Kylie was born on Thanksgiving Day…we are so happy she is finally here!

Jessica & Cory had a beautiful ceremony and reception at their local church. We headed to the Memorial Union for a fun photo shoot…

Here are some favorites from Kiersten & Dan’s wedding. They were married in the Cold Water Canyon in the Wisconsin Dells – so beautiful! Kiersten arrived in Dan’s grandfather’s restored antique car…

Katie & Robert had a gorgeous tented reception at Bishop’s Bay. The evening sky was the perfect backdrop for this first photo…

Amy & Neil were married on a very rainy day in the Dells area…here are a few favorites of the bride and groom!

Every year we have lots of couples who are nervous about the weather ruining their pictures. Living in Wisconsin, I don’t blame them…even in the hottest months of summer, you just never know! If you plan to take pictures outdoors and the chance of rain leaves you with a big scary question mark, consider planning a backup indoor location. There are so many gorgeous places in town that create stunning backgrounds for photographs. Maybe your church or ceremony site offers great light, stained glass or beautiful architecture. If not, maybe your reception hall or hotel lobby would work. If you’re not happy with either of those options, we’ve got a few suggestions that work great for pictures. If you’re interested in one of the locations, you’ll need to make contact before your wedding, as some require a permit, charge a nominal fee, or just need to have you on the schedule. If you haven’t yet booked a wedding venue, any of these places are spectacular for your ceremony, reception, or even both. Plus they offer great outdoor and indoor options for pictures.

1 – The inside of the Capitol features dramatic lighting, architecture and stonework with lots of options for photos. The building closes at 4pm, so if your schedule includes pictures after that time, this probably isn’t the best option for you.

2 – The Overture Center features a variety of modern spaces that give a gorgeous, sleek look to wedding photos.

3 – The inside of the Memorial Union offers so much character with its great window architecture, stone pillars and art museum.

Tim & Laura were married on May 25th at the Allen Centennial Gardens with a reception following at the Memorial Union…here are a few favorites from their day!

Holly & Jason were married on May 24th at the Monona Terrace with their reception at the Madison Club. Here are a few favorites…

These ideas were incorporated into ceremonies of our past couples – some to replace the lighting of the unity candle and some in addition to it. Including a special custom will not only create a ceremony different from what guests expect, but it also can be the start of a tradition that you pass on as your new family grows.

1 – Basket of Prayers and Wishes
Have a basket filled with polished rocks or gemstones (you can even have them imprinted or engraved) or custom pewter tokens. As ushers hand out the ceremony programs, also have them tell guests to take a rock or token from the basket. Then, during the ceremony set aside a time when the officiant asks all guests to hold onto their rock or token and send a wish or say or a prayer for the couple. On the way out of the ceremony, the guests put the rocks or tokens back into the basket and you are left with a basket full of hopes and wishes for your life together.

2. Candle Lighting Ceremony
I absolutely love Christmas Eve church services when every person has their own candle to light the room. So, we included this idea in our wedding and it was really beautiful. We purchased the candles from Madison Church Supply on Park Street. The ushers handed each guest a candle along with a program as they entered the ceremony room. During the ceremony, we lit our unity candle and then row by row, all the guests lit their candles. The best way to do this is have two ushers, each with their own candles, head to the first aisle of guests (usually your parents) and begin lighting the first candle. From there, guests pass along the flame from their candle to the candle of the person next to them. In no time the whole room was filled with beautiful candle light. Once all the guests’ candles were lit, the officiant said a blessing and asked guests to raise their candles as we exited the ceremony.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to check with your church or ceremony site to make sure a candle lighting ceremony is ok to do. Some places have strict rules and fire regulations. Also, if you have families with children at your wedding (which we did) they can choose not to hold a candle.

3. Sand Ceremony
This option carries the same symbol as the unity candle – the joining of separate lives and families into one. To do a sand ceremony you’ll need three vases, one in the center and one on each side. The center vase can either be empty or have sand in it to represent God or your Faith. Each of the two other vases will have different colored sand symbolilzing the separate lives of the bride and groom. During the sand ceremony, you and your fiancee will each pour your vase of sand into the center vase. Many couples will keep the center vase displayed both at the rest of the wedding and later on at home as a reminder of your commitment.

To include children or your parents into the ceremony, simply have an extra vase of sand for each child or set of parents. After you and your fiancee have poured your sand into the center vase, have your children or parents join you at the table and do the same.

4. Rose Ceremony
The Rose Ceremony can be as simple as the bride & groom giving each other a rose, or it can involve the couple giving a rose to parents, grandparents or other special family members.

5. Honey Ceremony
Immediately after the couple is married they each dip one finger into a prepared dish of honey and feed it to the other. This symbolize sweetness of life and the joy and celebration of the day.

6. Rope Tying Ceremony
This option also carries the same symbol as the unity candle – the joining of separate lives and families into one. The groom will hold a metal loop with three pieces of different colored rope already knotted to the loop. The bride will braid together the three pieces of rope – one symbolizing the groom, one symbolizing the bride, and the center rope symbolizing God or their Faith. The braided ropes can be kept as a reminder of your commitment and wedding day.

7. Handfasting/Handwrapping Ceremony
The wrapping of your hands symbolizes the joining of your two hearts in a marriage of strength and unity. The hands symbolize warmth of the heart and the infinity symbol created during the wrapping process stands for eternity or forever.

Most every bride will say with certainty that she will never wear her wedding gown again. And 30 years from now, as sentimental as it may seem, future daughters probably won’t want anything to do with a “vintage” gown – they’ll want to choose their own just like the rest of us. So, that leaves three options: keep your gown bundled away in plastic, trash the dress, or donate the dress.

“Trash the Dress” photo sessions continue to gain popularity as brides are excited at the idea of capturing completely unique photos – rolling in the mud, water skiing, swimming, walking through the woods, even cutting apart the dress. If this is something you definitely want to do, then you absolutely should. Your wedding should be everything you imagine, and you only have one day to get everything right. So, if you’re a “Trash the Dress” bride, go for it and don’t let anyone talk you out of it! But, before you destroy your designer gown, why not purchase an inexpensive $99 dress to use for the photo shoot, and instead donate your real gown to charity?

If you can look past the traditional idea that you have to keep your gown packed away, or you have to use your original gown for a “Trash the Dress” shoot, you can let your dress live on in an even better way.

Brides Against Breast Cancer collects donated dresses from brides, designers and bridal shops all over the country and then holds a Nationwide Tour of Gowns. Just imagine a bride shopping through the gowns and falling in love with your dress the way you did. Even better, the money from your donated wedding dress goes to fulfill the last wishes of terminally ill breast cancer patients.

HOW WE MET
Scott and I met after a Badger Football game at the “W” house on Breese Terrace. My arrival to the house was due to the fact that one of my best friends was dating one of Scott’s best friends. My goal that night was to steal my friend away from the party for a long overdue ‘girl’s night out’. I never ended up ‘stealing’ my friend that night, but Scott did end up ‘stealing’ my heart. Scott proposed to me on my birthday, about a year and a half later, on March 1, 2006. We started planning our wedding immediately because at the same time, we were also planning our move to Richmond, VA, in June 2006. We got married on September 1, 2007 with our ceremony and reception at Lake Windsor Golf Club.

OUR UNIQUE IDEAS
We wanted our wedding to be unique, modern, simplistic, and filled with little special touches. We tried to incorporate our own thoughts and ideas into each aspect of the wedding planning process. Below are a few examples of how we tried to accomplish our goals:

1 – The first decision we made was to have an elegant garden ceremony. The garden at the Lake Windsor Golf Club posed the perfect location. From there, our wedding planning decisions revolved around trying to reflect the garden elements of our ceremony into the rest of our wedding. This goal was achieved overall in our color choices of chartreuse green, white and ‘pops’ of magenta.

2 – Our centerpieces were very non-traditional, and we had a good time coming up with the concept. We incorporated our ‘garden theme’ by using moss, lanterns, sticks, and scattered flowers.

3 – I have a bit of a creative gene in my make-up, thus I was determined to create our own wedding invitations and programs. With the help of Scott, combined with many long hours of cutting, pasting, stamping, and coloring, I was truly pleased with the outcome. There is something special about creating an invitation with your own two hands and sharing it with your friends and family.

4 – Within the year and a half we were engaged, Scott and I lost three of our grandparents. We wanted to remember them in our own way at our wedding without drawing too much attention to their losses. To remember my grandmother, I wove her rosary into my bouquet. To honor all of our grandparents and parents, we displayed their wedding pictures in our reception hall. This became a wonderful conversation piece at our wedding and brought back many happy memories for our family in attendance.

5 – My wedding dress was also a reflection of our overall concept and style. The first time I put it on knew that this was exactly what I was looking for! I was careful not to fall in love with it too quickly because I thought it maybe was a bit too much for a Wisconsin wedding. After a day of contemplation I decided that I was going to ‘own’ the dress and that it did not matter if everyone liked it or not. The only thing that mattered was that I loved it and felt beautiful.

6 – Scott’s tux was also a reflection of our modern simplistic taste. He chose a black chalk pin stripe tux with a simple silver tie and black and silver textured vest. The rest of the wedding party, including our dads, wore the same tux and vest with a black tie. I loved the overall look of the guys and would not have changed a thing!

7 – We also chose a non-traditional ‘first dance’. We both were not comfortable swaying slowly back and forth to a slow song in front of family and friends. Thus, we opted for a more ‘up-beat’ first dance. We chose a remake of The Drifters’ song ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’. We had a blast swinging around the dance floor, and our guests thought that we had taken dance lessons in preparation for our big debut!

FINAL ADVICE
Your wedding day is your time to shine! Have fun and don’t be afraid to voice your opinions. Being an out-of-state bride, it was important for me to stay as organized as possible. Don’t leave things to the last minute and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Pick your battles and keep your sanity. It is ‘ok’ if you decide to do things differently than the norm. No one will notice if you cut things out of your wedding like favors and printed personalized napkins. Your wedding day will fly by, so enjoy it and savor the special moments!

We have seen some really unique ideas for either replacing the traditional multiple tiered wedding cake or adding a little something extra. So, if you’re not crazy about cake or just want something totally different for your wedding, check out these great alternatives:

Individual Cakes as Table Centerpieces – You can choose as many flavors as you want to, and guests love being able to serve and eat their cake whenever their table chooses. You can still have a cake cutting ceremony for pictures by cutting the individual cake(s) set on the head table. Plus, you’ll save money not only by doing away with a more costly multiple tiered cake, but you also won’t need floral centerpieces.

Cupcake Table – Whether you purchase them from a local bakery, have them custom made from a cake shop or make them yourself, a cupcake table is sure to be a big hit with guests. You can choose as many flavors and sizes as you want to, and guests love being able to grab the flavor(s) they like best. Have fun with the arrangement of the cupcakes by using tiered trays and flowers on the table.

Pies and/or Cheesecakes – Choose your favorite flavors, and whether you order them or make them yourself, this is a really fun and unexpected treat for guests. You can incorporate the pie or cheesecake into the decor of each individual table or create a decorated table to place all the pies or cheesecakes (similar to a traditional cake table).

Sweets Table – This is something we did at our wedding and guests loved it. We still had a traditional cake, but we had a table set up with every kind of cookie, bar, brownie and dessert you could think of. We made many of the sweets ourselves, and several of our close family members who love to bake offered up lots of goodies. We incorporated flowers and other decorations to the table. Throughout the night, guests visited the tables for some sweet treats whenever they wanted to.

Candy Table – This one brings out the kid in everyone! Take a trip to the candy store and load up on your favorite candies. Then, set up a table in your reception room with large containers of candy. Guests can either grab candy right out of the containers, or you can supply plastic candy bags or bowls to fill up. You can even make the candy table your “favor” to the guests by including a candy box or chinese take-out container on each guest’s plate. Make an announcement or place a card on the table letting guests know that they can fill up with their favorite candies before leaving for the night.

Chocolate Fountain – If you’re having a smaller wedding or a Friday evening cocktail reception, you might choose to have a chocolate fountain in replacement of the cake completely. You can set up a table with fruits, candy, marshmallows, pretzels and more.

Doughnut & Pastry Table If you love bakery goods, this is a great option either to replace a cake or as an addition to it. Guests can come and go as they please and enjoy pastries throughout the night. For a really fun, modern look, use only big circular doughnuts on tiered trays.

Glass clinking during receptions is one of the most well known wedding traditions, but it seems to be losing popularity in the last few years. More and more couples are looking for fresh alternatives…some to avoid hearing the constant ring of glasses, some to encourage more interaction between guests, and some to give their wedding reception a unique twist. The best way to make sure your guests understand what they need to do before you’ll kiss for them is to have your DJ/MC make an announcement after the first round of clinking, explaining the new rules for the night.

Sing for a Kiss – Individual guests or tables must stand up and sing a love song if they want to see the bride and groom kiss.

Kiss for a Kiss -This one has a couple different options. If you still want guests to clink their glasses to signal a kiss, each time they do the DJ will pull from a hat the names of different couples attending the wedding. The couple whose name was pulled has to show the bride and groom how they’d like them to kiss. The bride and groom will then attempt to copy the kiss. If you don’t want any clinking whatsoever, have the DJ make an announcement at the beginning of dinner to let guest know that there will be no clinking. Instead, if they want to see the bride and groom kiss, they need to come up to the head table and demonstrate the kiss first.

Toast for a Kiss – Have the DJ announce that if guests want the wedding couple to kiss, they must come to the head table and use the microphone to make a toast to the couple. If toasts seem too long or too much to ask of your guests, a good alternative would be to have them name their three favorite things about the wedding couple.

Trivia contest- Place a microphone at the head table along with a hat which contains trivia questions about the bride and groom. If a guest wants the bride and groom to kiss, they must come to the head table, pull a question, read it aloud and answer it correctly.

Spin for a Kiss – I think this was the most original alternative to clinking that we have seen so far. The bride’s father made a wheel for guests to spin when they wanted the couple to kiss (think Wheel of Fortune or Price is Right). The wheel featured different activities on each space, so guests were never doing the same thing. Some of the activies included: toasting the couple, doing the chicken dance, hula hooping, singing, moon walking and kissing.

Napkin Waving – This will create really cool pictures…imagine a room full of all your guests waving their napkins high in the air.

Dance for a Kiss – Create a list of fun songs with your DJ and when guests want you to kiss, they have to pick out a song and then dance for one minute. If you don’t have a dancing crowd, a good alternative is to have guests hula hoop.

Limbo for a Kiss – Set up a limbo at a certain height on the dance floor and have guests limbo for kiss. The higher you make the limbo bar, the easier it is to make it under and the more you’ll be kissing.

Putt for a Kiss – We’ve had two grooms who are huge golfers, so this seemed to be the most appropriate option for them! Rent a portable putting green and keep it on the dance floor during the dinner. When guests want the wedding couple to kiss, they have to first sink a putt.