Whatever the Weather We’re Better Together

If the Weatherman could actually control the climate he’d be the best paid man on the planet. Brides-to-be would be lining up at his door to line his pockets with some cold, hard cash to ensure warm, dry weather for their wedding day. Strategies for selecting dates promising favorable weather range from consulting the Farmer’s Almanac to just picking a day on the calendar, crossing fingers, and hoping for the best. Unfortunately, when it comes to wedding day weather there is no guarantee. We’ve learned two things about wedding day weather over the years. 1. Always have a contingency plan if you’re planning an outdoor wedding. Better to have an impromptu indoor wedding in the event of a monsoon than to blow the budget sending a groomsman to Target for every rain poncho and umbrella available. 2. Whatever the weather we’re better together. Meaning, at the end of the day you’ll still be married and your wedding will be full of wonderful memories. If unwelcome weather crashes the wedding it may prohibit outdoor photos but it’ll only enhance the wedding day stories. We even had one bride who was married in a hotel lobby during a hurricane. It was more of a boutique hotel, no ballrooms or event space to relocate her beach wedding indoors. Recanting the story for us a few months later she shared this sentiment, “While we obviously wouldn’t have chosen to get married in those particular circumstances it made us realize that if we could make it through a hurricane and still say ‘I do’ then we could make it through anything.” Weather can't stop true love's sunshine.

“Last minute Lucy” vs “Plan ahead Paula”

My family has always been the type to wrap a present in the car on the way to a birthday party. We literally kept tape and scissors in the car and would often purchase the wrapping paper on the way to the event. To this day I get compliments on how well I wrap a package which I credit, in part, to wrapping many a present while in a moving vehicle. If you’re one of those people who get the most done at the last minute then you’re nodding your head and thinking, “Great idea! Why waste time wrapping in advance?!” If you’re a careful, consistent, calendar addict then you’re questioning my sanity and, perhaps, my upbringing. Either way, each of us has methods of getting things done that suit us. Some work best under pressure, some want to keep pressure as far out of the picture as possible. It’s important to identify which of these two characters you are and plan accordingly. If you’re “Last minute Lucy” just make sure you don’t underestimate your time and push everything out so far that you’re completely overwhelmed at the last minute and drown in your “to-dos”. If you’re “Plan ahead Paula” keep in mind that your task list does not have to rule over you. There is, in fact, more than enough supporting evidence that if something on your list has to be pushed back a day, or even a week, the world will not implode. I promise. Key point: Magnify your strengths and identify your weaknesses so you can strategize accordingly.

Our story

Everyone has a story. We’re very grateful for the recent opportunity to share ours through Northside Woman Magazine. When Christina first approached us about being featured in the Bridal issue we were, of course, very excited. However, we had no idea how beautifully Candy’s writing and Devon’s photography would be woven together to give you a glimpse of our personal and professional journey. We hope you’ll enjoy the “behind the scenes” tour of Treasures. Click the link to view the digital edition of our story:

http://northsidewoman.com/wedding-wishes#1

See more of Devon's photography or book her for your wedding through her site:

http://www.photosynthesisatlanta.com/

Flowers for the photo shoot were provided by our friends at Flowers from Us. Learn more about them and book them for your wedding:

http://www.flowersfromus.net/

"Behind the Scenes" pic of the photo shoot for Northside Woman Magazine

Go with the flow or swim against the current?

An interviewer recently asked me how wedding fashion has changed over the years Treasures has been in business. My reply? “Bridal gown styling is like an ocean. Fashions will ebb and flow but ultimately each bride seeks to find the gown that will embody her style, clothing personality, and the feeling she wants to evoke on her wedding day.” Trends will come and go, which creates a dilemma for the bride who finds herself drawn to trend detail in a wedding gown. She wonders if she’ll love it forever or look back with regret thinking she “dated herself” by choosing a style that was popular when she was married but may not be a few years down the road. Our advice is to be true to your personal style. If your gown captures your personality you’ll avoid regret and love it for life.

Example: Bows and ruffles are in at the moment. If your clothing personality is romantic and you tend to wear very feminine details in your outfits, then bows and soft ruffles suit you. Choosing a gown that has these details will be an expression of your style and will make sense. However, if your clothing personality is classic and you’ve previously expressed your hatred for all things bow laden and ruffle accented then choosing a gown with strong bow and prominent ruffle detail would be silly. The key is to make sure your gown is an expression of you. It’s exciting to be surprised by what gown you end up choosing. Listening to your voice instead of the voices talking “trend” will help you avoid being swept away by styling that doesn’t suit you.

Men…keep your mouth shut.

Before you think I'm being mean to the guys, hear me out. That's friendly advice in my title. The following is a recent comment I made to my sister Bonnie:

We need a Public Service Announcement that goes out to all newly engaged men which says, "If your bride asks you what type of wedding dress you envision her in the proper response... the ONLY proper response is, 'I can't even imagine. I just know that whatever you choose is going to wow me beyond words, if I'm even able to look past the sparkle in your eyes to notice what you're wearing. I only pray to God that I'll still be able to breathe.'" Perhaps we can have all diamond retailers distribute that as a temporary tattoo that only dissolves after the wedding day. And underneath it should say... "Repeat as many times as necessary."

The most hysterical part about this is… I’m only half kidding. We’ve seen seemingly harmless comments from Mr. Right go oh-so-wrong once his future Mrs. begins her gown search. “I don’t like poufy dresses” sounds like “I have to wear a mermaid dress which I hate and which I feel makes my butt look huge” in a bride’s mind. When, in all reality, all he meant was, “Please don’t show up looking like something off of ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’. I want to be in the same room as you on our wedding day.” While you want to consider your fiancé and his preferences in your gown selection, he wouldn’t want to keep you from the dress of your dreams. Most men learn, at one time or another, the valuable lesson “Happy wife, happy life.”

Our experience has been that sometimes guys will voice an opinion in passing that they later don’t even remember expressing. One of Our Brides was practically biting her fingernails while choosing between ordering her dress in white or ivory. Her fiancé said he only liked white… but she looked better in ivory. She ended up ordering ivory. On the wedding day when he complimented her on how breathtaking she looked she asked him, “So you don’t mind that it’s not white?” His response… “That’s not white?” So you see, sometimes even *they* don’t know what they mean. The key idea? Don’t let something your fiancé said in passing keep you from the dress of your dreams. He’ll thank you later, when you don’t spend your whole marriage regretting having let something he doesn’t remember saying keep you from the gown you love. Happy wife, happy life…. happy husband.

Our Bride Brag

We’re delighted with all the media coverage of Treasures and Our Brides lately! In case you missed our Facebook and Twitter bragging… I mean humble sharing… ;) We’ve decided to showcase some of the links and particulars so you can enjoy them. We’re so proud of Our Brides, how beautiful they look, and how many magazines and blogs took notice!

Kristin M. was featured as the "Most Romantic" photo in Points North Magazine. Her photographer was Ric Mershon Photographers. http://www.ricmershon.com/

Kristen C. on the cover and feature article of Panama City Living. Her photographer was FRSHNK Photography.

Bloggers took notice of Mia’s Four Oak’s Manor wedding. She was featured in three blogs! Links below.

Savvy Details Bridal Blog!

The Lovely Find!

Done Brilliantly: The Blog of Two Bright

Jessica caused quite a stir in Colorado! Our dresses go places (including Colorado, apparently)! Links below.

Couture Colorado

Colorado Wedding Style

Dena was featured in Carolina Bride magazine. I couldn't get the picture to post properly but you can see how fabulous she looked on our website. She was gorgeous enough to deserve 2 pages! Links below.

Dena

Dena 2

Brides Say the Darndest Things

Saturday I had the pleasure of helping a bride named Carolyn whose friend Jenn purchased her wedding gown from us last year. She brought with her two friends who had also shopped with Jenn for her dress. So we were all having some fun conversation while Carolyn was choosing which dresses to try on. Her friends were thoughtfully watching as she made her selections, and offering their opinions very diplomatically when asked. At one point when the conversation lulled Carolyn turned around and said, “Are you two going to help me choose?” they replied, “We’re enjoying letting you look and make your own decisions.” Carolyn immediately shot back, “It’s like I’m the groundhog and everyone’s watching me to find out if it’s going be an early spring!”

I feel like that is one of the most hilarious and absolutely accurate assessments of what it means to be a bride that I have ever heard! She put to words perfectly what I know many of our brides must be feeling. All the sudden you’re thrust into the spotlight and it seems that everyone is expecting you to do something, but what that something is you’re just not sure. Just remember you’re the same girl you were before you were engaged. Be true to your personality, try to enjoy the planning process as much as possible, and every once in a while throw out something interesting or hilarious so your “audience” has something to watch for! Carolyn’s groundhog comment certainly did that for us!