Topics - Coming Soon!

I keep reminding myself of all of the topics I want to write about and when I go to write - I forget what it was I wanted to write about.  So this post is all about upcoming topics and what to expect...

• Out of town guest bags
• Bachelorette party ideas
• Bridesmaid gifts
• Groomsmen gifts
• What to expect that day
• Honeymoon planning
• Destination weddings
• Other ways to customize and personalize your wedding

I have so much to talk about, please keep visiting my site for great ideas!  You can also visit my website for great ideas and templates from my own wedding...

www.myjennryan.com

Bridal magazines, do you need them?

Your first instinct when you get engaged is to go out and buy all of the bridal magazines you can find.  Do you really need them?  I don't think you do, maybe one or two to spark some ideas.  But really you have been dreaming of this day your whole life - don't you REALLY know what you want.  You may not be able to have Cinderella's Castle and all 500 of your closest friends and family - but you can certainly get something comparable within your budget.

I found all of the magazines to be very overwhelming and there was just too much information in there.  I would go through them, tear out the pages/ articles that interested me and then get rid of them.  One magazine I bought in error and actually loved was:  www.weddingstar.com.  They have a whole website of information and also an online catalog.  I ended up buying some things from their website and they were high quality.

Also remember that you are planning a wedding and you should be focusing your money on other things than bridal magazines.  Of course if you are really into them, that is fine too...

The Best Wedding Planner

Almost as soon as I got engaged, the advice started piling in.  The best advice I received was to go out and get the Martha Stewart wedding planner.  I was also told that whenever I found something I liked for the wedding to put it in the planner.  What an awesome idea, I ordered it online right away and then added my own extra pages and pockets and this proved to be my wedding planning bible.  By the time the wedding came closer I had to buy a bigger binder to fit all of the information I had gathered.

Amazon.com has the binder for $19.77, the official name is:  Martha Stewart's Keepsake Wedding Planner (Ring-bound).  Here is the description Amazon has on it and what it includes:  "This planner is overflowing with useful features to help you plan and organize the perfect wedding - in addition, you can preserve those memories for a lifetime.  The three ring binder makes it easier to customize it for your needs.  Inside you'll find":  

• Ten in-depth chapters with planning information, inspirational color photographs, timelines, checklists and diagrams
• Sturdy pocket folders to hold contracts, menus and notes.
• A clear plastic business-card holder and resealable plastic pouches for fabric swatches, paper samples and ribbons.
• A full-color glossary with photographs of hundreds of flowers
  

I highly recommend this planner and really found it helpful.

How do you decide on pictures?

I don't know about you but the task of trying to pick out my wedding pictures for my album has turned into a daunting task. Where do you begin, how do you decide on a small number of photos? Here is some advice...

My wedding photo package includes my album and I am able to pick out 60 pictures, anything over 60 is an additional cost. My photographer took close to 1000 pictures and I have to narrow it down to the best 60 - YIKES!!!!

She gave me some invaluable advice and it seems to have helped us start the process. She suggested this:

1. Pick out 10 pictures of us getting ready (bride at home and groom at church)
2. Then 20 pictures of the church ceremony
3. Next is 20 pictures of the family and wedding party shots
4. And last 30 pictures of the reception

My husband and I went through and have narrowed 1000 pictures down to 83. Now we have to decide if we want to pay for the additional pictures or cut back more. That of course will all depend on the price of the additional photos. It is also important to remember that you only need to pick the most special ones, today most photographers will give you the prints on disc or your proofs and you can always order more later. Your formal album should be a good representation of your day and be really your formal shots. Do you really need all those silly pictures of the reception and the congo line :)

Have fun picking out your pictures and remember I am always here to help!

Tiaras and Veils...

My dream was to have a veil like the daughter in The Godfather. The opening scene is at her wedding. Growing up Italian it was always my dream to have a big wedding and a very long veil.

I got my dress at David's Bridal and when you go there, they try to sell you everything you can imagine. They dress you up in the gown (the undergarments), the veil, the tiara, the jewelry, etc. I tried on two veils (one is what you call a fingertip veil and the second was a cathedral length veil.) The fingertip veil had details to match my dress and the cathedral length was ivory and had small pearls all over it. When I had my dress altered, I had David's Bridal combine both of my veils onto one comb and put the cathedral length veil on with Velcro so it could be removed. I did not get my tiara from David's. They were very over priced and I did not see one I liked.

While planning my wedding I spent quite a bit of time online and after going to David's I searched online for tiaras. I knew I would be able to find something. I found this website: http://www.princessbridetiaras.com/ they have veils, tiaras, jewelry and a guide of how to wear a tiara and veil. I found my tiara on their website (see above) and absolutely loved it. It was high quality, durable and so beautiful. I also saved over $100 from the ones they had at David's Bridal.

My only advice on this subject is, if you get a cathedral length veil make sure you get it so that it can be detached. It was absolutely beautiful and was great for pictures but as they day went on I was tired of people stepping on it, tripping on it or it getting caught on the pavement, etc. I was so relieved to be able to take it off. I actually took both veils off for the reception and left the tiara on.

Good luck and shop smart.

Print your own invitations?

We have turned into a digital society and have access to so many things that were previously unavailable. While planning my wedding, I wanted to cut costs by printing my own invitations. I figured I would go to Staples or one of the office supply superstores or craft stores and buy a box of invitations. Print them at home and nobody would know the difference. Right?

Wrong, I looked every where, in every store and all over the Internet. I could not find invitations to print at home that I liked. So I began the search of looking for invitations in those millions of catalogs you get in the mail. When you start to think of how much time, effort, ink, etc. it would take to print your invitations at home - save yourself the aggravation. Buy them. You don't have to buy the very expensive and fancy invitations but do yourself the favor and buy something.

I found my invitations on the Invitations by Dawn website. I loved them and they were very simple. I was able to cut expenses by only having colored ink on the invitations themselves. Everything else was blank ink (envelopes, response cards, receptions cards, etc.) I also chose a standard size invitation - be very careful because all of the beautiful square invitations will cost you more in postage. I also did not order the matching thank you cards. I took a special picture on our honeymoon and used that to order my own photo cards from Snapfish.com. On the back of the card I wrote the date the photo was taken and where it was taken so my guests would know it was from our honeymoon and an actual picture we took (See above, we had the bride and groom flip flops and make our foot prints in the sand and then took a picture of them - side by side.)

Just a quick recap and a few more fun ideas:

1. When planning a wedding, time is money - buy your invitations.


2. Limit the colored ink you use - colored ink costs more.


3. Make sure you order enough invitations the first time, it is cheaper to buy more at one time than it is to reorder.


4. Pick a standard size invitation - odd sizes cost more in postage.


5. Before you buy stamps, assemble an invitation and take it to the Post Office. They will tell you what postage you need. You will probably need the $0.51 stamps for the outside envelopes and regular stamps for the RSVP envelopes.


6. Be creative, don't buy the standard thank you cards that match your invitations. Use a picture from your honeymoon to create a personalized card that your guests will really appreciate.


7. Coupons, coupons, coupons - do not ever buy anything online unless you have a coupon code. I usually go to Google.com and do a search for coupon codes for the site I am buying from.
   

What do you do with your dress after the wedding?

My wedding dress was the prettiest dress I have ever owned. I truly felt like a princess in it and wish I could have worn it for more than one day. Let's face it though - when will you ever wear your wedding dress again? Probably never - but you spend so much money on it and it is very special to you because of what it symbolizes - well how do you preserve that?

Well, I had a great idea. I was going to take it to the local cleaners and get it cleaned, pressed and boxed - $225 later my husband freaked and asked why we couldn't try Zoots. I waited some time and I went to a local bridal consignment store in Glastonbury, CT - Brides To Be - a great place by the way... I asked what they suggested because they have dresses cleaned all of the time. She suggested the cleaners I had went to - Neet Cleaners on Main Street in Glastonbury. She told me to only get the dress cleaned - why spend the money to get it pressed when you are going to fold it up and put it in a box. Makes sense right... Then the best part of this story, she asked if I needed a box. She had extras in the back room and to buy one from the cleaners was around $100. She just saved me quite a bit of money and gave me invaluable advice...

My mom brought my dress in for me to be cleaned and then asked the owner of Neet Cleaners if she could have some acid free tissue and a bodice form so my mom could put it in the box. The owner told my mother to come in to the store with the box and she helped her box it all up and then gave my mother further advice on how to better preserve the dress. So, not only did I save a ton of money, it was still boxed professionally and I was given advice on how to make my wedding dress a family heirloom. Before I get into that I want to recap a few very important points.

1. Go to a reputable cleaners. Regardless if you are going to wear the dress again or not - it still cost a lot of money and you are paying to try and make it last.

2. Only get your dress cleaned and NOT pressed - remember why bother you are putting it in a box.

3. Go to a local bridal shop and see if they have any extra dress boxes, this could save you at least $100.

Now for the best advice... So let's face it, as much as you love your wedding dress - chances are you are not going to wear it again and as much as you would like to think your daughter may want to someday, that is not likely. Well the owner of the cleaners suggested that when I have a baby, I use the material from my wedding dress to make a christening gown. She said there was one that has been brought in to be cleaned and every time a child in the family was baptized in the gown they sowed the babies name into the inside so it truly became a family heirloom. She also suggested making a first communion gown for a daughter that you could pass on as well. What a great idea and what a way to pass your dress on and it could be a son or daughter who wears the christening gown.

For me, I just got married in November and being so sentimental I cannot think about cutting up my dress just yet. I will however keep it in mind when the day for a baby christening gown comes my way. What great ideas!