We loved photographing the BIG DAY for Kerry and Fred! Kerry was a gorgeous bride just full of life and humor. She truly made this an amazing experience for us, and we were blessed to be able share their day. We are doubly blessed that she’s agreed to share some insights with you, our beautiful Dreamcicle Brides! 

Dreamcicle Bride Shares Her Advice in Bride to Bride: The Three P’s: Plan, Process and Party!

I was flattered when Kristi asked if I could share my wedding experience with other brides. The advice I would like to share is plan, process and party! Planning for the big day takes a lot of time prepping all your thoughts and ideas then formulating into a plan. I was in overload mode many days as I had exactly six months to plan this wedding while in grad school and working full time. As you try to decide what colors, flowers, music, food, venues, photographer, food, cake, hair, drinks, special touches unique to the both of you, jewelry, shoes, favors, table decorations, pictures displayed, lights, DJ, invitations and family members to have in the wedding.

First, the plan has to start with the checklists. Best approach is to engage a few trusted friends and family members to get honest feedback and advise on your thoughts and ideas. Process came second as I worked on the checklist. I became more at peace with our decisions and plans the more check marks I saw on the list. In August, I still had much finalizing to do but overwhelmed with the analyze paralysis loop so my maid of honor helped take my ideas and nailed down the decisions I needed to finish and boy we had fun singing YouTube songs on the patio with a few cocktails and our friends google images and Pinterest.

I wanted this day to be my dream come true and it truly was. I did have a few hiccups along the way. I ran out of time the last two days and had to be willing to assign tasks to family members to help out. Sleep well the night before is a must. Drink lots of water is extremely important too. Stick with your theme and be original. Fred and I chose many special touches such as we wrote our own ceremony and vows, the rose ceremony and promises to our children. He surprised me by singing two special songs that I will always cherish. I had difficulties with my contacts the day of as I do not wear them and chose to wear for the wedding, I had only used them two times (not good planning) and we lost valuable time for pictures.

Prep hair – use lots of cheap hair spray. Have snacks available for setup crew and water especially if you have an outdoor wedding. I should have had handheld fans as it was still warm in October. We chose original Irish music for pre-wedding and reception to unite our Irish heritage. The only huge regret that I have is I did not have anyone video tape my special day and I wish I could have watched my kids walk down the aisle. I had my 91 year old grandma and my son walk me down the aisle which was so special and a precious moment that I will never forget.

Hire a photography team so you have more than one person taking photos from different locations and angles. There are  big benefits  – it’s so worth everything and a team with great personality like Kristi and Brian from Dreamcicle Studios is amazing.

Feed the guests a good meal – they really appreciate it and buffet is always a plus so the guest can eat what they like. Another neat thing we did was create a treasure box with rocks that the guests could leave us a special message called “advise agates”. We created our guest book with our engagement photos from shutterfly. Be sure and write your husband or wife to be a special wedding day love note and give a little token of love for them to cherish. I gave Fred an engraved silver Christmas tree ornament with our names and a piece of chocolate and a hankie.

Know you won’t please everyone but it is your day and your taste so it is ok. I was blessed with lots of helpers the day of my wedding so I did not have to worry about anything as my family, florist, wedding venue planner and photographer took care of all the wedding days details. Everything came together even better than I visioned and everyone had a great time. The party was worth every bit of all the planning and processing!

Heartfelt blessings, 
Kerry

About Dreamcicle Studios Photography: We’re a madly in love husband and wife photography team in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area that loves capturing love more than anything! We photograph new beginnings and completed souls; faces of anticipation, happiness, love. It’s wedding photography designed uniquely for you. We’d love to speak to you about photographing your dream wedding day! Contact us by clicking here.