Are You A Diva Bride?

You’re ordering your wedding cake. It has five layers and you want the layers to be raspberry – lemon – raspberry – lemon – raspberry. The baker’s assistant writes it down switching it so it says lemon – raspberry – lemon……You do:

1. Politely point out the error before the baker pulls out the baking pans and gets to cooking.
2. Shriek “It’s raspberry then lemon!” and burst into tears.
3. Call your fiancé and make him explain it. He’s the negotiator.

You are trying on your wedding dress for a fitting. They need to fix the neckline. You:

1. Ask someone at the shop the status of fixing the neckline.
2. Throw your wedding veil in the air and run through the store saying, “They’ve damaged my dress!”
3. Tell your mother and let her talk to the store.

A bridesmaid is not getting the invitations ordered or her other duties done. You need to help get her organized – quick! You:

1. Have lunch with her and find out what is going on – help create a plan for her.
2. Cry on the phone to her that she is ruining your wedding and then cry to your other 5 bridesmaids about her for two hours.
3. Ask your future mother-in-law for advice and let her replace the bridesmaid with a cousin.

The caterer is asking for a second deposit. You’ve paid them but now they want even more. Your wedding is three weeks away and your fiancé is out-of-town. You:

1. Call the caterer and ask the reason for the additional deposit. Get the information in writing and understand why you need to pay them.
2. Leave work abruptly and go down in person to yell at the manager that he is “wrecking your day” and that he doesn’t understand. Cry on the way back to work and hire a new caterer.
3. Call your parents and in-laws and tell them you need a new caterer.

The band you’ve hired has an emergency and now can’t perform on your wedding. You’ve got to find a replacement – fast. You:

1. Put out the word to family and friends you need a referral to a great band.
2. Cuss out the band manager and tell him you’ll never forget how he tried to ruin your most important day.
3. Call your fiancé and let him decide what to do.

Okay, it’s time to tally up. How did you do?

All A’s: Regina Reasonable Bride – rational and practical, you’ve got it all under control
All B’s: Diana Diva Bride – get out of her way, she’s loud, proud and out of control!
All C’s: Beth Baby Girl Bride – time to grow up before you put on that wedding dress

How to Choose a Bridesmaid Dress Video

In this how to choose a bridesmaid dress video, an expert from Brides.com gives us some tips on picking bridesmaid dresses that our bridesmaids can actually wear again. A little-known secret about being a bride is that we have some sort of hypnosis or disorder when we’re planning our weddings that make it so we can convince ourselves that any dress we pick for our bridesmaids will be something they’ll be thrilled to wear again. Later, after the wedding fog clears, we realize that it ain’t gonna happen. Truly, after this video, I’m still not convinced, though she gives some good suggestions, like making sure the fabric and color are current or classic, pick something with a little detail (because, as she said, “nothing says ‘bridesmaid’ like a completely plain dress.’” She makes some cool suggestions, like choosing a dress with a pattern, and suggests different accessories to help the dress make the transition. Now, if they only offered different ways to wear that wedding dress!

Valentine’s Day Weddings – Should You Say “I Do” on a Popular Holiday?

Holiday themed weddings have been popular nearly as long as couples have been saying, “I Do!” With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many couples are preparing to wed on this very romantic and sweet day of the year. But should you choose a holiday as your wedding day. Let’s talk about the benefits or challenges of choosing Valentine’s Day – or another popular holiday as your wedding day.

The costs will often be higher on a holiday wedding day. Expect to pay a premium price for things like flowers, catering and event space for holidays like Valentine’s Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Especially flowers will be quite expensive near Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. You’ll want to include these costs in your budget planning.

Holidays like Valentine’s Day are also an ideal time to find special things you’ll only find at one time of the year. Many manufacturers make things in time for the holidays knowing that they will be purchased by many. Your celebrating your wedding in addition means you can enjoy pink champagne or other romantic things that may be included with the holiday.

A holiday wedding can make it easy for everyone to come – as they have that time off from work or school. A wedding near a holiday can often make it easier for friends and family to come to your wedding as many holidays are days off from work or school. While Valentine’s Day is not a holiday we take off from work. New Year’s Eve and the 4^th of July are. Many of these holidays can be an ideal choice as you will know that family and friends can take the long weekend or part of the week to join your special celebration.

Some guests may find a Valentine’s Day – or other holiday themed wedding a challenge. The holidays are a time when people often make special plans. If family or friends have made plans of their own they may sometimes be hard to change. Of course a wedding is something special you just don’t want to miss. Simply keep in mind that with a holiday themed wedding you’ll want to use Save the Date cards way in advance to let guests know you are using a special holiday date – to be sure they reserve this date for your wedding instead of for other plans.

You’ll always have a “fun” wedding anniversary. When your wedding anniversary is Valentine’s Day, this day becomes even more romantic and special for the two of you as a couple. Just imagine how wonderful it will be celebrating big anniversaries like your 10^th, 25^th or 50^th wedding anniversary and Valentine’s Day on the same day. Very exciting and also romantic as well. Every restaurant in town will be offering special meals and treats. There will always be lots of fun and romantic things to do over the Valentine’s Day weekend that you can do to celebrate your anniversary.

Have a Wonderful Winter Wedding!

Winter weddings can be exceptionally beautiful; especially around the holiday season.  During that time, many places of worship and commercial venues have already been outfitted in festive colors, and oftentimes come with ready-made celebratory atmospheres.  In many cases, very little will be needed in the way of additional decorations.  In many parts of the world, snow is prevalent, which can definitely add to the festivities.

However, winter weddings can be subject to their own seasonal challenges.  Many a happy couple have had to navigate stormy weather to get to the church on time.  Brides often have to find practical (yet elegant ways) to keep warm, while not detracting from the overall look and feel of the occasion.  A winter bride may want to consider including either a cloak, cape, shrug, shawl, wrap, bolero, or faux fur stole to her wardrobe.

Certainly each and every delay and/or potential snag cannot be foreseen.  However, having a little peace-of-mind ahead of time can prove to be priceless if the occasion should call for it.  Before scheduling a winter wedding, having a Plan “B”, just in case things are not pulled off as smoothly as planned can surely be a good thing.  So as not to have a stranded bridal party (especially the bride and groom) , an alternate means  of transportation may need to be kept at the ready; and contracts made with any venue scheduled to host the reception will need to be examined for clauses that detail what would happen in the event of unavoidable tardiness or a cancellation.  Maintaining a list of things that need to be taken into consideration is a great way to keep track.  In the meantime, enjoy planning your winter wedding while not forgetting to set a place for Mother Nature….keeping in mind that she reserves the right to be the ultimate Wedding Crasher.

Photo by Anne Ruthmann

15 Things I Learned from Being a Bridesmaid

Being a bridesmaid is a great honor but for grown-ups, being the bridesmaid, or worse, the maid of honor for one of your best friends can be an experience that you may not want to repeat too often or ever again!

Here are 15 things I learned as a bridesmaid veteran of five weddings:

1. Remember it’s not your day!  The bride is the center of attention and it is her big day so be prepared to cater for her every whim.  After all, as bridesmaid you only have to deal with Little Miss’ tantrums and spats for a few rehearsals and the day of the wedding, after that the poor guy she’s marrying has to deal with her for life;
2. While you may not be the center of attention as far as the wedding is concerned, you can be assured of being the center of attention for lots of guys!  I should know because I met my husband when I was a bridesmaid for the 4^th time but be careful if you are thinking this will be a great way to find a catch because:
3. Never, and I mean NEVER! Let a guy open the door and escort you if he calls you “Sugar”, “Babe” or worse, “Sugarbabe!”;
4. Do not let a bride convince you to wear grapevine as headgear.  Yes you can still find it, on a remote hillside in South Carolina on property owned by a gun toting hillbilly aged 72 and related to Jed Clampett as both his brother and second uncle;
5. Wearing woven grapevine leaves marks, both physical and emotional, which last for up to 6 months, if you have the choice, wear a crown of thorns instead;
6. Glue guns are a great invention for people who want to stick things and are not worried about whether they will explode or not – just remember that glue guns do overheat and will overheat because they are going to get a lot of use and as bridesmaid, you have to pitch in;
7. Brides want everyone to wear matching ear rings so be prepared to get your ears pierced if you haven’t already done so;
8. If you are asked to write a speech, do not retell the time when your “Best Friend”, who is getting married, was violently ill after drinking too much and ended the evening clinging to the toilet, swearing the world was ending and she couldn’t let it go because there was an earthquake (we lived in Ohio at the time);
9. If you are serious about catching the bouquet when the bride throws it, make sure you are wearing an outfit which will hold you in, as falling out of the top of your dress while stretching for the flowers can be very revealing resulting in more guys calling you “Sugar”, “Babe” etc;
10. Do NOT get drunk at the reception!;
11. The old saying, “Always a bridesmaid and never a bride!” is simply not true, I’m happily married to my husband whom I met when serving as a bridesmaid at wedding number 4;
12. Do everything you can to convince the bride that bridesmaid can get out of their dresses and into practical dress as soon as possible for the evening.  If she won’t budge on this, make sure the bridesmaids dresses are comfortable and practical if you have to spend the day in them;
13. The same applies to shoes!
14. Buying gifts for the bride and groom should really be about getting them things they will enjoy – people buy the most boring and unoriginal gifts which cost a fortune but the ones that make an impression are the ones where a lot of thought has gone into them;
15. Being a bridesmaid for five friends I am not interested in repeating the experience unless by new baby girl really wants me to do it for her !

Danforth Diamond, online wedding jewelry and fine engagement rings.

Bad Daughter/Dad Wedding Dance Songs

photo by by Corrie…

Okay, y’all.  Let’s have a little talk about the first dance with your dad.  Call it the Father/Daughter Dance, the Daddy/Daughter Dance, The Give The Bride Away Dance, whatever.  There are songs that are just PERFECT for this particular part of the most special day of your life, and then there are songs that you should absolutely, no matter what, stay away from.

Obviously, if you have a special song that you used to dance to with your daddy – your little socked feet atop his shiny shoes – by all means pick that one.  We’ll assume since it’s a song you danced to when you were a wee thing that it’s most likely family-appropriate.  It doesn’t necessarily have to have anything to do with dads, daughters, or dancing, but if it’s special to you and your Pops, that’s all that matters.  If you’re stumped, go with a song about a good relationship between a dad and a daughter, like “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder or “Gracie” by Ben Folds Five.

Here is a short list I’ve compiled of songs you shouldn’t under any circumstances dance with your dad to at your wedding:

Father Figure by George Michael
I Want Your Sex by George Michael
Actually, stay away from almost every song by George Michael
White Wedding by Billy Idol
Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye
Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye
Come to think of it, stay away from Marvin Gaye, too.  His dad did shoot him to death, after all.  Bad mojo.
Squeezebox by The Who
Gold Digger by Kanye West (who would undoubtedly jump out from behind the curtains and tell you that the girl who got married there before you danced with her dad better)
Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen
Like a Virgin by Madonna
Justify My Love by Madonna
Brickhouse by The Commodores
You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate
Private Dancer by Tina Turner
Thank Heaven for Little Girls by Maurice Chevalier (trust me, it’s creepy)
Papa Can You Hear Me by Babs (from Yentil – sad song, don’t do it)
Tears In Heaven (about death, dig?  don’t do it)
AND
Push It by Salt n’ Pepa

If you can think of more no-no songs, post a comment below.  If you want to fight for one of these tunes, do the same!

Give a Unique Personalized Wedding Gift – Wine Label

I was just at a large wedding this past weekend (my roommate from college, in case you were wondering). The bride and groom gave a very thoughtful and unique gift – a bottle of wine. But that’s not the unique or thoughtful part in my opinion. The label was “From…” and it had their new married name and the date and location of their wedding. It also had a quote from the first song they danced to as man and wife. Perfect!

I saw that many people opened up their bottles of wine right at that event and I was reminded of how difficult it can be to find that perfect large-event gift. You want to get something thoughtful and personal yet please the whole crowd. I think a lot of the success of their gift was the beautiful custom wine label on the delicious wine. It gave the perfect message with the bottle of wine to celebrate their wedding and marriage. The fact that the wine was delicious certainly didn’t hurt!

Custom wine labels would be ideal for many occasions. A family reunion where you give a bottle of wine to every adult present. Or that milestone birthday – like the big 4-0 or 6-5 birthday party where you want to give the guests something special. It would also be great for the holidays, where you are looking for a gift you can give everyone on your list that will be sure to be a winner. Create a thoughtful and celebratory note on your customized wine label and give out wine for the holidays!

Wine can be a great gift for everyone’s hard work for that community fundraiser or event. Many times a charity or board wants to give a thank you gift they know will be appreciated. With a clever wine label design you have the opportunity to leave a special note on each bottle.

So enjoy a glass of wine – with our thanks!

P.S. Join the wine label design contest and win $100.

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.

Funny First Wedding Dances

For many people, walking down the isle is the biggest day of their life. They spend months looking for the perfect dress or tuxedo for the traditional wedding ceremony. The whole occasion is usually very formal and organized. Even the couple’s first dance can be static and frankly, quite uninspired. Some waltz and act like they are at a regal ball while others like to have more fun using the time to be silly while shaking a leg. This post is about those who like to actually have fun when they dance. You’ll see songs and dances you know, but also ones that will surprise you. Either way, you’ll certainly get a kick out of these funny first wedding dances.

Evolution of Wedding Dance

Crazy in Love

Dirty Dancing

Come Fly With Me – Skills!

Original Wedding Surprise – Viral YouTube Goodness

Chariots of Fire

Thriller Original

Beat Ballet

Charleston – AMAZING!

Or, the Groomsmen can just dance by themselves

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