Wedding Blog

Lauren - If it is in your budget, you may want to look into a lighting designer. The ones I’ve talked to can either cover the walls with cloth or wall wash them with color. I sometimes wonder if I should have picked a venue with just a plain room and get a lighting designer. It would have been cheaper. But I already chose my venue before finding out what can be done to a plain old room. Or a room that doesn’t necessarily suit you. Good luck!

My wedding planner never takes any initiative. I have to email her questions, sometimes repeatedly, before I hear back. Often she doesn’t answer all the questions I send her. I can’t believe I’m paying $2500 because all she’s done for me so far is book a tent. I’ve found all the other venders! So maybe I also have the worst planner along with Kymberli above… (although mine is in Washington state).

Lauren - I don’t think you need to include pink in your colour scheme at all. I agree with Sarah above, I think your colour choices of espresso and ivory are perfect because they will go well with the pink but also stand up well on their own so you don’t need to add any more pink to the decor items you bring in unless you wanted to.

Kimberli: Comment 7 above is from me…

I think the brown and ivory will be perfect with the pink walls. You dont have to incorporate the pink but you might consider if you are doing floral centerpieces maybe a hint of pink. Or candles wrapped in ribbon with the colors being brown/pink. If you are doing favors at each table or place setting maybe you could use pink there. Are your linens going to be brown or ivory. It is such a delicous combination I would take advantage. Good luck.

Aliya - a second vote for kustomkoozies.com They were great to work with. If you submit artwork, and it’s all sized correctly, there’s no additional artwork fee. They came out looking great - we got a mix of two colors, with white print on them, and I love them. A big challenge to not use them before the wedding!

I was wondering if anyone knows where to get a good corset/bra to wear under your wedding gown. Bloomingdales and Victoria Secrets only had those crazy sexy corsets (not practical) but I’m looking for the ones that are purely for lift and making your waist look tiny.

I agree with the others on the pink walls - no need to add more pink if not wanted and brown and cream should go beautifully. To go simple, think clean lines and modern (without intentionally clashing with the ornateness). I see calla lily centerpieces and a smooth dark brown modern cake. Tablecloths cream as brown would be too much, but you could do brown napkins. You could add a non-pink accent color on your invites or something minimal like ribbon on the bouquets but don’t do use it much in the reception room. Should be lovely.

as for the broke MOH, gifts are required for showers and customary for weddings, even for bridal party members. But. I personally think that there is a enough-is-enough rule for bridal party members, particularly bride’s attendants that pay for showers and hair/makeup/dresses which are typically female expenses, that their wedding gift should not be the proverbial straw on camel’s back that causes them to resent the whole shebang and wish they had pleaded out of their duties. BMs can give nothing or something very small for the wedding gift if they are in danger of feeling put out IMO. Note that you do NOT need separate “wedding” gifts and “reception” gifts if that is what you were implying in your question.

Aliya- Not sure how much kustomkoozies is.. but Staples does them for 1.99 each- minimum of 50. http://www.staples.com and go to custom printing.

Ana -
I am having a destination wedding in Maui in 3 weeks, and I’ve had it booked with my wedding planner for the last year and a half. In the time I have been dealing with her, I have found the same thing… I always have to initiate the communication, sometimes I don’t hear back for days. I find it really irritating myself and I wonder if it has to do with being on island-time and all that. Whenever I speak with her on the phone, though, she sounds like she’s got everything under control so it relieves my doubts. Who are you using? Hope it turns out well.

Sarah king - I make bridal jewelry. I tend to use a lot of pearls and crystals and I would gladly customize my pieces for your wedding. The shipping is free.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=93198 is my store.

Miss Melodius–You might use google maps to find a fine old corset shop near you. The older the better, in this case. The one I went to was known and respected by both the girdle-wearing generation AND the transgendered crowd, so the selection was enormous. The staff was well-trained and discreet enough that, even being topless in a changing room with a stranger and a tape measure, I was reasonably comfortable.

(Those of you in the DC area probably already know I’m talking about Dor-Ne on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring…but just in case, there you go!)

Ana–I hear you sister. It was a frustration of mine that our coordinator was not more responsive. However, as we got closer to the wedding (2 months out), she became very responsive. Have some patience. We all want our weddings perfect, but destination weddings are little different. Trust that she does this all the time (ours did and it was perfect!).

Jennifer - I recommend you check out ACPWC (www.acpwc.com). They have awesome in-class and home course training. While not all planners are professionally trained…it is highly recommended that you get training. It also sets you apart from other people brides may be interviewing because it shows that you take the industry serious enough to go through training. Plus ACPWC has local chapters of other planners and it’s a support system for your business. HTH!

- is there such a thing as “mortgage registry?”

- what’s a proper etiquette to deal with it?

I’m trying to plan our wedding, and running into this snag- and it’s all me. I know what I want. I know what I can afford. I know how to bridge the two. But then, the second I stray from sites like weddingbee and indiebride, I run into sites like etiquettehell.com. And now I am second-guessing every decision I make. I mean, we eloped- so we sent pictures and announcements to everyone we knew, or who our parents said would want one. It’s was to share our news, not to beg for gifts (we really don’t expect any), since we live across the country, and didn’t want anyone to be hurt by hearing it through the grapevine, instead of from us. But now, I am afraid others won’t see it that way. I mean, I did, I’m reading stories from people who are offended by invites on “the cheapest paper” because they “know” it’s a “gimme grab” and… I DIYed those announcement… and it’s true, I don’t know half the people I just sent announcements to… my friends/family won’t see it that way, but, now I am afraid his aunts/uncles/cousins/etc. might. Sheesh, I don’t care about presents, unless someone cares enough to buy one! I’d be overjoyed to get a card! But our budget is growing by the minute, and there are plenty of places I can’t afford to splurge… our reception is next year, and since a “cheap” reception is still $7500 to $10,000, I’d think begging for gifts would be a lot less effective than just not having a reception, but we wanted to do it for our families. Am I really going to etiquette hell for not using exotic enough paper in my invites?

I recently got engaged - Yea! - and I’m just starting out on the ‘official’ planning process (because of course, I’ve been secretly planning forever). There are so many resources/books/planners out there. Which ones could you not live without?

Iris: The announcements basically said “we got married on this day, at this time, in this place, in a small civil ceremony. We will renew our vows in the company of family and friends in mid-2008.” They were laser-printed onto a sheet of vellum, then tied on top of two B&W 4 x 6 prints of snapshots with a piece of colored cardstock with a band of patterned paper.

We aren’t planning a weddingy-wedding, just a simple, casual outdoor reception with a short renewal of our vows, right around (or shortly after, due to weather) our first anniversary *put simple and casual in quotes, though, nothing is simple when there’s tents and generators and caterers involved!*.