Beyond the basics: How to create a one-of-a-kind wedding

Beyond the basics: How to create a one-of-a-kind wedding

(ARA) – Summer is right around the corner, and that means one thing – wedding season. Spring is crunch time for millions of couples planning their summer wedding, but what many couples don’t know is that there are easy ways to avoid stress while planning their big day.  

Turn your dream into reality

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, and is most likely a day you’ve spent hours, days or even years dreaming about. When the time finally comes to start planning the big day, you don’t want to cut corners or settle for a run-of-the-mill, impersonal event. With the help of the American Rental Association (ARA) and your local rental store, you can be sure your wedding day will be one that will be remembered by all.

Rental opens the doors to options you may have never even considered due to time or budget constraints. A romantic outdoor wedding is possible any time of the year with huge tents and elegant canopies, equipped with heating or cooling options. Make a statement by skipping the traditional tiered cake and going with something more unique, like an impressive chocolate fountain with brownie or cheesecake bites or an ice cream cart complete with all the fixings. You can even create dramatic scenery on the walls and ceiling of your venue with a variety of accent lighting options.

Don’t break the bank

While your wedding day may be the most important day of your life, there is no reason why it has to be the most expensive. You can save money on seating, centerpieces and more by renting. Why buy all your wedding supplies when you are only going to use them once? Why bother paying for their storage and upkeep after the big day is over? Simplify your wedding and your budget by letting the rental store take care of the cleanup, maintenance and storage of all your decorations and supplies.

And forget about running all over town, wasting time, energy and money – make one stop at your local rental store and get everything you need. ARA members, which include more than 7,500 rental businesses and 1,100 manufacturers and suppliers, are located in every state, so you can get all the supplies you need in one stop. To make finding the rental store nearest you even easier, ARA offers RentalHQ.com, the world’s largest and most comprehensive rental store locator. Here, people planning their wedding and reception can find the rental store nearest them, read how-to tips and get ideas and inspiration for their event.

Enlist the experts

To make planning your big day even easier, some ARA member rental businesses offer Certified Event Rental Professionals (CERPs). And most offer on-site support, relieving much of the stress associated with planning a wedding. These professionals are ready and willing to share their knowledge and experience with you, from pre-wedding set-up all the way through the day of the event.

Deadlines, budgets, guest lists – these are all aspects of a wedding that need to be managed and sometimes are better left to the professionals. CERPs know what needs to be organized right away, and what can wait until later. They will think of that one detail that never would have crossed your mind and keep your budget in check.

Enlisting the help of a CERP will not only ease the stress and tension of planning an entire wedding, but it will also ensure that the wedding you always envisioned is the one you will remember for years to come. From the latest trends and themes, to innovative budget saving strategies, CERPs know the ins and outs of planning a wedding.

Don’t let planning your wedding cast a cloud over the springtime sunshine. Make it an enjoyable experience with the help of ARA and your local rental store.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Help The Photographer help you!

Congratulations! After painstaking research, you’ve finally decided on a photographer for your wedding. Yes, everyone knows the most important vendor for that day is the…ahem…photographer, and you, my dear, have bagged one of the best in the craft. He/She has a brilliant track record and is surely going to make a big success of your wedding coverage. However your work is not yet complete.

Below are tips on a few wedding-day aspects where your input will help your photographer give you the best (for the sake of this article we shall refer to him as…well…The Photographer). The best way to ensure all of this is to hire a competent wedding planner/coordinator…because it’s better that you focus on enjoying your special day than the size of the portions served for example.

1) Help The Photographer make sure that there’s enough time for portraits after you’ve dressed up (if you like portraits, that is)

It is usually a good idea to have a portrait session while your make up is still fresh.

Based on my experience, at least 90% of brides tell the photographer that there will be enough time for portraits after her make up session before leaving the house. Over 80% of these don’t end up having enough time and as such, the portrait sessions are rushed. (I once had a bride rush out of the house immediately after her make up…leaving me standing there looking silly with my equipment all set up). Unless you’ve planned every single action, every single make-up brush stroke, every single traffic situation, etc, you had best allow for the unforeseen.

Rushed sessions will, not necessarily produce poor quality pictures however; after all, you’ve hired Mr. ‘Super Duper Photographer’…the ultimate in creativity and spontaneity, who with his unparalleled professional experience will provide awesome images no matter what challenges and constraints come his way. I don’t doubt that. What I doubt is that he would get as many pictures of you relaxed and exhibiting composure. Or as many pictures of Daddy smiling calmly…after all he did promise the Vicar you wouldn’t be one moment late to church and he wouldn’t want to report that something as ‘trivial’ as portraits got in the way would he?

I must also note that The Photographer wouldn’t be so ‘super duper’ if the reason there wasn’t enough time was because he showed up late.

2) Help The Photographer be known as ‘The Photographer’

I say this not only because it’s good for The Photographer’s ego, but also because it helps him do his job more efficiently. In this age of camera phones, everyone’s become a ‘professional’ photographer. So chances are you’ll probably have dozens of ‘photographers’ on that day…that means more images…yaaay! To be on the safe side though, you forked out a decent sum so that you could hold someone accountable for great pictures, irrespective of whether lightning strikes their camera or not. The Photographer is answerable to you, and in his zeal to give you the best, would want to alert the others who are obstructing his shooting view…after all you paid him to deliver…right? Hopefully he shouldn’t have to go asserting himself every single time another ‘photographer’ compromises his work. The Photographer though, being the polite professional that he is, may not even bother to assert himself; he’ll be courteous, accommodating and well…ready to compromise his work just that teensy weensy bit so as not to spoil the mood of that special day.

The Photographer thus needs your help, either directly, or through your appointed spokesperson, in getting everyone to know that his word is law (of course second to yours) when it comes to the pictures. After all you want everyone looking in the same direction in the pictures don’t you? That in fact brings us to the next point.

3) Help The Photographer by deciding with your spouse to look in the same direction throughout portrait sessions

Portrait sessions after the service can be hectic because there are so many people zip-zapping about the place and requiring the couple’s attention at the same time.

It would be nice if you both were looking only at The Photographer (except when you’re looking at each other of course). It’s however more important that you look in the same direction (or at each other) no matter where you’re looking. It could be at another ‘photographer’, at the sky, at the ground…it doesn’t matter too much as long as you’re both looking in the same direction. That gives us the impression that the two of you are now one…committed equally to this glorious journey known as marriage…without any distractions.

An exception of course is the back-to-back Charlie’s Angels’ pose I sometimes impose on couples. That still gives the impression that you’re committed to one journey and are not distracted…only this time you’re trying to get each others backs because you occasionally but necessarily need to ‘kick butt’!

So determine with your spouse before each click what you will both be looking at…unless The Photographer says otherwise…and even then you need to be watching him.

4) Help The Photographer with food

On a serious note, The Photographer may need help with food. The Photographer is not a glutton or a poor hapless bum; he’ll most likely have had breakfast before showing up. Most times however, especially if he’s really busy doing a good job for you, he may not have time to eat at the reception.

Most times The Photographer is at the bottom of the banquet food chain, meaning that the servers would rather first serve all the guests. By the time food gets to The Photographer (if any) the show is probably over, and he’s been on his feet non-stop for hours. The best time for The Photographer to grab a quick bite is when the couple is having their meal and relatively little is going on. Once again, The Photographer is not going to bother asserting the importance of feeding him on time to the servers because he knows they answer not to him but to you.

The Photographer, being human, will function better for you if he’s had a little something to eat. You wouldn’t want him ordering and having a pizza delivered at your wedding would you?

Even if he doesn’t get to eat, the fact that someone bothers to ask if he’s gotten food, will go a long way.

In summary…

Treat The Photographer with the respect he deserves…I’m sure you’ll get a better job in the end…not that he’ll ever intentionally give less than his best in the first place!

Cheers

Dr Ajao Wale (DrAW!)

Watch Video Samples from Local Entertainers

Research – 8 Months Before your Wedding
Book – 7 Months Before your Wedding

Your reception is sure to have guests of all ages with all sorts of musical tastes, and you want to appeal to the masses. You want to find somebody to supply music that will get the crowd going, keep them entertained, and play hits that are sure to appeal to everyone.  There are different styles of Disc Jockeys. Some DJs are interactive, while others are low key.  Before you hire a Disc Jockey, Soloist, or Live Band for your wedding, you really need to understand if their style will mesh with your wishes.

This is the point in your planning that you want to request video samples from local entertainers. A disc jockey directory like DiscJockeys.TV will allow you to browse video samples from local disc jockeys at your leisure. Not only can this help you to narrow your search to find the perfect fit music wise, but it can also help you to decide upon which type of entertainer you want. Some brides insist on a band, while others feel that dj’s play the most music that is sure to appeal to all of the wedding guests. Whatever your choice is, this is the time to look into what local entertainers are out there and who will be the best match for your wedding reception. By requesting video samples, you can not only determine the breadth of music they play but also how they interact with the crowd.

You want to find somebody that has a personality that will mesh well with yours, and who you feel will appeal to the crowd. This is one task that helps to gather word of mouth recommendations on because if a band or dj comes recommended then you know that’s a good starting point. Having a musician that interacts with the crowd is always great to keep the party going. You just want to be careful that they don’t overwhelm the guests and make them feel pressured to dance. You’ll see some of the behavior in the video samples and you can learn a lot through meeting with the musicians you’re interested in.

If you have special music requests then you want to let them know that in your first meeting. If you have certain dances that you want to be part of your special day, they need to know that and you need to be sure that they can accommodate your request. If for example you are looking for a band and you find that one of them that you interview can’t play your wedding song, then this may not be the choice for you. Ask a lot of questions as with any other vendor and be sure that they are a match for how you envision the music going at your wedding reception.