How to Survive a Winter E-Pic Session

We had a busy saturday planned and we made the most of it. In the DC area, this past saturday was coined as the coldest day thus far for winter and boy it felt like it. I just kept wondering why does the coldest day of the year (so far) have to be the day when I'll be spending a good amount of time outside...oh well, we just decided to roll with the weather punches and keep it moving.

We ventured out to our alma mater, the University of Maryland College Park. There are so many great buildings and open spaces to utilize as the backdrop for our session. Just driving onto campus brought back so many great memories. You don't realize how fast 4 years really flies by. After getting onto campus we met up with my cousin who was our wonderful photog. We mapped out a quick course of action and hit the campus.

At the beginning of the session we were both very nervous and took a little time to warm up to being in front of the camera. But after about 10 minutes we loosened up, laughed a lot and eventually had a great time.

So here are my tips for any couples out there who are considering or are planning a winter e-pic session.

• Make sure to choose a coat that is warm yet sleek, i.e. close-fitting to the body (please no large puffy coats!!)
• Are you willing to go coat-less for a couple shots? If so, then make sure you consider what you both are wearing under the coat and try to coordinate somewhat but forgo the matchy-matchy
• LAUGH! Laugh alot! It gets the blood flowing which in turns warms you up a bit and laughter is the best way to get a more natural smile

Those are some of things I'm glad we did and they really did help us get through the session. I can't wait to share some of our favorites with you in an upcoming post so stay tuned!

Just Talk it Out

I had been having a tough time lately thinking about a wedding issue with one of my wedding vendors, catch up on the details here. But after a quick and much needed conversation last week with said vendor, I feel as though a boulder has been lifted from my shoulders. I hadn't realized how much this situation was bothering me and affecting my overall mood. It had been consuming my thoughts for weeks now. But from this situation I have learned one very important thing about dealing with vendors which is actually common sense but common sense kinda went right out the window for me in this situation.

They're wedding professionals NOT mind readers
And in this case, I thought since they had worked with many brides before me they sort of automatically knew what my expectations were...wrong! In any relationship whether business or personal it's important to communicate and sometimes over communicate. I had expectations of how our business relationship should flow that I hadn't expressed and this ultimately led to me being disappointed with the services that I was receiving. But you know what they say about assuming...so yeah...don't. So with any of your wedding vendors have a quick chat about what your expectations are when dealing with them. But before you have this conversation think about a couple of things:

1. What is your preferred communication style (phone, email, video chat, etc)? You could be bombarded with calls when you prefer email exchanges.
2. How involved do you want to be in the overall process? Are you giving them free reign and you'll just show up or do you want to be involved every step of the way.
3. What are your priorities? Help them stay focused on what you're placing value on for your day.

Top Tips for Filene's ROTB Success

After writing about my experience with Running of the Brides (ROTB) here in DC, I thought it might be helpful to offer some tips to those of you out there thinking to tackle this event in your city. But before I get into the tips here's a link to the 2011 event schedule in case you were wondering.

{1} Keep It Simple Stupid - small teams are just as efficient as large ones and in my case a team of two was able to get the job done just fine.

{2} Have a Game Plan - No matter how large or small your team is having a plan of attack will keep everyone organized and on the same page. At the outset, my mom and I decided it would be better for us to split up to cover more area. We also decided on a rendezvous point at an obvious spot in the back area of the store where it appeared to be a little less crowded, plus there were full length mirrors available nearby as well, a great plus.

{3} Don't be Picky - the gowns are in plastic bags so they may not look like much of anything hanging on the rack when you first see them but scoop up anything that looks remotely like something you would want to try on. And in terms of sizes, bridal sizes are not street sizes, so don't get caught up in the number, plus alterations are your friend.

{4} But Know Your Style - It helps when going into the experience to know whether or not you like ballgowns or prefer mermaid style dresses but don't worry if you have no clue either. It can help you narrow down your choices and limit the selections to save some precious time in your hunt for the perfect dress. For example, if you know you don't want a cream colored dress, stay away from 'em. But continue to keep tip #3 in mind at all times.

{5} Stay on Your Toes - there are dresses lying everywhere, some of which are still being considered by other brides and others which just haven't been put back on the racks yet. So always keep an eye out for any dress that may appeal to you, but make sure you ask someone in the dress' vicinity if there is a bride still considering it, if not, take it away and try it on. It just might be the one.

{6} Dress for the Occasion - Wear something that fits closely to the body that you're also comfortable with others seeing as well. There are dressing rooms available but it's so much quicker to try on dresses out in the open. Believe me you don't want to be one of those chicks out there in your grannie panty bloomers for everyone to see. I decided to wear a pair of leggings and a strapless bra under a tunic style shirt that was easy to get on and off without revealing too much skin.

{7} Pack Light - Do yourself a favor and leave the big handbags and totes at home. Between carrying around 3-5 dresses at once and hunting for others, a large bag doesn't really fit into the equation. If I had to it all over again, I would have brought a simple wristlet to carry my essentials and a digital camera.

{8} Don't Overlook Future Alterations - For the budget brides, when choosing your dress think about how you want it to look when you're  walking down the aisle. If your vision requires a laundry list of alterations it might not be as cost effective as you think, buying a $599 dress that requires almost $400 in major alterations might not be such a bargain after all.

In the end, the biggest tip I could give would be to keep an open mind during the experience because it will go a long way.

Please share your experiences and tips if you've ever done ROTB, I'd love to see what you have to share. And I promise the actual photo of the dress is still on the way, I haven't forgotten.