Alan & Adrian: Save the Date!
In this issue of Alan & Adrian Get Married, we find out about their creative design for the Save the Date and Wedding Invitation. Are you struggling with the overwhelming amount of choices? Here is how Alan and Adrian navigated the numerous options and found the perfect design!
Save the Date
Q: You mentioned earlier that you selected a wedding date over a holiday weekend so that your out of town guests would have more time to travel. Did you send Save-the-Dates to give them advance opportunities to make their travel arrangements?
A: We did. We felt that our out of town guests would appreciate receiving a Save-the-Date well in advance of the invitation.
Q: Did you go with a local designer/printer or did you use an online resource?
A: We found so many websites and ultimately picked a travel theme card from Minted to match the theme of our wedding. Minted was having a promotion during the time we purchased so we were able to come in a bit under budget as well.
Q: Did you add any special touches to your Save-the-Date?
A: We were sure to include our wedding website on The Knot so that the relevant information needed for travel arrangements was contained in one place. We also ordered a custom wax seal from Nostalgic Impressions. Adding that special touch to our envelopes made our announcement much more special.
Inviting Your Guests
Q: Tell us about your invitation.
A: We found the perfect invitation on Emdotzee. Sticking with our travel theme, we designed an airline ticket syle invite. The design included a folder that held directions to the venue, an abbreviated schedule, and information on guest attire, directions from the airport and RSVP info. The folder also included the ticket (invite) which included our details – date, time, location, and weeding website. We placed these in silver envelopes and sealed them with our wax seal.
Regardless of whether you purchase your invitations from an online stationery store or have a custom design created from a local designer, make sure that your invites reflect the feel of your wedding and the love you have for each other.
Alan & Adrian: Wedding Attire | Balancing Tastes
In this issue of Alan & Adrian Get Married, we are getting the low down on wedding attire and hair and makeup services for the wedding day. How did two grooms navigate the overwhelming world of fashion? Read on!
Photo Credit: Mi Amore Photography
Shopping for Wedding Attire
Q: What was the first thing that came to your mind when you started thinking about attire?
A: Thank God we don’t have to go through the dress buying process that traditional brides do! We simply needed to find a suit that complimented our wedding colors and that was not difficult at all!
Q: Where did you buy/ rent your suits?
A: We decided to rent all our men’s suits from Celebrity Tuxes & Tails. We saw them at one of Aldea’s open houses and they offered a variety of options and affordable pricing. The rental packages even include shoes, which is an additional cost at many of their competitors.
Q: Can you tell us any details about the suits you selected or is that a secret until the wedding?
A: I decided on a navy suit and Adrian decided on dark grey; both suits will be accented with peach ties. Our groomsmen will be wearing a lighter grey suit accented with a black tie with the exception of my best man, Andrew, who will also be wearing a dark grey vest. For a fun twist, we added Star Wars socks – my groomsmen will be the rebel alliance and Adrian’s will be the empire!
Shopping for Attendant Dresses and Jewelry
Q: What did you find to be some of the biggest challenges when selecting groomsmaid dresses?
A: Understanding the terminology alone for dress styles, necklines and fabric was daunting in itself! Thankfully the girls were able to help make the decision easy. We wanted to let them select certain design elements of their dress (like the neckline) while setting certain parameters for continuity. Ultimately, we decided that they will wear a navy, A-line style, knee length dress with silver/grey heels and each girl can select her own dress as long as it fits that criteria.
Q: Are the girls wearing the same jewelry or can they express their personal style with accessories?
A: My girls will wear the navy earrings that were part of their “will you be my groomsmaid” gift (see earlier post) and Aidan’s girls will wear Star Wars themed earrings!
Q: Do you have any junior groomsmaids or flower girls?
A: We have two jr. groomsmaids and flower girl and we wanted them to feel beautiful in their dresses. Rather than going with the typical tulle style dress, we chose a navy foral lace dress.
Hair and Makeup
Q: What was the most challenging part of choosing everyone’s attire?
A: {Alan laughing} Hands down hair and makeup! We are two guys! Trying to plan a wedding is tricky enough – I mean, we haven’t been dreaming about it since we were five – but let’s face it, our knowledge on hair and makeup is really limited. That’s when Aldea stepped in and recommended Babydoll Weddings. We met them at an open house and the stylists were great about answering our questions about complexions, skin tones, hair types, etc.
Q: What were Babydoll Wedding’s main selling points that led you to book them?
A: One main factor is that they travel to the venue (or other location) where your party is getting ready. That takes away so much stress in figuring out how to get everyone to and from the Salon while budgeting the right amount of time. The package pricing is also very competitive and since we are gifting this service to our attendants, price and value was a huge factor.
Q: Do you have one uniform look for the girls or are they selecting their own color palette and style?
A: We are going with a natural look emphasizing the eyes not the lips. Hair will be in a modified up-do, at the base of the skull, with wispy, romantic curls. A few of our girls have shorter hair which will be styled with big curls.
Our girls suggested a trial so we booked one for four of the girls to make sure that our vision looks good on each girl.
Booking a Trial
Q: How was the trial?
A: It was beyond successful! We arrived at the Salon and were surprised with glasses of champagne for everyone. We shared our vision with the stylists the best we could – we are guys, after all – and showed a couple of pictures and they started styling. The entire process didn’t take as long as we expected. Each stylist was so knowledgeable and they even offered styling tips to each girl. By the end of the trial, each girl was sporting the look we envisioned!
Q: Was there anything about the trial that stood out?
A: The stylists took photos of their finished work and also wrote various notes that they can refer back to on our wedding day. That was hugely comforting knowing that they will have photos and notes to remember what they did at the trial. I can only imagine how many brides and weddings they work with!
Q: Babydoll Weddings offers services for men – specifically a face prep and hair services. Are you and Adrian getting any pampering done the day of?
A: We are! We are getting the face treatment which includes a no-shine service to ensure that we are matte and smooth for photos.
Words of Wisdom
Q: Do you have any advice you can offer our Babydoll Bride Tribe?
A: Include your attendants in your decision process regarding attire. They feel vested in knowing that they will be comfortable and look amazing. Take advantage of the hair and makeup trial. Babydoll Weddings has been nothing but exceptional to work with and they offer an array of services. They take care of scheduling the staff and creating your hair and makeup timeline so you don’t need to stress. Call them and thank us later!
{Real Bride Series}: Whitney & Jacob
This month’s Real Bride Series features Whitney and Jacob. We love their story!
Our Love Story
What is your name and your groom’s name? Whitney and Jacob Johnson
What is your wedding date? September 8, 2017
How did you and your groom meet? We are high school sweethearts!
We are dying to know, how did he propose?! He gathered both of our families for dinner. It was very cozy and close-knit!
What were your wedding colors and why did you choose them? We chose our wedding colors based on our favorite colors; Jacob’s is navy and mine is burgundy.
The Dress
Where did you find your dress? Would you say that finding your dress was relatively easy or difficult? Believe it or not, I bought my dress on Offer Up and had it altered. It was so easy and saved me a ton of money!
The Location
Where did your ceremony and reception take place? Was there any special meaning behind the choice of the venue(s)? Lavender and Old Lace now owned by Wedgewood Weddings. I used to deliver ice there when I️ was in high school and the moment I️ saw it I️ wanted to be married there!
What kind of flowers did you have in your bouquet and at the ceremony/reception? We bought our flowers from Eco Flowers which are made from paper and are a forever keepsake.
The Cake
What was the flavor of your wedding cake? Our wedding cake was four tiers with each tier offering a different flavor. From cookies and cream to lemon, we had everyone’s favorite covered!
What details from your wedding that made it unique to you? My little brother was my man of honor. Jake’s uncle was his best man. We had the coolest wedding party!
Other than marrying your husband, what was one of your favorite moments from your wedding day? My brother’s toast was hilarious, honest, and tear jerking! I️ honestly enjoyed hearing the funny stories I️ missed the following days!
The Honeymoon
Did you take a honeymoon? If so, where did you go? We spent the next day at talking stick getting massages and relaxing together! We would like to take a trip to Europe eventually but I️ will settle for a fun road trip.
What is one piece of wisdom you learned from your planning experience that you would like to share with future brides? Schedule your wedding months or even years (3 and a half for us!!) ahead of time, and you will have so much time to have a clear vision in your head before you even start paying for everything. You can save and decide what kinds of these you absolutely need and things you can live without.
Who were some of the other vendors that were a part of your dream team?
Alan & Adrian: Hiring a Photographer and Videographer
Babydoll Weddings is excited to introduce Alan and Adrian. Our team is delighted to provide hair and makeup services for their entire wedding party this coming January, 2018. We fell in love with them instantly and were beyond thrilled when they agreed to let us share their love story with you. For the past several weeks we have been sharing their wedding planning experiences as a newly engaged couple planning a same-sex wedding. We hope you love them as much as we do!
Hiring a Photographer and Videographer
We love weddings – and by weddings, we mean everything about weddings, especially talking with our couples about THEIR big day. With fall wedding season in full swing, we hadn’t had the chance to catch up with Alan and Adrian. The wedding date is approaching – in one month to be exact – so we seized the perfect opportunity this past weekend and crashed their hair and makeup trials for their groom’s maids to pop bubbly and ask some pertinent questions that bride’s to be may want to know about booking a photographer and videographer .
Say Cheese
Q: Alan, you are one month out from your wedding. This is the first large party that you and Adrian will throw as husband and husband. How has the planning process been so far?
A: There is one piece of advice we have been given that is true – no wedding is perfect. There are hiccups but we are flexible in changing direction if needed. This advice came in handy when we had to change photographers unexpectedly.
Q: Finding one vendor that you love can sometimes prove challenging. How did you find two?
A: Actually, we found THREE! When we starting to look at photographers, we originally selected Ily Grantham. Our venue, Aldea, made it very easy for us because they have a selection of photographers included in their packages. After asking Ily all the pertinent questions about her style, we loved the quality of her work and the amount of detail she puts into every picture she takes. We discovered that we shared the same vision and we loved her high energy and enthusiasm to make sure our day went perfectly. She even effortlessly crafted our timeline that day. But, due to forces outside anyone’s control, we terminated the contract.
Choosing Between Two Favorites
Q: You mentioned that you found three photographers that you loved. What factors helped you decide between the next two?
A: With the help of Aldea (which we’re thankful for going with an all-inclusive venue with multiple vendor options to choose from), they introduced us to Mandy Reed from Mi Amore Photography.
Mandy’s photography was slightly different than Ily’s, but still exceptional quality. She likes to use her surroundings to help frame what she’s focusing on, she’s not afraid to play with movement and action shots to give the photo a sense of of life, and likes to use multiple cameras and lenses for a variety of shots. We decided to use her for our engagement shots in that took place in Payson, Arizona. Mandy was very clear in directing how we were to pose (which is great for people who had no idea how to pose in photos beyond selfies). We tried several different outfits in several different areas of the Mogollon Rim and when we received the final photos, we had lots of great options to choose from.
Photo Credit: Mi Amore Photography
Photo Credit: Mi Amore Photography
Changing Mid-Stream
After reviewing the photos, Adrian and I discovered that we wanted our photographs to be a darker style than what we saw in our engagement photos. In order to accomplish that, we researched photographers that aren’t included in our venue’s packages. After a long search, we decided to go with Jonathan Allison Photography. We love his ability to capture vivid colors, the artistic eye he conveys, and the ability to view each of his photographs as works of art. Because we decided on a vendor that’s not part of our wedding package, we were able to negotiate a reduced rate with Aldea.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Allison Photography
Photo Credit: Jonathan Allison Photography
Lights, Camera, Action
Q: Let’s talk about videography. It still seems to be a “nice-to-have” for some couples. Did you decide to add this element?
A: We honestly feel that being able to watch and listen to our vows years from now is priceless.
Our search for a videographer wasn’t as easy. When we originally booked with Ily Grantham, we wanted to keep the photographer and the videographer within the same company because they know how each other works and understand each other’s styles. After we changed services to Mi Amore Photography, we decided to do the same thing with them, until recently our photographer dropped her videography services due to personal reasons (she’s still keeping her photography business). We finally decided to go back to the original plan of hiring a company that specializes in videography services and not attached to a specific photographer.
And the Emmy Goes To….
Q: Which company did you end up selecting? What do you feel set them apart from other companies?
A: Legacy Videography (http://www.legacyhdv.com) has been noting but exceptional. Legacy is very responsive and will help you pick the right package for your needs. They are also same-sex wedding friendly, very customizable, and work with our venue often so they are familiar with the layout. His cameras are 1080P HD cameras and have microphones they use have the ability to filter out unwanted sounds (kids crying, unwanted background noise, etc.). Bonus!
As part of the final product, they will give us a 1 to 2-hour long video that covers pre-ceremony, all of the ceremony, and the reception (dance clips, and complete coverage of all the major milestones of the night). This is by far a great company that is well worth the money.
Once in a Lifetime
Q: What advice can you give other couples about finding the right photographer and videographer?
A: You can’t retake your wedding photos so you need to be sure to select the right photographer. Choose someone that you know cares enough about your day to capture those special. We feel that this is the MOST important piece of your wedding day because other than your rings, they’ll be the only thing you have to remember and look back on the day.
For videography, find one that will fit in your budget. They will not only capture the entire ceremony including your vows, but all those special moments that might be too quick for a photographer to capture, like a gesture, or a kiss. Being able to watch your day over and over again in the future will help you remember all those special moments that that made your wedding day special.
Alan & Adrian | Hiring a Wedding Planner
Babydoll Weddings is excited to introduce Alan and Adrian. We are delighted to provide hair and makeup services for their entire wedding party this coming January, 2018. We fell in love with them instantly and were beyond thrilled when they agreed to let us share their love story with you. Alan will be taking over our blog for a special series “Alan & Adrian Get Married” sharing their wedding planning experiences as a newly engaged couple planning a same-sex wedding. We hope you love them as much as we do!
Hiring a Wedding Planner?
Weddings can be an overwhelming experience with a lot of details being thrown at you from left and right. So what do you do? Some couples decide to hire a wedding planner to help wrangle all the numerous details and vendors for the day of, while others decide to plan their wedding themselves.
Wedding Planner Pros
If you decide to go with a wedding venue that isn’t all-inclusive then I highly recommend hiring a wedding planner. The wedding planner becomes the main point of contact for all your vendors. She/he will manage every detail for you which frees you up to simply enjoy being engaged. We learned early on that planning a wedding and coordinating with the many vendors is time consuming. For these reasons and more, hiring a wedding coordinator is worth the money.
All-Inclusive Venues
Because Adrian and I chose an all-inclusive wedding venue, we decided to forego a wedding planner. We chose a travel themed wedding and we’re so thankful that our venue has a lot of decorations already on hand (and very tasteful too) so we don’t need to worry about setting up or taking down any of the decorations, which gives us one less detail to worry about. We do still need to work with the vendors in terms of selecting the meal options, cake details, and other customized requests, but the venue will handle the same details a wedding planner would (arrival times, liaising with vendors, etc).
One of the things we love about Aldea is that they will schedule various meetings to keep us on track including a decor meeting to review decor options for the ceremony, cocktail hour, the reception, and a final meeting before the wedding to go over what you need to bring the day before so they can set it up ahead of time. What’s also nice about Aldea is that you can go into your decoration meetings knowing exactly what decorations you want where, or you can completely leave it up to their discretion. They let the couple be in control which certainly alleviates a lot of stress.
Planning Websites
There are many websites out there that are helping plan the other details of our wedding, but the two main ones that I’ve focused on are theknot.com and pinterest.com. While we all know Pinterest can store visual details, but I took it one step further. I use Pinterest to pin all my ideas that I need to narrow down, and then I unpin the ideas that I don’t want there anymore and keep that one idea that I’m going to go with. For example, if I’m trying to decide on dresses for my girls, I’ll pick all the different styles I like and then I’ll start to remove all the dresses I’m not a fan of until I finally find a style that I like and then I leave it there in it’s own Pinterest board so it’s sectioned off and kept away from my other ideas.
The Knot has been the other great asset when planning. Not only does it create your wedding website, but it keeps track of the budget, the guest list and the RSVPs, and also has it’s own set of design ideas. Need a countdown calendar and checklist to help you keep track of your to-do list? It’s here! I can honestly say we’d be all over the place and very confused if it wasn’t for this website.
The Decision is Yours
No matter if you decide to leave everything in the hands of a wedding planner, or decide to take the bull by the horns and plan it all yourself, do what you think will cause you the least amount of stress because it’s your special day and the only thing you need to worry about is proclaiming your love to your spouse to be.
Ask Sabrina: Wedding Day Eyes
Dear Sabrina
I don’t wear a lot of makeup normally and I am afraid that I am going to look overly made up on my wedding day. How can I avoid this? – Jessica
How To Look Natural
Now days, a lot of girls are going for a natural look rather than a heavily made up finish. This is because, while we want to look gorgeous, we still want to look like ourselves. The last thing we want is to look back at the photos in a few years time and think “what the hell was I thinking!” when it all seemed like a good idea at the time. Looking natural doesn’t mean you need to look washed out! A good makeup artist should be able to identify your features and enhance them without looking too over the top. She should be able to give you a beautified version of you, instead of looking like someone else. Here are some tips to help you on your way.
Eyes You can never go wrong with neutral colors. Try to avoid from electric blues, apple greens and hot pinks. Even though they might be in fashion at the moment, save it for the Club. It’s not the kind of look you want for your wedding day.
Cheeks Don’t overdo the bronzer. Some brides like to go heavy on this product, but try not go crazy with it! You want to look as effortless as possible. You should be aiming to have a sunkissed look. I would suggest adding a touch of pink or peach to give you that healthy glow and avoid looking too orange and overdone.
Lips Vintage is back, so bright red is in, baby. Try and have only 1 strong feature to stand out, meaning if you have smokey eyes, go for natural lips. Natural eyes with eyeliner are perfect with a classic red lipstick. We love Mac’s Diva-Red.
xoxo Sabrina
Classic Romantic Makeup – Swoon Worthy Looks
Classic Romantic Makeup Looks That Are Swoon Worthy
I absolutely love it when our favorite wedding photographers email us GORGEOUS wedding photos of our brides…and dolls, this one is rocking my soul so hard. This classic romantic makeup look has me swooning!
Our makeup artist Sabrina did the makeup for this wedding and everything came together so beautifully. Enjoy this tasty treat on your Thursday morning.
These photos are the work of the uber talented Abby Dennison Photography. She captured this look so beautifully, don’t you think?
I always say a great makeup artist and a great photographer go hand in hand. Enjoy!
Get This Look
Eyes: Urban Decay Eye Shadows in white, kryola, warm brown and dark brown
Lips: MAC Ruby Woo Matte LipStick
Perfect Pin-Up
Sabrina was also the master artist for this retro pin-up style look.
I love how the bride’s up-do perfectly complements her bight red pout! Thanks to Josh at Royal Escape Productions for perfectly capturing this Doll’s personality.
Get This Look
Eyes: Ben Nye neutral matte eye shadow palette
Lips: MAC Russian Red Matte LipStick
To book
Sabrina or any of our artists for your wedding, email us at bridal@babydollweddings.com.
Babydoll Weddings Beauty: 8 Tips for Lasting Makeup
8 Tips for Lasting Makeup
You don’t have to be a bride to want your makeup to go the distance. We all cringe when we look in the mirror at 3pm and see our freckles have popped through our foundation, our mascara is shadowing our lower lashes and our lipstick is (gasp) gone! Here are some great tips you can do to make your makeup sweat, shine and hug proof for the big day and every day beyond.
Your Foundation
1. Clean, hydrated skin. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. If you apply makeup to dry, un-moisturized skin, chances are your base will come off sooner and look uneven. The makeup or primer needs something to cling to!
2. Primer. A primer isn’t only there to make you makeup look fresh, it also helps keep your makeup on longer. Often primers double as mattifiers and pore minimizers so you can eliminate shine while giving your makeup a great surface to sit on. (Tip: primer needs to settle before makeup is applied so wait a few minutes before makeup application).
3. Foundation that works for your skin type. Foundations are not all created equal and some are built to last longer than others (Tip: to create a longer lasting base, spray your foundation brush or sponge with a setting spray before applying).
The Eyes Have It
4. Eye Primers or Cream Eye shadows. Wedding makeup is expected to last up to 15 hours. Avoid creased eye shadow by applying a primer made for the eyes or a long lasting cream eye shadow. The primers create a crease-free surface for your shadow to sit on and should make your eye makeup bullet proof. (Tip: eye primers need an oil based eye makeup remover to remove as they are built to stay).
5. Powder. You don’t need bucket loads of powder to make your makeup last, but you do need the right kind. Powders that are made to absorb oil and are color free are fantastic for long wear. Too much pressed powder can result in a cakey look so go easy.
Kissable Lips
6. Lips. If a bold lip is what you’re going for, use a long lasting or liquid lipstick. These tend to be matte and stay on for longer. A stain under gloss can also help it to last and high shine over nude lips will always give you more lip time. (Tip: Do carry a gloss and lipstick with you for touch-ups. Lips are the one thing that always need touching up).
7. Setting spray. Use a setting spray as insurance that your makeup will still look flawless even at the end of the night (Tip: hairspray is not a setting spray!)
8. Look after it. Maintain your look! If it’s a hot day and you’re sweating, use a tissue to blot down. If you are a crier, use a folded tissue or handkerchief and catch the tears before they hit your face. (Tip: Allocate a bridesmaid to be on makeup duty and have them remind you to touch up lips or de-shine throughout the day).
With these tips, you’ll have a makeup that lasts the day and long into the night.
Alan & Adrian | Building Your Wedding Party
The Wedding Planning Process
Building Your Wedding Party
In my opinion, having a wedding party that consists of your closest friends and family makes the wedding planning process less stressful. Not only are they your support system in difficult times, but more importantly they are there to help you with whatever you need to celebrate one of the most memorable days of your life. Not everyone picks their wedding party the same way. Some make it all family members; some perhaps choose childhood friends. Adrian and I had thought about who would make up each of our sides, but we couldn’t have been happier when we nailed down the final list of names. Now that we’ve secured a date at our dream venue, it’s time to put together each of our parties and turn up the creativity juices on how to ask them!
Deciding Who To Ask
My party consists of 4 guys and 4 girls. A good majority of them are friends when college while the rest I’ve known since living in Arizona. I wanted to put together a group of my closest friends that all have a similar personality as I do because if I’m not allowed to lift a finger on the day of the wedding, I needed a team that all share some form of my type-A personality. This is the most rock solid group of friends I could ever ask for, especially if I’m going to frequently throw spreadsheets, timelines, and Pinterest boards at them for ideas. Each member of this group knows how to keep me calm and prevent me from stressing out. I can honestly say that not many people have been able to do that with me and I am forever grateful for my A-team (get it, “A”-Team?).
Adrian lived in Arizona for about 18 years and has developed some many lifelong friends here. His party also features 4 guys and 4 girls and are the tightest knit group I’ve ever seen. While they may not have type-A personalities like my team, they know how to have a good time and make sure Adrian feels special on the big day. Since the majority of his group lives in Arizona, they’ve been with us on many day trips, parties, and even there when we got engaged! They would do anything for Adrian and I’m so happy he’s got such a great group of friends to be by his side on our wedding.
Personalized Gifts
Alan’s Colorful Cases
Adrian and I decided that our wedding colors will be navy, grey, and peach. I wanted to incorporate those colors throughout my ask gifts as much as I could so I started with 4 wooden boxes from Michaels and the first letter of each of the girls’ name. To incorporate our color palette, I painted the box navy and grey and painted the letter peach, which I then placed on the top of the box. Next I filled the box with navy tissue, peach nail polish, a silver/grey compact mirror, a ring pop, a bottle of peach scented lotion, peach schnapps, color swatches of the wedding colors, and a pair of earrings (each girl getting a different navy set of earrings that fit their personality). I also put on the inside cover of the box “I found my man, but I still need my girls, will you be my groomsmaid?”.
The men were a little easier and I decided to get them each custom engraved silver tankard (that famous glass that’s held in Samuel Adams beer logo). After everything was sent, I asked if they’d videotape themselves opening their gifts. Seeing their reactions was a very memorable moment for me knowing that they are excited to share our big day with us!
Adrian’s Personalized Pouches
Adrian took a different approach for asking his girls. Instead of a box, he went with a makeup bag with each of their initials sewn on them. He then stuffed the bag with items personalized to their taste, like a Harry Potter bookmark for one of the girls, or items that are Disney themed. He did include color swatches, a ring pop, and nail polish for all the girls. For the guys, he got them a personalized engraved glass decanter.
With regards to selecting our best man/maid of honor, Adrian decided that he will have a maid of honor since he’s known his best friend for so many years, and I chose to have a best man because he has been a major rock in my growth and development not just professionally, but also socially as a gay man.
Don’t Forget the Little People
In addition to our rather large wedding parties, we are also having 2 Jr. grooms maids, a flower girl, and a ring bearer. We kept things simple and asked them by giving them massive amount of candy (who can say no to candy).
We are so excited to share our big day with are wedding parties. They’ve been there for us whenever we needed them, and to have their support on our wedding day means the world of us. Hold on tight everyone let the wedding planning commence!
Alan & Adrian | Finding the Venue
Babydoll Weddings is excited to introduce Alan and Adrian. We are delighted to provide hair and makeup services for their entire wedding party this coming January, 2018. We fell in love with them instantly and were beyond thrilled when they agreed to let us share their love story with you. Alan will be taking over our blog for a special series “Alan & Adrian Get Married” sharing their wedding planning experiences as a newly engaged couple planning a same-sex wedding. We hope you love them as much as we do!
Meet Alan & Adrian: Finding the Venue
Finding that perfect venue is a fun process, however it can be taxing on a couple when they don’t know what they are looking for in a venue. In a previous post, I mentioned that for our wedding we wanted to keep it in Arizona and to have it on January 14, 2018. Arizona has many beautiful venue options, all with different styles. We wanted to find a place with character that left people talking after the wedding, so for us that ruled out the various country clubs, hotels, and other generic locations. We also wanted to be very budget friendly too.
After browsing online at many possible venues and doing extensive research on each of the venues, we narrowed it down to 2 venues that we wanted to see in person: The Windmill Winery in Florence, Arizona and Aldea at Tlaquepaque in Phoenix, Arizona. What drew us to these venues was that they shared a lot of character in their décor, and they are both all-inclusive locations (I’ll discuss all-inclusive vs. hiring vendors separately in a future post).
Windmill Winery
The first place that we went to was The Windmill Winery. After being greeted in the parking lot by their resident goose, we were met by the venue manager and given a tour. They had two different options for the venue, their 100-year-old barn and their Hampton’s-styled Lake House dock. We first got to see the Lake House where the ceremony would be held on the dock over their lake that overlooks the Superstition Mountains, and the reception would be held inside the Lake House. Since our wedding is in January, we decided to go in the winter months to see what the scenery would look like outside at that time. Unfortunately, a lot of the bushes and grasses were brown and didn’t fit the aesthetic that we were going for outdoors.
The inside of the Lake House is very spacious and sets the mood perfectly for an evening reception. We also toured the barn which had a nice rustic feel to it and plenty of room for our guests. Despite this, we felt that the space would feel overwhelming if we didn’t have a wedding that would fill the space appropriately. This venue can also have multiple weddings going on at once with all the different areas they had to offer and that wasn’t very appealing to us. In the end, Adrian and I felt that the long drive from Phoenix to Florence along with the possibility of having multiple weddings at the same location didn’t make The Windmill Winery our choice of venue.
Aldea at Tlaquepaque
We next came across Aldea at Tlaquepaque and I was blown away as soon as I stepped foot into the venue. Aside from being a carbon copy of Tlaquepaque in Sedona, as soon as you left the parking lot you could barely hear the cars on the road. The venue only hosts one wedding per day, which was a huge plus for us. The grand tour showed the lovely courtyard where the ceremony would take place that also has a tree covered with lights all over it and a bubbling fountain. The reception is held indoors in a large enough space for eating and dancing, but not too large that you feel overpowered by the size of the room.
Adrian and I loved the Spanish décor and architecture. This venue is an all-inclusive venue where one flat amount (that includes tax and tip) includes music, catering, cake, decorations (yes, they provide their own decorations), photographer, and day of coordinator. After leaving that venue I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful the venue was.
Only a week later is when we made the big decision to lock the date in and we were fortunate that we got the day that we wanted. We are very excited to move on to the tasting process!
Stay tuned for more about Alan and Adrian’s love story!