Wedding Wisdom from the Hair Salon

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Mary P Karnes

Wedding Wisdom from the Hair Salon? That’s right…wherever women gather, that’s the best place to glean knowledge. What better locale than a hair salon?

I was relaxing at my most recent hair appointment, enjoying chatting with the young stylist who was new to me. Sadly, my regular stylist moved and I to find another. Ladies, you know this isn’t fun. Luckily, Kayla was a delight, and was pretty handy with the scissors. I admit…I’m a little bit of an eaves dropper… And when I heard the stylist and her client next to us start talking about weddings, I had to jump in! The talk had gone to the best wedding of the season – typical wedding season is April to October. The stylist does a lot of wedding hair at her salon, in fact she did both my daughters’. And apparently the client attended many weddings this season.

So, I jumped in, and asked, “So what makes a wedding a good one? What makes it fun/a success?”

What they both answered surprised me. I thought they may say extravagance, fabulous food and drink, over the top decorations and favors. No. Both ladies answered they wanted to get the party started. They wanted to dance as soon as possible. As soon as cocktail hour was over, and the bridal party announced, THE WANTED TO DANCE.

So I am modifying the timeline I have historically recommended to my brides. As soon as cocktail hour is over, begin your first dance as bride and groom, and then invite your guests to join you on the dance floor. Then take a little break and hold the toasts. KEEP THE TOASTS SHORT. Yes, I realize you don’t have much control over this, but plead with your toasters and ask them keep their speeches to 2-3 minutes. Limit the number of people you ask to speak also. Father of the bride, best man, and maid/matron on honor at the most.

Then, dance! Brief break again, and dance your “Special Dances” Father/Bride and Mother/Groom. I suggest either sharing the dance floor for one song, (although I realize this is NOT an option for most), or dance to a truncated version of each song.

Then DANCE! Lastly, cut your cake, and keep it brief.

Then you can get back to what the guests say they really want to do, dance, enjoy cocktails and visit with friends. Hopefully you will get a few photos like the ones below…

Photo 1 – Pinterest

Photos – 2, 4, 5, 8 – Patty Cloherty

Photo – 3, 6, 7, 10 – Hannah Colt

Photo 9 – Stage 6 – Media

Rustic Wedding Done Right

Posted on July 21, 2016July 22, 2016 by Mary P Karnes

I research a lot of weddings. I attend a lot of ceremonies/receptions. But recently, I observed a wedding via Facebook…and well, I was just impressed. It takes a lot to impress me these days, as I see it all. I’m talking about the nuptials of Kate, the daughter of a “Facebook Friend” and up and coming author of the Maine “Clam Bake Series” Barbara Ross – more on that later! Above, the beautiful Kate in her bridal gown by: Amy Kuschel Lennon. Photo credits for photos #1, #4, #5, and #6 are by Abby Lorenz Photography. Other photos are contributed by family friends! 🙂

I think why I was so taken with this wedding was because Kate and her mom, Barbara, seemed to take all the bits and pieces of my favorites and make it work. I have long been touting the wisdom, and BEAUTY of dressing the bridesmaids in individual dresses, both in style and color. Check — they did that; a beautiful success. Notice the photo below.

Love, LOVE the venue, “The Portland Company”. It creates such a fantastic atmosphere of elegance with a rustic vibe, a lovely fusion. Hard to accomplish, but when done right, not much can beat it.

The overall appeal of this venue could not have been achieved without the artistic touch of the flowers, done by Flowers Broadturn Farm. The flowers around the “stage”, where the bridal couple said their vows, takes my breath away.

Below, the new Mr. and Mrs., showcasing my favorite thing…the wedding bouquet. I have long held the belief that a bride should carry a bold bouquet of color to contrast nicely with her white gown. A perfect snap of the whole family follows. You know it’s a good wedding when everyone looks so joyous!

The ceremony venue easily converted into the ideal reception space – perfect combo of rustic elegance. And who pulled this off, (with great input by Kate and Barbara, I’m sure), none other than Wedding Planner, ‘Daisies and Pearls’.And PLEASE, don’t forget to check out Barbara Ross’ delightful “Maine Clambake Series” I’ve read all three books, and each gets better…

Money Saving Wedding Tips!

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Mary P Karnes

Hannah Colt Photos

More Money Saving Tips !?!

I ran across an article on pinterest the other day. Storymixedmedia.com It was all about making your budget work for your wedding. As the mother of four daughters, I’m all for that! The author of the article made a few good points. I’ll address those here, and respond if they make practical sense in my experience as both a “mother of the bride” AND a wedding planner.

“…I ordered fresh flowers from a wholesale distributor and picked them up the week of the wedding.” FANTASTIC idea. A few things to plan ahead if you’re going this route: Make sure you have: A) A good Wholesale contact you can trust, B) someone reliable to pick up the flowers – it shouldn’t be you, C) somewhere to refrigerate the flowers, D) plenty of vessels to display the arrangements in and finally, and most importantly, E) someone to arrange them. This can’t be great Aunt Ethel. It needs to be a professional or at the very least, someone with some talent, (like my associate, Debbie), and who has no other role to play in your wedding. I also recommend a florist making your bouquets, boutonnières and corsages.
“Be Your Own Wedding Planner” Another excellent idea…to a point. As the author of the article qualifies: you may “…find it worthwhile to hire someone to coordinate details the day of the wedding, so you don’t have 20 people tugging on your wedding dress wondering what to do next.” That is what I specialize in. Think about it. You’ve spend thousands and thousands of dollars on your “Once in a Lifetime” event. Don’t you want to insure that it will run without a hitch? YOU CAN NOT DO THAT, AND NEITHER CAN YOUR MOTHER, and ENJOY YOURSELF! 🙂

Hannah Colt Photos

3. DIY Wedding Video – Apparently, this is how this works — you rent guest video cameras from a company, (info to follow), have them download an app to upload their footage to, and then you edit to create a video you like – you have control. I love this idea. From the article: “Once we’d distributed the cameras and told our friends how to use the app, we told them to go nuts and they didn’t disappoint. They gave us a ton of great footage to work with to create a really unique and memorable video that we wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise.” And what is this magical company? WeddingMix You may not want a video. My own daughters did not. They wanted to remember their weddings as they remembered them — not necessarily as they were… Your call!

More next time!

Advice To My Daughter

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Mary P Karnes

On your wedding day, my daughter Kathleen, you will inherit the platinum art deco engagement ring of your great-grandmother. Tradition dictates that it goes to the first born daughter of each new generation. While not of great monetary value, it is great of sentiment.

I was so concerned, during my tenure with the ring, of protecting it for the next generation, that I rarely wore it. Yes it is old and fragile, being just twelve years shy of it’s century mark, but wear it.

I will pass the ring on to you on your wedding day, as it was to me from my mother, but while I do so with a glad heart, I also feel a mild sense of loss. I really don’t know the ring, and never made it mine. Make it yours, wear it, enjoy it, and all the while, take good care. It was your dear Great-Grams, after all…In the photo above, my Grandmother, KK’s Great-Gram, is pictured with my mother. Mom is about three. Below is “Great-Gram” in her later years. Our youngest, little Julia her name-sake, is kissing her. My Dad is holding little Julia.

And start a new tradition…I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Grammie will share the beautiful abalone butterfly Gramps made for her, which you will attach in your bridal bouquet. Hopefully, future generations will follow suit…

My Dad took the picture above of my mother well before I was born. Mom was quite a fisherwoman! She is a true natural honey blond – she is where KK get’s her coloring…well from her dad too. I can’t take all the credit. 🙂

And above…the beautiful butterfly carving from abalone shell made by my father for my mother. To be showcased in a bridal bouquet… what a romantic start for a lovely piece.

Photos # 1 Unknown

Photo # 2 Mary P Karnes

Photo # 3 Bill Paredes Photos

Photo # 3 Mary P Karnes

Mother of the Bride

Header Image: moncheriebridals

Tag: Wedding Advice

Wedding Wisdom from the Hair Salon

Rustic Wedding Done Right

Money Saving Wedding Tips!

Advice To My Daughter