Alright, so I am mostly going to try to wrap up wedding stuff now- I want to give a list of things I wish I had known/ would have done differently, and I just want to talk about how incredibly great our vendors were. If I could only give future brides one piece of advice, it would be hold out for vendors who you are really excited about and who are genuinely excited themselves about what they do. People are better at their jobs when they love it.
We loved First Blush Photos before they ever took our picture- They are made up of 2 photographers (this is a HUGE help in keeping the day moving), Chris Padgett and Rachel Reinders, who are both fantastic on their own and really complement each other perfectly (they have been friends for a long time, and share a business with Rachel in PA and Chris in Illinois, so everyone in these states should hire them). Rachel took my cousin Paige's graduation pictures about 4 years ago, and at the time I was struck with how incredibly cool she was while still being enthusiastic and fun. I was also impressed with how quickly she pulled Paige out of her shell, and I think Paige's senior pictures are still my favorite ever. Rachel did a great job of really capturing the many things that are specifically beautiful about Paige. This may not seem like much, especially because Paige is gorgeous, but throughout the day I could see that Rachel really saw Paige, and that is an invaluable skill in a photographer.
After that, I liked checking in every so often on First Blush's blog (
http://www.firstblushphotos.com/blog). I loved their approach and their photographs- they take really cozy looking group shots and embrace color! So when we started trying to pin down wedding dates, we actually wrote them beforehand to take their schedule into account. Our wedding date won because it was the only August date we could get the Bishop, Anchor Village, and First Blush all together.
It was so worth it! They were quick to communicate with us, and a year before the wedding, they came to visit us in California to take our engagement pictures. Even though we love taking pictures, we are exceptionally awkward in front of the camera together. We are also tragic when we are forced to be affectionate in front of other human beings. So the engagement pictures, more than anything else,would give us a chance to get used to it. It was so much easier than we expected, and we really had a nice day. Chris and Rachel are fun, young, and generally seem to be having a good time just hanging out with each other (even after a miserable red-eye, so well done to them!). They even tolerated eating at the least Italian Italian restaurant ever. We loved the, so we were so excited to see how the wedding would go.
First Blush came to our rehearsal the night before the wedding to talk to the priest about limits and to watch how the whole thing would go down. They showed up bright and early the next morning, a little after nine (everything being said, Chris and Rachel worked a 14 hour day for our wedding, if that doesn't tell you what kind of photographers they are, I'm not sure what will!). They were cheery from the very beginning and made a point to learn names as the day went on. I had tried to give them as much info as I could before the day, and they brought a print out of the list with them, so they were sure not to miss anything. They kept things moving, so we never felt behind or overly rushed. They happily bummed rides off of us, and were in no way high maintenance at all. They worked quickly (and intelligently), without things feeling rushed or unpleasant. The Boy said the 3 words to describe them are helpful, enthusiastic, and creative. In short, they kicked ass.
I got so many compliments on my photographers even on the wedding day, before anyone had seen one shot they took. My mother, no joke, has been trying to find sites on the internet where she can sing their praises. My dad, who is a very discerning judge of photographers, was struck that night that they were professional, unobtrusive, and, most importantly, he could tell that they genuinely were enjoying the whole thing.
Case and point, when we told them we were having a classy nerd picnic, and that we were having a running robot theme, they made us robot heads and arms. And seriously, who does that? Who makes extra photo props for their clients just because they are pumped about their ideas? They were amazing! And trust me, somebody had put a BUNCH of work into them! Then we snuck off with them during dinner and cracked up through this whole part of the photo shoot- they were hard to keep on our heads! I was just so impressed that they were game at the level that they actually took the license to go be creative. We reminded ourselves going into the wedding that even if it was a big deal for us, it was another weekend of work for our vendors, but it didn't feel that way at all with Chris and Rachel. We felt like they were excited with us! That is having pride (and joy!) in your job. Like I said, they stayed through all of the dancing, even dancing themselves a little bit! We couldn't have been more impressed on the day.
I tried to put up some of the pictures from the day, so I don't need to tell you that the pictures are soo soo pretty! They made my grandmother cry because they were so beautiful! All we have seen so far are the ones they posted on their blog, but we are elated about how they turned out.
If you are planning your wedding, I highly recommend checking First Blush out, but these are the criteria I would be sure to look for-
2 photographers- it makes a world of difference
Enthusiasm, creativity, and aesthetic excellence in their work- It is worth the extra money! It is what you get to keep of the entire day.
Professionalism and kindness- trust me, you probably see your photographers as much as anybody on your wedding day, if there is anything about their personality that isn't clicking, do not hire them! I have seen too many creepers or slow pokes really put a dent in wedding festivities. Everyone loved Chris and Rachel before they saw any pictures, so the fact that the images are also amazing speaks so highly for their talent.
On my vintage wedding blog today, I'd like to share a little of what I learned and show you some beautiful examples.
In the 1800s, lace-making machines were invented in England. Suddenly lace was available on a wider scale, and Nottingham became the lace-making centre of the world. My Butterfly and Angel dresses, below, use lace made specially for me by one of the oldest family firms in Nottingham. This original vintage style from the 1930s used to be called 'English Net'.
Leavers lace is still the kind most used by couture houses, notably Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Etro, Yves St Laurent, Paul Smith and even Vivienne Westwood. 
In turn, the machines were sold to Far East producers and lace production in France was scaled back. Now the Far East creates wonderful lace too. Amazingly, all modern Leavers lace is still produced on the same machinery, invented 200 years ago!
For my Heavenly Collection of vintage inspired wedding dresses, I use lace from all these different sources - choosing the best from ateliers in Nottingham, France and Japan.
