for the girl… or at the very least to try to keep her happy.
Groom’s Survival Guide to Wedding Planning - Part 1:
Groom’s Survival Guide to Wedding Planning - Part 1:
- Be flexible. If you can’t get this one down, you’re sunk.
- “Flexible” doesn’t have to mean “have no opinion,” but opinion should help the flow of the process, not stop it.
- Offer to help – but don’t insist on helping. That’s not helping, that called being OCD.
- Make it fun. If you are making it something else, you are way out of line Chuck.
- Scheme plans to bless/surprise her at random times and for no apparent reason. Trust me; it’s worth the extra effort.
- Keep your sense of humor intact. There is little that you will face that justifies losing it. It’s either: 1) not that important, 2) probably shouldn’t be that important, 3) may actually be important, but she doesn’t need you adding to the problem by being irritable.
- If the girl ain’t happy, ain’t _nobody_ happy. Sometimes it’s your job to ensure this is the case until she _is_ happy (emphasis on “sometimes”).
- Flowers. Lots of them. Repeat more than necessary.
- Learn to tell when it’s time to get involved, and when to shut up.
- When it’s time to shut up, Shut. Up. (see 6.1 & 6.2).
- Get used to hearing “it doesn’t matter... at the end of the day you will be married” from others.
- Don’t _ever_ use that phrase on your fiancée. If it’s important to her, it’s important.
- The Wedding racket. It is real. It is like the mafia of the wedding world. Full of extortionists, corrupt officials, and their miserly henchmen. They control everything. If you see something branded “wedding”... run. It may be your only hope.
- You can never say “I love you” too many times.
- Don’t let all your time together get swallowed by wedding planning. That may be all that’s on her mind, but it’s your job to help her escape it from time to time.
- Pay attention. You may have thought you knew this girl, but there is so much more to learn about her. Chances are this is the first time you’ve done any kind of “pressure planning” together, and you will spend the rest of your life pressure planning (house, finances, family, etc.), so you might as well learn how to do it now when your involvement can be sufficiently scaled back to take the time to observe how she operates and how you can complement her.
- Time to yourself is a good thing. Allows you to make a dent in the other non-wedding-planning projects done, and helps you get geared up for another planning session as you get reminded that you never want to be away from her.
- Ice cream is the solution to many problems.
- Duct tape can fix most of the others, but social conventions sometimes force you to use alternative methods – like money.
- Don’t be afraid to let how much you adore her show. It reminds her why she is putting up with all of this in the first place.
- the Knight
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Engagement
Saturday we went out and gallivanted around with Jennifer Pinkerton, our wedding photographer, and you can see the rest of the smashing results of our escapades here
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