Wedding Planning

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

Flower Man: A Modern Twist on the Flower Girl

Weddings that showcase a couples’ style are always the best. The non-traditional nods to the bride or groom’s personality are what guests remember and talk about. When couples do “them” the event becomes more intimate and personal. Recently, a couple decided to have a flower man… and it was perfect!

How does a flower man happen? The back story is that the bride and her cousin were flower girl and ring bearer together as children. She wanted to include him in her wedding, and he really wanted to re-create their childhood memory. So, instead of cute kids tossing flowers ahead of the bride, in this wedding a 28 year old flower man did the honor.

Guests were amused, and what bride could be stressed or worried after laughing at an adult flower man using the same flower basket she used as a flower girl years ago?! Hats off to this creative spin on the flower girl. We like it almost as much as grandma flower girls! To any bride reading this, don’t worry so much about what others will think. Plan the wedding that matches your relationship… you’ll thank yourself later!

Original Story: Huffington Post
Photo Credit: Erin Moore Photography

Natalie Seng | Wedding Pro Wednesday

This Wedding Pro Wednesday, I’m excited to introduce you to Natalie Seng, the principle designer and owner of Designed Perfectly Events. Her company offers full and partial event planning, styling, and design as well as Wedding Day Management. With over 12 years of hands-on experience, they specialize in classic weddings with bold personalities for Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and beyond. (Pssst…their passports are ready!)

If you are considering engaging a professional planner for your wedding, or are curious about the profession, don’t miss Natalie’s answers to my questions below!

Have you always been a wedding professional? If not, what was your previous career?
No, my first job was actually in Television. I was a Floor Director and Associate Producer at a local news station. I got married while working there and I absolutely loved everything about planning my wedding. Like so many brides, felt a void when the wedding and planning was over. So I contacted local planners for internship or employment opportunities but got nowhere.

I found an ad for field staff for a local catering company and called to see if I would be able to intern in the sales department instead. I was excited when they said yes. My internship didn’t last very long when I was offered a full time position as an Event Designer. I excelled at that position for many, many years and I absolutely loved the logistical and event design aspect of it. For the brides that did not hire a planner or coordinator I basically became theirs when I felt someone was needed to take the reins.

What inspired you to create your company?
I loved the involvement and the relationship I was able to form with my clients while working in catering. However, the more involved I got the more I realized that this was something I was even more passionate about and after 10 years I decided to branch out on my own. Running my own company allows me to be very hands on with my client and provide the best service possible. I started Designed Perfectly Events in the Summer of 2014.

What was your biggest obstacle and failure in going from idea to business?
I had been “dreaming” about becoming my own boss for a long time but it was a scary decision to go from a cushy job to a solo entrepreneur. However, in order to succeed in life, you have to take risks. Starting my own company was definitely the right move for me and I am enjoying every second of it.

What do you love most about your job?
My clients! Every couple and every wedding is so very different. It’s exciting to look forward to each and every celebration and to work towards translating their thoughts and ideas into something tangible that adds their personality into the mix. This industry is ever changing and the passion really keeps on building by trying to exceed your client’s expectations on their big day. Revealing the reception space to my clients is actually my favorite moment at each of our weddings. This is where they can really see their vision come to life. It’s a very emotional moment.

What is your best advice for brides related to your area of expertise?
I believe that every couple should treat themselves to have at least a “month of coordinator” to assist with the last minute details and to pull the logistics together. Most of my clients will tell me afterwards that we were one of the best investment they made for their wedding. But aside from that, I tell my clients to enjoy the journey. Wedding planning can be very stressful at times and it’s important to remember why you are planning this grand event in the first place. We encourage our couples to plan date nights where wedding plans are off topic and just enjoy each other’s company.

Natalie Seng’s best advice for newlyweds

Communicate often. Be truthful. Learn to compromise and love deeply.

Wedding Pro Wednesday: Kimberly Dean

Today I am excited to introduce you to Kimberly Dean, the founder of Kimberly Dean Photos and publisher of Valley Bride Wedding Guide. Her company specializes in understanding a client’s uniqueness so they can capture that essence in photos!

I met her at a sorority sister’s wedding and then noticed that my Facebook feed was continuously flooded with gorgeous images from her engagement, wedding, equestrian, and baby photo shoots. I am a photography snob, so if I like it, 99.9% of the population will as well! I also had the opportunity to experience Kimberly as a photographer at one of my best friend’s weddings. There were none of the fussy, stiff photo set-ups. Instead there were playful shots that showed the bride’s true colors and the entire feel of her big day.

If you are curious about professional photography for your wedding, or photography as a possible career, Kimberly’s story and advice are ideal for you. Read her candid answers to my questions below!

Have you always been a wedding professional? If not, what was your previous career?
No, I spend ten years working in online publishing for Agora Inc. as a marketing strategist, copywriter, and advertising buyer.

What inspired you to create your company?
As a wedding photographer, I meet so many couples who are very inspiring and hold such gorgeous weddings. My natural tendency to learn about people and my journalistic mindset sparked the idea to begin a wedding publication. I live in an area, just next to the Greenspring Valley, full of horse country and oodles of wedding venues. The North County, which touches the valley, also holds so many talented wedding professionals: from florists and caterers… to photographers and dress shops. Creating a geographically niche publication for the area just made sense. Start small, start local, and see where it leads.

What was your biggest obstacle and failure in going from idea to business?
Getting over my own self doubts and fear of failure were hands down the greatest obstacles. Once I began taking one step forward, however, the other steps luckily came easier and easier. Meeting some fellow publishers randomly at a coffee shop one day, who coincidentally were also starting a new home owner’s magazine in the same location, felt like a sign I was headed in the right direction. Having them to partner with for printing our magazines together also kept me on target with my deadlines. Sometimes you just meet the right people at the right time. This serendipitous chance meeting really helped me believe I was where I was supposed to be.

What do you love most about your job?
Both wedding photography and publishing entail telling stories. Whether it’s through photographic documentation or written words, storytelling and making memories are the common denominator for the two. I love the process of creating and sharing the final outcome. I’m also a hopeless romantic who loves details. I want to capture the emotion… the look… the vibe… the story. On the publishing side, interviewing and learning about the professionals behind all the wedding day magic also fascinates me because there’s so much talent there.

What is your best advice for brides related to your area of expertise?
I hope that brides and couples remember that although weddings do take so much time and money… that the ultimate goal is to enjoy the day you’ve been planning for. Remember what it’s all about. Remember why you fell in love, what the day represents, and don’t let any surprises or bloopers take away from that joy. Life is full of the unexpected, and weddings are no different. All the careful planning and meticulous detail in the world can’t prevent some kind of a hiccup on the day of a wedding. Laugh it off and consider it all part of the adventure. That’s really my best piece of advice. Laugh it off together.

What is your best advice for newlyweds?
I continue to keep in touch with couples post wedding who come back to me to photograph their first child’s portraits and family pictures, so I get to see how the marriage appears to be holding up. None of us can know for sure, but it seems to me that those who look the happiest have a true friendship. There’s an admiration there as well, and mutual respect, that maintains that friendship and helps bond them through life’s ups and downs. So, I suppose my best piece of advice is to make time to nurture the marriage and… stay friends.

Photo Credits: Kimberly Dean Photos (obviously)

Bridechilla | Should You Treat Wedding Planning Like a Business

BrideChilla asks the best questions! One of the largest allocations of money in your young life may be your wedding. So…if you’re investing in your Big Day should you treat it like investing in a business?

This was the topic of our founder’s recent interview on the BrideChilla Podcast. Of course Danielle talked about name-change after marriage, but she also shared entrepreneur tips and tricks that can help engaged couples create the wedding of their dreams without breaking the bank.

She built MissNowMrs into a huge company on a shoestring budget, so her advice is incredibly pertinent and relatable. Get the full scoop by tuning into the Bridechilla podcast episode!

SnapKnot: The Free Way to Find Your Perfect Photographer

Have you heard about SnapKnot? Photos are becoming increasingly important in our lives thanks to social media. Wedding photos and finding the photographer that captures your big day are honestly one of the most important parts of wedding planning.

Brides don’t want to settle for the “standard” group and family portraits. We want artistic pictures of intimate moments and feelings as well as photos that capture our friends “being themselves” at the reception. The challenge is finding a photographer in your area that has the exact style you are looking for.

Great news! SnapKnot is now ALL NEW! You can easily search thousands of wedding photographers in your area, get quotes sent to you securely and find wedding photo inspiration… All for FREE! Get started at: SnapKnot.com.

I love that you can literally type in the number of miles from your event city and your budget to receive customized results. No more finding your perfect photographer and then learning that they live in another country or charge three times your budget!
Readers…have you or a friend used SnapKnot? We’d love to hear your experiences in a comment!