From the Intern Corner//Tips on Wedding Planning From Yours Truly

-A little love from Hannah; she's more than just a pretty pretty face.-

Hannah was our photography intern last fall and came back to the Toronto area again this summer and we're enjoying some more of her mad talents.

Good evening masses and happy Tuesday.

Today, I thought it would be fun to give you all a little taste of my experiences with photographing weddings and how it's affected the way I'm planning my own. I've come up with a list of tips that you can take or leave and I hope it helps you make your own wedding to be as smooth and stress free as possible. My dream is for every bride to be blissfully happy on their day without having to worry, be stressed, or rushed. 

So a little about me: I got engaged back in June of this year to a wonderful guy named Ben. We've been together a long time and decided we needed a short engagement so our date is October 11th (which is like 33 days away...what?!). Our wedding is in Washington State where we're from but I've been interning here in Brantford for the majority of our engagement and wedding planning. Crazy, I know but it's working out and it's been pretty helpful to work with Jono and Laynie shooting weddings. I've been getting all kinds of different ideas and perspectives from various weddings. 

Here's a collection of my advice to make a wedding go as smoothly as possible: 

1. I always recommend having a first look and to schedule all photos do be done before the ceremony. It's so worth it to get them done and out of the way so you can go straight to enjoying being Mr. & Mrs. and celebrating with your guests.
Pros:
-Have an intimate, private moment with your love.
-No feeling rushed after the ceremony to finish with photos and get to the reception as quickly as possible. You will want to cherish your photos forever, best not to rush through them.
-For some reason, family photos are easier before hand when there's a set time and place for everyone to be instead of after the ceremony where people end up getting lost and time is wasted trying to find them. 
**Random suggestion: Schedule 30 min for the first look, 30 min for the wedding party, and a good hour for the family photos if possible. 

2. Wedding Coordinators are your friends.
If you can swing it, I highly recommend this. It's so worth the money. Research well and find someone who fits your needs. Everything will be so much smoother and you will have a lot less to worry about.  

3. Focus on what's important to you. 
Many people will suggest things to you and recommend different ideas. There is no right or wrong way to do a wedding. It's all about your own personal tastes and what embodies you and your fiancé the best. Take all the advice in, then sift through and decide what YOU want. It's all about you anyways. :)

4. Be open to things going wrong.
I've never been to a wedding where nothing went wrong. The simple solution is not to worry about things that haven't happened yet and when it does happen to let it go. The only thing that matters is that you and your love are together.

5. Be happy.
I think the number one key to a stress free wedding is choosing not to let things stress you out. Make sure you get your relaxation time and rest in the midst of all the craziness. Get away with your fiancé and do something fun that doesn't have anything to do with wedding stuff. The goal is to enjoy your wedding day because in the blink of an eye it will all be over and you want to soak in every last minute!  
 

That's what I have for you for now and I'll have to let you all know how my wedding ends up going and if this advice is actually worth it haha! 

Have a good rest of your week!

Hannah

We've loved having Hannah here at Jono & Laynie Co. She's recently shot a wedding with me at Riverbend in Niagara-on-the-Lake and another at the Old Mill in Ancaster. She's a talented photographer, great friend and rockstar intern. 

From the Corners of the World//Mandi

Traditions Inspired by Jono & Laynie’s Worldly Travels

French wedding spread. Photo cred here.

Good day lovely blog followers, it’s Mandi here. We all know that here in North

America we have some pretty interesting wedding traditions, you know, something

borrowed, something blue ... the chicken dance. I thought it would be interesting

to go over some wedding traditions of some of the countries that Jono & Laynie

have visited themselves, they are a very worldly couple, if you didn’t know already.

Maybe you’d like to incorporate them into your wedding. So without further ado:

South Africa

South Africans practice an interesting custom, which is called “The Four Elements”.

Lemon, vinegar, pepper and honey are included as part of a floral center piece

where the guests are each given a spoon and invited to taste these four elements

with the bride and groom. They represent the promise to love for better for worse,

richer and poorer, in sickness and in health.

Thailand

In Thailand, the groom performs a “door ceremony” where he would offer up a

gift in order to go through the gates to the bride’s house. With each gate he passes

through and the closer he gets to the house, the gift gets larger. This was a way to

prove that he had enough wealth to take care of the bride. Nowadays girls, usually

the sisters of the bride, holding a chain, are replacing the doors or gates. For each

girl the groom approaches, she will ask if he is able to take care of the bride and the

groom presents the girl with an envelope of cash until he reaches the house of the

bride.

Czech Republic

Inviting kolache is a small bun that is traditionally baked a few weeks before the

wedding and given to friends, relatives and neighbours as an invitation to the

wedding reception. It is customary for the bun to have at least three different

fillings to showcase the culinary skills of the housewife. Non-traditionally, cookies

or cupcakes have been said to be used as an invitation.

Israel

Jewish weddings have what is called “The Yichud” which is a brief seclusion for the

bride and the groom where they can spend some time alone together. The bride and

groom can choose to break their fast by eating chicken soup or one of their favourite

foods. If they have not fasted, it is just alone time spent together to enjoy a calm

moment between the ceremony and reception. Along with the benefits of having

this alone time together, it also means there is no reception line.

South Korea

In South Korea, it is tradition for the guests to bring money instead of gifts. The

amount given depends on the relationship to the bride and groom or the parents.

Usually between 30,000 – 50,000 won is expected if the bride and groom or their

parents are acquaintances. The bills should be brand new straight from the bank

and presented in either a special wedding envelope or a pristine cash envelope.

Germany

In Germany it is not legal to be married solely in a Church, which is why the wedding

usually takes place over a three-day period. The first day is getting married at city

hall by the justice of the peace, the second day is the church ceremony and the third

day is the reception. The days can be spread out over a period of time or they can

be consecutive. During the reception it is customary for the best man to kidnap the

bride and take her to a pub or bar while the husband searches for them. Once he

has found them, it is up to him to pay for the drinks.

France

In France, the “croquembouche” is a wedding cake that is made of cream filled

pastries and piled high into a pyramid on the centre table. If the couple is able to

share a kiss over top of the croquembouche without ruining it, it is said they will

share a lifetime of prosperity and luck. Many times this kiss is met with a lot of fan

fare, music and sparklers.

So there you have it, a few new customs inspired by Jono & Laynie’s worldly travels.

There are a few great traditions listed here that could be well worth initiating into

your own wedding. I mean, who wouldn’t want a few minutes alone amongst all the

chaos, especially if that means no reception line? Do you know of any interesting

traditions or customs from other parts of the world that could be added to this list?