Category Archives: planning tips

{Planning Tips} I’m Engaged! Now What? The Five Things To Do First

By Chandra Fredrick | Jun 21

Welcome to our first official Planning Tips feature (although I have done many planning tips features in the past, they just weren’t “official” per this new schedule I’m trying out). I’m really excited to do this weekly feature, because I feel like as a former bride and wedding blogger I can really help with some of the logistical, practical, planning type of things that the newly engaged have no idea about. I know I didn’t! And I’m also taking reader questions, so if you have a problem or a planning question you need help with, please leave a comment or email me and I’ll try to answer it during one of these weekly features. First up, I’m sharing the five things you should do first when you get engaged.

{photo by Jennifer Roper}

{one} set a budget
After you call your parents and friends to share the news and celebrate your newly engaged bliss, the first thing you need to do is set a budget. This will determine everything else you do, decide on, and choose. Are you paying for the wedding yourselves or will your parents contribute? How much will be contributed? The best thing you can do is figure this out before anything else, and then stick to your budget.

{two} make a guest list
Each of you should make a list of who you would like to invite, and you may want to let each of your parents do the same (especially if they are footing the bill!) Then you’ll have an anxiety attack when you add them all up to 500 people! Trust me when I say that this will not be your real guest list. You will cut cut cut until you reach a more realistic number. This can be hard when you include everyone’s friends, family members, work colleagues, and your mother-in-law’s second cousin twice removed. So set rules: no extended family (meaning parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, and first cousins only), no people from work, no kids: these are a few ways to cut the list if you are comfortable with it. And this is just a starting point to give you a good idea. You can always add or subtract as needed. REMEMBER – THE MORE PEOPLE YOU HAVE, THE MORE MONEY YOUR WEDDING WILL COST. This is why step one is so important!

{three} find a venue
Warning: for me, this was the hardest and most stressful part of wedding planning. Finding a venue that meets your budget, finding a venue that fits your guest list, finding a venue that doesn’t make you cut off the music at a ridiculously early hour, finding a venue that isn’t booked for two years… these are just a few of many frustrating parts of your venue search. My husband and I also really wanted to get married on a particular date, and this made our search hard as well. Once we let that go, the possibilites opened up for us. That’s why I didn’t say “pick a date.” It is much better to be open to any date in the month or two you prefer to be married. Once you find a venue you love in a location you love that works with your budget and guest count, the hardest part of your wedding planning is behind you!

{four} think about your wedding style
Let me repeat, THINK about your wedding style. Don’t decide on ANYTHING. You will change your mind 500 times. Also, repeat after me: I WILL NOT BUY ANYTHING YET. You will change your mind, and have wasted your money (learn from my mistakes!) Just start looking at some wedding blogs, pick up the latest Martha Stewart Weddings, look around your home (because your wedding style should reflect YOU and what YOU love), bundle things on lover.ly, create a pinterest board, and start thinking.

{five} take a breath and relax
Once you have gotten the big things out of the way, stop planning for a little bit (depending on how far away your wedding date is). Getting wrapped up in the planning can get you frustrated, scare and confuse your soon-to-be groom, and get overwhelming real quick. Having a budget, an idea of your guest list, a venue (and therefore a wedding date), and thinking about your style is enough for now. Although every city and location is different and demand for other wedding vendors is higher in some places than others, everyone should have a little breather before you move on to the rest of your planning. Enjoy being engaged. Celebrate. Go on a date and don’t talk about the wedding. It is refreshing!

While these are the first 5 things you should do, you may also want to start looking at vendors you like when you are perusing the wedding blogs. Many of us (me included) have vendor guides to help you. Plus, at the end of every wedding feature all of the vendors are listed, so if the feature is in your area and you like the photographs or florals from that wedding, you may want to consider those vendors.

So tell me, who out there is planning a wedding right now? Are you just starting or well into the planning? Do any of you disagree with these tips or have others you think should come first? Do you have any questions you need answered or areas you would like to hear tips for? Let me know!

13 Comments

{Planning Tips} Let Your Bridesmaids Be Individuals

By Chandra Fredrick | Jun 12

mismatched bridesmaids and tips on how to treat your bridesmaids

{Athena Blude / original post on Oh Lovely Day)

Do you make your bridesmaids wear a “uniform?” And no, I don’t mean like a baseball uniform or a military uniform, I mean the exact same uniform look for each bridesmaid. Are they told to wear the same dress, the same accessories, the same hairstyle? Or do you give them a little leeway in the individuality department? Remember ladies, your bridesmaids are your best friends (or are supposed to be). Don’t make them look bad or take away any chance they have of looking a bit like themselves at your wedding. Here are some options to make both you and your bridesmaids happy!

Same Dress Color, Different Styles

{Jamie Delaine / original post on Oh Lovely Day}

If you do want them to all wear the same gown, how about choosing different styles or shades? Or if you want them exactly the same, why not let them to wear whatever shoes they like (If you are afraid this will get out of hand, specify any nude shoe, or any black shoe, or any closed toe shoe in the blue color family, etc). Or let them wear their hair however they want.

Same Dresss Style, Different Shades

{Becky Hill / original post on Oh Lovely Day}

{Melody Davis / original post on Oh Lovely Day}

But my favorite bridesmaid look is to be completely mismatched! Let your girls wear a dress of their choice in the same color family, or in your palette of colors. As long as the dress isn’t completely inappropriate, it will look great, your bridesmaid will appreciate being able to choose (or possible wear something she already has or will actually wear again), and it makes for a really cool look! Plus, everyone is really looking at you, right?

Bridesmaid choice of dress in different shades

{Austin Gros via Green Wedding Shoes}

Bridesmaid choice of dress in different colors

{via People.com}

{Love Me Sailor via 100 Layer Cake}

Personally, I chose a bridesmaid dress by Lela Rose with my bridesmaids that came in 3 different styles (halter, one shoulder, and two straps) and told them to choose whichever style they thought looked best on them. Ironically, they all chose the same one! But they did wear whatever shoe, jewelry, and hair style they wanted. And they looked fab! See

{Jennifer Roper / my wedding posts seen here}

So, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you like your bridesmaids to be uniform or are you going for a mismatched look? If you want matching dresses, do you let your bridesmaids pick their own accessories and hairstyles? You should! This isn’t a cheerleading squad. But I digress… What do you think?

7 Comments

{Planning Tips} Honeymoon Registries with Honeymoon Pixie

By Chandra Fredrick | Apr 28

These days so many engaged couples already have linens, pots and pans, appliances, flatware, and all of the other things traditional wedding registries provide. And lots of couples don’t feel they need the “stuff” but have wedding guests who would like the guidance for gift giving that a registry provides. My solution? A honeymoon registry!

My husband and I had both a traditional registry (so I could get the Kitchen Aid standing mixer I always wanted, a nice set of servingware and flatware, and a full set of “grown up” glasses – the ones that match and aren’t plastic!) and a honeymoon registry. Having a honeymoon registry is one of the best wedding-related decisions we made and almost our entire Italian honeymoon was paid for!

Honeymoon Pixie provides a honeymoon registry service to engaged couples. It’s similar to a traditional wedding registry; however guests purchase fun activities for you to enjoy during your honeymoon. It’s ideal for couples who live on their own and have many of the household items needed to start a home together. Get inspired with these sample honeymoon registries. Creating your free honeymoon registry is easy with Honeymoon Pixie. Simply select one of their pre-built registries and they produce your own honeymoon registry website to share with family and friends. It’s brilliant!

If that doesn’t convince you, here’s a little inspiration from my Italian honeymoon (by way of a 26 hour layover in Paris!)

{Paris}

{Florence}

{Lucca}

(we got rained on a bit, but Lucca was still one of the most charming stops on our trip)

{Cinque Terre}

(if we look like we’re glowing, it is because we hiked as far back as you can see…)

{Pisa, San Gimignano, & Siena}

{Orvieto}

(the hubs was a bit sick in all of the “sunglasses” photos – he caught an Italian cold)

{Rome}

{Venice}

(the $150 dollar 15 minute gondola ride was totally worth it, but only because it was our honeymoon and because it was a gift from one of our wedding guests from our honeymoon registry!)

For any brides-to-be out there, I would highly recommend an Italian honeymoon! And ours would not have been possible without our honeymoon registry. So be sure to check out Honeymoon Pixie and start planning your dream honeymoon.

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