Getting in Shape for your Wedding Gown

So you found the perfect wedding dress, but the only problem is that your stomach, thighs, or love handles are bulging out.  So it’s that time again, diet time!  There are some general guidelines to follow when anyone is trying to lose weight, no matter what size or shape they are.  However, you should also lose weight and work out according to your body shape.  Should you do cardio?  Stomach crunches?  Diet?  To find out, first identify your body shape, then follow the general guidelines below, and finally scroll down to find the right work-out for your body shape.

The Wrong Ways to Lose Weight

1. Crash Dieting – Crash dieting is meant to achieve rapid weight-loss and is border-line starving yourself.  This leads to nutritional deprivation and no calorie intake.  When you crash diet, your body lose carbohydrates and and water weight, while your fat is still hanging around.  This, with the combination of reduced calorie intake, leads your body to feel starved and reduce it’s metabolic rate.  Your body does this as a coping mechanism to make it harder to burn each calorie so that your energy can be conserved.  This slow-down of calorie usage causes a problem for when you slip back into your normal eating routine because your body will just start storing more food in your fat cells.
2. Overeating – Overeating is to continue to finish your meal when your stomach is saying that it’s already full.  Don’t stuff your stomach.  This advice is a little obvious, but you may be overeating without even knowing it.  Overeating can cause nausea and even vomiting, which can lead to digestive problems.
3. Rejecting Foods – “I’m not eating any desserts”, “I quit cheese”, “Absolutely no ice cream in my diet”.  Committing yourself to NEVER eating something  again is psychologically damaging to our diet. You are making that rejected food like forbidden fruit and your mind will be thinking about indulging in its fatty, sugary goodness over and over again.  Remember that your body needs fats and sugars to function, so just eat those rejected foods in moderation instead of never.  Maybe you can have one cookie after a week after you eat your broccoli.  This can also work as motivation to stay healthy until the end of the week when you can bite into that chocolate goodness.

 The Right Ways to Lose Weight

1. Gradually Dieting – Taking time to ease into your diet helps your body adjust to changes.  It’s far easier to take several small steps than one large step.  This will help you stick to your diet for the long run because you are encouraging behavioral changes in your diet and appetite.  Your body will be happier to stick to your diet for months and years instead of just weeks.
2. Eating Slowly – When you’re eating, it takes time for nutrients to enter your blood.  Then the blood has to circulate into your nerve centers where your appetite is regulated.  Eating slowly can help prevent overeating because it will give your metabolism, blood stream, and brain time to realize that your body has had enough to eat.
3. Substituting Foods – Substituting your beloved ice cream and snacks for healthier foods can help reduce cravings.  Think about replacing your favorite chips and cookies with the fat-free or reduced fat versions.  Some of them don’t taste as good as the original, but search around through different brands and flavors to find something that satisfies your taste buds and cravings.  Replace soda with fresh fruit juice or flavored water and whole milk with soy milk.

The Right Work-Out for Your Body Shape

• Bell-Shaped Figure – Exercise to balance out the bottom and top of your body.  To slim down your lower body, try different aerobic exercises like jogging, elliptical training, jumping rope, and leg lifts.  To tone your upper body, try resistance exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, and chest presses.
• Curvy Figure – Your figure is sexy, so regulate your weight and stay in shape by doing aerobic and resistance exercises.  The best things for you are jumping jacks, swimming, shoulder presses, squats, stationary biking, and bicep curls.
• Rectangular Figure – You already have a balanced body, so keep your nutrition up and regulate your weight through effective dieting and aerobic exercises.  Many rectangular figures like to build up their muscles to help accentuate their small curves.  If you decide you like this idea, keep in mind to do any type of resistance training for your upper and lower body.  Don’t lose your natural balance.
• Athletic Figure – Exercise to lose weight, mainly on your upper body.  Try incline walking, stair climbing, and running with low resistance.  Perform exercises with many repetitions, this will help you get a tone look and avoid appearing too muscular

http://www.planningelegance.com/2008/09/getting-in-shape-for-your-wedding-dress/

Where oh where is my wedding decor?

Weddings are all about decor right?  Well not really, but the decor was one of my priorities when I planned my wedding. Even today I am always looking for new things to add to my current collection.  Sometimes all the details can get overwhelming and you may get so caught up in the table centerpieces that you forget there are other areas guests will see as well.   Here is a quick checklist of other places to consider before you go shopping.

• Rehearsal dinner centerpieces
• Bridal bouquet
• Toss bouquet
• Boutonnieres
• Corsages
• Grandmother flowers
• Flower girl bouquet or basket
• Altar arrangements
• Wedding arch or canopy
• Ceremony entryway arrangements
• Pew/chair decorations
• Aisle runner/flowers
• Custom linens
• Head table arrangement
• Cake topper and cake table décor
• Plants or other fillers
• Entry area arrangements

Call or come in for a Complimentary Design Consultation to see how your ideas can truly become a wedding that combines value with style!  (716) 592-2131.

Something old, new borrowed and blue

You’ve witnessed countless brides interpret these words in the same old conventional fashion (the handkerchief is old, the dress is new, the earrings are borrowed and  the garter is blue). But this is your wedding, and you’ve never been one to follow the crowd. Take heart. Here are some ideas to make your wedding unique and memorable.

Something Old

If you are pressed for time, you can always throw on a pair of old stockings to take care of this part of the rhyme… but you don’t want to do that. You may be lucky enough to wear your mother’s wedding gown, but if not, the following suggestions are as apropos as they are old.

• A vintage engagement ring or wedding band
• The veil your grandmother wore in her wedding
• Antique or heirloom earrings or bracelet
• A tiny vintage purse
• Vintage buttons on your wedding dress
• Your favorite lipstick
• Your signature perfume
• Antique lace tied around your bouquet

Something New

This is where it can get really fun; after all, who could deny you a perfectly sensible excuse to go shopping? Think of the possibilities…

• Your wedding gown
• A veil that makes the dress
• Luxurious lingerie
• A brand new lipstick or eyeshadow
• Jewelry: a sparkling bracelet, earrings or a classic pearl necklace (if not a gift from your groom, then one to yourself — you deserve it)
• The perfect shoes
• Elegant silk gloves
• A glittering tiara (what better time to be princess for a day)
• A silk or cashmere shawl (for a fall or winter wedding)

Just because it’s new doesn’t mean you have to purchase it.

• A brand new penny for your shoe
• Freshly picked garden flowers for your bouquet

Something Borrowed

Your friends and family will be thrilled to help you with this item; however, it may be a bit tricky deciding what to borrow from whom. One of the most traditional choices is also one of the loveliest — borrowing a gown from your mother or grandmother. If that is not an option, read on.

• Mom’s pearl necklace
• The earrings your grandmother wore at her wedding
• The adorable little bag your best friend carried at hers
• Your aunt’s veil or headpiece
• Your sister’s wedding shoes
• Your parents’ (or a friend’s) home for the wedding or reception
• An elegant wrap from your future mother-in-law
• Your grandfather’s Bible or book of poetry
• Money from your parents or his (for the wedding or honeymoon)

Something Blue

We aren’t sure who launched the blue garter craze, but we do know it’s still alive in the 21st century. While a lacy blue garter is a viable option, the following are a few fresh alternatives.

• Blue flowers in your bouquet, such as hydrangeas
• Lingerie with touches of blue
• Ice blue toenail polish
• A dramatic blue-red lipstick
• Tiny blue details, such as flowers, scattered on a long veil
• A delicate pale blue barrette
• A beautiful blue Austrian crystal
• A blues band at your reception
• A silk, midnight blue wedding gown (who says it has to be white?)

http://weddings.weddingchannel.com/wedding-planning-ideas/wedding-fashion/articles/finding-something-old-new-borrowed-and-blue.aspx?MsdVisit=1

What to ask your Wedding Photographer

Wedding photography is one of the most important aspects of your wedding day.  Other than the officant without whom you will not legally be married. If the photos don’t turn out you can never get that moment back.

There are questions you should ask and things to consider before you select your photographer.  Not being an expert on how to do photography, I went right to the source.  A professional wedding photographer.

Your Vermont Destination Wedding Photographer

http://www.kingdomweddingphotography.com/

Monday, January 9, 2012

The good, the bad and the ugly – what to ask (and what not to ask) a wedding photographer

Posted in wedding tips

Let’s face it: most of us have never planned a wedding before. Much less hired a wedding photographer. I took a look at some of the lists of questions that wedding magazines and wedding blogs suggest you ask your future wedding photographer. Some questions are really, really great and important and others … well, not so much.

Some really awesome questions that you want to ask your wedding photographer include:

May I see one or two entire weddings that you’ve photographed? If the answer to this question is anything but an emphatic OF COURSE, you want to run, not walk, the other way. It’s easy to just pick a few killer images from each wedding and put those together on a website. Look at entire weddings to get a feel for the work of the wedding photographer you’re looking to work with. Are the photos consistent? Also – subscribe to the photographer’s blog and join them of Facebook – most of us blog all their weddings throughout the year so it’s a great way of seeing if your wedding photographer is putting out consistently good quality. Also, check if your wedding photographer has been featured by any of the leading wedding blogs such as Style Me Pretty.

Can you photograph our ceremony without flash? Sure can. Which is why Nikon cameras and their high ISO capabilities rule. Depending on the ambient light of your church, it might be advisable to use a bit of flash to balance the light but if your minister is dead set against it, I can absolutely photograph your wedding ceremony without flash. It’s all about knowing your equipment knowing when and how to properly use flash. It also greatly depends on the result you want to accomplish. Some portraits can be kicked up using a bit of fill flash and others simply work better without flash … like the portrait you see below.

Do you carry liability/error & omissions insurance? Another great question to ask your wedding photographer. Proof of insurance is required by some venues and is generally a good idea to have. There’s no reason for a legitimate wedding photographer to NOT have insurance.

Do I need a wedding photography contract? Yes! You absolutely want a contract that spells out all the unsexy stuff. Ever notice how most of the cases on Judge Judy involve “but he promised”? Nothing beats having an agreement in writing. That way, you know exactly what to expect from your wedding photographer.

When can I expect to see my wedding photos? This question should be covered in your contract as well. Some vt wedding photographers take a couple of weeks and some wedding photographers in Vermont take a couple of months to process your digital wedding photos. I will post your wedding sneak peek to the blog within 3 days of your wedding. I then take another three weeks to polish those babies to perfection before posting them to your online wedding gallery and burning them to DVD for you.

Do I get my wedding photos as high-resolution files? Is there an additional cost, and may I make prints from those files? Another good question that should be part of any wedding photography contract. My contract stipulates that you will receive your high-resolution wedding photos on DVD along with a print release for private use so you can make prints from those files.

What is your backup plan should you become ill? This question should most definitely be covered by any wedding photography contract. Mine states that I will do anything within my power to find a replacement wedding photographer should I suddenly become too sick to photograph your wedding. That being said, I’ve photographed weddings with broken ribs, a severed finger and various other issues. So trust me, I’ll give it my all to be there. Otherwise, I’d send a trusted replacement photographer or issue of full refund in case the trusted wedding photographers were already booked. It hasn’t happened so far but nothing beats having a solid Plan B. Or C. Do you have back up equipment? Yes, yes, and yes! Always. Which is why I never bring any less than 3 cameras, multiple lenses, flashes, memory cards, batteries … you name it. This guy Murphy is unpredictable so I like being prepared.

Have you photographed at my venue before? There are quite a few wedding venues where I’m a “return visitor” and other wedding venues that I’ve never been to.

To me, it doesn’t really matter. I’m always excited to return to a wedding venue where I’ve photographed a wedding before. It’s cool because I get to see how different couples make their weddings at the same venue look completely different. I also love finding different angles, new approaches and trying different things … keeps things new and exciting.

I’m also equally excited to photograph a wedding at a new wedding venue. Doing a quick walk through, coming up with new ideas on where to take the best photos, seeing where the light is coming from and how to incorporate it, seeing things for the first time … that’s what makes it fun for me.

Do I need to provide you with a meal? Ok, maybe not a great question but an important one. Yes, if I’m contracted for more than 4 hours, I’ll need to eat.

Now that we covered the great “what to ask your wedding photographer” questions, here are some not so great ones.

How many images do you shoot at a typical wedding? I get this asked quite a lot. My answer is always the same “It depends on your wedding.” And I always feel it sounds evasive. Like I don’t want to commit to a certain amount of photos. Not the case though.

Some of my couples put a lot of emphasis on decorations. Some couples have larger families than others and/or want more formal wedding portraits than others. Some wedding receptions are really busy and grooving and others are more relaxed. My goal is to document your wedding, to tell the story of your wedding day and to take as many or as few photos as it takes to accomplish that goal.

How many images do you typically deliver to your clients? Some wedding photographers take thousands of passable photos and deliver most of them. Some take fewer but AMAZING wedding photos and deliver those to their wedding couples.

As my amazing husband, Damian, puts it “Like asking your carpenter how many nails s/he is going to use building your house.”

Here’s the thing: we take a lot more photos during a wedding than we actually need. I personally like to play around with different ways of photographing the dress or other details. I deliver the best photo of the group – the one that you would expect to see on a magazine cover. Not the 9 other ones leading up to that one photo. In short: I deliver as many images as it takes to tell the story of your wedding day. No fluff, no fillers, just great wedding photos.

What is your favorite part of a wedding day to photograph? I’m not exactly sure what insight people hope to gain by asking this question but here are my favorite parts of the wedding day: you guys walking back down the aisle after the I do’s. The nervous energy right before you leave for the ceremony. Your dad crying. Tons of moments like this one just before the first kiss:

What has influenced your photography style the most, and why? In theory, this is a good question to ask your wedding photographer … if you know a wee bit about photography. Otherwise, my answer will do nothing but solicit a polite “ah, interesting.” I personally love Bert Stern’s work and when my parents got me “Marilyn’s Last Sitting” a couple of years back, I was completely hooked. Another recent influence is Jose Villa. He is an amazing wedding photographer. Amazing. Like making me want to get married all over again just so he can photograph our wedding amazing.

Do you do pro-bono and charity work? What causes are important to you? Unless you’re prepared to hear a passionate speech on spaying and neutering and why I think Michael Vick (as a human) is a complete and utter douche, probably not a can of worms you want to open. Seriously, a wedding photographer doing or not doing charity work says very little about their skills as a wedding photographer. Also, depending on the causes that are really close to people’s hearts, this can be an awkward conversation stopper.

Can you tell me about a time you experienced a difficult situation at a wedding and how you handled it? Well, there was the time when the bride fell at a venue and poured red wine all over herself prior to portraits. There was the wedding where the rain started as the bride started walking down the aisle (outdoor ceremony), the time the groomsman was flashing gang signs during formals, the time a guest ran into grandma and we performed first aid while waiting for the ambulance, the time … well, you get the idea. Each and every single wedding has at least one “that didn’t go as planned” moment.

In case of the dress, it involved cleaning the dress, calming down the bride, asking the groom if he’d be willing to pour red wine all over himself. In case of the rainstorm, protecting my cameras from the rain while getting sopping wet myself, running backwards towards the venue when the minister decided to cut straight to the kiss and sent everybody back inside so I wouldn’t miss the somewhat chaotic recessional. Gangsta-dude – calmly asking bride & groom if they mind him flashing gang signs.

In short: always remaining calm under pressure and being able to think on your feet. I guess my reason for not liking this question is that it’s so darn stilted. So very much like a job interview. Very much like a wedding, make the interviewing process your own and ask questions that really interest you – like worst thing that ever happened at a wedding or whatever else you want to know.

May I have the names of two vendors you could speak with as references, as well as a former client or two? Theoretically a good thing to ask. But wedding vendors are not clients. They only see other vendors for a certain period of time on the wedding day and can only comment on that. And they hardly ever get to see an entire wedding gallery as client’s galleries are private. However, I’d be more than happy to put you in touch with some of Vermont’s most awesome wedding vendors that I’ve worked with.

As for client references, you can check out my reviews here. Or join me on Facebook where you can see previous clients rave about their wedding photos. Or you can always stop by and take a look at the lovely thank-you notes my couples sent me throughout the years.

Why are you a wedding photographer? Well, I fully blame Jon Bon Jovi for becoming a wedding photographer – you can read all about it here. Actually, this question is not a bad as I thought it was. Why I still am a wedding photographer? Because I’m really good at it and because I still have a blast doing it. I’m a firm believer in only doing what you enjoy doing. Not sure if it helps you narrow down the field but there you have it.

Why should I hire YOU? You want to hire a wedding photographer because you LOVE their work, their style as well as their personality. Most importantly, you hire them because you trust their ability to document your wedding day.

If you have any other wedding photography questions that you want me to answer, just comment below.

Happy wedding planning!

Kat Kingdom Wedding Photography by Kat – your Vermont wedding photographer

http://kingdomweddingphotography.com/blog/?p=990

12 Days of Engagement Season Celebration

I really love Christmas and all the sales leading up to it.  But, I am in the bridal business.  Christmas sales for the most part do not benefit the brides to be, for wedding things that is.  So I decided to create my own celebration.  My version of the 12 Days of Christmas.   The 12 Days of Engagement Season Celebration!

January 12-24th, 2012

• Door Prizes

• Specials on Planning Packages

• In store specials on Gowns and Accessories

• Refreshments

DIY Burlap Flower Bouquet

I truly do love my job.  Surrounding myself with beautiful gowns, searching for wedding ideas, helping brides plan the day of their dreams, how could it get better?  Finding a really cool idea to share is how.

http://www.labellebride.com/2011/03/04/diy-burlap-flower-rad-and-rustic/

 

Wedding Planning Countdown

All the details of planning a wedding can be overwhelming if you are looking at doing everything at once.  Getting organized and breaking down the tasks into manageable chunks can help.

9-12 months before

• Announce your engagement
• Have the families meet/get together
• Figure out your budget and who will be paying
• Interview wedding coordinator
• Pick your ceremony site and reserve the date
• Visit reception sites and reserve
• Start putting together your guest list
• Shop for your wedding gown

6-9 months before

• Choose your bridal party
• Choose gifts for your gift registry
• Shop for your bridal party dresses
• Choose and hire your florist
• Choose and hire your photographer
• Choose and hire the DJ/band
• Start planning your honeymoon
• Mail your save the dates

4-6 months before

• Choose your wedding cake
• Pick your invitations and order
• Choose and hire your transportation
• Have a hair and make-up trial and book the date
• Arrange for room blocks for your out of town guests
• Plan the rehearsal dinner

2-4 months before

• Call your county to find out the marriage license requirements
• Choose and order the tuxedos
• Have a tasting with venue or caterer to finalize menu
• Select your play and do not play lists for the DJ
• Order your wedding cake
• Purchase any thank you gifts for bridal parties or shower hosts
• Choose favors and welcome baskets
• Shop for your wedding bands

4-8 weeks before

• Mail invitations 6 to 8 weeks before the wedding date
• Maintain a record of RSVP’s, gifts and send out thank you notes
• Confirm ceremony details

2-4 weeks before

• Make your seating chart for the reception
• Confirm the details with your vendors
• Have a final dress fitting

1 week before

• Put in labeled envelopes any fees due on the wedding day
• Give your venue/caterer the final guest count
• Appoint someone to transport gifts and cake cutter ect. after the reception

Pack for your honeymoon