A Bride’s Top Time Savers

Today’s bride is busier than ever. As the clock counts down to her wedding day, she has appointments and a schedule that seems to go on for miles. How can any bride get it all done? The solution is learning to use top time savers brides add to their wedding planning and organization. Some may shave time, steal time and others simply change how you view the time you spend. But each can help you manage your wedding planning a bit easier, letting any bride-to-be breathe easier and get everything taken care of for that big day she’s been looking forward to for so long. So while no one can fool Mother Nature or take moments from Father Time, a bride can learn to make her wedding planning far more manageable with a few time saving tips!

Group errands/appointments by location. No matter what stage you are in with your wedding planning, this is an ideal time saver for you. Don’t run all over your city, town or county trying to get it all done in a day or an afternoon when you can save hours grouping tasks according to where you are when you do it. In order to do this, you’ll need to be very aware of the addresses and locations of any place you are visiting before you start to fill up your schedule. Remember that many brides have multiple visits to locations like their bridal dress shop or bakery so once you know a location this will become easier.

Leave early or on time for your errands/appointments. Now for this you may throw up your hands saying, “Well how can I find the time to do that?” We gently point out to you that if you are constantly running late for things, this is a sign that your overall time management is out of whack. Learning better time management will improve your overall life and not just your wedding. Getting up earlier or leaving just ten minutes before you planned will put you in an easier, low key state of mind for your appointments. It also means if the person you are meeting is not quite ready for you, that you are less anxious or irritated by this delay than otherwise expected. Which brings us to the next tip…

Always bring things to do while waiting. Often when you go for a dress fitting, cake tasting or other appointment, you’ll wind up waiting. Sometimes you wait a few minutes and other times you’ll have to wait even longer. Every moment you spend drumming your French manicured fingernails on the table is time you could be spending on another errand – frustrating you even more. We suggest you plan to wait and expect to spend a little time at these appointments taking care of other things. Every little ten or twenty minute time period here you snatch away will save you time other places. Do this three times a week and you’ve saved yourself an hour!

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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 to Look for In a Personal Wedding Planner

Choosing a personal wedding planner can be a frightening task.Finding someone you trust enough to plan one of the biggest events of your life is not something you should take lightly, but is something that will help you create the wedding of your dreams in an efficient and well thought out manner.Here are some tips to find your ideal personal wedding planner.

Certification

Look for a personal wedding planner with a certification in wedding planning.Certified personal wedding planners will have the knowledge base to skillfully plan and execute your wedding.They will know the ins and outs of the wedding business, and will have hands on experience in all aspects of wedding planning.  A certified personal wedding planner will take the guesswork of your preparation by approaching the process as a business transaction.As your personal wedding planner, he or she will be there to plan your wedding in a full time capacity.  Wedding planning may not be your day job, but it is for a number of highly talented professionals.

References

You wouldn’t buy a car without taking it for a test drive, so why hire a personal wedding planner without seeing their previous work?  Their previous events don’t have to mirror the type of wedding you hope to have, but if their clients express that they were communicative and attentive to the desires of the newlyweds to be, this will speak highly of their ability to plan the wedding that you want.

Ask for references of one or two former clients who have either given a statement for the personal wedding planner to use, or people you can call and speak with about their experience with the planner.Also ask to see some pictures of previous events just to get a feel for the spectra of things the personal wedding planner is capable of planning.

Connection

While your personal wedding planner is first and foremost a professional dedicated to the business of planning weddings, make sure you choose someone you are comfortable working with.  You will be working with this person for an extended period of time, and feeling a connection with this person as a trusted party to act in your best interest is crucial.You will want to have the comfort of knowing that your personal wedding planner is listening to your desires and is someone you can envision yourself working with in great detail.

Photo by SWBatzer

How to Get the Perfect Wedding Planner

There will come a time in your wedding planning when you might want to get a little help. The best thing to do is to find yourself someone who can help you, someone trained in the field would make the perfect wedding planner. It is important that you have a perfect wedding planner because you will be able to sit back and enjoy more of the wedding planning process than if you were doing it all on your own.

What Is Important about It?

A perfect wedding planner is going to let you be yourself, because they will sit down with you and talk about the kinds of things that you would like to see in your wedding. They will be able to show you more ideas based on your thoughts and help you figure out what things look good and what things don’t look. They’ll be able to take into consideration your feelings about what you would and would not like to see in the wedding, and then a perfect wedding planner will take all of these ideas and put them into wedding plans that fit your budget and your needs

A perfect wedding planner is important to have for several reasons. First of all, it gives you the comfort of knowing that things are getting taken care of. Second of all, you are going o be able to relax a little bit because you won’t have to be doing all of the wedding plans on your own. Third, a perfect wedding planner is specially trained to know how to put things into weddings that need to belong there, and has several areas of expertise when it comes to wedding planning. A perfect wedding planner is going to make the dream wedding of your lifetime a reality, and is going to give you the freedom to ask for help with things that you never dreamt of doing on your own.

Remember that although a perfect wedding planner is going to cost you money, you are going to save in the long run because a perfect wedding planner will be able to give you lots of deals. Many times, wedding planners already have vendors that they use a lot, so they will have deals that they can get you on everything for your wedding, such as flowers, food, and music. A perfect wedding planner is going to allow you to get all of these things, stay in your budget, and incorporate ideas that you never knew you could.

Creating a Comprehensive Wedding Planner List

Important Items for a Wedding Planner List

For a bride and groom who wish to plan their wedding, a complete wedding planner list can be helpful in ensuring everything is coordinated for the big day. Great tools to help make this wedding planner list are websites especially designed to account for all the details of the wedding. There are even some free sites that offer this service at no charge.Other items to consider for a list are marriage laws, reception needs, ceremony needs, guest lists, bridal party events, and the all important budget.

Marriage Laws

Marriage laws are different in every state, and should be researched on a local level. All states require a marriage license for a marriage to be considered legally binding, and some states still require blood testing prior to being issued a marriage license.Also the bride’s name change usually cannot be completed until after the marriage license has been signed by the person performing the wedding.

Then she will usually have to go in person to the social security office and department of motor vehicles (or local driver’s license office) with the completed and signed marriage license to have all of her legal documents changed to her married name. These are important steps for any wedding planning list; they should be kept on hand for after the ceremony and honeymoon.

Reception Needs

A bride and grooms wedding planning list will likely have a large reception section; as this is where the party happens.All of the guests, food, decorations, and entertainment all need to end up at the same place at the same time. Coordinating this alone can seem intimidating, however planning ahead and checking items off of the wedding planning list as they’re completed is a way to simplify the process and stay organized.

Ceremony Needs

This part of a wedding planning list is likely to be the largest as this is the section where flowers, guests, and bridal part merge for the main event.The ceremony itself often lasts less than an hour, but the preparation often takes months. This wedding planning list can go on to include every aspect of an individual wedding to keep everyone organized.A wedding planning list can include: the guest list, floral arrangements, booking the church and reception area, finding a band or DJ, organizing the fittings and pick-ups of the wedding party’s attire, the rehearsal and dinner.

The Budget

The most important function a wedding planning list can serve is to keep a bride and groom with in their budgets as it is so easy to get overwhelmed by the variety available and lose track of what is really needed and wanted for the wedding.A wedding planning list can help keep the couple not only on the dollar but also from forgetting something important that is needed for the ceremony, reception, or honeymoon.

It can also ease a budget to discuss ahead of time exactly who will be paying for what.While traditionally, the bride’s family pays for the wedding – that need not be the case any more. Nevertheless, here are a few examples of what is traditionally divided and by whom.  Bride’s family traditionally pays for the reception, flowers, decorations, music, photographer, and bridesmaids’ gifts.

The groom’s family will traditionally provide for the marriage license, ties and gloves for the wedding groomsmen, rehearsal dinner, and the honeymoon.Keeping track of who is doing what on a wedding planner checklist will make the entire wedding process more enjoyable. The bride and groom should be able to relax and enjoy the first day of the rest of their lives together.

A Wedding Reception Idea: Candy Buffet

If you’ve been knee-deep in wedding planning, chances are you’ve heard of the “candy buffet” or “candy bar” wherein a table-long array of the sweetest and colorful candy is displayed for your guests to dig in.  The Wedding Candy Buffet made its debut to wedding guests all over the nation within the past few years and there are no signs of the wedding candy bar concept slowing down.  Wedding candy buffets are genius, really, and super simple.  The following are a few wedding candy buffet ideas.

First, decide on the type of candy you’d like to display in your wedding candy bar buffet.  Not as easy as you may think.  There exists hundreds of hard and soft candy in every color of the rainbow.  Begin with your childhood favorites and then work your way up to your most recent faves.  Imagine candied mints, colorful jelly beans, wrapped chocolates, licorice sticks, and even childhood lollipops gracing your wedding candy buffet!  Try to narrow down your choices to your favorite top 10 all-time favorite candy.

Next select the containers in which you will exhibit your sweet treats.  Clear glass jars are the vessels of choice.  Create a standout showcase with a mixture of narrow and wide glass jars to tall and short glass containers.  Indicate each jar’s contents with a decorative tent card displayed in front of the container.  Alternatively, handwrite the name of the candy onto a beautiful sticker and affix to the front of the glass jar.  Provide a candy scoop by the candy jar for your guests to serve themselves a helping of the sweet treats.

Lastly, choose a generously-sized yet portable container that your guests can use to load up with their goodies and take home.  Gourmet food paper bags personalized with your names and wedding date is the perfect idea.  Or transform Chinese takeout boxes into a great container for your memorable wedding candy buffet.  Glassine envelopes can be spruced up with personalized labels resulting in creative candy buffet packaging.

By offering an “all-you-can-eat, make-your-own” experience, you’ll invite your guests to create their own wedding favors that they’ll be sure to enjoy!  The wedding candy buffet is a great way to lend your guests a festive atmosphere at your wedding!

Get Wedding Invitations in a Celebrity Way

Pull out the geranium carpet because your matrimonial lavish will grip the paparazzi speech for a long time to come! From the gently hand selection centerpieces to the amazing flower bouquets, current brides and their beaus can get tie the knot in approach just like the celebrities. No question of what your budget is, you can cliquey the finest wedding invitations that your account can allow and still be considered an, A-Lister to all your friends and family.

Champagne and Caviar

Mark out all the stops and get rid of any misconceptions you might have about wedding invitations as merely some other invitations. Traditional stationery featuring lovebirds and wedding bells are a thing of the yesteryears. Follow the likes of steel giant, Lakshimi Mittal, whose daughter, Vanisha, was married in 2004. Casing in silver and gift twenty pages of prose published by family members, the 1,200 wedding invitations rate Mittal a mere kismet.

The common pair can’t favor to propel out invitations like Mittal’s, but they can tap into the inspiration of the effect by crafty wedding invitations that take your breath away. Go into encasing your invitations in a red envelop to ooze the fame sensitivity. Or you can even make your own satin fabric envelops that will luxuriously confine all the details to your elite day.

Wedding Invitations with Celebrity Values

Alicia Silverstone, who played Cher in the hit movie Clueless, and her hubby, Christopher Jarecki, incorporated their ideals into their wedding theme. By entertaining an all-natural, organic wedding, Silverstone and her fiancé were able to dispatch out recycled invitations all over with seeds that could be planted later. Not only was the stationery matchless, but it also was eco-welcoming, which fit the lifestyle of the actor and her soon-to-be spouse.

Simple Ways to Make Your Wedding Invitations Glamorous

Black wedding invitations with gold or silver lettering look elegant without being too overweening. Select a style that suits you and choose a font that matches your theme. If you would like more gloss added to your stationery, select brainy tones like fuchsia, orange, emerald green, or purple. Bold patterns add entity to even the most inexpensive wedding invitations.

You don’t have to be eminent to have the wedding of the century. Ingrain your guests with amazing wedding invitations that ponder the essence of who you are and where you plan your wedding will sometime be.

Wedding Cake Wake-Up Call

The perfect wedding cake should reflect the overall theme of the festivities, and so there are a few questions that need to be answered prior to ordering this most important centerpiece.

Questions such as:

• Are you planning for a formal or informal wedding reception?
• Is it going to be an indoor or outdoor event?
• Warm weather or cool?

Believe it or not, each of these factors should be taken into consideration when choosing a wedding cake; as ignoring them could be turn out to create unnecessary drama, as well as, unpleasant memories…in pictures and on video.

That being said…just because your Aunt Edna has a sterling reputation for making a fierce carrot cake, does that mean you should entrust her with your reception’s  crowning masterpiece?  “But she’s so sweet”, you may say. “Cakes are so expensive and she offered to make it for free….as a wedding gift!“  While the sentiment may be nice, just think: Could you honestly entrust this woman with making your wedding cake?  Has she ever made one before?    While her cakes may be a hit at the family reunion, you’d better think twice before commissioning her to bake  your “cake of a lifetime”.  A lopsided cake on a picnic table, sliding under the weight of its own icing, in the hot July sun may be acceptable at a barbecue, but is this what you really want to happen to your cake at your wedding reception?  And do you really want a blue cake trimmed in red icing?  Hold that thought and marinate in it for a while…

Now that we’ve gotten you frightened to death…you can call Aunt Edna, and decline her offer.  Go ahead…call her now.  Thank her profusely, while nicely telling  her that its “already been taken care of”.  End the conversation by kindly letting her know where you are registered and tell her that you “haven‘t been given a kitchen spatula yet” … then move on….To the REAL baker.

During your consultation with your chosen baker, be sure that all questions are answered to your satisfaction.  Make sure that you are both clear as to what you do, or do not want.   Do not assume anything!  Be sure to provide your baker with details, keeping in mind that he has no idea as to what is most important to you.   Take a look at the baker’s cake portfolio to see examples of work previously done, and to get ideas that can be incorporated into your final masterpiece.  Provide your baker with as much advance notice as possible.    Be VERY clear as to the delivery date, time and setup instructions.   Be doubly sure to have everything in writing.

One last thing:  Please don’t forget to give Aunt Edna a seat nearest the bridal table.  You’ll thank me for this later.

photo by tastetheworld

Tip on Choosing a Wedding Reception Hall

Planning a wedding and all that goes into it can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. If you want a traditional wedding you can still keep it simple and less stressful. The key to planning any type of wedding is to be organized. The more people involved in the decisions the more chaotic it will be.

The wedding reception is usually one of the most memorable parts of the wedding.  This is why it’s important that the location and atmosphere of your reception reflect your personality and style.  In deciding on picking a reception place you need to consider how large a reception it’s going to be and your budget restrictions.

Wedding receptions can be held almost anywhere, including hotels, country clubs, and historic buildings with banquet halls.  There are also the options of private gardens, restaurants or some type of outdoor space.  Words of caution, if you are planning something outdoors make sure you check out the weather for that time of year. You should also have a plan in case it does rain. You can be creative with where you have your reception.

Getting the place for your wedding reception is one of the first things you should do after you have set the date. Many places are booked up to a year in advance.  You should always shop around.  The time of year and the place you choose could affect the price dramatically.  You can look for reception halls in your phonebook or search on the Internet for wedding reception halls.  This way you can find out information such as, how large a place is and how many people it will hold. You can look at menu listings and pricing information.

This way you can make a list of ones that you are considering and cross off others that are either too small are not in your budget. Once you’ve narrowed down your list, you can call and set up a time to visit the different places. Make sure that you bring along  a notebook to write down all the information so you can refer to your notes later.

While you are look at the reception halls you can ask about the availability of the place during your wedding date.  When you think you have found the right place make sure you consider whether it is within your  price range. You should be certain that the price you are quoted includes the dinner for the number people you estimate.  Make sure you consider whether the wedding reception hall will adequately fit the number of guests you will be having.

Other information to find out is whether the reception hall requires you to work with their kitchen or with only certain caterers. Make sure you ask if the wedding reception hall charges for the room as well as the food.  There can be many hidden costs so make sure you ask lots of questions such as is there a cake cutting charge.  You also want to ask about any restrictions on how you can decorate the wedding reception hall.

When you have narrowed it down and have found the perfect one; you should book it immediately. Wedding reception halls are often booked more than a year in advance and you will want to make sure it will be available on your wedding day.  You will now be able to have the wedding of your dreams plus you’ll have a wonderful reception.

by Danforth Diamond, experts in engagement rings and wedding rings. Photo by klaxon

Five Wedding Planning Mistakes

Just as with any big show, your wedding day will not be perfect – but that’s okay. While you cannot plan ahead for every little detail or problematic situation that may arise, you can arm yourself with some helpful advice to be prepared at all times for any potential wedding mistakes. But before you begin planning your special day, consider these five biggest wedding preparation and planning mistakes that amateur ‘wedding planners’ often make.

1. Not Budgeting Costs

It’s hard to believe, but true – many couples do not create a budget when it comes to wedding preparation and end up in a deep hole of debt. The very first thing you should do to avoid disastrous (and bankrupting) wedding mistakes is devise an itemized budget, allowing for the necessary requirements, such as a venue for both the ceremony and reception, food and drinks, flowers, favors, decorations, etc. If anything is left over, either use this money for your honeymoon or spend it on something a little more frivolous, like a horse drawn carriage for your departure from the reception. Read more

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