THE BEST WEDDING PHOTOBOOTH // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Everyone says that between Thanksgiving and New Years is "engagement season".  So that means a buuuunch of people are planning their weddings right now. If you're thinking about a photobooth, I wanted to share my experience in case it helps at all!
 Like I mentioned in my last post, we didn't have a professional photographer at our wedding reception. Instead we decided to put money towards a photobooth- which seriously paid off.

I found Meir Photography on Thumbtack, and after meeting Greg in person, I knew they were they company we had to go with. He had all the options and pricing so clearly laid out- no sneaky hidden fees or costs..plus we could personalize the strips with our wedding hashtag for free. We chose to have an "open air" photobooth (rather than enclosed) so that more people could fit in it, and others could enjoy watching people pose and be ridiculous!

The night of our party one of Greg's team members set up the booth insanely quickly- and had a TON of props for everyone to use- from hats to signs to glasses. One thing a heard from a bunch of people was that this was the best photobooth they'd ever been to at a wedding because EVERYONE in the photo got a copy of the photostrip! Even if there were 10 people, every single person got a copy.

The booth attendant also printed out an extra copy to be glued into a photobook where people could write down well wishes and notes to us. We were so busy the night of we didn't really realize how many people used it-so when we looked through it the next day we were completely floored.

We had endless pages of hilarious pictures and notes from our friends and family. As the night went on (and the beer went n) the comments got funnier and funnier. We've shared it with a bunch of people and have gone through it ourselves aboutttt 20 times.

Whether you're looking to capture photos from the night in a way that's more affordable that a full photographer- or are able to have a photobooth on top of a photographer, make sure you find someone you can trust and understands what you're looking  for in the night. If you're in the Madison/Sun Prairie area and are thinking about a photobooth- we seriously can't recommend Meir Photography enough.

Did you have a photobooth at your wedding- or are you planning to have one?
What was your favorite part about it?

xo, laura


*find more wedding posts here*

WEDDING PHOTOS ARE HERE! // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Oh man. So many feels looking back at this day! It was so hard to just choose a few to share, but these are my favorites. I'll be sharing some on Instagram as well, so be sure to follow me : @lpodlich

Big thanks to George of Ventouris Photography for capturing us so well- we loved spending our special day with you!! If you pin/share- please give credit to Ventouris Photography!

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I could post about 20 pictures of just Michael because he looked SO. DANG. GOOD. GAH.

 Walking down the steps at our resort after our first look:

Saying some vows...I kept inching closer and closer to him- the picture series of it is pretty hilarious:

Trying not to cry!

 Better view of our ceremony site- gorgeous terrace that jutted out into the sea!

 GAH.

 Alright from here on out we have a lot of pictures of us looking at each other. 90% of the photos we have are of that. OOPS.

 Walking around streets of Oia

 EVERYTHING HERE IS GORGEOUS!

 Seriously perfect sunset:

 ...that just kept getting better!

 Inside the caves at Canaves Oia 

 Crazy amazing sunset. GAH. TAKE ME BACK.

Now excuse me while I go look at all the other amazing photos and pretend we are back in Greece! GAH.

For more B&B Wedding Posts, go HERE.

For more more #BestulBrewBash photos, go HERE!

Which one is your favorite?

OBVIOUSLY mine is the one of just Michael ;-)

xo, laura

Q&A OF OUR "RUNAWAY" WEDDING // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Whoa. Between our trip abroad, our reception back home, Thanksgiving, going back to work, and now getting ready for the holidays- I have had zero time or bandwith to blog.
Getting back into it- because there is SO much to post about!
xo, laura

(photo credit: george ventouris photography)

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For those who haven't been following along with the B&B Wedding Series- let me do quick fill in on what you've missed:
Michael and I got engaged in May, and since we've been together for 7 years and have talked about marriage for most of those years, we knew we wanted a short engagement and a private wedding.
We'd been talking about taking a trip abroad to a couple places on our bucket list for a while, so the stars just kind of aligned to get married while on our trip. We planned a 2 week vacation to Italy and Greece in October- with the actual wedding being at the end of the trip, with just the two of us present (+ a photographer). We also planned a casual late night party/reception for a few weeks after we returned from our vacation so we could come back and celebrate with our family and friends.
So there you have it. Engaged May 12th. Married October 26th. Reception November 19th.
EFFICIENCY FOLKS, IT'S WHAT WE LIKE AROUND HERE. ;-)

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This post is HUGE because we've gotten so many questions about why we chose to do things the way we did- so grab a glass bottle of wine and dive in, folks. I'm going to break it down into parts answering them and hopefully it will all make sense! Also- because it wasn't a secret I got corrected by multiple people for using the term "elopement"...and "destination wedding" just didn't seem to fit- so for now I'm calling it "runaway". Deal with it and keep your comments to yourself if you don't like it PLZ. Thanks. xoxo.
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1. Why such a short engagement?
Short answer; We couldn't wait to be married to each other!
Long answer: Like I said, we've been together for a long time, and we've been talking about getting married for so long that once we got engaged, we were really excited to be married. Also, neither of us had an interest in a drawn out engagement since it wasn't necessary with the wedding plans we had. Unlike a lot of the weddings my friends planned, we didn't have to book a venue a year or more in advance. Kudos to them for their patience, because it is something I do NOT have!

2. Why get married abroad?
Short Answer: It seemed exciting, romantic, and practical to mix the wedding and the honeymoon all into 1 trip.
Long Answer: We have traveled a fair amount together in the USA, but never abroad together. We had been talking about a trip to Europe for a while, and it was just really exciting to us to have that first trip together there be our wedding/honeymoon!

3. Why Italy & Greece?
Short & Long Answer: They've been on our bucket lists forever, and they seemed like beautiful, romantic places to go!

4. Why get married alone, just the two of you? Why didn't others come with?
Short Answer: Because it's what we wanted.
Long Answer: Anyone who knows us well enough can tell you Michael and I are a pretty openly lovey-dovey couple. My sister can fully attest how eye-roll worthy we can be with our overly cutesy name calling and PDA. Shockingly, when it came to marriage, we both wanted to be really private. As much as we love sharing how much we love each other with everyone on a regular basis, there was something so serious about saying vows to each other that we wanted it to just be the two of us there. The idea of being 100% focused on each other and nothing else in a place that was new to us just .... fit. In addition to that, we wanted our day to be 100% us, 100% free of stress, 100% OURS. We felt like the more we opened up the marriage ceremony to more people and more factors, the more it would slip away from what we hoped it would be. We've been to so many weddings where the guests are complaining about SOMETHING. The food, the weather, the attire, the seating, the cost of travel, whatever. I take things personally, and I know if I had heard that on our special day, it would have really hurt my feelings and taken some joy out of that moment.

5. ...but what about your families? Weren't they mad they couldn't be there? Don't you feel selfish?
Short Answer: Sigh. You can ask them how they feel. And yes, we did feel a little selfish.
Long Answer: GAHHHHHH. This is the question we were asked so so much. Depending on the day/time/mood I got asked it, it affected me in a different way. Sometimes I was unfazed by it, sometimes I was annoyed, sometimes I felt sad, and sometimes I was downright pissed. It's hard to put into words without sounding rude, but at the end of the day,  we are the ones that have to be married to each other. This experience is 100% what we wanted, and at the end of the day, that ruled out the opinions of any friends or family we talked to.We went back and forth about it, but knew in our guts that if we compromised we might regret it. We love our parents a disgusting amount, and are lucky that they are understanding people that let us do our thing our way. Planning a big reception/party when we got back was our way of still showing everyone we loved them and wanted to have them be part of our marriage.

6. Do you guys not like traditional weddings? 
Short Answer: Not for us, but yes for other people!
Long Answer: We have been to some AMAZING weddings. Weddings that were small and huge and everywhere in between. Weddings in churches and barns and gardens and golf courses and beaches. We've gotten to witness our friends and family members get married and be so happy and dance the night away. We absolutely LOVE sharing in the joy of our friends, in whatever shape it may take. Just because a long-planned out wedding with a cake and first dances and table numbers wasn't what we chose to do for ourselves doesn't mean we don't love them for our friends. Sometimes when I've gotten this question it feels like a trap- that by saying we didn't want a "traditional" wedding we are crapping on our friends who did. Hopefully people get that weddings aren't one-size-fits-all by now!

7. So, how was it? Did it turn out like you planned?
Short Answer: AMAZING & YES.
Long Answer: Other than our wedding clothes that we shipped over getting stuck in Greek Customs (argggghhhhh), everything was awesome. The location was perfect, the staff were unbelievable, the photographer was hilarious, and the moment was exactly us. We said our vows, exchanged rings, kissed, and then couldn't stop grinning. :)

8. What was the best part? The worst?
The worst: Our stuff being stuck in Customs. THAT was a bill we didn't anticipate. Oy.
The best: Other than getting married (duh), the best part was once we finally finished taking photos and the sun was fully down- we went into a cave at our resort to have dinner. We sat there and rehashed the day while eating an insanely good meal and drinking overpriced drinks. We had this awesome buzz around us, overlooking the sea in the moonlight. It was one of those moments I know I'll never forget.

9. Did you re-do your vows at your reception? Did you wear your dress again?
Short&Long Answer: Nope to vows. Yup to dress.

10. WAIT..wait wait wait. But are you even LEGALLY married?
Short Answer: Yes.
Long Answer: Our goal initially was to legally be married in Greece. I worked on getting some paperwork done and had a month and change of VERY frustrating emails back and forth with the Greek Consulate. Boring story short, paperwork didn't go through for our wedding to be legal abroad, so we got our papers legally signed in Wisconsin when we returned.

11. Ohhhhhhhh Nice try then. So I mean you weren't REALLY married in Greece?
Short Answer: OMFG don't be rude you jerk.
Long Answer: Very few people asked me that question in that tone of voice, but the people that did...well..let's just say I think less of them now. To me, and to Michael, October 26th is our anniversary. It's when we said our vows to each other and promised to be together forever as husband & wife. The fact that the State Of Wisconsin doesn't recognize that date is fine with me, I understand the legal stuff- but the State of Wisconsin doesn't get to tell us when our true marriage was real. I have a friend who at their big, traditional wedding had something go wrong with their marriage certificate- and so they weren't legally married until 3 weeks later when it all got sorted out. Would you go up to her and say OH SORRIEZ your wedding wasn't real! That's not your REAL anniversary! So it's the same with us. Bai. (can you tell I get fired up about this? BAH.)

12. Ok fine- but where are the wedding pictures? Aren't you sad you don't have photos from the day from other people?
Short Answer: They are on their way. And only like 10% sad.
Long Answer: The wedding pictures are being edited, just like any other wedding pictures. We have a sneak peek but haven't posted them yet.  Obviously we're antsy to get them too. 90% of me is just fine not having any pictures from anyone else, because again, that was the plan. 10% is bummed that there weren't many candid non-professional shots captured, but my fingers are crossed the professional ones will all make it worth it!

13. Did you guys do any traditions that day? Did you stay in separate places the night before?
Short Answer: Yes to traditions, No to separate places.
Long Answer: Despite not having a traditional wedding, I looove traditions! I still did the old "something borrowed/blue/old/new" thing, which was fun. We also did a "first look" before the vows part, which we got captured on camera. Also- Michael never saw my dress or me IN my dress before our first look. It was seriously tricky to travel together and hide it, but I made it happen!
We stayed in the same place the night before, and ate breakfast together that morning..and hung out most of the day too! Being on vacation together didn't really allow for separation ;-)

14. Did you write your own vows? Were they a surprise to each other?
Short Answer: Partially...to both questions.
Long Answer: We wrote most of our vows together the night before our wedding and finished them the day of. We used a combination of parts of vows we found online, as well as some of our own words. The beginning and the end of the vows to each other were the same, and then in the middle we each wrote a few sentences that were a surprise during the actual exchanging of vows! We have the papers our vows were written on that we read to each other and I'm framing them to hang in our loft :)

15. Would you do it the same all over again?
YES!

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Long story short, we really REALLY enjoyed our trip and our wedding. We have a million stories and memories that we get to share together for the rest of our lives, and we feel insanely lucky for that. Everyone has their own vision of how they want their wedding to be like, and we got really fortunate to be able to actualize ours. We had so many completely kickass friends and family members support us, share in our joy, and get us even more excited for the choice we made. If I could pass on one piece of advice to anyone for their wedding it would be this: Focus on what brings you and your partner joy and go after that. Stick to your gut and remember this is about a marriage, not just a wedding ;-)


Have more questions about how we did our wedding?
Feel free to leave a comment or email me! (beautyandbeard AT gmail.com)

xo, laura

3 THINGS TO MAKE YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION A SUCCESS // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Ok.

I'll come right out and say it; this post is ridiculous for this reason:

 Everyone has their own version of success. 

Maybe your version of success is pleasing just your parents at your reception! Maybe it's every single person Instagramming your wedding cake!
Clearly this post is based on what I think would be a success, so take it with a grain of salt. 

My version of success is everyone having a freaking awesome time. 

Michael, me, our family, our friends.

Everyone leaving feeling sliiiightly bummed to leave because they were having such a good time.

I want it to be like this:

via GIPHY

Anyway.

Here we go, the 3 things that will make your wedding reception a success:

1. HUMOR:

Maybe it's a funny toast. Maybe it's pictures of your and your partner being nerdy little kids. For, us, it's going to be koozies. We weren't going to do wedding favors...but then Michael thought it would be hilarious if we did tacky wedding koozies since our party is at a brewery. 

They are tacky. They are cheap. They will make people giggle. 

Oh, and I mean hopefully we'll give a funny toast. I'm going to rely on Michael for that, everyone thinks he's funnier than I am anyway (it's true).

2. SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE TO DO:

 If you're the guest at a wedding, you're looking for something to do when you need a break from the dance floor when crappy songs come on (I'm lookin' at you, couples that play Norah Jones at your wedding). 

So have some yard games! Or a build your own cocktail bar! I don't know, you can probably google like 100 better ideas, but seriously. 

We're having a photobooth at our party because we freaking love photobooths. People can take as many pictures as they want and get a little souvenir to put on their fridge :) We booked Greg Meir Photography  knowing we'd get great pictures at a great price with a great booth attendant. If you're in the Madison/Sun Prairie area - look him up!

(Photo via Meir Photography) 

3. FOOD.

I don't care if your reception is at 10 am or 10 pm, have food at reasonable times.

You know how you get hungry around the same times each day? SO DO YOUR GUESTS. It's like sometimes when people plan their wedding they forget what it's like to have been guests at other peoples' weddings! 

Have snacks out if you think your meal will start late. Have late night food if your ceremony is booze-filled and going into all hours of the night.

Our party is late-night so we're not having an official dinner, but we'll have plenty of snacks, along with late night pizza delivered towards the end of the night.

via GIPHY

So there.

That's it you guys.

You don't need to have the most Pinterest-y decorations or the most expensive booze.

What did you have at your wedding reception that you really loved?

PLZ TELL ME SOMEONE ELSE HAD KOOZIES!

xo, lp

(ps, see the rest of the #BBweddingseries posts HERE)

THE 51 STAGES OF WEDDING INVITES // B&B WEDDING SERIES

When it comes to wedding planning, I feel like people don't talk about invites much. Maybe it's just because I'm a huge paper goods nerd, but this is something about the process I was SO excited about! It turns out if you're indecisive (like I am), it takes a liiiitttle more time than you'd think. In the end, we found wedding invites we absolutely loooooove, but I definitely thought I would get this task done in like 30 minutes. Sigh. So naive.

Here are the 51 thoughts while creating wedding invites:

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1. Oooh! We get to send out invites! Yes!

2. I can't fricking wait. Everyone is going to want to hang our invite on their fridge.

3. We have to do letterpress. Anyone who's anyone does letterpress!

4. Whoa. Letterpress is really expensive.

5. Wait this is like down-payment-on-a-house expensive.

6. Ok so maybe not letterpress. I'll Pinterest this up in another way somehow.

7. Hm...is gold foil still in? 

8. Never mind that's too expensive too. 

9. Okay let's just Google "cheap wedding invites".

10. Oh! We can afford this site!

11. Mmmkay let's see- 186 design available. 

12. Sort "low $ to high $$$". 

13. Welp these look more like 40 year high school graduation-y than wedding-y.

14. WHY ARE THESE ALL SO UGLY.

15. Screw this I'm designing my own. That's not hard right?

16. Should we have a picture of us or not?

17. Are pictures of us only allowed on Save the Dates?

18. Okay no picture of us. Artsy picture of leaves instead.

19. Wait...maybe sparklers?

20. Nope sparklers are too "4th of Julyish"

21. Ok these leaves rock, let me ask for opinions from people.

22. Soooo no one likes the leaves. Shit.

23. Time to Google "free stock photos of leaves"

24. "fall leaves"

25. "red leaves"

26. Whoa "leaves" looks weird after typing it 30 times.

27. Okay. Got the photo. Time to add text.

28. WHY IS NONE OF THIS TEXT LINING UP LIKE I WANT IT TO.

29. F*&( IT I DON'T CARE I'M JUST SCRIBBLING "COME TO THE WEDDING" ON A POST IT.

30. Ok. Calmed down. Maybe I should keep trying..to..make this...work...just..line..up..

31. (5 hours later) SCREW THIS I'M USING A PRE-MADE DESIGN

32. Ok...nothing pink..or orange..yellow is hard to read...purple looks bleh...hm...

33. Oooh! This one is nice! Okay design chosen I AM A GENIUS THIS IS AMAZING.

34. Names CHECK. Location CHECK. Time...

35. Wait.. 7pm? or 7 PM? or 7'oclock? 7 in the evening? Hm...

36. Blurb about marriage abroad, CHECK. Accommodations CHECK!

37. Do we put the registry on the back of the invite? *checks 50 wedding sites* 

38. Now the great part where we tell people they can't bring their kids...this should be fun.

39. Googles "how to tell people to not bring kids to a wedding" 20 times.

40. Whew. Add the wedding website and we are GOLDEN!! YAAAS.

41. Wait. Shit. Do we do RSVPs online? Or a card?

42. Is online RSVP cool and forward thinking or cheap and annoying to old people?

43. Will people forget to RSVP online? I like online RSVPs but do other people!?!?

44. Screw it we're getting RSVP cards, real mail is the absolute best.

45. *runs finished product past a bunch of people*

46. Okay. Time to order. Feeling great about this. *hits PURCHASE*

47. &%*$& DID I SPELL "accommodation" wrong?!!?!?

48. Nope we're  good. Whew. 

49. WAIT I BET I SPELLED OUR NAMES WRONG.

50.Okay nope those are good too. Time to stop staring at this goddamn screen.

51. Shuts computer. Gets glass of wine. 

THE END.

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Where did you get your invitations from? Minted? Shutterfly? Etsy? Vistaprint? Kinkos?

Let me know how it worked out for you!

xo, lp 

For more fun, find me on instagram @lpodlich or snapchat: lpod216

See more on the wedding series HERE


(and if you're wondering, the front of the invite ended up looking like this.. with location/address removed of course!)

HOW & WHERE TO REGISTER FOR A WEDDING

Registering for a wedding is overwhelming and weird.

There.

I said it.

You stand in a store and say "HM WHAT CAN I MAKE PPL BUY ME 2DAY?!".
I didn't grow up making holiday or birthday wish lists- you would get what you were given and you'd be appreciative...so making a list of things (some expensive) was kind of awkward!
Then there's the rules of it all. Thanks to wedding websites I now know that I am evidently supposed to own enough teaspoons to serve a small army and 50 sets of matching towels. The problem is Michael and I currently live in an apartment, so we don't have a ton of space to store 50 sets of matching towels... unless we get rid of our bed and just sleep on towels.
Wait. Actually that sounds cozy. Hmm...

I digress.

Here's a little window into what it's like to register- the good, the bad, and the super awesome.

Let's start on a good note, shall we?

REGISTRY PLACE #1: TARGET 

We registered for Target both in store AND online, because it was so dang easy.
If you go into the store, you can either use one of the scanners from Guest Services, or the Target App on your phone. We did both- the first time we used the scanner, and the second time we used our phone- and both were disgustingly easy and user friendly.

The scanner tells you when you've successfully scanned something so you don't have to worry about whether or not you'd added the item. Then it gives you the option to increase the quantity, so you don't have to scan the same item (like 50 towel sets) over and over again. You can also easily delete the item if you decide you like something better! At any time you can scroll through the full registry to edit or delete things in one click.

Don't mind the glare on the phone...but the Target App is just like using Target Cartwheel! Just use the photo scanner to scan the bar code on the shelf or the product and then add/delete/change just like you would on a typical scanner!

As for registering online at Target- my favorite part is the checklist part. It groups different kinds of  products together, and checks them off once you've added something to your registry that fills that bucket. Of course, you probably don't need everything on the list, but it's a good gut check!

REGISTRY PLACE #2: KOHL'S (spoiler; we deleted this one)

Whoa Kohl's was the woooooorst. Oh man. We were told to register there or Macy's and man, nope nope nope. 

When we arrived, we stood in line for about 10 minutes waiting to check out a scanner and the one person working was taking forever - so we decided not to wait for the other few people in front of us- we'd just download the app and go on our own. It started out fine b/c we had Starbucks, but kind of went downhill from there: 

 Like the Target app, you use a photo scanner over a barcode- but unlike the Target app, if you want more than one item you have to scan it over and over again to get multiple quantities. In addition to that anytime we would try to delete an item, the app would freeze- and wouldn't delete the item!

The biggest downfall was that about half the items we tried to scan wouldn't register! We would get an error message saying "We're sorry, this product couldn't be found". 

Um. What?! 

If it happened once I wouldn't have thought twice- but it happened about 8 times until we just gave up and left. When we got home we tried to delete the registry - but every time we would try to delete it, the site would freeze, kick us out, and make us sign back in...to find that the registry wasn't deleted! It took tweeting, facebook messaging, and emailing to get it deleted...total nightmare. Needless to say we are NOT registering there, and will not be recommending it to anyone!

REGISTRY PLACE #3: BED, BATH, & BEYOND

I feel like Bed, Bath, & Beyond is one of the quintessential wedding registry places. We walked in and there was a whole registry section, with someone to greet us and walk us step by step through the process.  We chose to use a scanner in store, and while the thing looked like it was from 1990, it was easy to use!

Just like the Target App, it was easy to add/change/delete items!

 The best part about BB&B is the fact you can take stuff out and hold it. Picking out silverware is kiiiind of hard to do if you can't tell how heavy/awkward it is :)

We also added a few items online- which was also crazy easy! Every item has the option of "Add to Registry" just like "Add to Cart" - so you don't have to constantly be going through the actual Registry site! 

Oh, and let the record show we didn't register for this Grill Pan - but someday I will own ALL the Le Creuset items on earth. #fact.

 REGISTRY PLACE #4: ZOLA.COM

So here's the thing about registering when you live in an apartment, and have been together for 6.5 years: You have lots of stuff and not lots of space.
However, asking people to just write you a check is about as tacky as it comes, so that's where Zola helped us out. We ended up choosing it because our friends who got married last year used it and liked it, so we totally copied them. #noshame

Zola is a way to show people what you intend to do with your wedding money. Plain as that. Since we are planning on getting married during our 2 week trip to Italy & Greece, we decided to "register" for experiences while we were there!

We chose to register in ranges from $25-$150, so that people with all budgets would feel comfortable finding something in their price range. We made a list of things we want to do while we're abroad, and put them into amounts- like wine tasting ($25) up to 1 night hotel stay in Santorini ($150).

You can register for items at Zola just like at Target if you want, but we chose to use it as a venue for experiences over items!

WHEW!
Another marathon wedding post in the books...if you missed the last ones, you can find them HERE.

Where did you register for your wedding?
Any good horror stories or great experiences?

xo, lp


*pssst: are we instagram friends yet? we should be. for sure. find me: @lpodlich*
*pssssssst: do you like snapchat more? find me: lpod216