Weekly Wedding Tip
brought to you by bridalguide.com 

"When picking a photographer, be sure to view complete albums of several weddings that he shot and assembled. That will help you judge the consistency of his work, as well as his ability to tell the complete story of the wedding."

In addition to seeing the complete wedding album - you will also want to look at the album style as each photographer has their own unique way of presenting the photos to showcase the wedding. I recently wrote an article on How to Find the Right Wedding Photographer For You after attending the NJ Wedding Salon that mentioned this. Below is an excerpt from the article and you can see the entire article here.

View the Album Styles
At the show, each photographer had albums on display to give you an idea of how they look when finished. It's great to be able to see all the different options as you visit each photographers booth. There are many different album styles out there, but one that stood out to me at the NJ Wedding Salon was from Romeo Creations. They offer the option to have a one of a kind wedding album that features a handmade metal cover. The album cover images range from landscape to floral to the abstract. An absolutely stunning presentation.

Above Images courtesy of White Wedding Album

Weekly Wedding Tip
brought to you by bridalguide.com

"Bring a traveling outfit. Although you may think you'll never want to remove that wedding gown, after a long day of eating, drinking, and making merry, you'll probably want to slip into something more comfortable for your departure."

Above are two of the many dresses I saw at Bluefly that you might like to change into for your departure, plus you can wear them again after your big day. Even if you aren't necessarily departing and you are staying at the location of your wedding locale, you might want to consider a change of clothing.

Here's a little story from my own wedding night as neither myself or my husband brought a traveling outfit. Our wedding was on the grounds of an historic inn, so we stayed there the first night. I remember my husband and I were hungry after the festivities wore down. We ventured out into the small town, but the only restaurant that was open was a sub/pizza shop. We walked in and ordered while still in our wedding gown and tux :) When we returned to our room and started eating I ended up dripping some tomato juice with seeds onto my dress - definitely not a good thing. But, a quick trip to the bathroom for cold water actually removed the tomato spot - thank goodness. Had we changed into something a bit more comfortable, it would definitely have been easier to eat without worries. But, then again - we did make history that night in a small town in upstate NY (and, no it's not what you're thinking). When we returned to that same shop about 2 years later, the owner actually recognized us as being the couple that came in to order in our wedding attire. Nobody else had ever done that before.

Above Dresses (left/right):
BCBGMAXAZRIA - lavender watercolor chiffon strapless dress
Nanette Lepore - teal floral silk 'Cleopatra Slip' dress

Weekly Wedding Tip
brought to you by bridalguide.com
"Try to allow at least a month to assemble your invitations and address the envelopes - and consider calling on your bridesmaids to help."

To help you better estimate when to assemble your invitations - the average guideline to follow for sending the invitations is 8 weeks before the wedding and ask for an RSVP date 3 weeks before your wedding. If you don't get to send them out until 6 weeks before the big day, ask for an RSVP date of 2 weeks before the wedding. You'll want to make sure you have enough time to start creating your place cards, making final head counts and seating arrangements, assembling favors, etc. So, if you want to plan a fun day with your bridesmaids to assemble your invitations, you are looking at having a get together around 3 months before the big day.

Invitations shown above are from the new releases at eInvite

Weekly Wedding Tip
brought to you by bridalguide.com

"To cut down limo rental costs, request a color other than black or white, such as a subtle blue or burgundy."

For my own wedding, my husband and I rented a silver PT Cruiser. Our wedding reception was a bit of a drive from the church ceremony so it was fun to spend time together and talk before meeting our guests for the party. We also didn't feel rushed as can sometimes happen with limo rentals because the car stayed with us at the location and we drove home in it the next day. (our reception was on the grounds of a B&B and we stayed there that first night before meeting family the next day and opening our wedding presents)

What will be your mode of transportation on your wedding day?

Weekly Wedding Tip
brought to you by bridalguide.com

"Keep a pretty basket filled with useful goodies like safety pins, a sewing kit, aspirin, a hairbrush, hair spray, and extra panty hose in the rest room at your reception."

You might even consider creating 2 restroom baskets - one for the men and one for the ladies. Of course, the men's bathroom basket is much simpler and could include mints and/or gum, spray deodorant, a comb, antacids, dental floss, and a lint brush. Their basket could even be an overturned top hat. For the ladies room, you probably want to get a little prettier and tie a ribbon on it and in addition to the items mentioned above, you might also include tampons and sanitary pads (discretely placed in the back, but still noticeable), mints and/or gum, bobby pins, spray deodorant, hand lotion, clear nail polish, hand sanitizer, antacids, dental floss, Band-aids, a comb, a laundry pen, emery boards, and you might consider bug repellent for outdoor weddings. In addition to the basket, you might want to add a box or 2 of tissues.

For those who choose to purchase a pre-made restroom basket, Gift Basket Classics has a nice one (shown in photo above).

Anybody have any additional ideas? Will you be putting a basket together for your wedding?