Postcards = Escort Cards
Posted by: bicoastalbride on: February 9, 2010
To put a fun spin on our table markers and escort cards, we recently had an idea to use postcards depicting our favorite California cities.
Here’s what we’re thinking:
Each table will be named for a city or place in California that has meaning to us. But instead of simply printing the city names on cardstock, we’ll use postcards to identify each table.
So far on our list, we’re including Disneyland, Stephen’s hometown of Sacramento, and Napa – one of our favorite places to visit on vacation.
To get a table assignment before entering the ballroom, each guest will find a postcard with his or her name on the back. To personalize things, we’re planning to also include a special message of thanks to each guest on the backs of the cards.
And to add even more of a twist, rather than using traditional escort-card holders, we’ve decided to go with wine corks, since we’ve always loved visiting wineries.
Check out these samples we put together, and let me know what you think!
(Photo Credits: Stephen Walrath)
A Bicoastal Bride
Posted by: bicoastalbride on: February 8, 2010
When we picked June 4, 2010, as our wedding date last May, I felt like I had all the time in the world to navigate the new, crazy world of long-distance wedding planning. Today, we just passed the four-month mark, the planning is in full swing, and I couldn’t be having more fun!
With each passing month, I’ve discovered more of a passion for everything about weddings – planning them, reading about them, writing about them on my blog, Bicoastal Bride, and anything in between. Always up for sharing or learning about fun, inspiring ideas, I’m thrilled to join the WedAlert blog as a contributor! As much as I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you, I’m just as excited to hear your feedback, ideas and suggestions. Are you planning a long-distance or destination wedding? What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced? What topics are you interested in hearing more about?
But, first things first. To get the ball rolling, here are a few fun facts about me, my fiancé, and (of course!) the wedding.
Ours is a story of left-brained engineer (him) meets right-brained writer (me). Stephen and I originally met briefly through a friend while we were going to college in California, where we both grew up. Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember the meeting!
We “officially” met a year later, coincidentally through the same friend, after we were living in Washington, D.C. Enticed by my charms (and surely the delicious free food that always abounds at Capitol Hill receptions), Stephen came with me to a meet-and-greet, and then out to dinner the following week.
Three years later, we’re still having fun, and love traveling, most recently to Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, plus wine tasting, trying new restaurants, and running. Since we’re both still Californians at heart, with the majority of our relatives and friends out there, we’re heading back to Southern California to tie the knot.
Our Catholic ceremony will take place in the church I went to as a kid, and will be followed by a reception at a beautiful nearby golf club. Since our top goals are to make the wedding unique and fun for our 80-100 guests, we’re working to add as many personalized touches as we can within our “Best of California” theme. So far, we’re planning to serve Mexican food, feature a signature sangria, create DIY wine-cork place-card holders, and use postcards from our favorite California cities as escort cards. I could keep going on, but then I’d have nothing to blog about later! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more.
(Photo Credit: Jessica Wilbur)
Wedding Invitation Inserts
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: February 8, 2010
What Are You Inserting with Your Wedding Invitations?
When you are planning a wedding, you certainly know how important your wedding invitations will be. They are your way of personally inviting family and friends to witness and celebrate one of the happiest days of your life.
Depending on your wedding scenario, there may be many more details to include for guests beyond the date and time of the ceremony and reception. That is where additional wedding invitation inserts may be required. Many times, these extra cards are available to match your invitation design.
The enclosures needed will vary by wedding depending on the circumstances but here are some of the available insert options:
- Accommodation Cards – Out-of-town guests needing overnight arrangements will greatly appreciate receiving these cards since they list contact information for the hotel(s) where a block of rooms has been reserved.
- Direction or Map Cards – Any time guests may not know how to reach your ceremony and reception location, it is a good idea to include these cards as an added convenience providing detailed directions.
- Reception Cards – When your reception details do not comfortably fit on your wedding invitation, you can include this separate card with all the specific details.
- Response Cards – Including these cards for guests to let you know if they will be attending will assist you in accurately making your seating and food arrangements. Unless they are postcards, a mailing envelope needs to be included with the postage already affixed as a courtesy to your guests for quick and easy return.
It is important to remember that adding any extra wedding invitation inserts can increase your mailing postage due to the extra weight so be sure to take one of your ready-to-mail invitations to the Post Office for an official weight to determine the proper postage needed. On the other hand, if any of these cards will provide your guests with additional information they will need for attending your special day, it is well worth the extra costs.
By Sara Haese
www.PrintedCreationsWeddingStore.com
Wedding Day Tips: Top Ten Details to Remember
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: February 2, 2010
Wedding Day Tips: Top Ten Details to Remember
As a professional wedding photographer, I’ve seen my share of problem weddings that only add to the ever-present wedding stress. Planned improperly from the get-go, no one person is to blame, but the outcome is upsetting for everyone involved. Often, the bride’s face looks utterly uncomfortable in all the pictures thanks to mile-high heels, guests are kept waiting for an inordinate amount of time, and the bathrooms are a logistical disaster!
Planning a wedding is serious business, especially if you have out-of-town guests to worry about and little children to keep an eye on. Here are ten wedding day tips to keep you upbeat – and stress-free – on your special day!
Avoid Wedding Stress with These Ten Wedding Day Tips
#1 – Have an emergency kit on hand: A bride without her trusty emergency kit is a meltdown waiting to happen. Before the wedding day, put together a little kit of must-haves in case something should go wrong. Ideally, you should have extra make-up, safety pins, breath spray, nail polish for snags, hairspray, a comb, and anything else you deem appropriate to combat wedding stress. If a situation does arise, you’ll be thankful you had these things with you.
#2 – Bring comfortable shoes to change in to: Please don’t maintain the illusion that you can wear those fabulous designer heels all night long. They will begin to hurt your feet and impede your ability to hob-knob with your friends. Pack some cute flats (that you’ve previously broken in) or some simple white sandals so you can keep dancing all night long!
#3 – Put someone in charge of the vendors: Entrust a friend or family member to keep track of vendors, such as the DJ/band, caterers, florists, facility manager, wait staff, and photography team. Let him or her be the point person if the vendor has a question, if something has changed, or there is an issue. Trust me – this will reduce much of the wedding stress that will occur throughout the day.
#4 – Don’t forget to eat before and during the wedding: Number four on this list of wedding day tips is incredibly important. Sounds impossible, but brides do forget to eat with all that’s going on. One of the best wedding day tips I can offer is to start the day out with a healthy breakfast that will keep you going until your afternoon or evening meal is served. The last thing that you want to do is add to your wedding stress and pass out in front of your guests or experience hunger pangs all day. Rely on one of your bridesmaids to fix a plate for you or do it yourself while you converse with guests waiting in line and then actually sit down and eat it. You picked the menu. Don’t you deserve to enjoy it?
#5 – Provide your guests with an accurate map and directions: Everyone will tell you this is one of the best wedding tips you could get! The last thing you want to deal with is guests calling you or your friends asking for directions because yours aren’t quite clear. Talk about wedding stress! Make sure you provide turn-by-turn navigation (especially helpful for those out-of-towners) as well as a detailed map of your venues with each surrounding street clearly listed and identifiable.
#6 – Make sure your bridal party knows to come early: Every photographer’s nightmare – and a major wedding stress inducer – is a scattered, mismanaged bridal party. Make sure to coordinate with your bridesmaids and fiancé’s groomsmen beforehand. If pictures are to be taken before the ceremony, everyone needs to show up with ample time to allow for this. If you are dressing at the church or venue and require the assistance of your bridesmaids, set the time back appropriately.
#7 – Set up something special for your guests in the facilities’ bathrooms: A basket of toiletries is a clever way to show your creativity at your wedding. Usually, the bathrooms get overwhelmed and guests may need something to get them through the rest of the night. One of the most helpful wedding day tips is to stock a basket for your guests – perhaps decorated with ribbons in your wedding colors – with floss, tampons (for the ladies), gum, lotion, sanitizer, mouthwash, and safety pins for each of the men’s and women’s restrooms.
#8 – Keep the kids in mind: Everyone is having a good time, but what are the kids up to? If you choose to have children at your wedding, so be it. They’ll need a little entertainment though if you want to keep wedding stress at bay. One of my favorite wedding day tips is to serve fun finger foods like chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, French fries, and carrot sticks to get them to eat and keep them happy. A great idea is to have all the children at a centrally located children’s table – adorn the table with activity and coloring books, crayons, puzzles, and lots of drawing paper to keep them occupied. If you and your fiancé decide not to have children at your wedding, however, make sure that all parents know this well in advance so that they can find a babysitter.
#9 – Hand the rings off to someone responsible: Have one of the attendants in your bridal party hang on to the rings before the ceremony. Instruct her to wait until right before the party is sent down the aisle to give the ring bearer and flower girl the rings so that they don’t get lost in the day’s hustle and bustle.
#10 – Create a menu for guests to peruse: Number 10 on this list of wedding day tips isn’t hard to do, but gives your guests an idea of what kind of food will be served. For a sit-down dinner, this is imperative, of course, as there will be multiple options to choose from. Even if you’re having a large buffet meal where guests help themselves, place a menu on each table so that anticipation can build. Sometimes, without a menu, your guests might have even overlooked a food station with their favorite dish!
Preparation Fights Wedding Stress
It’s easy to overlook the little things. Planning ahead of time is the only way to keep wedding stress at bay. Don’t let months of planning come undone by not being prepared. Combat potential disasters – and that annoying wedding stress – with these ten essential wedding day tips, and have the time of your life!
About the Author
Cherie Johnson is the founder and owner of Creative Wedding Favors, the premier site for unique anniversary, baby and bridal shower, graduation, quinceañera, and wedding favors. Her wedding ideas have also benefited readers of many websites, including Women Of, Wedding Lenox, and The Wedding Guide. Before establishing Creative Wedding Favors in 2006, she worked as a professional wedding photographer, capturing all the special moments of the nuptials and ceremony. Search for fun, festive favors by visiting www.CreativeWeddingFavors.com.
WedAlert Latest Honeymoon Winner
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: January 29, 2010
Congratulations to our latest winner of the free honeymoon giveaway, Sharon Caparimo and her fiance. Sharon is from Staten Island, and we congratulate her on winning the honeymoon vacation, and wish her all the best for her upcoming wedding.
Enter for a chance to win your Free Honeymoon. Next drawing is April 1, 2010.
Start Planning Your Wedding Now!
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: January 25, 2010
Newly Engaged after the Holidays: Start Planning Your Wedding Now!
Congratulations on your recent engagement! With the holidays over, you can now focus exclusively on planning your wedding day. You have a long road ahead of you, and a lot of decisions waiting in the ‘nuptial pipeline.’ Don’t let that stress get the best of you though – use these tips specifically geared to newly engaged couples!
Five Simple Steps for Newly Engaged Couples!
Step #1 – The Engagement Party: First off, you should celebrate the fact that you’re newly engaged — enlist the help of some friends to throw an engagement party with your loved ones to announce the good news. This fete doesn’t have to be extravagant and expensive. A small house party can create the same intimate scene. You’ll also receive the good wishes of your loved ones, and perhaps acquire a few willing volunteers to help you through the challenges of planning a wedding.
Step #2 – Setting a Date for the Wedding Day: Next on your agenda should be setting a date for the wedding. Here we are, a brand new year ahead of us. Depending on how elaborate you want the wedding to be determines which date you select. Of course, there are highlights of each season. A spring wedding, though lovely, would likely have to occur the following year if chosen. The downside is that both spring and summer weddings are more expensive than those that occur in the autumn or winter. Weddings that fall on holidays are a good option as well since much of the church or venue you settle on will already be decorated for said holiday. Many couples send out a Save the Date card to inform loved ones of their newly engaged status and remind their friends and family of the impending wedding day. Many online companies now offer easy-to-customize templates that can be printed and shipped to you in just a few days time. You can even make your own Save the Date cards with a little ingenuity and basic computer skills.
Step #3 – The Details: Your next perhaps most important action when newly engaged should be a frank chat with your intended about planning the wedding. Lay out what each person wants in the day, either verbally or on paper. Discuss themes, colors, foods, venues, music, and all the various details that make up a wedding and ceremony. You’ll also need to set a realistic budget if you are paying for part or all of it. Today’s weddings are incredibly expensive if all the bells and whistles are pulled out, so you’ll want to identify well in advance what can realistically be afforded.
Step #4 – Research: Being newly engaged, you may want to do some research of your own. Make a point to attend bridal shows in your area to get an idea of possible vendors while planning your wedding. Oftentimes, the vendors are present to hand out vouchers or special deals for attendants. Just make sure to register ahead of time as bridal events usually fill up quickly. You’ll also want to start choosing your bridesmaids and maid or matron of honor to help alleviate the stress of planning your own wedding. The last thing you want to deal with is flaky bridesmaids, so choose wisely.
Step #5 – The Location and Vendors: Wedding venues — for both the ceremony and reception — get booked fast, so you’ll need to fly into action. If you attended a bridal show, you may have learned about venues in your area, or you’ve done a little research about planning a wedding on your own. Bring along your fiancé to look at each of your favorite venues in person, making sure to ask questions such as:
(1) How many people can the venue accommodate?
(2) Is there a catering service on site?
(3) Are there enough restrooms for all of your guests?
(4) What is the payment schedule and, subsequently, the cancellation policy?
(5) Are the facilities wheelchair accessible?
(6) What is the policy on alcohol?
(7) Is there enough parking for X amount of guests?
(8) Are there any limitations on decorations?
Take a tour with the wedding’s coordinator and think it over. Look at all your options before selecting the right one. You’ll also need to consider other vendors when planning a wedding. Do you want a DJ or a live band? If so, you’ll want to book as soon as possible. Caterers get slammed during the high season (spring and summer months) as well, so make contacting them high on your to-do list.
Planning a Wedding While Savoring the Simple Moments
Just remember, planning your wedding day is what you make of it! Getting everything in order can be stressful, but don’t lose your head. Rely on your bridesmaids, mother, friends, and loved ones to help you tackle one thing at a time. If things do begin to be too much, consider what a professional wedding planner can do for you. Oftentimes, they can negotiate better rates since they know reliable vendors around town.
Above all, have fun being newly engaged, planning your wedding, and getting closer to your special loved one!
About the Author
Cherie Johnson is the founder and owner of Creative Wedding Favors, the premier site for unique anniversary, baby and bridal shower, graduation, quinceañera, and wedding favors. Her wedding ideas have also benefited readers of many websites, including Women Of, Wedding Lenox, and The Wedding Guide. Before establishing Creative Wedding Favors in 2006, she worked as a professional wedding photographer, capturing all the special moments of the nuptials and ceremony. Search for fun, festive favors by visiting www.CreativeWeddingFavors.com.
WE TV is casting for new brides
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: January 23, 2010
WE TV is casting for new brides for My Fair Wedding in the TRI-STATE AREA.
If you are getting married between
March 13th- April 17th 2010
&
you need David Tutera’s help,
let us know!
Bridal Show Season
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: January 14, 2010
It is now Bridal Show Season and WedAlert lists all the best bridal shows in one easy place.
We also have helpful articles about what to expect when you attend a bridal show.
One tip from the article How to Get the Most From a Bridal Show
Register before the show. When you register before the show, some shows offer a discount toward the purchase of your ticket. Here on WedAlert we have direct links to register for the upcoming bridal shows in your area.
Another tip from the article Get the Most Out of Bridal Shows is to wear comfortable shoes. And if possible, leave your coat in the car. You’ll have enough to carry without having to lug around or wear a coat. And you’ll be that much happier if you’re comfortable.
Another suggestion is to bring only one or two people with you. Have mom, your maid of honor, a bridesmaid, or fiancé come along. They can help you carry the brochures you’ve picked up, and you’ll have someone who knows you to bounce ideas off of. Just don’t bring a whole entourage. It’s harder to keep a large group together (you don’t want to be spending your time looking for who you came with!) Also, too many people will offer too many different opinions, which will be confusing, and not enjoyable at all.
Most importantly have a great time!!
Poll – Are you using a wedding planner?
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: January 4, 2010
The results of our last poll are in – - We asked our users: Are you using a wedding planner?
They answered as follows:
Yes – Full Planner 12%
Yes- Day of Wedding Coordinator only 6%
No – Planning ourselves 83%
If you are searching for Wedding Planners, Day of Wedding Coordinators, or are planning your own wedding, WedAlert makes your wedding planning easier.
You can search our directory of local wedding professionals to find Wedding Planners, Wedding Consultants, and every other type of wedding professional you are looking for.
Happy New Year!!
Posted by: WedAlert.com on: December 31, 2009
We at WedAlert want to wish all our friends a very Happy New Year. May 2010 be a wonderful year for you all.
Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don’t think you can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. You’ll look ten years younger. Don’t be afraid to say, ‘I love you’. Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world. (by Ann Landers)
JerseyWedding.com
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