Check out all of the great designs at www.beegeebags.com

Clay participated in four days of intensive hands-on design sessions, mastering the latest hand-tied bouquets. Taught by world renowned floral designer, Els Hazenburg, AIFD of Aalsmeer, Holland, the class focused on discovering new materials, design techniques, color theory and marketing ideas for fresh flowers. Each student was taught how to update their design style using the latest techniques from Holland.Students were challenged to complete a series of projects during the class.

“This class explored how flowers can be used in many exciting forms for today’s trend-conscious customers,” said Marie Ackerman, AIFD, Teleflora’s Vice President of Education. “The students were challenged to interpret the ideas presented and to add their own creative twist.”

As you interview vendors for your wedding, be sure to ask how they stay up-to-date on current trends and new products.  Continuing education is vital in every industry, and we highly recommend working with vendors that value this experience.

I wish I had hired a videographer.  It sounds cliche, and I hear videographers say it all the time, but there are some things that are great to see on video.

Since I work behind the scenes, I never like being in front of the camera, especially a video camera.  You’ll very rarely catch a glimpse of me in wedding photos or video.

But I can remember my wedding reception like it was yesterday, even though it has been seven years.  To see all of my family dancing together (a rare sight for a Southern Baptist family!) made me so happy.  Our reception ended well past its scheduled end time (or so I was told), and we danced so much that the dance floor actually started coming apart.

As great as my photos are from that day, I wish I had a video as well - I know the “video” in my head won’t last forever!

Everything is different from the preparation to the end. There is no formal invitation, everybody from church members to the community are invited by word of mouth. The wedding day starts with people showering the streets where the bride will walk to the church accompanied with her many bridesmaids. The ceremony itself can last up to 3 hours listening to all the church choirs singing and the pastor’s sermon can last forever.

For the reception, most of the time, tables are arranged only for the couple and their two witnesses and sometimes the bridesmaids.

At the end, as they already know what to expect, plenty of foods are served to everybody, food always cooked by family members. They usually don’t cut the cake till a few days after the wedding. But what really matters after all, they are happy with their tradition and their marriages last always forever.

I saw this photo and just had to post it - this totally adorable and edible work of art was created by Gaby Colindres.  Gaby is the owner of Sweet Art Shop, and one of the owners of Serenatea.

Serenatea offers a variety of items from petit fours to cupcakes to hors d’oeuvres.  Some of my favorites are the cookies, which make wonderful favors for a shower or wedding.

I received an email over the weekend about a great new service called Bridal Canvas.  I had a chance to check it out this morning, and I have to say, I could spend all day playing with it!  It is an easy way to create inspiration boards for your wedding using pre-loaded images or upload your own.

The great thing is that the pre-loaded images have the source listed - so if you want to post an inspiration board on you Knot profile or blog, you don’t have to label each picture; the program does it for you!

Plus it’s entirely web-based, so it’s super easy to share your creation with your mom, maid of honor, florist and wedding consultant!  And it’s free!

Check it out at www.bridalcanvas.com.

As soon as l got engaged, l was very excited to start planning for my special day. Even though l help to coordinate weddings, you really learn how easy it is to go over your wedding day budget when it is your own wedding. To keep within my budget l cut back on the things that l thought were not as important to me. However, looking back l now wish that l had really thought about it a little more. One of the biggest things that l wish l would have spent a little more money on was my photography package. Since l had a videographer l skimped a little on my photography package and did not get as many pictures as l had wanted. Nearly two years later l now know why people say to spend that little bit extra on your photographs, as a picture lasts a lifetime!

I wish I knew where we were planning to go for our honeymoon before we set our wedding date.  We had already booked our venues for December 1st before we had even thought about our honeymoon destination.  We eventually decided on St. Lucia in the Caribbean in January.  This happens to be the peak season for most of the Caribbean and the prices for hotels and air travel are at their highest.  Our honeymoon cost almost double what it would have if we had gone in April.  If the date or time of year for your wedding is not a priority, consider planning around your honeymoon destination’s off season.  You may find some great deals, and less crowded beaches or attractions.

Melanie and her husband, Eric
(photo by Kris Graham Photography)

Planning a wedding can be very stressful.  You probably have all the skills and knowledge to plan your own wedding, but in order for it to be successful, you need help. Hire a planner even for just the day of the wedding, so you can be relaxed and not too stressed about the arrangements. I wish I had known that.