20 Tips To Making Your Wedding Day More Enjoyable - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng (www.solodeogloriaphotography.com)

20 Tips To Making Your Wedding Day More Enjoyable - Wedding Photographer In Gauteng

So the big day is finally here, all the planning is mostly done and what is the last few tips I can give you to help you to make the most of this special day. Take time to enjoy every moment, don't stress about decor or who should do what, any more. Today is about you and your best friend!

20 Tips To Make Your Wedding Day More Enjoyable:

• Wake up refreshed and make sure you get enough sleep
• Eat a high protein breakfast to give you energy 
• Give yourself plenty of time to get ready
• Grooms should have a to-do-list for the morning before the wedding
• Wear a dress shirt while having your makeup and hair done, not to mess on your wedding dress
• If you've bought new shoes, make sure to break them in before hand
• Let your bridesmaids handle the last of the day-of-logistics
• Don't forget your wedding day emergency kit (see emergency kit)
• Take a selfie & then put your phone off
• Take a moment with your mom or grandmother before leaving for the ceremony 
• Stop to take a deep breath and take in the moment before you walk down the aisle
• Make sure you tell your dad you love him, and give him a big kiss once he took off your veil
• Pack flats for the reception, so that you can still walk by the end of the night
• Take a few minutes to eat something and if you have no time to eat, ask one of your bridesmaids to pack you a to-go bag
• Give a thank you speech to your spouse
• Be careful with alcohol, especially with an empty stomach 
• Appoint someone to save you from overly chatty guests 
• Have a moment with each of your parents 
• Make sure you dance
• Remember why your there, to celebrate your love with your best friend!!!

This day will go by so fast, if you don't take the time to appreciate the experience as well as all of the people that will make this day amazing. Enjoy the little things and relax.

10 Things To Know Before Buying A Wedding Dress - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng (www.solodeogloriaphotography.com)

10 Things To Know Before Buying A Wedding Dress - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng

Buying a wedding dress is every girls' dream and the best part about your wedding day. We thought we would give you a few tips to keep in mind when shopping for that perfect wedding dress. 

Before you even think of walking into a salon or wedding shop you need to do a bit of research. 
Research Tips:

• Get some magazines and search wedding dresses on the internet 
• Have a clear idea of what you want in a dress (ball gown, strapless, and sweet hear neck line)
• Understand your body type and what suites your personality (see wedding dresses to fit your body type)

10 Things You Should Know Before Buying A Wedding Dress:

• Know Your Budget - Have a clear idea of what you and your family will be willing to spend before you walk into the salon. Do not try on wedding dresses over your budget. This will just leave you wanting what you can't have, and steal from the pleasure you should be taking away from this moment of shopping for your dream dress. 
• It's Okay To Love The First Dress - You might have heard that you should never choose the first dress you try on, but you will know if it's the right one. To set your mind at ease, maybe try on a couple more dresses, but if your are still drawn to the first one, then you know.....
• Know Your Silhouette - Know your body type and what will work well with your personality. (see wedding dresses to fit your body type)
• Take Along People Who's Opinion You Trust - When you go shopping for your dream dress make sure you surround yourself with people whose opinion you trust. If you know you are a people pleaser, make sure you only take with your closest friend, or mom to give you that honest but sincere option to make that final commitment. 
• Be Open To Alterations - If you love the dress, but there are a couple of things that just don't sit right, you should keep in mind that you can change a few things to make the dress perfect.
• Be Open To Different Styles - You might have your heart set on a mermaid fit, but please keep an open mind to the fact, that you might not have the body type for a mermaid gown. Just because you had a different idea of what will work for you, doesn't mean you won't find the perfect dress. 
• Keep Location In Mind - If you are planning on getting married on the beach, a ball gown might not be the best option for the serf just because of the weight of the dress.
• Say Yes & Stop Shopping - Once you have found your perfect wedding dress, it is critical that you stop shopping for other dresses, to top the one you have. It will just leave you wanting more, and second guessing your choice. 
• Leave Room in Your Budget for Extras - You might want to consider budgeting for that something extra to go with your dress. A veil that will finish off the look (see veil options) or some extra beading around the bust area for a more elegant look. Even a beaded head band that will match the dress so perfectly. 
• You Don't Have To Buy A Dress - If you have a very specific vision in mind and just can not commit to a dress, maybe it's time to think "Dress Maker". If you do decide to have your dress made, make sure you have some detailed pictures and get some fabric samples so that your dress maker know exactly what you want. 

Weather you buy or have your dress made, make sure the dress you choose, fits your pocket as well as your personality. Do not settle for just any dress, remember you will know when you have found your perfect dream dress and this choice will be echoed through all your wedding photos. Enjoy every moment and be confident in your choice.

10 Fun, Quirky Ideas To Make Your Wedding Day More Interesting - Wedding Photographer In Gauteng (www.solodeogloriaphotography.com)

10 Fun, Quirky Ideas To Make Your Wedding Day More Interesting - Wedding Photographer In Gauteng

These tips are for the more creative, out of the box bride- to-be. We wanted to give you some creative, fun ideas to make your wedding day a bit more interesting.

10 Fun, Quirky Ideas To Make Your Wedding Day More Interesting:

• Aisle Runner Love Story - Tell your love story on the aisle runner.
• Pet In Bridal Party - Have your pet in the bridal procession, maybe bring the rings down the aisle 
• Make a dramatic save the date - Make your wedding date sign and pretend your saving the date from fall over the side of a balcony or bridge. 
• Grandmother Flower Girls - Have your grandmothers be the flower girls 
• Non-matching Brides Maids - Let each bridesmaid wear a different style and color dress. 
• Twist to a photo booth - For something more creative than a photo booth, this idea will work well for a day wedding. Hang a big frame from a tree branch, for your guests to take photos by. 
• Creative Wedding Signs - Make a sign pointing to the wedding chapel that says "I Do" and another sign pointing to your Reception saying "I Did".
• Heart Confetti - Use either magazine or new paper wording to cut out different sized hearts for your confetti for your chapel exit. (Goes well with a literature or vintage theme)
• Disposable cameras @ Your Reception - For fun photos for your guests to take, see (I SPY) Blog
• Waffle Bar - Instead of just welcome drinks after the ceremony, have a long table with a Waffle Bar with condiments as a welcome waffle bar, use brown paper as a table cover and write instructions on brown paper. 

I hope these creative, quirky ideas will make for some fun on your wedding day. Make your wedding day memorable by doing something out of the box. Remember the beauty is in the detail. 

5 Budget Friendly Wedding Decor Ideas - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng (www.solodeogloriaphotography.com)

5 Budget Friendly Wedding Decor Ideas - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng

Make decor pieces and doing things your self is one of the most fun activities about planning your wedding. Because anything with the word wedding in it, can end up being very pricey, we decided to give you a few do-it-yourself decor ideas. Just because you do your own decor doesn't mean you have to compromise on your dream wedding. 

5 Budget Friendly Wedding Decor Ideas:

• Lavender & Tulle Chair backs - Tulle and lavender are two cheap options to use in your wedding decor. As a extra bonus, lavender have a wonderful smell that will make your whole reception venue smell sweet and fresh. Choose a tulle color that will match your wedding theme and try to go with a softer color, so that the lavender bushels will not be hidden. Contract your tulle color with your chair cover colors. Cut your tulle about 40 cm wide and 1 and a half meters long. Tie the tulle around the chairs with a neat knot at the back. Take your lavender and make small bushels about 2 cm thick at different heights, and tie your lavender bushel into the tulle knot at the back of the chair. 
• Tin Can with Colorful Ribbon - Collect fruit tin cans and ask your friends and family to do the same. Clean them well with thinners and hot water. Get colorful ribbons in different widths and patterns. Use a glue gun to stick the  ribbon around your cans. Vary your ribbon sizes and colors to make a set of at least 3 - 4 cans per reception table. You can then either fill them with sand and small candles or a cluster of baby's breath & carnations. To get height and not make your center pieces look flat, try and use different sized tin cans. 
• Upside Down Wine Glasses - You most likely won't have enough wine glasses in your cupboard to use for this project, unless your a very admit wine drinker. So my suggestion here is to either keep your eyes open for wine glass specials or ask your close friends and family if they will let you use theirs. You can also use cocktail glasses or any glass with a long stem. This ideas works best with a long table layout or if you are going to use it at round tables, go for different heights, and sizes. Get enough small candles to match the number of wine glasses you desire to use. Choose a flower with a full and round head, that will stand out underneath the wine glass. You then put your candle on top of the upside down wine glass. 
• Extra Colorful Fabric Strip Chair Backs - This is another cheap alternative to using tulle and works best if you are using wood chairs or chairs with a open back. You can go to your fabric store and get a couple of meters of fabric colors that match well together. Cut them into long, thin strips, about 800 cm long and tie them to the back of the chairs individually close to each other. Use about 10 - 12 different color strips per chair for the desired effect. Colors that will work well for this is white, cream, lite brown, and chocolate or rose pink, lite pink, cream, and lite brown. Choose your color palette well to suit your wedding theme. 
• Rope Wrapped Vases / Bottles - You will need different sized and shaped vases / bottles for this project. A good place to look for cheap vases / bottles will be at the thrift store or antique stores. You could even ask your grand mother for some old bottles she might have kept. Get some string or thin rope and normal glue at the stationary store. Dip the rope / string in the glue and wrap the rope / string closely together around the vase / bottle until the entire vase / bottle is covered. If you are using string you could just add the glue to the vases / bottle as you wrap it around. You can then put a long stemmed flower or even thin branches that were spray painted into the vases / bottles. This will give you great height on your tables and give you a very elegant look. 

I hope these thrifty ideas will help you think creatively about your wedding decor and doing these projects in preparation for your wedding day is part of the experiences. Remember beauty is in the detail. 

10 Wedding Expenses You Probably Forgot To Plan For - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng (www.solodeogloriaphotography.com)

10 Wedding Expenses You Probably Forgot To Plan For - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng

With a to do list and budget as long as a book, you are bound to miss a couple of things that need to be budgeted for. So to help remind you of a few things that might not have crossed your mind, we have come up with a list of things that are most often forgotten. 

10 Wedding Expenses You Probably Forgot To Plan For:

• Officiant Fee - Most people don't really think to discuss fee with their appointed officiant, especially if its someone they know or someone who's in their church. 
• Rehearsal Dinner - Some bridal couples might not think about the dinner that might go with the rehearsal. Especially if the rehearsal falls in the evening around the time the wedding will take place. To cut costs you could make a snack table with some figure foods for people to help themselves as the evening goes on. This way you avoid the formal sit down dinner.
• Wedding Dress Alteration & Steaming - All brides budget for the wedding dress, but sometimes the dress doesn't fit as perfectly as thought. Alteration fees and even steaming of the dress might need to be added to the budget, depending on the wedding dress vendor. Make sure you get a detailed quotation from them and that it is in writing. 
• Reception Exit Dress & Shoes - When it's all done and the party is over, you might want to think of something special to wear as you exit your wedding reception. It might be a bit difficult or uncomfortable driving a long distance or even just getting into the car with your groom with a big wedding dress on. 
• Undergarments & Accessories - Again this might be something that could be a bit expensive if not budgeted for. Remember its not just for the wedding night, but also for the honeymoon. 
• Beauty Treatments  - Even if you decide to do your own nails, hair and make up, make sure you make a detailed list of things to get. Remember if you do decide to change your hair color, do it at least 2 weeks before hand, so if something goes wrong, you will have more than enough time to fix it. 
• Bridal Party Thank You Gifts - For all the hard work and effort your close friends and family do to help you on your wedding day, they deserve a thank you. This thank you doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, you can think of something small as a thank you gift, it's the thought that counts. (see bridal thank you gift ideas blog)
• Back up Plan:  As a back up plan, I don't mean having an extra groom at the back of the ceremony hall in case yours decides to fly the coop. The weather is not in our hands, and especially if your planning on getting married outside and the weather doesn't play along, you need to have a back up plan. These things could cost extra money, if you need to rent a more expensive venue or rent a tent to fit all your guests. 
• Clean up & Break Down:  It's easy to forget about the clean up and breakdown since you will not be there to help sort everything out. But to avoid any additional costs from your venue you might want to think about asking some of your friends and family to stay behind to pack up and clean a little. 
• Overtime fees: Make sure you read the contracts you have with your vendors. Most if not all of them will have an extra hourly rate for overtime. Make sure you check the timing and give yourself at least 1 hour grace time, when you book your vendors. 

If you have thought of all these little details and have your budget under control you are a the ultimate bride / wedding planner. If not, you are not the only one....I would suggest to put a 10% buffer on your wedding budget just for that one or two things that you might not have thought of. This way even if you don't use it, you have that something extra for your honeymoon. 

5 Creative Table Name Ideas 4 Your Reception- Wedding Photographer in Gauteng (www.solodeogloriaphotography.com)

 Creative Table Name Ideas 4 Your Reception- Wedding Photographer in Gauteng

The fun part about planning out your reception layout is coming up with the table names. It is always a good idea to get the table names to match your wedding theme. So to get you thinking in the creative direction and make your wedding unique we have come up with a few creative table names ideas.

5 Creative Table Names Ideas:

• Beach Themed :  (Greek Islands):

                * Rhodes
                * Santorini
                * Crete
                * Mykonos
                * Paros
                * Hydra
                * Cephanlonia

• Romance Theme:  

                 * Love 
                 * Peace
                 * Joy
                 * Kindness
                 * Patience
                 * Faithfulness

•   Green Theme:

                 * Thyme
                 * Rosemary 
                 * Lavender
                 * Sage
                 * Dill
                 * Parsley 

• Candy Theme:

                 * Candy Floss 
                  * Jelly Bean
                  * Pop Rocks
                  * Milk Duds 
                  * Smarties 
                  * Pixie Sticks
                  * Starburst 

• Floral Theme: (Flower Names)

                  *  Orchid 
                   * Calla Lilly
                   * Dandy Lion 
                   * Sunflower 
                   * Arom Lilly 
                   * Daisy 
                   * Rose
                   * Tulip

These ideas are just to help you think out of the box, so please do not name your tables 1, 2, 3.....
Use your imagination, and work off of your theme and color scheme to give you inspiration for your own unique idea. Remember beauty is in the detail. 

Wedding Day Setting Up Planning Tips - Wedding Photographer in Gauteng (www.solodeogloriaphotography.com)

Wedding Day Setting Up Planning Tips 

Dear Do-It-Yourself Bride,
Planning a wedding on your own can be stressful and there really will be at least a couple of things that might fall through the cracks if you don't plan ahead. So today's tip is perfect for helping you plan for the details of your wedding day set up.


First things first, we all know one of the reasons your a "do it your self" bride is for the obvious reason, that you like to do it your self, but you need to accept that on this day, your best friend will the word "Delegate". You will not be able to do everything to make your perfect vision of your wedding day right without asking for help, hens Bridesmaids & Family. But because you have a very specific vision of what needs to happen and what needs to go where I have come up with the following tips to get that vision in place without having to do it your self, with the hair stylist and make up artist chasing you around the venue. 

Before you get started with the detailed planning, make a time line of the wedding day that you have discussed with your vendors and bridal party. Make the time line in at least 1 hour intervals. Then send this time line to the vendors and bridal party. This way everyone will know, where to be at what times, and will know where you and your partner will be.

Wedding Day Set Up Tips:
Reception Set Up:

• Have a clear vision of what the reception hall should look like at least 2 - 3 weeks before the wedding day. Draw out a layout of the reception hall and where you want every table to stand. Take this diagram and print it on a A3 or A2 size to post up on the reception door while setting up is taking place. Then everyone, even the venue staff will know where everything should go.

            * Cake Table
        * DJ Table
               * Studio Booth
            * Gifts Table
                            * Welcome Drinks Table
                        * Seating Chart Table
                * Guests Tables
             * Bridal Table
                       * Dance Floor Space
                           * Couple Entrance Door

• Design your table layout with everything in it's place on a table at home and take a picture of what it should look like. Do this in detail, from name tag, plate arrangement, even the decor of the chairs. These photos will be the key to helping the people your trusting to help you set up, to get it right. 
• You then pack a box of decor for each reception table. Everything from the specially designed napkins, name settings, table cloths, center pieces, and candles go in the box allocated to that one table. Number the box to the table number that will be given. Do the same with the cake table, the gifts table, and the welcome table. Stick the pictures you took of the table set up to the lid of the inside of each box along with a detailed list of any extra things that will not be in the box, such as fresh flowers.

Chapel Set Up:

• Make a set up box for the following:

                  * Flower Table
                   * Signing Table
          * Podium
                                      * Aisle Decor / Chapel Doors
                * Chair backs
                    * Confetti Table 

• Take the same decor planning photos of your chapel decor and make a detailed to do list.
• Make the same type of setting up boxes, adding your design photos and to do list to each box. 

Main To Do List Items:
Make a To Do List Book, allocating the list of things to be done between the bridal party and family who will be helping set up. Make a heading with each person's name, with the list of things they need to get done. Also add a check box to each item, so everything can be checked off as its done. Put this book either next to the reception hall diagram or give it to your maid of honor to be responsible for. This way anyone can go check what they need to get done, without asking you every 5 minutes. 

This might seem like a lot of planning and work to do to get ready for your wedding day, but this will make sure you have less stress on your wedding day and you can enjoy the day without having to do every thing yourself. Nothing is perfect, and something will go wrong or be out of place no matter how hard you plan, but just accept that it might and that this day is about so much more than the decor. It's about you and your partner making a promise for the rest of your life, and the people who love you, celebrating that day with you. Remember, planning the wedding is part of the wedding experience so enjoy it and don't allow it to distract you and stress you out.