A huge thank you to all my couples for your wonderful reviews! You’ve made it possible for me to be included again this year in The Knot’s Best of Weddings 2021 and for the first time in The Knot Hall of Fame! I love doing weddings and I strive to provide my couples with my very best service. I look forward to the weddings for the coming year and I hope that inquiring couples feel confident in placing their trust in me for their own ceremonies.
Thank you to all my wonderful couples for their kind words in reviews! You’ve made The Knot Best of Weddings possible for me for the third time! I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of your special days, and I look forward to the coming years, doing my absolute best to help make the wedding days of new couples a cherished memory!
Thanks to all my lovely brides who have given their reviews and made me a 2018 Best of Weddings winner on TheKnot.com! This is a highly prestigious award that takes a great deal of time and effort to receive considering that it starts with providing the very best service to my engaged->married couples each and every time I perform a wedding! I couldn’t have done it without you…
Thank you, thank you!
No sooner do you announce your engagement, and your close friends and relatives will be wondering and even waiting to get your call. You see, they will expect that, they, being your favorite friends, buddies, cousins, sister or brother, will be chosen to be in the wedding party. They may even expect to hold one of the prime spots; Maid of Honor or Best Man.
Choosing the line up usually consists of thinking of those people closest to you, friends and relatives alike. It’s normally not too hard to pick your attendants because there can be anywhere from one to 7, 8 or more on either side. You’re really only limited by space for everyone to stand. Choosing the “honor spots” can be a little trickier though.
Picking a Best Man isn’t too tough because a Best Man’s duty list is fairly small. Organizing a bachelor party and giving a wedding speech aren’t usually big jobs when it’s a bunch of rowdy guys, so choosing “the one” usually boils down to who your “bestie” is. However, your brother trumps the best friend, even if you don’t get along that well. If you have more than one, it’s the closest one emotionally or in age, and if hurt feelings are inevitable, have two Best Men. No brothers? Then best friend it is. If there is more than one best friend, two Best Men can happen here too, but you can just choose the one you’ve known the longest.
Maid or Matron of Honor is harder because girls think about the responsibilities of the job more than we fellas do, let’s face it. But it’s still a decision of the heart and what “just feels right”. Other considerations would be how close you are to the prospective right hand girl, but you also have to think about which person will be better at giving you the support and attention you’ll need as you prepare for your wedding. Choose that person who will not create drama that you don’t need. One other thing to consider is how your choice will affect the person you choose. Can they afford the time and expense associated with the roll you choose them for? You may need to step in and help them defray some costs if their participation in your wedding day would cause undue hardship.
All in all, this is supposed to be a wonderful and exhilarating experience and the people you surround yourself with should add, not subtract from those feelings!
Dr. Stephan J. Smith is an ordained, non-denominational wedding officiant who has been marrying loving couples in Livingston, Genesee, Oakland and surrounding Michigan Counties for more than 10 years. With a calming and caring demeanor, Dr. Smith strives to make his weddings unique and beautiful. His custom ceremonies, attention to detail and the perfect balance of mood creates an environment of serenity and bliss that you’ll treasure for all time. You can contact him for questions and availability by email or phone using the “Contact Dr. Smith” tab above.
One of the most exciting parts of planning your wedding is choosing your wedding colors! This next step in the Wedding Planning Series is both fun and important since this choice will be a big part of the other choices you make as you navigate the landscape of venues, decorations, dresses, tuxes, invitations, etc. There are so many options these days. It used to be much simpler, but now your palate is nearly limitless.
How do you choose your wedding colors? For many, it’s simply personal favorites. For others, the choice is based on an event or a shared experience that evokes a pleasant memory. Sometimes the colors honor a favorite of a deceased loved one.
What colors work together? Well, in my experience, colors pairs where one is vibrant, bold and saturated and the other is more neutral work well (such as pink and medium grey or emerald green and sepia). Other great pairings are those colors that share a color family (such as sunny yellow and pale orange). You could also choose colors that are complementary or have a split complement, but be careful here because complementaries can be gaudy.
Remember that wedding colors can be very trendy. Just look at your old cousin’s wedding from 10 years ago to see what I mean. Check out the latest fashion magazines, especially those dealing with wedding fashion and see what strikes you. You can always find something that you like, then tweak the colors to be a bit more to your personal style.
Whatever you do, don’t stress about it…have fun with it!
Dr. Stephan J. Smith is an ordained, non-denominational wedding officiant who has been marrying loving couples in Livingston, Genesee, Oakland and surrounding Michigan Counties for more than 10 years. With a calming and caring demeanor, Dr. Smith strives to make his weddings unique and beautiful. His custom ceremonies, attention to detail and the perfect balance of mood creates an environment of serenity and bliss that you’ll treasure for all time. You can contact him for questions and availability by email or phone using the “Contact Dr. Smith” tab above.
