wedding wednesday

i love to plan parties. i always have in the back of my mind a list of ideas for party planning and there is a box in my storage room closet that is dedicated to collecting various party items such as candles, candle holders, napkins, table decor and other bits that i like to have on hand in order to dress a table beautifully or create a nice atmosphere in my living room when i have guests over. i also jump at opportunities to assist others with their party and event planning. i would love to help someone plan a wedding - this is the ultimate party!! actually, my first college experience was in floral design. my plan was to dabble or work in every area of business that related to the weddings and then start my own wedding and event planning business!  so funny, last year when i decided to put law school on hold and pursue more creative interests one of the things i considered doing was event planning. i thought about all the weddings i attended when i was a little girl, and the more recent weddings i have attended - how styles have changed and the diy trend has taken weddings to whole new levels of awesome and amazing, or as my friend lindsay would say "amazome."

fortunately, my first creative love won out and party planning remains a personal endeavor, but in the process i have discovered that i can (sort of) have both worlds! as i continue to develop as a photographer, and a wedding photographer in particular, one of the things i am aware of is the importance to being up-to-date with trends and being informed about what people want for weddings and their photography, which means i get to read about wedding planning ideas all the time and in my head plan weddings!! i love that idea, but i would do it this way. if i was to plan this theme typed wedding i would do this and this and this.  i also realize the importance of knowing who in new brunswick are working in the wedding industry and provide to vendor service, where to buy great bridal wear, and what wedding blogs brides and grooms are sure to take tips and ideas from.

i want to be more than a wedding photographer. i want to be a resource for my brides and grooms so that i can provide them with recommendations to wedding vendors in the their area or share tips on planning a wedding as i come across them. when i was in chapters last month i even contemplated buying a few of the more popular "wedding planner" guides they had advertised. i may still invest in a few of these planners... i found them so helpful even from a photographer's prospective to see what brides and grooms are being advised as they plan their wedding.  my favorite resource so far that i picked up as soon as it hit the shelves was the 2011 issue of "real simple weddings."

i love, love, LOVE "real simple" magazines - the aesethic of the whole magazine is beautiful and the content is always perfection. more over real simple has an awesome blog peppered with tips for planning you own beautiful wedding!

over the next few weeks i am going to be blogging about wedding tips i pull from real simple's wedding issue and some of my other favorite resources!! i am so inspired - both as a girl who loves parties and as a wedding and portrait photographer - by all the resources available out there and i want to share what i learn about with you so that you too can be inspired as you plan your own wedding and start thinking about what kind of photography you want, especially since your photos will be tangible memories of one of the loveliest days you will ever experience!

in the meantime, check out a few of my favorite wedding blogs!! these ones i just love, love, love!

green wedding shoes
real maine weddings
100 layer cake
style me pretty

hope you're having a good day!

love & sunshine,
shannon-may