Friday, October 25, 2013
When I hosted my wedding planning boot camp for engaged couples/families in 2011, Jenn was all ears. She attended each workshop faithfully, sometimes bringing her then fiancé, Jermaine, or bringing her mom, all the way from Canada. She listened, took notes and used everything she learned to plan her wedding.
The boot camp covered everything from budgeting to styling to hiring vendors. But the key message I wanted each couple to take away was not to be afraid to make their day personal. Don't have a Pinterest-looking wedding just because it's trendy. Infuse yourself - elements of the groom, the bride and the two of you together.
Based on Jenn's wedding, she more than got the message. In fact, she now shares her wedding details and in-depth advice via her own blog, Officially Mrs. Dobbins.
Before you hop over to her blog, enjoy my interview with Jenn about her wedding, and see my hand-picked favorite photos from her wedding, all captured by Five by Five Photography and Design.
Jenn & Jermaine
Wedding Date ~ December 12, 2012
Ceremony & Reception Location ~ Camp Marymount, Fairview, TN
Budget ~ $5,000-8,000
Guests ~ 110
My Wedding Team
Planning | Bride, bride’s friend (Sara Hooper), Wedding 101
Photographer | Vidyuta Rangnekar with Five By Five Photography & Design
Gown | David’s Bridal
Bride’s accessories | Etsy, Afterglow
Men’s attire | Men’s Warehouse, Banana Republic, Etsy
Bridesmaids’ attire | David’s Bridal, Sophie’s Gown Shoppe
Hair | Angelica Stevens at Aveda
Makeup | Jen at one10 Makeup
Stationery | Bride, with invitation layouts by Jennifer Atcher from Studio 8 Design (Maid of Honor)
Caterer | Kitchen by House Blend
Cake artist | Abby Head/Creative Crumbs
Floral designer | Bride, family & friends with flowers from Costco
Ceremony Musicians | Kyle Bashour & Natalie Coughlin from Holy Family Life Teen
DJ | Scott Hutten
Rentals | Southern Events for tables, chairs & lounge furniture
Lighting | Camp Marymount, bride
Photo booth | Flashtastic Photo Booth
Bartending | Laura Stewart/Topshelf Bartending & Staffing
My Wedding Details
How would you describe your style as a couple?
Contemporary Rustic – we like clean lines with rustic, artistic details.
How did you incorporate that style into your wedding?
Our venue was a cool mixture of modern and pastoral. Our choice was a contemporary building that featured rustic elements, such as exposed beams and a gorgeous stone fireplace, coupled with modern lighting and concrete floors. As the décor was completely DIY, this allowed me to showcase details that truly personalized the occasion. We loved including photos that documented the growth of our relationship, creating a board with information on the charities we support and ‘registered’ with, and the cocktail hour’s fantastic popcorn bar, which was brought by my Mom from my favorite popcorn chain, Kernels, all the way from Canada, and included many of their signature flavors.
What was your favorite aspect of your wedding?
Our guests loved the venue, as the ceremony and reception were at the same site but in different buildings. We also received a lot of wonderful feedback about how much fun our friends and family had with the photo booth, how delicious the food tasted and how warm and personal the day felt by using so many of our own items in the décor.
Since Jermaine and I are bookworms, I loved the old books we collected to use with the centerpieces, and having the childhood rosary given to me by my Grandmum affixed to my bouquet was particularly special. The first time I visited Camp Marymount on a retreat years ago, my heart spoke to me about getting married there. Our wedding was everything I had ever dreamed of and I was there with the man of my prayers!
Where did you splurge? Where did you save/DIY?
After attending the ABG camp in the months before our engagement, we were able to learn how to budget wisely and prioritize our modest funds.
We definitely splurged on photography (including the photo booth) and the venue, although Marymount was fairly inexpensive when compared to similar Nashville venues.
I DIY’d the linens, dessert bar and all décor, using MANY 50 percent off coupons from JoAnn’s and Michael’s. We recruited lots of family members and friends to help us set up the day before and tear down after the wedding, which also allowed us to spend more time with our family who had come in from out of town (including many from Canada!).
We were able to have a great buffet dinner with three entrée options within our budget by pricing drinks separately and baking the desserts at home. We also were able to have a bar with wine stocked from Trader Joe’s and local beer from Yazoo Brewery, which cost less than $200 for our 110 guests over the four hour reception. The leftover Yazoo turned into a great way to reward the friends that helped us out!
Now that the wedding day is over, is there anything about your planning process you feel you could have done differently?
Planning on my own in Nashville, with a fiancé in Louisville and my Mom in Canada was definitely challenging, but our physical locations weren’t something we could change.
We met with an awesome planner about month-of services, and although her fees were very reasonable, especially for her exceptional talent, we were just not able to squeeze it into our budget. I ended up creating a 14 page document detailing our set up instructions – advantages of a type-A personality! I was able to finish many projects from start to finish early on in our engagement, and recruited several friends to help with repetitive tasks in the months leading up to the wedding. This meant that the week-of was dedicated to details that couldn’t be put together in advance, like floral arrangements and desserts, which certainly worked to my advantage – I even got a massage two days before the wedding!
While there were certain things I was very picky about, there were other items that weren’t at the top of our priorities, and I quickly cut those from the to-do list. I wasn’t afraid to remove traditions that didn’t make sense for us, like a bouquet/garter toss, and worked with Wedding 101 to reorganize the idea of a traditional receiving line to fit my physical needs, routing our guests past the head table at dinner so that we didn’t have to walk from table to table since I have limited mobility.
We are honestly so happy with how our wedding day turned out – a LOT of planning made for a day that went by with barely a hiccup! And best of all, now we’re happily married AND in the same state!
In one sentence, what words of advice do you have for couples in the midst of their planning?
Be sure to remember WHY you are having this wedding, and let your love, respect and friendship as a couple shine above all other things on this day.
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Posted by Ashley King |
Filed under: Multicultural, African-American weddings, Real Nashville Weddings, Wedding Style - Rustic, Farm ,
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Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Netra is a dedicated follower of AshleysBrideGuide.com. She called me in search of a must-have linen that she'd seen online. We chatted about the linen and her wedding. We talked for over an hour. She told me that she'd seen a piano cake designed by The Cupcake Collection, that I featured months ago, and knew they were the ones to create a surprise treat for her groom. She seemed more excited about her groom's cake than her own bridal cake!
The groom's cupcake tower:
During wedding planning, Netra's then fiance, Mark, was laid back and allowed her to take the lead when it came to making wedding decisions. He supported her and her preferences. But, it was important to Netra that Mark knew he mattered and that their wedding day was not just about her. She wanted a groom's cake that spoke to one of his loves, Kappa Alpha Psi.
She met with Mignon and Netta, at The Cupcake Collection, and explained her vision. She gave them free reign and The Cupcake Collection took it from there.
~~~
The theme: Kappa Alpha Psi
The concept: A cupcake tower versus a groom's cake. The tower would offer a variety of cake flavors for guests and different elements of the theme.
The flavors: Red Velvet, Strawberry, Strawberry Cheesecake, Sweet Potato, Wedding Cake
The look: 175 cupcakes on a custom stand; red cupcake liners provided by the bride; edible fraternity shields, candy canes and diamonds - all created by the baker; paperweight letters
The result: Mark was not only surprised, but he LOVED his cupcake tower. Some of his fraternity brothers were a bit jealous, but, Netra got the wow that she sought for Mark. It was his favorite part of the wedding.
The bridal cake:
The groom's cupcake tower was certainly meant to be the focal point; she wanted her groom to be the star. But, she also didn't want a boring cake. She wanted something small, but stunning enough to wow. She described her style and cake vision to the designers at The Cupcake Collection and they created an initial sketch. It wasn't her. It was grand and over the top, which they thought she'd like based on their conversation. It would certainly turn heads, but Netra didn't like it.
The Cupcake Collection asked Netra to relinquish control and trust them to do what they knew best, design cakes that their clients love. Once Netra did, The Cupcake Collection went back to the drawing board. Instead of depending solely on her descriptions, they went to her Pinterest boards where they saw her style visually: elegant, sophisticated, modern with jewel-toned, beading and chevron as design elements. They combined her words, her pins and her personality to sketch a cake that Netra loved!
~~~
The theme: Sophisticated Elegance
The concept: A memorable, custom cake stand that combined the bride's favorite elements along with a cake tier
The flavor: Wedding Cake
The result: Netra loved her wedding cake! The stand has become very popular with other Nashville brides at bridal shows.
Netra's wedding was photographed by Roland's Photography.
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Posted by Ashley King |
Filed under: Cakes & Desserts, Multicultural, African-American weddings, Real Nashville Brides,
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Friday, July 12, 2013
Congratulations to Terry and Kellee who were married last weekend! Their modern-vintage wedding was hosted at Mint Springs Farm. Before their big day, groom Terry took a few minutes to tell us about their engagement session with Roland's Photography, which took place at Shelby Pedestrian Bridge and Cumberland Park.
Tell me about your first date.
We could never decide on what actually counted as our first date, because every time we went to dinner or lunch she insisted it was not a date...but I kept asking and she kept going!
When did you know that Kellee was the one?
While on vacation in Bermuda, somewhere from the beginning of the trip 'til the end of the trip, we just knew!
How did you "pop the question"?
I sent her a text message with the picture of the ring!
What were the most special moments during your engagement period?
The moment she said yes! And of course when we got the approval of her 4 year old son!
~~~
How was your engagement session experience with Roland's Photography?
We had a great time at the session. Once we got started we just had fun with it and let Roland worked his magic! We really didn't know what to expect so we were willing to try whatever he came up with.
Who chose the attire?
Kellee orchestrated the look. She wanted us to have some modern casual with an old school feel and something a little more dressy with a vintage cool look!
What is your favorite engagement photo?
We love the picture of me kissing Kellee's neck while she looks toward the sky. We actually chose that photo for the back cover of our guest book.
(Roland adds: My favorite would be the one of Terry hanging off the train and reaching out to Kellee and them laughing. I always enjoy couples who are willing to just have fun during the session. Not taking it so serious!)
What did you most enjoy about the photo session?
We just enjoyed spending the day in the park together. It was almost like Roland wasn't even there at times!
~~~
Not only did the couple enjoy their engagement session, their photography added, "they have a natural chemistry. They just had fun and enjoyed being together. Engagement shoots usually take hours to come together where with these guys it only took us an hour. I didn't have to do a lot of posing; the shots just came together on there own! They made my job easy!"
And to the beautiful couple, here's to a relaxing honeymoon and a happy marriage.
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Posted by Ashley King |
Filed under: Engagements & Proposals, Multicultural, African-American weddings, Photography,
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
paperKuts Studio, a Nashville invitation boutique, has just added the fun and fabulous DynaSmiles stationery line. DynaSmiles specializes in stationery featuring colorful character illustrations for women of color.
Bridal Shower ~ Couple's Bridal Shower ~ Baby Shower ~ Couple's Baby Shower ~ Graduation ~ Birthday Parties
The DynaSmiles line has invitations for weddings, baby, birthdays, graduations and other social events. While the invitations can be ordered directly, I always recommend that you meet with a local stationer and order from a pro because you can see and feel the products and receive one-on-one help on wording, etiquette. Often, pros can even show you a proof so that you know exactly what you are getting and can correct any errors.
paperKuts is a home-based retail store located in the East Nashville area and offers a no pressure, helpful environment that ABG brides have appreciated. Contact paperKuts' owner Kim directly to schedule an appointment to see the DynaSmiles line or other chic invitation lines. Phone: 615.885.0231 or email.
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Posted by Ashley King |
Filed under: Bridal Showers, Luncheons, Parties, Invitations & Paper Goods, Multicultural, African-American weddings,
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Friday, June 7, 2013
In 2005 when I was engaged, my then fiance and I met with a wedding planning company and will never forget my experience. The couple was nice but completely ignorant when it came to photographing, or even communicating with African-Americans. They meant well but the comments that they made were so insulting that we were left speechless. (I really wish I remembered the name of that company!) Of course we didnt hire them but it was the beginning of my experiences trying to find African-American wedding pros when such mattered to me.
Don't get me wrong, in most cases, race doesn't matter but in some cases, it does. Take photography. Even today, I ask photographers - are you experienced with photographing the various hues of black people? I've had times when photographers knew their stuff and did an excellent job and others where the project went horribly wrong and I was left with useless photos.
That's why Roland's Photography has been so successful with African-American couples. He not only has the technical skill to photograph the complexion range of the black community but is also culturally aware. With this as his specialty, Roland's Photography is able to consistently deliver images of beautiful black couples.
Learn more about Roland's Photography via my in-depth interview below. All photos by Roland's Photography.
Tell me about your service offering.
Roland’s Photography offers a standard package for all couples which includes an engagement photo session, full wedding day coverage captured by Roland and assistant and a beautiful 38-Page 10x10 storybook album. Most photographer's don't include an engagement session but I am a huge fan of the engagement session, during this session I can get to know the couple a little better. This helps us have a more awesome wedding day together.
In addition, couples can add a bridal portrait session, in either “Rock the Dress” (before the wedding) or “Trash the Dress” (after the wedding).
How many years have you been in business?
Roland’s Photography has been in business for 13 years.
How did you get started in weddings?
My entrance into wedding photography came after my own wedding. I had been working as a photographer in other areas for a couple of years. For our special day, we chose our photographer based on budget. Our number one priority at the time was not necessarily to find the most stunning and creative photographer, but the one who could do the job for our price. We had a beautiful day and I have the woman of my dreams, so, hands down, that was the best part! I did, however, learn some valuable lessons that helped prepare me for where I am today. I discovered the importance of getting to know our clients and building a relationship.
Wedding photography is about so much more than just taking pictures. In order to provide stunning imagery, I need to know what is most important to my clients. I need to know what makes them laugh and what would make them cry! After making the decision to add wedding photography to my services, I explored and researched the industry and found a specific void in the area of photography for and by African-Americans. The lessons from my wedding combined with the findings in my research, inspired me to provide the skill, the product and the service of a professional wedding photography.
What do you like most about weddings?
The thing that I like most about weddings is the experience! Weddings mark a major transition in a couple’s life filled with once in a lifetime moments. As a wedding photographer, I get to be a part of that. I get to share in that joy, all the while helping them savor and treasure those memories for the rest of their lives. Dad may not have cried throughout most of his life, but on that wedding day, as he leads his baby girl down the aisle, he often has a hard time keeping the tears inside. Often, the groom has promised me that he will not cry, but, when he sees his beautiful bride, his breath is taken away…and so is his composure. The laughter & joy from the bride and groom, the smiles of a proud parent and grandparent, the excitement of their closest friends…I get to capture those precious moments!
What’s your favorite pic/wedding video and why?
One of my favorite images is of a couple during their engagement session. I had already been photographing them for a while. They were such a fun and lovable couple and it was easy to get carried away with shooting more and more images. The session was coming to a close, and a serendipitous moment took place. As they embraced, the setting sun glowed between them and “snap” I caught it. It was a moment that was not planned…It just happened, and it was beautiful.
What is your service philosophy?
My service philosophy is to please the client. I endeavor to provide quality service from the very beginning. If, for any reason, a client is not satisfied with their images, then I am not satisfied. I want to make that bride (and the family) smile. Brides trust me for a very important day in their lives and I want to provide the best service possible. My service philosophy is to make the client feel relaxed and comfortable. The more comfortable they are while taking photos, the easier it is for them to forget about the camera and just enjoy their moments together. As a result, the atmosphere is ideal for awesome images. The best photos are those that come naturally.
What are your strengths compared others in your category?
One of my strengths is my experience and ability to adapt. Having been in the wedding industry for this long, I am aware of many of the possible emergencies that arise on a wedding day and I make preparations for those. For any new emergencies, I am able to apply my previous knowledge and photography skills to the situation at hand and switch gears when necessary so that the images arent impacted, even if their schedule changes or the weather doesn’t cooperate.
Another strength is my observation. I have a laid back personality and I tend to spend more time observing what is going on around me. That allows me to capture moments that someone else might not notice.
Describe the bride/couple that is most attracted to your service/company?
The bride that is most attracted to my company is the one who desires to try something new. Even if she says that she doesn’t like taking pictures, she is ready to be stretched a little out of her comfort zone in order to see herself in a whole new light. My brides are often surprised and excited once they see how good they can look in pictures. My grooms are also taken off guard because they are able to see that they, too, can have images that accurately reflect their personality, their manhood and their love for their bride.
It is also my ability to capture the various hues of the African-American woman with beauty and authenticity. Many black brides contact me because they see how I can, not only, capture, but also celebrate their beauty and that excites them. For example, a wedding planning company from Chattanooga called me to consult with their bride that lives in Maryland. She had seen many bridal images, but she desired a photographer that would appreciate her own shade and beauty. She chose me out of all the planner’s recommendations and I was honored!
What attracts brides to your service/company?What would previous couples say was the main reason they selected your company?
Previous clients have said that we made them feel relaxed. They recognized that we cared more about them as a individuals than about how much money they were planning to spend. We took the time to ask and learn about their relationship and their story. In addition, our clients have appreciated that we shoot some traditional imagery with a creative twist, yet we are also willing to take photographs to new levels.
What is the most “now” innovative new product, service, style or other aspect of your industry that brides and grooms might appreciate?
One-on-one personalized service, that caters to the whole person…
It is not just about images anymore. Wedding photography will always be about creating an atmosphere for stunning photography, but even more so, it is also about pouring into and encouraging the couple. I care about the individual persons, so I use things like questionnaires to help me get to know them. I want to find out how to serve them through images, but I also enjoy serving them with a special something, just for them…reminding them that, once this day is over, you have the gift of marriage. That is a lifetime celebration.
How should brides and grooms contact to learn about your wedding services?
Main contact: Emanuel O. Roland, II, owner
Visit our website: weddingsbyroland.com
Call us: 615.242.7907
Email us: [email protected]
Tweet us: @RolandsPhotos
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Posted by Ashley King |
Filed under: Helpful Vendor Interviews!, Multicultural, African-American weddings, Photography,
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