Easy Ways to be An Organized Bride-to-Be

Planning a wedding can sometimes be overwhelming. That’s in its best moments. A wedding is often stressful and challenging – especially with all of those tiny details a bride has to manage. Today’s bride is busier than ever, with family obligations, a full time job, school and community obligations. How can she keep it all together? Let us suggest some of our favorite tried and true easy bride’s organization tips for you!

1. Create a bridal binder to gather all vital information. Purchase a large binder at a stationary store and keep every detail regarding the wedding in this binder. Add sections related to the wedding such as “reception,” “formal wear,” “honeymoon,” “flowers,” and so on. Each section will help you stay more organized and able to reach information quickly. The trick is to not have dozens of sections – but simply enough to keep the information well organized so you don’t have everything stacked together. Tip: if it takes you longer than five minutes to find something, you need to redo your sections to make them work for you.
2. Put an envelope in your purse or briefcase to keep all wedding related receipts. It’s an old habit and some of us are “savers” and others are “tossers” by nature. If you are a receipt saver then you’ll find this a bit easier than the tossers will. Fortunately this is an easier habit to develop than some. You just need to make it simple and convenient for yourself. Make sure the envelope is large and sturdy and always well within reach. Don’t let receipts wind up all over the place – every receipt related to the wedding during daily life goes into the envelope and at the end of the day you transfer it to your bridal binder. It’s actually that easy!
3. Keep your cell phone (with photo ability) or digital camera on hand for wedding errands at all times. Brides today do a lot of comparison shopping. There’s also the challenge that you need to confer with the groom and each other’s families about some of the things you’ll want to do. So if you want to show your future mother in law how beautiful the flowers will be, be sure to snap a photo of them while you are at the florist’s. No one should mind your taking a few photos while you are running errands and this can also help you make up your mind about which vendor to choose as you do your comparisons of them later on.
4. Delegate wedding related chores wisely. It can be tempting to drop any chore on literally anyone offering to help. But DON’T! This sometimes can cause you double work in the end as you have to redo something they have done. A wedding is a very personal and intimate event. Even your mother or mother-in-law truly might not understand your exact tastes. Having them select something could also cause a frustrating misunderstanding when you go to reselect something on your own – as they will then be offended with your new choice. Delegate only what you can accept with someone else making a choice or where you have done some of the original legwork for them. For example don’t ask your mother-in-law to choose your invitations. You could ask her to get information from three different companies about a particular style of invitation and how quickly they could be printed and delivered. Notice YOU are making all of the important decisions there. Your mother-in-law is not selecting the invitation in any way. Keep all wedding related chores smooth and simple for everyone concerned.

Every moment of your wedding is special. Good organization helps you enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime event all the more!

Stay Organized with a Wedding Invitation Timeline

Wedding invitation planning…you may not realize just how many steps there really are to organizing and preparing your invitations. From creating your guest list to finalizing all your ceremony and reception details, many things affect your wedding invitation preparations.

There really are no absolute deadlines for many of the steps in your wedding invitation process. Although there are some general timeframes that you may find helpful to avoid last-minute rushing since you have so many other things on your mind as well.

Here is a basic timeline to simply use as a guideline for your invitation planning:

9 months – 1 year

• Begin working on your guest list so you will know how many wedding invites (and maybe save the dates) to eventually order (one per single adult, couple or family invited).
• Start your wedding invitation shopping so you can narrow your choices down to only your favorites. Ordering samples, which are usually blank, will give you a chance to see the paper and design up close.
• If you are planning to mail out save the date cards to guests, begin searching for your preferred design of them as well.

7 to 8 months

• If you will be sending save the dates, place your order based on the number of guests to whom you will be mailing them as they are optional.
• Give some thought to how your wording will read by browsing through sample wedding invitation verses.

6 months

• If sending save the dates, prepare and mail them.
• Select your wedding invitation design and gather all the details that will be printed on them such as date, times, name and address of location(s), etc.
• Determine if you will also be ordering any invitation enclosures or added options – response cards, reception cards, direction/map cards, pre-printed return address on envelopes, decorative envelope seals, colored lining for inner envelopes, matching thank you or informal cards. Some of these options may not be available depending on your chosen style. You may also be able to order matching menu, table and place cards for your design. You will save on separate shipping costs by purchasing as many items as you can all in the same order.
• If you are including response cards, check with your dinner location to see how far in advance they need your final guest count so you can select the RSPV date that will be printed on them (typically 2-3 weeks before wedding). You also need to decide whose address will be printed on the response envelope or postcard meaning they will receive the replies.

4-5 months

• Finalize your wording and place your wedding invitation order. Remember to order some extras now so you won’t run out if there are last-minute guests to invite and so you also have a few as souvenirs. If the option is available, order some extra envelopes just to be safe.
• Check your guest list making sure you have complete addresses for everyone.
• Consider mailing your wedding invites using custom wedding stamps. Many online retailers provide you with the alternative of choosing from pre-designed wedding postage or simply uploading a photo to create your own stamp design. NOTE – Have one of your ready-to-mail invitations weighed at the Post Office BEFORE purchasing your postage stamps so you know you are using the correct amount for each one.

3-4 months

• Fold and/or assemble your wedding invitations, if necessary.
• Hand address mailing envelopes and write guest names on inside envelopes, if they are included.
• Purchase and apply postage stamps to the response card envelopes or response postcards, if they will be included.
• Assemble all wedding invitation pieces and insert them into already addressed envelopes.
• Take one fully assembled and sealed invitation to the Post Office to have it weighed to determine the correct amount of postage needed.
• Purchase your stamps or order custom wedding stamps with appropriate postage amount required for mailing.

6-8 weeks

• Seal the envelopes, apply postage stamps and mail them all at the same time directly at a Post Office location.

3-4 weeks

• Prepare and mail any other related wedding invitations…rehearsal dinner, post-wedding brunch, etc.
• Keep track of the response cards as they are returned by checking off their names from your guest list.

2-3 weeks

• Contact any guests who didn’t mail back their response cards.
• Provide final guest count to reception/dinner location.

That pretty much takes care of everything related to your invitations prior to your wedding. The only thing left to do is to write and mail out your wedding thank you cards, especially if you ordered them with your wedding invitations. They should be sent out about a month after the wedding and no more than three months after.

Again, this is just a guideline for your wedding invitations process but hopefully it will help you stay organized which is the key for all of your wedding planning.

What Exactly Are Modern Wedding Invitations?

You often hear the phrase ‘modern wedding invitations’ but what really classifies them as modern.

We all know modern is the opposite of traditional.  When it comes to wedding invitations, traditional brings to mind a simple white or ecru invitation card, classic black ink, a standard font style and two envelopes for mailing.  Modern wedding invitations, on the other hand, let you be more creative and unique which seems to be quite appealing to today’s couples who tend to look for ways to truly personalize their weddings including their invites.

Here are some trends that you may feature on your modern wedding invitations depending on the design you choose and the options available:

·  Multiple Lettering Styles – A larger and sometimes fancier font style is used to emphasize the couple’s names on the invitation compared to the rest of the wording.

·  Contrasting Ink Colors – A second distinct ink color can be used to highlight certain details on your wedding invitation like your names.

·  Pockets – Becoming increasingly fashionable, this style has a pocket for holding the wedding invitation and possibly a separate pocket for any enclosure cards, depending on the specific design.

·  Self-mailing – So named since they turn into their own self-mailing piece eliminating separate mailing envelopes.  Some designs have an envelopment, which may be colored, that wraps around all the invitation pieces for easy mailing.  Another self-mailer design option are seal and send wedding invitations that actually fold and seal up into their own mailing piece.

·  Bright and Bold Colors – Today it is easier than ever to make a personal statement with your invitation colors either through your paper, design or ink choices.  You can also create a unique look by combining colors that you may not normally consider as complementary but really look stunning when paired together.

·  Distinctive Sizes & Shapes – You can easily select a wedding invitation design that has a unique shape such as being square or is an unusual size such as tea length.

·  Patterns – As part of the invitation design, patterns are becoming stylish including paisley and retro motifs.

·  Colored Papers or Envelopes - Make your wedding invitations eye-catching by choosing a design that has colored paper stock or colored envelopes.  Just be sure to choose an ink color that will look good on the colored paper.

·  Recycled Paper – For those striving to be more eco friendly, there are now many beautiful wedding invitation designs that are printed on recycled papers.

·  Embellishments – Ribbon has become quite popular as an added special touch to wedding invitations.

Everyone’s idea of what modern wedding invitations are may vary but the above trends are definitely options that will make invites look more contemporary.  Your invitations will surely reflect your own unique personal style using any of these options.

How to Throw a Bridal Shower Surprise Party

Modern technology might have made it more difficult to throw surprises because almost everyone is aware of what is going on around the world. However, that does not mean you cannot throw a good surprise if you wanted to. There are at least a few things you can do when you are planning to surprise someone during a bridal shower surprise party. The following are some ideas.

Making the Lists Ready

You cannot do anything without having a proper guest list first. Send proper invitations to them, with an RSVP so that you know who will actually attend and who won’t. If there are adjustments to be made, such as some of the guests find some other day suitable than what you have chosen, try to make the changes. You also have to take their traveling into consideration.

Make up a guest list of the bride-to-be’s best friends and closest family members, the number of people that you invite is really up to you and how many people you think they would like to have come.

Zeroing in on the Date

The next step in planning the Bridal shower surprise is to actually set the date. This can be somewhat tricky, because more than anything you are going to have to make sure that the bride herself is going to be able to make it on that date, but without letting her know that you are up to anything.

You can speak to her fiancé to see what his opinion is on this, and if you can get a hold of her datebook or calendar, without being overly nosy, you can check to see what dates she has free.

Keep the Bride Occupied

One thing is sure – if the bride has nothing to do, she is going to suspect something about your little surprise. But if she is kept busy, she just won’t have the time to care. Hence, if she ! is not occupied in any other way, you have to ensure that you keep her occupied. That gives room for you to plan things out without worrying that she will come to know. Of course, she must not understand that she is being kept away.

Ensure that No One talks!

This is very important, because even if one person tattletales to the bride, the whole surprise bridal shower is spoiled. Make everyone you speak with, including the ones ! you send invitations to, agree that they will keep this a surprise. It is best that you keep the weaker people out of this secret until the nth hour and that you don’t tell anyone who doesn’t need to know about these plans.

photo by ciboulette

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