Dee and Kris’s 2020 Tips and Tricks

It’s that time of year again, engagement season. You’ve seen your friends and your friend’s friends share that special news in the years past, we all know it’s THAT season. She got her ring on Christmas, or he proposed at midnight striking the new year. But this year was different. This year was YOUR year, he finally got down on one knee and stepping into 2020 you no longer his girlfriend, but his FIANCÉ! Are you even used to the sound of that yet? Fiancé! Let’s start off your engagement with some new tips and tricks from Dee and Kris!

Now that you have the man of your dreams, it’s time to get down to business: wedding planning. We know that can seem very daunting, but this is such a fun time! By teaming up with Dee and Kris and our amazing community of wedding vendors we can almost guarantee a fun and stress-free wedding for you! In honor of the new decade, we are rolling out some of the first tips and tricks for starting the planning of your 2020 wedding!

Tip 1 Insure your ring

This has been said over and over again, always insure your ring before wearing it! You’ll want to resize and insure your engagement ring as soon as possible, but you should also consider insuring your wedding bands immediately as well. Even if you and your partner are not wearing your wedding bands immediately, you should still insure those rings as well. Life happens, and more often than not, extended warranty or service plans do not cover stolen or damaged jewelry due to a fire, flood or other natural disasters. Trust us, it wouldn’t be the first time we have heard the devastating news of a ring being stolen before a wedding day. 

Tip 2 Gather all your ideas

I’m assuming you already have your Pinterest board open in another window, so let’s start there. Pinterest is the perfect spot to save all your wedding ideas and share them with your partner, your bridal party, and your wedding coordinator. You can even set a “secret” board so you don’t reveal any of your ideas to your future guests! Start to narrow down your ideas of things you really want starting with the basics. What time of year would you like to get married? What type of venue suits you two as a couple? You don’t need to commit to any plans just yet, but it will give you an idea of the type of day you want to plan!

We also recommend snagging a copy of Real Weddings Magazine, each season they gather more than a hundred REAL weddings from all over Northern California. Getting inspiration from real past weddings is a great way to get a feel for how local vendors create for actual clients on everyday weddings. Plus Real Weddings Magazine has its own step by step planning guide to help you plan your wedding!

Once you have a general idea for how you’d like your wedding to look and feel, it’s time to take all these ideas to someone who can help execute them all! Keep on scrolling for more tips and tricks.

Tip 3 Hire a Coordinator

DIY weddings are great, but what makes these weddings the most successful and stress-free is hiring a professional wedding coordinator. If you are considering a venue that does not include at least a day-of coordinator, we highly recommend you hire professional help. Coordinators generally know everyone in the business and can connect you with vendors that most suit your personality and style for your wedding. Hiring them first takes the guess-work out of researching the rest of your vendors, and they can help you set and stick to your budget! Full-service coordinators such as Events By Kristina Elyse or Stephanie Teague Events, are with you from day one. They help you with everything from scheduling and styling your engagement session, picking the perfect linen and table decor, and decorating your venue on your big day! Don’t think you need full coverage from day one? They also offer partial wedding coordination that helps you in the final months of preparation and the day of your wedding! Your coordinator is going to help walk you through all the next steps of picking your venue and vendors, but one of the most important vendors is your photographer (Okay, we are a little bias, but hey…. We love photography!)

Tip 4 Choose a Date and Venue

The date and venue usually go hand in hand. If your date is flexible you’ll have more options when it comes to booking your venue. When touring venues, have a season in mind that you’d like to get married and then see what their availability is.

The first step is to decide what type of venue you’d like to get married in, there are so many venues in the Greater Sacramento Area so narrowing it down to a style is going to be a great help! Are you looking for a winery wedding, a church wedding, a wedding deep in the forest? Find a few places you see interested in and start to set up meetings to tour the venue.

When touring venues, we recommend writing down questions that you’d like to ask to make sure you remember everything you need to know. Head over to The Knot for a complete list of things you need to know about your venue!

Tip 5 Find and Book Your Photographer

Many people don’t realize how quickly wedding dates book up for vendors. Since photographers are generally the 2nd or 3rd vendor hired (After the venue and coordinator) Sacramento’s best wedding photographers like Dee and Kris Photography, can book up to two years in advance for highly popular dates. Picking a photographer is dependent on two factors. First and foremost, you have to love their work. Check out their social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook as well as their website. It’s important to get a feel for how they shoot in different lighting situations and different venues. If you already have a wedding venue, try Google searching the photographer and the venue to see if they’ve shot there. For example, searching “Dee and Kris Photography Vizcaya Sacramento” is going to bring up a bunch of blog posts by us, showcasing our work at The Vizcaya. You’ll notice our work has a more moody vibe, with vibrant colors and deep blacks. If that’s what you are craving for your wedding photography…. We can’t wait to chat with you!

The second most important thing about choosing a photographer is their personality. You spend all day with your photographer so you want to know you get along with them! You can always check out our “About Us” page, but we always require clients to meet with us either in person or via video chat. That way you can chat face to face with us face to face to see if our team is a great fit for your wedding day! The great thing about Dee & Kris is that you are getting the best of both worlds, Dee is our creative genius. You’ll often see him shooting odd angles or from behind some sparkling lights, but in the end, you’ll be saying “WOW! How did you get that shot?!” Kristina, or Kris, is your timeline queen. Not only is she ready to capture all the special moments of your day, but she spends the time with you before your wedding day to build a stress-free timeline. 

Tip 5 Your Engagement Session

We LOVE engagement sessions, it’s the perfect opportunity to have a chance to work with your photographer for the first time and we get to hang out with you! Engagement sessions are also great for creating beautiful artwork that tells the story of who you are as a couple, as opposed to who you are on one particular day in your life. Now don’t get me wrong, we know you want to display your wedding pictures on every single room in your home, but how beautiful would this look as a statement piece over your fireplace?

Engagement sessions are always with Dee & Kris and a great way to get intimate romance pictures without the craziness of your wedding day. (Even though D&K are going to do a KILLER sunset session with you at your wedding).

Bonus tip, coordinate with your hair and makeup artists to do your bridal trials before your engagement session! 

Tip 6 Booking Your Other Vendors

To complete your beautiful wedding day you’ll need to consider other vendors: a DJ, a videographer, a florist, hair and makeup artists, signage, clothing, bakeries, and catering. If you are looking to hire other vendors the best place to start is asking your venue and photographer for their preferred vendor list. This will help you find vendors that have already worked at your particular venue. Plus, by now, your coordinator, venue, and photographer know a little about your wedding and they can recommend specific vendors who will be the best fit for your personality and style!

Since we attend more than 40 weddings a year we are full of tips and tricks, head over to our blog for tips and tricks on all sorts of topics!