When Will You Have Your "First Look"?

An age-old wedding superstition is that on the wedding day, if the bride and groom see each other before the wedding ceremony, it's bad luck. Many couples today pay homage to this superstition by finding a loop hole - instead of the big reveal happening at the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom have an intimate "First Look" moment during the day, sometime before the ceremony.

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Reasons to wait until the ceremony to see your betrothed are obvious... the romance, the suspense, the anticipation! But logistically it might be better to have an intimate moment with your future spouse before the wedding, due to time constraints, or to give you and your wedding party more opportunities for pictures. And to just have a moment to yourselves before all the craziness starts.

What do you think? Would you (or did you) wait until the wedding ceremony to see your spouse-to-be? Or are you in favor of a "first look" session?

Photofetti!!

This idea from Martha Stewart makes me so happy (as do most of her ideas). Photofetti! It's circular confetti with pictures on both sides, mixed in with colored confetti in the colors of your choice. Martha suggests sprinkling the confetti on reception tables to act as conversation-starters for your guests...





The Photofetti website also lists some other creative uses such as:

• Sprinkled in invitations (engagement or baby photo confetti!)
• Sprinkled in thank yous (wedding photo confetti!)
• Included in scrapbooks
• Tossed on the bride & groom

I'd like to add that this type of decorative accent would be perfect for bridal showers, too!

You can upload your photos on the Photofetti website and they are currently offering free shipping on certain quantities. I'm definitely bookmarking this site!

Behind the Scenes: Photography

Photography is one of my favorite hobbies and something I don't think any couple should skimp on when planning their wedding. You will have these pictures forever, so make sure you choose a photographer that really meshes well with your personality and the style of your wedding. Most people know what to expect of a photographer on the day of a wedding - the photographer normally shows up to take some "getting ready" pictures, takes photos during the ceremony, and then stays to take pictures throughout the reception. But what then? What is your photographer doing when you're on your fabulous honeymoon?? What's happening to your pictures and how do they transform into the beautiful pictures that end up in your wedding album (and plastered all over the internet, if you're me!)?

Well you're about to find out!

Jessica from Lemongrass Photography has graciously offered to let us in on what goes on behind the scenes after the pictures have been snapped and the work that happens to make your pictures beautiful!

{All images on this post are credited to Lemongrass Photography}



Jessica says her images are "fresh and bright and happy" and loves natural light to capture truly beautiful photos. "I love to have couples laugh and talk and kiss and hug, just like they would if I wasn't there. I do this by kinda "setting up" a couple in a great spot, and then just letting them interact. I don't "pose" them, instead I let their personalities shine through."



As for a typical wedding day timeline, Jessica says she likes to keep things as simple as possible for the bride & groom. Here are a few Lemongrass "perks" a bride & groom can expect on their wedding day:

• Wedding day - take photos
• Reception - see a sneak peek of photos in a slideshow (Author's side note: OMG, how does she do this so quickly?!)
• Wedding night/next morning - download all images & post a few faves to the Lemongrass blog!
• Two-five days post-wedding - finish editing pictures, design album & post more pics to the blog; add favorites to Facebook & tag the bride and groom
• One week post-wedding - all images are posted to a gallery for family & friends (and bride & groom when they return from their honeymoon!)
  

Another special thing Jessica does is hand out little "mini" cards at the reception that gives all the guests the website and password to see the private photo gallery! Then they can order pictures for themselves, as well as just oohh and ahhh over the pictures!

Now most of us know at least a little about Photoshop and what it's used for (image editing), and most photographers rely on some sort of editing after the picture is taken to maximize crispness & color. This is what gives your pictures that extra sparkle & vibrancy! Although Jessica aims to get the picture taken as close to perfect as possible right off of the camera (minimizing post-shoot editing as much as possible), she does use Photoshop to add some "extra oomph" to her photos. Here's a progression of Jessica's image editing:

One last important tip from Jessica about wedding photos:

"Photo editing definitely varies from photographer to photographer. I try to do everything in a very formulated manner, so that every image looks similar and they all have a flow and connection - this is super important when designing albums! I always try to take into account the couple, the day, the light... etc when I am creating photos for a couple, both while taking them, and after, during the editing stages. Wedding photographs are so full of love, and joy... they are just beautiful, and I am so lucky to be able to be a part of that!"

Thanks, Jessica, for educating us all on what happens behind the scenes after the wedding day!

And now for one last picture... ;)



{My husband & me on our wedding day!}

Red Lips + My Wedding Dress!

I don't normally post about ME on the Bustle Blog, but I had to showcase the makeup artistry & photography of two vendors who made this Trash the Dress session possible!

NaShara from Bridal Beauty by Blush asked me if I'd be a model for an upcoming Trash the Dress shoot, where she would do the makeup and Jessica from Lemongrass Photography (who has now seen me in my wedding dress 3 different times!) would provide the photography. Of course, I said yes! I love any excuse to wear my wedding dress again (although this time, I was a little scared it wouldn't FIT)!

{All pictures in this post are credited to Lemongrass Photography}

NaShara thought I would look good with a bright red lip. I was kinda scared to go so bright, but I think it looks good in the pictures! Always trust the professionals!





We took pictures downtown at Military Park, outside the historical society & then made our way up to the IMA...



When we got to the IMA, NaShara decided to tone down the red lip and switch to a more pink/purple gloss, which was also very pretty.



There was also another bride (also named Jessica) at the photoshoot, and coincidentally, we showed up with the SAME EXACT WEDDING DRESS!!! How crazy is that?!



Anyways, I had a fabulous time and it was nice to know that my dress still fit!! :)

xoxo

Lindsey

Fabulous Outdoor Decor Idea

Per usual, I was browsing some blogs this morning when I happened across this picture (taken by super-fab Amelia Lyon):






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How perfect would it be to do a photoshoot in a field of colorful balloons??!

This is a great idea for any outdoor occasion - little kids' birthday parties, grown-up birthday parties, heck - ANY party!

Blog Feature

{This is me, surprised & happy... kinda like what I feel like right now!!}

Hello! I just had to tell you that Bustle Event Design is being featured in an interview on Lemongrass Photography's blog... check it out!

Link: http://lemongrassphotography.blogspot.com/2009/01/event-planners-rock.html.

Thanks, Jessica!

Hockney-style Polaroids

I just discovered this incredibly cool tool in flickr's Big Huge Labs: the Hockneyizer. It turns any photo into a jumble of Polaroid-framed (or no-framed) images. Here's our famous Wedding Feet photo in Hockney-style:

Fabulous!

Weekend Update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I've been quite busy with two things:

1) My dog, Linc (yes, the same one I've had since the 3rd grade; he's 21 years old & lives with my parents), was ran over by a car on Saturday and somehow survived. The vet said she didn't feel any broken bones, but he does have a lot of bruising and a laceration on his leg. Right now, our biggest concern is that he's immobile and won't get up to go to the bathroom. Even when we pick him up and place him outside, he still won't go. I know this is all horribly depressing for a wedding planning blog, but writing about it helps me cope with the fact that we might have to put him down in a few days if he doesn't improve. *tear

2) The other thing keeping me busy was preparing for my Trash the Dress photoshoot with Jessica from Lemongrass Photography. I wanted to get some shots of TR and me at home, so I cleaned and organized my house pretty much every evening last week. Yesterday (Sunday) was the shoot and I had a great time. It was so nice to have something take my mind of Linc. Here are some of the locations we took pictures:

• Our front yard ~ in the grass and in our Adirondack chairs
• Inside our house ~ poking fun at the "domestic" life... me with mixing bowls and a wooden spoon, pretending to bake cookies and pour TR coffee... TR with a Budweiser on the couch and him poking his head in the fridge... I can't wait to see how those turn out!
• Railroad tracks ~ TR found this H.U.G.E. pile of railroad ties (the long wooden planks) off the side of Pendleton Pike and we climbed on them... we also took pics on the railroad tracks themselves... I was so nervous about shooting here because these tracks are fairly active train tracks!
• Fort Benjamin Harrison ~ in the back of some abandoned buildings; dumpsters really give a visual depictment of "trashing" the dress
• Veterans of Foreign War post ~ by an old war tank & an old Winebago (not sure why the Winebago was there, but it was green and I was wearing a red scarf for those pictures, so it might make for a good Christmas picture!)
• Fall Creek Loop trail/park ~ in the middle of some rustic, tall, scratchy weeds/grass/trees

Jessica said she'd have a link up in a few days and I'll post pictures as soon as I can!!