Spring Wedding Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

By Nancy Jones

Spring is the quintessential season for getting hitched. But hosting an affair this time of year can also bring its share of problems. Here’s how to navigate around any issues gracefully.

Pitfall #1: Rain
The Plan: A good rental company can be your best friend. For an outdoor wedding, find a rental company with a rain policy; this agreement will get you a tent at the last minute (usually for a little extra) in case of a soggy weather forecast. If guests will be walking between different buildings or tents, rent hallways to provide coverage along the way. For venues with a flat front, order a canopy and have valet parking to guarantee dry guests. Rain can also do a number on your hair. Consider weaving in extensions or a hairpiece; they won’t frizz or go flat.

Pitfall #2: Mud
The Plan: Include an instant stain-remover stick in your emergency wedding kit. If your dress does get muddy, wait until the dirt dries (a hand-dryer or blow-dryer can speed up the process) and try to flick it off. Still there? Use the stick. To protect white wedding shoes from mud during downtime, step into plastic bags and secure them at the ankle with rubber bands (included in the kit). Or for a cute photo op, wear preppy galoshes.

Pitfall #3: Chilly Evenings
The Plan: Cooler temps predicted? Post the news on your wedding website, alerting guests, especially out-of-towners, about proper attire. Another gracious touch: Set out a basket of colorful shawls. (Ask a friend from a big city to grab cheap ones from a street vendor.) Keep candle flames alive when it’s breezy by placing pillars in glass hurricane holders, using battery-operated flameless candles that look real (and even flicker), or ordering pre-used candles — they’re romantic and the sunk-in wicks won’t be exposed.

Pitfall #4: Bugs
The Plan: If you’re saying “I do” by a lake, at the beach, or on the grounds of a country club, critters can crash your party (not as funny as Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson showing up). Keep baskets of bug repellant at the end of the aisles, and light citronella torches during the ceremony to scare away mosquitoes. Ask your florist for the best blooms for outdoor weddings (ones that don’t attract bees). If you can’t live without a certain bug-friendly flower, the florist may be able to remove the stamen to get rid of the smell. Have your hairstylist use unscented hairspray and skip the perfume until you’re inside the ballroom.

Pitfall #5: Afternoon Heat
The Plan: Scorchers sneak into spring. Hang parasols along the back rows of chairs for guests to grab. Or buy small cold packs, put them in fabric sleeves imprinted with your monogram, and have your ushers hand out the frozen favors (for wrists and the back of necks) with the programs. Elegant and practical gifts for the groomsmen are personalized handkerchiefs; during a steamy picture-taking session, they can wipe away perspiration. If your cake will be displayed outside, order one covered in fondant icing, which holds up well in the heat. With all eyes on the bride, play with a half-up, half-down hairstyle that can easily be pulled into a bun if you get overheated. When a dress with sleeves is a must, consider an airy mesh material.

Special thanks to: Laura Bianco and Kara Thorson, co-owners of My Bellissima in Florham Park, New Jersey

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PAPER LANTERS

All photos copyright Utah wedding photographer, Melissa Kelsey Photography, so please don’t steal them.  Thanks!

BIG FLOWERS MEAN BIG IMPACT

Big, hearty flowers can give you lots of impact on your wedding day and keep costs down.  Roses, star chrysanthemums, dahlias, star gazer lilies and carnations give you lots of bang for your buck.  When used in the right color combinations, they will really give you an elegant look and a dramatic result.   Add some lovely wide ribbon and you get eyecatching bouquets and centerpieces.  Use lots of the these types of flowers and sprinkle in a few more expensive, special flowers for that expensive-for-less look.   Whether you have a lot of area to cover or want to keep your floral budget down, this is a great way to go.

Talk to your florist about how they can help you implement these ideas into your wedding day floral scheme.  One of my favorite floral designers is Audrey O’Brien of Studio Stems.  Check her out at www.studiostems.com. 

Stargazer Lily

Roses and Stargazer Lilies

Hand-tied roses

Roses, hydrangea, star chrysanthemum, and pretty ribbon.

Mostly roses, a few calla lilie and lots of pretty greenery fill out this centerpiece bouquet.

Just gorgeous white roses, en masse.

Red roses with stephanotis here and there.

A mass of white carnations, dotted with white roses and a few stems of greenery make a simply elegant, impactful bridal bouquet.

One big star chrysanthemum, one hydrangea stem, beautiful ribbon, and a pretty dragonfly pin make up this bridesmaid bouquet.

Modern simplicity and big impact with just two dahlias in a clear vase-gorgeous.

All photos copyright Utah Wedding Photographer, Melissa Kelsey Photography

You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing.  You don’t have to cut the cake, toss the garter, throw the bouquet, or wear a white dress.

Martin and Kara (a.k.a. Bucky and Keekee) bucked tradition and did it their own way, the way that felt natural and right to them and it was one of the most fun weddings I’ve been to.

Kara wore a beautiful black dress, made her bouquet out of colored duct tape, made personalized wedding favors, made her centerpieces flowers from origami paper, recycled glass bottles, and stones.  It was beautiful.  They didn’t cut the cake or do the garter toss, but they did have square dancing!  It was so much fun and it got everyone dancing.  They hired square dance callers to keep things going. 

Don’t get me wrong, wedding traditions are wonderful, but if they don’t feel right for you, do something else.

Wedding and Reception:  Red Butte Garden www.redbuttegarden.org

 Decorations and flowers:  Bride

These Tuesday tips sure have a way of sneaking up on me!  I was reminded of this tip from the wedding I photographed on Saturday.

DECORATING THE BRIDE AND GROOM’S CAR

First, off-do it!  I love fun photographs of the bridal party decorating the car-make sure you tell me it’s going on so I can photograph you in action.

However, the most important thing to remember is:

NO SHAVING CREAM!!!

Shaving cream is bad for the paint.  Bad for the paint is bad for you because your friend might get really mad.

FEEL BEAUTIFUL

Do a test run of your hair and makeup with your stylist before the wedding day.  There’s nothing worse than hating your hair on your wedding day and having the stress of not knowing what it’s going to look like until it’s all done and hard to change.  Bad hair can make you feel unpretty on the day when you should feel your prettiest and most confident.

I had a bride who had her wedding out of town and was not able to do a test run with the stylist on her wedding day hair.  She wanted a soft and loose, curled, romantic look and even brought magazine pictures.  She ended up with tight, hairsprayed curls and she really disliked it.  Imagine only an hour to your wedding and you hate your hair.  Not a happy scene.  When you take magazine pictures to your stylist, just decide on one picture only.  Bringing 3 or 4 and telling them you want the bangs of this one, the sides of that one, and the back of that  one is confusing and you may not get what you want.  Trust me, I did this with a short haircut once-bad idea.  I’ve seen it happen with bridal hair, too.

Having your makeup professionally done will make all the difference in the world.  Want that bridal magazine look?  Professional hair and makeup is the key. 

I know that not everyone will or can have their makeup professionally done, but please, ladies, put on some blush and lip color!  I know you’re used to nude/clear gloss or just Chapstick, but for your bridal session and wedding day, natural looking blush and a lip color are key.  You don’t have to wear bold lipstick.  A great technique is to use a lipstick first and then, apply gloss over top.  I find that the mixture of the two give you enough color in a natural way.  Besides, blending the two usually gives you the best, most customized color for your skin tone.  I like L’Oreal’s Infallible lip glosses because they are super long wearing without that yucky caked on, dry feel. 

Back to professional makeup and hair.  Local makeup and hair artists, Enizio are your go to people.  www.enizio.com

Go for natural false lashes, airbrushed makeup, and a unique, but elegant hairstyle.  You’ll love it!

www.melissakelseyphotography.com

www.melissakelseyportraits.com

WEDDING COLORS

I shot Erika and Porter’s wedding on Friday.  They were married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.  We were walking around, doing shots of just the two of them when I saw this wedding color palette inspiration.  This post will be a teaser for Porter and Erika and Tuesday Tip all in one!

 Erika and Porter’s wedding colors were sage green and chocolate, which I always love since my brand color is apple green.  However, this grey wall and the yellow leaves just struck me and reminded me of the next hot wedding color-yellow.  Yellow with chocolate or yellow and apple green would be scrumptious.  I’m a big fan of a fabulous pop color with an elegant neutral.

This photo inspired me to do a Wedding Colors tip.  So, here you go!

YELLOW AND GREY

So, sophisticated.  I can see this with monograms for a modern, elegant look.  There’s a scene in the movie, Thorougly Modern Milly, with Julie Andrews (a must see) with a fabulous dancing and singing scene where the room decor and all the outfits are all in some variation of yellow and grey.  More fabulous inspiration!

 Some other totally cool, somewhat unexpected wedding color combos:

CLASSIC RED AND ROBIN’S EGG BLUE

This is a combination you don’t see a lot and I can see it busting onto the scene in the near future.  It’s fresh and would work fabulously with a modern or vintage theme.  Can’t you just see a 50s pinup era theme with this wedding color combo? 

COPPER AND TEAL

This would be a gorgeous, unique color combination for a fall or winter wedding.  You could incorporate peacock feathers and even bring in some robin eggs (faux, of course) to bouquets, centerpieces, and decorations.  This brings to mind English hunting style, plaid Ralph Lauren scarves, and riding boots.  Oh, scrumptious!  It was really hard to find photos of what I described (same thing happened when I was planning my wedding!), but thankfully I found some that have the peacock and teal idea thanks to http://tastefullyentertaining.blogspot.com

All photos besides those from the Tastefully Entertaining blog are from www.marthastewartweddings.com

Your Tuesday Tip is by Melissa Kelsey Photography, a Utah Wedding Photographer.

I’ve decided to start posting a super-helpful wedding tip or article every Tuesday to help brides and grooms plan their weddings.  I’ve gleaned a lot of knowledge on little things that will enhance any wedding through all the weddings I’ve photographed as well as planning my own wedding and helping friends plan theirs. 

So, here’s the inaugural Tuesday Tip!

CANDLES!

Lots and lots of inexpensive votive candles EVERYWHERE will make a huge difference in the ambience of your wedding reception as well as the wedding reception photographs.  I love the gorgeous glow of candlelight in a photograph.  It’s just so beautiful.  I took these two photographs with candlelight only.  You can see the gorgeous highlights and warm glow the candles made in the first photograph and the second one speaks for itself.

You can do this REALLY affordably.  At Ikea, you can get a bag of 24 tea lights for only $5.99, so stock up on at least 4 or more bags.  Seriously, the more the better.  Make sure you get little glass holders for them or your reception center won’t let you use them.  You can get a 5 short glass holders for only $1.99 or 3 tall holders for the same price.  This is a small investment that will make a HUGE difference in your wedding photography.

Tuesday Tip by Utah Wedding Photographer, Melissa Kelsey.