PSA: Big sports events and your wedding don’t always mix!
My husband (!) came home on Friday and told me all about the rant he heard on early morning radio about a personality who was REALLY annoyed that he had to attend a wedding during the epic baseball playoffs (yankees vs. redsocks, particularly). I am not a baseball fan but I can tell you that if I were invited to a wedding during the playoffs and my GMEN were playing — I wouldn’t be a happy camper either! Matter of fact, I might not even go!
Which leads me to the point and motivation behind this post: consider seasons and sports when choosing your date. I’m not talking about average games, but the BIG ones: Olympics, college bowls, final four, baseball playoffs, football playoffs and obviously the super bowl. You don’t want a groomsmen smuggling in a laptop to tap into the venue’s wireless network so they can download a live feed of the game in the lobby — because it WILL happen — and it WILL take away from your amazing event!
Coming up on the blog: the epic wedding of Liz and Jayson plus Veena and Rich!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! xo
It Has Come . . . and Gone
Now that my dream wedding has come and gone I’m back to share my experiences leading to the big day. The month leading up to the wedding was a crazy one indeed. Although I had most of all my projects completed I still felt overwhelmed. Being the ‘Bride to Be’ you will feel like you have a million things to do and no time to do them. During this month you will also be getting excited. It’s finally time to go and pick up that marriage license and now . . . it’s real. With all of this going on you NEED to stay calm and remain focused! I was doing so well sticking to my plan of remaining calm and focused and then it hit. . . my one and only wedding melt down. There was only 2 weeks to go and it hit me like a ton of bricks. . . its here. . . its time. . .did I get everything done? What else do I need to do? So I sat down and cried for a good 5 minutes and then gathered myself. I sat down with the man who is now my husband and put together a game plan. We made a list of all the things we needed to get done and posted it in the kitchen so we could see it everyday. This allowed us to stay organized. We also created check lists of all the items that needed to be packed and ready the day before. So I have some advice that may be helpful to all of you soon to be brides out there:
1. Make check lists. . .this will help you remain focused and organized. You may find yourself doodling to do lists while at work, there is nothing wrong with this.
2. Let go of things that are out of your control. . .example: you cannot control the weather, checking it every 5 minutes will not make it change. Plan for the worst and hope for the best.
3. Communicate with you Fiancé . . .planning a wedding puts your relationship to the test, don’t throw it all out the window in the last month.
4. Don’t dwell on minor issues. . .things will go wrong and when they did I would tell myself the following “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”
Hope this has been helpful. Happy planning!
Jubilee Events featured on Fox61: Tips to save on your wedding!
Yesterday, Fox61 news at 10 stopped by our studio to interview myself, Elisabeth of Blush Floral Studio, Eric Langlois of raw photo design, and Tom Morlock of Paradigm Digital Video, and get our opinions on how couples could save money while planning their wedding. I advised couples look into off season dates and nights other than Saturday — where the cost differential can be pretty considerable! Here are some other tips we talked about that didn’t make it on air:
Cut your guest list: About 40% of a couples budget is spent on the reception (food, drink, and the site itself). You can significantly impact your budget by cutting the guest list down!
Prioritize. Spend / splurge on what is important to YOU and seek out creative and cost effective ideas for aspects that are not as important. Every couple is different, and therefore, every couple will have different priorities. Once you identify areas that you want to invest in — do so!
Some other advice: If you have a hobby, skill, or something you are love to do — I definitely recommend infusing that into your wedding! But I caution couples: don’t bite off more than you can chew. It may seem like no big deal to do something yourself — and with enough time and preparation no task is insurmountable. Be sure to schedule enough time to get a project done and have a back up plan in case something doesn’t go as planned. Always consider, as well, if doing something yourself is actually saving you money.
A lesson on why you need to protect your wedding
My good friend Samantha Darr from soireebliss! called me to chat last night and told me about a very sad situation that some of her couples are facing in Houston. Apparently, their wedding / reception venue has shut down over night and the owners are nowhere to be found. They’ve taken off with couples’ deposits and full payments. I can only imagine how utterly devastated these couples must be to have lost not only their entire wedding, but their investment in that wedding. Prior to the venue shutting down, they ran a promotion where if couples paid in full, they received 20% off the total event price. Some people signed contracts as little as a few days prior to the venue locking its doors. The venue was also an “all inclusive” kind of venue, where the pastry chef, florist, DJ, and photographer were part of the package and subcontracted through the venue itself. The vendors haven’t been paid either and know nothing of being contracted to work for these couples on their wedding day. So these couples literally have no wedding at all. There are couples with weddings schedule to be this weekend and there is nothing that can be done. It really is a very upsetting situation and I wish there was something I could do to help the couples who are suffering over this. You can view the local news story about it here.
In my experience this is uncommon, but I wanted to share it with our readers because there is a moral here. Wedding Insurance is something that I recommend to all my couples from a liability standpoint and in case something like this happens. When you make investments you always insure them – your home, car, business, the diamond engagement ring you’re wearing. All of those are costly investments that you want to protect. You should think about your wedding day in the same way and spend the extra $200-$800 (depending on the size of your coverage) to insure your wedding and have peace of mind. I cannot stress this enough and I really encourage all of you to do some research on wedding insurance companies, like WedSafe, and consider making the investment. When you have $30K — $100K invested in an event you want to make sure that you are protected in case something goes wrong.
To all our vendors who read, please consider donating some of your services in some capacity to these couples. Many have of course spent their life savings and now they have absolutely nothing to show for it.
Your Something Blue: My Picks & Ideas!
I love this tradition and I’ve found that most brides do as well. Here are my picks for items to consider as your something blue.
Your Bouquet
This may not be easy to do if you’re wedding color scheme doesn’t compliment blue. But, if it does, this is a nice way to incorperate the tradition. Image courtesy of TheKnot.com
Your Bridal Clutch
I think your bridal clutch is a chic way of adding something blue into your day. I love this satin fluer clutch from J. Crew. It also comes in a variety of other colors, including white, for all you traditional gals.
Your Bridal Shoe
I’m a huge fan of brides wearing colored shoes on their wedding day. It shows off a bit more of your personality, and the chances that you’ll wear the pricey shoe again? Pretty good. I love this blue shoe from Nine West, especially the jewel embellishment and the ruffle on the top. It reminds me of the crumb catchers that are gracing the 2008/2009 bridal gown collections. So pretty!
Blue Handkerchief
This detail is probably my all time favorite. I love the personalized blue stitching on this vintage handkerchief by stichberry on Etsy.com. The best part? It’s only $13!
Blue Rosary Beads
So many brides carry rosary beads with them on their special day. If you don’t have a rosary that is sentimental to you or your family, consider carrying the one above by BeadsofHeaven. You can carry them with you to the alter by hand, tucked in your dress, or like our bride Michelle who had her rosary wrapped around her bridal bouquet.
Blue Gown Embelishments
With the right dress, a little splash of color makes all the difference. I love this dress by Monique Lhuillier. Her Spring 2009 collection is simply gorgeous!
Blue Jewels
Another one of my favorite picks: choosing to wear a blue piece of jewelry on your big day. This broach, from Tiffany, is the perfect blue accessory. Also consider blue inspired earrings, a necklace, or bracelet.
Channeling Your Inner Swayze: To Choreograph or Not To Choreograph
On Monday I discussed ways to overcome your first dance jitters and mentioned how I wanted to talk about the choreographed first dance. I think couples started to get the idea to do a dance routine during the advent of Dancing With the Stars (I’ve admittedly never watched an episode other than the occasional channel flick and pause, but I do appreciate their AMAZING talent and beauty). So, what is my take on the preplanned dance routine? You may be surprised. While I may have a plan for almost everything personal and professional, I don’t like dance routines and don’t recommend that my couples do one unless dancing is a hobby you both have, it’s something you’ve done for years, or something you both thoroughly enjoy. Why? Well, unless you have some dancing DNA in those jeans (genes?) of yours, it can end up looking overly contrived, stiff, and unnatural. Let’s face it, when normal folks like you and I try our hand at the waltz we don’t look as graceful and elegant as our TV show counterparts. And while the old adage “practice makes perfect” may have gotten you to jam harder on your grade school violin, it may not apply to whizzing around a 300 square foot dance floor with fluidity and grace. I can also guarantee you, with a pretty large degree of certainty, that you’re other half is no Fred Astaire and doesn’t wish to be, either. This brings me to the number one reason why I don’t recommend it to my couples: it is an added level of stress that you both don’t need on your day of. Some people have a hard enough time remembering to recite the vows the minister just spoke, never mind how many counts to the left and right. And when you’re spending more time counting your dance steps and trying to remember your “lines”, you’re spending less time enjoying the moment and each other, which is really the most important.
As I said before, I am a big supporter of taking dance lessons to work with what your momma gave you. It loosens you up and allows the two of you to bond and feel confident about your natural dance ability. Plus, you get to spend some scheduled time together pre-wedding day, which is important!
Part of the The First Dance series
- Channeling Your Inner Swayze: To Choreograph or Not To Choreograph
The First Dance Jitters
Good morning! I hope everyone had a spectaular weekend — and congrats to all our 8-8-08 Connecticut brides!
I was talking with some industry friends recently about the epic first dance and all the anticipation, trepidation, and hesitation that couples go through preparing for it. If you and your partner are shy or born with two left feet, the first dance is naturally going to work up your nerves. I don’t think I’ve met too many couples who haven’t been nervous about their first dance. I’ve even come across some who want to forgo the tradition all together because they are self-conscious about being in front of a crowd. I don’t recommend skipping your first dance. It’s not only a tradition that your guests expect and love to see, but it’s also something that you will regret not having done; don’t let little moments like these slip away because they are important memories that you’ll look back on in the years to come. The first dance is also an important transition from your entrance into dinner. I’ve been to weddings where the first dance was skipped and it is a bit awkward when couples enter the room for the first time as husband and wife and “take a seat” instead.
So, what do I recommend for overcoming your first dance stage fright? For starters – get over it! You are surrounded by your family and friends.. these people love and support you unconditionally. They don’t care if you can’t dance. As a matter of fact, since you are from the same gene pool, it’s pretty likely that they can’t dance either! The first dance is not about aesthetics or trying to impress… it is an intimate moment that you two share with your guests and it is a fun time to “catch up” on the day’s events as you wiz around the dance floor. It is a very emotional time and not something that comes along often…
If you’re finding it hard to take my first piece of advice, than consider these few tips.
Choose a song that not only has meaning, but has a rhythm that you can dance to. Spend the time researching the perfect song that has a rhythm you both can understand and move to.
Practice! Dance in the kitchen, dance in the living room. Dance, dance, dance! Practice dancing to your song. It’ll make it easier on the big day.
Consider taking a few dance lessons. I like dance lessons for two reasons – one, you get a few tips from a professional which will help boost your confidence. The second thing I love is it is some scheduled time that you two spend together on a Wednesday night. During the weeks leading up to your wedding you may not see each other as often as you like, and this is a perfect way to schedule in a pre wedding date night.
Have the DJ invite your wedding party onto the dance floor a minute or two into the song. With your wedding party joining you a minute or two into the song, you’ll be able to relax a bit and enjoy yourself. You’ll only be in the spotlight for a few moments which will appease Grandma and allow the photographer to get some really beautiful pictures.
Tomorrow… some advice on whether to choreograph your first dance..
