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In the last two months two Orlando Wedding Team coordinators have tied the knot. As a non-bride (at the time) watching my colleagues and friends morph into brides, I was enlightened.

Working in the wedding industry the pressure that my two lovely coworkers put on themselves was intense. We are all detail oriented to begin with and most brides become very detail oriented as they go through the planning process. The combination of already being detail oriented and becoming more detail oriented can be lethal. Fortunately, our brides were surrounded by trusted wedding professionals who regularly reminded them that every little thing was going to be ok.

I always imagined that the career bride (let’s just coin that term for brides who work in the wedding industry) would be a bit more resilient to the stresses that go along with planning the big day. As a generalization, this is true Knowing exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it and who to contact in order to get it accomplished alleviates a great deal of stress. However, nothing can alleviate the stress of the wedding day and the week that comes before it.

Our Orlando Wedding Team career brides wore their nervousness on their faces during wedding week. They shed tears on the wedding day and they partook in the majority of the normal bride behaviors. (It’s nice to know that we are “normal” brides…as contradictory as that sounds.)

Also, like all brides, they were breathtaking when they came walking down the isle. I may be a bit bias (or A LOT), but I have so say I was more awestruck than I normally am when they came walking down the isle. (It probably adds to the surprise factor that I did not see them in their dresses prior to show time.)

So there you have it…my version of when Wedding Coordinators Wed. Do you have some questions for the recently married (and soon to be married) coordinators? Post them in the comments!

I’m two weeks into my engagement. I know I want a destination wedding. I’m leaning towards a vineyard, but there are so many more things to consider.

• What about the people who can’t afford to pay their way? You may choose to pay for all or some of the travel/accommodations for those people who are close to you, if you think they may not be able to come. But beware, this can drive costs up and it can create tension between other family/friends. I certainly do not want to be the one explaining why we helped Aunt Betty, but not Uncle Joe.  (See step two for how to avoid having to pay for anyone!)
• When should you send your save-the-dates? AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you give guests 9 months to a year notice, that means they have that much time to save. As soon as you book your location, get those save the dates in the mail. Make sure that they explain it will be a destination wedding so start pinching those pennies. No one can say you didn’t warn them!
• Should you have a full reception? Destination weddings are usually more intimate. Depending on the venue you choose and the number of guests (and the age of your guests), it may not make sense to have 4 hours of dancing and drinking. Feel out the situation and have a couple of ideas of what would work.

With destination weddings on my mind, this is not the last you will hear of them. Stay tuned!

This week we received the photos by Salfrico’s Images and we simply couldn’t wait to share.

An engagement shoot is one of the few opportunities (unless you’re a model, of course) that adults have to play dress up and make believe and have it beautifully documents. So go on and let your imagination run wild!

Wild Flowers Photography did  this Princess and the Pea inspired shoot and this UP inspired shoot.

The Green Wedding Shoes blog featured an engagement shoot by Blushing Bride Studio inspired by The Notebook.

Axio Photographers out of Indonesia shot this Breakfast at Tiffany’s engagement shoot. This one takes the cake for me.

Which one is your favorite? Do you have another interesting engagement shoot to add to the mix? Tell is in the comments!

This month OWT pulled of the mother of all beautiful Fall weddings and here is a sneak peak, while we await the professional photos!

But before I start posting photos of the amazing time that we’re having being Central Florida Brides’ Go-To Girls, I wanted to recognize one of the organizations that makes it a pleasure to be a part of this industry.

The Bridal Society

Bridal Society President, Laurie Hartwell is a wonderful person and a hard working wedding professional. We really can’t say enough good things about her. She has made it possible for Central Florida’s best wedding professionals to come together to network and to learn. Yes, to LEARN!

The wedding industry is full of networking events and they are all so much fun, but being a part of a “secret” society (ok, so it’s not really a secret society, but we are proud to be members!) that improves our efficiency by combining networking and continued education into one enjoyable event is invaluable!

Membership for Brides and Grooms is absolutely free so if you haven’t checked out the Bridal Society and all that they stand for, head over to their website and see what they stand for!

• Are there children in your wedding party? Telling your guests that they can’t bring their children, but allowing some guests/family members to bring theirs can leave some people with hurt feelings. If you’re going to have children in your wedding party,  keep things fair by hiring a babysitter for them once they are announced into the reception. Make sure that the venue where you’re having the wedding has somewhere for the kids and the babysitter to be or arrange for them to be cared for at a nearby hotel.
• Do your closest friends and family members have young children? Family members often feel like they are the exception to the rule. The last thing you want is to tell all of your friends that they need to find a sitter, only to have you sister show up with her young children. To avoid drama, make sure that your family understands that the rule applies to them to. OR, if the rule doesn’t apply to them, be prepared to explain to your friends why, because someone is going to ask.
• How many of your guests have children? If the majority of your guests have children, you risk having people you care about skip out on your wedding because they can’t find a sitter or can’t afford a sitter. This is especially true if you have out of town guests with kids.

As you ask yourself the questions, you may find that your guests come with more baggage than you had previously imagined (or you may find just the opposite!). If you find that the whole no-children wedding idea is presenting a problem, there are two options.

Provide child care. There are companies, like Super Sitters in Orlando, that will provide a team of babysitters for your wedding. If you provide a location, they provide the child care.

Tone down the adult entertainment and open the wedding door up to the leaders of tomorrow!

While you only have two options, I suspect it will take a great deal or prioritizing to decide which one to go with. Best of luck!

Your mom can only go home with so man candles, cookie cutters or lip balms. Some brides view the wedding favor as “a little memento” for their guests to take home to forever remind them of the wedding day. The best mementos are photos. So if your goal with the favors is to capture a memory, you’ll have to think outside the box! If your goal is to just give a little thank you gift to show your appreciation for everyone who came out to celebrate…I have one word of advice: edibles!

1. Mini cakes/pastries/cupcakes are delicious and adorable. Maybe your cake baker will even give you a good deal if you’re already ordering your wedding cake from them.
2. Chocolate bars/personalized m&m’s because if they get left behind, you can always give them out as Halloween candy. Just kidding! (Sort of)
3. Go retro with Polaroid (or the more easily accessible cousin of the Polaroid the FUJI instax) cameras at each table…let your guests take home the photos. The cameras are a bit on the expensive side, if you’re planning on providing one for every table, but your guests will definitely appreciate it and they won’t be leaving those mementos behind
4. Photo strips. Rather than having your guests take their own photos, rent a booth! Who doesn’t love a good photo booth session? Orlando has quite a few places that rent photo booths for weddings and it’s another favor that all of your guests will definitely take home with them.

We hope that these ideas provided some inspiration for your wedding favor search. If you have some cool wedding favor ideas share them in the comments!

JR Sterling of Sterling Photography International fluffs a bride's dress in preparation for a photo.

As coordinators we often have couples come to us asking us to put together a cheap wedding package. We understand that the economy has taken its toll on the wedding budgets of so many couples, but it pains us to hear them say they want a cheap wedding package. “Cheap” will inevitably lead to post-wedding regrets. Now, affordable, quality wedding professionals will leave you happy and regret-free. So while you’re putting together (or having your coordinator put together) an affordable wedding package in Orlando, consider the following.

Find a few vendors that are in your price range…then compare their work

Even when you’re on a budget, you don’t want to choose the cheapest vendors and put them into a cheap wedding package and call it a day. Choose a few photographers, florists, venues that are within your price range and then compare what they have to offer. If the least expensive option and the most expensive option within that range offer you the same quality, then the decision is simple. However, if you see a serious difference in quality, especially when it comes to something like wedding photography that is all you have left at the end of the day.

Get your priorities in order

The way I see it, photography should always be a priority, because the photos are what you take home and pass on. When you’re planning a wedding on a budget, you have to choose the most important facets of your wedding and then choose the less important ones that you’re willing to skimp on. Unless you absolutely adore flowers, you can easily reduce your budget by reducing the number of flowers/types of flowers that you use throughout your ceremony and reception. While they will definitely look beautiful, at the end of the night, there won’t be much use for them. Of course, these are just suggestions, your priorities are yours and yours only. Our advice is just to make sure you have them straight before you start checking out vendors. If you do this, you’ll reduce your chances of ending up way over your budget and having to scale things back later. (Which is a lot more painful than just scaling back from the start.)

Give yourself time to think about it
Once you’ve chosen a quality, yet affordable, wedding professional, give yourself some time to ensure that you are comfortable with the decision. Too often couples think that the price is so great that they can’t pass it up and they need to pay the deposit in the moment or something terrible might happen. Calm down! Giving yourself a few days, or even a week will not end the world. In fact, it will likely help you feel more at peace about your decision. Most vendors will put a courtesy hold on your date, if you let them know that you are very interested, but you just want a few days to think it over. Take advantage of that!

Need more advice? Let us know in the comments!