So you want to party like a rock star but don’t want the hangover to go along with it? No problem. You can have a kick-ass wedding that looks like a million bucks …without spending a million bucks. Good thing, huh, because who has a million bucks lying around? Hang on, I’ll check between the couch cushions.
The trick is to get inspiration from celebrity weddings and execute the ideas with creativity and thrift in mind.This thrift can be applied to your wedding gown, the wedding cake, jewelry, party favours, the reception, flowers, and wedding party gifts. Yup, you can make it look like you spent a fortune without spending a fortune …just with a little imagination.
The gift I’m giving you: A really good imagination.
A celebrity-style wedding on a budget [MSN Money]
Like I've said a few times before, this doesn't apply to you or me because we're perfect. But just in case you want to pass this on to some not-perfect friend you may have, so that SHE doesn't make a wedding gaffe that guests can gripe about, here it is. Consider this a third-hand public service announcement.
Gripe 6: Class act.See? Not a problem for me. I don't dance.
"I was at a wedding in Malibu and it was beautiful... until the DJ let it rip with 'Baby Got Back.' It must have been the bride's request, since she and her gaggle of friends began squealing and ran onto the dance floor. There she was, in her beautiful white Vera Wang wedding gown, with her hand in the air and her ass swinging back and forth. It was nasty. I'm not Miss Proper, but it just seemed out of place to be rump-shakin' at your own wedding." -- Colleen, 33
Gripe 21: Giving thanks.Again, not a problem for me. I'm obsessive-compulsive. YAY ME!
"I can't stand it when brides bitch about who didn't buy them a gift, then fail to thank you for the one you bought them! I expect a handwritten thank-you note within a week of the wedding -- not a brief 'thank you' shoved into a Christmas card months later!" -- Theresa, 28
Anyway, here's the laundry list of how you (errr, they) can mess up. Pass it on.
Guest Gripes [MSN Women | The Knot]
It’s finally out of control. Can you imagine your 82-year old great-aunt Ethel knowing to put the CD into her PC -- as if she even has one! -- to see your wedding invitation?
Uh oh. I said I was going to try to stop being bitter, biting, and bitchy. But, but, but, I thought weddings were supposed to exude tradition.
Okay, this thing is really cool. Really. You still have the customary printed invitation and RSVP; the CD is an additional option. And the fact that you can put all sorts of things on the CD (pictures, music, etc…) really is neato.
Upon insertion, the CD automatically starts up, taking over their screen. They hear familiar classic wedding songs in the background. An animation starts, displaying and welcoming them to the Interactive Wedding Invitation of (insert your names here). Next, they see the Welcome Video movie of (you and your husband-to-be) personally inviting them to your wedding day, describing all the different sections of the invitation, how to navigate through the invitation, and what to expect.Too late for me; most of my invitations are already mailed out. But the new stress-free me (!!!) thinks this innovative interactive wedding invitation is great. Maybe for my next wedding. (Just kidding!)
Interactive Wedding Invitations [InteractiveWeddingInvitations.com]
Music is the key to any party so it’s definitely an important part of your wedding reception.
If it’s done right, music will energize your celebration, heighten romance, and inspire guests to get down on the dance floor.Oh yeah, great-uncle Sid …get down with your bad self!
Unless you just heard a great band at your friend’s wedding, finding a band that suits your wedding is a lot of trial and error. Once you find a band that you THINK is good, even after you listen to their demo CD, go crash a wedding where they’re playing. This will give you a great indication of how they’ll really perform at your wedding.
For other important tips for booking a band, read this list. Rock on.
Oh! One more thing. Don’t let your band play ‘Superfreak’ by Rick James. That’s just wrong. Unless you …oh, never mind.
Reception Music [The Knot]
What can you say about place cards besides BO-RING!? But if you want to avoid the pandemonium of free-for-all meal seating, you’ve got to do it. You’ve got to tell people where they’re sitting, otherwise it’ll be just like a game of musical chairs. Fun for the kids, but the adults will be p.o.’d.
So, how to spruce up the dull? Check out these place card holders. Whether you’re going for sophisticated or fun, you’ll find what you need here. The only problem is picking just one kind -- they’re all terrific.
I can go on and on about these, but I’m going to shut up and let you look. Go. Look. Now. They’re awesome.
Place Card Holders [My Wedding Favors]
I’ve been called a lot of things, but I don’t take offense at being called organized. Ok, maybe I’m obsessively so sometimes, but I think it’s one of my best qualities. That and my singing voice. (I’m tone deaf but when I sing along with the stereo, I’m a flippin’ rock star, baby!) Anyway, back to the organizing thing. As organized as I am, I wanted (needed) a book to keep me on track. There are sooooo many things to do, they just can’t all stay in your head, so don’t even try.
Finding a good wedding planning book and organizer can be a challenge. Whether you are planning to have a quiet civil ceremony in a judge's chamber or a full-blown wedding ceremony and reception with all the trimmings, you will need some sort of wedding guide to help along the way.Not only will a wedding planning book help you plan your special day, your handwritten notes inside the book will bring back special memories years after the day is over.
Wedding Planning Guides [Wedding Things and More / Amazon]
Who doesn’t love a fridge magnet, I ask you. Who? The “Save The Date” magnet is a new spin on the hum-drum “Save The Date” card which most people just file away (in the garbage can.) My guy and I had chosen our wedding date, but we hadn’t yet picked the location. That meant that we couldn’t send out our invitations. We knew, though, that since our wedding was in July, many of our guests would soon be planning their summer holidays. And we didn’t want to risk hearing “…but why didn’t you telllllll me the date befoooooooore I booked the cruuuuuuise?” The magnets range in price, so shop around. I thought SaveTheDateMagnet.com had an awesome selection for weddings. You can also make them yourself -- me and Martha can tell you how.
Save The Date magnets [SaveTheDateMagnet]
Oy! You haven’t bin in a synagogue since your bat mitzvah, but you vant a, kinenah horah, traditional Jewish vedding? No problem, beautiful. Vatever you vant, you vill have. Maybe you’re a bissel embarrassed to ask your rabbi some qvestions? Again no problem, gitte neshuma.
A traditional Jewish wedding is full of meaningful rituals, giving expression to the deepest significance and purpose of marriage. These rituals symbolize the beauty of the relationship of husband and wife, as well as their obligations to each other and to the Jewish people. The following guide explains the Jewish wedding traditions to help you better understand the beauty and joy of the celebration.
Relax, sveetheart. Read a bit and you’ll understand everything there is to know. Vant a nosh while you read? Go on, have a nice shtickle of cake.
Jewish Wedding Traditions [Aish]
If I had to describe party favours in one word it would be this one: TACKY. Then I came across HansonEllis, and my word changed to this: WOW!
Their website claims they are:
the place for perfect wedding favors.They are!
DO IT WITH STYLE!They do!
From “Buy It Now” to “Do It Yourself,” HansonEllis is THE place for wedding favours, bar none. You want silver favours? They’ve got ‘em in abundance. Soap favours? Got those too. Candy? Yup, yup. Crystal favours? Of course!
Wedding Favours [HansonEllis]
Situation A: Julia purposely sat me next to that geek, Barry, at her wedding. I’m soooooo sitting her next to my guy’s cousin, who’s TWICE the dweeb Barry could ever DREAM of being! How great is it that she’s single again!?!
Situation B: If Aunt Mildred and Aunt Ethel haven’t spoken in 22 years, due to a long-standing feud over whose pecan pie is better, my wedding is unlikely to be the place where these two are going to kiss and make up. More likely that an icy cloud will hang over the entire table.
Revenge and bad blood aside, seating arrangements are a tricky business. There are X number of tables, seating for Y at each table, and you have Z number of guests. And a lot of people are just not compatible with each other. You do the math.
No matter if you're using pen and pencil or software, take your time doing this. It’s important and can make or break the party -- if not for you, then for some of your guests.
Low Tech Paper and Pencil Solution [eHow]
High Tech Software Solution [Seating Arrangement]
“Nah,” I thought, “we don’t need a gift registry for our wedding.” First off, we wanted people to give us cash. (I figured that they’d somehow KNOW this.) Secondly, if they don’t give us money, we trusted them to buy us something nice. Big mistake! Do YOU want 37 crystal vases, a dozen candlesticks, and a pancake griddle? Me neither. But your guests aren’t comparing notes with each other, so it’s imperative that you create a selection at one or more stores. Yes, multiple registries are allowed -- just make sure to tell your guests all of them when they ask. Also, inquire about the store’s return policy, if they provide a discount if you want to purchase the items that were not bought for you (rare, but it happens), and if the store holds all the items for you to pick up after your wedding or if they deliver them one by one (which could mean daily trips to UPS pickup -- what a pain in the butt!) Oh, and before I forget, more is more when it comes to registries: go crazy on your selections, and run the gamut from expensive to “yeah, I love you, but I’m a cheapskate.” This way your guests won’t run out of things to buy you, and they’ll have a choice of stores and/or items in their price range. Selecting your registry is fun -- it’s like (pre-)shopping on (hopefully) someone else’s tab. Enjoy it!
Registry Forum [Modern Bride]
Ever been to your best friend’s wedding and when the bride (presumably your best friend) is walking down the aisle, you’re all ‘What the hell? Who is SHE? Did I come to the church on the wrong day???’ Yup, she was abducted. Abducted by the makeup Gestapo. Those lunatics who think more is best and best is blue (eye shadow). They’ll make sure that you look NOTHING like you in your own wedding photos. Sad but true.
However, as I mentioned before, you do need to wear SOME makeup so that you don’t look all shiny in your pictures. But I can’t stress point #15 enough:
Remember, you want to look like yourself. You want your prospective spouse to recognize you when you walk down the aisle. And, you also want to look and feel very beautiful. Pamper, priss, and preen, it is your day.If you don’t recognize yourself, chisel it off and start again.
Makeup Tips for Weddings [Makeup 101]
No, silly girl, I’m not talking about a present for the R&B singer. I’m talking about gifts for the ushers at your wedding. A few days ago, I told you about goodies to buy for the bridesmaids and the maid/matron of honour. And I also told you that the usher and best man gifts are your guy’s responsibility to get. Well, you know as well as I do, this may be his task to take care of, but he sure as anything’s going to come to you for help. He’ll casually ask ‘if you have any suggestions’ but what he means is ‘HEEEEEELLLLLPPPP MEEEEEEEEEE’ and ‘find them for meeeeeeeeeeeee!’
All Classy Gifts in Vancouver to the rescue. Order the gifts online, and charge them to your guy’s credit card. Done and done!
Usher Gifts [All Classy Gifts]
Whenever I see a guest book, my first reaction is - who died? For a funeral, it makes sense. Nobody sends out invitations to a funeral so you gotta know who showed. But who really goes back to read a book full of signatures and half-drunk wedding advice? If I was into credit card fraud, maybe. So do you ditch the idea completely? After seeing this new spin on an old tradition, I'm thinking guest books may finally be evolving into something more valuable than a high school yearbook. At least my yearbooks had pictures, and that's the simple concept behind Polaroid Photo Guest Book. You couple this book with a pen and a Polaroid camera, and your guests basically have all of the tools they need to completely embarrass themselves, forever. Perrrrrrfect! If you're looking for lasting value in a guest book, I think this may be it. Albums cost $59.95, holds 30 photos, accommodates about 60-65 guests, covered in Japanese cloth with archival pages. Camera not included.
Polaroid Photo Guest Book [Adesso Albums]
I did NOT say that you were fat. I did not!!! Meanwhile, you and I both want to lose those pesky few extra pounds before our weddings, right? High-five.
You've decided. You're committed. You're ready to drop some weight. Time to slash your food intake and rent a room at the gym, right? Not necessarily. Small, subtle changes can make a big difference over time. And small changes are easier to work into your current routine. Think in terms of manageable baby steps, like swapping the cream in your morning coffee for nonfat creamer.Yeah, I’ve decided. I’m committed. But I like chocolate! And chips! And every carb out there. And I’ve never found a weight loss scheme (yeah, scheme!) into which I could incorporate a loaf of bread per day (I’m in love with bread), but this one makes sense. Baby steps are good. I’m going to grab some ice cream and re-read it. I’m starting tomorrow.
25 Tips to Kick-Start Summer Weight Loss [WeightWatchers.ca]
That’s right -- as the bride, you’re not only GETTING gifts, you’re GIVING them too. As appreciation to your bridesmaids and maid/matron of honour, a symbol of your love and thanks is appropriate. From the functional (paying for their hair styling and makeup on the wedding day) to the sentimental (hand-made ceramic “wish boxes”) to the personalized (baskets of items that “reflected their hobbies, interests and favorites”), it’s your way of saying ‘thank you’ and ‘I love you for being a part of my most beautiful day.’ It’s actually my favourite part of the wedding planning because giving IS really better than receiving, especially when the giving says so much.
PS. Since men don’t often think of these things, it’s your pre-wifely duty to remind your guy that he should get gifts for his best man and the ushers. You can split the effort for the ring bearer and flower girl.
PPS. It’s likely, though, that you’ll be doing the shopping for ALL of them. Get used to it.
Bridesmaid Gifts [Bliss! Weddings]
I mean it. They’re really fun to read when people write something inside. Whether they write something clever or sweet, they’re enjoyable. And since your attention span can’t handle anything longer than a few lines right now (I’m guessing because that’s my case), it makes for the only literary entertainment we can handle.
Once upon a time, people didn’t need response cards. When they received a written invitation, they would RSVP on their own stationery, offering congratulations and whether or not they would be able to attend.Times have certainly changed. My aunt recently told me a funny story. Years back when she had made a party, she marked faintly in pencil the number corresponding to the guest in case they didn’t write their names on the card. Well, her friends knew that my aunt wrote it discreetly on the inside of the envelope rather than the back of the card, so they decided to play a trick: they all erased their numbers, didn’t write their names, and mailed off the cards. My aunt had no idea who was coming until her friends fessed up. As she and I say all the time: “Everything’s funny when it’s not happening to you.”
Wedding RSVPs The Etiquette of Response Cards [About.com]
No link to any article or website this time. Just me.
You may have noticed, in recent postings, that I’m sounding sarcastic, biting, and somewhat bitchy. Truth be told, I can be plenty of all three in real life, but I didn’t want this blog to be mean. But now, as my wedding approaches, the realer me is starting to shine through. I’m stressed!!!
I’m stuffing envelopes and they’re getting all mixed up with the thank you notes. I’m juggling my guy, his mother, my mother, my father, his father, and all flavours of extended family. I’m choosing flowers, picking cake, and planning a honeymoon. And the fact that my wedding shoes aren’t as comfortable at home as they were in the store is really pissing me off!
Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrggggggggghhhh! Do they still make Calgon? And if so, does it really work? I need to be taken away …possibly to the loony bin.
Anyway, things’ll get better once some of above-mentioned “issues” are resolved. You understand, right? You betcha, girly, we’re in the same boat. Hand me a paddle and a tissue, won’t you? We’re both going to be just fine.
The presents are coming! The invitations aren’t even mailed out yet and the presents are coming! YAY!!! Oopsies, I shouldn’t sound so greedy, huh? But who doesn’t love getting gifts!?!? The slight bummer about these presents is that, unlike when you get a birthday present and just say ‘Thanks a bunch! I love it!’ and then carry on bitching about work or something, for wedding presents you need to send a formal thank you note in the mail. I guess it’s the least we can do for getting this awesome (and, ahem, not so awesome) bounty.
And, as you suspected, your mom and mom-in-law will tell you how to write a proper thank you note. And, no doubt, these women will have different versions of ‘the right way.’ And then you’ll tell your mother your mother-in-law’s way, and your mother will mumble that the woman’s an idiot. And then you’ll tell your mother-in-law how your mom does it, and your mother-in-law will graciously say ‘oh, that sounds, uh, sweet’ through grinding teeth.
Skip the cat-fight with you in the middle as a ball of frazzled wool. Follow these steps and you’re good to go.
How to Write a Wedding Thank You Note [eHow]
I got mine yesterday! YAY!!!! I stuffed them today! Oh man, what a job! Fold the RSVP card, number it on the back (small, so that the guest doesn’t see that they’re 82nd on the list), put it under the (stamped!) RSVP envelope flap, put the out of towner dinner card behind the RSVP card, fold and put the hotel/directions insert behind that, put the invitation (face up) into the first envelope with the nice inside flap, put the whole RSVP packet behind the invitation in nice-flap envelope, put pretty-flapped envelope face-front into plain-flap bigger envelope, place label (that matches the guest whose little number I wrote on the RSVP card) that I printed at Randi’s last weekend CENTERED on big envelope. One done. Many, many more to go. Sigh.
I’m really too tired now to talk about invitations. I have to go stuff envelopes until I drop. Or call off the wedding. Whichever. But I’ll say this: If you’re not as lucky as I am to have a father who knows a fantastic printer who took care of everything (except the darn stuffing!!!!), take a look at these invitation suppliers throughout Canada. And then bribe some schoolgirl to do the stuffing for you. This part sucks!
Wedding Invitations [Canadian Bride]
Taking place at Palais des Congrès de Montréal on November 26 – 27, 2005, this event will help you (big time!) with your wedding plans.
The longest running bridal show in Quebec with exhibitors on hand to help brides and grooms plan their wedding, honeymoon, future home and gift suggestions.
Every year for the past 25 years, Sheldon Kagan International organizes this exhibition -- the quintessence of bridal shows.
If you think that you don’t need to go because you already know everything, think again.
Le Salon de la Mariée 2006 [Sheldon Kagan]
Don’t have the concentration to start in on that 600-page book you just got? Nothing on TV? You’d tackle the laundry basket, but what you’re really looking for is entertainment. Well, there’s nothing more entertaining than reading the engagement announcements in your local newspaper, especially when they’re chockfull of goofy grin photos. I mean, what could be more fun than reading that vice-president of a major bank Poopsie McGibbons is set to marry high-school dropout Bill “The Chuginator” Brown next fall, after which they’ll honeymoon in either Barcelona (Poopsie’s choice) or Vegas, baby, Vegas (Bill’s choice)? The groom’s parents, Beatrice and Bill Sr., are elated. The bride’s parents, Muffy and Biff, will return from their holiday cruise next week.
You may want to consider submitting your engagement announcement in your hometown, your fiance's hometown, each town where your parents currently reside, and any town where you have quite a few relatives.Absolutely! The more towns the merrier! Everyone’s going to want to hear what Poopsie’s up to these days!
Mailing individual engagement announcements is nice, but it may force you to think about your guest list earlier than you’re ready. So the newspaper’s a good alternative. Just try to keep it this side of foolish.
Engagement Announcements [Brilliant Wedding Pages]
Planning a wedding is only slightly more difficult than, say, brain surgery. And, if you’re the patient, only slightly less fun. Relax. Aside from your friends, family, and strangers (who always seem to know everything about “the perfect wedding” once they hear that you’re getting married), there are oodles of resources available online. You can even find a real, live wedding coordinator if that’s the route you want to go. But if you’re on a budget (who isn’t?), you CAN do the planning yourself. Or you can watch the movie and think about your own wedding next week.
Planning [weddingchannel.com]
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Engagements.ca is a blog infatuated with itsy bitsy details from engagement to wedding to honeymoon; we'll help keep you sane. After that, you're on your own.
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Jess
Sonya Procenko
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