I Do McGrew

Are you engaged and planning a wedding in this crazy "unprecedented" Covid-19 world?! If so, we wedding professionals empathize with you and know you're under a great deal of stress trying to plan a wedding in 2020 or 2021 without knowing exactly what our future holds for large events. In this weeks episode, we sat down with wedding photographer, Alex Tenser of ACT Photo, to delve into tips she's picked up after 7 months of photographing weddings during Covid-19.  After being an intimate part of 15 weddings since March of 2020, she has picked up a few tips along the way of how couples have stayed inspired, held a safe event, and still gotten the picturesque wedding photos & moments of their dreams! There's a lot to dig in here so if we missed anything, please feel free to reach out to us at I Do McGrew! ENJOY!

Couples have a lot to think about when planning the perfect proposal, one of which can be finding a photographer to capture the big moment! On this weeks episode we talk with Adam Mason, of Mason Photography, about tips and tricks for hiring a photographer for your proposal! A lot of time, planning, and stress goes into making the proposal perfect....you'll want to make sure you have it all documented so the memory can be preserved forever! 

Adam has photographed many proposals around the D.C. Metro area and his proposal work has been published with The Knots sister account, HowTheyAsked! You'll want to hear this one and check out his work!! ENJOY!

Are you engaged and wondering if you should hire a wedding videographer?! Hiring a video team to capture your wedding day can be a big decisions for engaged couples and we were so fortunate to have one of THE BEST videography teams on the podcast this week to chat with us about why video is important, what moments video can capture that photography alone just cant, what to expect as far as average video pricing and packaging looks like....and MORE! 

Tyler and Ashley Herrinton of, The Herrintons, were a wealth of knowledge and share with us their experiences after documenting weddings for 7 years! We explore the storytelling and audio aspect that videography adds to your wedding day, why some couples regret not having video, and common mistakes  a video team might make on the big day!! You'll want to hear this one! ENJOY!

This week we talk to Christine Haines Greenburg, owner of Urban Set Bride, a Richmond area wedding dress boutique! We answer ALLL of your questions about finding the perfect wedding dress. From how far out to book your appointment, to how many quests you should bring with you, to the types of fun fashion Christine is seeing more of lately! PLUS, if you stay tuned til the end...Christine shares with us one of her wildest bridal stories! You'll want to hear this one! ENJOY! 

This week we talk to Lauren Bercier, co-owner of Something Borrowed Blooms about her premium silk florals that are beautiful, trendy, budget-friendly, and easy rent!  Lauren talks to us about the rental revolution they're championing in the wedding flower industry! We talk about everything from bridal bouquets, to table decor, to renting florals for your ceremony arbor or arch! Flowers are a timeless way to elevate your wedding aesthetic, to tie in your wedding colors, and to enhance your wedding images, BUT, flowers can cost a pretty penny! Something Borrowed Blooms is truly a genius concept shaking up the floral space and we just felt lucky enough to sit down with the co-owner herself! If renting floral arrangements interests you then this episode has ALLLL the answers you need to get started! 

Many engaged couples feel stressed out about planning their family photos! Especially if you have a large OR blended family! In this episode we discuss how to efficiently plan your family formals, how to keep everyone on the same page and have the right discussions BEFORE the big day, and how to make sure each family member feels valued! It can be tricky to make sure everyone feels included with out derailing your timeline, and a wedding day can already so emotion-fueled which only makes family photos more complex!  But we're here to break it all down for you with the help of our 2019 bride, Amanda Pittelli! Amanda gives us the REAL BRIDE perspective and shares about how she planned and executed her family photos! 

Big thank you to Will McCarry and his band Wylder for letting us use the song Swells off their record Rain and Laura.  Check them out on Spotify!

This week we talk to Brad Strouse from East Coast Entertainment about having live music at your wedding.  East Coast is a national organization that books some of the best party bands in the biz for weddings and private events.  We cover everything from song selection, booking headlining acts, to personalized first dance songs. Brad has years of expertise in matching every engaged couple to the perfect entertainment for their wedding venue! He's a wealth of information and we were lucky to have him on--enjoy! 

Big thank you to Will McCarry and his band Wylder for letting us use the song Swells off their record Rain and Laura.  Check them out on Spotify!

In this week's episode we chat with REAL LIFE couple and wedding vendors, Meredith & Sam, about how they planned their wedding in just 6 weeks!! They share with us some crazy stories about their wedding day, along with all of the challenges of planning a wedding in such a short period of time.   Meredith & Sam shared advice with us that can only be gleamed from ACTUALLY planning a wedding yourself in such a short amount of time! Meredith Sledge is a wedding photographer in the Charlottesville, VA area and her husband Sam Kempf of Hoopla Media Studios is a videographer who specializes in weddings! Together they're a dream team wedding duo and they came on our podcast to share all of their expertise!

Big thank you to Will McCarry and his band Wylder for letting us use the song Swells off their record Rain and Laura.  Check them out on Spotify!

Is the wedding industry shifting to smaller weddings?  We'll discuss the growing trend of micro-weddings and elopements with the fabulous Kir Tuben of Kir Tuben Photography.  We'll dive into the different types of intimate weddings, why couples might choose a smaller weddings, and how to plan and execute a wedding within the constraints of social distancing.

Big thank you to Will McCarry and his band Wylder for letting us use the song Swells off their record Rain and Laura.  Check them out on Spotify!

Every wedding needs a schedule to ensure things go off without a hitch!  (Well, except for the couple, they still get hitched!)  In this episode we discuss wedding day timelines with the extremely talented couple behind Costola Photography, Andie and Tony Ingagliato.  We walk through how to build your timeline, how to to optimize your timeline for photography, and what to do if things start falling behind.  

Big thank you to Will McCarry and his band Wylder for letting us use the song Swells off their record Rain and Laura.  Check them out on Spotify!

The one thing you can't control on your wedding day is the weather! On Alex & Andy's wedding day it rained and poured but their team of friends, family, and vendors came together to pull off an amazing wedding day despite the forecast.  They'll discussed how their day was impacted, how they held up mentally, and ultimately how they adapted to the situation.  They'll also share with us tips they have for other couples planning a wedding day with a chance of rain in the forecast! 

Big thank you to Will McCarry and his band Wylder for letting us use the song Swells off their record Rain and Laura.  Check them out on Spotify!

Bri and Wes discuss wedding planning with rock star wedding planner Kate Franzen, the founder Glint Events.  Based in Richmond VA, Kate has been helping couples design their dream weddings for close to 10 years!  In our interview we discuss what type of couples can benefit from a wedding planner.  We dig into the different services planners can provide from planning to coordinating, and go over the differences between a planner and a day of coordinator.  We also discuss how working with a planner could actually SAVE you money!

Big thank you to Will McCarry and his band Wylder for letting us use the song Swells off their record Rain and Laura.  Check them out on Spotify!