Wedding Stress - Don't Be a Super Bride!

Planning a wedding can be stressful with the many decisions and details that it entails. The reality is that the planning stages should bring you closer as you make important decisions together. 

Do not let planning the wedding consume you, your family, and friends. Remember it is also important to just be you and take breaks from planning the wedding.

Here are a few tips on reducing the stress while planning:

•  Prepare a budget to use as a guide; there are plenty of templates available. If you are registered with Wedding Wire or The Knot they both have this tool.
• Date your fiancé – this keeps the romance going…this is how you got the ring in the first place! Don’t be lost in the wedding planning and not prepared for the marriage.
• Communicate – It is important to communicate your ideas, vision, and have an open dialogue with your fiancé and whoever is playing a role in your wedding.
• Plan & Think Thoroughly- Plan your ideas on paper and think every detail through from the start to finish. Too many times I meet/see Brides plan to do thing themselves because ‘no one else is going to do it right, or the way they want it done’……big mistake! As a Bride you cannot do it all.

• Enlist Professionals – I cannot stress enough that you should secure professional vendors with contracts for each person. There is no rewind button for your wedding day so invest and enlist professionals. If you think you cannot afford one, please call and discuss the services you are looking for with them. Invest in quality for your wedding.  There are other options to the ‘packages’ listed on the website. 

For Example:

Photography- I really love you work…but I don’t need eight hours. No problem let’s see what we can do for six hours coverage.

Wedding Planner/Coordinator- I feel really good about selecting vendors, I just need help with the design and the weeks leading up to the wedding. Sure we can customize these services for you.

Happy Planning!

 

Planning a Wedding in a Different State

Planning from a distance can sometimes be challenging, whether you are planning a destination wedding to an island or to another state. Hey let’s face it planning an event in the same state can be a bit much! 

We are no strangers to this concept, so far for the 2014 year we have completed three weddings with Brides that live in another state and have traveled to Baltimore to tie the Knot! This happens for a variety of reasons; they may have met the love of their life in Baltimore or simply grew up in Maryland before relocating. Let’s face it planning a wedding in a different state can be stressful if you do not have a good plan in place and great support (family and/or your wedding team of vendors). 

Our most recent wedding was with a wonderful couple that resides in the state of Texas. We worked with them on planning their wedding with a good amount emails, phone conversations, and other forms of communication. There were in person meetings when they traveled in town during the nine months we worked together. 

By the time they arrived into Baltimore a few days before the wedding, they were in very good shape with minor items to take care of. 

If you are planning a wedding from a distance, do not stress it can be done.

Here are a five tips to help you plan your wedding in a state you do not live in:

1.      Start planning as early as possible by creating your own detailed planning agenda. While there are many online tools to help you stay on track, those tools do not know when you will be traveling to the state you will be getting married in. This may mean booking your photographer at 5 months out instead of 8 months. Side note: choosing a good photographer is very important!

2.      Do not rely on online sources for everything, this is very helpful…but sometimes this may sway your decision of quantity vs. quality. Use online as a tool and dig a little deeper in what wedding professionals have to offer in their areas of expertise, not all details and portfolios fit online.  

3.      Consider hiring a planner ….you should consider meeting and hiring a professional planner that is very knowledge of the industry and the market. Since you are planning from a distance, their communication must be GREAT!

4.      If your venue has a planner some things you should keep in mind are: will the venue planner assist you will identifying vendors, negotiating contracts, schedule appointments, and attend meetings? These are things should consider and will be beneficial with an outside planner assisting you along the way.

5.      When you plan on traveling into town, plan weeks in advance…most vendors are working on events for the weekend. If you can schedule all your appointments within a 5-15 mile radius this will be helpful for you. Tip: If you planner has an office, schedule a full day of appointments at their office so you can get lots accomplished without traveling. 

There are so many things that you will need to know, research as much as possible until you have a good understanding, be as organized and detailed as possible when contacting vendors and planning overall. If this is too stressful or you just need some help, considering interviewing at least two to three planners.

Colorful Teal and Orange Nigerian Fusion Wedding in Baltimore, Maryland

Colorful Teal and Orange Nigerian Fusion Wedding in Baltimore, Maryland

This is blog is originally posted by Munaluchi Bridal, we are so excited that one of our weddings was selected to be a feature!

Thank you Charlotte & Sola!

Posted Mar 5 2014 by Angela Washington in Multicultural Weddings, Nigerian Weddings, Real Weddings 

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Charlotte Young and Olusola Fadare’s wedding was a chic and heartwarming celebration of culture and love.  Charlotte’s stunning face, and timeless natural updo were complimented beautifully by her gorgeous crystal statement earrings. Olusola looked like prince charming in his perfectly tailored tuxedo, which he accessorized with charming personalized black cuff-links that read, “I Do.”  This stylish couple fused Charlotte’s African American heritage with Olusola’s Nigerian culture throughout their ceremony and reception. In tribute to the groom’s Yoruba Nigerian roots, their bridesmaids wore Ankara fabric print dresses and danced the night away to Nigerian music; to celebrate the bride’s Southern roots, the couple jumped the broom and soul food was served during the reception. Paosin Photography took the most lovely pictures of this gorgeous fusion wedding.

Quick Facts 

• Wedding Date:  08/17/2013
• Wedding Location:  Preston Hall, Baltimore, MD
• Wedding Colors: Teal and Orange
• Wedding Flowers: We made the flowers for the wedding: I used balsa wood and preserved roses for the bouquet and the bridesmaids used real touch calla lilies.
• First Dance Song: ”Amani” by Philip Monteiro/”I Love My Baby” by Wizkid
• Wedding Cake Flavors: Praline-the wedding cake came from a french bakery.
• Wedding Menu Favorite:  Everyone loved the blending of the Nigerian and American foods, my personal fav was the Nigerian moin join.
• Bridesmaids Gifts: I spent the summer in Morocco and brought back Moroccan pillows, pottery and jewelry for all the bridesmaids.
• Groomsmen Gifts:  Traditional Nigerian caps.

                                 
Wedding Theme
We were inspired by our desire to infuse African American culture with Nigerian style and tradition. We wanted to use bright bold colors and so chose teal and orange.
Wedding Style
My wedding dress was a fit and flare gown from Allure that I paired with a Maggie Sottero diamond belt and a lace veil from Etsy. I loved all of my accessories, but my favorite were my wing tip earrings from Nordstrom.
Incorporation of Culture
We did our best to mix both my SC and his Yoruba Nigerian roots: My bridesmaids wore Ankara fabric print dresses and the groomsmen wore matching Ankara bow ties. We jumped the broom, had both Soul Food and Nigerian food and played both styles of music.
Most Memorable Moment 
There were so many great memories, my fave was after we said I do and jumped the broom, we danced down the aisle to “I Love My Life” by Demarco.
Wedding Advice
Don’t be afraid to stand up for your wedding vision, everyone will offer their input but it is your wedding and at the end of the day you want to be happy with what you see.

Vendors

• Wedding Planner: Prestigious Occasions
• Invitations/Stationery: Invitation Consultants/Vista Print
• Ceremony and Reception Location: Preston Hall
• Wedding Dress: Allure
• Bridesmaids Dresses: Tailor Made by a family friend
• Grooms Suit: Topman
• Hair: Octavia at Studio Chique
• Make-up: Laide Akinfolarin of Style Dazzle
• Shoes: Luichiny
• Photography: Paosin Photography
• Videography: Faraday Video Productions
• Florist: We designed our own flowers
• Wedding Cake: Patisserie Poupon
• DJ: Dee’Jay Donn

Missed Opportunities | A Bride’s “Should Have….”

We have had the pleasure of working with plenty of couples over the past decade and we always like to hear what the couples would change if anything. I thought I would share two things with you today on what most would say they would have done differently.

The top decision is usually is “I would have hired a videographer” there are so many wonderful points of the entire day that you may wish that you had the opportunity to play back and enjoy. We had a bride in the Fall of 2012 that wanted to see the Flower Girl and Ring Bearer’s adorable dance for the introductions and was a little sad that no one captured this.

While the wedding was gorgeous and just simply wonderful, she splurged more on décor & food while cutting back in other areas. The reality is that guests are not going to remember the type of flowers that you selected; they just know that it looked nice. If you can shave off a few savings in the correct areas to fit everything that you truly want in the budget then do so!

The second we would like to share with you is “I would have started planning earlier”

This second feedback is very interesting, based on time and our customer service commitment we limit the number of full planning weddings that we offer each year. Therefore we have many clients that book with us for partial planning and month of coordination. We find that many couples begin the planning process and get overwhelmed with securing the right vendors that fit within their budget. It is easy to put things off until ‘next week’ and by the time you realize you may be just a few months away from the wedding!

Although you may feel that you have lots of planning time, there are so many other weddings, milestone parties & events, and special occasions taking place in the lives of other that may be planning at the same time. For example, during the late spring is a peak season with weddings, proms, graduations, and other events. Event professionals usually book pretty fast. Start planning as early as possible so you have time to think about all the details and logistics your wedding involves.

Have fun planning, plan ahead and weigh the pros and cons about hiring a videographer for your special day!