Bridalize Denver: Wedding Planning Made Simple

Written by Michelle

Planning a wedding can pretty much become a full time job for most brides-to-be. You have to meet with vendor after vendor after vendor after vendor..... you get the idea. And sometimes, things don't always work out too well- you just don't mesh with them, the pricing isn't right, the product wasn't quite what you were looking for, and you have to start your search again. It can be an exhausting process. Wouldn't it be nice if someone came up with the brilliant idea of having all those vendors and resources in one location???? Well, that day has arrived and the location is Bridalize!

A few months back we were approached by the wonderful ladies over at Bridalize Denver- an awesome little boutique that was just opening up at the Village Shops at the Landmark in the Tech Center. One of our past brides had passed on our name to the girls and were wondering if we would be interested in adding our name to a short list of wedding photographers for brides to consider using for their big day. After hearing more about the shop and the services they would be providing to brides (for FREE- seriously no gimmicks it's really FREE) we were excited to participate.

Here's how it works. You get engaged and of course tell each and every one of your friends the great news. They offer up advice and names of companies they loved working with and those they didn't for their own big day. Some of those companies may work great for you while others just don't match your style/budget etc so you need more help. Rather than spending hours searching the internet for companies that could or could not be worth your time, Bridalize Denver is a one stop shop for all your planning. Everything from photography, to invitations, to a wedding planner, and much more- you can find it all at Bridalize. The shop's owner, Jessica, got this amazing idea while planning her own wedding not too long ago. It's such an exciting time in your life and for many people the planning of their big day can literally suffocate the fun out of it. She spent so much time and energy planning her wedding and searching the city over for trusted vendors she decided she wanted to help other brides by taking away much of that stress and research. All the vendors in the shop came by way of referral- from past brides or through other wedding professionals. No back alley, take your money and run shops- these are trusted professionals you can count on to be there for each of your wedding needs.

When we heard what this store was about we were so excited to participate. When I started the planning process over 7 years ago for our own wedding I would have loved to have had a resource like this available. I had several trusted companies that I worked with from referrals of friends/family that worked out wonderfully but for everything else it was up to me. And, while I loved the whole planning process I wasn't impressed with some of the vendors I found through the internet and yellow pages (yes I did say yellow pages- hey it was 7 years ago!) Our limo broke down on the way to our reception- making us an hour late which threw the entire evening off. The replacement limo they brought to pick us up had been out with a partying crowd the evening before and they didn't even bother to clean it up before bringing it to us- chicken bones and all! Then there was my wedding dress and the girls bridesmaids dresses. The shop closed down literally 2 weeks before I was to get my dress (for which I had waited almost 4-5 months for it to come in). I found out the dress I thought was a designer gown, and had paid for, was actually a knock off being sold as the designer. I was one of the fortunate few who did end up getting our dresses but there were many brides who lost their money and their dresses. It's from these experiences that I cannot recommend enough this great shop. If you or someone you know is planning their wedding please check out Bridalize. The website is just a glimpse into what they have available at the shop- visit them at the Village Shops at the Landmark: 5370 greenwood Plaza Blvd Ste 109, Greenwood Village CO 80111.

We went in the shop last week to take a look at everything now that they have the decor just about finished and all the vendors products to browse through. Here are some images we took of the shop while we were in there.

Here's one of the outside of the boutique:


And their sign:


What you see when you first step inside:


And another one:


I LOVE the furniture and they way they've decorated the place!:


Our area on the wall with our METAL prints:


Great area in the back for meetings:

It's Okay if You Don't Want to Hire Me =)

Just tell me so.

I found this interesting post written by Lori Raines Calligraphy in Oregon and thought it was very fitting for those of us in the wedding industry as well as great advice for brides and grooms planning a wedding.

It goes like this:
You located me on the web or through a friend. You e-mail or call me, we take time to meet, if you’re a local bride, or talk over the phone or e-mail if you are in another state or cross country. You tell me what it is that you want my services for in your wedding or special event. I listen and tell you how I can help you out, lettering styles, colors, prices, timelines, etc. We agree that this looks good and can work, we have gotten along well in our initial meeting and you say you will get back with me with a firm decision in a couple of days, if not sooner.

A few days later I e-mail you to see how things are coming and if you have made a decision. Nothing.

A week now goes by and I send a second e-mail asking if you can let me know if you wish to reserve space on the calendar for my services. I hear nothing.

Now, by this time I should take a hint, but I think to myself, “What if finals have her really busy, or there’s a family issue and she’s just not been able to get time away to e-mail or call.” I also don’t want any lack of follow-up on MY part to be taken as “she doesn’t care” or laziness. Like many business owners, I am hyper-critical of myself in business situations, so I worry about everything.

Don’t worry, I KNOW what happened. You simply changed your mind about paying the budget and not needing my services, or you found another vendor that you “clicked with”. Not a worry! I totally understand that this happens. This is business. I have competition. There are budgets. I understand. But all I am asking is this: Tell me your final decision so I can adjust my schedule accordingly. Also, by telling me WHY you chose someone else, I can adjust my business and approach, the way I present things to potential clients. It’s a learning process for me, not a personal slam. You won’t hurt my feelings. Constructive criticism is necessary to grow and learn. You don’t have to phone to tell me, just drop me a line and say you will be going with someone else and why. Just say SOMETHING and don’t worry about detailing it out. It’s not necessary. Feedback is good and necessary for the growth of my business. I guarantee you, there are hundreds of thousands of other wedding professionals that will agree with me–it just takes an e-mail to let us know the how and why you decided to book with someone else. And it doesn’t leave us wondering.

That’s my request to all brides and grooms out there and I am certain that any wedding vendor you call on will agree that they would like to know why you chose someone else. How else can we improve if we never know what we are doing wrong?

Why Hire A Professional? Article Featured in Seattle Bride

I was browsing through some websites and came across this great article written by Cody Ellerd in Seattle Bride Magazine. With tough economic times many people are resorting to having a "friend who dabbles in photography" photograph their wedding. Cody Ellerd's article points out the differences between hiring that "friend" and a professional from a personal perspective of being that "friend". Here is a link to the original article on their webpage: Seattle Bride

Issue Date: Fall/Winter 2009
PHOTOGRAPHY
By Cody Ellerd

Photography by Cody Ellerd (bottom photos) and John & Joseph Photography (top photos)

I consider myself a pretty good amateur photographer. I’ve taken a couple of classes, I have a nice Nikon D60 and, as a professional travel writer, I’ve even had a few of my shots make magazine covers and pages. If you didn’t budget for a professional photographer at your wedding, I’m the friend you might call to take pictures.

So when Seattle Bride sent me to the late-winter wedding of Vicky Wu and Chris Nicoll to shoot alongside Joey Hong of John & Joseph Photography, a local award-winning team of two brothers who have been shooting commercial, fashion and wedding photography for more than eight years, I was curious to see how well I could keep up with a seasoned pro.

From the moment we started shooting in the bride and groom’s room at Hotel 1000, I was floored. “Vicky, look down at your shoulders…put a gentle smile on your lips. Chris, look straight at my lens—no, smile. Relax your forehead.” Joey’s attention to such minute detail went way beyond “Say cheese” and brought out the couple’s absolute best. He knew how to manipulate the room’s light and reflective surfaces in ways I never would have dreamed of, transforming what I thought was an unremarkable setting into a photo studio with endless possibilities.

Joey commanded family portraits with a gentle control and confidence that only comes from years of experience. He had the right flashes and steadiness of hand for getting great dance photos, while I snapped shot after blurry shot in a mild panic that my precious memory space was quickly dwindling. I was giving it my best, and in a few instances it showed: an inside shot of Vicky simply glowing in the window’s natural light; a close-up kiss in the sunlight where the couple wore the sweetest smiles. But when those spontaneous moments that are here and gone in the blink of an eye happened, Joey caught them with lightning speed, while I lost many of them to improper focus or exposure.

I now disagree more than ever with the digital-age adage that “now everyone is a photographer.” Tens of thousands of dollars in education, equipment and experience separate me from the pros. Professional photographers, like any other artists or business owners, need to spend money to make money. When you hire them, you’re helping them pay for their investments.

“Photography is a very equipment-intensive business, and the equipment is expensive,” says Scott Squire of NonFiction Weddings, a Seattle-based photography team with 10 years of experience. To each wedding, he and his partner bring six or seven top-drawer lenses, a handful of strobes, three camera bodies, one backup and innumerable accessories. (In contrast, if my equipment had failed, my backup would have been my camera phone.)

Staying on top of new technology in the digital age is its own challenge, one that takes a professional commitment and expense. “The rate of change [in digital media] can be stupefying,” laughs longtime Seattle-based wedding photographer Sharlane Chase. She keeps up with the flow of information at annual weeklong workshops and seminars, and it shows in her final product.

On a side note, like all of you reading this magazine, I also happen to be planning my own wedding. My fiancé and I are on a tight budget and had planned to take a gamble and hire an amateur photographer friend. Now? We’re determined to find a way to get a pro.

Vicky and Chris would have been pretty disappointed if I had been their only photographer. If anyone ever does ask me to take pictures at their wedding, I’ll be happy to show up with my Nikon, and I may even take the best disposable-camera shots of the whole night. I just hope someone like Joey is there, too.

“This was such a cute moment, totally unscripted,” Ellerd remembers. “They bumped fists and it was clear it was a little habit of theirs, one that conveyed their friendship. Joey was right there to catch it while I was fumbling with my focus ring.”


“This image is so painfully inferior,” says our rogue photographer Cody Ellerd about her image. “My angle is bland while Joey’s is creative. His is crisp and perfectly exposed, while mine is washed out and grainy. Joey knew exactly how to take advantage of the sense of motion created by this cool backdrop at Hotel 1000.”


“The couple was getting a little photo fatigued,” Ellerd says, “but Joey turned it into a beautiful and intimate shot. I thought there was enough light, but without using a flash and spoiling the cool light bouncing off the building behind them, I couldn’t get my hand quite steady enough.”


For this “exit shot,” the clarity and color of Joey’s shot versus Ellerd’s is evident. “Notice the white car in front of Chris and Vicky,” Ellerd says. “Joey magically made it disappear—I’m not even gonna try.”

Bride's Tips: Wedding Dresses

For a while now I (Michelle) have been wanting to get a little more involved with our blog. Witnessing so many weddings I feel we have a plethora of information to share with our brides and help them with the planning process. Every bride wants her day to be unforgettable. After all there is so much time and money that goes into a wedding and all those dreams that were years in the making. The planning process for our own wedding, almost 6 years ago now, was one of the most exciting time of my life! I loved every moment of it. However, I've heard time and again from brides-to-be that they can't wait for the wedding day so all the planning can be over. That's where I come in. Okay so I'm not a wedding planner (actually I did want to be back before our photography took off) but I'd love to share any tips and advice for all our brides to help make the planning a little more fun and a lot less stressful. From the small things, like the song you pick for your first dance, to the big things, like the wedding dress, I'd love to offer ideas and share the latest trends to help you make your day unique to you. I'll be posting these every now and then so check back for the latest. If you have any topics you'd like me to cover just let me know.

So, without further introduction here is my first post and what better way to start than with my favorite topic of all, the wedding dress! The last time I went to a few local bridal shops I was a little disappointed with the lack of selection. Where are all those dresses in the magazines? Makes one think those dresses are for the rich and famous only- if they're not in the stores they must be high priced gowns that nobody can afford right? Well... there are a lot of beautiful dresses out there that don't cost an arm and a leg you just have to look in the right place. The internet is a great place to start- you can find a dress and find out where to buy it without having to go to 50 different bridal shops. Here are a few designers that I absolutely LOVE!!!! Many of these gowns can be purchased for under $1000 but you'll still look like you stepped right out of a fashion magazine. Check out the links to their websites for more beautiful dresses.
Nicole Miller:

Manuel Mota Pronovias:

Jim Hjelm:

J. Crew Weddings:

Alix & Kelly: