If you’re thinking of videotaping your wedding but are having nightmares of bright lights and awkward one-on-one interviews with your wedding guests, let Martin Andrews of Blue Sky Films (801 Wayne Ave. #200, Silver Spring; 240-494-1022) put your mind at ease. Martin and his team of filmmakers won’t light your wedding up like a movie set, nor will they put the spotlight on Aunt Mary as she tells how you wet your bed as a child. That’s not Blue Sky’s style.

Martin started shooting weddings eight years ago in an effort to make wedding videos a more cinematic, nostalgic experience. The Blue Sky Films team documents weddings using discreet, unobtrusive coverage on both vintage movie film and high-definition video.

Martin’s swinging by The Washingtonian on Thursday to give us all the need-to-know details about videotaping your big day. Submit your questions now, and Martin will answer them on Thursday from 11 to noon.

More>> Bridal Party Blog | Wedding Guide | Wedding Vendor Search 

Everyone who’s ever planned her own wedding or helped plan someone else’s has told me that it gets crazy near the end.

At the 15-day mark, we’re near the end. Following tradition, we’re also busy!

So it seems like there’s nothing to do for a while, but that peaceful lull is deceiving because in the flash of the old Batman TV show’s bam, pow, or wham, it gets crazy. All your big stuff is in place, but now all the little loose ends need tying up.

For example. . .
Last dress fitting, check!
Shower thank-you notes, un-check.
Finalized seating arrangements, un-check.
Presents to hand out at rehearsal dinner, almost check.
Cards and brief words to accompany the presents at the rehearsal dinner, un-check.
Photographer’s shot list, un-check.
Finalized playlist for reception, un-check.
Designed programs, check!
Printed, stamped, bow-tied programs, un-check.

Planning the honeymoon? Try a travel agent and check your passport expiration date.

When it comes to engagement shots, save or splurge? [via Always a Blogsmaid]

Give the gift of great sleep. [via bon mariage[

We love weddings! The Slice is heading out to San Francisco for a friend's wedding. We'll toast the bride and groom and, of course, take pictures and do some wedding research! Check back for all your wedding news and gossip when The Slice returns on Thursday.

Have bridal news to share? E-mail lshallcross@washingtonian.com.

Friday, August 15: Trunk Show
Don’t miss the Lea Ann Belter trunk show at Promise . . . for the Savvy Bride (4931-A St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda; 301-215-9232) this Friday and Saturday. Not only can you check out the entire collection, but you can also snag 10 percent off your purchase if you order your gown during the trunk show. So grab your girlfriends or your mom or whoever you trust to give a good opinion, and head to Promise to find the dress of your dreams. Free; by appointment only.

Saturday and Sunday, August 16 and 17: Marriage Prep Seminar
No doubt you’ve spent, or will be spending, months planning your wedding. But how about the marriage itself? Here’s your chance to grab your partner and spend the afternoon building a foundation for your life together. Creative Ceremony’s marriage-prep seminar is composed of two four-hour sessions led by Reverend Julie Price, a ceremony officiant who has presided over 60 weddings. The seminar is held at the Vienna Baptist Church (541 Marshall Rd., SW, Vienna). Register here. $360 per couple; 2 to 6 PM.

Sunday, August 17: Rookie Rubber Stamping
Want to leave your own personal stamp on your wedding invitations or save-the-dates? Here’s your chance to learn how. Paper Source is hosting a Rookie Rubber Stamping workshop at its Alexandria location (118 King St.; 703-299-9950). Ramp up everything from invitations to thank-you notes with vibrant ink pads, embossing powders, and embellishing techniques. RSVP here. $35; 10 AM to noon.

To submit a bridal event, email lshallcross@washingtonian.com.

More>> Bridal Party Blog | Wedding Guide | Wedding Vendor Search 

The wedding was a destination, but the party's back home. Now what? [via Always a Blogsmaid]

Point your guests in the right direction. [via Weddingbee]

Go green with invitation company Blue Magpie. [via Ritzy Bee]

Learn the ways of wine. [It's a Jaime Thing . . . ]

Have bridal news to share? E-mail lshallcross@washingtonian.com.

Meet Eleni Garbis, our new Washingtonian wedding blogger! Stories about her engagement and wedding planning will be posted every Wednesday on washingtonian.com.

Since I got engaged in March, my best friend and maid of honor has started asking me, “What are we going to talk about after your wedding is over?” or “What did we even think to talk about before you got engaged?” I’ve been thinking and talking about the wedding pretty much every day. All brides-to-be do, right? (Say yes. Please say yes.) One of the best things about being engaged is sharing the planning with my family and friends. It’s just so much fun.

A little background: My fiancé and I met at Ithaca College in 2002—I was a junior and he was a senior. He was kind of a big deal, in charge of the news at the college TV station, so it took him three months to ask me out on a date. We officially started dating two years later, when I was living in Los Angeles and he was working as a reporter for a TV station back east. It was a very long-distance relationship! Now he works as a reporter in Philadelphia (let’s call him Ron Burgundy), so I’m planning to move there later this year.

We got engaged while we were on vacation in Aruba. For months leading up to the engagement, I earned the title “marriage bully” in our group of friends. I have no comment about this. I knew we would be engaged soon enough (I guess with all the bullying, he knew he needed to propose sooner rather than later), but I did not expect it in Aruba. I rummaged through his suitcase the morning before our trip and texted my best friend, “no ring,” to which she responded, “you’re awful.”

Josh, our Reluctant Groomzilla, has taken us through the trials and tribulations of planning a wedding for nearly seven months. We laughed the whole way with our funny-man groom-in-training. But thanks to Josh and his bride-to-be’s superb planning, there isn’t much left to do before the fast-approaching wedding. So for now, Josh will be taking a blog hiatus to concentrate on other areas of his life outside of wedding planning (who knew there was more to life?). He’ll still post once in a while, though—check back for occasional guest posts from Josh as the big day approaches.

In Reluctant Groomzilla withdrawal already? Read along from the beginning.

Worry not, you’ll still get your wedding-planning fix: Today, we’re introducing Eleni, another local bride-to-be who will blog every step of the way to the aisle. Check back every Wednesday for her wedding planning posts!