Olga is manager at Best for Bride since 2005. Currently Best for Bride operates 4 bridal stores in Canada (Toronto, Etobicoke, Hamilton and Barrie). Best for Bride sells wedding, bridesmaids, mob dresses and more. http://www.BestForBride.com
Have you ever felt happy looking at a wedding photo where the couple looked genuinely overjoyed, and the photographer captured it perfectly? Such photos make us wish we were able to look as great, in front of the camera.
Some brides were born to be photographed. Their wedding photos are really fun, and these couples enjoy the wedding photo shoot immensely. It’s too bad that not all of us are as photogenic.
Here are some tips to help those brides who find it difficult to relax in front of the camera, and look as perfect as they can be.
Have a pre-wedding photography session
Many brides feel uncomfortable posing in front of the camera, because they are unfamiliar with the photographer. If this could affect you, the best way to avoid it is to familiarize with the photographer’s style by having a pre-wedding photography session. Consider it as a worthwhile investment, and have an engagement shoot. This will introduce you to the way the photographer works, and it will prepare you better to pose on your wedding day.
Relax, breathe and be yourself
Don’t you hate it when you see a picture where the subject is unnecessarily grinning! Unfortunately, many people have this tendency to put on a fake Cheshire cat grin, the minute the camera is on them. It really takes away their natural charm. Since you will be in many photos during your wedding day, try to be yourself and not force a smile.
Forget about the photographer clicking, and just live the moment
The best photos are taken when you are yourself, and the best way to do that is to enjoy yourself without worrying about how you will look on camera. This article on the Boho Weddings website, tells us that it is important to hire a professional photographer, as they are trained in identifying and capturing a couple’s best moments, without being obtrusive. If you want to enjoy your photo shoot and not begin to hate the experience, do two things: find a good photographer, and just enjoy your wedding day!
Make sure your makeup and dressing is good on camera
All you have to do is to do a trial makeup and hairstyling session before the wedding, and click a few pictures to see if you like what you see. Remember that you may look different from what you anticipated. So, checking it out before hand is the best way to make sure. This is even more important if your makeup will feature glitter or spray-on tan, so you can get it right on the day, rather than be disappointed afterwards with how you look in the pictures.
Don’t be too worried about how the pictures will turn out
If you see a beautiful bride in the mirror, why worry that you will not look as good on camera? Discuss your concerns with your photographer before your wedding day, and as a professional he will be able to advise you on how you can pose to look great. Why not get his suggestions on which profile view or angle is right, as well as the extra effect s that will help you look your best. Be optimistic, and just pay attention to your photographer’s cues. Your pictures will be perfect.
Planning a wedding is a time-consuming, detail-oriented and labor-intensive task. It is no wonder that many brides burn out from exhaustion even while they are just half-way through wedding planning. Once you begin the planning process, you will quickly find yourself running through pages of lists, spreadsheets and sticky notes, that it will soon be almost impractical to keep up with all the paper clutter that builds up.
Fortunately, in this day and age of technology, there are many solutions to streamline our work and make life a lot easier. Here is why you should consider taking the digital route for your wedding planning.
It saves you time, energy and resources
By compiling all your information into digital apps, you can access it anytime and anywhere
It is the practical approach to collate all the ideas and inspiration that you come across
Sorting, organizing and eliminating are all much easier when aided by technology
Lost paper documents, receipts and communication will be a thing of the past once you handle all correspondence digitally
You will have all your information in one place, making it easy to handle, transport and check at any time you desire
Digital apps are the best tools for a bride who isn’t naturally organized, as there is a naturally organized format to it, thus making things much easier for you
Now, here is the biggest bonus of planning your wedding with the aid of technology: it leaves you plenty of much-deserved time to spend with your partner, rather than poring over and sorting through acres of paper clutter. Isn’t that an important facet of your engagement? Choose the digital route and time will cease being a luxury that you cannot afford.
Here is our pick of the best apps that will assist you with your wedding planning, and make everything you dreaded a lot easier and organized. These carefully chosen list is your best bet at easing your wedding planning, especially if you are doing it all by yourself.
The to-do list with a personality, CARROT is a fun way of keeping track and making sure that every list to handle is completed on time. Not all of us are naturally inclined to stick to the tasks we assign ourselves. This is where CARROT is a wonderful task master, as it motivates us to finish off our tasks by rewarding us for each completed task. The catch here, is that there are consequences to face, if we delay or postpone things on the list.
To start using it, you simply download the app on your iPhone or android. Create your list containing all the tasks to be handled, and set your time to complete each task. As you complete each task, you simply take it off the list. As you do this CARROT will award you a certain number of points. You can add anything and everything on to your list at any point of time, and get on with finishing it one after the other. Now, if you fail to complete a task on time, CARROT will not only remind you of what is due, it will also penalize you for being lazy. I suggest that you take a quick look at this video to get an idea of how this app can help you plan your simple and complex tasks through this simple digital to-do list maker.
When you digitize all the data you want for your wedding, it is essential that to keep it organized and stored in one location. Leaving all your wedding planning information floating around isn’t really a good idea, as it is no different from letting papers from your wedding folder fly around. This is where the digital app Evernote can be very useful.
Evernote was created with the idea to capture “experiences” digitally. Remember that you will have to handle different types of digital media when planning a wedding. You will be using pictures for inspiration, drawing up documents, making lists, creating notes and looking at samples. Rather than saving each of these in different folders on your computer and then shoveling through the lot when the need arises, it is practical and easy to save them all in a single location using Evernote. Since this is a cloud based system, you can access your stored information from anywhere. You also have the advantage of syncing it to all your digital devices, so that the information is accessible from any place and at any time, irrespective of the device on which it is recorded. Take a look at this video to find out how you can make use of it.
This wedding application is pre-loaded with almost 49 wedding planning tasks, that will help you jump start your wedding planning process. The included tasks are placed in chronological sequence, so you have a general idea of what task should ideally follow another. This will allow you to set up your planning time-line easily, and make sure that you do what you should, on time.
Although there is an original task list, it can be completely customized to suit your specific needs. So, you can erase any of the points that you do not want to adhere to, and also add specific tasks that are unique to your wedding. So, if you are on the lookout for a single app to help you remember all your wedding planning tasks, and remind you of when to do each of them, the Hitched wedding planner is what you should turn to. There is also a budget tracker that will help you form a general idea of how to divide your budget and how much money should go into what aspect. If you have no idea of where to begin with your budget planning, you can just type in the total amount and it will give you suggestions or estimates of what should go where. This will help you plan the rest.
Once you have a wedding date in mind, you will be shopping a lot! So, you will need many shopping lists to cover all the big and small things you need for your wedding. One of our favorite shopping lists for wedding planning is Awesome Note. Although this app has various other features as well, it’s practical and fun shopping lists are the best feature.
One important feature that sets the shopping lists on Awesome Note apart is that you can tag the items on your lists. So, you needn’t go into each list and update it every time. You can simply tag an item, say roses to rehearsal dinner and lilies to wedding, and it is automatically sorted into the list where it belongs. You can also add multiple tags to a single item, and search out all the items that have been tagged to a particular shopping destination, when you finally go shopping. It also allows you to attach photos or notes to each item, so you can remember what you intended while adding this item to the list. This will also allow you to share clear information and instructions if you are delegating the shopping to someone else. You can download this app from the iTunes store by clicking hereand start using it right away.
A wedding website is an essential for every couple planning their wedding. It will allow you to share important wedding-related information with the guests, add their registry details, answer questions about the wedding, receive RSVP’s digitally and also share photos and fun messages that add to the excitement of the upcoming wedding day.
While you can register for a website on any domain, it always helps to have one specifically suited for weddings. The Appy Couple is an interactive wedding app and website, that is easy to set up and use. It gives you the choice to select from two practical layout options and hundreds of design choices for your website. You simply have to download it to your mobile or desktop and follow the seven steps in the guided creation feature, to create your wedding website and app. Since you will just have to drag and drop widgets to get your website ready, it is very easy to create and doesn’t call for any technical skills. The chat feature allows your guests to get in touch with you, should they require any immediate information. It makes RSVPs easy for both the guests and the couple who receive them. With simple and easy navigation, even a guest who isn’t familiar with computers can easily locate any information they require.
Check out this short video that will run you through the various features and steps involved in using Appy couple.
We are talking of big money where weddings are concerned. The expenses will have to be broken up into several parts, accounts kept and updated at every stage, and balances tallied and carried forward for the rest of the planning. It can be quite a task, especially if you aren’t an expert at numbers and accounts.
Wedding budget is one app that can help you stay on top of all your expenses for the big day. Not only do you get to divide up the entire budget into separate sections and keep track of the expenses you incur in each area, it also helps you view every detail at one glance. You can simultaneously list what you have budgeted for a particular aspect, and how much you actually spent on it. This will give you a clear idea of whether you have any funds remaining after spending on the intended aspect, or if you ended up overspending on it. You will also benefit from the added feature of saving the date on which payments are due, so you are notified of it on time and arrange for funds accordingly. You can download it for your handheld devices here.
The best way to remember a wedding in the years that come, is through the pictures captured on the day. It will not just be your photographer who will be shooting away on your wedding day. Your guests will also be clicking their cameras at every possible instant, taking selfies, pictures of the two of you and of everything that they find interesting. Make sharing and downloading your photographs easy using the WedPics app. By visiting their website, you can create your own wedding account. Then, invite all your friends and family to join your wedding, and all the pics they take on the day will be saved to the same location. This will make viewing, downloading and sharing much easier. The added benefit is that the pictures can be seen only by those on your list, unless they use a hashtag when saving it. This free app is available for both iPhones and android systems. The app allows you to organize and segregate your photos into different albums according to your preferences. So, you can have separate albums for your bachelorette party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception and honeymoon, and still compile them together in a single location. Find out all that you need to know about using WedPics at your wedding, by visiting their website here.
Now that you know all that you should to plan your stunning wedding digitally, it is time to get started. Visit our online store at Best for Bride for everything you need for your wedding. From wedding dresses to bridesmaids outfits, accessories, décor choices, photography options, wedding cake, party favors and even wedding emergency kits and petal wishes, we have every aspect of your wedding covered. Make your pick from our dream wedding collections from leading design houses, rent your wedding dress and accessories or have your signature bridal gown custom-made by our in-house designers. Join us at Best For Bride and make every one of your wedding day dreams a reality.
Some wedding traditions are unique and pretty unusual. One of these is the practice of preserving the top tier of your wedding cake, and to share and enjoy it on your first anniversary. This age-old tradition is quite odd, since cake tastes best when eaten fresh. It is even more surprising that this tradition dates back to the 19th century, a time when there were no refrigerators. But, as most traditions have a reason behind them, so does this.
In those days, it was often assumed that a couple would have a child within the year that followed their wedding. So, the intention of preserving the cake tier was to use it at the christening of their child. Though this doesn’t really have much significance today, couples still choose to save the first tier of their wedding cake and relish it on their milestone anniversary.
Before refrigerators were available, cake preservation was possible only in the case of rich fruit cakes,which had a long shelf life. Today, we are not limited to fruit cakes, as technology allows us to preserve more varieties. Since it is highly unlikely that you will be serving fruit cake at your wedding, let us look at what you can do to ensure that your wedding cake stands the test of time and is edible and safe a year after it was made.
Choose the right flavor
Some cakes store better than others. Chocolate, hazelnut and carrot cakes are examples. Avoid cakes with fresh fruit and whipped toppings as these tend to dry out and do not taste nice when chilled.
Pack and move your cake promptly
Soon after your wedding, have your cake boxed and sent home immediately. Once home, uncover the cake, remove the decorations and place it in your refrigerator for a couple of hours. This allows the icing to harden. Don’t leave it near foods with strong odors (like onions or garlic), as the cake may absorb the odor and smell and taste of it.
Wrap in plastic and store in an airtight container
Once your cake is chilled and the frosting is hard, wrap the entire cake in several layers of cling film or plastic wrap. Next, place it in an airtight box. You can either choose a plastic container or a cardboard box, as long as whatever you choose will insulate and isolate the cake well.
Freeze in a ventilated section
Once again cover the cake with plastic wrap for added protection and place it in a well-ventilated section of your deep freeze. Always remember that your cake is in the freezer and don’t allow it to thaw and refreeze at any time. This can make it spoil. Should you have to take the cake out at any time, move it into a freezer immediately, so food safety isn’t compromised.
Enjoy it on your anniversary
Mark your calendar or set an alarm to remind you to take the cake out of the freezer on the day before your anniversary. Thaw it completely and enjoy it with your husband on your first wedding anniversary. Enjoy how all those memories of your wedding day flood back, as you do so.
To choose a splendid wedding cake or for any of your other wedding-related requirements, make sure you visit us at Best for Bride.
Shopping for your wedding dress is an ecstatic and thrilling experience. It is only normal that you want all those who matter to you—your parents, bridesmaids, friends, aunts, sisters—to accompany you on this shopping trip.
We hate to break the truth to you, but this is definitely not a good idea. Although you see yourself finding your dream dress in no time, and everyone in your entourage shedding tears of joy when they see you in it, it can at times become ugly, instead of being pleasant!
Remember that your actual intention is to find the dress that YOU love! This post will help you get an idea of why you should keep your entourage to a minimum, when you go shopping.
Too many people mean too many opinions
Remember how you and your mom clash with each other when you go dress shopping, most of the time? Well, if this isn’t the case, lucky you! But, what I’m trying to tell you is that everyone has a different fashion opinion. So, they may have a different idea of what looks good. This will not make your dress selection any easier. It will, in fact, do just the opposite. This is why we suggest you bring along just one or two people, who share your idea of what you want to wear.
You can lose focus of what you actually wanted
In continuation to the above point, when you have too many people seeing you in several wedding dresses, it is possible that you will be cajoled into believing that you want something other than what you had in mind. You’ve nailed down your preferences after hours, or even days of research. So, it doesn’t make sense to simply change it suddenly, just because someone in your entourage thinks it is a bad idea.
You do not want your appointment to leave you anxious, or worse in tears
Anyone who watches TLC’s “Yes to the dress” bridal show, knows how nasty people who accompany you to the wedding shopping can become, all of a sudden. It can end up as a power struggle, when opinions clash and the members in your entourage have divergent views. What should be a fun and exciting experience can end up with the bride in a dilemma, or even in tears, when tempers soar.
Taking everyone wedding shopping spoils the surprise of the final look
The last thing you want is to have everyone to see you in your bridal dress, before the actual wedding day. You do need honest feedback from a few trusted sources, but you can have that from just two people who know you well enough. Keep the anticipation alive, and let the rest of your dear ones look forward to your wedding day to see you in all your finesse.
So, now you know what is best for you! And, don’t worry about whether you will find the right dress, without all that help.
At Best for Bride, our bridal consultants are experts who’ve been helping hundreds of brides find their dream wedding dress. Step in and forget everything else, you will walk out with the dress you always wanted.
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Have you ever felt happy looking at a wedding photo where the couple looked genuinely overjoyed, and the photographer captured it perfectly? Such photos make us wish we were able to look as great, in front of the camera.
