It’s Your Day to Shine

Wedding Makeup Artists in the Des Moines, Iowa area
Getting your make up professionally done for your wedding is a great idea. When else do you get to be pampered like this? You also want a look that will last all day which is why it is key to find the right makeup artist.

Bella Salon and Spa $40
To get your makeup professionally done at Bella Salon and Spa it costs $40. You can use this $40 to put toward purchasing something from the makeup line they use. This makeup line is Jane Iredale.

Beauty of All Faces  $165-750
There are many different packages to choose from at Beauty of All Faces ranging from $165-750. They use airbrush makeup and fake lashes for all of their packages. Their packages range from just the brides makeup to all of the bridal party and mother of the bride makeup.

Salon 86 $45
This includes a foundation airbrush application.

Charmante Beauty Bar $150
Bridal makeup costs $150 for the bride and $65 for bridesmaids. They use TEMPTU airbrush foundation and a mixture of CHANEL, Laura Mercier, Urban Decay for color. All of these brands have very high end makeup lines.

My Story:
I was struggling to find a makeup artist in the Des Moines, Iowa area. I wanted to do something that would last all day so I was wanting airbrush makeup done. I started by looking at Beauty of All Faces but they were already booked for my day and were a little high for my budget. I then looked into Salon 86 but was not pleased with the customer service I was receiving. Next, I looked into Bella Salon and Spa and did a trial. The trial showed me that they did not have a makeup color that matched my skin tone. I kept looking and was lucky to find Charmante Beauty Bar still open for my wedding day. They use very high end makeup and airbrush which was exactly what I was looking for. They also travel to the location which is very nice when having hair also done on location.

Why You Should Have a Wedding Videographer!

Why not just have your cousin record the ceremony?

        You may think that having your cousin record your ceremony will be good enough, you may want to think again. With a professional videographer you have the opportunity to remember your wedding more true to how it is. 

A professional videographer has the equipment and talent to capture: 

• You and your bridesmaids getting ready for your best and most important day ever
• You and your grooms first sight
• You and your dad walking down the aisle 
• Your groom as you and your dad are walking down the aisle
• You and your groom saying your vows
• Your first dance, father daughter dance, and mother son dance

My Story:

My fiance and I went back and fourth trying to decide if we would need a wedding videographer. We thought about how much they can be and how we would have willing family members to record our ceremony if we would like. We decided we wanted to get our wedding day professional documented by a videographer but we wanted to find a great price to make that happen. We then discovered TZ Productions. This company was started by a college student with a lot of talent and now has more experience and equipment to make your wedding day memorable.

Remember Your Wedding Day the Way You Want to!

5 tips to finding the perfect wedding photographer

The importance of a great wedding photographer is sometimes overlooked due to the high fees associated with some photographers. It is important to remember that these pictures will be how you remember your day.

Selecting the perfect wedding photographer:

1. Coverage: Select a photographer that offers adequate coverage time. The minimum that you will most likely need is 8 hours. This would cover some getting ready time through the beginning of your reception. Before booking ask how many people they will be bringing with them.  Also ask about fees that could come from having their assistants with them.
2. Free Engagement Session: Most wedding photographers offer engagement sessions as part of your wedding package. This is great because it gives you a chance to get to know the photographer and can be cheaper.
3. Style: When deciding between photographers consider their photography style. Do they use natural lighting well? This is very important if your wedding is outdoors or if you want to have outdoor pictures. You want to look at their previous work and see how much editing they do to their pictures after the day. You want to make sure and find someone that does the amount of editing you want. If you just want to look like yourself, make sure they will not edit your pictures too much.
4. Personality: You want to make sure you like the personality of photographer and feel comfortable with them.  The more comfortable you are with your photographer the more natural you will act and the more natural your pictures will look.  
5. Fees: It is very important to read through all of the information they give you about fees you will be paying. These fees can be for their time spent at your wedding, their travel mileage, food for the day, and many other things you may not consider. Some fees include prints. You could consider getting your pictures printed on your own through a professional place if you want to spend less. Before booking you will need to know your photographer’s willingness to travel and fees associated to traveling.

One of Our Engagement Pictures

My Story:

My fiancé and I wanted to make sure we had pictures that were going to portray ourselves and the day accurately. We chose to use Stephanie Marie Photography. She does a great job of capturing the moments and editing her pictures naturally. Her smallest package included 8 hours of wedding day coverage and a free engagement session. Having this engagement session with her really gave us the chance to get to know her and her to get to know us as a couple.

Wedding Shower Host Gift Ideas – at Target for under $10

Do you really have to spend money on a gift for someone hosting a shower for you? No, you don’t have to but it is a very nice gesture. They are spending a lot of time and money on hosting the shower and giving a gift shows them how much the shower actually means to you.

• Mug                                                                                                     http://www.target.com/p/aladdin-16oz-transform-mug-earl-grey/-/A-16203220#prodSlot=medium_1_53&term=mug
• Kitchen Utensils                                                                                     http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-tool-caddy-set-5pc/-/A-17006367#prodSlot=_1_8
• Candle                                                                                                           http://www.target.com/p/be-peaceful-candle-tin/-/A-14263172#prodSlot=_2_45
• Serving Dish with Towel                                                                     http://www.target.com/p/threshold-solid-melamine-bowl-cream-7-5/-/A-15368510                    http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-grid-kitchen-towel-2-pack-gray/-/A-15092320#prodSlot=medium_1_10&term=kitchen+towel
• Thank You Cards Pack                                                                               http://www.target.com/p/thank-you-cards-with-floral-and-gold-dots-15-count/-/A-14291124#prodSlot=medium_1_18&term=thank+you+cards

My Story:

For one of my showers I got a baking/serving dish and towel from TJ Maxx for about $11. This shower was unique in that it was hosted by more than one couple so it took extra work to find something similar for all three couples. I wanted to get a gift that each husband and wife would benefit from. This is why I ended up choosing a dish and towel rather than one mug that they would have to share.

How to Create a Stellar Wedding Day Timeline

     The article Complete Wedding-Day Timeline, by Kristen O'Gorman Klein, give tips on how to create a timeline. Her tips include different time amounts you want to have for each event/appointment you have during the day. This is key to planning your day well. You want to make sure you have time for everything you need and want to get done.

     When creating your wedding day timeline you want to make sure and build in extra time for each event. You should make sure and communicate with your vendors while creating your wedding timeline because they may require different times then what this article states.

http://bridalguide.com/planning/wedding-planning-basics/complete-wedding-day-timeline

My Story:

I used this article Complete Wedding-Day Timeline, by Kristen O'Gorman Klein, while attempting to plan my wedding day. Some things I already had an idea of how long they would take based on talking to my vendors but others I had not thought of. After I read this article I started creating potential wedding day timelines for myself, my bridesmaids, and the guests. These allowed me to put actual times onto each of the events and have a better understanding on how the day could go.

Asking Your Attendants?

Things to consider when deciding who to ask to be part of your wedding:

• Bridesmaid(s) / Groomsmen

How many guests will you be having at your wedding? If you are having a small wedding you many want to have a smaller bridal party as well. Do you want to include any family? Consider asking a sister/brother or sister/brother-in-law to be or cousin. Consider asking friend(s) that you are currently close to or have a long history with.

• Usher(s)

Ushers give you a great chance to include more people in your big day if you want. You can also choose to use some or all of your groomsmen to usher people rather than having ushers if you would prefer.

• Flower Girl(s) / Ring Bearer(s)

Remember that when you have children in your wedding it can get a little crazy. Just remember when they are walking down the aisle that moment is going to be all about them. Kids are kids and you have to understand that. Something to consider is if there are any traditions in having family members in each other’s weddings.

• Personal Attendant(s)

This is a great chance to have someone that is always there for you to be part of your day without as much time or money commitment as your bridesmaids.

• Guest Book Attendant(s)

This is a great chance to include people in your day. You can choose to have just one person or as many as you want. You can consider asking aunts, cousins, or friends.

• Reader(s)

When selecting readers you may want to consider who has been a big influence in your or your fiance's life.

How you are going to ask people can be challenging. You need to consider your relationship with the person, what role you are asking them to take, and who you are before you decide how you will ask. If you are someone that doesn’t want it to be a big deal you can ask them simply by talking with them. This is great for asking usher(s), guest book attendant(s) and reader(s) but you could also choose to ask all roles this way. If you are wanting to be more creative you can do that as well. Pinterest is a great place to get ideas on how to ask.

What we used to ask our flower girl

My Story:

I asked my sisters to be my matron and maid of honor in the car as we got to my first wedding dress appointment. I did so by giving them a locket with the wedding colors in the heart and a note inside that asked them. I then asked my two friends to be my bridesmaids by proposing to them with a simple knot ring and note.

What I used to ask my bridesmaids

My fiance asked his groomsmen by handing them a beer and said you can have this beer under one condition, that you will be my groomsmen. And they said yes. He asked his brother to be his best man, his brother-in-law to be, and two friends to be his groomsmen.

My fiance and I asked my fiance's cousin to be our flower girl. We did so with a pearl necklace for her to wear on our wedding day and a note asking her to be our flower girl. We asked my nephew to be our ring bearer by giving him a teddy bear and note. Keep in mind he was less than a month old so his mom and dad said yes.

Asking our flower girl

Asking our ring bearer

How to Get and Stay Organized While Wedding Planning

Getting Organized

Now that you are engaged, it’s time to get organized and start wedding planning. Here are the steps that you can take to create a wedding timeline:

Step 1: Once you have an idea of when you want your big day to be, begin looking through different timelines on Pinterest or Google.

Step 2: Compare this timelines to what time you have to get things done. Take these timeline suggested dates lightly. Your timeline will be unique to you.

Step 3: Create an excel document to combine the different timelines to create a personalized timeline for your wedding date.

Staying Organized

Make sure and keep looking back at this timeline you created. A great way to track is to keep adding notes of where you are at on each action item. You can also color code your action that needs to be taken on this item. For example, use red to indicate done, orange to indicate in progress, and yellow to indicate needs to be done.

My Story:

Once my fiancé and I got engaged we sat down together and started outlining all the tasks we needed to get done week by week all the way up to the wedding day. We started by looking on Pinterest at all of the suggested timelines for getting ready for the day of. With this as our start we then compared that to when we had the most time since we are both still in college we wanted to make the most out of our holiday breaks. My fiancé is way into creating excel sheets so that is what we used to create our timeline. We compared all the different suggestions and created our unique timeline. We then tracked our progress through color coding our action and keeping notes on the right side. Below is what our original excel document looked like.

5 Questions to Consider When Booking Your Reception

5 questions to ask yourself when looking for a wedding reception location:

1. Will our guests need a place to stay the night of the reception? If you are having lots of guests from out of town you may want to consider having your reception at a hotel to maximize their time at your reception especially if you are hosting alcohol.

2. How far do you want your guests to drive between the ceremony location and the reception location? It might be best to choose a reception location that is close to your ceremony location to minimize the chance of your guests getting lost on their way to the reception. If you do choose a location that is a bit of a drive you may want to consider including a map for your guests.

3. How involved in the flow of the night do you want to be? If you want a little less stress you may want to consider choosing a location that has an event manager that will take care of the food coming out on time and the overall flow of the reception.

4. What type of environment do you want for your reception? If you want something romantic, you may want to consider a location that is a little cozy and close. You need to make sure there is space for everyone but you don’t want there to be too much open space. 

5. Do you want plated meals or a buffet line? Buffet lines take up more space but can be more cost effective with some vendors. If you want a buffet line, you need to make sure you have space for the line.

 

Hilton Garden Inn - Johnston, IA

My Story:

When my fiancé and I began looking at reception locations we weren’t sure what we wanted. Our first option was a free location that we could get through our wedding ceremony location. It was a large space that was multi-functional. The issue for us with this location was that we wanted to have a romantic environment. We decided it would be a lot of work to make a large space feel romantic. We began looking at hotel ballrooms. Our thought with this was that I would have almost all of my family coming in from out of town needing a place to stay. We also wanted someone that would take care of the overall flow of the night without having to worry about it. We were cautious of choosing a location that would be easy to get to from the ceremony location. Our locations ended up being 5 minutes away from each other. We really wanted to do plated meals to maximize our space in the ballroom. 

He Put a Ring on it! Now What?

You just made one of the biggest decisions of your life. You said yes! Who do you tell? How will they respond? These are important questions to ask yourself as you decide who and how to tell your great news of your engagement.

Who Do You Tell In Person Verse Through Social Media?

It might come as a surprise to you but telling as many people as possible in person about your engagement before posting it on social media is the best way to go. How do you think your mom would feel if she saw you just got engaged via Facebook? She would feel as though you are not close to her at all. Now in the same way, when you choose to tell other friends and family before posting your engagement on social media it makes them feel important to you. You do not need to feel pressure to tell people that are not as close to you in person but make sure and let those important to you hear the news from you first.

How Will They Respond?

Be ready for their responses. Someone might be busy and not get the chance to give their full reaction that they are really feeling inside. Don’t let someone’s reaction bring down your excitement. They don’t fully understand your relationship. What do you think would be the first question you get? No not how did he propose but when is the wedding date? Be prepared to give a general idea of when you are thinking of getting married. That can be that you want to wait awhile or some actual time ranges if possible. It is not a good idea to give a specific date before you actually start planning and finding out what places are available on the date you want.

My Story

Right after he proposed

The lobby

My boyfriend, at the time, proposed to me on our year and a half dating anniversary in the same spot that he asked me on our first date. Keep in mind our dating anniversary was a Tuesday night in November. There was snow on the ground and we were freezing. Tears of joy were welling in my eyes as I answered the most important question I ever had in my life. I was shaking with excitement as we walked back to my apartment wondering what we were supposed to do next. Right when we got inside the building we stopped in the lobby and called our family. After that we went to my room and told all of my roommates. Everyone was so excited. The next day we began calling our aunts and uncles. To our surprise everyone was asking when our wedding date was. We were like “we got engaged less than 24 hours ago… we do not have a date set yet”. We informed them that we were waiting until graduation and we would let them know a date when we set one.