Looking for a super cute vintage monogram to show off your new last name initial? Look no further than The Wedding Chicks. Just enter your choice of colors, your initial, your wedding date, and ta-da, your custom monogram will be mailed directly to you immediately! Here’s one that I made for myself to test the capability.
Check out all the cute ways you can use your new monogram!
Most of the time, as soon as a bouquet is delivered, women pick out the baby’s breath and toss it in the trash. But what if you were to make an entire bouquet out of baby’s breath? Seems simple. And as I imagine it, I don’t know what to think. But when I saw this wedding shown from JL Designs, I had to agree — this is unexpected loveliness. Who knew a bunch of baby’s breath could be so beautiful?! Love it or not? You tell me.
I was at a wedding this past weekend and all the bridal party was discussing (besides the beautiful bride of course!) was that they couldn’t wait for Mad Men to return! So when I came across this DIY Save the Date inspired by Mad Men over at The Wedding Chicks, I couldn’t resist blogging about it! With plenty of colors to choose from, you’ll definitely be able to find the right mix for your own special day!
(from Bridal Association of America)
Even the brightest, most on-top-of bride or groom can make mistakes during the planning of there wedding. Below are the 10 things you should keep an eye on before saying I do.
1. Blowing off your budget.
It costs a lot of money to throw a wedding. Excited brides start booking vendors and making purchases without having a real budget and then are shocked to discover they’ve already spent all of their money (or parents’ money) and don’t yet have half the things they need. If you bounce checks or don’t have the money to pay your deposits or make your final payments on the wedding day, your wedding will not happen. Trust us — the band is not going to play all night if you don’t pay. Planning a wedding is serious business. Make a budget and keep track of your expenditures so you won’t be walking naked down the aisle.
2. Messing up the marriage license.
There are so many rules surrounding marriage licenses that brides are always botching up this one. For instance, if you get your license 61 days before your wedding in Pennsylvania, you won’t be able to legally marry on your wedding day because a license is valid there for only 60 days. Go to obtain your license the day before your wedding, and you may not get it in time because some states have a three-day waiting period. A common mess-up for those marrying for a second time is not bringing official divorce papers when you go to get the certificate. Don’t let this happen to you — search for marriage license information far in advance
3. Ordering your wedding gown too late.
If your heart is set on a couture gown, be sure to order by the six-month mark since your dress will be custom-made and, many times, made overseas. In addition, most off-the-rack dresses will require alterations, so make certain that you have enough time to get the gown fitted properly. You’ll want to leave plenty of time for shipping and for your fittings. The same goes for the bridesmaid dresses.
4. Booking hotel rooms too late.
Brides often leave blocking out hotel rooms for out-of-town guests until the last minute. If you’re marrying during a busy time and you don’t investigate hotel availability in advance, you can end up with literally not a single room for your guests to stay. Your wedding will go on — but no one will be able attend. Reserve rooms as early as possible. Begin your research up to year in advance, and make sure your block is booked at the eight-month mark. Be sure to include hotel information in your save-the-date cards or invitations. This doesn’t mean you will have to pay for the rooms, you are just setting them aside — your guests can put down their credit cards when they call to book their rooms.
5. Inviting too many guests.
Make sure your guest list and your reception site capacity match up numbers-wise. You can’t invite 400 people assuming only 250 will accept, because if you end up with 300 acceptances, you may have to turn 50 guests away at the door. Most reception sites can’t just add 10 more tables — fire laws limit the maximum number of people allowed in any room at one time. Analyze your guest list from the get-go, assume 80% will respond yes, and limit your guest list accordingly.
6. Partaking in last-minute beauty treatments and crash diets.
Many brides think that scheduling a facial the day before the wedding will leave their skin looking angelic on their big days. Thinking of tanning the day before your wedding? Think again: you may end up with blisters instead of sun-kissed skin. Last-minute beauty treatments can lead to breakouts, mistakes or, even worse, serious infections. Same goes for crash dieting in the weeks leading up to the wedding — after all those gown fittings, your dress may not fit! Stick to a long-term beauty regimen with lots of rest, a good diet, and safe over-the-counter beauty products like sunless tanners. Save the heavy-duty beauty treatments for at least two weeks before the big day or you could risk ruining all the hard work you’ve done to make your wedding — and your photos — perfect (never mind putting your health and happiness at risk for the most important day of your life)!
7. Underpaying invitation postage.
You’d be surprised how many brides just stick a regular stamp on their invites and drop the whole batch into a mailbox. All but a few wedding invitations require additional postage — sometimes up to .55 cents. The postal service will not take pity on you — your invites will be returned, rubber-stamped with that ugly “insufficient postage” sign, and it will take at least three weeks (never mind the additional $$) to get those invitations back out the door. Get one invitation weighed — at the post office — before purchasing your stamps. Note: square invitations require additional postage not only because of the weight but the shape — so don’t try to figure this out by yourself.
8. Ignoring religious restrictions.
Inappropriate attire for the church or temple, or skipping the pre-canae, may keep your officiant from marrying you when the big day comes around. Take your religious restrictions seriously. To avoid any day-of disasters, be sure to meet with your officiant within one month of getting engaged. Your house of worship may perform ceremonies only on specific days, so settle on a date with your clergyman before you start to book vendors and put down deposits. Be sure to ask him or her about religious rules, such as: Do you need to complete a pre-cana course? Can you write your own vows? Do you need to cover your shoulders? Is secular music permitted?
9. Trying to go it alone.
If you are a bride lucky enough to have been offered help by friends or family members, by all means take it! Too many brides try to do it all — and this isn’t a good idea. Delegate and use all the resources that are available to you (The Knot magazines and books, not to mention our website, offer lots of help and information on different topics.) When people offer to assist — like your mom, your future mother-in-law, or your best friend — find something for them to do, like researching a vendor or addressing invitations. On that note, it’s important to keep in mind that these volunteers are not hired help — be sure that you accept their contributions graciously.
10. Forgetting to focus on what’s important.
Keep in mind that you are getting married and starting a life together, not just planning a wedding. Brides, be good to your grooms. And grooms, be good to your brides! Some tension between the two of you (and among members of your family) is inevitable due to the sticky topics that weddings stir up, but don’t ever let things get out of control. Remember why you decided to take this leap in the first place!
Bonus Tip: Band Vs. DJ
As a general rule, DJs cost less. The songs that they play will sound exactly as you remember them. Also, a DJ can be more versatile — they can go from pop songs right into country, disco, or big band without any problem. If your reception area is on the small side, a DJ may be better than a band because there equipment will take up less room than a band. If the need arises for them to take a break, say for a restroom call, etc. (they, do not as a rule, take breaks!) there won’t be a break in the music! they just pop in a mix CD or program there decks and the party continues without a pause.
A band is very likely to be more expensive — as a rule because there are more people to pay!
You probably will not get to hear every song you want, because most bands may not know everything off the tops of their heads.
Songs will sound different than you remember them, because they are the band’s interpretation.
A band will need to take breaks, so there will be pauses in the action. But as some say, there’s nothing like live music!
If your decision is to go with a band, consider a DJ too! Many have done this on occasion serving as the MC and filling in music during band breaks.
Finding the PERFECT bridal shoe can be a pain. Depending on your personality, you might want to match your dress, you might want to wear hot pink shoes that pop, or you might want to bling it out. Regardless, it’s hard to find the ones you’ve been dreaming of.. especially if you’re on any type of budget. Well, here’s a solution so simple than even the non-craftiest bride can do: Add rhinestones to your own shoes!
From plain
To Sassy!
After dating my boyfriend (now husband) for 3 months or so, I went with him to his cousin’s wedding, and of course met the ENTIRE family. While waiting for the bride to make her way to the aisle, my future mother-in-law said, “I don’t even know why girls wear white these days. It means nothing.” I had no idea what to say. I think I laughed it off. A plethora of thoughts crossed my mind: is she serious? does she think this bride is unpure? Is she hinting that she thinks I am unpure? I then sat, watching a beautiful couple tie their vows, while I silently wondered what the heck does this mean?!? That got me thinking of wedding superstitions and their genesis. If the white dress traditionally is meant to symbolize purity, where do all of the other wedding traditions get their roots? I did a little digging, and here’s what I found out {my real-life items listed after the description}.
- Something Old: The bride is supposed to wear something old as a sign that even though the wedding symbolizes a new beginning, the couple is not forsaking their friends and family even as they step into a new life together {my deceased paternal grandmother’s pearls were draped on my wedding bouquet}.
- Something New: The bride should wear/have something new to show a symbolic reference to the new life she is embarking upon, which will bring her health, happiness, and success {practically everything I was wearing was new}.
- Something Borrowed: The bride and her family reaffirm their love & affection with each other with this tradition. By borrowing from her family (or close friends), the bride shows she is close to them, and by returning what she borrowed, she wishes them luck {my maternal grandmother’s rose pin tucked into my bouquet}.
- Something Blue: Wearing something blue is meant to be a throwback to ancient times when the color represented fidelity and consistency. The bride is thus reinforcing her commitment, symbolically, to the groom {Blue Sapphire ring — lucky me, my hubby gave it to me as a wedding gift}.
- The groom’s bout matches the bridal bouquet: By the groom wearing a flower from the bridal bouquet, he is showing that his bride is his lady and declaring his love for her. This is from an old custom when knights roamed England and wore their ladies’ colors to show their love for them {my groom wore a burgandy callalily which matched my bouquet}.
and finally…. the white wedding gown has 2 stories of its creation
- White wedding gowns: 1) White is the color that represents purity, to show that the bride is a virgin. A bride is never supposed to wear green since that is the color that shows “loose morals” — women who rolled around in the grass with various men would get green grass stains on her dress. 2) In the olden days, white linens were very costly. Women didn’t tend to wear white dresses because they would often get ruined very quickly and thus would have to be thrown away, resulting in a waste of money. So, by wearing a white gown, the bride’s family was declaring that they come from high society and can afford a dress to only be worn once {ivory is also an accepted color and much more common these days — and was worn by yours truly}.
Any other traditions I left out? Feel free to let me know!
Brides.com has 5 DIY Winter Wedding Hairstyles that are great! There’s one I am particularly fond of — I just passed it along to my bridesmaids in case they are inspired, or love it as much as I do!
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