Water Spout

You never know what you will come across when you're at the beach, especially on a rainy afternoon. A vacationer on St. Simons captured this water spout yesterday off the coast. I'm still unsure if I would have ran or stopped to enjoy the show. Either way Mother Nature was definitely entertaining beach goers that day!

(photo found on CNN iReport)

Why should you choose the Golden Isles?

The words "Golden Isles" dates back almost 500 years when travelers came to the coastal Georgia area seeking gold, but found much more. From golden sunsets to the golden marshes they knew this coast was special and they nicknamed it the Golden Isles. The name stuck and years later it still captures the hearts of many who seek it's beauty.

Invite your family and friends for a weekend getaway to St. Simons or to one of it's neighboring islands. You'd be surprised how many of your guests will jump at the chance to come support you on your big day, knowing they can also turn it into a mini vacation. When you choose St. Simons and the Golden Isles your guest will stay busy all weekend long. From the beach to shopping there is something for everyone! The Golden Isles offers more than 200 holes of golf (Click here to book a tee time), miles upon miles of bike paths, and endless streams canoeing or kayaking.

Click on any of the official (Golden Isles, St. Simons, or Jekyll Island) website links on the left hand side of this blog to see what each island offers.

Tartan & Sequins: Wedding Planning 101: DIY Bridal Party Invites

I have really enjoyed following Tartan & Sequins. Check out her latest blog about making these super cute invites. She is using these invites for her Bridal Party, but you could use this design for any invitation. The colors are great together and the bow adds the perfect finishing touch!

Tartan & Sequins: Wedding Planning 101: DIY Bridal Party Invites: Despite how purple the envelopes look, I swear they are a dark navy :) The first thing out of my mouth to my fiance after I said "yes" w...

Make It Legal

Don't forget to make it legal! You can practically do it all online now-a-days. Here is some information about obtaining your marriage license and also about getting a judge to officiate your wedding in St. Simons and the Golden Isles.

• Marriage License Application
• Make your payment online by clicking here.
• Required Adult Information

Link to Glynn County Probate Court.

Free Samples!

I'm always up for a freebie! Check out the AMAZING designs of Wedding Paper Divas! Right now they are running a special. You can order 8 samples of wedding stationary for free. I just ordered mine the other day and I didn't pay a dime! I can't wait for them to arrive and officially order my invites!

Find your favorite style and get in on the deal! After I placed my order they even followed up with a "Love Your Samples" email with a 20% off discount code.

Wedding Music

While planning my own wedding in SSI I've found it challenging to find a band or DJ to perform for my big day. My google searches have come up sparse and even though I would enjoy a good DJ, I was really hoping to hire a local band from the Golden Isles. Not living in the St. Simons area has left me relying on others and their references. Back in March my friends and I went down for the weekend and while enjoying the island life we got to hear several bands play at local eateries. I'm not sure if it was the alcohol ( : or just getting lost in the fun of everything, but I really wish I had remembered to get the bands contact information. Hopefully in the next month or two my fiance and I will be able to get back to the coast and find someone we really like and will be a good fit for our wedding. Here's one site that emailed me back pretty quickly and seems to be popping up a lot when searching for a wedding DJ:

http://islandsoundlive.com/index1.html

If you know someone or have used a band to play at one of your events (wedding or not) let me know. Once I have started a list I will posted it on here as a page.

Your Photographer Guide

I hope you have noticed the most recent addition to The Golden Isles Bride, a Photographer Page! As I come across more photographers I will of course update the page so check back periodically. I also wanted to post a list of questions to help guide you through your interview process with your potential wedding photographer. With that being said this in no way means you have to take this list with you, but as someone *me* who "clams up" in interviews and also gets nervous making a big decision about spending thousands of dollars it helped walk me through the process. I also think trust is earned, not given and more than likely this is the first time you are meeting this person. So asking more questions helped me build trust; so if your photographer feels interrogated, well maybe they are because it is an interview. But as long as you're nice, patient, and smile, (it always helps :)) you should be able to ask the questions you want without offending. So here we go...

1. What's your primary style? Or what style do you feel is your best work? Posed and formal, relaxed, photo-journalistic, creative, artistic, candid, traditional?
1. While you can ask show me your portfolio so I can understand your style? I quite honestly wont know what I'm looking at so being more specific helped me. 
2. Do you shoot in color or black & white? or both? Do you shoot in digital format that can create both color and black & white versions of the same picture?
3. What input do you need from me to best photograph my wedding? (PLEASE GOD GIVE THEM A LIST OF YOUR MUST HAVE SHOTS! I've been to a few weddings and the photographer didn't have a list and everyone was just standing around and aimlessly wandering. Efficiency people! We've all been there where we are standing around forever waiting on the couple and family to finish their pictures. Having a list will speed this process up greatly and I'm sure will ease the stress the day of for everyone.)
4. These are my ideas for portraits (Hence the list.) About how long would you need for them?
5. Who will be the primary photographer for my wedding? If it's not you could I see their portfolio and meet them?
6. Tell me about your background in photography. (There are photographers who have shot hundreds of weddings and haven't improved over time. Then there are photographers who have only photographed a handful of weddings, but are fantastic because they get it.)
7. How many other events will you also photograph that weekend? (Some may think this is an unnecessary question if you trust them, but I felt better after asking. Go with your gut instinct.)
8. If my wedding doesn't stay on schedule, will you charge extra for going over? 
9. What kind of equipment will you bring with you? (i.e. tripods, lighting, or other devices) (I wanted a "photo booth" and wanted to know how it would be set up. So you can be more specific, but you get the general idea.)
10. Do you develop your own film or send it out? 
11. What are you arrangements if you are unable to make it because of an emergency? Or what if I have an emergency and have to cancel last minute? 
12. What about retouching? Can you tell me about that process?
13. Can we purchase a disc/DVD of the images? 
14. What timeline from booking to wedding day to final delivery of images look like?
15. Can we have an engagement session so we can get to know each other better?
16. Tell me about your prints and albums?
17. What does the contract and payment process look like?
18. How will we first view our images and select prints?
19. How will my family and friends view the photos and order prints?

If you have other really good questions please let me know. Thanks!

Photographers

Currently I'm compiling a list of wedding photographers in the SSI and Golden Isles area. Thank you for inquiring and I will post shortly when a list is formed. If you would like your business listed or you have used someone who was great and think they should be listed here please let me know. Thanks!

Freebies! Who doesn't love a good deal!?!

Currently I'm on the search for the cheapest (but beautiful) save the date cards or magnets. After watching the vista print commercials I thought I would do a little research online to get the best deal. Vista print offers lots of freebies, and yes you may have to get a little creative, but when it saves you $$$ I think it's worth the extra effort! Check out this deal on cards:

Standard Postcards

100 Reg. $24.99 Now FREE Increase sales with high-quality, targeted marketing. Postcards are the perfect tool to help you promote special offers to customers and prospects, or to advertise new products and services. If you aren't looking for save the dates you can change it to say "Thank You" or just leave all the areas blank and you have the ease of using them for whatever you wish. Vista print has tons of designs to choose from and the shipping & handling ends up being about $7.09. I also added on matching envelopes for about $3.50 more. But I think it adds an extra touch of style.

Enjoy!

Golden Isles Magazine

Want to learn more about the Golden Isles? Check out Golden Isles Magazine! I've really enjoyed browsing the articles and learning more about the Golden Isles rich history. It's also a great avenue to find vendors and local eateries. Planning a trip to St. Simons? This magazine also features entertainment, festivals, and upcoming special events.

Home Sweet Home

Ever been on vacation and thought at the end "I'm so ready to be home"? Well I have! Okay, so maybe you can't bring your house with you on vacation or for our purposes your wedding weekend. But why not rent a home and settle in? Or you might just want to get away from the hotel (that houses all your attendees) and relax at your "home away from home." I've listed some sites that have a great selection of homes ranging from condos to villas.

• Georgia Coast Reality
• Homes.com
• VacationRentals.com
• Homeaway.com
• Hodnett Cooper

(If you have a site or know of a site that you think should be listed please contact me. Thanks!)

Looking to get married on the beautiful coast of Georgia? This blog will hopefully help ease your planning process and get you connected with the most venues and all things wedding in the Golden Isles. From St. Simons to Jekyll and all the other beautiful Islands in and around the area I hope you choose the Golden Isles as your destination wedding location!