A lot of people contribute to an unforgettable wedding day. When yours is over, you can show your appreciation by taking time to write personal thank you notes. Far from an obsolete tradition, this gesture communicates love and gratitude to the many individuals who played a party in your celebration. To create meaningful thank you cards, follow the tips below.

When you get engaged, you may think that you know everything about your partner (spoiler, you probably don’t). You may have had a lot of important conversations already while you were dating, but there are some key conversations that I believe should be had before you get married. These conversations will make sure that you’re both on the same page, and address any areas that you have differing thoughts on ahead of time. They’re supportive, they’re thought-provoking, and they’re meant to make sure you have a long, healthy, and happy relationship.

I recommend approaching these conversations in a comfortable, non-threatening manner.

One of the growing trends I’m noticing as a wedding photographer is the popularity of an unplugged wedding ceremony. Honestly, I am LOVING this. An unplugged wedding ceremony is a ceremony where the couple ask their guests to not use their phones or cameras to take photos during the ceremony. Many couples will create a cute sign, or have their officiant say something before the bride walks down the aisle to get everyone on board with this request.

I believe an unplugged wedding is incredibly important for a few reasons:

We’re all familiar with Wedding Planners and the full-planning services that they provide, but what happens when a couple enjoys the planning process and wants to do it themselves? What happens when that same couple wants to hand off the stress to someone else on their big day, in hopes of being fully present and not having to worry about the day-of details?

A Day-of Wedding Coordinator happens.

I work with a TON of wedding vendors throughout the year, and I've hand-selected the vendors I feature on my Preferred Vendor list.

Many of my couples are getting married for the first time and trying to figure out the ropes of a wedding all on their own. It can be a bit confusing and overwhelming at times. You search Pinterest for the perfect ideas, and then after looking for hours, you feel completely uninspired and like your dream day is just unattainable. Sound familiar? I'm here to tell you your dream wedding day IS possible and WILL happen and to offer an industry insider's perspective. Sometimes the victories are found in accomplishing the little things, like figuring out what you'll do for your Unity Ceremony if you choose to have one.

I totally get it, wedding planning can be a stressful time for couples, complicated all the more when you can’t agree on something. Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in the whole planning process that we forget to love each other. The main thing is to remember why you’re having this wedding in the first place: you want to spend the rest of your lives together. In the end, it’s not about the flower arrangements or cake flavors. It’s about your love and commitment to each other. Below, we’ve compiled a list of ways for you to continue loving your fiancé through all the planning madness and to make sure he or she feels it:

You know the gist of how your wedding day is going to go. Bride walks down the aisle, possibly guided by her father. Vows are exchanged, a reading or two thrown into the mix, then they kiss and walk back down the aisle as husband and wife. Most of us can even recite the vows by heart. For better or worse, richer or poorer, etc. While there’s nothing wrong with the normal ceremony and all its cherished traditions, some couples want to mix it up a bit. We’ve put together some ideas to take your ceremony from a bit personalized to one your guests will never forget!

Imagine this: your big day is here, you’ve made it through the reception and now it’s time to party. Guests start to arrive and they’re all carrying parcels. It’s tradition to buy the new couple a gift for their wedding day. Luckily for us, today we’ve got wedding registries to help guide our guests towards buying the perfect gifts; lists full of things we need and want to ensure we don’t end up with an item that we already have three of (like a chia pet or Snuggie–don't worry, I'm not judging you!).

Every mom wants to feel needed. Sometimes during wedding planning, we get carried away and don’t take time to consider the people we love most. Have you ever heard of the 5 love languages? They’re the different ways that people perceive love. Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Quality Time. This means that while some people feel most loved whenever you say, ‘I love you’, others feel it when you do one of their chores for them. Below are some ideas on how you can love your mom or mother-in-law during your wedding planning.

Let’s talk about guestbooks. Most weddings have a guestbook. But what actually ends up happening to it after the wedding? It gets stuffed on a shelf or in a closet and you pull it out once every five years when you get back around to cleaning that corner of the house. It takes up space and rarely gets looked at, but you want to have something to remember your guests by. So, we’ve compiled a list of alternative guest books that you’ll want to keep out and see every day.

Engagement photo books– Put those photos to some extra use! Create a book full of your favorite engagement photos (be sure to leave some space on each page for signing).

One of the things many brides are most excited for after they get engaged is dress shopping. They can't wait to get in the store and start the fashion show. On the other hand, some ladies dread it. They might hate dresses and even consider not getting one. No matter what your feelings are, here are some tips on how to survive the big decision: Set a budget. Before you start thinking about where to shop for your perfect dress, you need to figure out how much you can spend. This way, you'll be sure to make an appointment at a place that only sells dresses within your price range so you don't fall in love with something you can’t have.

Planning the wedding of your dreams to celebrate the love that you and your partner share gives you the opportunity to show your friends and family all the cool and unique "things" that make the two of you so special as individuals and as a couple. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, creating your dream wedding can take a bit of money, too.

Some people might think it's taboo for a wedding photographer to talk to you about money, but I’m committed to being open and honest with you in order to give you the best wedding experience possible. I know that a lot of money gets put into planning your amazing wedding adventure.

One of the big decisions you and your partner will make as you’re wedding planning is whether one of you, neither of you, or both of you will change your last names (by combining parts of both your last names). If you decide to change surnames, it's wise to include that information on your marriage license application in the state of Wisconsin.

If you include this information on your marriage license application, it will become your legal surname. That makes it easier to change your name after the marriage certificate has been signed and filed.  

Let me set the scene: you and your love are enjoying your reception. You're starving because it's been a long day so far, and you finally are getting to enjoy the dinner that you painstakingly selected (I get it, grilled salmon vs beef tenderloin is seriously a hard choice!). You're about to take a few bites and then *clink clink clink clink clink*. The room is filled with a dainty tinkling sound from every table. The guests are clinking their glasses, inviting you two to kiss in front of everyone. For the first of a thousand times in one hour. Some people find this tradition to be unbearable and refuse to do it, much to the disappointment of their guests.

What an absolutely magical time in your life! Your best friend and life partner asked you to be with them from now until forever, and you said YES–CONGRATULATIONS! When you first get engaged, it’s such a blissful time. You can’t stop looking at the pretty new shiny object on your left hand, and you start daydreaming about what your wedding day will look like. It’s very easy to get caught up in all the planning right away, but I’m here to invite you to pause and reflect on what is really most important. They might be a bit alternative, but these are the first things I believe you should do when you get engaged.

When planning your own event, you are required to wear A LOT of hats. There are so many components of an event that you are constantly juggling from vendors to your clients, budgets and beyond. So what’s most important?

Prioritizing what needs to be done can help you when things get tough. Having a clear list to refer back to when chaos sinks in will help keep you focused and eliminate event planning stress. Even if chaos never hits (and I hope it doesn’t!) there are still so many little tasks to keep track of. The “to do list” can be daunting but if you prioritize your tasks you will be ahead of the game.

You spend months planning your wedding down to the last detail, but there’s only one piece of it that your guests will see before the wedding day; your invitations. Pinterest overflows with photos of beautiful invitation sets, making ideas easy to come by; but what about your budget?

Invitations are a must-have regardless of your budget. Not only can they be gorgeous and set your guests’ expectations for your wedding day, they must also be practical and deliver important information your guests will use to plan their weekend and travels.

Planning a wedding is exciting. The dress! The venue! The invitations! (Hellooooo, Pinterest!) But in the excitement of planning a wedding, it can be easy to overlook the little details. It’s easy to check off the big boxes: the invitations, the dress, and even the honeymoon destination; but there are a lot of little things that come into play when tens or hundreds of people come together–all looking to eat, drink, and have a good time.

It’s become customary to give gifts to your parents and wedding party thanking them for all the help they’ve given you to prepare for your wedding. You want to give them a gift that will be meaningful and show just how much you appreciate them. Below is a list of great gift ideas that will really “wow” these special people:

If you’ve got just a few months to go before your wedding day, you're probably going to be putting the finishing touches in place, everything from your ceremony to your reception details. Looking for ways to make your mother feel closer to your big day? Want to include your father-in-law in some special way? Making someone feel important on your wedding day is about making them stand out from the rest of the guests. Whether it’s apparent to everyone in attendance or something only the two of you know about, I've put together a list of ideas to make the people closest to you feel like they’re treasured.