Wedding Day Location

When you start thinking about locations, instead of running all over the place looking at venue ideas and getting confused, instead try visualizing where you want to do your ceremony. Where do you want to look at the most special person in the world and tell them you love them? Where do you want to say this and party with those who love you?


Visualization Exercise: Consider the following as spaces for exchanging your vows:


• somewhere all ages of your family will be comfortable
• someplace you can be barefoot and comfortable
• in the church or temple you have loved with your family
• a cool, comfortable room “decorated to the nines”
• a ceremony in the round inside a romantic ballroom
• near the sound or sight of water
• at a home you have always loved
• on a promontory or cliff overlooking fields or valleys
• on a terrace overlooking the ocean


What time of day do you want to have a ceremony? What kind of light?


• in the afternoon sun, the light is golden and warm
• hot, with everyone outside in the sun, holding parasols
• clear direct light of morning or early afternoon
• as the sun is setting so you go to cocktails where there is lots of candlelight
• in the pitch of night only lit by candles and controlled light


After you have taken these considerations into mind, do research to find the place that fits your preferred requirements. Before you go to look at anything, make a list of your “deal breakers” so you don’t set yourself up for heartbreak.


The following list of questions are things to consider before you allow yourself to fall in love with a place that is not available or affordable.


• Is the location available for your preferred dates?
• Does the venue have a great caterer or allow one you love to work there?
• Is the venue accessible by transport if there is nothing to do around it for guests during their wedding stay in town?
• Does the bridal couple have a place to change into their ceremony clothes at the venue, or do they ride in ready for the aisle?
• How far away are beauty parlors?
• If you have to convert the space from ceremony to dinner, how disturbing is that process for guests and staff?


Chances are if you are romancing a public venue there have been weddings there before. Inquire what a previous project there cost to produce turn-key; make sure and get the guest count. Divide project cost by guest count to get a per person production cost.


If the per person cost is within the range of what you anticipate spending you are on a road to happiness. Book a visit to the location with your fiancée. Try to plan a time where you won’t rush in/have to rush out. Go alone if your fiancée can’t do so.


Similar to buying a home or renting an apartment – you don’t need big sales pitches, hype or explanations. Get in the space, walk around and feel the environment. Get information on the location, take a few photos of spaces there you like (it will help you know what backgrounds look like for photos) and depart.


Once you visit about three locations this way, you will have the feel of what it takes to produce your wedding at each site.


Make a list of pros and cons for each venue, compare and you’re your selection. It should take about two weeks to research and decide.


If you have a professional wedding producer, after you download to them what you want to do, they can provide you with a selection of venues that match your criteria.

Wedding Day Makeup

When getting ready to make your beauty services selection for your wedding day, why not think about your setting and who will be around you, not just what you look like in front of the mirror?


Ask yourself a couple of questions to get centered: When is the last time everyone was looking at me all evening? When is the last time I wore a formal gown (the lightest color in the room) at a party for 100 plus guests? When is the last time I needed to be beautiful for 8 hours plus?


Is everyone really going to be looking at me from across the room all evening? Yes, they are, and they are going to love it! ..if you make sure you have sufficient well blended make-up to have it work for you.


These questions may take you out of “not wanting to look like I’m too made up” state of mind and get you into being gorgeous like a movie star, one that is used to being photographed. Your face needs to have depth and shadow beyond what a regular work day or night on the town usually has.


Take some photos out of magazines that have similar coloration to you with brows/hair/etc. in line with your own complexion. Lay all photos you selected out together and choose the one that best captures what you want your feel to be.


Get a really good professional artist to do a trial face on a day when you can plan to spend the evening with your fiancée if possible. Wear a button front shirt as close to the wedding dress color when you go for trial beauty. It makes it easier to swap out to a hot little dress. Get ready for people to look at you a bit more than usual and get feedback from your baby. Does he love the way you look? He is probably the one you want to look great for, right?


Make sure and take some photos in daylight and with flash at night. See how the shadows work your face from your makeup. Does it look fantastic on camera? If not you may need to keep looking until you find an artist that gets what you want.


Remember, every face absorbs makeup at different paces and different amounts. You will probably be walking the aisle about 1 ½ to 2 hours after your face is done, so do your real looking and inspecting then. You may think you have too much make up on at first – let it absorb a bit before you get to critical.


You want to look pretty when seen up close and from a ballroom away. If your makeup is correct this magic will happen.