Until a few years ago, if someone had suggested you have a photobooth at your wedding reception, you probably would have laughed right in their face. And yet here we stand just a few years later where a photobooth has actually become quite a staple for all wedding receptions. With the increase in number of companies offering the service, a slew of new ideas on props for the booths and well just a crazy amount of fun, the photobooth has started to take over the wedding reception world! If it hasn’t in your town yet…just wait, it’ll be there soon, which means you have reason to be excited!

If you live in or around the St. Louis, Missouri area (or the Midwest region in general) you know that we tend to have some vicious and unpredictable summers. If you’re planning a wedding in St. Louis, well, you know that you absolutely need to be prepared between the months of June and August for some serious heat! We’re talking 90 to 100 degree weather here!

So, if you’re thinking an outdoor wedding might be in your future, be sure to throw out some goodies or appropriate time frames to help your guests make it through the day. They’ll thank you for it, and you’ll probably thank yourself when you put on the fabulous dress, get your hair done and apply all that gorgeous make up!

To all my fellow St. Louisans, the St. Louis Wedding Planner is coming soon! It’s my new web site and it should be here by mid- July (at least that’s the plan)! In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s called the St. Louis Wedding Planner and my hope is that it will be an amazing resource for all of the brides and grooms in St. Louis Metro area looking to plan the wedding of your dreams!

The St. Louis Wedding Planner is a web site dedicated to helping brides and grooms learn more about all of the fabulous wedding ceremony and reception venues in the St. Louis area. By conducting in-person interviews and walk-throughs myself, I hope to give brides and grooms information that is more than valuable in helping them select their wedding ceremony and reception locations! And I’ll be categorizing each venue by St. Louis neighborhood for all of you interested in a particular area of the city!

It’s an age old question…literally. Remember that guy named William Shakespeare? I swear I think he started it all with his to be or not to be. Choosing whether or not to see your bride or groom before your wedding ceremony is a personal decision each couple must make for themselves. There are many reasons to support either option and no one reason is right or wrong, just your own! So never let anyone make you feel different! It’s all about what is most important to you and whether or not you like to stick to tradition.

Last week I received an anonymous tip from a male friend of mine notifying that his wife received of one of the most interesting bridal show invitations I have ever heard of…a Pampered Chef Wedding Shower! That email sent an immediate chill up my spine! After all, multi-level marketing and wedding showers DO NOT go together in my mind. And I don’t think it should be any bride’s intent to earn a gift or a reward based on how many gifts her guests give her, let alone buy in front of her. What happened to being grateful for giving and supportive family and friends??

Making an inspiration board for your wedding day is NOT a new concept. However, it is becoming increasingly more popular and it has gotten A LOT more savvy than what most people were used to back in the day. Do you remember the old days of cutting out pictures from magazines and putting them away into a special keepsake box for when that magical day finally rolled around? I know I do and I know others do too!

A wedding inspiration board is a fantastic way to share your vision with your wedding planner and other vendors involved in the design of your big day! With everything from colors, flowers and styles you like, your wedding inspiration board is  a collage of images and photographs which represent the spirit and tone of your wedding, and it can be created by you (the bride) or your event planner/designer. Don’t be afraid to verbally share your vision and let someone else put together an inspiration board to match! It’s all about creating the day you dream of!

Wedding binders aren’t just a tool for your wedding planner anymore! They’re a quick and easy way to help you maintain your sanity throughout the planning process. However, your planner may have a special obsession with wedding binders, ehem speaking of myself here, so you may still want to leave it up to them to create. I realized this weekend as I was putting together a binder for an August wedding, that there is not much that I LOVE more than a neat and well organized wedding binder.

And the best part about your wedding binder is how much easier it can make your life! Whether you put together your own binder or you have a planner that does it for you, trust me when I say that it is one of the best decisions you will ever make! Do I sound a little crazy yet??

If you’ve ever registered for wedding gifts before, you may know that it’s not quite as exhilarating as what you originally dreamed. Likely involved in the registration process are your not-so-interested groom and a pushy salesperson encouraging you to register for everything in sight! If you have a man who’s gung-ho about registering, then you’ve found yourself a gem there and he’s a keeper! However, most girls will experience the guy who could care less about what plate setting or flatware you choose!

If you’re new to the registration process, here are some quick tips to keep in mind as you begin to build your wish list. By no means is this a complete list, but it certainly includes some things I have learned a long the way.

Short answer: YES!! Longer answer: OMG yes they can make a huge difference in the overall design of your big day! I recently heard from a St. Louis event designer, Mr. Rob Schaefer from Steven Becker Fine Dining, that linens are an easy (and INEXPENSIVE) way to bring a pop of color to the room, which can save you money elsewhere. Are you lacking a big flower budget? Throw on some print linens, put out votive candles and call it a day! Looking to make the room look a little more expensive? Select some colorful matte linens to add a touch of class!

So you’ve just gotten engaged and you’ve set your budget…and now comes the fun part – touring and selecting your reception venue! A general rule of thumb for picking your venue in St. Louis is simple – pick a venue in an area you want that not only resonates with your style but fits within the needs of your wedding capabilities, i.e. size and budget.

Here are some general quick tips on picking reception venues in the St. Louis area: