What You Need to Know For Your Wedding Day

We get the scoop from local Dallas experts.

By
D Weddings Spring-Summer 2013

THE CAKE MISTRESS
Lauren Kitchens
Fancy Cakes by Lauren

What is involved in a cake tasting appointment?
A wedding cake tasting usually involves a full design session with the owner or manager of the bakery.  It is typical in high-end bakeries to offer a full cake tasting at the consultation.  The best bakeries will sketch a custom cake design for you—something that captures your vision for the cake.  And if you are struggling with the vision, the best bakers can successfully hold your hand through this process and create a show-stopping masterpiece just for you.
 
What are some of your favorite trends at the moment?
Ruffles are big in wedding cakes and can be done in several ways using different techniques.  Another trend is cake flavor.  The dry, white wedding cake is a thing of the past.  Wedding cakes must act not only as a centerpiece but as the dessert.  There is a lot of pressure on the wedding cake to “perform.”  You will find most bakeries offer interesting cake flavors to keep up with this trend.

Do you have any particular favorites when it comes to flavors?
Butter fudge cake with salted caramel filling and vanilla butter cream icing. I just gained five pounds thinking about it!

How long have you been in the business?  What’s your favorite thing about working in the wedding industry?
This is my 13th year as a professional cake designer in the Dallas wedding industry.  I will never get bored in this industry.  The Dallas bride is an ever-changing woman who strives to stay on top of high style and trends.  Creatively speaking, there is nothing better for a cake artist than this city with these brides, venues, and wedding professionals.  It is my creative home, and I will continue to thrive and be inspired.

What are some common mistakes brides make when it comes to cake selection?
Choosing a different cake flavor for each tier.  Don’t do it.  There is not enough cake for the guests to try every flavor. A cake is not served buffet-style, so you get the flavor as it’s cut relative to when the guest approaches the cake.  Simplify and choose one cake flavor for the wedding cake and another for the groom’s cake.  You won’t achieve what you’re looking for with more offerings.  And you will run out of cake fast.


PLATE PEOPLE
Stephen Dankesreiter
Polly DuPont

How long as Polly Dupont been in the business?
Polly DuPont has been serving Dallas brides and their families since 1946.

How early in the process should a bride and groom begin their registry?
Six months is usually best. But more couples are having engagement parties thrown in their honor, so I do recommend starting a small registry after your engagement is announced and your wedding date is set. Guests at your engagement party are likely to bring gifts, so it’s a good idea to have a list started. Suggestions for the small registry are items such as toasting flutes, a cake knife, and a few special serving pieces.

What do you advise brides as far as selecting items of varying price points?
Having items of varying price is one of the most important things to remember when registering. Your guests come from all different backgrounds and economic situations, so having options for them in every price range is important. Grandma may be able to afford those $300 candlesticks, but your cousin who’s still in college can’t.

What are some of your favorite items at the moment?
Julia Knight: her richly colored, hand-enameled, aluminum serving pieces have been a huge hit with our brides, and their guests have really enjoyed selecting them from registries. Juliska’s Berries & Thread is still one of our most popular “everyday” patterns for brides. Being able to add a little color to your table with one of their brown or blue salad plates is great.

What are some important items that brides sometimes forget to register for?
Two things: extra place mats and napkins. You always need more than 12, and you need them in varying colors. And extra salad plates. I always suggest registering for eight or 12 additional salad plates. They are great to have for dessert, cocktail parties, or events when you won’t be pulling out your entire place setting.


PLANNING MAVEN
Kimberly Sutton
Dream Events

How early in the process should a bride hire a planner?
Hiring a wedding planner should be done as soon as the engagement happens. This will ensure the bride and groom’s vision of their day is refined to perfection.

How long have you been in the business?
I have been in the industry for 14 years.

What are some of your favorite trends that you’re seeing at the moment?
The vintage look and a reception lounge that offers guests a place to mingle and relax apart from the main dance floor.

What are some common mistakes brides should avoid when it comes to planning a wedding?
Not having a budget usually leads to financial issues and overspending. Incorrect postage on invitation envelopes is also a problem. It’s very important to take the invitation to the post office and weigh the entire envelope prior to mailing. Another issue: ordering your gown too late.

What is your favorite thing about working in the wedding industry?
Being a part of making spectacular moments for couples and their families. [I love] the moments right before the bride walks down the aisle!


FLOWER GIRL
Deitra Butler
Lush Couture Floral

How early in the process should a bride choose a florist?
Six months to a year before the wedding day. If she is choosing to marry in a popular wedding month like June, it is best to book your florist as early as possible.

What is a good question a bride should ask?
What flowers are in season for my wedding date? 
 
What are some of your favorite trends at the moment?
Lately, I have had more and more brides requesting more of a garden-style bouquet. I love this look! It’s very earthy and romantic.

What are some things to consider when doing an outdoor wedding?
Weather and the time of year. Always have a backup plan in case of rain or bad weather. I have found the Farmers’ Almanac to be pretty accurate in predicting the weather.

How much does the climate affect the flowers?
It’s really mainly the heat that affects the flowers.  So if the bride chooses to have an outdoor ceremony or reception in the dead of summer, I would suggest not using flowers like hydrangeas.

How long have you been in the business?
Almost five years.

VIDEO CREW
Liza Dunsmore
Hakim Sons Films

How early in the process should a couple hire a videographer?
We recommend that couples hire a videographer nine to 12 months in advance of their big day. This gives your videographer ample time to get to know you and figure out how best to capture your wedding.

What are some good questions to ask when interviewing potential videographers?
The No. 1 question you should ask is “How will you tell our story?” It’s important for you to understand what components a videographer plans to include in your wedding film: music, interviews, cinematic visuals, etc. And you’ll want to know that your videographer is investing some forethought into what will make your wedding film unique. On the flip side of that, make sure your videographer is asking you the right questions! A great filmmaker will have a host of questions for you.

What are some of the features you can offer a bride and groom?
On the whole, we offer our couples an artistic approach to telling their story. Whether that means capturing sweeping, Hollywood-like visuals of your special day or giving your wedding a vintage look by shooting in 8 mm, we are dedicated to creating wedding films that are visual works of art. Because we know that each wedding is unique, we offer a wide variety of amenities from which our couples can choose. One of our most popular offerings is our 3D Photo Montage, which allows you to share your most precious photographed moments of you and your fiancé in a highly stylized fashion. Another amenity that we offer is the Same Day Edit. This is perfect for the couple that wants to treat their guests to an inside look at their wedding day during their reception celebration. We also recently added live streaming. Have guests who can’t attend? No worries! We can ensure that they get front row seats by live streaming a video feed of your wedding.

How long does it typically take to get a final cut after the wedding?
Turnaround time really depends on what type of film you choose to capture your day. If you go with a Same Day Edit film, then you’ll have that before your day is even over. Highlight films and feature films take a bit longer—approximately six to eight weeks. It’s not unusual for us to spend 40 to 60 hours editing a wedding film. It takes some time to carefully select the right music and best visuals to tell a compelling, emotional story.

What are some of the processes that need to take place before the big day.
We like to meet with our couples for an initial consultation and a pre-wedding planning meeting. We also ask that all of our couples complete our concept development survey, which helps us plan the creative narrative for your wedding film. We always attend the rehearsal so that we understand the layout and timing.


ATTENDANTS KEEPERS
Kelli Holmes
Bella Bridesmaid

How early in the process should a bride select bridesmaids dresses?
In order to have a maximum array of options, we suggest ordering your bridesmaid dresses six months from the date of the wedding. While we are now able to offer a line of bridesmaid dresses that actually stocks their dresses so that they can be shipped immediately once we place the order, most bridesmaid manufacturers make the dresses upon receiving the order, and quite a few are produced overseas and have longer productions times. So, in order to have the largest selection of designers and styles, start looking for your bridesmaid dresses sooner rather than later.

How long does it typically take to get the dresses in once ordered? 
Most lines of bridesmaid dresses take three to four months for the actual production. But a few lines can take four to five months. Then once the dresses are produced, they still must be shipped, sometimes from overseas. Additionally, we suggest ordering the bridesmaid dresses in time to have them arrive to us at least one month prior to the wedding. This allows for the bridesmaid to pick up her dress or have it mailed to her so that she can have any necessary alterations performed without being pressed for time.

What are some things to consider when trying to select dresses for women with varying body types?
Ideally you want each of your bridesmaids to feel happy with what she is wearing at your wedding, so you do want to take into consideration if you have any girls that have any particular body issues or sensitivity or anxiety about a part of their body. Probably the most common issue we deal with is the bridesmaid who is extremely busty. In this case, you certainly want to avoid styles that might reveal an abundance of cleavage and possibly look for styles that would offer some degree of support in this area. We love to see a bride select a few style options for her bridesmaids, especially if there is a lot of variation among body types. This allows the bridesmaid to select a style that better fits her body type without having to be compared to every other girl in the same dress, and the bride can still have some degree of uniformity if she wishes by making sure that the various styles are all in the same fabrication and color.

What are some of your favorite trends for spring?
We just returned from Bridal Market in New York where we were able to preview all of the new styles and colors for spring 2013. One trend we are excited about is incorporating printed fabrics in the color scheme instead of simply selecting solid colors. Many of these prints would be beautiful by themselves; however, for those larger wedding parties where 12 girls all wearing a printed dress might be a bit overwhelming, Amsale showcased their printed dresses mixed in among a coordinating solid-colored dress or a few coordinated solid-colored dresses. It was lovely!

What’s your favorite thing about working with brides?
The excitement and enthusiasm that is always present when assisting people with one of the most momentous occasions of their lives.