Sponsored Posts

Sometimes it’s hard to describe what exactly it is that wedding planners and coordinators do, because generally if they are doing their jobs well, you probably won’t ever witness them pulling all the strings behind the scenes and making magic happen on your wedding day. Luckily, being an industry professional has given me a backstage pass to see all this hard work myself. And what I’ve learned is that the difference between a good planner and a, uh, not so great planner, is night and day. A good planner will listen to your ideas, give you educated feedback, and work with you to come up with a game plan for how to execute your wedding in a way that’s going to keep everyone’s stress levels down. A not so great planner is going to treat all their clients the same and make you do things you don’t want to do because that’s the way things are done.

I have worked with both kinds of planners, but APW sponsors always (always) fall into the former category. And today I’m thrilled to add Dominique of Big Juicy Events in NYC to that list of good guys. First of all, Dominique is just kind of badass (check out her bio and tell me you don’t want to be friends with that lady). I mean, first of all, she’s a native New Yorker and you can’t buy the kind of local expertise that native’s possess. But perhaps just as important, you’re going to get whiplash from nodding at everything she has to say about this industry and why she does what she does. So keep reading to find out why Big Juicy Events might be the best news you’ve heard all week (hint: it may come in the form of a discount that Big Juicy Events is offering just for APW readers! Trust me, it’s a good one.)

Now, before we dive into the details of Big Juicy Events, I want to get right to the meat of what makes this lady special. Because when I asked Dominique about her business philosophy, I almost fell off my chair I was clapping so hard. Here’s what she had to say:

I firmly believe that a wedding should be about the getting married part! I consistently notice that when I start working with clients, they have a fear of getting it “wrong”. The mainstream wedding media is just relentless! So much of my job is helping clients de-program and get really clear on what they want vs what they have been told they want. I have always loved what I do and have always had a sense of the above philosophy, but it was when I was planning my own wedding in 2011 that I really got it. I was surprised to find that even I, knowing what I know, was having a lot of anxiety about the day. I knew I had entered crazy land when I was in the midst of a 15 email exchange with my cake baker trying to decide how large my cake would be and how many macaroons to have (Cake for 60 plus 100 macaroons? Cake for 70 and 75 macaroons?) Literally 15 emails. I had to talk myself down, remind myself that I have a Master’s Degree and am a successful entrepreneur and that there was no wrong answer! It is my mission to save couples from that kind of crazy!

I mean. Just—yes.  So how does Big Juicy Events translate that philosophy into a business model? Well, Dominique believes that every couple deserves a beautiful wedding, regardless of budget, so her services vary far and wide to reflect that, from full-blown planning, to just a little help here and there. She explained to me, “I feel particularly committed to creating a beautiful day for every couple-instead of reserving a beautiful wedding just for those with a huge budget. For example, I have a couple right now who are both in rock bands. They aren’t crazy for flowers and they are on a tight budget. So I am making all of their centerpieces—origami kusudama flowers out of sheet music. Pretty cool!” (Um, yes. Want.)

And the Big Juicy Events‘ pricing reflects that philosophy as well. Dominique says:

• I will work with you to figure out exactly how best to help and support you.
• ​​​I will never sell you a one size-fits-all package, making you pay for things you don’t really need. Continue reading Big Juicy Events: Sane NYC Wedding Planning

Today I’m thrilled to introduce Angela Gaul of Milestone Images in New York City. Angela is a lot of things (awesome, hilarious, dedicated to diversity), but she’s also an incredibly experienced wedding photographer. And let’s not bury the lede here: that’s a big deal. Someone who can nail the shot every time? Someone who understands clear client communication AND always has a backup shooter? We talk a lot about artistry here, but that shit is important too. Plus, her rates are an awesome deal for an experienced photographer in the NYC market. Milestone Images pricing starts at $2,400 for her “Just Shoot Me” package (ha!). Plus, she’s got a “Gotcha Covered” and a “Unicorns and Rainbows” package. I know, right? Book this lady now.

But then there is the artistry. Milestone Images is the real deal, you guys. I wandered into the Sacraments & Simchas section of the website (because how awesome is it that she also uses the word simcha?) and the infant baptism pictures made my eyes well up. What IS that? I expect baptism photos to be a little saccharine and a lot cheesy, but under Angela’s watch they are beautifully composed photojournalistic shots…with a hit-you-over-the-head amount of emotion. Add that to your wedding, and PHEW. Plus, this is a woman that can nail the classic family shot (while still getting you all of those beautiful candids). And that, my friends, is a rare and important skill.

Without further ado, Angela herself.

—Meg

For the past thirteen years, I’ve been photographing extremely diverse couples getting hitched in every imaginable way, from New York City elopements where I am in the only witness (and am happy to sign on the dotted line) to five-day weddings with four hundred guests for a couple in a modern, arranged marriage in New Delhi, India. Of course, I shoot everything in between, too, wedding-wise.

Way back in the day, I first began shooting weddings for friends because there was no greater gift than to be able to hand my loved ones photos from their weddings and say, “Look how happy you are. Look how beautiful you look. See how he looks at you when you’re not looking? I captured it for you, and now you’ll always have that.” My goal is to always be present for my clients with the same sense of warmth, joy and authenticity I had when I was simply shooting for the people I love with no pay.

I want to talk about that for a second, because the truth is, I am not the cheapest photographer you’ll find out there. However, I’m almost not even remotely the most expensive, either. My prices are extremely competitive for my market, BUT…that market is in and around New York City. I regularly travel for weddings as far away as New Hampshire, Illinois, and Florida, and my travel fees are calculated on a “you pay what I pay” basis for weddings more than one hundred miles away. Within one hundred miles, the travel costs are on me. Even when I do travel, I always try to stay with family and friends whenever possible and am happy to pass those savings on to my clients.

That said, I’ve been shooting weddings for thirteen years. I started shooting weddings in college as a photo student with a great eye and a promising talent. Then I was the “friendor,” the craigslist photographer, the newspaper photographer with the day job who shot weddings on the side, and now I run Milestone Images as my full-time business. I was definitely cheaper when I had a day job or picked up jobs on the side off craigslist, and my clients were also super excited about their photos. But I will tell you this… Continue reading Milestone Images In New York City

When Michael and I ran off to the courthouse to elope in 2008, the only option we had for informing our families (after my aunt tipsily informed me that I really should inform the family) was to, you know, tell them. The reality is, a few years ago elopements just weren’t cool. Which is why I’m so happy that the wedding industry has come around and begun to recognize elopements as weddings in their own right (because they are awesome). And today I’m extra excited to introduce the next step in that progression: elopement announcements from longtime APW sponsor Up Up Creative!

The trouble with something getting picked up by the wedding industry is that usually the powers-that-be turn it into something gross instead of something awesome (staged elopements, anyone?). Which is why I love what Julie of Up Up Creative had to say about her motivation to add this line of stationery to her already awesome portfolio of quirky, bold, kind-of-minimal designs.

She told me:

I started designing elopement announcements when I was approached by an awesome couple that had recently eloped. They had photos from the tiny, private event and they wanted me to design something that would help them announce and in some small way include their friends and family in what had been a very special day for them.

Since then, I’ve become kind of the Google it-girl for elopement announcements (mine tend to come up first in Google image searches), and so over the years I’ve developed a growing collection of elopement-specific designs. The emphasis in these designs is on sharing joy and celebrating the couple, sometimes explaining a tiny bit, but never apologizing. The way I see it, the announcements in great part set the tone for how the elopement is going to be perceived by friends and family. They should evoke excitement and happiness!

And that’s exactly what an elopement announcement should be about: sharing your joy with the people you love (not just for weddings anymore!). Now, the best part of this new collection is that it comes from our friends over at Up Up Creative. Which means that all of the designs you see here are available in printed format, or in printable format. Meaning that they are fully customizable, so you can change the language, update the message, and generally make it say whatever you want it to say.

And because APW is committed to bringing you guys affordable, talented designers who won’t make you choose between food and good design, these designs start at the crazy affordable price of $50 for a downloadable file, which you can then take to be printed anywhere. (Want to download the PDF and take it to get printed at Staples? Done. Want to print at home? Easy peasy, and it looks way better than I would have expected). Or you can also have Up Up Creative coordinate printing for you, starting at $1.60/each per printed item (for invitations). Continue reading Elopement Announcements And New Invitation Designs From Up Up Creative, Plus A Contest!

Oh guys. Today is awesome. You know how the running joke is that there isn’t anything ever new in the wedding industry? It’s mostly just the same stuff rehashed and repackaged so that we think it’s new? Well our newest sponsor, Emily Alt Photography in Chicago, has something so awesome and possibly a little revolutionary cooked up for y’all today, that Meg and I spent the better part of yesterday furiously emailing her going OMG THIS IS SO COOL WANT WANT WANT.

So here’s the rundown. Emily and her husband, Ian, have a vintage airstream (a 1987 31′ Excella, pictured below). They have a photography business. And they have an idea. These days there are about a zillion destination wedding photographers out there. But what if you could hire traveling wedding photographers? Traveling wedding photographers who have a crazy vintage airstream that is pretty much the coolest thing on wheels? Traveling wedding photographers who are also ordained to perform weddings? Traveling wedding photographers who come to you for free?

Well then you’d have Emily Alt Photography, airstream wedding photographer and purveyor of rolling elopements.

Here’s how it works:

• In the off-season (November–February), Emily and Ian are going to be traveling around the country in their vintage airstream.
• They want to shoot your wedding while they are on the road. So for $1900, they will show up in their airstream and shoot the heck out of your wedding, wherever you are, no travel fees. Or for $2500, all you have to do is show up with your paperwork, some witnesses and maybe a bottle of bubbly and they will do the rest for you.
• If you’re not getting married between November and February, Emily Alt Photography will be offering airstream weddings throughout the Midwest during the rest of the year as well.
• Tada! It’s like the Little White Chapel, in reverse. Because who needs to run off to Vegas to get married, when getting married will run (roll) to you?

But it doesn’t just stop there. Emily and Ian want to shoot everything and anything during their trip. Which means that if you’re planning something that the wedding industry normally turns its nose up at, Emily and Ian will be there, ready to make it lovely. Here’s a little of what Emily had to say about their master plan:

My assistant/husband and I are traveling throughout the US in our vintage Airstream from late November to February this winter shooting anything and everything. This is sort like a documentary adventure thing we want to try after we quit our full time jobs. We hope to shoot all sorts of great stuff—family reunions, birthday parties, the sunrise in Marfa, Texas, grammar school daily lessons, etc. It will sort of be like a check-in on what’s going on in the United States in 2013–14. We’re looking for an adventure and want a huge variety of rad things to photograph, but weddings remain our heart and soul of this business and so we are offering weddings for APW couples during this time for only $1900, which also covers all travel fees! And full-service elopements for $2500!  We’d also totally be up for shooting another event you might have during that time frame.  Pricing there is simple—you just tell us what you can pay and we’ll do our darndest to make it work. Just send an email to emily (at) emilyaltphotography (dot) com with the subject line “Airstream Wedding.”

I’m not even going to bother telling you to go make this happen, because I can practically hear the frantic typing from here. (But seriously, go make that happen. Emily and Ian are going to be sorting out their travel schedule soon, so get on the calendar now to make sure you can take advantage of this amazing offer while it’s still available.) Continue reading Emily Alt Photography In Chicago Introduces: Airstream Elopements

Today’s sponsored post is one of those posts that’s hard to write, in that it should really be one sentence only: Oakland Bakes sells all organic, phenomenally delicious cakes, personally designed for you starting at $288 for a smallish three tiered cake. I mean. AND! Anyone who mentions this post and books with them by May 31st will get 10% off. If literally every single person in getting married in the whole Bay Area doesn’t immediately get in touch with these ladies, it’s only because you think you must have misread that sentence. So let me back up, because I’ve met the ladies of Oakland Bakes, I’ve had their cake, and I need to explain to you how this is, in fact, too good to be true, but yet also still true.

Here is how it goes. I met the duo behind Oakland Bakes at the East Bay vendor event Mad for Love a few weeks ago. I stopped by their booth, oohed and ahed over their beautiful cakes (because SERIOUSLY. Tell me that cake above isn’t a work of art), and ate some cake. The cake was absurdly, absurdly good, so I ate some more. And then with my mouth all full of cake, I asked them what their pricing was like. They gave me the details, which are, “Our tiered cakes start at $6.00 per serving and side cakes are $4.00 per serving. Prices increase if the flavor incorporates a particularly expensive ingredient or if the design is more complex. We also offer delivery for the greater Bay Area.”

I shoved more cake in my mouth and explained that I had no idea what that meant. What did a cake cost. Like this one? Clearly a lot, but break it to me gently. They said, “Oh, this one is $288.” And which point I sort of awkwardly swallowed my cake and blinked at them and said, “Excuse me, what?” and they said, “It’s $288.” and I blinked a few more times and said, “288 DOLLARS?” I noticed them looking at me like I was dense, at which point I sort of yelled, “288 AMERICAN DOLLARS?!?!” Because I’d clearly fallen into some sort of black hole. Buying a wedding cake was one of the worst parts of wedding planning for me. Wedding cakes in the Bay Area often start at around a grand, which I wasn’t willing to pay. So after tons of research, I’d gotten a cake just this size (though, not as fancy…or as pretty) for $650, and thought I’d won the lottery. And here they were telling me this cake was $288? Just, WHAT WAS GOING ON? And then they casually mentioned their cakes were all organic and they made their dyes by hand so they were all natural…and my head exploded.

I proceeded to spend the afternoon walking around Mad For Love and asking people to guess the price of the cake, and then yelling “NO IT’S 288 AMERICAN DOLLARS!” You guys, I’m entertaining, if that’s at all an excuse. I then found some APW readers who told me they hadn’t even spoken to Oakland Bakes, because “Look at those cakes. Works of art. We can’t afford them. They must be a zillion dollars.” And I basically pushed them up to the booth and was like, “Meet your new wedding cake. YOU’RE WELCOME.”

The full deal is that Oakland Bakes wedding cake prices break out like this, “A smallish three-tiered cake that serves 48 people would start at $288. (Editor’s note: we had 110 people at our wedding but a cake this size, because we had some other desserts too.) The smallest two-tiered cake we make starts at $138 (serves 23). And the biggest tiered cake we do is four tiers, serves 113 people, and starts at $678. Our prices increase mostly because of more complex cake designs (colored buttercream, intricate piping, etc.). We rarely increase prices based on flavor since we strongly encourage our clients to pick seasonal flavors that highlight the most delicious fruit for when their event is (which is also the cheapest).”

But let’s talk about their process, because on top of having unreal prices and phenomenal cake, they also have great customer service. This is how they got going: “When we started Oakland Bakes we thought, ‘No artificial dyes, no fondant, only serving really seasonal flavors…Is anyone going to go for this?’ Most of the time when you go to a cake tasting you try three to five of the three to five flavors that they make, and then you pick a design from a book of ten photos and that’s it. At Oakland Bakes we ask you if you have favorite flavors, what kind of food you’re serving at your wedding, if you have cake design ideas. And then at the tasting you try three flavors we’ve created custom for you and we do some sketches of cake designs to ensure that our clients are getting something uniquely theirs and that they are totally happy with.” Continue reading Oakland Bakes: Organic Affordable Wedding Cakes

These days I try to keep my personal social media stream pretty clean (probably to make up for the mess that has become my personal inbox. Remind me again why I thought it was a good idea to sign up for updates from every retailer I’ve ever visited? Or from that one website about cake-making?) But one of the companies that I actually enjoy following is longtime APW sponsor and SuperPartner TurtleLove.com. Because when there’s a TurtleLove.com update in my feed, it’s usually something awesome that benefits me just as much as them (read: giveaways and new affordable pretties.) And I’m particularly excited that TurtleLove.com has a sponsored post with us this week, because it means that I get to tell you about all of the rad things that have been popping up in my feed lately, instead of just bothering my friends and family with messages saying, “For serious—you need this.”

First up, the number one reason I am excited that TurtleLove.com‘s sponsored post falls during this week is that it comes just in time for you guys to cash in on their Mother’s Day necklace giveaway (which, if you win, you have mine and TurtleLove.com‘s permission to keep the necklace. We won’t tell your mom.) I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy one of these animal family necklaces for just about everyone in my family (because—baby animals, right?), but now TurtleLove.com is giving us a chance to win one! Actually, there are lots of chances to win. Because from now until Mother’s Day, TurtleLove.com is giving away one necklace every Friday. A new winner will be chosen this Friday, April 19th—so head over now and make sure you put your name in the hat before the month is up!

When TurtleLove.com originally debuted their animal necklaces, I was so excited that I immediately sent the elephant mom and baby necklace link to my best girlfriend with a note that said, “You need to buy this! Look, elephants!” (Her favorite animal.) To which she politely replied, more or less, “Thanks but no thanks. I don’t have any kids. But I bought a dinosaur!” So you can imagine my excitement when TurtleLove.com founder Adrianne sent me the above photo of their newest necklace, the Elephant Sanctuary Necklace. But better than just fulfilling my desire to outfit my friend head-to-toe in elephant garb, the real reason this piece rocks is that one third of the proceeds from the sale of this necklace go to benefit the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, a non-profit organization that gives a loving home to displaced elephants (many of whom are retired zoo and circus elephants that were captured and separated from their families as babies.) Continue reading What’s New at TurtleLove.com: A Giveaway, Charity Necklaces, and New Vintage Engagement Rings!