Sunny Spring Wedding

Kelly & Scott 05.29.10

Chelsea & Dan 05.22.10

Minneapolis City Hall

Beautiful bride in a beautiful venue!

See more on Facebook!

After the Rain

Jamie & Jared 05.22.10

Bayview Event Center on Lake Minnetonka
The day had an ominous start with thunderstorms and downpours. Not ideal for an outdoor lakeside wedding! By the time the bride was dressed the clouds had parted the sun was out and the day was perfect! Just like she planned!

see more on Facebook!

What Bride's Don't Know

This post from Amy Rubin's Blog at Fete Perfection caught my attention. Here is a re-post. In the wedding business referrals are so important and we are happy to be referred by some of the best venues and wedding vendors in the Twin Cities. We have never paid to be on "preferred vendor lists" or paid in any way for referrals and we refer other wedding business's who do good work that our brides love.


My best advice is to work with established local business's that have a long history of happy brides and grooms. It is especially important in this economy to work with trusted, established vendors. Need a referral? Just ask me! Ruth 651.335.8198

What Bride’s Don’t Know
March 19th, 2010

As a wedding planner and one who believes in and teaches ethical business practices, I am dismayed by the number of wedding professionals who violate an unwritten “code of ethics”. So one might ask, if it’s unwritten how can it apply? Quite simply, our every day business practices should be dictated by the moral compass inside each of us. The compass that says cheating, lying and misrepresentations are wrong and do a disservice to our clients. Unfortunately, brides aren’t privileged to this inside information so here’s “What I Know and What Brides Don’t Know”

1.Accepting commissions or kickbacks for referrals to vendors is a conflict of interest. For example, if I refer a client to Vendor X who pays me 15% of an order rather than a more suitable vendor who pays zero, whose best interests are being served?
2.There are some wedding professionals who refuse to do business with others who do not provide kickbacks. Wow, I was shocked when I heard that.
3.Being on a “Preferred Vendor List” doesn’t always mean a vendor exhibits high standards and provides an excellent product or service, it can otherwise mean that vendor paid a fee to be “Preferred”. By the way, late last year the FCC required clear disclosure of paid relationships and advertising on websites, social media, blogs and other internet outlets.
4.There are a lot of awards and best of … distinctions in the wedding industry that do not represent the honor and achievement they appear to represent. Some are nothing more than a popularity contest - who garnered the most votes; and when you break it down, voting can be from anyone, anywhere in or outside the wedding world. To me, industry awards are much more representative of the excellence bestowed. These are awards given to recipients whose work was judged blindly by a committee of peers and recognized for their superiority in a variety of categories. I’m all for best of awards when voted on by brides – they have the right to vote for their favorite vendors because they have first-hand experience and provide honest feedback.
I am happy to say that most wedding professionals and all of the pros we recommend do follow that “code of ethics” but how can one be sure? Quite simply, ask. The wedding market is quite competitive and the only way to find out about a vendors business practices is to ask. Then decide who you want working on your behalf.

Perfect Day for a Wedding...

Jana & Kevin 02.20.10

University Club, downtown St. Paul, MN

Jana & Kevin planned the perfect city winter wedding in downtown St. Paul. There are so many cool photo opps at the University Club both inside and out! Jana & Kevin are blessed with wonderful families and friends who kept the dance floor packed!

See more on Facebook! (Jana & Kevin's Facebook album has over 60 photos in it!)

Winner of the Wedding Wire Bride's Choice Award!

The WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards ™ recognizes the top local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, the Bride's Choice Awards are determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds. This year's winners represent the top five percent of WeddingWire's vendor community, which consists of over 100,000 local wedding professionals nationwide.

see our Wedding Wire profile here and give us a review!

From our friend Sarah Trotter, Planner extraordinaire at Lasting Impressions....

Favorite first dance songs...

Sarah says: "I was talking to one of my brides yesterday and we got talking about first dance songs. I know that when I got married this was an area that I really stressed about. I wanted to pick something perfect.... Not to new, not to overplayed, not to mushy.... I will never know if I picked the perfect one, but I do know that I picked a song that really expressed how I felt about my husband and what really expressed our life together. I really love music (and especially country music) so maybe this is why selecting the song was so hard! I am lucky enough to hear some great songs every week and I am always left thinking..... How does this song express their life together?

Based on what I see a lot and what my personal choices are in music here are some great FIRST DANCE Songs!!"

The Classics
1. At Last
2. My Girl
3. True Companion
4. Crazy Love
5. I Cant Help Falling in Love
6. Unforgettable
7. Wonderful World
8. You are so Beautiful
9. The best is Yet to come
10. Wonderful Tonight
11. Always on my Mind
12. Stand by Me

The Best of The Last Few Years
1. "I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
2. "Fall for You" - Secondhand Seronade
3. " All My Life" - K-C and Jojo
4. "God Bless the Broken Road" - Rascall Flats
5. "Dont Want to Miss a Thing" - Aerosmith
6. My Best Friend - Tim McGraw
7. I Do - Paul Brandt
8. Come What May- Moulan Rouge
9. I'll Be - Edwin McCain
10. Carried Away- George Strait
11. Shes Everything - Brad Paisley
12. By Your Side- Sade
13. This Years Love - David Grey
14. Its You - Michelle Branch
15. Feels Like Home- Chantal Kreviazuk
16. Your Everything - Keith Urban

My 2009 Favorites
- Love your Love the Most - Eric Church
- You Found Me - The Fray
-Then - Brad Paisley
-Better Together - Jack Johnson
-Unbelieveable - Josh Gracin
-Fall Into Me - Sugarland
-Nothing Fancy - Dave Barnes

... As you can see I love country :)

Some of my favorites are when old songs are remade by new artists, just to give them a new twist....
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Eva Cassidy
-Fields of Gold - Eva Cassidy
-Make you Feel My Love - Adele
-Heaven - DJ Sammy (CAndlelight Version)

Share the Love

We are lucky not only to work with the best couples but also with the Twin Cities top wedding vendors! One of our faves is Sarah Trotter from Lasting Impressions (aka The Hardest Working Wedding Coordinator!). Sarah recently featured our newest albums on her Blog and I thought my readers might enjoy a few more links to words of wisdom from Sarah and a more...
Why Hire a "Day Of" Coordinator
Featured wedding by Happily Ever After Oct. 3rd
Featured Vendor: Happily Ever After
First Wedding of the Season
Lasting Impressions
If you are planning a wedding check out Sarah's site- you'll love working with her!

New Album Line: Produced Locally!

Just had to show off our latest albums! Perfectly sized at 8x8 featuring a smooth metallic finish on the cover* and fine art paper pages. Best of all they are produced locally and ready in just a few days! Want more info? Contact Ruth.

Oh and for the big question: How much do they cost? About half of what our regular album start at making them perfect for families, wedding party gifts, parents and portrait/ engagement session books. Let us design one for you!

*this album was designed with a photographic cover printed on metallic paper. Covers also available in leather & linen.

Advice from Sarah Trotter at Lasting Impressions:

Why Hire a Day of Coordinator...
Of course like Any other service out there, I get a ton of inquires where people are looking for pricing and general information. The difference in the emails I get asking about day of coordination and full coordination is that the couples looking for day of coordination you can tell are not as sure if that is something they need. MY couples wanting full coordination, they get it.. they are either too busy to plan, realize that hiring a coordinator can save them lots of money (not to mention headaches), they know that the whole process will be worry free.. But couples looking for a day of coordinator maybe tried to save some money throughout the process.. they had a lot of fun planning all of the details and it seems like most of them heard that hiring a day of coordinator was a good idea from a friend or from the internet.

Now, I get it!! I did not even have a day of coordinator for my own wedding and this is what I do for a living (DUMB MOVE SARAH!!). I would say I am a very organized, precise, need to be in control kind of person and I just Assumed (wrongly) that I would be able to be that person on the day of the wedding. Now if this would have been after I would have started Lasting Impressions I would have for sure known to hire someone.... but hindsight is always wonderful....

I know that everyone of my couples that were on the fence on whether to have a day of coordinator absolutely agree it was worth the money.. or as I am told a lot (“Worth your weight in gold”) But I of course can understand why there are questions.. let me win you over.... with everything I see!!!

-First of all, you probably have a wonderful reception site (Most of them are in this area), but do you have someone to look out for you!? I know wonderful catering managers, but honestly they are so busy running all of the food, the venue, the staff, etc that they are not going to make sure that you have champagne in your toasting flutes, that your gifts get moved to your car (we move them to your house if you want!), make sure your dad knows when to go up and give his speech, bring you the toss bouquet when it that time of the night.... all of those little “reminders” go unseen a lot.. but that means you dont have to THINK on you’re wedding day , you get to enjoy...

-I know that lots of reception sites say that they will put out the placecards, the favors, etc. But will they know what your florist was supposed to bring, or what the rental company was supposed to decorate? Do they know exactly what tables you wanted your parents at? Will they call the vendors that are not there on time, or answer a lot of timing questions? Not only do we do all of this... but one of my things I really try and do is get to know you and what you want! I send all of my couples a day of questionnaire about months before you’re wedding that will detail out all of these questions and then we sit down and go over all of this! I want to go to your venue with you, I want to see exactly where you want your guest book, where do you want your placecards and I want to answer all of your questions to make sure I have a great idea of EVERYTHING that is going on and everything you have planned.

-Who is going to be around to take care of the last minute disasters (or mishaps), because they DO happen!!! I cannot think of one event where something did not go wrong.. And that is ok... it is my job to solve it, and in the process make sure that the bride and groom do not know about it or let it bother them. Linens that come in the wrong color, cakes that fall over, marriage license that are forgot, a shuttle that locks its keys in the shuttle while guests need to be transported, having to move a wedding inside and outside 3 different times because of weather, a missing DJ... you name it.. I have seen it.. and in that whole time we take care of it with a smile on our face and make sure we NEVER let any of this ruin the day. I always love to tell clients long after they’re wedding day the “funny” things that happened.

-Who is going to be there to send you down the aisle... Now if you have a church coordinator, They will! But if you dont... or the church coordinator is not involved in this.. we are there to do it. We are there to line you up, run through your ceremony at rehearsal if needed, make sure the musicians are cued, make sure your programs get handed out, EVERYTHING! I think the ceremony is the one thing that a lot of brides forget about. I know I did.. I had to tell my bridal attendants when to walk... that was a lot more stress than I wanted on the day of my wedding.

I really try and think of my job as the person hired to look out for you on YOUR DAY! You have hired a great venue, a great florist, a wonderful DJ.. But someone needs to be the glue that makes sure that it is a wonderful day... I am there to make sure they all “gel” together. This is a huge day for not only the bride and groom, but for the whole family...and it is only going to happen once, why spend all of that money and leave the risk that it does not go perfect?

Some of the things that we do for you, set us apart.
-I call the package day of coordination, but we start answering questions and being there for you right from the moment you hire us.
-I want to go to the venues with you and have a great long meeting to make sure that you are comfortable with our plan and that I know you inside and out.
-I create a day of timeline that puts everything in order, shows what are decor is going to be like, who is doing what, vendors arrivals, etc
-I touch base with all of your vendors to make sure they know we are going to be there, I send them the timeline and I let them know they can start to ask us questions.
-We pick up linens, rental item, cake stands, your place cards, your programs...… and on and on. Whatever we can help you with picking up and returning.… Let us know. If I can fit it on my SUV.… I am happy to save you $50 in delivery charges!
-We return all of your items to you.… Dont worry who is going to grab your gifts. I will bring them to your house. I just want you to come with what you have and leave with your husband. Dont worry who is going to grab the guest book. We are the first ones to the site and the last ones to leave. I clean up everything!
-You always have at least 2 coordinators on the day of the wedding and we have unlimited hours. I cannot do my job without an assistant.... Someone needs to be at the reception site when the ceremony is going on... and I am not sure how I can feel like I did a perfect job on the day of wedding without staying until the end. To me its very important.

So as you can tell.. I could go on and on and on... but I just want to put this out there to show you.... there are a lot of reasons to spend a little extra for piece of mind!

Here is an unflattering photo of myself with a good friend and my wonderful bride Anna - We were setting up for her big day (I always wear my dress clothes to set up... except when I am hauling hay bails :)

Sarah Trotter: Lasting Impressions

Q & A with Ruth Harper, owner and lead photographer of Happily Ever After

Q: How should couples begin their search for a wedding photographer?

A: Ask your venue first, get personal referrals from friends and co-workers and then check out photographers websites.

Q: What should couples be looking for on a website?

A: First of all a variety of images from lots of different weddings! Look for well lit images from dark chapels and dance floors. Brilliant color, close ups and full lengths, outdoor/indoor, bright sun and overcast. You want a photographer who is experienced and can work in any lighting situation.

Q: What if there are multiple photographers in one studio?

A: That is exactly our situation and each of our photographers have their own page with info about their experience and background as well as their own gallery and featured weddings. On our Blog you can also see more weddings from each of us and of course in studio we have multiple albums of complete weddings from each of us.

Q: How much should a couple budget for photography?

A: It will really vary by how much coverage you need, what style and size of album(s) you like and if you are having extra coverage of your rehearsal dinner or gift opening, Last Look Session or engagement session. Our coverages start at $1995 and our most popular package is our Album Collection One that includes a custom album for $3200. Be aware that the lowest price is not always the best value: "Good is never cheap and Cheap is never good,"

Q: What questions should couples ask potential photographers?

A: Talk about your day, what style of photos you like. Look at as many albums as possible to get a good idea for the photographers sense of style. Talk about your timeline for your day. Do they have packages or by the hour coverage? What is included? Do they have insurance (some venues require it) and professional backup equipment? What if there is an emergency or they are sick on your wedding day?

Q: Any other tips?

A: Yes, I think it is important for couples to understand that the photographer they choose for their wedding will be the one vendor they work with the longest. After the wedding the fun of the album design begins and choosing images to frame and enlarge and gifts for parents. It is important to choose a full service, professional studio that can make sure you get top quality prints and albums. We love designing albums- it is the final result of all of their hard work and planning which is why we include as many details as possible.

Last Note: Here are some links to other posts on our Blog for you to check out...

Albums: page designs, info and inspiration

Engagement Sessions ; Downtown Minneapolis Weddings ; Downtown St. Paul Weddings

Weddings by Season: Spring ; Summer ; Fall ; Winter

Facebook Studio Page: tons of photos, become a fan for studio updates

Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night!

Laura & Travis 01.30.10

Marriott Southwest (Opus Pkwy), Bloomington, MN

Sunny day, blue sky, not too cold- this is what winter brides dream of! Travis did narrowly escape injury several times while he did the slip & slide... those dress shoes are slippery! Beautiful light streamed in the windows while the couple exchanges vows then headed to the ballroom to party! Their choreographed opening dance was a huge hit and so much fun to photograph!

See more on our Facebook page. Tons of wedding pics for ideas and inspiration. Enjoy!

There's Something about a Man in Uniform

Ashley & Scott 12.27.09

Shepard of the Valley, Holiday Inn Lakeville

What could be better than a post Christmas wedding on a beautiful snowy day? Ashley & Scott enjoyed every minute of their day and had a really fun choreographed dance with their wedding party to jump start their reception!

see more on Facebook!