Great wedding planning advice from the Knot

I just had to copy this artical, some great words of wisdom to anyone planning a wedding.

10 Wedding Blunders to Avoid
From blowing your budget on your dress to hiring friends instead of pros, here's a heads up on 10 wedding headaches you can definitely do without.

By Meredith Bodgas

1. Try not to get attached to your flower choices.
When you book your florist a year before your wedding day, he can only guess which blooms will be available for your wedding. If you have to have, say, asters, you could be disappointed. Instead, choose backups to your main blooms and add them to your contract. Think in terms of colors and shapes instead of specific flowers.

2. Think twice before you send save-the-dates to everyone.
Until you mail out invitations, your guest list isn't final. And it shouldn't be: Friends you're close with when you get engaged may be mere acquaintances by the time you get hitched. Reserve save-the-dates only for those guests you know will be invited, like your families.

3. You will regret it if you skip videography.
Photos only take you so far: Videos let you hear your voice tremble as you say your vows and watch your friends tear up the dance floor. With more people documenting your wedding, you'll see things you may have missed on the day.

4. Be careful not to blow your fashion budget on your dress.
Maybe you have $1,500 set aside for your look. That doesn't mean you can buy a $1,500 gown! Tack on tax, and if you're not buying off the rack, you could get charged for shipping. You might need alterations, too. Consider your undergarments, shoes, hair accessories and jewelry when budgeting as well.

5. Avoid micromanaging your vendors.
You're choosing talented pros who understand your vision, so let them do their jobs! We know it's tempting to control every detail so you're guaranteed to love the results, but you won't have the time, and you certainly don't have the experience your vendors do. After your initial meetings, trust the pros to get it right. And, you know what? They almost always will.

6. Think hard before you pick your attendants.
Your bridesmaids should be your closest friends. Period. They can also be your sisters, cousins, aunts and even your mom, but they have to be people you'd trust to be there when you most need them. You don't know new friends well enough yet to be sure they'll support you in tough situations (every bride encounters one at some point), and picking people because a family member demands it or so you and your man will have an even number of attendants are also decisions you'll likely regret.

7. Please restrain yourself from telling everyone your plans.
It's so hard not to talk about your wedding. Try. The more you share, the more opinions you're going to get about your choices, whether or not you ask for them. Plus, part of wowing your guests is surprising them. If they already know that you're changing into a different dress for dancing or sending guests home with a batch of your grandma's cookies, they won't be quite as impressed on your wedding day. If that's not enough to deter you, talking about your plans means opening yourself up to copycats, who may actually be marrying before you do. The last thing you want is your friend stealing your idea for your surprise grand finale.

8. Seriously, stop booking your salon appointments last.
We get it: You want as much beauty sleep as possible, and you don't want your 'do to fall out or your makeup to fade before you walk down the aisle. But guess what: Busy stylists will likely get to you late if you're last in the chair. Schedule your appointments in the middle of your attendants'. It's not a big deal for a bridesmaid to switch to a less complicated (read: quick) hairstyle if she's pressed for time. That's not an option for you.

9. Don't even think about speeding through photos.
Speaking of not having enough time, any less than an hour isn't enough for a portrait session; an hour-and-a-half is closer to ideal because you'll look more relaxed in your pictures (and those first few never come out as well as you hope). Squeezing photos into the first half-hour of your cocktail hour will make you anything but at ease. If you refuse to see your groom before the ceremony, take pictures separately beforehand so the only shots left to take after the ceremony include both of you.

10. Avoid "hiring" a friend instead of a pro.
Sure, your pal was the king of the mix CD back in the day, but that doesn't mean he'll make a great wedding DJ. Same goes for your friend who won't leave home without her Flip — this doesn't make her a videographer! Even on a tight budget, you're much better off paying a vendor with experience to take care of the biggies, like the music and the food. Don't you want your friends to enjoy your wedding instead of having to work through it, anyway?

Mitch and Lindsey's wedding photographed by Jessica moore of Stout Photography

This morning I'm featuring a wedding shot by one of my favorites, Jessica Moore of http://blog.stoutphoto.com/
I always feel honored when folks in the wedding industry ask me to work on their events. So I was excited when Jessica brought her sister in law to be to meet with me. Lindsey and Mitch were planning their wedding to take place on family property. I love home weddings.

Lindsey went with pewter bridesmaid dresses and then brought in color with her flowers. Each bridesmaid carried a bouquet of different colors. We used a great mix of flower variates, anemones, tulips, roses, peonies, lavender, hydrangea etc... Then we coordinated each groomsman's boutonniere with each bridesmaids bouquet.







Pretty posies all in a row.

Look how pretty the field is with the little clover.

Often simple is best, for the ceremony Lindsey just draped white fabric in the beautiful oak tree, I love it!

Instead of a sand ceremony or lighting a unity candle, Lindsey and Mitch branded their initials in the oak tree, how romantic is that?

Another all time favorite, Lindsey and Mitch used an old fallen tree on the property, sawed it up to use as their table scape. One log for the centerpieces, one log for the candle and one log for the table number. I love when weddings have such personal touches.

I Love the way Chinese lanterns fill a space, and in the multiple colors it really makes the tent look like a place to celebrate.

The color pink or how to do pink at your wedding

Every now and then I like to feature a color, today I bring you pink! yes, after almost 30 years as wedding floral designer I still LOVE pink!
Weddings are constantley evolving yes tradition remains, but in many ways we can make up the rules as we go. There are so many choices today!
Let's start with the ring, if you love pink why not go with a pink saphire? Look how gorgeous this one from Tiffany's
www.tiffany.com

















The first thing most brides do once they have the ring is to shop for THE dress. Yes everyone expects a bride in white but did you know that until Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840, brides wore color? Victoria choose a white dress and it started a trend that hasn't stopped! But that doesn't mean you can't go back to choosing your favorite color.
I love Gwen Stefani's gown.





















Of course there are an abundant choice of flowers in pinks, here are a few bridal bouquets made by Blooms to get your creative juices flowing.
























Blooms signature chandelier bridal bouquet made with real crystals.























For the princess bride, roses and rhinestones grace her bridal bouquet.
























Peonies and astilbie make a great bridal bouquet for a garden wedding.

Lets talk bridesmaids dresses I love these from Vera Wang and Thread























www.verawangonweddings.com


Bright pink by Thread, one of my favorite bridal designers.
http://bridal.threaddesign.com




















Another way to bring on the pink is your linens, why go white when you can go bright?
Take a look at some of my favorites from La Tavola
http://latavolalinen.com/linens


















My favorite soft pink, I like to call it ballerina pink.


















Fun and flirty polka dots for a country wedding.


















Love the fuchsia tuck.


















What could be better than pink sequins for the glamorous Sex in the City bride?

Then to set on these gorgeous linens? You need centerpieces! Here are a few from Blooms.

Boutonniere

Today I wanted to feature boutonniere's a small detail, yet an important one as it sits on the lapel of the grooms jacket! In the 50's carnations were all the rage, the 80's saw roses as the only way to go, but todays bride wants something different and todays grooms usually wants his boutonniere to be done a little smaller and low key. Here are a few ideas.

For a yellow wedding, with yellow flowers, Billy Balls are a fun, yet masculine flower.

You can't get much simpler than a single green kermit mum. Many grooms like their boutonniere's to be kept simple on their wedding day.

For those brides using blue and yellow a yellow tulip with blue hydrangea adds a crisp look for this wedding look.

Red Anemone, a favorite and a bit different for the classic red wedding.

And last of all the white rose, but with berry and fern embellishment to add texture to your grooms tuxedo