Wedding Quotes May 29, 2009

From “Corelli’s Mandolin”
by Louise De Bernieres

“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion… That is just being “in love,” which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.”

Don’t Even Mention Rain at My Wedding! May 28, 2009

The thought of a rainy wedding day will send shudders down the back of any bride. The thing you must remember is that, as long as you are married by the end of the day, you had a successful wedding. However, no one will reprimand you for being prepared. You can plan for rain by having a tent with a floor, and plenty of parking that’s not in the grass or mud. If you’d rather have a sunny outdoor wedding, you can simply watch the weather the week of the wedding and rent a tent the day before if it looks like rain. You will be out a good amount of money if you end up not using it, but then what will you do if you don’t have a tent ready and your guests get rained on? Before doing this, check with your rental company about the cancellation fee. If there is an indoor facility nearby, you may consider using this as back-up. Just be sure to have all the arrangements done ahead of time. You may need to reserve the space, or even rent it out. If there isn’t anything nearby, make sure there are sidewalks around so your guests aren’t trudging through the mud in their heels. If there aren’t any, get some cute stepping stones to line the pathway to and from the ceremony site.

If it does happen to rain on your wedding, everyone will be happier if you embrace it. Wedding planner Deanna Morgan suggests saving some of the wedding day rain in a bottle for your baby’s baptism (information found here). You could also hand out umbrellas as favors. This would make for a great trash the dress opportunity. Or, if the rain appears before you get any pictures in, protect the dress and take pictures when you get back from your honeymoon.

Quick Tip May 27, 2009

Be prepared for your guests according to your situation and environment. If your wedding is in June in Phoenix, hand out water bottles with the programs. If your guests will be expected to walk a ways between ceremony and reception, offer a shuttle, golf cart or some mode of transportation to help the elderly and those with small children.

Trash the Dress May 26, 2009

A wedding dress is one of the most crucial elements of a memorable wedding. Lots of time and money goes into obtaining the right one and then it is worn only once. Some brides are lucky enough to wear it multiple times at out-of-state receptions. Even then, it goes back in the garment bag or is preserved, never to be worn again. 

One way to take advantage of this useless dress after the wedding is to have a Trash the Dress session. This has become a rather popular thing to do. If you are willing to be completely done with your dress after the wedding, you can get some amazing shots in your TTD session. Any good photographer will have some wonderful ideas for this. However, some brides can’t bring themselves to destroy the most important and, probably expensive, dress they have ever or will ever own. What do you think? Will you trash your dress?

 

Photo by del sol Photography

 

photo found at http://www.altf.com/

Photo found at http://www.photomuse.com/blog/

Above photo found here.

Happy Memorial Day May 25, 2009

Thank you to all those who have served our country by being in the military. Thank you to the families of our troops who have sacrificed time with their loved ones so we can enjoy the freedoms of America.

Photo by Kevin Keith.

Paying Vendors and Writing Thank You Notes May 21, 2009

Most vendors (if not all) will require payment on the day of your wedding. Depending on your contract, this could be before the ceremony or after the reception. The important part is making sure it happens. You wouldn’t want to come home from your honeymoon to be greeted by a collection agency or a nasty notice from vendors. So, I recommend having all payments ready before the day of the wedding and delegating someone else to distribute them. You won’t want to think about money on your wedding day. You’ll be too busy enjoying the best day of your life! So, here’s what you do.

Organize each payment in the form of check or cash and put them in separate envelopes with the name of the company and the contact person on each envelope. The envelopes should be sealed for safety. You can also include tips and a thank you note in these envelopes. Your wedding coordinator is an excellent person for the task of distributing payment, with one exception. The best man typically gives the officiant the tip. 

Writing thank you notes is an arduous task. In order to lighten your burden post-honeymoon, begin to write thank you’s for the gifts that are delivered to your house (or your parents’ house) before the wedding. You can have your maid of honor mail them the day after the wedding. You can also start to put your return address labels and stamps on envelopes for the thank you’s that you’ll write when you get home. I highly discourage you from making fill-in-the-blank thank you’s. I repeat: don’t make fill-in-the-blank thank you’s! It is very tacky and obvious when a guest receives a note with a form letter that has the name of the gift that just barely fits in the space after “Thank you for the ______________.” It’s especially bad when the pen color of the gift doesn’t match the pen color of the rest of the note. I don’t care if it does match or fit perfectly. Just don’t do it! It will make a far better impression on your guests if you write a genuine note after the wedding. Besides, you have a few months before etiquette comes calling, demanding that you send them out. Be genuine and be courteous. After all, you spent all those dollars and all that time planning the wedding of the season. You don’t want the last impression your guests receives to be a bad one.

Honeymoon Hotel May 20, 2009

This really applies to before the wedding, but it’s in preparation for after the wedding. Have the groom or the best man or someone you trust check you into the hotel you’ll be at on the wedding night, unless you are traveling out of town. This makes things go much smoother when you get to the hotel–especially if you’ll still be in your wedding dress. People will want to stare, unless you can skip the front desk and go in the back way. You should also have all your bags packed, at the latest, by the day before the wedding and have them taken to your room at check-in. Now, I say choose someone you trust, because there are many people out there who will want in on a wedding prank and I’ve heard horror stories about pranks you don’t want to be part of your wedding night. So, unless you don’t know anyone who has ever pulled a prank before, keep the location of your first night a secret.

The groom should also tell the hotel that you will be on your honeymoon, because you may get some freebies or upgrades. Be sure to drop that information at each place you go on your honeymoon. Many people are happy to celebrate with you by giving you free perks. Don’t expect it, because many won’t give you more than a smile, but it doesn’t hurt to try. For more advice on your honeymoon, click on the ‘Honeymoon’ category to the right of this page.

How Do I Donate? May 19, 2009

Yesterday, I recommended that you consider donating extra food after the reception. I had a request to expand on that topic, and how it is done. 

This was a very good question, since food-banks generally don’t accept perishable foods. I suggest going through Feeding America. They will pick up the food (perishable or not) at your reception and deliver it on the same day. Click here for guidelines on how to prepare the food and how to arrange a pick-up.

Click here to find a nursing home for donating flowers. Click on your state and keep clicking on the area you want until you zoom in enough to see the yellow dots, which are the nursing homes in that area.

Another quick piece of advice for post wedding: attire. You will need someone to return rented tuxes and clean/preserve the wedding gown. If you have going away outfits, it’s easier to hand off attire to the designated person who will take care of returns and cleaning. Don’t forget to give them funds to have the services done. Keep in mind that most gowns will take a few weeks to be cleaned, depending on the material and beading. Wedclean is a great company that will clean and preserve your gown, veil, shoes, and any other accessories without you leaving home. They will send you a box and you send it in to them. There are some great testimonials about Wedclean removing wine stains after years of the gown being stored in the garage and other miraculous cleanings.

Post-Wedding Details May 18, 2009

As many brides plan for their weddings, they often forget the part after the reception. The truth is, the work is not done when you and your new hubby ride away in the newly decorated getaway car. So, remember to plan for all the little details that you won’t be around for.

Let’s start with clean-up. You should have a plan for leftover food. Many caterers today will donate extra food. Be sure to clarify that point early on. If they don’t offer donations, you should delegate that job to one of your bridesmaids or family-members. Be sure to make arrangements with the caterer beforehand to save the leftovers (they may even box them for you).

Also consider donating your flowers. A retirement community would be happy to have your floral arrangements, since they will last for several more days. 

Rentals are also on the to-do list. If your venue is easy to get into, especially outdoor, or on public property, you may want to consider hiring a security service to watch the tables and chairs until Monday, when the rental company can pick them up. If rentals are from the venue, they will take care of it, and if you are only renting china and linens those can easily be kept in a safe place (but, once again, you will want to designate someone to put those in that safe place).

If your centerpieces are more keepsake than floral, you may consider giving them as gifts to honored guests, or donating them to charity.

Double-check that all these arrangements have been made and that everyone understands their part two weeks before the wedding. This leaves some cushion time, in case something was forgotten or misunderstood.

A Fun Wedding Resource May 15, 2009

Wedding Mapper is a great resource for brides and grooms. This is a website where you can find local vendors and venues in your area (or the area of your destination wedding). There is also a forum where you can ask questions or discuss topics with other people on Wedding Mapper. There are photo galleries, vendor profiles and reviews, and real weddings. My personal favorite part is that you can talk to other people in the area. You can ask a question of brides who have used the same vendors you are thinking about and Mapper will send out the email for you. Or, you can ask a question of local newlyweds about their weddings. There is also an “Ask the Expert” area where you can ask Sharon Naylor, a wedding expert any wedding question.

This is a wonderful resource for couples at any stage of the planning process, whether you just got engaged or are a few days out from the wedding. It’s fun to buy all the books and magazines, but if they don’t answer your particular question, where do you go? I recommend Wedding Mapper. Look for the Designer Events profile under the “coordinators/planners” category of vendors.