Be prepared to have all the floral details wrapped up two weeks prior to your wedding. Flowers are typically ordered by this time, the wheels are in motion, and you don’t need to worry about this category any more.
Tip provided by Stephanie J Designs
Don’t forget to assign someone to take the photos so that couples are not forced to take their own photo. As always, direct guests with cute color coordinated signs that tell them what to do!
Trend and photo provided by J. Christiaan Salon & Spa
To help stay within a budget consider using flowers that are seasonal, rather than imports. You can also ask your designer about renting vases and containers. This will help give you the look you want by allowing you to use better containers at a much lower price than if you were to buy them.
Personalize your wedding by naming your tables instead of numbering them. The names can be venue related or they may be personalized to the bride and groom. It is also important to secure you table names if you are having an outdoor wedding…a breeze can cause havoc.
Buck tradition. You like red shoes? Or even sneakers? Wear them! Personal touches make your event special and unique.
I’m addicted to Starbucks lattes. I can’t help it. When the days get long at work, there is nothing I like to do more than sneak out for a quick pick-me-up. This is a costly habit when you multiply a Grande latte by 5 days a week… every week.For Christmas, we received an espresso machine. Why didn’t I think of this?? For about $50 you can purchase your own basic latte-maker and make fancy drinks whenever the craving hits! Of course, depending on the quality and features, the price goes up from there. If you are an espresso-addict, I would recommend registering for one of these gadgets. They can save you money and are fun for entertaining!
Me & the Hubby at our Bridal Shower courtesy of my mom.The picture above is remind me WHY I'm getting married. I'm in love and I just want to be with him. HOWEVER, after last week I was ready to elope. Seriously. Oh, where do I begin?
My mom called me and said, "I need to tell you something but I don't want you to freak out. It is really awful, but try to stay calm." This, of course, immediately pushed me into freak out mode. Mom says, "The Bridal Boutique is gone. Closed. Maureen told me about it today and I checked and they are closed. There are no bridesmaids dresses and no dress or veil for you. We are out the money and they are gone." I literally fell out of my chair. Literally. And then I started to cry. It just got worse from there. Over the next couple of days we did a lot of investigating and calling and found out that yes indeed, they were gone! We contacted all the news stations, the BBB, consumer reports, etc. I also contacted the manufacturers of both my dress and the bridesmaids dresses. Come to find out when I placed my order and PAID money in February for my dress and March for the bridesmaids NO ORDER WAS PLACED. That's right. NO ORDER WAS PLACED. In fact, the manufacturer of my dress said that the store hadn't placed an order since 2006 and as of February 2007 (when I ordered my dress at the store) they didn't even HAVE an account. Lovely. I went through the stages. I cried hysterically, got REALLY mad and then just went numb. We were scrambling to see if we could get our money back from the credit cards but not everyone paid with a credit card. My sister paid in cash and Silvia paid with check. Lesson WELL learned. Always put it on the card. Now let me point out that I am one lucky bride! I had 5 months to get a new dress. Unlike the bride that first discovered they were closed, she only had TWO weeks. I feel so bad for her and all the others. But the idea of having to go look again after I had been so happy and successful the first time just made me queasy. In the midst of all this bridal drama/trauma work was insane, people were driving me nuts and I wasn't getting to work out my anger at my Combat Fit class.So I went to yet another dress shop to get another bridal gown. I walked in and within 5 minutes was basically back in tears. But let me just say KEEPSAKE BRIDAL is awesome! They were so nice and helpful and so understanding. They had been getting lots of frantic calls from brides and they are taking it all in stride. My mom, sister and the clerks all suggested I try on dresses again just to make sure. So I did. I had a bad taste in my mouth regarding the dress I had picked but I just loved it so much I wasn't sure if I wanted to change to another dress. But I did. I actually found 2 dresses and couldn't decide which to go with. I finally did though. I picked a new dress, veil, everything. We actually ended up getting mine, my mom's dress and shoes, all the bridesmaids and the flower girls. We even picked out the invitation. All in all a very productive bridal day. Emotionally exhausting though. So here is the original dress for us all to ooo and ahh over. Yes it is beautiful. And sad because it is being replaced.
Casablanca Bridal, Style 1772.
Photo courtesy of The Memory Journalists
Photos courtesy of family/friends.
Interesting and textural bouquets are all the rage for fashion forward brides. Gone are the days of mono-varietal (one type of flower used en masse) bouquet. The use of regionally available flowers and out of the ordinary green and fillers can make for a special and personal bridal bouquet. Don’t be afraid to use flowers that are not traditionally used in weddings for your bouquet. New varieties of orchids, unusually colored roses even small berries and herbs can make quite a statement. Switching up the expected floral choices will make your personal flowers memorable.
The tasting appointment is also a great opportunity to ask to see the china, glassware and linens that the caterer plans to use at your reception!All of us brides know that planning a wedding is an extraordinary undertaking…and help is always in demand. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. While planning my wedding, I asked my mother to make table runners out of a material that I had selected. The runners turned out beautiful! Not only did we receive several compliments on our décor, but we were able to gift mementos from our wedding to family and friends after the ceremony. We even kept a few for our home!
Photo courtesy of The Memory Journalists
Photo courtesy of The Memory Journalists
Making a Slice of History - When my husband and I got married we, like many other couples, had our cake knife engraved with our names and wedding date. But when we had it engraved we asked that it be in the upper left corner of the knife leaving lots of room so we can pass our knife onto our children and have their names and wedding dates engraved as well.
Unless you have flowers you have dreamed of and can't live without, communicate your vision to your designer and then let go a bit and let your designer get creative. If you trust your designer, he/she will be able to take your vision and create it. Giving them freedom in the floral selections will allow much more creativity if they aren't locked into only specific flowers you have listed.
