It can be a bit daunting—deciding what in the world to bring to a wedding. Gift registries and odd suggestions from Aunt Prudence tend to be the breadth of guidance when it comes to wedding shopping, but oftentimes leave us feeling unoriginal and lackluster. What does our gift say about us? Do they say we care? Do they say we’re friends that took the time to drive down to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and got the last thing on the list under $50? I’m not exactly sure, but when it comes to any type of gift, I tend to error on the side of more personal. Sure, gift registries are easy and provide the bride and groom with things they may need, but personalized wedding gifts definitely say a bit more.

How do you go about doing the personalized wedding gifts “thing”? Well, there are some people out there that are creative and crafty. These people have the upper hand because they can do anything from sewing monogram hand towels in the wedding colors to crafting papier-mâché busts of the bride and groom (though I wouldn’t recommend this… it’s a bit creepy). There are also some of us that just don’t get into the crafty thing, or have the artistic capabilities of a five year old. Regardless of the situation, you can present a fine personalized gift at any wedding—by either going the “do it yourself” route or the “I found this cool website” route.

There is a line to be drawn, however, between “personalized” and cliché. The most important factor to take into consideration when trying to do personalized is personality. You’re trying to showcase your relationship with the bride and groom, so know the bride and groom. If you’re totally blank, here are some cool recommendations/examples to get the juices flowing:

For the Bride

Being a woman, I understand the nature of sentimentality. I love remembering good times’ past, and what better event to commemorate than a wedding? This is where photo albums, scrapbooks, photo frames, and the like rule high. It sounds generic, but perhaps not so with the right touch.

Do it Yourself: For the crafty types, consider creating a guest book with hand-crafted paper incorporating the colors of the wedding, or the flower choices (which you would have to scope out ahead of time). Making paper can be really fun (though a bit messy), is eco-friendly, and relatively easy. Using this paper, and a small binder covered with a pretty fabric, or made with recycled paper can be a great gift—and allows all the guests to write their marriage advice and wishes.

Do it With Help: There are tons of websites out there that sell really cool stuff, many of which that specialize in engraving. Similar to the guestbook, something like a personalized signature frame is pretty cool. It comes with an engraving pen—for guests to make their mark on the special occasion (or the drunk uncle to use on the centerpiece).

For the Groom:

We all know that shopping for guys just isn’t easy. In my personal experience, it’s a real pain. But here it’s all about the interests. What does the groom like? Golf? Beer? Lord of the Rings? Whatever it is, use it and play on it.

Do it Yourself: Does the guy have a massive DVD collection? Make him organizational markers to separate the genres. Is he not quite that anal? Also offer to organize them for him. Perhaps he collects beer bottles that are nonchalantly kept on top of the kitchen cabinets. Build a shelf or small shelving unit for displaying them.

Do it With Help: Personalized wedding gifts run the gamut when it comes to websites these days, so playing his interests should be pretty easy. Perhaps the groom loves Vegas, gambling, and a night with the guys—in this case something like a personalized poker set could be a winner. Is he a drinker? An engraved flask and zippo lighter set could be a hit as well.

If you work at making their special day more special, you should have no problems finding (or making) the perfect gift. Cheers!

The wedding planning is almost finished. The long awaited date is just around the corner. After months of headaches, arguments with your mother-in-law, changes in color schemes, and complaints about the bridesmaids’ dresses, it’s just too late to change anything now. It’s either sink, or swim as you tell the wedding party to fake it until they make it. You march to the mantra, “If you don’t like it, pretend you do” and lay awake long into the night tossing and turning over your choice of flowers. Will the peonies wilt under the intense summer heat? Was your sister right when she said red roses were tacky and cliché? Regardless, you press on finessing and obsessing over the finer details of the wedding: the striped ribbon around the candy boxes, the guest book (you can’t believe you almost forgot the guest book), flight arrangements for the best man….and then it hits you. Entertainment. You were naïve enough to think that you, the bride, would be entertainment enough for 250 guests. You thought wrong. This shocking realization throws you into a state of panic as you cry and wail in utter denial, not only in front of your family, but your fiancés. Now you’ve had a “bridezilla” moment and must face the facts that your presence alone will not be enough for your guests. It’s time to buckle down and fork out some more money for their “entertainment.”

Hire a live band

This is a great alternative to a disc jockey. The ambience a band creates is priceless and will leave a lasting impression on your guests. This not only gives your guests something visually stimulating, but also keeps their energy going throughout the wedding. A band can also cater to a themed wedding whether it is 1920’s jazz, or Scottish folk.

Caricaturist

This is an entertaining way of giving your guests a lasting memory from your wedding. A caricaturist can mix-and-mingle with your guests and be a source of conversation throughout the evening. This is a fun and unique way of getting people out of their shell, especially when the caricature is particularly funny.

Hire Dance Instructors

Teaching your guests dances like the polka, swing, and meringue early on in the evening will give them time to practice for the rest of the night. This allows for your wedding guests to intermingle and gives people a chance to interact on a more intimate level. If you want people to get down on the dance floor, what better way then to initiate by hiring some professionals?

Photo Booth

This is a great way to bring out the sillier sides of your guests. By providing costumes, hats, or mustaches for your guests, it creates a fun, personal photograph that becomes an everlasting token from your wedding. This can be the perfect icebreaker for those willing to cram themselves in five at time into the booth.

Picture Slide Show

Make it personal by including photos of you and your husband-to-be as babies, gradually working up to the point of your meeting. This allows the guests to get to know the bride and groom a little bit better. By adding background music, it creates an ambience for the venue and becomes very sentimental. People love to cry at weddings and this would be the perfect opportunity for that.

-Post written by Molly Vogel

Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love. It’s synonymous with flowers, romance and loving embraces.  But the ultimate show of your love for another is to take their hand in marriage. Because the symbolism of marriage and Valentine’s Day is very similar, many couples consider combining the two events into one giant festival of love.  While the idea is very romantic, there are also many disadvantages to having your wedding anytime during Valentine’s Day week. Here are some pros and cons to Valentine’s Day nuptials.

Theme

Pro: Themed weddings typically come with extensive planning and a ton of effort. But a Valentine’s Day theme kind of wraps itself up into one easy heart-shaped event.  Even the smallest detail can be easily achieved with little effort making your wedding memorable.  The likelihood of a do-it-yourself Valentine’s Day wedding looking like a professional wedding planner did all the work is very high.

Con: Red heart overkill! If you want a simplistic wedding and only choose the day due to symbolism you could be in for a real battle.  Many people will try to convince you to run away with a Valentine’s theme. If this is not your style just stay true to your personal wishes and you will still be able to pull off a classy, simple wedding day.

Logistics

Con: Flower prices are likely at their peak due to the traditions of the holiday.  You can turn this into a pro by making bulk deals or dealing with a wedding planner specifically to garner deals through their connections to local florists.

Con: Valentine’s Day weddings are very popular. This means wedding-related expenses are at peak prices over the Valentine’s Day week. This also means that the availability of venues will be slim to none. Booking a venue for Valentine’s Day weekend is achievable only by request months and sometimes an entire year in advance.

Pro: This can be offset if you can bear to have your wedding even a week earlier. Other than the Valentine’s Day week, February is traditionally the least expensive month to get married.  This also means that venue availability is often wide open, leaving you with options you may never otherwise have!

Guests

Pro: February is a typically cheap travel month. Airfare and hotel deals are plentiful in almost every locale.  Any out of town guests will find it easier and more economical to attend the ceremony.

Con: Your guests may feel weird celebrating another couple’s love for each other during a time traditionally reserved for themselves.

Looking down the road

Pro: The added romanticism of having your anniversary near Valentine’s Day.

Con: You lose that extra day of the year to celebrate your love.

Pro / Con: Depending on your personality (and finances), you will love or hate the ability to participate in the     inevitable combining of the anniversary/ Valentine’s Day gifts.

Con: If your love ends up not being the forever kind you will have a very prominent day every year to remind you of your past.

At the end of most season’s of ABC’s The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, eager audiences wait and watch as each couple’s relationship inevitably unravels and comes to a grinding halt.  This year’s audiences aren’t supposed to know until August 12 when the newest season of The Bachelorette finally comes to a close during its two hour finale, but information is already leaking out.

According to sources, she picks Roberto over Chris.  And this year’s protagonist of ABC’s hit, reality based dating show, Ali Fedotowsky, seemingly finds true love.  Now her and the last contestant standing, her new beau Roberto Martinez, are in the midst of planning a trip down the nuptial aisle.  As tradition on the finale of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Martinez popped the question to Fedotowsky at the close of this season’s show.

The Wedding Will be Televised

To help pay for the momentous occasion and huge event (their wedding guest list has already reached over an incredible seven hundred expected heads to show), the couple admitted on Live! With Regis and Kelly that they’ve already planned on televising the wedding and allowing the world to tune in.

Location, Location, Location

The newly formed, but love at first sight couple are tentatively setting plans to schedule the wedding for next spring or next summer.  Hopeful locations include Florida, which is closer to Puerto Rico, Martinez’s motherland and place where most of his family is located, than any other locale in the states.  Fedotowsky also heralds from the east coast, so a Florida wedding would be like a home away from home spot for her to tie the knot.  The couple claims that they are hesitant to set and announce a sure date, suggesting that they’re too busy to set anything in stone and wanting to avoid negative backlash from the press if unable to stick to the specific date publicized.

Spring Time Color Palette

Because the blushing bride to be’s favorite color is yellow (which she can be seen wearing throughout this year’s entire season and even during the soon to be aired finale of the show), the color scheme for Fedotowsky’s future wedding has already been set to mesh well with that tentatively scheduled spring time palette.  She’s already told sources that she hasn’t even begun to look at wedding gowns, but she knows it will be the classic, traditional white wedding gown with a hint of yellow thrown in vis a vis ribbon or trim.  And Fedotowsky has already mentioned that she’s decided to wear sneakers as opposed to the traditional heels; apparently, she loves to dance and would rather be comfortable enough to dance in tennis shoes than have to trudge around in too high heels.

Although the engagement is still fresh, they’ve decided to make one another each other’s first priority, undoubtedly especially because most relationships started on the show end before they really get to begin.  Martinez seems pretty nonchalant when asked about the details of his future wedding, claiming that all he cares about is whether or not she’s there and feeling comfortable enough to enjoy her big day.

On Saturday, July 31st, 2010, former first daughter, Chelsea Clinton, finally tied the knot with her well-known beau Marc Mezvinsky at Astor Courts in Rhinebeck, New York. Over four hundred guests came together to celebrate the ceremony in the quaint, upstate New York town, and watched with teary eyes as her father, former President Bill Clinton, walked her ever so emotionally down the aisle and gave her away to the new man of her life. An array of faces showed up to partake in the occasion, from famous faces of the silver screen to well-respected and lauded politicians. The luminescent bride walked down the aisle, gripping a beautiful assortment of white flowers tied together in her bouquet.

After growing closer as friends, and eventual partners, while studying at Stanford University, Clinton and Mezvinsky finally committed themselves to each other in an engagement in 2009 after four years of dating; Mezvinsky is son to former Iowa-state congressman Edward Mezvinsky and NBC reporter/congresswoman Marjorie Mezvinsky. Like out of a dream, Chelsea walked down the aisle adorned in an elegant, strapless Vera Wang design. And her mother, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, matched her daughter’s extravagantly beautiful look, wearing a raspberry-toned Oscar De La Renta gown.

It was a picture perfect day in Rhinebeck, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But reports indicate that the ceremony was emotionally intense and overwhelming, and that, in fact, not one guest or member of the wedding party was able to escape without shedding a tear of joy for the happily wedded couple. Many gushed over in tears when the poem, “The Life That I Have” by Leo Marks, was read aloud as the couple gazed endlessly into each others’ eyes.

The wedding was very heavily secured and details regarding the ceremony are gradually leaking out. However, CBS News.com reports that the groom kept in line with his Jewish heritage, wearing a yarmulke along with his ever-so modern Burberry tux. And because of the couples differing religious backgrounds, the ceremony combined both individuals’ spiritual views, coalescing the religious traditions of the groom’s Jewish background with the Methodist background of the bride.

After the ceremony and during the reception, the glowing couple enjoyed their first dance to the classic Etta James jazzy hit, “At Last.” And Former President Clinton spun around the dance floor with his daughter for the last time as the main man in her life, waltzing to the unforgettable Frank Sinatra tune, “The Way You Look Tonight.”

Reports and rumors are swirling that the dazzling event cost the Former President between approximately two million and five million dollars. But why not? After all, Chelsea is his only child and she deserves the best he can provide her. Gift bags were given to all the guests after the ceremony, as a token of appreciation for showing up and partaking in the day of celebration. These bags were filled with locally produced items, including wine from the Clinton’s’ own personal vineyard, Clinton Vineyards.

Planning a wedding for most people is manageable. It is stressful, but not even close to impossible. You can find a checklist of things to do and check them off one by one. You can pull out your hair coordinating fittings and alterations for the bridal party, but you’ll get it taken care of.  You can arrive on your wedding day and in between hair and make-up you can make sure the programs are in place and the ushers know where to seat specific guests. After you say “I do” you can head over to the reception and make sure the caterers are on track and the DJ is spinning the right mix for your guests.  I see brides do this all the time and they do a great job.  So the real question is not if you need a wedding planner, but rather, do you want to enjoy your big day or skip most of it and work? So before throwing out the idea of a wedding planner, consider these benefits:

Benefit #1: Wedding planners are hip to both trend and tradition.

A super traditional white taffeta décor with ice sculptures will be achieved quickly and without hassle by an experienced individual.  For a trendier wedding, the wedding planner will have ideas by the boat load so you don’t have to go out of your way to track down a new trend that fits your personal style. The bottom line here is that if you are looking for a wow-factor then a wedding planner is the key.

Benefit #2: The presence of a wedding planner on the day of the wedding can put the couple at ease.

All questions and issues can go straight to the capable hands of the wedding planner. Not having to know that the flower girl temporarily misplaced the basket or the cake was running late is a true gift.  Imagine being able to sit back and enjoy the glorious event without anyone in your wedding party having to bat an eye. Remember, your wedding day is supposed to be your special day, not just a good party for everyone else.

Benefit #3: There is money to be saved through the services of a wedding planner.

Sure, you take on an added cost, but there are ways that cost pays for itself. The first is being able to keep you at your job.  It’s not uncommon for couples to take off of work to finalize things for the big day. It’s not easy to call around town getting details for flowers or caterers outside of the same business hours you probably work. So taking time off becomes a necessity for those who do it on their own.  Another opportunity to save lays in the fact that most people don’t have the time or patience to fully research their options. You may not know about the new bakery in town that is so efficient at masterpiece wedding cakes that their prices are lower than others. But you know who will?  A wedding planner! A wedding planner is the biggest ace in the hole for knowing what wedding day vendors to use and have established relationships with them that can mean decent discounts for you.

You may not think you need a wedding planner, but it is worth checking out a few before you start the process.  Initial consultations are typically free of charge and you can determine their ability to help you maintain your budget and personal style.  You may end up finding a planner with exceptional connections to vendors and discovering that even with the planning fees you will be saving money.  No matter how much of a do-it-yourself attitude you have, it’s worth the time to check out your options. You just might be surprised at what having a wedding planner could really mean for your special day.

While wedding traditions are revered by most people, they can also lead to a predictable and boring main event. It is no wonder that many modern couples are seeking out fun ways to throw tradition for a loop on their wedding day. One of the hottest trends right now is having a choreographed wedding dance.

A Choreographed Wedding Dance can Serve two Purposes

1) A choreographed wedding dance can ease anxiety over dancing in front of a crowd, particularly for those people with two left feet.
This is a common fear particularly for men. What’s meant to be one of the first displays of affection as man and wife is often three minutes of red-faced terror for the newlywed husband. Having a choreographer whip up a routine will give him something to think about other than wanting the song to be over. Also learning a dance rather than taking simple dance lessons just sounds more appealing to a guy. This is especially the case if the choreography is meant to be fun.

2) It can provide an outlet to showcase the personality of the newly married couple.
Even for the most fleet-footed of couples, a traditional wedding dance just isn’t enough for those with extreme personalities. For these couples, busting out the sprinkler in the middle of their wedding dance can say a lot about the comfort level of their relationship. Plus it is incredibly fun to watch for the guests.

How to Prepare

Once you’ve decided you want to buck tradition and put on a polished show for your guests, you will need to hire an actual choreographer. Do your research! Call around to your local dance schools and ask if they have any instructors that would be willing to create simple enough choreography for you to master before your wedding day. Have an idea of what you want so you can get the right person for the job. If you want to remain somewhat traditional and do a simple waltz, then you’ll need a ballroom professional. If you want to bust out your best Michael Jackson moves then you’ll probably want a hip hop instructor. Being specific will help whoever you speak to direct you to the best possible staff member.

Weddings are already tough on the pocket book, but adding a choreographer to the mix doesn’t have to kill your budget. Most choreographers work on an hourly basis so as long as you’ve told them to keep it simple you shouldn’t have a huge bill. A good choreographer will be able to create, teach and polish a wedding dance with just a few hours credited.

If you are looking for that little extra something to give your wedding a unique touch, consider jumping on the bandwagon for choreographed wedding dances. It is anxiety relieving, demonstrates personality and is fun for everyone. Enhance that special day with an original moment that will be talked about long after the honeymoon.

From choosing the wedding dress, caterer and creating a guest list, there are a lot of hassles that go into your wedding day. After months planning, your big day arrives. You’ve said “I do”, the cake has been cut and now it’s time to let loose and celebrate. That’s when things start getting crazy. For the most part everyone is just having a good time. But what do you do if someone is having too much of a good time? Here are some tips on how to handle out of control guests at your wedding.

STEP 1: PREVENTION

You know that your guests will be drinking. Do your best to stop them from having one too many in the first place.

Skip the all-night open bar. Set a time limit. Guests will still enjoy the free libations, yet they will be more aware of how much they are drinking simply because they will have to keep reaching into their pocketbook.

Limit the type of alcohol served. Mixed drinks are absorbed into the bloodstream much quicker than beer or wine. Limit your selection to various beers and wines. This will slow down the speed of inebriation.

Know your guests. Chances are that you have a pretty good short-list of guests who pose a potential threat to become out of control drunks. Personally approach them early in the celebration and ask them to do you a special wedding favor. Acknowledge that you know they like to have a good time, but that you ask them to take it easy for the night. Make sure you also give them the game plan for if he or she were to become out of control. Many guests (especially friends and family) will feel more responsible if they know there will be consequences at the end of the night.

Instruct the bartender to not serve inebriated guests. Place signs at the bar that states, “At the couple’s request, the bartender will not serve alcohol to guests who show signs of excessive inebriation”. Also, bear in mind that many cities have ordinances that could result in steep fines for anyone who serves intoxicated people. Skipping this step could lead to liability issues for the wedding hosts!

Pre-Appoint a “Bouncer”. Designate a member of the wedding party to keep an eye out for guests who are starting to get out of control. This sets a clear contingency plan for when a guest does become out of control. More importantly, having a “bouncer” will free up the newlyweds to enjoy a stress-free celebration.

STEP 2: RESOLUTION

Despite all your planning and prevention, with an environment of alcohol consumption, odds are still in the favor of having at least one out of control guest. While these people can be responsible for some humorous and memorable moments, they also pose a huge liability. Out of control behavior can make other guests uncomfortable and be a danger to both themselves and other guests. It is important that your “bouncer” actively attempts to resolve this tricky situation.

Cut them off. Offer the guest free sodas for the rest of event. It would also be a good idea to give them food. Your “bouncer” may need to remind them about the newlywed’s expectations of their guests at their party. By putting the focus on the bride and groom it helps take criticism off of the guest.

Take their keys. If there is no chance of sobering up, be responsible and make sure the keys are taken away. Arrange for someone to bring them home or call a cab. It would also be helpful to prepare a method of automobile recovery the next day. Anything you can do to make it easier on your guest to leave safely is a good idea.

Do not criticize the guest. Having an annoying, loud and obnoxious guest is one thing, but an angry guest is entirely different. You don’t want to escalate things. Be kind and act strictly out of concern for the bride and groom’s big day. If all your efforts and kindness just doesn’t work…

Do not be afraid to call for police.
Your wedding day is meant to be a special day full of lasting memories. With a little planning and caution, those memories won’t have to include undue stress or incident due to drunkenness.

How many phone calls do you make when planning your wedding? Too many to count, right? Riddle me this, brides-to-be…how many phone calls do you get from friends, relatives, and in-laws giving their “advice” on how to go about planning your wedding? Probably just as many! Between the second your guy puts that engagement ring on your finger and the second you shut the hotel room door after the reception with a sigh of relief, you’ll get more advice then you could ever want. Some of it should probably be taken to heart, especially if it’s tips on how to save money or referrals to vendors from satisfied brides. Other advice, however, should definitely be dismissed with a wave of your chewed on fingernails:

“Stick to your budget, no matter what!”

While all brides can agree to having a budget and following it, it’s the “no matter what” part you should ignore. Nothing is worse than sacrificing a quality service of say a highly recommended photographer in favor of your Aunt Betty’s godson who is taking high school photography classes. Sure, it might be a money saver, but is it worth it when most of your pictures come out with heads cropped off and out of focus? Definitely follow your budget and your plan, but be prepared to stray a bit outside it sometimes. Look for reasonable bargains instead of cheap corner cutters.

“This is the bride’s day! Who cares what your groom wants?”

Ok, most grooms aren’t exactly able to tell a hydrangea from a peony. And bless their hearts; we listen when they want their favorite football team colors as the wedding colors. But just because men don’t usually throw themselves into planning like brides do, doesn’t mean you should brush off requests made by your fiancée. Sometimes, having an outside opinion from someone who knows you well can bring in ideas you never even thought of. Most importantly, this is their day, too. And while they’ll never admit to caring about chair covers, they still might want certain songs on the playlists or a certain arrangement for his family’s seating. Marriage is about compromise after all. Better get used to it, hon.

“________ is so cliché.

Toss that idea, everybody does it.” Yes, you want your wedding to be original and special. That’s every bride’s main goal. But remember, it’s about making it special for you two. So what if dancing to “Butterfly Kisses” with your daddy has been done a thousand times before? If that song is special to you and your dad, then by all means, dance away! If there is a certain tradition that you want in your wedding because you’ve always dreamt of it (say, the bouquet toss?) then no one should make you feel bad about choosing to have it in your wedding. Being original is important to planning a wedding, but so is making your day special. Remember that above all, and do whatever you want! You’ll get lots of people telling you what’s “been done” and “so overused”. But just ignore them and think about why you want that aspect in your wedding. After all, “something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new” is still around for a reason.

Toes in the sand, the salty sea breeze in your hair, your best friend waiting at the end of the aisle with a couple of mai-tais…planning a beach wedding you’ve always dreamed of is totally doable, but you may want to hold the applause.  It can be beautiful, wonderful, and timeless, but it can also be difficult to pull off, so here are a few things to consider before you pack your umbrella and flip-flops.

Weather

This is the blessing or curse of any outdoor wedding.  Your best bet is to choose a warm, arid locale, like southern California or Baja.  An exotic island wedding can be tempting, but humidity will really ruin your day (nobody wants runnels of sweat streaming down the back of her dress) and rain can cause a postponement.  To that end, check out the seasonal norm for your destination to make sure you’re not entering into wedded bliss during hurricane season.  And keep in mind that the shoreline can be a bit windy (making it difficult for those in attendance to hear the proceedings) so consider a wireless mic setup to say your vows loud and clear.

Guest list

Be aware that some of your older relatives may not be able to sit through a ceremony in the sun.  Plan accordingly by putting up tents, or consider having the reception indoors so they can still attend.  A chic tip is to offer paper umbrellas as favors and keep water bottles on ice for heat-sensitive guests.

Your dress

You may have your heart set on a frou-frou princess dress (corset top, layers and layers of crinoline) but this is hardly practical for a beach wedding.  If the setting is more important, scale the dress back to something light, airy, and appropriately ethereal.  P.S.  Ditch the train – sand is dirty!

Photography

You can run into some serious photographic issues with an outdoor wedding, so take that into consideration when setting the time for the ceremony.  The overhead light of the midday sun will cause some serious shadows on your face and the glow of sunset can leave you looking orange or create flare on your photos, so go for the lovely light of mid-morning or mid-afternoon to ensure that your photos are flawless.

Licensing

Your marriage license is covered, but don’t forget the location permit.  You need to obtain permission to host an event on most public (or private) beaches, so check in with the local authorities or Parks and Recreation to ensure the venue is available on your wedding date and that proper facilities are provided.

There are several things to consider when planning a beach wedding, from flowers and hairstyles that won’t wilt to sand-friendly footwear.  But with a little common sense and some help from your friends (or a seasoned wedding planner) you can have a beautiful wedding in a natural setting and have both the memories and the photos to last a lifetime.