.:going to the chapel and we are stressed!:.

Brian and I love all of our clients. Seriously. But, we can honestly say that the wedding days in St. Louis and Kansas City are almost always a better experience for everyone involved. Why, you ask? Are we biased against some of us smaller town folks? Nope. In our experience, the biggest difference between the St. Louis/K.C. weddings and the Columbia/Jefferson City areas comes simply in the form of wedding planners.

I know, I know, you have a small budget and you can't afford one. But seriously, if we could have a side-by-side comparison of the stress levels of the families who have a wedding planner/coordinator on the day of their wedding with the stress levels of the families that don't, I think you'd seriously consider hiring one! What we often find is that in St. Louis and Kansas City, wedding planners are a must. They are built in to every budget and our couples are all super laidback and SO relaxed on their day. Why? Because they and their families can enjoy their awesome day just as they had hoped! Couples without planners have a tendency to be much more emotionally and physically drained and overwhelmed on their big day than those that have planners. And they have every right to be exhausted! With the constant phone ringing, the set up, the multiple trips home to get things, the worrying about accomodating friends/relatives, the multiple "to do" lists, the last minute googling to figure out who should go where when, the trying to figure out what vendors get paid when--it's enough to give anyone a nervsous breakdown!

But don't take our word for it. We just take pictures. But to give you a clearer picture, we asked one of our favorite planners, Ashley Rath from Dishy Event Planning in St. Louis to write us a blog post on why hiring a wedding planner can be one of the best decisions you make for your wedding day and your sanity!

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Why Hire a Wedding Planner?

Actually, I have a better question for you--why NOT hire a wedding planner? I know, I know, you're on top of the planning process and you have all of the big things worked out. All of us planners totally get it, not everyone needs the full blown deal. But what you don't know is that hiring a planner for just your wedding day coordination can make such a huge difference in not only your stress level but your overall satisfaction on your wedding day.

Given those statements, I have a few questions for you:

• Do you want to set up the linens, flowers, place cards, menu cards and favors on the morning of your wedding day instead of enjoying a morning of pampering?
• Do you want to have your phone ringing off the hook for every little decision that needs to be made or issue to address durin gthe day instead of savoring moments with your bridesmaids?
• Do you want your mom (or sister or cousin or friend) lining you up to go down the aisle or coordinating your first dance timing instead of watching it happen?
• Do you want to worry about how long you have to take pictures, where you need to be after the ceremony or when you need to be seated for toasts?
• Do you want your parents to deal with lugging wedding gifts up to a hotel room or out to a car instead of boogying down on the dance floor?

My guess is that your answer to each one of these questions is NO, absolutely not, no way, no how, not even close! And these are just some of the things a wedding planner or coordinator can help you with on your wedding day, but there is so much more!

• A typical offering from a planner/coordinator for day-of services might include:
• 1-3 meetings to discuss planning and timing details, and anything else on your mind.
• Confirmation and follow up with all of your fabulous wedding vendors.
• An obnoxiously detailed schedule that you can share with family and friends.
• 1-2 hours of availability to coordinate and run your rehearsal.
• Full day of services, including set-up of decor, all logistical coordination (i.e. timing for walking down the aisle, announcements, toasts, first dances and tosses) and clean up services.
• On, and on, and on...

This is just the tip of the iceberg here, people! If you're feeling a little overwhelmed with the planning process or really just want you and your family to relax on your wedding day, I highly recommend giving a planner a chance. Nine times out of ten, I can guarantee that you won't regret it! Besides, who wouldn't want to have someone at their beck and call for just a day?!? You might actually enjoy it! Cheers!


This post was written for Avia Photography by Ashley Rath. Ashley is the owner and event planner of Dishy Events Planning, specializing in wedding and event planning for the St. Louis, Missouri area.

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You can see Ashley in the background helping the mother of the bride lace up Beth's dress. Ashley showed up bright and early and was ready to do whatever she needed to make the day run smoothly. As you can see, Beth is all smiles because have no fear, Ashley is here!

While we were taking photos of Beth, Stephen, and their bridal party, Ashley and her assistant were finishing up the final touches with the vendors over at the zoo:








Again, while Ashley and her assistant were busy making sure the cake was in place, the florists had the flowers in the centerpieces, and the guests were being entertained by the walking petting zoos, Stephen, Beth, and their bridal party had plenty of time to play with photos and fun on the bus!


You'll notice there's no tension on Beth's face! Because she didn't have to worry! All of Beth and Stephen's family made it onto the bus with us, too and when they arrived at the reception they were ready to eat, drink, and enjoy the night, exactly as they should!

Needless to say, now you know why we get so excited when our couples tell us they have hired a wedding planner/coordinator! Happy couples on the day of the wedding make for happy pictures!

You'd be surprised how much sanity and peace of mind can be worth. = )

Until next time!

-Mallory (& Brian)

.:elizabeth & billy:.

Sometimes it feels like a small, small world. What does one tiny PR firm in St. Louis have in common? Their employees are super cool cats and many of them seem to like hiring us for their weddings. You won't find any complaints here. Billy is employee number four from the firm to hire us to do his St. Louis wedding.

Elizabeth and Billy are really awesome together. Sure, everyone says that but I promise this time. Elizabeth and Billy really are great together. Some (by some, I mean me, Mallory) may even use the word adorable to describe their relationship. (And as a side note, if you are a dude and are reading this don't ever take offense if some other gal calls your relationship with your fiance/girlfriend "adorable". It is a total compliment!) When we did their engagement shoot awhile back in St. Louis it was so less like a photoshoot and much more like a hangout session with new friends. Elizabeth and Billy are some of the blessed few that hold the reigns of their lives loosely and have learned to laugh at themselves. The two are super laidback and ridiculously sweet (seriously, RIDICULOUSLY sweet). Hardly a moment passes before at least one of them gets a huge grin on his or her face. They are just a delight.

Elizabeth and Billy were married on a stormy, warm day full of tornadoes on New Year's Eve. (So weird, this Missouri weather.) We arrived in St. Louis to be greeted by a mechanical voice stating "Seek shelter immediately. Seek shelter immediately." I thought perhaps we should heed the advice of this robot man voice but, of course, Brian being Brian, he decided we should book it to Elizabeth's, where we were to be starting the day in about an hour, rather than seek shelter. So with a whole lot of prayer and a leery eye at the darkening southwesternly sky as we drove towards Elizabeth's apartment, we started our New Year's Eve celebration in a more adventurely fashion than usual.

Needless to say, we arrived alive at Elizabeth's and the weather even calmed enough that the gals ordered pizza a bit later. After the tornadoes cleared the area (no worries, it stayed south of us!) the sky brightened up and it became absolutely beautiful for taking photos! We started at Art Hill, where Billy originally proposed to Elizabeth a year ago, and did their "First Look." (For more on why this is AWESOME, visit our post on Megan & Ben from this summer here). I LOVE First Looks but this one had to be one of my favorites. You'll have to check them out below. Elizabeth and Billy got a few moments not only to themselves, but it was a chance to start getting excited about their day together. The beauty of togetherness!

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. They had their gorgeous ceremony at St. Ambrose on the Hill where Billy's priest came back all the way from Belize to officiate. The party then moved to The Rialto Ballroom where we set up a photobooth in the old (non-working) elevator. Their guests could then hang out on the balcony during the not one, but two sets of fireworks displays. When the time came for the New Year to begin, the staff passed out horns and hats fitting of the celebration. The best part? Elizabeth and Billy forgoed (or would it be forwent?) traditional wedding cake in favor of frozen custard and cookies and, thankfully, shared with their guests. We couldn't think of a better way to bring in 2011!

Elizabeth & Billy's official colors were silver and black but they accented everything with purple and red. Which meant the bridesmaids could get creative in their shoe choices. Love it!

Billy's brothers share something funny (and, likely, totally appropriate) with the rest of the guys.

Elizabeth's cousin, Jen, is also a photographer. She was in on Billy's secret proposal at Art Hill a year ago and was awesome enough to capture the whole thing on her DSLR. She couldn't do the photos since she was the matron of honor but we hope we did them justice!

Billy's brother, P.J., helped Billy put on his suspenders and then apparently demonstrated to the rest of the guys how suspenders were to be put on. We won't show those photos.

Elizabeth gave all of the bridesmaids matching handmade necklaces that were adorable!

Jewelry is always chosen last minute!

The Art Hill reveal!

Totally teared up like a sucker the first time I came across this photo.

Union Station. Look aloof. Or awesome. Either one is fine.

It started sprinkling outside just as guests began arriving to the wedding but no one looked grumpy!

See what I mean by breathtaking?

They still couldn't help but wear goofy grins as they stared at one another during the ceremony. Too adorable!

During toasts. One of my favorites.

Happy New Year!

Maureen helped coordinate the day. We discovered she is also good friends with the couple whose wedding we'll be doing in St. Louis in February. Such a small, small world!

Can't bring in the new year without sparklers, right?

The groomsmen all wore Irish hats at the reception in honor of Billy's Irish heritage. Pretty nifty, huh?

Thank you, Elizabeth and Billy and thank you so much for letting us share the day with you and your amazing attendants. Between the groomsmen's funny antics (Brian has told me stories that I shall not repeat online) and the bridesmaids' ridiculously huge hearts and great tales of fun, we ended the day feeling completely honored to have been a part of it all.

Isn't love grand?

Hugs and all that stuff (Our favorite photo from the photobooth we set up at the wedding),

Mallory (& Brian)

.:a sneak peak at the new mrs. patel:.

I have already started sifting through the 7,000+ photos that Brian, Corey, & I took at the Patel wedding this weekend at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. I *will* post an actual blog entry sometime soon but for now I couldn't stand not posting something. Ann & Rakesh chose to do a traditional Indian Ceremony and follow it by an American reception, which meant they had two sets of clothing.

This time we were accompanied by Corey Hale, a photographer we met a few months ago who does stellar live music photography (you may have seen him at the Blue Note, where he is the house photographer). Weddings are newer for him but he is fitting in fast!

Below you'll see some of his work. On the left is a photo I took after the ceremony when Ann and I took a two minute breather to get a few shots of her in her traditional (might I say gorgeous) Indian wedding attire and on the right is one that Corey captured when we did a mini photoshoot at the St. Louis Fair Pavilion prior to the day's festivities. Ann was just stunningly beautiful so at the very least I had to post some of her.

I promise to post photos soon of Rakesh's dynamic entrance to the ceremony-on a horse. I love Indian weddings!