Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 14, 1993 TAG: 9302120169
SECTION: YOUR WEDDING PAGE: YW-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By ANNE PIEDMONT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HERE'S HOW TO PRESERVE MEMORIES OF SPECIAL DAY
After months of planning, the big day arrives. The bride and bridegroom are the stars, the center of a glittering whirlwind of family and friends, but when it's all over, they'll barely remember who they talked to or how they looked."The wedding lasts a day, the memories last forever," said Jane Milliron of Warren Gilbert Photography.
She said the choice of a photographer will be one of the most important a couple makes. It is false economy to ask Uncle Bud or a college roommate to take the photographs. Even if one of them is a professional photographer, he or she will not enjoy the day, and may open the couple up to heartache and disappointment later.
A professional wedding photographer knows not only how to operate a camera and lights, but knows how to work with the people, without intruding on the joy, solemnity and happiness of the day. He or she knows how to work around the sensitive situations caused by divorce or remarriage, and knows the do's and don't's of photography during the ceremony.
Milliron suggests encouraging friends and relatives to take photos during the rehearsal dinner, reception and any other events of the weekend. The results are often fun and candid, and can be made into a special album. Friends should, however, leave the ceremony to the professional.
A videotape of the wedding should never replace the album of still photographs, Milliron said. Videos, like friends' casual photography, can be a fun, lighthearted look at the whole day. Unless the couple opts for a full-scale video production of the day, Milliron said, it is perfectly all right to let Uncle Bud man the camera.
The bride will want to preserve her gown, either a keepsake, or for possible use by a sister or daughter. But, Joe Logan of Peacock-Salem Cleaners cautions that "preserve" is an inaccurate term. The gown, when taken out of storage many years into the future, will not look exactly the way it did on the wedding day.
It is possible, however, to keep it in good condition. First, the gown should be cleaned as soon as possible after the wedding. He recommends the bride ask someone to take it to the cleaners for her the Monday after the wedding. The professional cleaner will clean it, finish it and press it. The gown then will be sealed in a special box and the box will be wrapped in plastic.
Logan said that after the gown has been cleaned, he has the customer come look at it so she can see what condition is it in before it is sealed.
The two things that will ruin a gown are heat and moisture, Logan said, so the gown should not be stored in either the basement or the attic. If it has been stored properly, the gown will need only to be pressed before it is worn by a daughter or granddaughter many years later.
To remember the beauty of her wedding bouquet, the bride's best bet is the old-fashioned method of choosing a few flowers and pressing them between the pages of a book, advises Ruth Valentine of Fallon Florist. The pressed flowers can then be matted and framed. She said there are some firms that can freeze-dry the entire bouquet.