Involving your Bridesmaids

Your engagement has been announced, you are in wedding bliss, the wedding date is sort of picked out and now is the time to pick your entourage.  The tradition began in ancient times, bridesmaids were used as decoys to confuse evil sprits wanting to harm the bridal couple. The role has evolved into their modern day role as the brides’ assistants.  As a bride-to-be, your “Girls” will play a key support role in planning your wedding.

A wedding is a production of many details.  As the producer and director of this big day, an organized bride with clear direction will be much appreciated.  Beyond selecting the bridesmaids’ dresses, partying at your bachelorette party, and dancing with groomsmen, there are few “bridesmaid duties” that can be delegated to your helpful bridal party.

Calling upon Venues

List a few venues for your bridesmaid to call.  Have her check on the availability of the date, space and wedding packages.  As a bride you may be interested in as many as 30 venues. This will alleviate the overwhelming pressure of countless calls.

Bridal Shows

Designate one of your bridesmaids to register you for bridal shows, special events or special offers.  Set up a “Couple’s Wedding Email” address so that all the information can be directed to your wedding inbox. 

Favor Party

Have a bridesmaid troll websites looking for trendy favor ideas.  Have her email you pictures or website links to view these products.  Have her organize a “Favor Party” if you select a product that may require personalization.

Rehearsal

Bridesmaids can execute administrative duties by creating a “Rehearsal Packet” for the bridal party.  The packet should include information such as the timeline, photo schedule, when and where they need to be. This information can be organized and emailed to the bridal party.  A copy should also be made for distribution at the ceremony rehearsal.

Out of town guests

One of your bridesmaids can organize “Things to do in our Town” information for your out of town guests. Information can include places of special interest, popular restaurants, shopping malls, transportation and contact information in case of any emergency.

Placecards

Most venues will set up your placecards on the day of the wedding.  Have a bridesmaid cross check your master guest list against the placecards.  Once they are double checked, place them in alphabetical order, and have a box ready for delivery to the venue.  Do not forget to include you master guest list.

Your bridal party is there to assist you with your wedding day.  It is an honor for them to be part of your special guests.  They understand that you may reach out to them beyond just planning bridal showers and the bachelorette party.   Go ahead, get them involved, you will be pleasantly surprised how much support they can lend to their bride and her big day.

BBFN  (Bridal Bliss for Now)

Olivia

Bridal Registries

Bridal Registries are something brides and grooms still have and are doing it more fabulously then ever. At the start of a marriage, most couples have either not lived together and/or cannot afford much. They need all the help they can get, and this has not changed and probably will not change in coming years. It is also exciting for most couples to go to a couple of stores and pick out items that they will share and remember for the rest of their lives. We have created an updated list of tips for you and your fiancé to remember when registering for your possible gifts from your loved ones. 

1. How to Tell Your Guests About Your Registry Tastefully

Telling your guests about where to shop for your wedding presents can be a pretty awkward moment. Timing and how it is told are two important factors you should remember to announce tastefully where you will be registered. In today’s society, most couples create their own wedding website for guests to look at and be updated on the upcoming nuptials. When creating your website, create a link that shows where exactly you are registered. This way you are not directly telling them and they will still find out where and when to go. Pinterest is also a popular way to place your registry items on a website for your guests to search what you are hoping for. This is also a great method, because you can directly link each item to the website where they may purchase it. Your guests will really appreciate this because of the convenience of having it right there in front of them and they can purchase this item without leaving their house. Other ways we suggest is word of mouth and/or showing your registered stores on your bridal shower invitations. We do not recommend however to tell about your wedding registry in your initial wedding invitations. Today, this would be considered improper etiquette and we encourage you to wait a while to tell your guests in a different way. However, if you would like your guests to know right away, you could post your wedding website on your invitations to sneak around this.

2. After the Engagement, When Should You Register?

We recommend that you wait around one month or longer after you announce your engagement to register. This also depends on when you are planning on getting married. If you want a short engagement, we would recommend waiting about one month or so. If a year or more engagement is something you are wanting, than we recommend waiting a couple of months, so it does not feel like you are rushing your guests and you can also ask for more up-to-date items that might not have been in stores earlier that year.

3. Shop Ahead of Time

We recommend that you go to the stores you would like to register at before the appointment to not only save you time but headaches as well. By going before your appointment, make sure you like what they have and browse their items to have an idea on what you would like to register for. Registering can be very time consuming, so by having an idea of what you would want can help save you a lot of time. Also, we already know most men hate shopping (especially for items like glassware and decor), so by cutting the time down registering, will be something he will truly appreciate.



3. Make An Appointment

Believe it or not, registering for your wedding day can be very time consuming and might last more than one day at a single store. Calling ahead of time to make an appointment will ensure you personalized attention and will guarantee that you know everything there is to know about the store and the item you are registering for. Also, when you arrive there will be some paperwork to fill out in order to ensure your guests will know that it is you they are purchasing for.



4. Make Sure to Register With More Than One Store

This is mostly important because you will be saving your guests a lot of possible travel time and stress. We recommend that you register with 3-5 stores. By doing this you can make things easier for your guests because they will be able to at least access one store since they might not live near certain other stores. By registering with one department store as well, you can almost guarantee that your guests will have one that is not too far away from them. Registering at different stores such as boutiques, shops and department stores will also allow you to have a variety of different gifts that other stores might not have in stock. All around, it may be a headache to register at more than one store, but you and your guests will appreciate the variety to choose from.

You and your fiancé are just starting off life together, so having a registry is very important and is still very relevant in today’s society. Your friends and your family want to help you two out in any ways possible, and by having a registry, they can see exactly what the two of you want and need. Having a registry not only takes the stress away from you and your fiancé, but it also takes the stress away from your guests because they know they are spending money on something you truly want and need in order to start your wonderful and happy lives together. 

BBFN (Bridal Bliss For Now),

Olivia

Costs of Your Dream Wedding

Establishing a budget for your wedding is something that you must do, and it should happen early in your planning process. It may mean a few uncomfortable conversations with your parents, but it’s best to know where you stand. There are a number of websites out there that will assist you in creating a wedding budget. This should be the starting point of your budget, feel free to reallocate dollars to those things you care most about. For some it will be décor, others will want to place emphasis on the menu and some will want to buy a designer gown, no matter what sacrifices have to be made. Remember lovely brides, for every expense you justify going “just a little over budget” you either need to reallocate those dollars, or add to your bottom line. This can add up quickly.

As an example we decided to look at a few online calculators and provide you some concrete examples of how pieces of a $25,000 budget (with 150 guests) can be allocated.

Bridal gown: Online calculators allocated an average of $1,500 to the complete cost of a bridal gown. We are going to automatically deduct $200 for alterations and foundation garments (this is a conservative estimate), This leaves us $1,300 to spend on the gown of your dreams.

• With $1,300 you can afford almost any gown at an establishment like David’s Bridal (including Vera Wang’s new line)
• In Bridal Gown Boutiques you will also find you can afford a gown by many of the designers you see in magazines, including Alfred Angelo, DaVinci, Watters and more.
• If you are looking for something from a high-end designer, and are an “average” size in a wedding gown (Size 6 – 10 regularly), be sure to check out local trunk shows and sample sales. You may find your budget stretches a bit more there.

Invitations: Online calculators allocated an average of $750 for invitations, and all stationary needs. This is inclusive of invitations, postage, programs and any other “paper” needs.

• With 150 guests I am going to estimate that you will need 100 invitations (some will be going to couples/families
• The average wedding invitations costs $.61 to mail, so we immediately need to allocate $61 in postage
• We will allocate $1/Thank You card, plus $.44 in postage per card for a total of $144 on Thank You Cards
• That leaves $545 for all other stationary needs. Let’s allocate $4 per invitation and have $145 left for all misc. stationary
• For $4 we found a wide range of options on Etsy.com, moderate selections (including some pocket folds) through Carlson Crafts, or you may be able to work with a local shop to create a custom DIY (Do-It-Yourself) invitation

Floral & Décor: Online calculators allocated an average of $1,800 for flowers and decoration.

• We had to make a few more assumptions in this budget, so we are budgeting for 4 attendants on each side and a sit down dinner reception that will require centerpieces.
• There will be delivery and set-up fees so we are estimating that initial cost at $200
• The average bridal bouquet is $175. This could be a large bouquet of wild seasonal flowers, an appropriately sized hand tied bouquet of roses, tulips, daisies, or an eloquent arrangement of orchids or calla lilies.
• You should estimate $60 - $70 per female attendant for her bouquet. This is typically a smaller version of the brides bouquet, but may it may not be. It may be flowers in a similar color family, or just a single orchid stem.
•  The ceremony will most likely need one or two large arrangements, and that total cost can be estimated at $300. These will be modest arrangements (think Daisies, carnations, and some green and babies breathe between the flowers of your choice)
• Assuming 15 dining tables at the reception this leaves approximately $55/centerpiece. For $55 you should anticipate a small floral arrangement, or possible a duo or trio of vases with submerged flowers and candles around it. Your florist should be able to work with this budget to incorporate your colors and flowers of choice.

Be sure to review the entirety of your budge before you start spending, and as always, take your time and enjoy the process!

BBFN, 

Olivia