When you are reading this, I will be in Illinois for some much needed family time. Today kicks off what is going to be the busiest month for Your Day of Fairy Tales since opening in 2008. But before the hustle and bustle begins, I would like to thank a few moments to give thanks to those who inspire, support, or are some way involved in the being of Your Day of Fairy Tales.
1. I praise God everyday that I have been given the ability and talent to plan weddings for such wonderful couples. Without him nothing would be possible. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."- Philippians 4:13
2. The wonderful Kristin Kaplan of Simply Stunning Events. She has been an inspiration to me since I started and I had the honor of meeting her this past year and she is going to be helping us out with our wedding next year. :)
3. The fabulous Heather and Eugene of 2duce2 videography. Our 2 hour dinner meeting inspired me beyond belief and proved to me that I am going to be a success!
4. My family. They are the ones who have been supportive throughout all times of my life and I am forever thankful!
5. My Fiance. Words cannot describe how thankful I am to be marrying such a supportive man :)
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and Leave us a comment telling us what your thankful for!
While the holiday season is rapidly approaching us, the engagement season is as well. “Silver Bells” and “Merry Christmas” are familiar phrases of the holiday season, but “Will You Marry Me” is a very popular phrase for couples.
This holiday season will be a penny pinching one for many, requiring many people to get creative in their search for affordable engagement rings. But, there are ways to get a quality ring without breaking the bank. Take into consideration these 5 easy pointers to save money on your soon to be fiance’s engagement ring!
1. Be educated! - You hear everyone talking about the 4 C’s (Clarity, Cut, Color and Carat) engagement ring shopping. If you don’t know what those are, stop reading right here and visit Shane and Co.’s website (shaneco.com) for jewelry education. This website will teach you everything you need to get the best bang for your buck when engagement ring shopping. Going in uneducated on the ins and outs of ring shopping could land you with a bad buy for your money. Know what kind of ring your fiancé wants and what color most of her jewelry is. If she has a right hand ring that is yellow gold, buying a white gold engagement ring could end up costing you more money than you anticipated. Talk to your fiancé’s family and friends about what type of engagement ring she would like as well.
2. Choose a smaller stone to propose with- There is no shame in buying your future fiancé a starter ring and updating the ring on an anniversary to come, such as 1 year or even 5 year. Shane Co. offers this service and also a free lifetime warranty.
3. Don’t be afraid of higher end department stores. Some higher end department stores such as JcPenney, Macy’s, Belk, and Dillard’s offer quality rings at a fraction of the price. When we got engaged last December, James told me that it was a temporary ring and that he wanted to get me a different ring eventually. We were out shopping one Sunday at JcPenney and found a great 1/3 of a carat nearly colorless, small inclusion ring for $300! That was too For example this Blue Nile (www.bluenile.com) ring sells for $1600.
www.bluenile.com
Did you know that you can find similar rings for around $500 or $600. This ring below can be found at Wal-Mart (Don’t cringe, read below) for $398!
Walmart.com
4. Don’t Settle for a Ring that is not “the Ring”- Too many men regret that they did not take longer in searching for the perfect ring for their fiancé. If you don’t find the ring by when you wanted to propose, don’t worry about it. She will still love you if you propose at a least expecting time. Be 100% sure before you buy.
(Bravo Bride.com)
5. Scout eBay, Craigslist or pre-owned bridal sites, like Bravo Bride - Many recent divorcees sell their engagement rings and wedding bands on these websites for sometimes as much as 75% off. Just be on the look out and make sure everything is legitimate before purchasing.
6. Remember- No matter what amount you spend on an engagement ring, it is the love and thought that you put behind it and how happy you will be when you are husband and wife.
CONGRATULATIONS CASSANDRA! I will be e-mailing you for information on how to get your prize to you! :)
Coming up this week..
-Part 1 of Penny Pinching Bride (As featured on Ashley's Bride Guide) -Wedding Inspiration for winter weddings. -Vendor feature from Blair at Nashville Party Authority!
I have had the pleasure over the last 3 months to really get to know Mark and Noelle McCoy of McCoy Made (http://www.mccoymade.com). You might remember them from their previous name of McCoy Studio. Their new name and website are very user friendly and I just love their video blog series "Mondays with the McCoy's." In fact, here is the Monday with the McCoy's that we were featured on!
Here are some questions I asked the McCoy's in our interview!
1. Who are you and what do you do?
We are Mark and Noelle McCoy, of MCCOY MADE. We are a husband and wife photography team who travel the globe doing what they love to do, capturing couples uniting themselves in marriage.
What budgets do you work with?
We will try and work with anyone!But, we do have a base starting point that we believe is geared towards the bride who is recession savvy but still wants fabulous imagery.We take on a limited number of weddings per year, therefore ensuring that we work with brides who love our work and who like our personalities!
How many weddings have you been involved in?
So far for 2009 we have shot 25 weddings and we will 5 more this year!
What is one of your strengths in the industry?
Being a husband/wife team, we like to take pride in the fact that we pay just as much attention to the groom as we do the bride!There will always be two perspectives of the same moments, and we can be in two places at once.We have started several new polices for 20
10 here in our studio, one of our favorites is that we will be scheduling your GALLERY PREMIERE within two weeks of your wedding date!So, everything will be completely edited and ready to go shortly after you return from your honeymoon.
What makes you different from other vendors in your category and why should a bride and groom hire you?
The most important difference MCCOY MADE has that no one else has, is us.We take our jobs very seriously, but we love to laugh at ourselves as well.We strive to serve people with our hearts, and keep communication lines open.
Our style is simple but we believe that our images speak volumes.We always take time to get to know our clients so that their gallery can be a personal reflection of who they are.While we cover weddings in a journalistic way, we don’t like to limit ourselves by a “genre” of photography.We are hands off and unobtrusive in our coverage, but we do believe that there is a time for gorgeous casually posed images of the bride and groom and bridal party.We understand that family images are heirlooms that record your family in one of the most important events of your life.
What areas of Middle Tennessee do you service?
We serve all of Middle Tennessee, and beyond!We have captured a bride and groom in Italy, and at the latter part of the year will travel to Guatemala to cover a wedding!
Describe your favorite wedding or special event you have worked with?
This one is hard.I don’t think we’ve worked with a bride and groom that we didn’t fall in love with!Our favorite part of any wedding, is the people.But, if we had to pick just one, it would be a wedding we shot this past summer on a horse farm.The farm was theirs, and the horse drawn buggy the bride arrived to the outdoor ceremony in, was theirs.They all wore cowboy boots, and the groom wore a Stenson hat.All theirs.They were so true to who they are, not a single detail was a forced replica out of the latest magazine.That it made the entire event special (and more fun to be a part of and capture)!
Do you have any money saving tips to offer couples planning a wedding?
Do your homework.Hire a coordinator.One option that we offer, is that a bride can register with us!People can buy gift certificates to be put towards helping the bride and groom purchase their pictures or album after the wedding!
One more last piece of wisdom for the couple…
Always interview people.For photography, knowing that you “click” is important (no pun intended!).You want to get along, and feel comfortable, with your photographer, as they will be with you all day long.Always ask to look at sample wedding albums so you can get a feel for what you’re signing up for.
Thanks Guys! If you are looking for a photographer, definitely give Mark and Noelle a call! They are wonderful and funny people and even better photographers!
One of my favorite things to do as a couple with James is go out to dinner and go to a movie! We LOOOOVE O' Charley's and going to Opry Mill's to see a movie ( I love the girly ones, he likes the Transformers style ones). So every 16th of every month leading up to our wedding next October, Your Day of Fairy Tales is giving one lucky couple the chance to have a date night!
So here is how it will work, Comment on this blog, telling us where your favorite date restaurant is and what your all time favorite date movie is and we will randomly select one entry to win on Friday!
(** Entries MUST be posted by 11:59 cst Friday November 20, 2009 to be eligible. Engaged couples only please.**)
Oh, Here is an inspiration post to get you thinking on your toes!
I had the absolute pleasure of meeting for supper the fabulous Heather and Eugene of 2duce2 videography this week! Now, if when you think wedding videography, you think of an unsteady, handed camcorder from Wal-Mart, think again! Heather and Eugene have a UNIQUE and fascinating approach to something that was once boring and unattractive.
If you think that you can't afford a videographer, think again. Heather and Eugene's prices are reasonable and are very budget friendly compared to other videographers in the area. Plus, their videos are the best I have seen, so why wouldn't you hire them?
Here is a teaser from a wedding they recently videographed. I love how they captured everything from the beginning of the day til the end of the day when you are exiting.
Thank you for coming to our blog! We are so excited for you that you are entering this new stage of your life and embarking on wedding planning! We are here to help you along the way or when it gets down to that final week/month. The purpose of this blog is to provide vendor recommendations, DIY tips, and also to give you the perspective of a bride planning her own wedding!
