Wedding Planner?

To hire or not to hire?  That is the question.  Want help?  Want control?  Want creativity?  Want organization?  You can have all of that with a wedding planner, of course.  The key is to find a planner that works with your personality.  There are many wedding planners (I've met them) who are full of great ideas and will plan you one of their visions.  If you don't have any strong feelings about your wedding plans, you'd be fine with this type of planner.  

However, there are lots of planners out there who are more interested in hearing your ideas, no matter how few or how many, and creating several options from which you pick and choose your perfect wedding.

Also, planners can be there only on your wedding day.  If you think this is more what you will need because you have the planning and budgeting all taken care of, ask the planners you are considering what they charge for that service.  It can be helpful (and even necessary) to have someone who isn't a relative or a guest telling Aunt Sally when you have to be excused to cut the cake.  This can help the events of the day flow smoothly, and you have someone else to do the legwork and communication for you.

It is never a faux pas to tell a planner what your budget is for a planner (and, of course, for your whole wedding), and ask what they can offer.  There isn't really a going rate for planning, and high end or celebrity planners and coordinators charge more, but may not have experience creating a budget wedding.  Seek and ye shall find, my fair bride-to-be.

Be honest with yourself and your  wedding planner, and you'll get off to the right start.

And, if you absolutely don't want or can't afford to hire a planner, check out this blog, our Facebook page (become a Fan!), our Twitter, and our favorite favor website for tips and products!


  

Gift Registry

The gift registry can be a tricky area for brides and grooms-to-be.  Thought I'd offer a few pointers!

You should register at one to three stores.  It's great to give your guests some options, but you don't want to overwhelm them.

If you're stumped on what you need to register for, try a registry guide like the Knot offers.  It tailors suggestions to your style.

If you don't want to register for housewares, you can register for donations to the charity of your choice.  The I Do Foundation allows you to register and designate your charity - or several.  The foundation also donates 10% of gift purchases to your charity!

Don't list your registry information on the invitation; it's considered bad etiquette.  You can list the information on your wedding website, or allow it to be passed around by email or word of mouth.

Asking for money for your gift registry puts the guests in an awkward position.  Think about registering for help with your honeymoon.  The Honeymoon and Honey Fund allow you to include your honeymoon travel on your registry.  This allows guests to specify their gift, if they choose.  For example: a guest can donate money for your chosen item of airfare or scuba diving lessons.

Last but not least, remember to send thank you notes.  You can order thank you notes at the same time as your invitations and save the date cards, which may save some money by buying in bulk.  The bride and grooms should both be writing notes, and you can divide that task however you choose.  The proper time frame to send thank you notes is within two weeks for gifts that are received before the wedding and within four weeks for gifts received at or after the wedding.  Better late than never, however.  (Handwritten is the way to go.)

Happy registering!




    

Navy Wedding Inspiration

White and navy go so well together....so do cream and navy, lime green and navy, fuchsia and navy.... you get the idea.  I've been drawing inspiration for navy weddings, and I thought I'd share a bit.

From top left:  Photo from Shawn Connell at Christian Oth Studio, coaster favors from Your Wedding with the Aspen Shops, stamp at Zazzle.com, a flickr photo, Crane paper invitations, cake by the Cake Walk in Cary, North Carolina.  Beautiful wedding dress with navy accent from Sincerity Bridal, flickr just married car (cute, right?), After Six bridesmaid dress, blue tables from Wedding Jeannie, shoes by Stuart Weitzman, and throw that fuchsia in with flowers from Lara Swanson photo.

Love the fresh look navy can bring to your reception and wedding. Adding your choice of pop - gold as in the cake, fuchsia as in the bouquets, or silver as in the invitations - can really create a modern and rich color scheme.  Navy says spring!  I'll have to work on incorporating navy into the fall inspiration boards as well.

Handy Free Wedding Tools!

Check this out!  Google now provides wedding planning templates on their online docs.  Have you seen this?!?!?  It's amazing.  There are thirty templates to choose from - or use them all.  They have an address list template, so you can create a form for your guests to fill in via email.  That way, no copying and pasting needed - you are ready to go!  As soon as your guests reply, the Google doc is updated.

Also, a seating chart template is available to help you count the number of people at each table and give you the total number of guests at each table.

How about this budget breakdown? It automatically provides an estimated column and an amount spent column, so you can check how close you are to sticking to your budget.

The wedding album template is gorgeous, and it lets you choose from several options to show your guests the photos you choose from your wedding.

One of my favorites (as if they aren't all my favorite) is the wedding day schedule.  This template offers up a starting point for how to make sure you get to the church on time!  It is as flexible as you want it to be, and it can be really handy for everyone in your bridal party to access - even from their mobile devices!

Talk about a handy tool.  I love Google.  Do you think you'll have a use for these document templates?
What are your other wedding planning challenges - besides organization?

First Day of Spring!

All of the spring wedding planning is well underway! Are you knee deep in spring flowers and favors? Take a breather. What are you doing to combat the stress of planning a wedding? Remember to take a little non-wedding related time for yourself. You can get double duty out of this time if it is physical activity. A walk, run, swim, or bike ride can help get or keep you in shape and blow off some steam.

Remember that although the wedding is the first (and sometimes only) thing on your mind, your friends, no matter how supportive they are, may tire of hearing wedding talk day in and day out. Ask about other things going on, and remember to discuss other aspects of your lives!

Lastly, give meditation and/or yoga a try. These techniques will not only help you control stress, but it will help you develop the ability to live in the moment. After all, that's what your wedding day should be about.

Colors of the Rainbow

A really hot trend I'm finding in weddings recently is the black and white look with one bold accent color. This looks very modern, and it is easy to coordinate all the decorations and clothing for the wedding.

You saw the black and white wedding cake sample in my earlier post about cakes. There are so many other great cake options. If you are doing the black and white theme, each part of your wedding doesn't have to be both black and white. A classic white cake with flowers in your

accent color looks fresh and beautiful! The example with the purple flowers is by Shelton's Wedding Cake Designs.

Let Them Eat Cake does the black and white polka-dot cake shown here.

Elisa Strauss Confetti Cakes created the retro black and confection at the right - isn't it lovely?!?

For your flowers, the accent color can be the focus. If you are using purple, the bridesmaid dresses could be purple with white bouquets, and the bride could have a traditional white dress (or a purple dress!) with purple and white flowers. The groom and groomsmen can use the purple color in their ties and vests and the boutonnieres.

You could even set the them with purple invitations like these from Wedding Paper Divas.

When it comes to the reception decoration, use the purple and white in the flowers, and try black ribbon to add the feel of black and white.

Remember that different shades of purple in the flowers will add a luxurious feel to the room.

Check out this beautiful black, white, and purple table setting for inspiration. This photo is by Melissa Jill photography in Arizona. They've used black tablecloths and napkins, which makes the white of the china and candles eye-catching and classic.

Complete your black, white, and purple

theme with these

modern polka dot coasters from Your Wedding with the Aspen Shops for wedding favors, and these black and white totes (filled with purple goodies, perhaps?) for your bridesmaids.

Bridal Fair? Bridal Show? Should I go?

I assume, no matter where you read this blog, there is a bridal fair or show in or near your fair city. Am I right?

The ever-popular question is: Should you go?

Well, with some planning, you can benefit from a bridal show. First, set your budget. Before you even set foot in that convention center or ballroom, know how much you can spend. Break down your budget with priority given to the most important areas. Only you (and your fiance) know whether flowers, live music, the venue, the food, the dress are the most important. Bring a calendar with you so you can schedule appointments, and bring your credit card and/or checkbook so that if you do find someone you want to book, you can go forward!

One great secret is to bring mailing labels (or an ink-stamp, if you have one) with your name and address. Many vendors will have contests, drawings, and the like, and with a peel-and-stick, you won't have to write your name six hundred times!

If you have certain colors you have selected for your wedding, bring a sample or a fabric swatch so you can match with vendors when applicable.

Remember that the idea can be to really make decisions at this show. You can go as a browser, but you may tire of all the walking and talking - it's up to you! If there is another party making decisions (or helping), bring him or her along! Bridal shows are fun. It adds to the excitement of planning your wedding, lets you save time in travel and searching for vendors, and introduces you to some ideas you may not have considered!

A great break in the bridal show can be the fashion shows. Even if you have your dress, you can see bridesmaid fashions, accessories, and hair and make-up trends. Plus, you get a chance to sit down!

Whether or not you plan to make some decisions at your bridal show, don't feel like you owe the vendors or that you are obligated to book or buy something that isn't right. There will be another booth with different options, different costs, and different availability. Take your time, and remember, you could always find another bridal show that offers the perfect vendors for your day!

Fore!

So our golf wedding is well on it's way! We've got a planned golf outing for the wedding party and guests the morning before the wedding day. The photographer has some great shot ideas to be taken on the green. The reception is at the country club, so we will be nearby.

The wedding will be a formal event, but we

are adding fun golf touches everywhere! So far we've got golf hole flags in the centerpieces to indicate the table number. Place card holders are these golf ball candles with the club shaped card! The guests can sign the guest book with mini pencils. Transportation will be via golf cart, of course!

We found inspiration in an anniversary cake from Pink Cake Box - they have the BEST cakes! If you are on the east coast, check them out! We haven't found the perfect cake yet, but there are plenty of golf-themed cake toppers out there.

Our bride and groom will enter through an arch of clubs held by the wedding party, and the flowers at the end of each pew will be in range buckets.

We're tossing around lots of favors - personalized golf balls, golf tees, or these luggage tags. The ideas are flowing.....I'll keep you posted.

Wedding Planning Weekend!

This weekend is a busy one. We're working on two weddings that happen a week apart and have very different themes/feels: one is black and white, and one is a golf theme! It's actually refreshing to have such variety.

So, tell me about themes you are working on for your big day. Not that a theme is necessary, of course. Tell me about that too - planning a classic wedding with your colors being your only "theme"? Are you getting married at the courthouse and then throwing a pizza party? Share your challenges, your successes, and questions. We're here to help, and I'll be reporting on my wedding planning weekend to provide added inspiration and entertainment!

In the meantime, check out this great, great invites site - Wedding Paper Divas. They've got lovely save-the-date cards - and they're affordable, to boot! I just finished a beach themed wedding, and we used these save-the-date cards, which I love!

Let Them Eat Cake!

There are many trends popping up for wedding cakes in your 2010 wedding. The best news is that your cake can be as big or as small as you like, and you can find a cake (or dessert) to fit any budget. The first, and one of my favorites is the tall, romantic, multi-tiered cake. Take a look at this seven layer beauty. This cake mixes patterns and has flowers added at the top for decoration. While you may not have need for all those layers, if the look is what you've been going for, you can substitute fake tiers! This can be a money-saver, and it can help you get the cake you prefer.

If you want to have a cake for tradition only and you're determined to do a different type of dessert, you can follow the trend of a two tiered wedding cake! You can still get a pretty cake cutter. And have the "feeding each other cake" experience.

My favorite trend is the black and white cake. It looks classic, can be altered to go with any theme, and matches any color palette! These cake candles make great favors if your cake is a focus of your reception. (They would be great for a daytime cake and punch reception too!)

Another trend is personal size cakes. You've probably seen the cupcake tower. That continues to be a popular option, but so do other types of towers. Cinnamon rolls, individual cheesecake, pies, eclairs....any dessert you can imagine can probably fit into a custom built tower for your wedding. Again, if you are on a tight budget, you can look into creating this tower yourself with treats you (or a friend) make at home!

A candy buffet has become a popular option at weddings, but this usually becomes an additional favor instead of a dessert substitute. Here's a how to. One great variation on this theme is a cookie or sundae buffet. With the cookies, you can make the dough ahead and freeze, then follow the same ideas as you would with a candy buffet: find pretty containers and plates and make a beautiful table. With sundaes, you can make the table look pretty with old-fashioned tulip cups for the sundaes. When you buy the ingredients in bulk, you can save some money.

In 2010, the trends are varied in size, cost, and look! You can be romantic with a large cake, add a bold pop of color with flowers, have a small cake for ceremony's sake, a cake with modern design elements, or forgo the cake all together!

The Perfect Dress

Are you having trouble finding that unique, classic, somewhat bohemian dress for your big day?

Anthropologie lovers can relax! The news is that Anthropologie is starting a bridal line to be released in Spring 2011! Spring 2011? That's a year away! My wedding is in a year, you say. I can't wait until the day before my wedding to see if something comes out in this line that I am in love with!

Well, for those of you who can't wait, check out Anthropologie now. They have a few options for bridal, if you are the type that thinks outside the box. Most of them are of the shorter variety, which is a predicted trend for 2010 weddings.

Look here!

Welcome!

Welcome to the wedding blurb blog! Say that three times fast.

We're here to answer questions about wedding planning, let you know about all things wedding, and give you inspiration and ideas as you plan your special day!

Feel free to ask a question - no matter how small - to get a blog post that meets your needs. Until then, we'll be providing you with step by step planning techniques, deals we find and pass on, information on wedding traditions, and places to score just what you were looking for!

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