Northern Indiana Weddings

Wedding Insurance

2009-08-04T10:28:00.002-05:00

From today's email:

I am getting married in 2010 and a friend mentioned to me wedding insurance. What is your opinion on this?
Julie

Typically wedding insurance covers the vendor deposits if the wedding has to be canceled because of illness, military action, weather or the vendor not showing up or other uncontrollable instances. I have not found any insurance that covers you if you are unable to pay for the services that you contracted because you were laid off or got cold feet.

When entering into any contract make sure you read the wedding insurance policy thoroughly and if you don't understand something ask the agent, before you sign! The few wedding insurance policies I have seen are full of exclusions, so while you may think you are covered on something you may not be. Always read before signing on the dotted line.

Photo Booth At Your Reception!

2009-06-25T11:54:00.001-05:00

Add a sense of childhood nostalgia to your wedding reception and send a keepsake home with all of your guests, by renting a photo booth!

For the last two years photo booths have been increasing in popularity at weddings, with the advent of the digital photo booth. While they will never replace a professional photography (just try dancing your first dance in a traditional photo booth to get some pictures, not going to happen) a photo booth at your reception will add fun, be a conversation piece and can be enjoyed by everyone!

There are two types of true photo booths.

The traditional or classic photo booth which uses chemicals to develop actual photographic paper with four pictures on it. The classic photo booth is slow to produce the strips, anywhere from 90 seconds to 7 minutes, which decreases the amount of photos and times the guests can enjoy the experience. The classic weighs anywhere between 300 to 900 pounds so transportation cost is a factor.

The digital photo booth is the modernized version of the classic. Portable, quick to set up and just as easy to use. Digital photo booths offer a lot of options their classic cousins just don't have. Not only can you have the traditional vertical stack of four images, taken one after another, but you can have the sheet customized to reflect you or your wedding! The digital photo booth also offers the ability to print out a post card shape strip instead of the traditional vertical.

Is there a picture that you or some of your guests would love to have a 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10 made of? Most digital photo booths store the images for reprinting later on. Some rental companies offer montages, set to music of the images or the original digital files, on DVD.

Another advantage of digital photo booths is the ability to share with everyone on the outside what is happening on the inside! Some booths offer the ability to play back as a montage all the images taken as soon as they are taken. So you can see that crazy face your best friend made before the image is even printed to paper.

What to look for in a photo booth.

With the popularity of the photo booth increasing lots of people are calling things photo booths that just are not a photo booth! We all know what a photo booth looks like, every time we go to the mall there is one there. They are a box with a camera on one wall, a small bench on the other and most can fit 4 people comfortably. You step in, sit down and pull close the privacy curtain and hit the button to start the pictures. Limited space is half the fun! In college I and my girlfriends decided to see if we could get 15 of us into one picture in a two person photo booth. We managed to get 8 heads and a half in one picture. (Wish I could find my copy of that strip today.) That is what I consider a photo booth, not only are photo booths where you throw inhibitions to the wind and get funky, but where the challenge can be getting everyone in the picture! The memories of high school and college.

But today, to make a quick buck people are throwing the label photo booth on just about anything. Last year I saw a supposed photo booth, it was a section of pipe and drape (nothing boothy about it) against a wall and opposite it a camera hooked to a cheap printer. The photographer then stood there and told everyone to smile. Not a photo booth.

Then there was the ad I saw recently touting the "photo booth that can fit as many people as you want". Once again it was pipe and drape, but this time at least in the shape of a rectangle and again a camera on a tripod with a cable run to a printer... Blah! Not a photo booth.

Then there is a company offering the "Open Air Photo Booth", two boxes stacked, one with a camera, the other a printer, no "booth". Just slightly above the camera on a tripod.

So if you are going to spend $1500 renting a photo booth, I recommend making sure it's a real booth, hard sided rectangular with a bench and curtain and not something that should be hanging from your windows. Oh and the photo trigger at your touch, not someone standing outside with a laptop telling you to go "cheese" and clicking a mouse...

Digital photo booths don't use chemicals and photo paper, but any printer that can interface with the software. So this means the photo strip can be printed by a laser, inject or dye-sub printer. Talking with a few photographers and doing some internet research it looks like a dye-sub printer will be the closest experience to chemical printing. Dye-sub is long lasting, comes the closest to looking like photo paper and truly prints a 2x6 strip of paper if you want the classic feel. All other options must be manually trimmed to feel like the classic strip. Also the dye-subs are very fast, approximately 30 seconds.

As with any service or rental you have on your wedding day, make sure you have a contract and that the vendor has liability insurance. Then step inside, pull the curtain close and get FUNKY and have fun!

Oh and still not convinced you should get a photo booth for your reception? The photo strips make fantastic party favors for your guests that they will treasure for a lifetime!

Cotton Candy A Reception Treat

2009-02-14T18:43:00.004-05:00

We have all seen chocolate fountains, hot dogs, sliders, and candy bars as late in the reception treats for your wedding guests. How about another fantastic and fun treat?! Cotton Candy! I was surfing the internet when I found this AP image of a couple eating cotton candy at their reception. What a cool and fun idea! So when looking for something to treat your reception guest with, consider cotton candy.

Amy

Basilica Monday at the University of Notre Dame

2009-02-13T22:37:00.002-05:00

If you are planning on getting married in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame in 2010, the books will be open on March 2, 2009. To help you improve your chances of getting a date, Cynthia Basker of Celebrated Events has posted a blog that gives you some good ideas. The competition is stiff and the popular dates go fast, so be sure to check out Cynthia's blog!

Notre Dame Basilica Monday

Amy

Update on Eventective.com

2009-01-09T12:56:00.002-05:00

Evidently when you attempt to contact wedding professionals through their system they first attempt to sell your information to professionals who are not the ones you are attempting to contact before it is sent to the professional you are attempting to contact.

Once again, we recommend you avoid this wedding website.

Beware eventective.com

2009-01-08T22:32:00.004-05:00

beware of the website eventective.com! I ran into a couple of brides over the last week or two complaining that wedding professionals, mainly photographers and djs who they had contacted were ignoring them. A few questions and I found out they had contacted these wedding professionals through a website called eventective.com. I have done a little digging and if you are seriously trying to make contact with the wedding professional DO NOT use the eventective.com contact option! Do a google search and find their real website

eventective.com is another in a long line of internet scams. They have crawled the internet looking for websites of wedding professionals and listed those site on their service, in most cases without permission. When you click on "contact vendor" on their site, you are not contacting the vendor! eventectiv.com then takes your email and instead sends a sales pitch to the vendor, telling them if they pay up they will send them your original email. Most wedding professionals, did not sign up for this website, and consider these offers spam. After one or two they don't event look at the offer, hence you are 'ignored' by the people you contact.

Here at Michiana Weddings our vendor listings lead directly to the wedding professional's sites and you can contact them from there. I suggest avoiding eventective.com most of the time no one is on the other end of that email!

The Bridal Spectacular is Jan 4, 2009

2008-12-29T00:08:00.004-05:00

A reminder everyone, the only major south bend bridal show in January is the Bridal Spectacular. The WSBT bridal show is not until February 28 for reasons only known to them, which in my opinion is way too late for planning a 2009 wedding. So make time this coming Sunday to attend the 24th Annual Bridal Spectacular at the Century Center.

Times are 12 to 5 PM.
Fashion shows at 1:30 and 3:00

Many of our favorite wedding professionals will be in attendance!;
Music Machine.
Allure Films and Photography
Hilton Garden Inn
Knollwood Country Club
Inn at St. Mary's
Bernardo's
Bernardo's for the Bride
Be sure to stop by their booths!

Reader Question

2008-11-17T21:55:00.003-05:00

Dear Amy,

We are having problems finding an officiant to marry us at our parent's home. The pastors at the two churches our respective families attend are insisting that we get married in church. Do you have any suggestions.

Peggy

Well if you don't mind a civil ceremony, most of the city judges will perform ceremonies. There is also The Wedding Pastor. We have worked with him in the past and he's a really cool guy. Located in Ft Wayne, he travels around the state. Check him out at The Wedding Pastor.

Girly Girl Holiday Open House

2008-11-01T21:24:00.003-05:00

Bridal Show on Sunday!

2008-10-24T14:45:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder everyone that this Sunday from 12 to 5 is the Michiana Premier Wedding Expo at the beautiful Hilton Garden Inn up at Saint Mary's Campus! Some excellent vendors are going to be there: Music Machine, Allure Films and Photography, Celebrated Events, Girly Girl Gifts, Michaelangelos, Bernardo's and Bernardo's for the Bride, Hitlon Garden Inn, and The Inn At St. Mary's. Stop by their booths and say hi.

Also this should be a spectacular fashion show runway, like none seen in Michiana before. Designed by Cynthia Basker and executed by Michaelangelos it.

If you are getting married in 2009 this is the bridal show to start your wedding planning at!

-Amy

Michiana Event at Girl Girl Gifts

2008-10-17T16:25:00.001-05:00

Girly Girl Gifts, my favorite shop to spend way too much money in has announced their annual Holiday Open House! This year it will be taking place on Friday, November 7, from noon until 8:00 pm, and on Saturday, November 8, from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm. On Friday, from 4:00 - 8:00, they will have a trunk show featuring One of a Kind jewelry creations by gifted and delightful designer, Ali Oesch. Also playing bartender again will be Brian from Allure Films and Photography, with free champagne, wine or sodas. Also snacks will be on hand.

Last year was a lot of fun. If nothing else stop by and just say hi. And if you are looking for a photographer for your wedding, ask poor Brian a photo question, all the girly talk got to him last year. Hi Brian. ;-)

Mark Those Calendars, Two Upcoming Bridal Shows!

2008-08-27T08:15:00.003-05:00

Ladies mark those calendars we have two excellent bridal shows coming up for you to attend.
First we have the:
Michiana Premier Wedding Expo
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Noon - 5:00 pm
Fashion Shows at 1 & 3:30
Fleur de Lis Ballroom
Hilton Garden Inn

The wedding expo is a new bridal show taking place at the beautiful Fleur de Lis Ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn. I am really looking forward to checking out this bridal show!

Next we have the largest and oldest of the bridal shows in Michiana:
The Bridal Spectacular
Sunday January 4, 2009
12:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Fashion Shows at 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.
South Bend Century Center

This one can't be beat. The largest vendor floor with a wide variety of wedding professionals, be sure to attend!

Girly Girl Gifts Is Having A Summer Sale Thursday!

2008-07-08T21:52:00.004-05:00

Hey ladies, my favorite gift shop for unique and fun gifts is having a summer sale this Thursday. Join Cyndi and her team at Girly Girl Gifts Thursday from 4 to 8 PM for a champagne, soft drinks and fun!

Don't forget to check out their fun, cool line of jewelry from Jess LC. They are featuring her 'Lucky in Bed' line, gold-filled or sterling silver necklaces and bracelets combined with the lucky Chinese color, red, along with the longstanding tradition of adding "in bed" to the end of any fortune cooking messsage.

See you there!

-Amy

A Wedding Trailer From Allure FIlms!

2008-06-15T08:09:00.002-05:00

If you have read much of the blog, you know that one of my favorite videography companies in Michiana is Allure Films / River City Productions. Brian and his team are in my opinion the best you can hire.

Well they recently posted a fantastic new wedding trailer on their blog, that I almost cried during. Click play below to watch!

Amy

Keep It In Perspective

2008-05-25T16:34:00.002-05:00

Weddings are very important days for everyone. But if at your wedding it rains and you have to move the formal pictures indoors, or your wedding dress gets dirty and torn or a hundred other little things happen... Go with the flow it could be far worse.

Take for example this bride and groom from China.
The world came crashing down during their wedding literally, during the earthquake!

(AP Photo)

Choosing Your Wedding Reception Location

2008-04-10T10:26:00.001-05:00

Things to consider when looking for your reception location.

1 Where do you want to host your reception? Traditional banqet facility, restaurant, hotel, club or outdoors?

2 Are there stairs and if there are stairs is there an elevator? Some halls were grandfathered in and weren’t required to have an elevator. If you have family or friends who have a hard time walking up stairs, is there alternative to getting them up to the reception.

3 How many people are you inviting, put together a rough guest list for the count?

4 How many hours are can you reserve the facility for? What is their overtime policy?

5 What are the policies and restrictions that the facility has for music, food, flowers, décor, etc…?

6 Are you able to bring in outside vendors, or are you limited to their services? (i.e. wedding cake, Hors d'oeuvres , entertainment, etc.)

7 Is there room for a disc jockey or band? On thing to note about entertainment, don’t put tables between the dance floor and the entertainment! The entertainment will end up blasting your guests who are seated in the tables to get the sound to the dance floor.

8 Do you want your dinner served plated, buffet, or family style and what is the cost for those options. Plated will usually be more expensive than buffet.

9 Is there reasonable distance from the place of the wedding ceremony to the reception?

10 Are you able to have your wedding ceremony on site if you wish?

11 Do you want an open bar or a cash bar?

12 Are there time limits as to when your decorations, flowers, the DJ or band are able to arrive and set up?

13 If children are invited, is there an area for them to go if needed?

Unique Drink for your Bachelorette Party

2008-04-10T10:14:00.000-05:00

1 oz vodka
1 oz raspberry liqueur
1/2 oz Grand Marnier® orange liqueur
1 oz whipping cream

Shake and strain into a champagne flute. Garnish with a speared raspberry, or a Hershey's Kiss.

A Little Humor

2008-04-02T22:09:00.002-05:00

My future brother-in-law emailed this one to me. For decades the bouquet and garter toss was suppose to be an indication of who will be married next. Now the guys have come up with an easier and more direct way to determine who will be the next groom...

Wedding Day Planning Question

2008-04-01T12:16:00.002-05:00

What is the proper way to introduce the newlyweds at the reception?

Shelly

Shelly, in our opinion there is no proper way for the reception, this is your reception, infuse it with your personality. The formal way to introduce the newlyweds at the reception would be Mr & Mrs Grooms first and last names. So if your fiance is named Jason Trumbell the formal introduction would be Mr. & Mrs Jason Trumbell. There is also Dr. and Mrs Jason Trumbell or Mr. and Dr. Jason Trumbell for a few variations.

However we say have fun and be yourselves. If you are a less formal type of persons, go with something like Jason and Mary Trumbell. We have even heard just first names at receptions. In our opinion there is no wrong way to introduce yourselves at your own party.

Welcome to Michiana Weddings New Design!

2008-03-18T17:54:00.002-05:00

It is a new wedding season starting next week and we decided to overhaul the look of Michiana Weddings to better serve you, the bride and groom. Since the blog saw the most traffic it is now the index page! As you look at the new site, you will see our traditional links to listings of South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart and surrounding area wedding vendors. On the Right is direct links to the websites of some of our favorite wedding vendors! On the right you will also find Planning Your Wedding which are links into our planning articles, be sure to visit them!

Michiana Weddings is about providing you with information about having your wedding in south bend, Notre Dame, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Niles, Edwardsberg, Plymouth, New Carlisle, LaPorte and all of the surrounding areas. Check back often as we will be updating often!

Movies About Weddings

2008-03-11T23:08:00.003-05:00

I am a sucker for romantic movies and it seems like there is something in the water of Hollywood. This year we are having a bounty of movies involving in some way wedding planning! First there was the very funny 21 Dresses, and then this summer we have The Accidental Husband and Made Of Honor. Enjoy these movies about weddings!

The Accidental Husband (Uma and Colin, I'm there!)

Emma Lloyd has made a career out of her sensible, mature and responsible approach to relationships. She has a hit radio talk show, an impending book deal, and a loving relationship with her fiancé, Richard, a conventional sort-which is precisely what Emma is drawn to. Then Emma finds out that she is already married to a man she's never met before, a result of a misguided prank that leaves her bewildered and very confused. Worse than that, her plans for the future are now threatened. With her wedding just around the corner, Emma must find the mystery man and obtain an annulment. Emma tracks down her "accidental husband" - Patrick, a charming and handsome neighborhood fireman, with a big secret...that he was behind the "accidental" marriage. Unable to fess up, Patrick goes along with the ruse pretending to be just as baffled as Emma.

Made Of Honor (Patrick Dempsey I'm Sooooo There!)
Made of Honor revolves around Tom and Claire, who have been platonic friends for 10 years. He's a serial dater, while she wants marriage but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think that he is relationship material after all, Claire gets engaged. When she asks Tom to be her "maid" of honor, he reluctantly agrees just so he can attempt to stop the wedding and woo her.

Cool Idea, Coaster Invitations

2008-03-05T10:22:00.003-05:00

Here is a cool idea that is different from the norm! Coaster Invitations from Snow & Graham!
Genuine coaster stock, and cool designs with the invitation area on the back, Snow & Graham's double-sided coaster invitations are a unique way to invite guests to your next party or bridal shower!

The Groom's Survival Kit

2008-03-04T23:05:00.003-05:00

Really it shouldn't be too surprising, first from Ms. & Mrs. there was the Wedding Survival Kit, then the Bride's Maid Survival Kit and now the Grooms Survival Kit. Included Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Dental Floss, Mints, Pain Reliever, Antacid, Facial Tissues, Deodorant, Razor, Shaving Cream, Styptic Pencil, Adhesive Bandages, Nail Clipper, Hair Comb, Interior Mirror, Lint Remover, Mending Kit, Scissors, Safety Pins, Boutonniere Pins, Stain Remover, Static Remover, Wrinkle Remover, Stress Ball Keychain, Extra Wedding Bands, Black Socks.

Your groom and his men will keep their composure on the big day with this . The kit includes all the essentials to keep his stress level at a minimum. Inside is a collection of 26 wedding day solutions for any emergency that befalls the groom. This sleek and practical Groom's attaché is made of silver chrome and is topped with a stress ball...just in case! Just be prepared to assign a bridesmaid to carrying this one around, you may find your man just a little reluctant to carry it himself. But it is a cool idea, knowing most men! ;-)

Check with Girly Girl Gifts I'm sure they'll have this one in stock!

Assigned Seating Idea

2008-03-01T12:17:00.002-05:00

Cynthia Basker over at Celebrated Events posted a cool idea in her description of the decorations at one of her weddings. Beside each table number, were photos of Kristy and Jason, when they were the age of the table number. For instance, at 5, there were images of the bride and groom, when they were both 5 years old.

This is a fantastic idea, especially if your number of tables does not exceed your age!

A Reminder

2008-03-01T12:13:00.001-05:00

Monday is Basilica Day when the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame opens their books to brides and grooms who want to book the church for their wedding in 2009. Wake up early ladies and flex those dialing fingers and good luck! Here's hoping you get the date and time you want!

-Amy