Part of Wedding Etiquette…Email Invites?

One of my friends just got a wedding invitation from her cousin.  It was transmitted through one of those e-cards/online invitations/email sites.  My friend was really upset because she feels like since she’s planning her own wedding and took the time to create her invitations, people should also take  the time to do the same.  I totally agree with her.  I feel like when people send e-card invitations for weddings, it’s a slap in the face for the wedding industry.

Couples will take the time to plan the wedding, look for a place, the flowers, catering, the dress, even favors, but neglect to put any effort into the invitations and leave it to the internet to do the job.  What message are you sending out?  You’re supposed to be promoting your wedding, setting the mood, dictating if it will be classy not trashy.  the Correct wedding etiquette is to send an invitation, whether written, printed, or on a postcard….a hard copy invitation is valuable to show importance of the event and the importance of your guests presence. Thank you cards also  need  to be written as they show your sincerity and your thoughtfulness as the invitation.

When is the  e-card/online invitations most appropriate?  You can send them out for save the date cards and RSVP’s.

DIY Bride’s Emergency Kit

Prior to the wedding, a bride must always think about her own back up plan.  Yes, sometime things can go wrong.  If you don’t have your own wedding coordinator to help you think about these things, take a tip from me.  You need to pack a Bride’s Emergency Kit.

Emergency kits for brides are readily available for purchase, but they can be costly and you may already have all the stuff on hand.  It’s just a matter of packing and organizing, which will make this task successful.

I prefer to have one small travel bag to carry the bigger items and a smaller case to hold your makeup and other necessities.  The travel bag should be the size of a weekend travel bag.  It’s not too big or too small either.  One that you can just stash and carry in a moment’s notice.  Here are some suggestions you should keep in mind, but according to your preference, you might need some other things, so create your own check list.

In your travel bag, you should pack:

• Comfortable shoes or slippers
• Hairspray
• A water bottle (to drink)
• Baby Powder
• Extra underwear
• Extra nylons (if you are going to wear any)
• Feminine pads or tampons
• Lotion
• Perfume
• Energy bars

Depending on size,  medium  items should be placed in freezer bags for the travel bag and small items should be placed in sandwich bags.

The smaller case is going to be your mini kit.  It’s small enough to have one of your bridesmaid or a close friend to carry for you.  In you mini kit, you should pack:

• Makeup powder
• Lipstick
• Bandage
• Aspirin or any headache pills you prefer
• Travel toothbrush & toothpaste
• Antacid
• Emergen-c or Airborne
• Tissue
• A stain remover stick or towelette
• Gum or hard candy

The smaller items should be placed in sandwich bags for the mini kit.

Wanna Candy Bar?

For the past few years the popularity of having a candy bar has been on the rise.  There are benefits to having a candy bar at your reception.

• We love sugar.  Whether it’s hard candy, sour candy, chocolate, and jelly beans, it’s all good.  You will have no complaints about that.  On the contrary, your guests will remember the candy bar as one of the highlights of the reception.
• A candy bar can be elegant and beautiful as a compliment to your wedding and reception. You can get candy to match your color scheme or candy to match your nostalga theme.  You can also get your favorite candies to to share your personality.  Most importantly, you can get personalized candy to commemorate you big day!
• Little to no work at all.  Yes, we love that.  No hours of packaging and tying up little ribbons.
• Well, this is a fact.  Your guests will be at your ceremony and will also be a little drained from waiting, so the sugar rush will be exactly what they need.

DIY instructions:

1. No matter the size of your table, make sure you use a table cloth. It’s the most basic instruction to the “wow factor” for your table.
2. Get containers (glass, ceramic, terra cotta, silver, wood, baskets).  I think getting the same type material is more attractive, ie. all glass.
3. Arrange your containers from tall is the back to shorter ones in the front.
4. Buy candies and over flow your containers.  Don’t forget to have your little scoopers.
5. Make your baggies, take out containers, or paper bags readily available on the side.

Here are some of my favorite candies for the candy bar.

• Rock Candy
• M & M’s
• Dum Dum’s
• Button Candy
• Jordan Almonds
• Jelly Beans
• Hershey Kisses

Here are some sites to buy candy in bulk:

• www.candydirect.com
• www.acandystore.com
• www.candywarehouse.com
• www.bulkcandystore.com
• www.sweetservices.com

Here are some ideas for different kind of “bars”.  Mix & match.  For the backed goods, don’t forget the milk.

• Cookie
• Doughnut
• Candy Apples
• Popcorn Balls
• Brownies
• Cupcakes
• Potato Chips
• Pretzels

How Do I Get There? (Mapping Information)

I have a true story to tell.  One that involves my aunt, uncle, and grandfather.  They were invited to a wedding in San Diego and had to travel from Los Angeles.  They didn’t have a GPS system, so they pretty much have to rely on written directions.  No map was included in the invitation.  They were lost for 3 hours, never made it to the reception, reluctantly made it back home.  They didn’t get to share in the memories of a cousin’s wedding.

When you’re about ready to send those invitations out, you should always keep in mind to attach a map.  Those from out of town will surely appreciate it.  If your wedding is out of town, everyone will appreciate it even more.  I can’t stress the importance of having a map included in your invitation or even emailed out.

Now that I made you think about that, consider having your your map made.  I have found 2 in mind:

• www.weddingmapper.com – this is a free service and a great tool. It’s very easy to use, it does all the research and you can also make a free wedding website.  The concept it DIY. You can also map sites of hotels, local amusements, restaurants, you name it….great for out-of-town guests.  I even used it for my wedding.  In my experience, I did get a little stuck trying to figure out how to print it though, but through their customer service and emails, they helped me out in no time.

• www.idoweddingmaps.com – this service is a little different.  They create map for you and you can purchase a pdf file of a map or printed ones already, so you don’t have to worry about the technicalities.  Some people just want to have it all done for them without  the hassle.  On the downside, you can’t target all the local spots on the map like weddingmapper.com.  But if it’s basic info that you want on a map, then this website is for you.

I hope you got some idea or direction (LOL) as to how you want to map your wedding location out.  Please don’t forget the map!

6 Tips in Choosing Your Wedding Floral Design

1. Get ideas from wedding magazines, cut them out, and create a collection.  A folder, a shoe box…anything to hold your ideas together.  You can later narrow out your favorite pieces and also choose which flowers you like most.

2. You should think about your theme and colors.  This is important information to give your florist.  They can suggest flowers to you regarding colors and also theme.  For example, if you were having a wedding in a winery, you would like to have darker, rich colors, and maybe throw in some ivy green and grapes.

3. You should think about the season of your wedding.  Different seasons, different flowers.  Also, keep this in mind, when you choose the flowers of the season, it’s easier on the budget.  But if you must, most all flowers, including roses, are available all year round.

4. Your cost factor shouldn’t hold you back from having a luscious wedding.  If you have to use more common, less exotic flowers, your wedding still can be beautiful.  Here’s some trick you can use:

• Use flowers of the same color. Choose to be monochromatic.  It’s very elegant and you can get away with less expensive flowers.
• Same concept as the prior, but this time use one type of flower and add mostly greenery.  I think that you can achieve a whimsical, woodsy feel for the flowers.
• Consider using all baby’s breath.  Good for decorations, bouquet, bouteniere, centerpieces, everything.  It looks elegant, beautiful, timeless, and like clouds.  A bonus for this choice is that it’s cheaper.  Request for “Million Stars” baby’s breath.

5. If you are doing your own flowers, choose easy and elegant.  You can choose this option to save costs on labor by florists.  You can always buy flowers at Costco or your flower mart. You can order flowers on many websites that mail the flowers to you such as Costco or http://www.Fiftyflowers.com.

6. Choose your style:  It’s always one or the other on each of the given lines.

• Simple vs. Elaborate Designs
• Classic vs. Modern Designs

These are some ideas to think about.  You may originally think of one floral design, but due to budget and seasonal constraints, you might have to change your designs.

10 Ways to Personalize Your Bridal Style With Accessories

Fashion Darling….

Oh, in the humdrum of all the white dresses in the world, we lose who the bride truly is. Yes, there is only one bride at the wedding, but what makes her stand out? We should show our individuality, our personality, our chance to show our style and have some fun.  Here are some ideas that you can implement in your bridal wear.  Just please, don’t over accessorize.

1. Wear different color shoes. It may not be traditional, but you can have your personality amidst all the white (or ivory). Have fun, as planning your wedding is so stressful enough.  Think about wearing your favorite color shoe or a combination of yours and his favorite colors.  Why not try a leopard print or some rock ‘n studs? If you don’t want to be that extreme you can attach a shoe jewel in your special color with your white shoe.

2. Stand out with your jewelry.  Chunky jewelry, jewelry with different colored gemstones, use of other materials such as seashells, and fabric….all good!  Just make sure you don’t do too much.  For example, you can do 1 chunky bracelet with subtle earings.  You can do a chunky necklace if you have a simple dress, no earrings.  You can do big earrings with turquoise stones.  The possibilities, as they say, are endless.

3. Personality can stand out with a shawl or a bolero.  You can use a different color shawl for your personality.  You can use faux fur.  You can also have a shawl personalized with your initials embroidered somewhere on it.  Boleros are also beautiful, you don’t have to go extreme with color, but you can use lace to create your style.  Make it special as it’s going to be a keepsake for your child(ren).

4. Use hair jewelry or tiara/ hair comb.  There are also headbands, hair vines, and ribbon. There are many and plenty of options available.  Jeweled pins, elaborate tiara’s and combs, hair vines, give that subtle sparkle.  More trendy and fashionable new ways to have your hair are with a headband (decorated) and use of ribbon (satin, velvet, or lace).

5. Accessorize with a flowers in your hair. Go bold with a big red rose or a black one for more drama. For a more classy look, pin a big gardenia or orchid.  You can also be soft and whispy by pinning smaller flowers all over your hair.  Silk or organza flowers will last through heat and are not at fragile as real flowers.  Real flowers have tendencies to look withered and change colors throughout the day.

6. Try using feathers.  Let’s take a que from SJP in Sex and the City.  I don’t know if you want to go  that bold, but want to try that style, you should do feathers in white, cream, and pale pinks.  This would also be very fashionable if you had a peacock themed wedding.

7. You can enhance your style with your birdcage or traditional veil.  Birdcage veils are still considered contemporary, but they truly are an old classic.  Just a little in what we call traditional, I still don’t see a lot of brides taking the chance with this.  Maybe there’s a lot of dresses out there that doesn’t match the birdcage veil, I get it.  Here’s another idea I haven’t seen any brides do….dye your veil or embellish it.  It’ll make you feel like those model brides on the runway.

8. You can also accessorize your bouquet.  Easy and subtle.  There are options out there to B-dazzle your bouquet.  There are crystals you can stick in your flowers.  You can use a jeweled bouquet holder.  You can use long strands of satin ribbons (to the ground).  you can also place a keepsake jewelry in your bouquet as your memory piece.

9. You have a brooch you would like to use.  Once popular in the 1950’s, as I’ve seen in pictures, they are making a comeback like the birdcage veils.  A simple dress with an elaborate brooch.  Just don’t over accessorize with all the earrings, necklace, bracelets, hairpiece….all at once.  You can handle this one, and it’s classy too.

10. Add color with a belt.  The “wow” factor.  You want to throw in that color and make a statement too.  There are different styles you can have your belt.  There are waistbands, short bows, and longer ties that reach the ground.  You can also do a combo with a brooch.

Taking Invitations to the “Net”

Because of the challenging ecomony and budget crisis, we brides have to be frugal in different ways.  We have to cut corners on things that are important, but make sure they won’t be compromised.  We now live in the digital age, where everyone checks their email at least a few times a week.  So, the most logical thing we can do is try out online invitations.  By the way, this would be a great alternative to wedding/bridal showers, save the date, and thank you cards. You have a couple of options:

The first is strictly online, no hard copy, and usually RSVP is online too.
The second option is to order your invites online and they will mail it out to your guests.

Here are some great sites you can check out:

www.pingg.com

www.evite.com

www.mypunchbowl.com

www.sendomatic.com

www.purpletrail.com

The benefits to sending invitations through this site is the cost (little to nothing at all- free!).  There are beautiful designs and you can personalize all the wordings also.

Before you book your wedding paparazzi…

These are some questions for the bride or couple to think about before looking for a photographer:

1. How much is your budget? What is your low and high end….think about a range.

2. Think about what you need in your package.

• For a budget conscious bride, maybe you can ask or see of they offer an all-digital package.  You can have all your pictures still and have them developed on your own and have your own album made at a later date (when you have funds).
• If you’re looking for that all around package, consider how many prints, the sizes of them and the album.
• For all your packages, think about how much hours you need them. (2 hrs: ceremony& first part of reception or 10 hours: which is a whole day event)  The average is 8 hours.

3. Chemistry? Do you click with your future photog? This is important because they are going to take pictures of the most intimate moment of your life.  Plus, you want them to take flattering pictures of you.

4. Know what style you want?  Traditional, journalistic, documentary, or candid?  Do you want them to take posed shots or take shots, blended in the background.  I believe the style now is a combination of journalistic and candid. Photographer are now becoming for artistic with scenery and lighting.

5. Think about if you want all digital photography. Most photographers are now all digital because it’s cheaper and faster to produce images.  However, there are still some old-school photographers that uses 35 mm and film negatives.  These have to be developed, which could be a more costly process.  The benefits to using film is the photographs come out richer and creamier…..but can only be seen with an artistic eye.  When I asked a photographer about the difference, he said it was very minimal and you can achieve the same effects when you use digital enhancement.

6. Decide whether you want only one or if you need two photographers.  Of course, having 2 photographers will cost a little more.  Average is $300-$400 extra.  Also for each photographer you have, you have to provide their meals during the reception.

7. If you are having your wedding on a weekday (Monday-Friday), and Sunday, ask for a price break.  You have better chances of getting better pricing because it’s not busy during that time.  Also another reason for you to get better pricing would be for weddings end of October-April because those are the wedding low season.  Peak season is May until early October.

8. Make a list of every photo combination you want taken, so you would be able to give this to your photographer. (ie. the married couple and parents of both sides, etc)

You should consider having a checklist when you interview your wedding photographer.

• Your checklist is based on your own preference and discretion. Just make on up.

• Ask them what is their photo style?
  

• What little extras can they do for you?  Throw in a documentary dvd (pictures to music)? Free engagement shoot ($250 & up value)? Additional printed pictures? What promotions do they have?  If you met them at a bridal show, then what specials do they have?

• Does your photographer use Photoshop?  Sometimes you want your pictures digitally enhanced.  Sometimes they also work with the color hue and other effects.

• If you would like videography, does your photographer have one he works with? Or can they refer one to you?

Even if your photographer has done weddings before, you still have to check if they know what they’re doing.

• In my own experience, I have seen photographers that have taken beautiful photos, but their direction was all off, so they weren’t organized in getting important pictures, (ie. bride & father; bride & siblings, etc).  I have also heard of seasoned photographers who know what pictures they need to get and have a precise plan they go by.  **My opinion, for larger weddings, maybe you can ask your coordinator or a friend to keep track of the photographer so they don’t miss out on anything.

• Make sure of your details.  For example, if you have your wedding at a different site from the reception, make sure your photographer know the landscape of both places.  Also make sure they know the directions.  It would be real bad if the photographers were to learn the landscape on the day of your wedding as this would also disrupt your time-line.

• Your wedding photographer should help you figure out your time-line.  A knowledgable photographer should know how to work with time and put the sunrise/sunset into consideration.  They should also converse and work with the videographer.

DIY Wedding Decorations #1 – Resources

Designing your wedding style will drive you a little crazy, but may be worth a little extra work when you see the finished result.  When I look at magazines, I notice the beautiful receptions with the lanterns, so I decided to investigate where I can find them. The idea of a DIY wedding is to have a great looking wedding/reception without the grand cost, especially on decorations.

Here are some websites I found that are very helping to get the hard to find decorative items:

www.lunabazaar.com

• This website is great.  There are paper lanterns you can attached to strands of party lights.  They also sell hard to find paper parasols which you can use to give to your guest to shade the sun.  I love this website because they also have many pictures to show examples of how you can use their products for decorations.

www.save-on-crafts.com

• This website is soooo helpful. There’s many products for decoration, including those ostrich feathers that you place in vases for centerpieces, which have been very popular in retro chic receptions.  This site also has lots of pictures to show decorating examples.  Other products include balloons, lighting, tulle, tree branches, silk and dried flowers, etc. The list is endless.

www.eventswholesale.com

• This website is all about the ostrich feathers (well mostly).  You want to create that mood of classic 1930’s-40’s feel, then this is the place for you to get your decorations.  On a side note, I found sparklers sold here for that extra drama.  I think those would look fun in your pictures.

www.joann.com

• For the little odds and ends of decorations, this is the place to get your stuff.  It’s even more convenient if you can walk into the store that’s near you and search within their decorating selections.  I think Joann’s has more DIY project potential.

www.michaels.com

• Michaels is the crafts store.  I like them because you can find a little bit of everything there.  The best thing about Michaels is their sales.  Right now, if you go on their website, you can get a coupon for 50% any one item with a coupon printed online (April 5-10, 2010).

www.orientaltrading.com

• Although some of the decorations available on this site is a little bit on the generic side, you can’t beat their prices.  You can mix and match and also create some DIY projects without spending much at all.  I love looking through their site because they always come up with new designs and they can match most color palettes you have.  They have everything from balloon to banners and everything in between.  I do actually love to recommend this site because you always find something unexpected.

Buying your dress, buyer’s remorse…

What to do when the Bride is having a dress meltdown?  Well that’s what I experienced today. I went with one of my girl friends to David’s Bridal today and this was our second time there.  I thought she already came to a decision about the dress she wanted or more or less the style she wanted.  She was looking towards a princess style dress.  At the end of the day, she totally picked a mermaid style dress…totally not what she even considered.  She just saw it on another bride and wanted to try it on.  The stylist and I thought it was beautiful and said she should get it today because it still takes 3-4 months to receive it from the order. So she got it.

5 hours later, she contacts me and says she made a mistake and she called the manager of the store to exchange the dress tomorrow.  She’s going back to a princess style dress and she wanted me to go back with her.  I told her that her choice was beautiful,  timeless and classic, but she said she doesn’t feel comfortable in it.  I told her I don’t think I could go with her again, because the 1st and 2nd days we went there totaled about 8 hours.  I  told her, she’s going to change her mind again.  She instructed me to slap her if she changed her mind.  So, because I am her friend, I agreed to go with her and put a 1 hours limit on trying on the desired dress and making a final decision.

For all you brides, and because I also went through this myself, after you purchase and order your dress, don’t go back to the store’s (ie. David’s Bridal) and look at more dresses.  For sure, you will change your mind again…Beware; no one will want to go with you to change your dress.