Wedding Tips for an Enneagram 4
*all photographs were taken by BetsyandJohn
Before I dive into the details, I want to make one thing clear: it's not the venues or decorations that makes a wedding truly amazing. It's the person you've chosen to spend the rest of your life with, the love and support of those around you, and the incredible way God has woven your relationship together and the commitment before Him.
BUT as an Enneagram 4, you and I have a deep desire for authenticity and self expression and thats an important part of us that should be celebrated and acknowledged. That being said, I'm excited to share with you some things that I prioritized for my husband and I’s wedding that were very creative and brought life to our vision.
#1 Film Photography
There's something really special about using film; no do overs, no playbacks just one moment captured forever. I also happen to like how film looks; very airy, timeless and usually blurry. With this in mind, I specifically looked for a photographer who used film. If this is something that interests you but you are working on a budget, feel free to have family or friends act as “photographer.” From my experience, film is very hard to mess up due to its inherent nature of imperfection. For beginners, I recommend a point and shoot. You can buy them on Ebay for a decent price. Feel free to browse here. If you know a little bit more about cameras, you could go with a Cannon AE-1 but even these don’t require a super high understanding of film. Most film cameras including point and shoot usually take 35mm film you can purchase from amazon here. If you do choose to use film, I hope you have so much fun with it!
#2 Camcorders
If I had to choose just one option from this list, I would choose this one. It ended up being so much fun!
I was initially inspired by a close friend who opted for camcorders instead of a traditional videographer at her wedding. She used two camcorders—one for each bridal party—and in the days leading up to and during her big day, she passed them around, giving everyone a chance to capture some shots. So of course, admiring the hell out of my friend, this is exactly what we did as well. My bachelorette took place a few days leading up to the wedding and we were able to capture some of the things we did (going to the movies, swimming, chilling in the airbnb, etc) I ended up using these camcorders.. They were super budget friendly! I will say that my videographer recommended specific settings for these to capture the best footage as they are on the cheaper side.
Choose 6K instead of 8K
High Video Quality
Auto White Balance
Use an external mic if it's included in the box
HOWEVER, I would definitely recommend you do your own research. I’ve heard that the SONY NEX 5R is a great option and cheap if you find it used on ebay. If I knew about this option beforehand I probably would have chosen it instead. We did end up also using a videographer, combining footage from the camcorders and the footage they took. This option ended up being my favorite because it showed many angles of the same scene and our videographer agreed to edit and put everything together. Our footage isn’t completely out yet, but if you want to see a sneak peak to get an idea, you can view it here.
#3 Bridal Party Seating
One of the most complicated tasks when preparing for your wedding can be deciding the order of the bridal party. Our decision about this had so many people making comments about it afterward that I’m glad we did it. My husband and I had a fairly large bridal party and from experience, it can be pretty hard to see the bride and groom depending on where you are standing in the line. So with this in mind, and also to limit hurt feelings based on “ranking,” we had our bridal party sit after the welcome. My maid of honor and my husband’s best man were the only ones standing the entire time. That way our bridal party could see both of our faces and experience the wedding as they should because they are such an important people in our lives.
#4 Specialized Drinks
Hmmmmm Hmmm hmm. These drinks were scrumptious! My husband and I took “his” and “her” drinks to the extreme. I wanted our friends and family to experience something a bit more exciting than the typical beer, wine, and spirit offerings. My husband and I are both pretty picky when it comes to cocktails ( we don’t really like them haha) so we wanted to do something different. I am a big candy girl and my husband is a country boy at heart. So we combined a few of our favorite things and made some pretty sick drinks. Mine was a sour patch infused margarita (the tequila was soaked in sour patch kids the night before) and my husband’s was a huckleberry vodka mule with huckleberry simple syrup. I was a little embarrassed asking our venue and bartenders to make my favorite childhood candy but once I sent off the idea they were really excited to try it. Whether you're having a small backyard wedding or a big wedding, take this idea to whoever is in charge of your drinks and see what they say. As I learned, it never hurts to ask.
#5 Customizing the Dress
If you are like me, especially an enneagram 4, finding a dress can be hard because you want it to be unique. I realized half-way through my wedding dress try-ons that my dream dress was something I was going to create, not find. I kept picturing a specific look, 1930’s couture, but I couldn’t find it. I found a dress that I loved, but it felt like it was missing something. I ended up collecting fabrics from amazon, goodwill etc. and taking them to my appointments. The bridal stylist pinned on the different fabrics until my vision came to life! After taking many photos and videos, I sent my ideas to a couple seamstresses to see if they would be able to complete my vision. It did take asking a few seamstresses to finally get one that was willing. (If you are in the Greater Seattle Area, I recommend going to Sewing Specialties in Auburn. They listen very well and work really hard to understand and complete your vision).I ended up using discarded fabric as a train and an overskirt (the fabric on the back of my dress above). If this is something that makes you excited, I really recommend giving it a shot. I looked silly a few times taking out thrifted fabric, but I am so happy that I felt represented in my final look.
If anything on here excited you or you have questions, please feel free to reach me at schober.eliza@gmail.com.
