How to Marie Kondo Your Wedding

Credit: Alicia Ann Photography

Engaged couples are STRESSED out and for good reason! From the moment you got engaged, your inbox filled up with advertisements and vendors constantly "following up". Friends and family fill up your house with paint chips (to find your wedding color palette), bridal magazines, and then the DIY decor starts to pile up in the dining room. It's overwhelming!

My best advice for wedding couples is this:

Marie Kondo your wedding.

Wait, what? Isn't that about folding clothes? Stay with me, it's a life saver!

Take the Marie Kondo question: Does this spark joy? If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, toss it! This method applies to everything from physical items like your registry and wedding favors to stylistic decisions like your color palette and music.

For example:

When you're choosing between Ariana Strings ensembles, listen to samples of each of our groups. Which one filled you with joy? There's your answer! All of our groups are incredibly versatile and can play classical and pop songs. If you're torn because you love the sound of two ensembles, ask if you can include both (one for the ceremony and the other for cocktail hour) OR contact me and tell me about your wedding style. I can help you narrow it down easily.

When you're choosing your wedding music, look down the list and pick your favorites. Why choose music that you've never heard of and have no attachment to? If you LOVE Frank Sinatra and Ed Sheeran, include them both in your ceremony. However, if you know you would like classical music, but aren't familiar with titles/composers and you know you want a specific style or feeling, that's where we can step in and offer sound advice (pun intended).

Most importantly

When you're selecting your wedding vendors, go with your gut. Really! Did this vendor make you feel at ease or did you feel like you were on the other half of a bad sales pitch? The vendors that made me feel at ease gave me the best experience on my wedding day. The vendors who rubbed me the wrong way before I hired them did not get any better. (That doesn't mean that your vendor isn't trying their best or isn't qualified. It just means that they're not the right one for you.)

By simplifying your wedding planning and keeping your Marie Kondo question in mind, you'll make planning a lot easier and it'll be fun.

Happy wedding planning!

-Ariana

Bride's Guide to Wedding Music: Let's Talk Processionals & Trends

Photo credit: Vicki + Eric Photography

What's a processional?

It's just a fancy word for asking your friends and family to ceremoniously walk down the aisle to music.

How many processionals should I have?

First of all, let's make one thing REALLY clear: There are NO rules. All the traditional wedding rules are long gone. So, you can include as many processionals as you choose!

The most current wedding trend is to have either...

3 separate processionals: a family processional, bridal party processional, and bride's processional

OR

2 processionals: a family + bridal party processional, then the bride's processional

Often, the decision on the number of processionals will depend on 3 things:

1. Which songs you'd like to include in your ceremony

2. How many people are in your bridal party

3. How many people in your family would like to process

Applying this information to your own wedding can seem daunting, but it's my favorite part of helping couples plan because it's actually really easy! When you book an Ariana Strings ensemble, I coordinate everything directly with you and I simplify the process by asking the important questions to narrow down your options.

A few quick tips:

How many people are in your bridal party? At least 5? You might want a separate bridal party song.

Do you have a really young ring bearer or flower girl? They might need extra time to walk down, so definitely choose a longer song. More on that in my next blog post.

Do you want to include parents and grandparents in the family processional? Ask them if they'd like to walk down the aisle or if they'd rather be seated during prelude music. That's one way to make things a lot easier!

What else would you like to know about processionals? Comment below and ask away!

Happy wedding planning!

-Ari

Photography: Vicki + Erik

Venue: Wadsworth Mansion

Planning and Design: Creative Concepts by Lisa

Flowers: Flowers by Danielle

Dress: Kleinfeld Bridal

Hair and Make-Up: Larissa Lake & Co

Outdoor Weddings: Beautiful Music, No Matter the Weather

Did you know that stringed instruments are extremely sensitive to the weather? I don't want you to have any surprises on your wedding day, so I've made an infographic to explain why. Keep in mind that there are easy solutions to all of these factors. Aside from moving your ceremony inside, you always have the option of tents, umbrellas, parasols, heat lamps, and specialty sound systems.

Photo credit: Alicia Ann Photography