Breaking Tradition: The First Look

It has long been tradition to not have the betrothed see each other before the wedding, as superstition says it is “bad luck”. Since the basis for the tradition was to keep grooms from breaking an arranged marriage by seeing something he didn't care for, today's weddings show that this is a tradition that can stand to be “tweaked” a little.

Sometimes you just can't stand to be apart for that long on one of the biggest days of your life, but still don’t want to see each other before the ceremony, a little creative hand holding might be in order.

If you still want to stick a little to the tradition and just have one person not see the other, it doesn't mean one of you can’t “take a peek” at the other!

And then there are always those who just can't take it anymore and have “the big reveal” before the ceremony! This option can definitely help with photography--And get a bunch of those pix out of the way early!

And you just might get a shot of the groom like this...

Michele Beckwith Photography

Sneak Peek - Julie & Doug - Engagement Photos

So much love! This is one wedding that has had me bouncing off the walls with excitement ever since I was blessed with the honor of being their wedding coordinator. A custom made ring, the San Francisco Zoo amongst the zebras and the antelope, and full of classy nerdom, the wedding of these two is sure to make your heart melt. They just ooze true love every moment they are together. It really is so beautiful to see two people so in love. Just see for yourself!

Photos by Kate Gardner of Modern Love Photography

Go Nude! Happy National Nude Day!

Today is National Nude Day! I do not recommend doing a Google image search for nude wedding. The results were not at all what I was looking for.

Eventually I was able to find what I was hoping for: some gorgeous inspirational images for a wedding where you can bare your love for the world to see and celebrate.

Or bare it all with one of this season's hottest trends, the nude wedding cake.

So go nude and let your love shine through!

Credits:
Tablescape White Lilac Inc | One Wed
Stunning Nude Dress Bride’s collaboration with Shu Hsien Ryu and Dream Creations
Fabric and Brooch Bouquet Cultivar Etsy Shop
Nude Cake Ben Webb Design

Wedding Planner vs Venue Coordinator

Venue Coordinator
     Venue coordinators are employees of the venue itself. Their responsibilities are those pertaining to your experience with them, directly: show you venue, consulting your food and beverage choices, arranging menu tastings and processing the final invoice. On your wedding day, their focus is delivering their contracted services, and that’s it: ensuring the venue set up is accurate (tables, chairs and place setting only), the food is out on time and that tear down happens seamlessly. In addition, a Venue Coordinator may often departs once the meal is served.

Wedding Planner
     A wedding planner is your personal consultant. Their focus is you and your vision of your dream wedding.
     They are there from the start, including reviewing vendor contracts, vendor and venue recommendations, creating your timeline/itinerary, coordinating all the details with your vendors, and organizing your ceremony rehearsal.
     On the wedding day they are there to oversee the schedule and make sure everything happens and happens on time. They are there to make sure your first dance starts on time, that your grandparents are present for your dance with your father, to make sure all of your vendors show up and know what they are expected to do, and to make sure all those perfect details you stressed over for the better part of a year are placed perfectly where you imagined them. They are also there to make sure that when something does go wrong that it is seamlessly corrected and you can enjoy your day without the knowledge that anything ever went wrong.
This also goes for “Day of Wedding Coordinators” personally hired by you. While they may come in closer to event day, they work exclusively for you!


     The main difference is that a venue coordinator works for the venue, a wedding planner works for you.

     Now don’t get me wrong, venue coordinators play a huge role in the wedding planning process. I love working with them and (I hope) they love working with me. However, it is important to realize what a venue coordinator’s role is so they know how much they can truly expect and not be frustrated and disappointed when they find that they are not able to do many of the things you need done.

Feathers: It's Not Just a Bunch of Fluff

Do you remember making crafts as a child with feathers? Maybe you traced the outline of your hand on some construction paper and cut it out, embellishing your new “hand-turkey” with big colored feathers and a pair of googly-eyes. Well, feathers (or our knowledge of them) have come along way since then! Feathers are available in so many sizes and styles, and in almost any color scheme, it would be hard not to find something that would work well as fashion, or decoration.

Do you want a little throwback to the older days? A fine feathered fascinator might do just the trick for you! Popular at cocktail parties of the past, and making a comeback to the fashion forward, these small hats adorned with feathers and birdcage netting are sure to draw attention to the wearer, whether she’s the star of the show or a member of the supporting cast.

And let’s not let the feminine side hog all the limelight, boutonnieres can have feathers too! You can still display a masculine quality in a feathered accessory if done right, but still compliment your other half’s feathered finery. If you just don’t know how to make frilly feathers work for the bridegroom, The Test Of Time Weddings can create custom-designed pieces for the soon-to-be-wed and your attendants!

There are a few more reasons why feathers are your friends, when it comes to the DIY crowd, you can make your feathered accessories way in advance! If you’re not sure if you want to include real flowers at all because they’ll just end up dying anyway, you can create bouquets/boutonnieres early and use that precious time within days of the wedding to attend to last minute items. They are a long lasting momento, or can also be a reusable accessory for your wedding party when they spend a night on the town!

Centerpieces, fashion statements, or the old stand-by guest book pen, adding feathers to the flock of fancies at your wedding will give your guests something to be tickled about!

This just in:

For the tatted up guys and dolls out there who are planning to tie the knot soon, or still trying to meet the right one to share your dream wedding with, check out this amazingly awesome and stunningly detailed cake topper that is custom made to include the two of you, down to the details of all your (visible) tattoos!

Source: To Hell In A Handbag Etsy Shop

Start Your Big Day with a Caffeine Fix!

Free Starbucks on your Wedding Day!

The best part... Starbucks is a supporter of marriage equality!

Photo by dianaelizabeth

Christmas In July

Many people think of the bbq’s, independence day, and the going to the beach when they talk about plans in the last month of summer, and those are great, but there’s always time to plan ahead and be inspired by Christmas in July

Now you don't have to get carried away and rent a snowman suit for your officiant to wear, because it’s easy to be cheesy with a Christmas themed wedding! If you're looking for a more timeless look, don't overdo it, or at least not in the wrong places! We have some tips on how to keep your wedding from looking like everyone should all be wearing matching holiday sweaters to the event.

To establish your theme inspired by the most wonderful time of the year, start out with your invitations! You can present both classic and Christmas by mixing a traditional damask, with a red ribbon and holly berries, as found in these custom invitations designed by us!

Carry that idea of the red ribbon and berries into your reception with decorative chair tie-backs, and for those who want to inspire future weddings, try adding a sprig of mistletoe to a few chairs, and wait to see what happens!

You can also use the colors of the season to accentuate items like the cake, bouquets and centerpieces, and adding a little sparkle will give them a special touch that reminds us of glistening snow.

We all know it’s the little things that make a big difference,

and in a chilly winter wedding, a hot cocoa bar is sure to be a big hit for young and old alike! Who doesn't smile when topping something off with whipped cream and tiny marshmallows? For those who want something a little stronger than a cinnamon stick in their drink, designate a signature drink to celebrate the

season (and your wedding) with a festive cranberry & vanilla martini!

Last, but most certainly not least, here’s how to overdo it, in all the right ways! Bring the

beauty of winter from outdoors to in, with your own snowy white forest! Covered in lights to brighten the room as if you're in the middle of a winter wonderland, you can go big, or scale it down to fit the room and your budget by taking the DIY approach by getting some curly willow branches and paint them a very wintery white!

And what is Christmas without a kiss under the mistletoe?

Website Launches

The Test Of Time Weddings has had a complete website overhaul. New look from top to bottom. Also, finally got the website for The Test Of Time Rentals up and running. So excited and can't wait to see what new adventures this will bring! Check out both websites www.thetestoftimeweddings.com and www.thetestoftimerentals.com! And don't forget to like us on Facebook too!

Zombie Wedding

Your wedding should reflect you as a couple be it traditional or crazy, fun, and off the wall. Now I'm not saying every wedding be as extreme as this but this zombie wedding is awesome!

The important thing is that your wedding honors your love for each other and shows off who you both are (yes, I said both).

Let The Test Of Time Weddings help in creating the perfect, customized wedding for you. Until Death Do You Part!

New Inventory

I have been picking up some great new pieces for our sister company, The Test Of Time Rentals! A couple of big pieces that that will need some work but they should be fun projects I can't wait to get started on. Check out the before pictures! And for the rest of the inventory check out www.thetestoftimeweddings.com.

Custom Wax Seal

Create your own custom wax seal. Use your initials, monogram, or wedding logo. Give your invitations and thank you note some classic elegance!

SUPPLIES:
wooden dowel
wood burning tool with a fine tip
pencil
printout of design
xacto knife
sandpaper
tape
stain
old rag
vegetable oil
paper towels
sealing wax
matches

STEPS:
1. Prep the dowel by sanding the end you plan on using as the seal. Try to get out the little dings and scratches, otherwise they will show up in the wax impression.

2. Measure the exact diameter of the wooden dowel and design your seal. If you are designing a simple monogram, such as our RageHaus seal, you can easily design it in a variety of computer applications. Start by drawing a circle that is the exact diameter of the dowel with a thin stroke. Then arrange the letters within the circle. Keep in mind that you should keep the detail relatively simple unless you have a lot of experience wood burning small detail into wood.
3. Print the final design and cut out the letters with an xacto knife. Think of this step as making a stencil. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be perfect, but you do want to capture the structure of the design.


4. Flip your stencil so it reads backwards and trace the image onto the dowel. Remember that your design needs to be backwards on the seal so the impression it leaves reads correctly. Tape the stencil onto the dowel and trace your design. Once you have a good trace, take off the stencil and fill out the design where you see fit.
5. Carve out the design with the wood burning tool. I found that this tool works well for this task. They are readily available in most craft stores and come with a fine point tip that can capture small detail. I will warn you that this is the hardest part of the tutorial. I went through about three dowels before I was able to get a carving I was happy with. As you carve your design, keep the depth you carve relativity the same for the entire design so you can create an even, smooth impression in the wax.

For full directions and more pictures go to:

http://ragehaus.com/?p=1215

Arrrrr!!!!

'Tis National Talk Like A Pirate Day! And to celebrate I bring you some inspiration for when ye captain weds his saucy wench!

Hot Summer Weddings

It is currently 6pm and still 97 degrees outside. Earlier it got as high as 104 degrees, cooler than yesterday. All this crazy heat got me thinking about those couples out there who are getting married this summer (or next summer... great to plan ahead). Here are some wedding ideas to keep you and your guests cool at your wedding.

Parasols - Provide them for your guests or forgo bouquets and have your bridal party carry parasols down the aisle.

Fans also make cute alternatives to bouquets or provide them for your guests as well. You can also make custom fan programs so they do double duty and save you some money.

Offer Boater Hats or Fedoras to your male guests to shade their eyes.

Something that is often overlooked at any outdoor event is Suncreen. Offer a basket full of personalized sample-sized suncreen for your guest. These can also double as favors.

And don't forget refreshments. Keep your guests cool and hydrated with old fashion lemonade! This looks adorable served in mason jars.

And what says summer time more that an Ice Cream Sundae? Provide a variety of toppings including everything from nuts to whipped cream to Oreo cookie crumbles and, of course, cherries and let your guests go crazy! (Also, if anyone knows where to find these amazing Coca-Cola themed labels for the sundae bar, please let me know.)

Most importantly, keep plenty of Ice-Cold Drinks available throughout the event!

And don't forget to BREATHE!

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July!

Congratulations from the President and First Lady!

What a beautiful historical treasure! If you send a wedding invitation to the president and first lady, you will receive a congratulatory letter in return.

Brilliant idea!

Getting married outdoors? Sew these small weights into the hems of your bridesmaids' dresses to eliminate embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions. Available at most sewing supply stores.

Introducing Cynthia & Oliver Obusan

Cynthia & Oliver we wed June 2nd, 2012. Cynthia was the lucky winning bidder on my services that were auctioned off to benefit an incredible organization called Wish Upon A Wedding which provides dream weddings to those who are terminally ill. I was honored to help with this beautiful wedding for two incredible people and as an added bonus, it was all for charity. Congratulations to you both and I wish you the best and a happily ever after!

Venue - Fremont Hills Country Club
Wedding Coordinator - The Test Of Time Weddings
Photographer - Jodie Fisher
Videographer - Slava Basovich
D.J. - Matthew Cope