Photographer: Heather Saunders Photography
Royal Oak, Mich.
Grade: A+++++++++++++++++

Heather Saunders is an angel behind the lense.  She has a sense and a way about her that brings the beauty out of you. It makes for breathtaking photos. Most every image she takes is artwork. Really. No lie. No exaggeration.  She is the artist. And she has this innate ability to paint the most beautiful picture of your wedding day. 

When it came to choosing a photographer, I knew I wanted to have chemistry with the person behind the camera. I’m not so comfortable in front of the lense.  I’m just not. So, I wanted to find someone who could make  me feel at ease. I wanted to be natural, relaxed and not even worry that a camera was there. Now, I didn’t have to worry about my husband because he’s the biggest ham any camera has seen. He’s a natural in front of the lense!   (To read my previous posts about my thoughts on wedding photography, click here and here)

Anyway, when I first saw Heather Saunders’ image online, I knew. JUST KNEW. She was the one. I checked out her site and was as smitten as a bride.2.be could get! When I called her and talked to her, she was so very humble as I GUSHED about her work that I knew I would like this lady!  From the moment I met her we gabbed like old school mates.  She’s easy to be around. 

Heather was exactly what I was looking for in a photographer and in a person I wanted to share my day with. (If you think about it, all your vendors share your day – they help MAKE your day. You have to TRUST them.) And, Heather’s photography also was exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t want formal. Staged. Stiff. Traditional. Typical.  Heather is anything but all that! She’s edgy, sylish, relaxed. It’s amazing what she can do!     

We LOVE our wedding pictures.  LOVE them.  The canvas wraps we ordered are impeccable.  Everything she does is perfection. We couldn’t be happier with her.  And, we’ll NEVER stray from her. EVER. 

You must ring her. Check her out.  See for yourself.  And, tell her I sent you over for a chat!

To see more My Detroit Wedding pictures from Heather Saunders, click here.

Heather Saunders Photography
248.629.9408

I’ve fallen madly in love with Two Penny Productions. Not only are they most creative videographers you’ll find in the Metro Detroit area, they are truly phenomenal to work with. They’re good people. And, they’re one of the best wedding decisions I made.    

Ok, we’ve all seen wedding videos before.  And so many of them are LAME. Painfully lame. But, from the moment I saw Two Penny’s wedding highlight videos, I knew they were the ones. I didn’t even meet them – I just called and asked where I should send my deposit check. Ssrly. No joke. We didn’t meet them until 10 days before the weeding. Crazy, I know. Just watch their videos and you’ll understand why. 

I love their style, love their creativity and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my video! They captured so much more than I could’ve ever imagined. They have talent.  

And what they did with our video is they made it into a documentary. They had us  meet up with them after the wedding to talk on camera about some of the events surrounding the wedding and then the actual day itself.  And then they made it into this beautifully emotional and FUN documentary. So, when we got our dvd, it had our 2-minute highlight (see below), the 25-minute documentary, the entire ceremony, much of the reception and video bloopers.  It was like something you rent from the video store where you can choose your selection.  Completely impressed. amazed. crazed with excitment.  Wow. 

Our Wedding Highlight

There’s nothing more beautiful than being able to watch your own wedding. It’s magical. People tell you about the ceremony, but actually seeing it is completely different.  It’s like being 6-years-old again and waking up on Christmas morning.  It’s that kind of excitement. Two Penny made our wedding video into digital artwork.  REALLY. Truly amazing. Breathtaking. <sigh> 

And to think I almost didn’t book a videographer… (read about that here and here)  

Honestly, I think a wedding videographer is more important than upgrading the bar. More important than upgrading the meal.  If you don’t have the budget for a videographer, I would seriously consider WHAT can be downsized, nixed, hacked, chopped, WHATEVER, so you can get someone to capture your day. 

And, all I can say is you’ll definitely get your money’s worth with Two Penny.  I think they’re the best money can buy. 

Rob, Hyun. I love you.  You are incredibly talented individuals.

Two Penny Productions
248.345.8863

Both parties are citing irreconcilable differences

They look like an irreconcilable difference, don’t they?

WWJ 950 News Radio is giving ONE lucky couple the chance to get married on the baseball field at Comerica Park on Saturday, June 19, 2010.  The time… right after the Detroit Tiger’s kick the Arizona Diamond Backs butts! And, right before the Saturday night fireworks display.  So, when you kiss the bride/groom, you’ll literally see fireworks!

How do you enter WWJ’s Wedding on the Diamond contest? Well, you’ll have 300 words to describe why you and you’re marrid.2.be should be married on the field at Comerica.  Shouldn’t be too hard, eh? 

If you happen to be the lucky winner (you better write and tell me about it) you’ll win the Grand Prize Bridal Package which includes:

• An onfield wedding ceremony service at Comerica Park 
• A Bride’s Beauty Pampering Package from Bianchi’s Salon  and Spa
• A Rehearsal Dinner from Mitchell’s Fish Market 
• An Engagement Photo Session from B-Tech Lighting
• His/her wedding rings from Ati’s Jewelers
• Custom Wedding Photography package from B-Tech Lighting
•  Game day tickets in a Luxury Suite at Comerica Park for the wedding party (total party of 20 guests) on the night on June 19.
• Bridal Package from the Westin Book Cadillac including a two night stay in a luxury suite, dinner for two  at ROAST and 24 Grille, breakfast, complimentary valet parking, a sixty minute couples massage and two luxurious personalized Heavenly Bathrobes 
•  A $500 gift certificate from Hagopian World of Rugs

And, let’s say you DON’T win the big package, you could still be selected to win some giftcards…

DEADLINE to submit your essay is: End of dayApril 30! Good luck!

To register, mail or drop off  your essay to:
WWJ Newsradio 950
c/o Wedding on the Diamond Contest
26495 American Drive
Southfield, MI  48034

Click here for complete rules

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You know the old adage ‘you are what you eat’? Well, since the wedding I’ve eaten all the baked goods my little heart desired – and then some.  Well, wouldn’t you know it… I now have a muffin top. Yeah, you heard me right. I look like some kind of baked good that resembles a cupcake. Not a pretty site.

 My Detroit Wedding Stats
Average weight prior to the proposal: 130 lbs.
Weight on wedding day: 128 lbs.
Current weight: 140 lbs. (give or take a couple)

I call this phenomenon the Freshman 10 of Marriage. Never in my life have I gained weight with such a vengeance. In the first six months of marriage I’ve been overly enthusiastic about food and quite careless about weight gain.  I find this all to be very, very strange because I’ve always watched what I’ve eaten, eaten in moderation, and I’ve always worked out to some extent.  

Muffin TopThis is not me ppl… not yet

So I did a little meandering online and have come to the conclusion that I’ve become a statistic. Weight gain after marriage seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. 

Let’s get to the why. In my own hungry – I mean humble – opinion, I think it was the time of year and regional location. We married in September in Michigan. Prior to the wedding, it was summer and we were active. Then came the honeymoon in which we slept. we ate. we sunned.  And, when we came home it was pretty much October. It got colder and we became less active. Then came the winter blues. Happens every year. That’s my reasoning.

Now, here’s what the experts say:

In a Time article entitled (get this) “First Comes Love, Then Comes Obesity?,” researchers theorize, after questioning 1,293 couples, that mealtime may become more important than it was when the people were living alone. Gym memberships may not get the same workouts they did before nuptials. And maybe, after months of prepping to squeeze into crinolined and cummerbunded finery, couples just let themselves go. 

This is what the About.com nutrition expert says: While married people tend to be healthier than single people, there is also a tendency to gain weight when you get married or partnered. Why does this happen? It may be due to a reduction in physical activity; it is tempting to stay home and snuggle on the couch with a nice glass of wine. Some people believe that when people find a partner, they may no longer feel the need to pay much attention to their weight. Another reason may be due to the desire to take care of each other and indulge in comfort foods together.

Take a looksie at this study: One in Five Brides Gain Weight After the Wedding It says that women just don’t care as much as they used to about their body image.

Oh, and check out these articles:
It’s official: Marriage leads to weight gain
Cornell studies examine how weight relates to dating and marriage
Gain a spouse and you’ll likely gain some pounds, too

I didn’t think it would happen to me and it has. You best believe I’ll be running my padded arse off this Spring. I’d prefer not to look like my favorite baked good.  Cause like I said, it ain’t pretty.

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I can now blog my little heart out! And, I can work on my new and improved My Detroit Wedding format. Can’t wait, bride.2.Be’s! 

A new and improved website will be coming soon!  With the Thank You’s in the mail I can now work on my new site guilt free… what a relief…

My last wedding deposit!

That’s what it took to get our wedding Thank You cards out.  So, dear friends and family who read this here blog, they’re on the way. And, we’re sincerely sorry for the delay.

So, based on the many emails and the one brave reader who posted a comment on my previous My Detroit Wedding Confession Post, I know I’m not alone. Ok, I KNEW I wasn’t alone. Many of us our guilty of breaking bad!  (For example, my brother’s wedding was in September of 2007 and they STILL have to get their thank you’s out. Yes, my mom is mortified.) 

Here’s what I’ve heard, read and gathered – It doesn’t matter how much time has gone by – six months, one year or even two – get those bad boys out! Ok, so you blew Emily Post’s little etiquette rule of getting them out three months after the wedding date.  But that doesn’t mean you aren’t thankful and you don’t have etiquette. It just means you’re a little late.

My mom and the ladies at her work, which from this point forward I’ll refer to as the clucking hens, talk about this kind of stuff all the time. And, you bet your arse they remember who sent thank you’s and who didn’t.  And you can bet your 401K  that your parents and in-laws get the occasional Thank You card question, comment or SIGH. (For the record, I hate the sigh…)  

Believe me I KNOW Thank You’s can be quite the feat to tackle. All that writing and thanking and remembering can be exhausting – especially if you had a large wedding. So, here’s some tips if you’re late in getting those thank yous out:

1. Buck up. Get over the embarassment that yes you’re later than etiquette dictates with your Thank You’s. Remember – It’s NEVER too late to get them.  Would you rather run into Aunt Gin, Uncle Buck or your Gram and not have those out or have them out and be late?  I choose the latter. So does Emily Post!

2. Make your equally grateful husband to take half the Thank You’s.  Sit down together, chat about the wedding and bust those out.  It’s therapeutic. (Kind of. That’s more pep talk for you to get on it!)

3. You don’t have to finish them all in one sitting. Give yourself a reasonable time frame and each finish X amount a day. (You fill in you the number)

4. If you’re exceptionally mortified by the time that’s passed, write “It’s about time” on the envelope, or write something humorous in the card to acknowledge it’s been a stretch from the wedding date to the execution of your Thank You cards. Of course, this depends on your crowd. If they’re a stuffy bunch, this might not fly. In that case, just get em out and hold your head up high.

 5. Drink wine while writing them, it eases the pain of embarassment. (But don’t drink too much or you might have a disaster on your hands)

6. Reward yourself when finished. 

If you’re a Thank You card etiquette offender, write a comment and tell us how long it’s been.  You know my story!

When I first began blogging back in Fall 2008, I had written several posts RAVING about how wonderful Greektown Casino-Hotel was and how happy we were with our venue.  These posts had generated a fair amount of business for them. (Ok, A LOT of business for them. One thing I love about this blog is that it’s generated some business for my wonderful and extremely talented vendors! Thank you, dear readers!)

However, because we were no longer having a positive experience with Greektown in the several weeks leading up to the wedding, I had pulled all posts relating to my reception venue down.  Why?  Because the last thing I wanted to do was give bad advice to married.2.be’s and I didn’t think they were deserving of any more free publicity.

And, those of you who’ve been following know very well, I haven’t publicly written a peep about our experience!  Well, I did that for a couple of reasons.  1) We believe they breached our contract and we were considering taking legal action, (ssrly, we contacted a lawyer! Look for My Where’s the Beef Post!) and 2) I wanted to write objectively and not solely based upon emotion. 

While NOTHING could have ruined our beautiful wedding day, the Greektown experience was quite disastrous.  Now, if you ask our wedding guests, they probably wouldn’t be able to pick up all the points, but some were certainly clear enough.

Let me tell you, there’s nothing worse than dealing with an incompetent and inexperienced vendor in the weeks leading up to your very own wedding!

To be fair to Greektown, I think Greektown’s wedding coordinator was responsible for many of the issues.  She blatantly disregarded many of the details.  She was inexperienced and she proved to be incompetent. I know, harsh, right!?  But, I say it like it is.  (Please note, that particular wedding coordinator no longer works there.)

While I won’t go into the nitty gritty details about our particular situation (at least not in this post), I will tell you Kenny and I sat down with Greektown to go over everything that went wrong – line item by line item.  It was one hell of a list. But, it was important for us to let them know because we truly think Greektown is one of the best locations in Detroit to have the kind of wedding we wanted to have.  Needless to say, the VP was mortified and put several countermeasures in place so those things wouldn’t happen again.

Sorry for the long post.  It feels good to purge. And, I’m happy I waited to post because I think it’s important to remain objective.  Some people have GREAT experiences with a vendor/venue and others don’t.  With that said, it doesn’t mean your experience will be like mine.  It’s important to make your own judgement call.

Anyway, I still plan to post a My Detroit Vendor Review about Greektown Casino-Hotel, so stay tuned for the grade!

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I was under the impression that we had one year to get our wedding Thank You’s out the door and into the hands of our friends and family.  Of course, I thought I’d send them the moment I returned from the blissful honeymoon.   Well, I didn’t.  So then, I thought I’d get them out before Thanksgiving.  (As a reminder… our wedding day was Sept. 19, 2009.)  When I missed the Thanksgiving deadline I gave myself until Jan. 1, to get those bad boys off my plate.  Did I, you ask?  NO.  I didn’t.

According to Emily Posts Wedding Etiquette, I’m a BAD, BAD, post bride.  She says I only had three months to get them out.  Here’s an exerpt from her etiquette book:

Contrary to popular myth, the happy couple does not have a year’s grace period. All thank you notes should be written within three months of the receipt of the gift. Ideally, a response should be written on the day you receive a wedding gift. If that’s not possible, set a daily goal. It’s a lot easier to write three or four notes a day than to have to write a hundred notes in a month after the wedding 

So, it’s March 30, and my lovely Thank You cards are still sitting on my dining room table waiting to be completed.  Technically, we’re 3 1/2 months late.  (In all honestly, I’m standing my ground and waiting for my husband to complete his portion.  I had asked him to write them for his family and guests and he agreed.)

Am I embarrassed?  Of course I am.  I had my bridal shower Thank You’s out in record time – THREE DAYS.   I’m itching to blog.  And more importantly, I want everyone to know how very thankful Kenny and I are that they shared such a magical day with us!

With that said, if those Thank You cards aren’t in the mail by April 1, well, all I gotta say is THEY BETTER… cause I got some bloggin to do.

Please leave me a comment and give me a guilt trip. I need it.

We’d all love to hear your engagement stories and how your wedding planning is coming… Just leave a comment!

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I just wanted to let you know I’m still around!  December and January are my busiest time at work due to the Detroit Auto Show.  (GO, check it out.  Give the D some love and then hit up Greektown or Bricktown  or Midtown!)

I plan to get back behind the keyboard soon.  And, like I said, I’m working on that new wedding website. 

Bridge

No appointments are necessary, but it can get pretty crazy in there!  I’d make an appointment just in case and go super early to miss the crowds!

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Bridal Salon: Brides by Demetrios
Troy, Mich.
Customer Service Grade: A-
Alterations Grade: B-

They are reasonably priced and often have sales.  And, I asked what kind of discount I could get if I paid for my dress and veil in full at the time I purchased.  They gave me a 20 percent discount.  I thought it was a deal!

 Alterations: B-
Demetrios also had some bad reviews when it came to alterations.  My thinking was – you only really hear about the bad reviews as opposed to the good reviews.  And, if there was any issue with alterations, the salon could resolve the issue and get me a new dress if need be, right quick.  I didn’t want to take the chance and go some where else and not have the salon liable.  Since I was having some more complex alterations, I stuck with them.

 Price – I had heard alterations were pricey at Demetrios.  And, yes.  They were.  Alterations were almost half the cost of my dress!  I almost died!  But at that point when it’s so close to the wedding, you don’t care.  I just decided to drink a Bloody Mary afterwards and not worry about it. 

My one complaint about my dress alterations was that the seamstress didn’t want to take in my dress as much as I wanted.  And for me that was unnerving.  I know me.  I am a realistic individual and had NO intention of looking like I had been stuffed in my dress and had it sewed on the day of.  I just knew the longer I wore my dress, the looser it became, so I wanted her to take it in to account for that.  Understandably, she was worried that I would pop a seam.  But as I suspected, on my wedding day, I found my dress to be looser and less form fitting that I wanted. 

Also, I wasn’t entirely happy with the overall alterations.  I wanted it to fit and feel better than it did.

Here’s a pic of my dress on the model.  Overall – I was happy with my experience at Demetrios and I’d definitely add them to your bridal salon hit list.

Demetrios: 248-637-0620

Original Gown: Demetrois by Brides

The sale is all next week.  Be sure to make an appointment as they are an appointment only salon! 

Roma Sposa: 248.723.4300