One Fine Day Wedding Consultation Blog

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Loved these cupcake toppers from Etsy- Potter and Butler.

Hope you have a happy and safe New Year's Eve!

engagement session- in the snow

I love the snow- well I don't love driving in the snow- but I love watching it! So beautiful. And I love really pretty engagement sessions with stunning outdoor backdrops- so combine the two and you have brilliance! So, if it's possible to schedule your engagement session with your photographer on a stunning snowy day- bonus!

Wanted to share these snowy session shots from one of my favorites- Cassidy Dawn Photography!

 

congratulations you're engaged! part 3

Be sure to check out part 1 & part 2 of our series of tips of what to do first when you're engaged!! The fun continues today with a few more tips- we hope that you find them helpful!

• Create a notebook or a computer folder of favorites or inspirational pictures of things you love that you've seen from some great magazines or blogs and be sure to add a bookmark to your favorites.  We highly recommend Google Reader for keeping up to date on your favorite wedding blogs. Wedding Blogs have nearly taken over the world of wedding Magazines and they are oh so wonderful! Check out some of our favorites here! And if you have the time (it's very addictive) Pinterest is amazing for organizing your inspirational pics & wedding ideas you find online.

 

Photo from GetMarried.com

• Sign up for something fun with your fiance  like Dance Lessons so that it's not constant wedding talk. You are able to enjoy something fun together that you can use for a lifetime but that is also beneficial for your wedding day when all eyes are on you on the dance floor for your first dance! Think of it as a gift to yourself!!

Photo by melanie mauer of another wonderful One Fine Day Couple- Karen & John- they had an amazing first dance!!

Our last tip for this series but probably the most important!! Consider hiring a wedding planner! Often times you intend to do all the planning yourself- that's A-OK. But you & your mom deserve to have someone there on the wedding day or the month prior at the least to help you pull all the last minute things together and implement all of your amazing plans that you have worked so hard for- that's what a planner can help do for you! But also, we have oodles of experience in planning fantastic weddings and this is quite possibly your first wedding you are planning-therefore we are extra helpful in lots of the planning aspects as well. Contact us at One Fine Day to discuss all of the wonderful ways we can help with your special day!

Congratulations!! Wishing you and your fiance all the happiness & luck for a wonderful wedding day!

congratulations you're engaged! part 2

We're still so happy for you and excited to get planning with you but we wanted to continue our series of posts to tell you our favorite tips of what you should do first when planning just after you became engaged!

• Before you set a wedding date- take the calendar of the town (Lexington or Louisville) you're getting married in into consideration. Big University of Kentucky/Louisville ball games or Keeneland/Derby & Derby Prep weekends tend to cause a little more of an out of town guest accommodations headache more-so than other weekends in Lexington & Louisville- but they also make great activities for a fun wedding weekend- so for some the trade off is worth it!  Consider holidays and the weather, check the farmer's almanac too, for the best time of year to plan your big day. We do recommend at least 6-12 months for planning, but it is "possible" for shorter engagement periods, just the potential for a bit more stress in quicker decision making.  You may also want to be flexible on your wedding date too, if you do have your heart set on a certain venue location or wedding professional to be with you on your wedding day- have a few date options in mind that could work.

 But the biggest tip we can offer to any Bride and Groom no matter how far off their wedding date is: Don't make quick, hasty decisions because you are feeling rushed by your family or pressured by wedding professionals.

• Think in depth when choosing your wedding party- This decision is not one of the first ones that "has" to be made. If they are truly your friends- they aren't going anywhere. You want all of your bridal party to share in your joy. Plus it's much easier to add Bridesmaids/Groomsmen than it is to un-invite them.

photo by the wonderful Alicia Fierro Aesthetiica Photography   of our super sweet One Fine Day bride Whitney & her too cute Bridesmaids!

 

• Take care of securing locations and the key wedding professionals that book quickly and are not replaceable. For instance, rather than immediately going wedding gown shopping, figure out for sure where you will be having your ceremony and reception.  Because you never know- you may decide after you have purchased a great little summery chiffon gown that in fact the only dates available for your "dream" location are in November or December- then your dress may not be your perfect "fit" anymore.  Also, the best of the best photographers, bands, etc. also book up quickly as they can only do one event per day, so if you have your heart set on a certain wedding professional or selection- make that decision a priority over all other things "wedding".

• It is OK to "sleep on it" when making decisions for your wedding, don't be pressured into something you aren't quite certain it is "right" for you and your wedding. The same goes for hiring your wedding professionals. You should research your options, gather proposals, recommendations from friends, and most importantly see if the vendor is listening to you and if your personalities mesh. There is nothing worse than planning the rest of your wedding surrounded by people or things you aren't thrilled about. Every decision matters- so don't be in too big of a hurry- relax and enjoy your engagement!

photo by Melanie Mauer of our Super sweet One Fine Day Bride Tiffany

congratulations you're engaged! part 1

Congratulations on your engagement!! We're so happy for you! There is nothing better than being in love and knowing that you get to spend the rest of your life with your true love! *sigh* No doubt about it I'm a hopeless romantic & I love happy engagement/love stories- we can't wait to hear yours!! Please share it with us! If you are newly engaged and super excited to get started planning--here are a few of our favorite tips we'd love to share with you! (we have to break it into several parts- because we have bunches of tips!)

The questions are probably flying at you from friends and family or at least swirling in your head--so first things first, What's the FIRST things you should you do once you become engaged?

    *The obvious is to first tell your family and friends you are engaged or to switch your facebook status to Engaged which is oh so fun! A manicure may need to also be in the immediate future since everyone will be asking to see your hand to show off that sparkly new ring! While you are on Facebook- be sure to go over to the One Fine Day Wedding Consultation page and 'like us' too!

Photo by the uber-talented Melanie Mauer Photography

Secondly, Before you begin to hire your wedding professionals- sit down with the key players (parents, grandparents, each other) to discuss a realistic wedding budget before moving forward. This is often times hard to do when this is your first time planning a wedding, but a key tidbit of information is that the "average" wedding is around $30,000. Granted that is "average" and is generally about 150 guests included. So, if you are planning on inviting more people, you may need to have a bit of a larger budget. If you need help determining a budget or breaking down the budget- check out the budget we helped to create on the awesome website Pearl Lexington (chalk full of awesome wedding vendors and wonderful resources for planning your big day!) or contact a wedding planner- like us at One Fine Day!! who would be happy to assist you with that as well.

We will have more many more tips in the next few days! Congratulations again! We can't wait to hear from you and discuss your wedding more and get to working on the planning with you!

merry christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!

Couldn't help but share a photo of my youngest with Santa Claus this year. Hope he visits you just like I know he's coming to visit the Spalding Family!

We will be spending time with our families with limited email and phone access until January 3rd. Thank you for your patience and understanding if our responses are slower than usual during this time.

merry christmas from us at One Fine Day! xoxoxo

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Cute engagement pictures for a Christmasy engagement shoot!

wedding tree thumbprint guest book idea

I've seen this before but it's so worth repeating! Have your guests "leaf" their finger/thumb prints on the tree and sign next to it so they help create a beautiful piece of art for your new home after your wedding.

Love this one from Etsy.

Before:

After:

merry-tini christmas cocktail

No matter if you are having your wedding in December and looking to serve a festive signature cocktail or if you want to serve something at a holiday party or with your family during Christmas- we thought this Merry-tini with Kentucky's own Hypnotiq Harmonie was pretty cute. But really anything garnished with a candy cane is pretty adorable.

Recipe:

Harmonie Merry-Tini

2 ounce HPNOTIQ Harmonie

1 ounce Citrus Vodka

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1/2 ounce Lime Juice

Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a candy cane.

Click here for more fun christmasy cocktail recipes. Hope you are having a wonderful day!

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Happy Friday! As the holidays grow near, we wanted to share this super cute chocolate bar featured on Amy Atlas' blog. How cute are these? LOVE hot chocolate on a stick! If you mix these hot chocolate sticks into steaming milk, when they melt you have hot chocoloate - so neat! These would be a wonderful late night treat for a winter wedding! To purchase the hot chocolate sticks, visit: The Ticket Kitchen! Have fun sipping hot chocolate with your new fiance, then be sure to give us a shout at One Fine Day! 2012 is booking up!