More details....

Bridesmaids dresses?  People come in all sizes and shapes, but in the end, it is up to the bride to select the color and style of dresses to be worn by bridesmaids. If a bride chooses a certain color as a theme, the dresses should blend with that color.

Don't worry about wearing that bridesmaid's dress again.  Chances are it will go into the back of a closet and forgotten about for a few decades.  Be thankful that your bridesmaid's dress has not been included on the pages of Uglydress.com.

Shoes?  Some brides want their bridesmaids to wear all the same shoes.  Others may suggest that they wear a similar color.  Once again, it is up to the bride.

* Setting the wedding date might take a lot of negotiations.  You'll need to look at the calendar and decide what time of the year and what events are going on that might compete with your event.  First, make sure that no one in your family or collection of friends has already reserved the date.  Second, is your date the same date of a major football/baseball/basketball game? 

Some people like to schedule their weddings around a holiday to give guests an extra day.  Still, some couples have found that some banquet halls or wedding facilities are less expensive on a Friday night.

Honeymoon????

Where would the bride and groom like to go for a honeymoon?  Time and money will determine where you can go.  There are many places to visit but which location will be perfect? 

If you want to find out what other people liked and disliked about a particular hotel, city, restaurant, or cruise ship, you should check out Trip Advisor.  Trip Advisor has regular people provide comments about all aspects of a trip that you might find very helpful. The comments can let you know before you go and spend your money.

Eyes on the Bride

* From the moment the bride walks down the aisle to the end of the reception, everyone will be looking at the bride.  Of course, the bride is happy, excited, and joyful, but what image is she projecting to the guests?

Here are a few suggestions for the bride:
>  Start out the day with a good meal.  Fainting at the altar is not good.
>  Make sure that you greet your guests, with either a formal receiving line or a visit to each table.
>  Do not drink too much.  A drunk, out of control bride is not a pretty picture.
>  Smile, and be kind to every guest, even if you don't know them.  Chances are they are friends of your family or members of the groom's family.
>  Despite what you may have seen on TV, a bridezilla is not a very attractive person.  Be nice to your groom, wedding party, and parents.  They've probably have invested a lot of money and time to be with you on your special day. They will remember how you looked and how you conducted yourself on your wedding day.

Items for Favors

If you are looking for stickers for your favors, check out a company called Sticker Cutting (www.stickercutting.com). Their products are great (I've used them) and they are made in America.  You can design your own wine label or small sticker for a favor.

Sugar coated Jordan almonds are often given as favors at weddings. To ensure good luck for the bride and groom, 5 almonds are placed inside a small container or organza bag.

Whatever you choose for wedding favors, make sure that you can afford the time and money it takes to assemble them. Don't wait until the last minute to order materials because sometimes it takes several weeks for supplies to be delivered.  You might also want to enlist the help of family and friends for your favor project.

Just looking.....

It is fun to look at wedding gowns. Before you make a final decision, look at as many dresses that you can to see the style and price that will win your heart.

There are plenty of places you can visit in your city that carry wedding gowns. However, it is fun to look online at those that are offered at other locations.  Here is a list of websites that might give you some ideas about wedding gowns:

House of Brides
David's Bridal
Alfred Angelo
Kleinfeld Bridal

Of course, your budget and location will determine where you'll go to shop for that perfect dress. Good luck!

Photographers

The bride, the mother of the bride, and sometimes even the groom, need to make decisions about which vendors to hire for the big day.  If you've gone to weddings in the last few years, you've noticed that things have changed.  The styles of centerpieces, favors, lighting options, music, table decor, and photography have all evolved into something completely different from the days I was married (in the early 1970's).  There are many choices, but your budget and taste are big factors.

Today, many wedding have "photo booths" available for guests.  It is an additional expense, but worth it because it is entertaining for guests, and you usually get a record of all the poses.  There are a wide range of people offering photo booths for weddings and other celebrations.  If you have the opportunity to visit a local bridal show, you'll see many companies showcasing their services.  Talk to the photo vendors, check out prices, styles of photo booths, extra charges, etc., to find the one you prefer.  Although we hired Infinity Photobooth for our event, there are many different companies that can fit your needs.  Be sure to verify that the company is available for your date, and provide the required deposit to seal the deal.  To reserve your date with any vendor, you must put down a deposit.

If you are looking for a videographer, you might want to see if your photographer offers the service.  We highly recommend CentralOhioWeddingVideo for their professionalism, and reasonable packages. They were super to work with for the wedding.  We received excellent, professionally produced, CD's of the event.  CentralOhioWeddingVideo would be my choice again, if I had any other children that would be getting married.

Today, wedding photographers offer a huge variety of packages for the bride and groom.  Your budget should determine which photographer you choose.  A wedding photographer could cost between $2,000 (if you are lucky) to $20,000.  Hopefully, you'll be able to hire  someone with excellent skills, good recommendations,  a style you want, and a package you can afford.  I can highly recommend two superior wedding photographers located in central Ohio  ----

Banks Photography:  http://www.bankspix.com/  and
Nicole Dixon: http://www.nicoledixon.com/

Good luck!!!!

More on Favors.....

Some brides like to have favors that are original and something that no one has ever seen at another wedding.  You can be creative in your design of a favor, but you must remember that because of time and money, you could find yourself up against a wall.  When my youngest daughter was deciding about a favor, we looked at wine glasses with an imprint of the bride and groom's names.  It was suggested that we fill the wine glasses with candy (M&M's) in a small bag. When we looked for suppliers for the wine glasses, we found that various production times would put delivery of the glasses after the wedding.  Obviously, we abandoned that idea.

We finally found small glass jars that could hold the candies.  The supplying company,
Beau-coup.com, would make stickers for the lids with the names of the bride and groom, in a choice of designs.  Happily, the favors were a hit!

I can't say enough about the good people who produce the M&M's.  You can design the M&M's with images, names, etc., and choose colors that match your theme or bridesmaids dresses.  Everyone loves M&M's and they can be presented in jars, bags, or metal containers.

It would have been more expensive to fill the small jars with only M&M's.  We decided to add 2-3 Hershey kisses inside each jar to fill some space.

Once again, you must figure out how much your budget allows you to spend on favors.

Wedding Favors

When planning a wedding, you should decide ahead of time whether or not you will have favors for your guests.  A lot of the decision will depend on how much you want to spend, how many guests you will have, the location of the reception, and your willingness to buy/create the favor.

You can go online and do a search for wedding favors and receive thousands of results.  The best thing to do is research ideas and costs.  What colors do you like?  Is there a discount for the more you buy?  Will the items be delivered in plenty of time for assembly?  Do you have time to put together favors?  Will members of the family, wedding party, and/or friends help put together the favors?

Here are some places to start to gather ideas for wedding favors:

Beaucoup Wedding Favors: http://www.beau-coup.com/themed-wedding-favors.htm
Personalized M&M's:  http://www.mymms.com/
Wedding Favors:  http://www.weddingfavors.com/
Favorfavor: http://www.favorfavor.com/personalizedFavors-2.php 

Also check local stores that carry bridal accessories like Joann Fabrics, Party City,  or any local discount stores.

More later........

Food for the Wedding

In planning your reception, you must decide what kind of food you will serve at your wedding.  If you plan on having something simple, like cake, and punch, your choices are limited, and less costly. However, if you plan something bigger, like dinner, your selection and costs will change dramatically.

If you are planning a full blown reception with food, dinner, dancing, etc., you will need to plan every detail.  Here are some details you will need to decide:

Where will you hold the reception?  Reception hall?  Hotel? Backyard?  Meeting place?  Church facility?  Picnic shelter? Country club?

What type of dinner will you have?  Buffet?  Sit down dinner with servers? 

What kind of food will you serve? 

How much can you spend on food?

The Wedding Dress

Some brides like to shop for a bridal gown as soon as they become engaged.  Before you begin even glancing at wedding gowns, make sure you have a realistic budget in mind.  If you've  seen shows on cable TV, you are aware that a bride can spend tens of thousands of dollars on a dress.  If you do not have the money to buy, a $20,000 dress, don't even bother looking at the expensive ones. (Check with friends who've recently gotten married.  Ask about bridal shops, service, and if there were problems with delivery.)

How much should you spend?  Remember that you will wear the dress for one day.  Besides the actual price of the gown, you will need to pay for alterations, a veil, shoes, and any other accessories. 

* If you can do it, make an appointment to shop for the bridal gown, and avoid Saturdays, if possible.

Who should you bring with you when you shop?  Some women like to bring bridesmaids, friends, and mothers.  Keep in mind that bridal shops cannot usually accommodate large groups.  When my daughters shopped for their individual bridal gowns, only I went along because it made it a lot easier. Although we saw large groups with other brides, it seemed that it made the shopping more difficult because the bride tried to please everyone.

>>>> Can't afford an expensive gown?  There still is hope!
- Check for sales.
- Look on Craigslist, websites, etc.
- Does your mother or grandmother have a dress that could be altered for a new bride?
- Check resale/consignment shops.
- Can you rent a wedding gown for a day?

Good luck!

Money

How much money do you have available to pay for a wedding?  Do you have money saved?  Do you have to borrow it and then pay it back?  This conversation about money is extremely important and must happen before the wedding because it will determine how much you can spend on the bride's dress, invitations, postage, the florist, transportation, food, beverages, favors, etc.

When you've figured out how much you have, then you need to sit down, and write down the names of those people you want to invite.  (This can always change later.)  Take the amount of money you have available and divide it by the number of guests you wish to invite.  If you come up with $1.50/guest, you have a problem.  Hopefully, you have enough to pay for all the things that you want and need.

Vendors, those that will provide goods and services for the wedding, are in business to make money.  They will expect a deposit when you sign a contract for their services, and payments every 30-60 days before the wedding date.  Without your money, they cannot and will not provide you with anything.  Despite what you may have seen on TV on shows about bridezillas, a rude attitude won't get you anything.

If you have friends who've recently gotten married, ask them if they have some suggestions on various vendors.  This can be very helpful to your planning and budget.

Set the Date

After your daughter gets the engagement ring, serious discussions must take place about when the wedding will take place.  The bride and the groom should decide how soon they'd like to get married.  In many cities, wedding dates must be set one year in advance to reserve locations and vendors.  The bride and groom should also consult with their respective parents to make certain that there are no other family events planned for the date.

There are other considerations about setting the date.  If there are events in your city at the same time as the wedding, guests might not be able to find hotel accommodations.  Check with a community calendar, sports schedules, etc.

Try to have a certain month in mind, and a few dates.  Before you begin calling hotels, reception halls, caterers, or other venues, you must decide how many people you'll invite and how much you can spend.  To get an idea on prices, you can check around to see the various dinner packages or what caterers charge by looking on the internet.  A reception might cost you as little as a couple hundred dollars (for wedding cake and punch) to $50,000.  Every vendor will require a significant down payment, and total payment before the actual date.