Baily & Austin Brasher

On December 22, 2014 my beautiful cousin Baily was married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Draper temple to the love of her life Austin Brasher. Even though it was freezing and one of the busiest days ever at the temple it was definitely memorable.

They had their reception later that evening at Stones Gates Center For The Arts in Pleasant Grove, UT. I had a blast planning her wedding as I was able to be apart of it all from start to finish. We had a lot email exchanges, texts, Baily isn't much of a phone talker but we made it work. We even met a few months before in Washington for an in-person planning session/check-in with my aunt Jane. 

Baily and Jane were a little worried with how everything was going to turn it out but it was truly amazing. Austin's uncle catered the food. The cake was beautiful and delicious along with all the other treats. My favorite was the hot chocolate bar. Her colors were a deep red and gold. Perfect for a seasonal/winter wedding. Her photographer was a friend of a family's and she did a great job as you can see. 

Photographer: Chaos and Bliss Photography

How To Pick A First Dance Song

Choosing a first dance song isn't always the easiest decision, but it shouldn't be THAT hard either. If you two have a "song" then maybe you can slow it down and use that or if it's already slow you're in good hands. It's not something that you need to be super stressed about either. You will find a song that you are both excited about, trust me.

Here's some questions and tips to help you think of some if you're really struggling.

1. Jog your memory. Was there a song playing in the background the night you met, when you first said I love you, or when you he proposed?

2. If nothing jumps out at you think about your personality as a couple. Do you like sweet and romantic? country? rock? a little Usher?...

3. Google 'first dance song options', and listen to your normal music. Something will jump out eventually. Set a time to listen to a bunch of songs with your fiancé until you finally agree.

4. Pay close attention to the lyrics. Make sure there isn't any appropriate language-because that could make an awkward first dance.

5. Make sure the song is not too fast and not too slow. Practice dancing to a few songs. I have mentioned before I think it's wise not to dance to an entire song because people don't care to sit and watch that for five minutes. At my wedding I had all my dancing songs edited to around a minute so my "audience" didn't get bored.

6. If you are having a band or DJ ask them for some good ideas. They will have plenty of options. That is what they do for a living.

7. There are tons of songs to pick from. Don't leave it to the day or two before your wedding. If that's the case maybe you should skip the dance part because it goes to show you obviously didn't care much about it or you would've found something a long time ago.

Hope these suggestions help. I have some good ideas too if you're really struggling... ;)

Bridesmaids Gifts

As a bridesmaid you help and do a lot for the bride and for the wedding. As a bride you should definitely be thinking about what you are going to give each of your bridesmaids. It doesn't have to be big but it should be meaningful and show your appreciation for all their help. As a bridesmaid you do do a lot and it's nice to know that the bride appreciates what you do. Depending on your budget you should set a small amount of money aside to use for bridesmaids gifts and maybe the groom wants to do so something small for his groomsmen as well.

Most brides have their bridesmaids buy their own dresses. The bridesmaids help plan the showers, and help with all the wedding day festivities prior to and during the actual day. I had a good friend tell me that she was a bridesmaid in another wedding where she was in charge of all the wedding favors. She made over 300 sugar cookies for her friend's wedding which took over six hours! Now I would say that is above and beyond a bridesmaids duties. Being a bridesmaid takes time, money etc. and so as a bride respect your bridesmaids and get them something. They didn't have to be a bridesmaids you asked them and they accepted because they love you. Now depending how much the dress and shoes they had to buy you should make sure you give them a good gift for that. If you bought their outfits, shoes etc. then you can probably get by with getting them something smaller like some lotion, a giftcard, jewelry etc. The possibilities are endless! So don't worry about what to get them. Remember it's the thought that counts! It's nice to write them a nice letter of appreciation as well. 

No matter what your budget it is PLEASE do them a favor and get them something, or they might just not like you anymore and never talk to you again ;) haha. Just kidding (kinda). 

Here are some cute ideas for bridesmaids gifts...

How To Make Your Guest Book Significant

Remember to have some form of guest book at your reception. A guest book allows you to look back and see who was there on your special day as well as let your guests leave you a nice message. There are so many options for a guest book and all are equally neat, it just depends on what you want and how creative you care to be. You can have an engagement picture framed with a white matte border and have guests sign the matting around the picture. You can make a photo album book of you and your fiancé with pictures of you two and have guests sign pages around the pictures. I have seen tons of different creative ways to do a "guest book" without actually having a book. Theses include: signing their names and advice on puzzle pieces, corks, rocks, etc. A very unique guest book I found was to have a polaroid camera sitting out with blank pages. The guests take a picture of themselves and then sign their name. I would have loved this idea for my wedding. Ty and I look back at our guestbook at least a few times a year especially on our anniversary. There were so many people there that if we saw them on the street we wouldn't know who they were. It's not us being ungrateful of their presence, but because they were friends or coworkers of our parents (you'll have a lot of those), it would have been nice as we were reading their note to have a face to go with it. I also wish I would've had an option for couples to write down advice for us. I recommend having both of these options at your reception if you can. It is really fun to sit down together and look back at these things and memories of your wedding.

Help A Girl Out

Hey All!

So this is going to be a post not about weddings but about helping me out. Thank you SO much for reading my posts and helping me build my traffic on my blog and website. However, I have still not received any comments on anything I write and would LOVE to hear from my readers. So comment away. Let me know if you're liking what I post, or have any questions etc. etc.

Also, I am looking to start getting some advertisements on my blog, but before I do I need more traffic. So spread the word. If you know of anyone who is engaged or soon to be engaged and is looking for a wedding planner and some help share with them my blog and website.

Lastly, if any of you know any advertisers who would be interested in putting some ads on my blog let me know.

Thank you for all the support I have received. You guys are awesome and keep me going.