So Random | Do you know...

...the difference between escort cards and place cards?  If yes, great.  If no, that's okay hopefully this post will make it crystal clear.

Seating of guests for your wedding reception can definitely be a taxing fete'.  By making seating arrangements prior to your wedding day, you can take the guess work and headache out of what could be a potential disaster on your hands.  Just think... what if a slew of guests who did not confirm their attendance showed up and booted those guests who were kind enough to reply out of their seats?  Not a good look, huh?! Nope, not. at. all.

Escort cards display the guest's name and table number and are traditionally placed in the lobby or pre-function area of the venue before the guests enter.

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Place cards display the guest's name and is placed at the setting on the table.

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Think of it this way...escort cards "escort" the guest's to their table, while place cards "place" them at a seat.

Make sense now...great!

Boy Marries Girl | Marathon Marriage

Today is my anniversary and I'm elated.  Not just because it's an anniversary, but because of the journey.  There is a sense of accomplishment that a marathon runner feels when they have crossed the finish line.  It's that feeling that brings them back next year to do it all over again.  It's knowing that all of the sacrifice and hard work that they have put into preparing themselves for this race had meaning. An end. A glorious win.  It's hard not to go through life in sprint mode, because everything is needed like yesterday. We prepare, then conquer. But some things just don't fall very nicely into the "sprinting" category and marriage is one of them.  As you are preparing for your glorious sprint down the aisle, don't forget to prepare for the marathon which is your marriage.

As a fun note....I was a model in my past life (the one in my dreams!)

Thoughtful Thursday | The Elephant in the Room

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During wedding planning, you will interview a slew of wedding professionals that are eager to work with you and make your wildest wedding wishes come true. At some point during your vendor interview (usually inserted after you have vividly described your grand entrance to a ceremony illuminated with a thousand candles), they will ask, “What’s your budget?” And it as if there has been a shift in the universe…the energy of the conversation immediately drains. Why? Money is always a touchy subject, especially when it comes to your wedding. But why should it be? Unfortunately nothing surrounding your wedding, except for love, will come utterly and willingly free! Vendors are not asking this question to be “in your business” or disqualify you as a client. It is a realistic question that needs to be asked and answered truthfully. Reason being…they cannot offer you a service that you have no idea of how you are going to pay for it. It doesn’t matter how large or small your budget is, if you have not given serious thought and consideration to a dollar amount that you are willing to spend for this particular service its hard for that vendor to be realistic with you about how much it is going to cost you. It wastes both time and energy.

For example, I put a lot of thought into my proposals and it is hard to give you a realistic vision of what services I can provide for your wedding if I don’t know what your budget is. If I present a proposal full of carnations and you’re a peony type of bride, will you consider me a viable option as a wedding florist? Probably not, because I did not offer you the look you were going for. However, if I in turn ladle a proposal with peonies from floor to ceiling and you know there is no way on earth you can afford that, I’m still not giving you what you need. This is utterly impossible without knowing how much you are willing to spend.

Even if you don’t know the going rate for a particular service, you should have an overall budget, right? Right! Have an idea of your guest count, right? Right! These two elements are oh. so. key, since your reception will utilize majority of this budget. There are a slew of websites that have tools that can help you “guess-timate” how much you can spend in each category. However, none of these tools are dead on. Depending on the type of wedding you wish to have some budgeted areas will be increased, while others may be decreased. This is probably the best place to start if you have no clue! Still clueless? Enlist the help of a human wedding calculator, also known as a wedding planner, to offer expert advice in this area.


Online Wedding Budget Tools

The Knot

The Perfect Wedding Guide

Brides.com

Martha Stewart Weddings

So the next time a vendor asks you “What’s your budget”. You can say it with confidence and then in turn ask them “ What services can you provide within my budget?

Thoughtful Thursday | Planning A Fall 2011 Wedding?

Start scouting your local home décor and crafts stores for deals on their fall décor now. You will be amazed at the deals you find as they try to make room for the Christmas décor. My personal favorites are Pier1, HomeGoods, Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.

My only caveat, develop your design plan first.

Not everything you think is cute will compliment your OVERALL wedding design. Buying without purpose will not save you money, it will cost you major bucks and take up lots of space in your home for an entire year! If you think it’s too early to think of your entire design plan, only pick up small accent pieces for the cocktail hour or a great stand alone piece for an escort card or sign in table.

Check out these swoon-worthy images of fall decor inspiration from the talented photographer Geoff White.

Artificial pumpkins will be super easy to find this time of year!

Simple fall foliage added to a napkin, can be a great accent to any place setting!

Floral filled metal pails make great pew marker for an outdoor fall wedding!

Try filling them with acorns with a brightly colored ribbon attached!

Absolutely love the rich hues in this stunning centerpiece!

Ever considered a tall, robust wooden candlestick as a floral container?

Fall accent pieces look great on cake, sign in, and escort card tables.

Try finding a fall themed stamp to make place cards and table numbers.

Where to Start?

courtesy of Photography by Jacquelynn Buck

It's amazing how overwhelming planning a wedding can be, especially if this is the first time that you have ever been exposed to "Wedding World". No friends or sisters have set the template for you...you are suddenly the wedding pioneer with no place to start. Once engaged the typical reaction is to run and buy every wedding magazine and book on the shelf. While laden with great articles and a wealth of ideas, they can also blur your vision. My advice to all brides is to pick three to four things that are the most important to you and center everything in your wedding around those. Those might be the cake, location, and transportation for you or music, dress, and photography for someone else.



Their are a few reasons behind this method. For one, if you try to incorporate every cute thing you see in the magazine...you will end up flat broke with a wedding that has no true sense of style, just a winding road with no destination. Two, it will reduce indecisiveness leading to less stress. Three, you are able to alter your budget and still get the things you want if you budget those first. Four, it will give your wedding a sense of direction, which will ultimately lead to a well thought out execution of your style.



I was an easy going bride. The alter-ego of Bridezilla. I had four things that were important to me...my bridesmaids, food, music, and photography. I was so open to color, no structured plan here. I decided on the color scheme and theme for my wedding, based on the bridesmaid's dresses. I planned a bridesmaid's outing to a local bridal salon. Everyone picked out dresses in colors and styles that they were most likely to wear. { I hadn't even picked out my dress yet!} And of course everyone picked different styles and colors that flattered them the most, however their was one style that looked good on everyone's body. The great empire waist dress. We ended up going with a long cream chiffon empire waist dress with braided waist and strap adornments in bronze. Everyone looked like a goddess, so my theme was roman-inspired.



See how easy that was!

A blogger's beginning....again!

(not related, but love the pic!)

I have been missing in action for quite sometime. Reinventing my brand and evolving into a new generation of wedding event design and decor. So in a sense, I guess you can think of it as a rebirth. Hence, the title of the post...a blogger's beginning. When I first started this blog, that was my title. Since I am kind of starting over, I thought that I would use the same title.

It's definitely a challenge to post on a daily basis. You become engulfed in the mundane details that accompany the fact that you are now an adult. At the same time you begin mastering the craft that is multi-tasking. But essentially that is what planning a wedding is, while having a full-time job. I am soooo glad that's over! Life doesn't automatically stop (nor slow down!) when you say that you are getting married. So the best thing is to prioritize. Do a little here and a little there. Have a focused plan to accomplish on a daily basis. If you are organized, you can marry the best of both worlds (no pun intended). If not, hire a planner!

I think I got off topic here, but at the same time provided advice. I hope you find that helpful, as well as the future posts ahead.