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Guatemala Honeymoon

                Are you looking for a honeymoon destination that is adventurous and affordable as well as romantic? Well, look no further, because Guatemala may be the place for you.

For the adventurer, we recommend Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan.

Things to do:

Hike this volcano

                Don’t worry, it’s dormant.

Zip lining

                The zip line at Panajachel crosses a small valley between two mountains. You start by climbing the mountain, then zip line back and forth across the valley until you reach the bottom. The great thing about this is that it isn’t just one ride, but you get to take many rides as you zig zag to the bottom. You’ll have an excellent view of the lake and volcano. You should also take a look down while on the zip line, as you may see a few playful monkeys in the trees below.

Watersports

                Most of the hotels and a few villages rent out equipment, so you can go canoeing and boating almost anytime.

Explore the surrounding Villages

                Take a boat across the lake to check out the surrounding villages. There are hidden treasures everywhere.

                If you happen to be going the week before Easter, you should definitely check out the amazing street art. Locals use flowers, leaves, nuts, and dyed sawdust to create incredible works of art. On Easter, they hold a parade, which will destroy art, so there’s only a small window in which to glimpse this beauty.

Tips for Panajachel:

1. Consider staying in the Hotel San Buenaventure De-Atitlan. This hotel is really a collection of guest houses, so you’ll have a full kitchen and living room. They sit right near the lake, with views of the volcano, excellent gardens, and amenities such as pools & a spa. The best part of all, double rooms start at $83 a night. These are truly nice rooms, and you will not beat these prices! They also keep peacocks!

2. Go the week before Easter. Seriously, I know I said it earlier, but the artwork is just that amazing.

Next on the itinerary is Antigua.

Things to do

1. Explore the City on Foot

Antigua is great for those of you who prefer big cities and tourist attractions. You’ll love the colorful buildings and amazing architecture.

2. Check out a Show

A lot of local restaurants offer authentic dancing and shows along with dinner. You can watch the show, then join in on the fun. Everyone comes together for the fun and it is quite a party.

Tips for Antigua:

1. It can get dicey at night. Travel in groups after dark, and don’t stay out too late.

2. Consider staying in the Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo. It is entirely gated, so safety isn’t an issue. You can wander around the gardens at night without trouble. They offer plenty of entertainment options, as well. My secret tip, go up on the roof for some amazing views of the city and surrounding scenery. It’s also the best seat in the house if you want to crash one of the many weddings that the hotel hosts each year. This will have you and your new hubby feeling extra romantic, reminiscing about your wedding…. from a week ago….

Double room rates range from $90-150 a night.

General tips for Guatemala

1. Tourists Should Beware in Guatemala City

You will likely fly into Guatemala City and obtain transport to your final destinations. Be careful in the city. Poverty is high and danger is real.

2. Don’t Drink the Water (or use the ice!)

Water is not safe to drink in Guatemala. Your hotel will tell you if they have a special filtration system that allows you to drink it. Even if they have these systems, they are usually only for sink water, so don’t let water in your mouth when you shower. I just prefer to stick with bottled water, even if they have the filtration system. And for goodness sake, if the water isn’t safe to drink, neither is the ice! I had a friend who drank only bottled water for the whole trip, but then had ice in his soda. He was vomiting for days. Just don’t do it. 

3. Enjoy!

You're going to love Guatemala. Seriously! There is all kinds of variety in the flora and fauna. Take loads of pictures, and then comment below to tell us how much you loved your trip. 

Bouquet Breakdown #3

This week we present our 3rd bouquet breakdown. You may have seen this bouquet before, as it was featured in our Tennessee Orange & Kentucky Blue featured wedding.

Although this bride chose the main colors of Tennessee Orange and Kentucky Blue, she didn’t want blue in her bouquet. Instead she chose to add light pink flowers to bring out her blush colored gown. Here are our florist’s thoughts on each of the stems in her bouquet.

Hypernicum berries

Hypernicum berries (orange) – These small berries make a great, colorful filler. They come in a variety of colors for a reasonable price. They do well for the better part of a day without water, making them great for all kinds of arrangements.

Peonies

Peonies – These flowers are all the rage right now. We think they’re lovely, but they’re just so darn expensive. We paid $150 for just 20 stems! And that was during peak season. For a cheaper replacement, there are several garden rose varieties that have a very similar look.

Roses

Roses (bright orange) – These roses were the perfect shade of orange! We recommend them for fall harvest themes, bright color combinations, and of course for any UT Vols weddings/events.

Tulips

Tulips (bright orange) – This is another one that had the perfect shade of orange. Tulips are a great for a pop of color. Also very affordable. Just note that tulips open quickly, giving them a different appearance everyday. If you want closed tulips, we have to add them to bouquets at the last minute. Here we chose to have them open in order to show off as much of their bright orange color as possible.

Sweet Pea

Sweet pea (light pink) – Sweet peas have about 3-4 flowers on a short stem. These are very delicate, fragile flowers. They are so prone to breaking, that our warehouse supplier always includes a few extra with our order. However, we love them for the soft, romantic look that they give to any wedding.

Ranunculus 

Ranunculus (orange) – These flowers are also very popular right now. The problem that we had was that the supposedly “bright orange” flowers came with too much yellow in them. They were so yellow that we didn’t get to use half of what we ordered! When selecting this flower, we recommend a picking a color that is tried and true, such as white, unless you don’t mind a little color variety in the flowers. 

Send us an email to order your wedding bouquet. The quote is free! anelegantencounter@gmail.com

Do Sticky Bras Work?

Okay ladies, it’s time to get real. Boys, just skip ahead to the honeymoon articles (Jamaica is fantastic!). This one isn’t for you.

We’re going to get honest about bras for your wedding day. Wedding dresses come in all shapes and sizes, usually with some feature that makes wearing your typical bra impossible. They’re often strapless, backless, or both!

So, one common solution is to use these sticky bras! They’re pretty great. They stick to you, eliminating the need for straps of any kind.

But beware! If you are a bride or bridesmaid, you are likely to be running around like crazy on wedding day. And this means boob sweat. It’s a very real issue, ya’ll. I’m here to warn you, at the first sign of boob sweat, these awesome sticky bras are going to slide right off. If you’re corseted into a super tight bridal gown, maybe there won’t be any room for these babies to go anywhere. But if you’re in a not-so-perfect bridesmaid’s dress, be prepared to lose your bra halfway through the ceremony. Embarrassing.

I love sticky bras, but for a high stress wedding day, I recommend this alternative: Take an old bra that you don’t use anymore, cut it up, and have the cups sewn into your dress. Can’t bear to cut up an old bra? Buy a $5 one at Wal-Mart. Have it sewn in like this:

Trust me, this is one thing you do not want to worry about on your wedding day. This solution is an easy fix, and you'll look great!

Honeymoon in Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal is an excellent honeymoon destination for those of us who do not want to spend a week sitting on the beach. (If you do love the beach, then check out our reviews of Jamaica and St. Lucia .) Lisbon doesn't have sand, but it's right on the water, and the cliff-side views are amazing! We've listed a few of our favorite spots, and some tourist traps of which to beware.

  

Castles

There are castles everywhere! These Castle of Moors ruins (below) will give you a great workout. In fact, all of Lisbon is a great leg workout. You saw the hills in the photo above. Well, to get to the best sites, you have to climb all of those hills.

Castle of Moors

But not all castles are the same. It’s pretty rare to find a castle that isn’t just made of stone. This colorful castle at Sintra is truly unique (below), and was so huge that we couldn’t even get a proper picture of it. And, you guessed it, the castle sits on top of another massive hill.

Sintra

History

The one frustrating thing about Lisbon, Portugal, (for us history buffs, that is), is that the earthquake of 1755 destroyed a lot of the records. So much of the time you’ll be standing in front of some fantastic site and there is almost no information about where it came from or the people who lived there. The best you get is the history of royals who married out into royal families from other countries whose records survived.

Tourist Spots

Belem Tower

Finally, there are the obligatory touristy spots, the famous Belem Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries. My advice is to admire from the outside, but don’t pay to go in the tower. The lines are long and it isn’t worth your money. Instead, spend your $5 on a couple of hot dogs and fresh lemonade from the nearby food carts and have a picnic in the sun. Maybe I was just starving, but those Portuguese hot dogs were seriously the best I’ve ever had.

Monument to the Discoveries

Travel Tips

Some practical tips:

1. Skip the Lisbon aquarium. It’s advertised everywhere in Lisbon, so you’ll start to think it must be something special. But those of us from Tennessee are used to the fabulousness of the Chattanooga aquarium and Ripley’s in Gatlinburg. The Lisbon aquarium doesn’t compare, so don’t waste your money.

2. Consider staying in a hostel. Lisbon hostels are so nice! We got a private room with a double bed (shared bathroom) for 40 USD a night.

3.  Use the Lisbon metro. If you’ve never lived in a big city, study the rail map before your trip. I find the metro in the city and trains to the outer areas is the easiest and cheapest way to get around. You can put money on a card and just swipe it every time you take a bus or metro ride.

Share your tips for traveling in Portugal in the comment section below!

Floral Hair Pieces for your Wedding

An Elegant Encounter has recruited Lipscomb University fashion professor Charity Armstead to help us design some fabulous new floral hair pieces, using leftover flowers from this bridal bouquet. Check these out and order your own unique piece for your wedding.

This little hair piece shown above is possibly our favorite! It contains a single white chrysanthemum and a sprig of silver dollar eucalyptus (which is all the rage this year) on a clear comb.

This next beauty contains purple statice and baby blue eucalyptus for a simple, elegant effect.

                                     

But not all of our hair pieces have to be simple. We can make them as intricate as you wish. This clip contains chrysanthemum, statice, mini pink roses, and green poms.

Finally, we have a pink rose and silver dollar piece that is small enough to make a perfect accent piece for your bridesmaids.

Here are some more photos, just because we can!

When you order wedding flowers from An Elegant Encounter, be sure to let us know if you would like any floral hair pieces for the bride, bridesmaids, or flower girl. We can make floral pieces on hair clips and combs, on headbands, or into a hair wreath or crown. For questions, email us at anelegantencounter@gmail.com, or send us a message on Facebook at www.facebook.com/anelegantencounter

Choosing a Wedding Photographer

One of the biggest regrets brides have from their wedding day is not getting a good photographer. It’s one of the expenses where we usually recommend a little splurge. A lot of brides think that they can just get a friend or family member to take the photos. Well imagine that you spent $1500 on a glorious masterpiece of a cake, then Aunt Agnes forgot to get a picture before you cut it. Was all that money really worth it?

Photography looks like a fun job, so you get a lot of armatures trying to pass themselves off as professionals. Believe it or not, wedding photography is actually a ton of work. When they charge you $2000 for one wedding, it’s not just for the 6 hours on the day of the event, but for all the hours that they spend editing the photos.

With that being said, you don’t want to spend all of that money and live to regret it. There are things you can do to prevent photo catastrophe. We’ve provided some tips for choosing and getting the most out of your wedding photographer.

1. Make a Photo Wishlist

With all of the chaos going on during wedding day, it’s easy for the photographer to miss something that was important to you. My photographer did not get one single full length shot of me in my dress with my husband. We have tons of close-ups. And we have tons of singles of me in the dress. But unless I want to frame pictures of only myself (can we say narcissism?), then I’m stuck.

Another story…. One of our brides had to rush through before-wedding photos. The single shots of her and each bridesmaid were poor. After the wedding, the photographer got tons of shots with each bridesmaid and the groom, but we have NO pictures of the bride with each of her girls.

All of this to say: make a list of important photos that you want! Are you planning any big surprises or special moments? Tell your photographer ahead of time so they can capture the moment. You want pictures with certain people? Tell your photographer! Make a list ahead of time, so he/she can be prepared.

2. Create a Photo Timeline

Next tip, make a day-of wedding timeline with your photographer. A good photographer will have the day planned minute by minute. Example: 3:00 photos of girls in robes getting ready, 3:15 photos of girls in dresses, 3:30, etc., etc.

Follow the timeline! We had one wedding where the photographer had to start an hour later than planned because the bridesmaids were still curling their hair. Your bridesmaids are there to help you, not to prep for glamour shots or hook up with the groomsmen. Inform them of the timeline at the rehearsal, and stick to it.

3. Use the Engagement Session as a Trial Run

Finally, use your engagement session as a trial before booking the photographer for the big day. S/he should be someone who makes you and your fiancé comfortable, as that is how you will get the most natural looking pictures. How long does it take them to return the photos? You do not want to wait 3 months for your wedding pictures. Do you like the photos? Did the photographer do everything you asked? If you’re unhappy with them, don’t be afraid to use someone else for the big day. Remember, the wedding is one day, but the photos last a lifetime.

Are you looking for a photographer in Middle TN? An Elegant Encounter has worked with some of the best in a variety of price ranges. Email anelegantencounter@gmail.com for a referral.