How to Hold a Beach Wedding Reception

The beach is such a charming location for tying the knot, especially in summer when the season simply calls for an outdoor wedding. If you are one of those couples who have decided to include the elements of sun, sand and surf to your special day, bear in mind that having your wedding by the beach would require a little bit more of your talent in terms of planning. You would need to consider factors such as the time, weather, temperature and some safety precautions. Ideally, beach weddings take place in the early morning or late in the afternoon, when the temperature is generally cooler. This way, guests would have no trouble walking barefoot on the sand if they want to, and it would even allow you to have the sunrise or sunset in the backdrop for your wedding pictures.

• Setting

If your venue is in a seaside resort that usually accommodates wedding receptions, chances are that there will be a gazebo ready for your use. If not, then you can set up an open canopy where your guests will be seated and where the main program would take place. This would give you shade when you get tired of basking in the sun, or shelter in case of unexpected showers. This will also be the main spot wherein the reception activities would revolve. If the gazebo area isn’t large enough to accommodate all the tables and chairs, let the set up spill over around the main canopy. Place large white beach umbrellas over each table and use white foldable beach chairs to set the beach ambience.

• Decorations

Let the beach theme inspire you when it comes to decorating your reception venue. White would be a great color as your primary motif since it contrasts beautifully with the surrounding skies, sand and sea. Have the main canopy in white and then add beach colors by draping gauzy fabrics in blue, green or turquoise around the posts and along the frame of the structure. Add colorful ribbons, tropical flowers, stringed seashells and corals. Set up tall poles by the beach and hang colorful cloths in each pole to create a festive effect when the wind blows through them. Decorate the tables and chairs with bows and ribbons in your wedding color, and have centerpieces that correspond with the beach theme as well.

• Food and refreshments

Be faithful to your theme by serving seafood! Have lobsters, crab, shrimp and fish in the menu. Meat skewers, chicken and barbeque would be an appetizing treat for your guests as well, since these kinds of food go best with a beach outing. Serve tropical fruit juices and cocktails with little paper umbrellas in them. Decorate your wedding cake with edible seashells and sprinkle the base with sand-like confectioner’s sugar.

• Entertainment

Hire a steel drum band and a DJ, and then encourage your guests to dance and party to the tune of reggae beats and summertime music by the Beach Boys. Let real hula dancers liven up the celebration, or have a limbo rock competition in the sand.

• Safety

Apart from the party and celebration, do not forget to follow safety precautions as well, especially if it involves swimming in the sea. Assign someone to look after your younger guests as they play in the sand. Make sure that the area is clear of debris such as sharp coral or broken glass.

Anyone who has ever tried it would probably tell you that a wedding by the beach is not an easy task to accomplish, but it sure is worth the effort. Just believe that with enough preparation and plenty of skill, you will surely be able to pull off the perfect beach wedding reception.

Source: This article was submitted by MyBeachFavors.com/blog, a beach wedding blog specializing in personalized wedding handkerchiefs and beach themed wedding cake toppers.

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Bridal Lingerie You’r Both Sure To Enjoy

Take a break from scanning goblets and china for your registry and shop for something you’re both sure to enjoy… Cosa Bella Lingerie has a beautiful collection of lingerie {especially bridal} and I’m pretty sure you’ll want to buy one of everything!  Happily, you may not have to pay for everything because they have a bridal registry available!  With people now registering for flatscreens and wii’s, it seems that just about anything is fair game!

With flirty bow and lace details and effortlessly modern shapes, there are some {FABULOUS} items that would be perfect for a boudoir shoot!

We’ve rounded up some of our favorites to answer the what to wear under the bridal gown and during the ‘getting ready’ photos conundrum.

Looking for new wedding ideas that are within a tight budget…

Need some great ideas for your wedding? Here is a post about Budget Friendly Ideas from mydiyweddingday.com that might just give you the perfect idea.

A rare wedding theme for those who love the colour blue

Here is an interesting article about a blue wedding theme, source: projectwedding.com, title: A Blue Wedding.

Having a blue wedding is sometimes tricky to coordinate because very few flowers come in a shade of blue. When all the blue elements of a wedding come together, however, the effects can be absolutely beautiful.

The bride, Vera, was kind enough to share her story…

After eight years of courtship, the proposal happened during a Tahoe trip while we stopped at the Danner Summit for a short hike. No flower, no down on one keen and we even got lost finding our way back to the car ( oops! ) but it was the most perfect proposal.  (And the most perfect engagement ring!)

BLUE WEDDING all the way! I want the wedding to reflect our personality and have these elements – Chic, Crystal and Branches. Working for a florist as part time designer really helped to extend my overall vision since I have opportunities to observe many amazing weddings on site. My florist’s design has far exceeded my expectation and everything else just came together flawlessly.

Photographer – Atelier Photography SF, Principal Karl Ko

Florist – Floral Design Studio, Nona

Hair and makeup – Giao Nguyen Makeup Artistry & Hair Design

Cake – Cake Delight

Save on Your Photography Costs by Using Disposable Wedding Cameras

With all that you have spent on a wedding dress, the ceremony, reception, and the honeymoon, you may not have enough money to hire a wedding photographer. Or maybe you are just looking for a way to cut costs and stay within your wedding budget.

While hiring a wedding photographer is an option, it is not an absolute must. Disposable cameras are not only affordable, but are also a cinch to use. Buy disposable cameras in bulk and read on to save on your photography costs by using disposable wedding cameras.

1.  Make a shot list. List down the shots you would like to have at the ceremony and wedding reception so that you can guide you guests on what to shoot. Some examples are:

Ceremony

• Bride walking down the aisle – front and side shots
• Father giving away the bride
• Close-ups of the bride and groom exchanging vows
• Wide-shots of the bride and groom exchanging vows
• Bride and groom kiss

Reception

• First dance
• Bride and father dance
• Best man toast/blessing
• Bouquet toss
• Cake cutting

Posed Portraits

• Bride and groom with entire wedding party
• Bride and groom with best man and maid of honor
• Bride with parents and grandparents
• Groom with parents and grandparents

2.  Get someone to take a picture of each guest as he/she enters the reception area. After the wedding, you and your husband can sign each photograph and include it with the thank-you note for a creative touch.

3.  Set up a photo booth. Ask for wedding pictures from your relatives and place them on decorated heavy cardboard or other sturdy materials. Cut holes in the cardboard. Provide disposable cameras for guests to take pictures of each other.

4.  Put disposable cameras on each table and ask guests to take as many pictures as possible. Compile the best ones in a scrapbook. Upload all the photographs to an online album for everyone‘s viewing pleasure. Gather the photographs in a compact disc and distribute these to your guests. You can also make a photo collage out of the best shots.

5.  If the reception is indoors, ensure that the disposable cameras have a flash.

6.  Number the cameras according to the tables to makes it easier to identify who took the picture. It will also help in finding a missing camera.

7.  During the reception, ask the DJ or bandleader to remind your guests to take pictures. You should also request the DJ to announce that the newlyweds will take care of developing costs.

8.  Keep an open mind. Your guests may shoot some great photographs that you would not have thought of.

9.  Ask your guests to leave the cameras at their tables or deposit them in a basket allotted for this purpose.

Not everyone may be a photographer, but you’ll be sure to get good photographs of your wedding ceremony and reception if you follow these tips. You’ll not only save money, you’ll have a treasure trove of photographs to keep.

Source: This article was submitted by Wedding-Favours.ca, Canada’s online wedding boutique specializing in disposable wedding cameras and unique wedding favor ideas for table decor.

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Shower Your Guests With These Stylish Wedding Favours

Wedding shower favours give your guests a hint of the theme of your special day. Show the women who support your love your appreciation with thoughtful, themed keepsakes.

Wedding showers are usually held about two to four weeks before the actual wedding date. Mostly they are strictly for women but modern couples are having unisex wedding showers where both women and men attend. Often they are given for the bride by her friends, family or bridal party. Little gifts at those events express thanks to all the guests who share the celebration.

A wedding shower may be held at a private home, restaurant, country club or outdoor venue such as a park, beach or large backyard. The bride traditionally registers with one or two major retailers so guests know what gifts to purchase for the wedding shower and wedding day.

At the party, the bride usually receives a variety of useful items to use in her new marital home such as small appliances, pots, pans, dishes, towels and bedding. Sometimes guests give the bride whimsical gifts such as lingerie or joke books. Other guests may give personalized wedding gifts, such as customized toasting flutes for the bride and groom to use during the toasting ceremony. In return, the guests receive attractive wedding shower favours to remember the good time they had.

Usually the event has a level of formality like a wedding. Place cards are put next to each place setting so guests know where to sit. Imagine how delighted the guests will be to see signature style purse and shoe box place card holders by each chair. For women who love shoes, these place card holders are must-have tokens of appreciation. At a more formal wedding shower, display ‘Be Seated’ Victorian chair tea light place card holders. These darling miniature Victorian chairs are perfect for an afternoon tea wedding shower.

Often gifts are girly girl items because mostly women attend. Your guests will all appreciate a practical pink polka purse manicure set. The portable manicure set goes anywhere so guests can touch up their nails on the run and be reminded of how fun your wedding shower was. Another cool beauty accessory is queen for a day soft foam toe separators so your guests can give themselves the ultimate pedicure for your wedding day. They can slip a touch up into any small pocket with the ex-files ten piece nail file set.

Although women don’t want to do it, to find dresses that fit perfectly it is essential to take your own measurements. Facing the reality of your current measurements to get into that gown for the wedding is much easier with a ’showers of love’ umbrella measuring tape in its own organza bag. Your guests will feel a bit better about their figures when they use this keepsake measuring tape to take their measurements.

Nobody likes chapped lips so give your guests moisturizing pucker up personalized lip balm for a smoother kiss. Another cool toiletry item to give as keepsakes is a showers n flowers 3 piece bath gift set in re-usable bath tub soap. Whenever your guests pucker up or get clean, they will think of your party.

If your guests enjoy practical presents, pink heart-shaped calculators make fabulous wedding shower favours. Personalized shower gels are lovely keepsakes and look beautiful with any shower guests’ bathroom décor. A love chrome letter opener in pillow box packaging is a useful tool for both home and office. A sweetheart translucent pink heart bottle stopper keeps the contents of opened bottle fresh until they are used again. A sew perfect plaid sewing kits is always a good item to have on hand for quick fixes.

Give out tiny treasures in decorative packaging . Tuck candies into a pink plaid purse favor box so guests can take a small handbag of treasures home after the shower. Put small goodies into decorative calla lily mini pails for a traditional feeling.

Your keepsakes thank your guests for sharing your special day and make them all look forward to attending your wedding.

A great idea for a liner garland

Sweeten up your event with this clever cupcake liner garland, created by the lovely and talented team from 100layercake.com/blog!

See the full article and get the delicious directions here!

Wedding Inspiration and Tip: Mini Carnations

Brides always ask questions about flowers:  what flowers should I choose?  what colours do they come in?  what season can I get them in?  How should I combine different colour flowers?  The questions are endless.  Not to worry!  We have found another great article on wedding flowers to share with you.

For more articles like these, visit projectwedding.com

Carnations, they’re not just for thrifty flower arrangements anymore! I adore this table setting, featuring cute mini-carnations, for our Guide section. The total cost of the flowers? Just $10!

What You Should Know About Wedding Traditions

At BridalArticles.ca, we found this great newsworthy article on lastyleunveiled.com titled: “Jesi Haack On: Wedding Traditions … Something Old and Something New” to share with you.  Read on, and follow the links to get more useful information.

We know how excited you are to see that we have another fabulous addition to our ever growing library of Jesi Haack articles … We feel as lucky as you do!!!  We won’t try to bore you with a long intro … just know that this one is incredibly awesome and goes from ripping a bride’s dress of in the ‘days of yore’ to what the weddings will be like in the year of The Jetsons … oh, yeah … she totally went there   Hugs and kisses to our lovely gal, Jesi Haack … and now, here she goes!!

Remember this?

You walk into the old, grand church.  Candelabras compete with the paper bells that line the aisle.  The bride floats down the aisle in a chiffon beaded lace gown with sleeves puffier than Puff Daddy’s cheeks.  Her veil covers her face creating a feeling of mystery and innocence.  Immediately following the ceremony the guests are invited into the reception hall for a formal, sit down dinner of rubber chicken and dry rice.  The bride’s parents welcome their guests.  The guests pretend to enjoy their chicken.  The groom delicately leads his bride on a romantic journey around the dance floor. The father sweetly clutches her as he guides his daughter around the dance floor.  She tosses her bouquet to her closest girlfriends that were dragged onto the dance floor by the DJ.  He pitches the garter to his closest guy friends who feel the need to act obnoxious to distract from the fact that they are being called out in front of 250 people for being single.  The five tiered wedding cake covered in huge butter cream flowers and topped with a ceramic bride and groom is cut, shared and served.  Rice fills the air as the newlyweds rush to their awaiting car, adorned with old tin cans, shoes, and streamers.

How about this?

You enter the meadow-esque ceremony area that is completely shaded by a lovely olive tree.  Huge chandeliers are hanging from its massive branches.  The bride approaches the groom eyeing him from under her bird cage veil and pintop hat that barely touches her nose.  Her teal feathered headpiece accents her raw silk gown that hugs her curves tightly.  Her bright turquoise pumps peek out from under the gown with each step.  The guests are invited from the ceremony meadow to the reception area that has been set up against the breathtakingly powerful backdrop of the mountain canyon.  The dance floor illuminates the surrounding beauty with its market lighting from above.  The guests are seated just in time to see the In N Out Burger truck pull up.  French-fry cups are passed around.  The ice cream sundae bar is opened and bombarded.  People are lauging.  The bride and groom appear to begin their romantic first dance.  Suddenly it turns into a horribly hilarious hip hop routine that is being filmed for a reality show on TLC.  The father-daughter dance is actually the niece-uncle dance because the bride was raised by her quirky Uncle Leon.  Instead of tossing her bouquet to the two single females in the room, she chooses to perform a crazy karaoke session with her college girlfriends (all married) to Like a Virgin by Madonna.   The guests line up to toss peacock feathers at the newly married couple as they ride away on their Segway, like the perfect final episode of Arrested Development.

Wow, times have changed, right?  Dictionary.com defines traditions as “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation”.  Yes, I looked it up on the internet, not in the actual book.  I don’t even OWN an actual dictionary. So if traditions are passed down from generation to generation, how in the heck do they change?

Here is a peek as to how a few began:

Word has it that the practice of the tossing the bridal bouquet stems from an idea that was big in the 14th century.  It was considered a big deal-io to acquire a fragment of the bride’s clothing.  Guests would grab at her wedding dress in order to tear off pieces.  And even back then, with the poofy sleeved, overly beaded dresses, the brides ‘weren’t so into’ their dress getting destroyed.  They contemplated an alternative, hence, the custom of throwing personal articles was born.  Other sources describe the garter as representing the virginal girdle.  When the groom removed the garter, he was demonstrating publicly that the bride was relinquishing her virginal status.  (So that’s how the whole ‘machismo’ thing was born, eh?)  Another popular belief was that the bridesmaids and groomsmen would sneak up to the bride and groom’s bedroom for proof that the deed was accomplished.  Then they would take an item of the bride’s clothing for good luck, which was often the garter that was used to hold up the bride’s stockings.  Awkward?  Maybe.

Why do we NOT see our man before walking down the aisle?

Why are we expected to wear a rough, stiff piece of fabric in front of our faces?  Well, back in the day when marriages were arranged by the parents, a dowry was typically exchanged.  So, it made sense that the bride’s hotness scale was REAL important.  The family wanted to make sure the dude didn’t back out!  This is where ‘giving away of the bride’ originated.  The father literally gave the bride away at the ceremony and the groom would get his first peek after lifting the veil from her face!  How romantic…{sigh} (coughhhhh) or maybe more like an internet-dating scheme…

Cutting the cake? 

During the days of the Roman Empire wedding cakes were baked with wheat and barley.  At the reception they were broken over the head of the newlyweds (huh?) as a sign of the bride’s fertility (Whaa?).  Guests would scramble for the pieces of cake (ok, I would totally do that) and take them home for good luck.

Back to my original question:  Why and HOW do traditions change?  I believe that even way back in the day, couples were gaining a ‘sense of self.’  Even in the midst of their parents choosing their mates, their society telling them how to celebrate, and their religion regulating their union, they were fighting to show their own personality.  They struggled to make their own statement.  To stand out.  To be remembered.  To illustrate their love, relationship, and personality to their guests.  So today, when we want the In N Out truck instead of the sit down dinner that our mother’s want, it is, essentially, the same as choosing to throw the garter instead of letting the guests tear apart their dress.

Where will these traditions be when 2009 is considered ‘back in the day’?

The spectrum of change is never-ending.  We are unique, quirky, and truly individualistic beings who will always be striving to make our own mark in the world.  Ask yourself, “What STATEMENT do I want to make to my guests?” … And make that statement from YOU, not from your mom, your grandma, or any website you have been stalking.  Do something different.  Be unique.  Surprise your guests.  Create something unexpected.  Do the opposite of tradition.  Create your own tradition.  Be remembered for YOU.

And when ‘The Jetson’s’ world becomes our society’s reality, be the first bride to be brought into your ceremony in an airplane car, have robots as your wedding party, and offer TONS of different food ‘pills’ at the buffet 

~ jesi haack

Read more from the source: http://lastyleunveiled.com/thelounge/2009/10/19/jesi-haack-on-wedding-traditions-something-old-and-something.html

Decorate Your Tables With Beautiful Wedding Favors

Tokens of appreciation give your guests joy to take home after the reception. Thoughtful wedding party favors become lasting keepsakes of your special day for the people who share it with you.

Everyone loves to get party favors. When children go to a birthday party, it’s not the same unless they get cool party gifts. At bridal showers and baby showers, everyone receives adorable favors. Just like any other gathering, people expect favors when they attend your reception. Wedding favors express your thanks to the guests present at your reception.

Shop for Wedding Favors

• Unique Favors
• Beach Wedding Favors
• Fairy Tale Favors
• Golf Favors
• Wine Wedding Favors
• Eco-friendly Favors
• Vegas Favors
• Photo Album Favors
• Baby Shower Favors

There are countless options for wedding party favors. Traditionally, wedding party favors are set out next to each place setting so guests can find them as soon as they arrive. Everyone can’t wait to see what wedding party favors will be given out when they get to the reception. Sometimes the wedding party favors have their own table for distribution to the guests at the end of the reception. Either way, thoughtful wedding party favors make your guests feel good about sharing your special day.

For centuries, little table presents express the happy couple’s appreciation for their guests. Since the Roman dynasty, guests have reveled in receiving unique favors to remember a glorious celebration. Jeweled gift boxes and candies were considered treasures.

Modern wedding parties are usually themed based on the interests and preferences of the happy couple. Wedding gifts should match the theme of the day for a professional, uniform feeling. Guests will remember the day by the unique, themed party favors they take home when the reception ends.

Invitations: Going Away Party

News source: jackaroolove.blogspot.com

I about fell out of my chair yesterday afternoon when I discovered these gems in my inbox. Take a look at these absolutely adorable going away invites courtesy of Sandi at Oh Baby! Shower Décor.

Suitcases complete with a “PDX sticker”, which is the airport code for Portland’s airport. A “tree sticker”, as a nod to the woodsy Northwest. The little luggage tag tied with raffia has the couple’s initials and their new city.

I can’t wait to see pictures of the actual going away party! Thank you Sandi for the awesome share!

Personal & Vintage Touches

News source: rocknrollbride.com

I really do love sharing weddings from the UK. Southampton based Az sent me Julia & Simon’s quintessentially vintage English wedding and I just love it. The personal touches like the individually personalised beer bottles and the vintage finds such as the tea sets which the couple spent months scouring charity shops for all made their day perfect.

Thanks so much to Az for sending these in. I look forward to seeing much more of you in future!

Credit: Lemontree Photography

A Red White and Blue Wedding

RSS news source: projectwedding.com/blog/

Christina, the lovely bride, emailed me the photos from her absolutely awe-inspiring red, white, and blue wedding. The wedding was held on July 4th at the groom’s family farm in Sturgis, Michigan. The images were masterly captured by JK Photography…

Here are a few words from the lovely bride herself…

We have been together for 8 1/2 years (since our sophomore year in high school) and our dream wedding came true. We did a lot of DIY projects including the invitations, programs, menus, table assignment cards, signs, card box (stump), table numbers, coloring books for the kids, and a lemonade stand.

The reception was absolutely beautiful. Riverside receptions has a river running on two sides of it and 2 breathtaking waterfalls in the landscaping. The guests mingled while they waited for the wedding party to arrive. Our cakes were modeled after our attire! The table numbers were important years in US History, we explained what happened in each year on table tents. Our card box was actually a card stump that Tim hollowed out and we hung our new initials on the front. We also took dance lessons and performed a waltz for our first dance, it was definitely worth the time and effort. The favors, Strawberry – Rhubarb Jam, were made by Tim’s Great Aunt Helen.

I really hope our wedding can help or inspire other brides!

DIY Fall Garland – A Tutorial

RSS source from: jackaroolove.blogspot.com

Fall is just around the corner and I couldn’t be more excited! I’ve been trying to hold myself back, it’s still August, we still are enjoying 80 plus degree days in the Pacific Northwest, the flowers are in full bloom but….it’s darker in the mornings, Costco has their amazing fall mums in stock and September is only five days away. Close enough for me. There’s no holdin’ back now!

Take a peek at A Field Journal’s super easy, super simple, super elegant fall garland project.

What a fun addition to your office space, mantle, draped along the table cloth, hung above a doorway, or an addition to your Fall Harvest table.

Get Married Cover!

that’s right…its official…the first issue of get married is out….i was so honored to photograph the premier issue’s cover….so i thought i’d share some of the behind the scenes images from the shoot….

the bright beautiful florals by mark’s garden were a joy to capture

this magazine is full of lovely ideas & eye candy to inspire your wedding

XOXO

RSS source: kissthegroom.com

Jesi Haack On: Venue Coordinators vs. Wedding Coordinators

RSS source: lastyleunveiled.com

You may recall a certain post that literally caused tears to roll down your face … from laughter … that we posted a few weeks ago by Jesi Haack (click here for a reminder).  Well, we’re happy to report our little darling Jesi is at it again … this time with beaming advice about the differences between wedding coordinators and venue coordinators.  What do we love most about the advice below??  Aside from Jesi’s vibrant personality which comes out in her writing, we love how sweetly and confidently she wrote about each important role and how to best make sure you aren’t without either on your big day

Want even more great news?!?  Jesi Haack has been asked to take a more permanent role here at LA Style Unveiled as a ‘wedding advice’ blogger … and she said {YES}   So, be sure and check back soon for the latest and greatest from Jesi!

And now without further ado, below Jesi explains two possible wedding day scenarios and how both typs of coordinators (wedding and venue) can be extremely nice to have around:

{SCENERIO 1}

The blushing bride swells with excitement as her newly adorned groom dips her ever so gently, just at the precise moment their song chimes the last tune.  They take a humble bow to their guests.  The father of the bride grabs the mic.  Everyone is smiling, anxiously awaiting what kind and funny words the proud father will share.  Everyone, that is, except for the bride.  She knows her father too well and knows that he has enjoyed one too many Marry Mojitos (her talented wedding planner came up with that one).  The bride stands frozen in place, a solid yet uneasy smile on her face, completely unsure of how to put out this impending fire.  Luckily, her trusty wedding planner is standing by with a fire extinguisher.  Because of the intense planning sessions spent together in the 12 months preceding this moment, her planner has learned priceless pieces of information.  At this moment in time, she holds this valuable golden nugget:  the father of the bride has a tendency to over-indulge in the special sauce.  She swoops in and gracefully sneaks the mic away from the FOB and transitions the toasts over to the Best Man.  Fire extinguished.

{SCENARIO 2}

The party is in full swing.  The cake has been cut.  The lovebirds are slow-dancing seventh grade style in the center of the dance floor…to a fast song.  The guests’ attention is ushered toward the screen.  The slide show, cleverly staged by the brother of the groom, is cued.  As the opening photos flash across the screen, the music begins to garble.  It sounds as though the speakers are playing a mean game of “Chubby Bunny.”   The guests glance around uncomfortably.  The bride and groom look up at the screen with a frozen smile.  The feedback in the speakers growls louder and more intrusive.  The wedding planner is frantically flipping switches and jiggling wires.  The sound check went flawlessly!  Why is this happening?  As organized, trustworthy, and together the wedding planner has proven to be, this unforeseen complication could happen at any time.  Just when the crowd’s attention span was about to run out, the venue coordinator rushes into the audio room and flips a switch.  All of her years of experience in one venue taught her that there is a specific electrical complication that acts up unpredictably.  The music smoothes out, and the slide show plays on.  The guests laugh in all of the right moments, the bride and groom kiss each other sweetly as they remember their childhoods.

{THE MORAL}

Of course being a wedding planner myself, I want to persuade you of the extreme importance of hiring someone to walk with you through the planning process from day 1.  Someone who will get to know you on a personal level and use your personality in the planning and design of your day.  But let’s be honest. I am a bit biased.  The truth is, the partnership between your Wedding Planner and the Venue Coordinator is the ultimate unbreakable defense system.  Armed with personal knowledge, your planneracts as the advocate of your personal preferences and needs.  Armed with knowledge of the facility details, the venue coordinator covers the gaps the planner cannot fill.  You see, your planner spends the time with you the venue coordinator can’t.  And the venue coordinator spends the time with the venue that your planner can’t.  It’s a brilliant collaboration!

~jesi haack

DIY Around the Hive

Have you ventured over to Weddingbee’s DIY section lately? Check out some of the incredible projects you can find there, with step-by-step tutorials!

Ggsb’s menu template to place inside of a napkin:

Intimate Weddings’ DIY wedding programs:

LatteLove’s hat box turned card box:

Knit’s quick fascinator:

Sweet and Saucy Shop’s tuxedo chocolate dipped strawberries:

Nursecarrie’s carnation centerpiece:

Kmattso2’s quick and cheap escort cards:

Kcolbyd’s DIY invitations:

Whitesonnet’s white flower and pearl fascinator:

There are tons more great projects, tutorials, and downloads available in the DIY section! Browse for inspiration, or upload your own to share!

Source: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/09/25/diy-around-the-hive/

Citrus Themed Bridal Shower

RSS source: weddingbee.com

I’ve been prepping for a shower that I’m co-hosting this weekend at my place. I’ve never thrown a shower before, and it’s actually a total blast! It’s almost like planning a mini-wedding… but rather than taking a year to plan, it only takes a week! When my friend Emily asked if we could co-host at my place, I was a bit overwhelmed. We didn’t register for a lot of entertaining-ware, so I was worried that I’d have to buy a lot of stuff to make the shower look presentable. While I was willing to buy more serving platters, the truth is that we have nowhere to store anything. But I put my thinking cap on, and have figured out ways to make do with what I have, while still keeping the setup cute, potentially saving me lots of $$$!

I wanted to give you guys a sneak peek of what I’ve got going so far. First up, my inspiration, from the fabulous Hostess With the Mostess blog:

image
Check out her tips for a citrus themed shower and where she purchased her decor items here!

I chose the citrus theme because I knew I could buy a few bags of oranges, lemons, and limes from Costco to use for decor. Fruit is cheap, and when we’re done with it, it turns into food for Mr. Peng and me. And by food, I mean mojitos and mimosas. I didn’t want to invest in decor that I’d feel bad throwing away, or I’d end up having to find storage for.

I went to Jo-Ann’s yesterday to buy some fabric to use as a backdrop for the food table. I turned some of the fabric into table runners for the drink table and for our coffee table, as well. Here, I set up some of the fruit centerpieces, and will add fresh white flower blossoms to these on the day of. I just used our plain old cereal bowls for these.

To be honest, while the fabric is really cute, it was a mistake. I should have looked for citrus colored or themed wrapping paper to use instead. I spent $50 on fabric, which in my opinion was a lot to spend on something I might never use again. I think I’ll turn some of it into dish towels and fabric napkins though, so not all is lost. The tablecloth is also something I didn’t have, so I just bought $1 a yard muslin, and plan to cover several surfaces in my house with it!

I briefly considered buying a bunch of new white platters to serve food on, but looked in my cabinet for what I have. I have big silver chargers, so instead of buying new plates, I bought coordinating paper to set on top of the chargers, and will put the food on the paper.

We don’t have a dining table in our house, so we can’t serve a meal. I was determined to eliminate utensils for the party, so we’re doing all mini American foods. The menu includes:

• Mini cheeseburgers
• Mini BLTs
• Mac ’n’ cheese in crispy prosciutto cups
• Sweet potato fries
• Mini hot dogs
• Brownies and milk shots

I was disappointed to not be serving Thai food, because the bride LOVES Thai food! Alas, where would people eat? Fortunately, all this food can be eaten standing up.

We’ll be doing a champagne bar, with serve-yourself mixers including OJ, mango juice, and peach puree. Offering only one alcoholic choice with a personalized twist will be a nice budget saver, because I don’t have to worry about buying a bunch of different alcohol choices. This will be supplemented with Izze sodas and citrus water, for those looking for a non-alcoholic option.

And for favors, I really wanted to do those cute cupcakes that Miss Dew Drop blogged about earlier:

image

I was worried that it would be too much work, though. Because my co-host is flying in the night before the shower (and we plan on partying, rather than planning!) I went a safer route and bought movie theater sized boxes of Lemonheads ($1 each!). I wrapped them up with tissue paper so that you can see what the favor is, and determined to use every inch of fabric I bought, wrapped them with fabric and yarn, as well.

And lest you think I’m some kind of hostess with the mostess myself, check out what this scene really looks like:

The entire 1000 square feet of my house is covered floor to ceiling with shower prep junk. And I had to scooch all the stuff over this morning to brew myself a giant pot of coffee. This is normally our drink bar, but I threw everything on the floor.

I can’t wait to show you all the drink and food setup once it’s all completed! All in all, I’m excited to throw this shower, and think that although I skimped on the budget, my hope is that the guests won’t be able to tell!

Shower planning veterans: do you have any budget saving tips? How do you avoid buying new stuff when throwing a shower? Or, what are some decor items that you can later integrate into your home when you’re done with the shower?

Oh, and any other citrus-themed inspiration or ideas you have, I’d love to hear! I still have a week left to plan!

Double Duty Semi-DIY Programs

I knew early on that I wanted programs that doubled as fans. Although the historical weather for Savannah in November is usually in the high 60s to low 70s, you never really know how hot an outdoor wedding in the South can get. Better safe than sorry!

I originally planned to make our program fans from scratch. I set out to find inspiration, and quickly ran across these adorable program fans on Etsy:

Source

I soon realized that finding a die cast or card stock in that shape would either be super exhausting or very expensive (or both!). I’m sure there are ways to get that shape that I never even thought of. But with time running out, I can’t be too picky these days.

I finally settled on the fact that our program fans would have to be at least semi-homemade. I kept my inspiration photos and scoured the internet for the closest-looking template. And that’s when I found these!

Source

Not only did they still have an interesting shape, they were hella cheap! $30 for 50 fans! Cha-ching! A few clicks later, and these babies were on their way to my house.

Once they arrived, I downloaded the accompanying printing template and got to work on a custom design for the fans. Working off the inspiration photo (in PowerPoint), I first created a sort of “crest” with our monogram.

Scroll graphic from istockphoto

I then imported the crest into the Word template and began writing out the front (title) and back (ceremony program outline) sections of the fans. I used “Century Gothic” for the brown text and “Edwardian Script” for the pink text.

I would share the back of the fans with you but I was too lazy and didn’t feel like blurring out all of the personal info. I can assure you that it looks very similar to the inspiration photo, though. Besides, here’s a photo of the front!

I got a little camera happy too early because I ended up going with the brown outlined crest instead of the pink. I was just too darned excited at how great they were coming out! I’m also probably going to switch out this lace ribbon for some that is less stiff (I had this ribbon laying around for, oh, a couple of years). The fans will have a home in a basket just like the one I used for our flip flops next to our ceremony refreshments.

Did any of your semi-DIY projects turn out way better than expected? Better yet, did they save you time, money, and/or unnecessary stress?

Source: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/09/22/double-duty-semi-diy-programs/

DIY Programs – Another Labor of Love

Source: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/09/21/diy-programs-another-labor-of-love/

I designed our programs a few weeks ago. I knew I wanted to use the wood grain paper and incorporate many different images from the wedding theme (birds, branches, etc). I started designing and came up with a plan.

I would use the wood grain paper for the covers and cream paper for the pages (I still used a thick cardstock because I wanted it to have a hefty feel). I decided to make them 5X7 with 5 pages.

1. Ceremony
2. Wedding Party
3. Music & Lyrics – Adele “Make You Feel My Love”
4. Music & Lyrics – Ingrid Michaelson “Way I am”
5. Thank You

It was really important to me to have the lyrics in the program. My amazing cousin is singing and I chose these songs for their lyrics. I thought it would be cool for the guests to really see what the words are.

Once the pages were printed, I cut them all out. Sadly, the corners had to be rounded by hand. Once they were all cut, I put them in order and punched holes in the top left corner. I wanted them to be able to fold open.

The pictures show an example with a twin knot holding them together. This was really easy to do. I also purchased brads to try out, but am definitely leaning towards the knot (get it? Tying the knot!).

This was a definite labor of love and took a really long time but I know it is worth it. I am already preparing myself to see these in the garbage (because lets be honest, who keeps programs forever?!?). Did you spend a lot of time on your programs? Was it worth the work?

Having your Wedding Sponsored Can Save you Thousands of Dollars

Author: The Wedding Sponsor

A sponsored wedding is not a new concept but a practical one. As the cost of weddings increase so does the realization of sponsorship. What does sponsorship actually mean? It can be as simple as getting a 70% discount on the purchase of invitations or as involved as a large cash injection of $10,000. So why would someone discount or for that matter give cash when they don’t even know the wedding couple. It is commonly referred to as “cross promotion” where you bring on common interest partners that tastefully share in the success of your wedding day or event.

Most sponsors are looking to somehow tie their products or services in with the event itself. Like any advertiser the end product must be to heighten the awareness of the Sponsor and their level of participation in the event. Such as, if a Sponsor gave you 70% off of a service that would have cost you $1900 , the level of participation for that Sponsor is $1330 ( which is your net savings). Now the question is, how do you give that value back to the Sponsor ? This can be done in many different ways but the main objective to remember is the level of awareness the Sponsor has traded in services. Such as offering the Sponsor advertising opportunities on a web site specifically set up for the event, a combination of print and web, tie in to a press junket ( a theme pre-event gathering where press are invited ), or many other combinations. For more information on wedding sponsorship visit www.sponsoryourwedding.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/having-your-wedding-sponsored-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-272191.html

About the Author:

Brian Leslie is CEO of “The Wedding Sponsors”, a company which provides sponsorship services to wedding couples looking to save money on their “big day” The author of this article, Leslie, has spent many years in Film Industry as an Executive Producer specializing in cross promotion and financing.

Where Does Your Wedding Dress Hang Out?

This morning, Mr. Star and I were awakened by the doorman buzzing up to tell us that the post office was delivering a package we needed to sign for.

The package was pretty unassuming, except for the cute little note written in red that said, “do not bend”.

But when I opened it up, I was thrilled to find my latest completely-unneccessary-but-totally-adorable-anyways wedding purchase: the wedding dress hanger.

I have thought for a long time that I would not be participating in the special hangers for wedding dresses trend, but when reader ejs4y8 posted a thread on the board with these adorable little works of dress hanger art, I knew I had to have one.

Etsy seller lilafrances makes these hangers with a variety of sayings (or pretty much anything short enough to fit in there!) and I just think they’re so precious.

This was the style of hanger that I originally fell in love with, but because of last name changing complications (which I will blog about at some point!), I decided to stick with our first names.

Are you doing anything special for the hanger for your wedding dress? Have you ever originally decided not to follow a wedding trend and then changed your mind?

Source: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/09/18/where-does-your-wedding-dress-hang-out/

Birds on the Table!

When I was in North Carolina for my shower/brunch/bachelorette extravaganza, I had to take advantage of the craft stores. I have been on a hunt for birds to put on the tables. I got inspiration from these weddings where birds looked so adorable on the table.

(Photo by Jose Villa via Once Wed)

I got sooooo lucky when I walked into Michaels and they had their fall stuff on sale to make room for the holiday stuff (who knew…it is only September!). I found these ADORABLE birds. They had 2 sizes, and the little ones were only $1.50 and the big ones were $2. I decided to buy them all. I thought I could put 2 on each table. I am excited!

I have to decide if I want to keep them the colors that they are, or paint them another color. My mom and sister both thought I should keep them the brown tones they currently are, because they “go with the fall theme”, but I am tempted to spray paint them a flat color, like a gray, or antique white.

(this is my attempt to show what the birds would look like if they were painted)

As a reminder, here is our inspiration board for the whole wedding.

What do you think, should I leave the birds the way they are, or should I spray paint them?

Source: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/09/18/birds-on-the-table/

They’re Fluffity! They’re Puffity! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

Source: http://www.weddingbee.com

Yes, I used to watch Homestar Tunner in college with my friends. There’s no shame in that. But this post is not about marshmallows… it’s about pomanders! Yes, giant balls of fluffity tissue paper flowers! And yes, I ignorantly volunteered myself for this project. (Warning! Picture-heavy post!)

The infamous tissue paper pomanders from Amanda of Vintage Glam! BTW, she’s AWESOME, and totally gave me some tips on her process and ordering tissue paper…

Like pretty much every bride out there, I quickly, madly, deeply fell head over heels for this project. I know there have been many tutorials on how to make these, so I’ll keep mine to a minimum. I basically followed Ms. Martha’s instructions on folding the paper flowers. but before we delve into that world, let’s have some fun with some inspiration pictures, shall we?

this lovely fluff ball is made from hand-dyed coffee filters!!!! It’s so gorgeous, via Alice from paintedwhite.com.

I actually contacted Alice for some advice/tips on dying my own coffee filters. After burning through a pretty hefty stack of my dad’s Costco pack of filters, I learned that I do not have the immense skill of arranging coffee filters nicely, nor did I desire to dye anymore. So I gave up on this attempt. (Comment below if you want to learn, because I’d be more than happy to share!)

I Googled “aisle pomanders”, and this lovely picture came up… I think these are probably real flowers, and I can’t even begin to IMAGINE how much those would cost… I wanted to see what aisle pomanders would look like in an alternating pattern.

Sources

Hanging pomanders! If we were having our ceremony outside, you can bet your bottom dollar that I would have made a million of these teeny poms (but out of tissue paper) to hang. alas, we are having our ceremony in a church… so I resigned myself to hanging a few tiny ones from our aforementioned manzie trees.

Uhm, are those moss poms to die for, or what?!? Sighhhhhhhh. I was inspired by this, but decided to not attempt this, as I have NO idea what I’d do with a giant moss ball. But it’s still sexy to look at. **SIGH**

So everyone has seen the flower girl pomanders, right? The fiance and I looooove the look of pomanders, so we wanted our two sweet little flower girls to carry them. I’d LOVE to be able to do real flowers, but again, I’m totally not qualified for that, and the cheapest quote I received from a florist was about $55/ball. We’re talking carnations and a 4″ ball. Uhhhh… EXACTLY! My cousin who recently got married sprung for a real rosebud pomander for her flower girl (who is also one of mine!), and while it was lovely, the petals were already browning by the time the ceremony took place. So that kind of confirmed my crafting plan…

Yup! I made them out of fake flowers. I made one with pink peonies and hydrangeas, and the other with white hydrangeas. Because flowers are fluffity, you should shoot for a smaller Styrofoam ball (I learned the hard way). I used 4″ balls with 22-24g wire for the flower girl poms, about 6-8 peonies, and about 3 3/4 stems of hydrangeas. The floral clearance at Jo-Ann’s and Michaels are my best friends.

Notice the “joy” on my face. This was about 35+ minutes and 4 glue gun burns from the first pom…

For the smaller pom, I cut the buds off, but kept the stems. I tried to cut them off in bunches, as long as they were roughly the same height. I then wired the bunches together, to get a dense cluster.

You can kind of see the wiring here… I would put a giant blob of hot glue in the spot that I wanted (generally underneath another cluster) and then shove the wire through the glue and press the stems into the glue to be secured.

For the peony pom (sorry, I forgot to take pictures), I basically pulled the blooms off of the stems, poked a hole in the foam with the stem part that was still attached to the petal portion, filled the hole with hot glue, and then stuck the flower back into the hot glue. You have to hold it for a couple of seconds, because they’re pretty heavy and can fall out if the glue hasn’t dried yet. I filled in the gaps between the peonies with some pink hydrangeas. if you are using large blooms, I’d recommend planning out where the flowers will go prior to gluing them down, as we had a few re-dos in order to keep the pom from looking oddly sparse on one side.

The finished products! As you can see, the white one came out smaller, even though the balls are the same size; this is because the peony blooms are HUUUGE! And another tip: it’s always smarter to attach the ribbon handle through the ball BEFORE you attach the flowers. I had forgotten to buy the ribbon, so I ended up doing it later. (Mr. Ramen was actually hard at work on our STD and website design at this point. I love that guy!)

Now for the tissue paper poms. I started on this project by myself, with the aid of my lovely sister, and one of the girls from my church’s youth group. After the coffee filter fiasco (see failure story, above), I decided to go the tissue paper route. I was hesitant to order tissue paper online, because I knew I wanted a particular color. I also didn’t know how much to order. So, I used my mom’s giant stack of el cheap-o white tissue paper and decided to use my tea+red food coloring dye to get the perfect pink. yes, I hand-dyed this tissue paper. Anyways, to make a long story short, it took a long time, and I don’t recommend anyone doing it this way. But luckily I live in the nation’s driest state, so that probably helped speed up the process.

The result: a giant mass of perfect, barely blush pink paper. After this, I decided to just bite the bullet, and ordered birch tissue paper from Nashville Wraps. On a foray into the SF flower market with my cousin, I discovered this little floral supply warehouse, where they sold Styrofoam balls for SUPER cheap. I actually ended up having my cousin buy 16 of the 6″ balls and 2 of the 4″ ones initially, and she brought them down to So Cal for me. After I learned that a 6″ ball = 10″ pomander, I sold my 14 unused balls and had my sister purchase 4″ balls on her next trip to SF. Because the price per ball decreases with a bulk purchase, she ended up getting me 20 for about $20 or so. I love flower markets.

The plan was to make a pom to hang from every other pew at the church. There are about 15 rows. So, we wanted to make roughly 16 pomanders. Faced with this ridonculous challenge, I did what any sane bride-to-be would do: I recruited all of my girlfriends, and had a folding/fluffing party!

Hard at work…. seriously, I could not ask for better friends! One of my dear friends actually brought her new husband and brother-in-law to help out!

The results: 6 mini poms, plus 2 almost filled large shopping bags of fluffies! Lest you think this was enough flowers, I probably filled up those bags at least 2 more times… I can fold and fluff in my sleep. We probably spent 5 days straight doing this – but we spread it out over several weeks, so we (my mom, sister, fiance, and myself) were constantly cutting wire and paper, folding, and fluffing while we got caught up on almost the entire last season of Heroes, Lost, and Chuck.

Close up: don’t worry, I put Mr. Ramen to work! He’s such a trooper. Aren’t the pink poms sooo cute?

this is to show you how densely I packed our poms – and not TOO dense, mostly because we got lazy and didn’t want to make any more flowers, and also because they looked pretty good loose. I also didn’t use any hot glue because we figured no one was going to be swinging the poms (although we tested that), and the wire was reallllly secure. I suggest using about 4″ of thicker gauge wire (~ 22g) for these larger poms. we used probably a 24-26g wire for the baby poms, and just cut the wire (and paper) down proportionally.

Here is what they look like! The birch tissue paper was a really nice, thick, high-quality tissue paper, and had a nice light ivory tone.

This was less than 1/2 of the poms we made… we ended up making ~20!

Here is a mock up of the decoration items we had made/purchased… just to reassure me that everything was cohesive.

One project down, only 1 million more to go!

How to Save Big on Your Wedding Favors

In an attempt to cut down the expenses for their wedding, some brides decide to forego the wedding favors, thinking that these are just small details anyway. While you agree that skipping this will not ruin your big day, a part of you still wishes that your guests would have something that they can remember your memorable wedding by.

Well, if you are crafty and creative enough, you do not have to give up entirely the concept of giving small tokens of appreciation to the people who joined you in the celebration of your big day. With these simple but practical suggestions, you will surely be able to come up with fantastic wedding favors that will not leave a major dent on your savings.

Be Crafty

You do not need to have a degree in Fine Arts or be a Martha Stuart or Rachel Ray to be able to come up with fabulous wedding favors. Homemade soaps, scented candles, handcrafted accessories, small boxes filled with chocolates, and bath salts—these are only few of the many things you can make at home and that you can give away as souvenirs for your wedding day. Check procedures online if you have any doubt on your handcrafting abilities.

Hit Two Purposes with One Souvenir

Two-for-one souvenirs are practical and cost-effective. One example of such kind would be mini photo frame souvenirs that can double as table cardholders. Another option would be a platter of small votive candles, each tied with raffia ribbon that can serve as table centerpiece. After the reception, each guest can take one home.

Go for Edible Sweet Treats

Do you have a knack for baking sweet treats? If so, you can round up your bridesmaids for an afternoon session of baking cookies, cupcakes, or whatever sweet treat you can think of that can be a good memento for your wedding day. Wrap them up in nice and colorful food paper and tie with a satin ribbon to complete the look.

Trim down the List

Even if you have a very inexpensive favor, let us say each favor only costs $1, but if you have about 500 to 600 guests, then the expenses will still blow out of proportion. The best way to solve this is to invite fewer people.

Make some Music

Personalized music CDs are becoming a popular choice for many couples today who want to give out souvenirs that have a personal touch but do not cost that much. Make a list of all the songs that you and your loved one hold close to your hearts, and have a friend record this in blank CDs. Do not forget to have a nice cover for the CD case, preferably a photo of you and your spouse-to-be.

Think Green

A small-potted plant, a bracelet made from recycled magazines, or flower seeds placed in a little mason jar wrapped with handmade paper—just few of the many eco- and budget-friendly take-home mementos that you can provide to your guests.

Whoever says that you need to spend a lot for wedding favors is either extremely rich or has no creative juice in her body. If you want to give away wonderful wedding favors without having to chase your money away, be sure to consider practical and helpful tips mentioned in this article.

Source: Andrea Winter is an expert article writer on the topic of weddings. This article was sponsored by Stylish-Wedding-Favors.com, a wedding blog for beach Weddings specializing in trendy beach wedding favors and stylish beach weddings in general.

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