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16Mar

Choosing your wedding colors

Posted by: drstephan Categories: Wedding Checklist
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One of the most exciting parts of planning your wedding is choosing your wedding colors! This next step in the Wedding Planning Series is both fun and important since this choice will be a big part of the other choices you make as you navigate the landscape of venues, decorations, dresses, tuxes, invitations, etc. There are so many options these days. It used to be much simpler, but now your palate is nearly limitless.

How do you choose your wedding colors? For many, it’s simply personal favorites. For others, the choice is based on an event or a shared experience that evokes a pleasant memory. Sometimes the colors honor a favorite of a deceased loved one.

What colors work together? Well, in my experience, colors pairs where one is vibrant, bold and saturated and the other is more neutral work well (such as pink and medium grey or emerald green and sepia). Other great pairings are those colors that share a color family (such as sunny yellow and pale orange). You could also choose colors that are complementary or have a split complement, but be careful here because complementaries can be gaudy.

Graphic of a color wheel with white at the center and gray around the outside.

Remember that wedding colors can be very trendy. Just look at your old cousin’s wedding from 10 years ago to see what I mean. Check out the latest fashion magazines, especially those dealing with wedding fashion and see what strikes you. You can always find something that you like, then tweak the colors to be a bit more to your personal style.

Whatever you do, don’t stress about it…have fun with it!

Dr. Stephan J. Smith is an ordained, non-denominational wedding officiant who has been marrying loving couples in Livingston, Genesee, Oakland and surrounding Michigan Counties for more than 10 years. With a calming and caring demeanor, Dr. Smith strives to make his weddings unique and beautiful. His custom ceremonies, attention to detail and the perfect balance of mood creates an environment of serenity and bliss that you’ll treasure for all time. You can contact him for questions and availability by email or phone using the “Contact Dr. Smith” tab above.

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4Jan

Work out your budget

Posted by: drstephan Categories: Food Music Receptions Venues Wedding Checklist
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Like any other event in your life, you need to decide how large your wedding is going to be and what you’ll spend to pull it off. Do you go all out and spend money on a grand reception with a live band, an expensive plated dinner for guests and gift favors for everyone. Or do you have more of an “Uncle Bill playing tunes on a boom box” budget with community center members cooking the family style meal?

Graphic of a black and green dollar sign in 3D

There are as many options and variations in your wedding plans as there are experts willing to tell you what’s best. I’m not going to tell you what’s best, just what’s possible. What you choose to do depends on what you can honestly afford or are willing to spend and how much you like turning your whole life into planning for your big day. Hey, some people thrive on that kind of stuff!

I’ve done a great many weddings with receptions at country clubs complete with all the trimmings. Fancy plated dinner with several courses, including hors d’oeuvres, drinks and dessert, plus expensive wedding favors, 3 or 4 piece band, waiters with white gloves, etc. These places often have minimums of $10-15,000 and go up from there. This varies by region, of course, but it gives you an idea of budgets.

I’ve also weddings that were in the parents back yard, or at the local VFW where to meal was cooked by the lodge members and was buffet or family style and you used paper plates and plastic cutlery. Sometimes there was a DJ and sometimes a family member was in charge of queuing up the iPod with a selection of favorites.

Here’s the thing…they were all great. There’s no right answer. It all boils down to doing a nice job with the money you (or your parents!) are able to spend. All that matters is that you make it meaningful for you. Spending a lot on your wedding will NOT make your marriage happier. In fact, overspending will cause undue stress on your marriage. Trying to please everyone or meet someone else’s (parents, grandparents, siblings) expectations, even if they are paying the bills, is a recipe for severely added stress on a day that should be blissful and happy, not something to “make it through”.

The bottom line is, pick a budget that is realistic, one that doesn’t cause you to panic every time you think about it. Don’t go into huge debt when it isn’t really necessary. Small and intimate is usually better than large and lavish. But, hey…you decide. It’s your day!

Dr. Stephan J. Smith is an ordained, non-denominational wedding officiant who has been marrying loving couples in Livingston, Genesee, Oakland and surrounding Michigan Counties for more than 10 years. With a calming and caring demeanor, Dr. Smith strives to make his weddings unique and beautiful. His custom ceremonies, attention to detail and the perfect balance of mood creates an environment of serenity and bliss that you’ll treasure for all time. You can contact him for questions and availability by email or phone using the “Contact Dr. Smith” tab above.

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1Dec

Start a wedding folder or binder

Posted by: drstephan Categories: Wedding Checklist
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If you’re planning a wedding of epic proportions, or even if it will be smaller and less involved, starting a binder is a good way to keep track of everything. Below is a list of all the sections you could make that will put the binder to good use as you plan your big day.

Image of a green binder with "My Wedding" on the spine.

  • A section of magazine clippings or printed stuff from the internet on: Dresses you like, color combinations, flower arrangement ideas, fashion pertaining to the wedding, food selections, cake ideas, garden spots, venue photos, etc.
  • A section in which to file contracts, forms, agreements and deposit receipts.
  • A section containing your checklists, such as an invitation list, the wedding checklist that these posts are coming from (link on last post and again below), printouts with your vendor and venue research, caterer choices, flower shop lists, etc.
  • If you’d like, a section with some scrapbook pages to decorate with pictures of friends helping you, lunches and parties, bridal shower photos, etc.

Wedding Planning List

Creating a binder is a great way to keep you organized and on track and to make sure you aren’t losing important documentation or forgetting any important details. This keeps you sane and allows you to enjoy your wedding planning, not be stressed out and worried about getting it all done!

Dr. Stephan J. Smith is an ordained, non-denominational wedding officiant who has been marrying loving couples in Livingston, Genesee, Oakland and surrounding Michigan Counties for more than 10 years. With a calming and caring demeanor, Dr. Smith strives to make his weddings unique and beautiful. His custom ceremonies, attention to detail and the perfect balance of mood creates an environment of serenity and bliss that you’ll treasure for all time. You can contact him for questions and availability by email or phone using the “Contact Dr. Smith” tab above.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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18Sep

Rustic Country Wedding

Posted by: drstephan Categories: Ceremonies Themed weddings Venues
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This past weekend, I married a couple who had booked a gorgeous venue that reflects a growing trend…barn weddings. The specific venue I speak of is Ellis Barn, which sits on the Springfield Oaks County Park in Davisburg, Michigan.

External photo of the huge, white Ellis Barn, in Davisburg, Michigan. Springfield Oaks County Park.

According to the Oakland County Parks website, Ellis Barn was originally constructed around 1884 on the 78-acre Ingomar Stock Farm in Clarkston, Michigan, owned by Norman J. Ellis. RBI 33 LLC, a real estate investment company owned by former major league baseball players Kirk Gibson and Tim Birtsas, purchased the land in 2001. Realizing the historic significance of the barn and related buildings, the duo donated them to the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission along with a $75,000 donation to assist with barn relocation and rehabilitation. Under the planning and expertise of an ex-Amish barnwright, the barn was meticulously inventoried and recorded every beam and board in the barn, which was then moved, reassembled board by board, reinforced and updated and is now in use as a fantastic wedding venue.

In the wedding I just did, the ceremony was held in the lower level, but the upper level can be used for ceremonies also.

Photo of the lower level in Ellis Barn, where the wedding ceremonies are usually performed.

Former horse stalls are used as prep and other uses, which lends a very rustic and photo ready environment, with beautiful plank floors.

Photo of inside a horse stall in Ellis Barn, converted to an all purpose room.Photo of inside a horse stall in Ellis Barn, converted to an all purpose room.

In the case of this wedding, one stall was used as a dressing room for the bride, then later as the setting for the signing of the marriage license…very cool…

On the upper level, the lofty, open beams and rafters add a magnificent ambiance to receptions, which was the case in this wedding. The barn does not have heat or air conditioning, which limits its useful event season to May through mid October, but large doors can be left open for breeze in summer.

Photo of the upper level in Ellis Barn, where the wedding receptions are usually performed.

If you get a chance to attend a wedding at Ellis Barn, don’t miss it. You’ll be amazed at the feel of it. If you decide to have your wedding here, I think you’ll always be happy you did…especially if I’m your wedding officiant!

Dr. Stephan J. Smith is an ordained, non-denominational wedding officiant who has been marrying loving couples in Livingston, Genesee, Oakland and surrounding Michigan Counties for more than 10 years. With a calming and caring demeanor, Dr. Smith strives to make his weddings unique and beautiful. His custom ceremonies, attention to detail and the perfect balance of mood creates an environment of serenity and bliss that you’ll treasure for all time. You can contact him for questions and availability by email or phone using the “Contact Dr. Smith” tab above.

 

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