Saving Money for Your Bridesmaids

You’ve asked your closest friends to be your bridesmaids. You have picked out the perfect dress you want them to wear BUT it will cost them an arm and a leg to purchase.

You know you don’t want them to stress over the money for the dress just to be in your wedding. Some may even bow out because they just can’t afford to purchase a dress that they may wear only one time.

When choosing your bridesmaids dresses, consider their budgets, too. Just as you want to save money on your wedding, you can also ensure your bridesmaids don’t go broke wearing that expensive dress.

How can you still have them wear a beautiful and elegant dress for your wedding but not have them go in debt?

There are plenty of retailers out there that sell beautiful dresses/gowns off the rack or online that would be perfect for your wedding. Places such as, J. Crew and Chadwick’s as well as department stores, such as JC Penneys, Macy’s, Nordstrom’s, etc. Most of them have formal wear sections in their catalogs, online or at the stores themselves. They are usually very affordable (look for sales) and come in styles that can easily be worn again.

When my daughter was getting married almost six years ago, we looked through the Chadwick’s catalog, JC Penney’s and Macy’s where she found the perfect dress, in the color and sizes she needed and they were drastically reduced for sale.

So, start thinking “outside the box” and don’t think you can only get your bridesmaids dresses at bridal shops where they mark them up so high just because they are for a “wedding.” You do have choices now. Go shopping and see what you can find so your bridesmaids won’t have to “break the bank” for your wedding.

Flowers, flowers and flowers

What would a wedding be without flowers? Pretty dull, I'd say. I love flowers. I love their beauty and fragrance. My favorite flowers right now are peonies and hydrangeas. Flowers can really add to the decor of your wedding and reception.

Since my mind was on flowers for some reason, I thought I would post some tips for when it's time for you to visit florist shops in preparation for your wedding or other event.

To make your visit to the florist the most productive, do some preparation ahead of time. Here are my suggested tips:

1. Look through books and magazines for flowers, bouquets, table centerpieces and decorations. Bring in pictures of the items that you like. Many times it is easier to show the florist what you like versus trying to explain it.

2. Bring pictures of your gown and your bridesmaid dresses. Then, your florist can better recommend styles of bouquets that will compliment the gowns.

3. If you have fabric swatches for the bridesmaid dresses, bring them, too! There are so many shades of just pink -- so a swatch can really help the florist in selecting the right flowers.

4. If you don't know a lot about flowers... do some research ahead of time. You can surf the web, buy a book or visit a "bucket shop" - they're located in the larger cities or high traffic areas. These flower stands have many buckets of flowers with the name and price labeled on each bucket. This is a great way to become familiar with the different varieties of flowers and how much they cost.

5. If you haven't visited the ceremony or reception site recently, you may want to take another look. It will help you to visualize how large and how many arrangements you'll need.

6. Try to choose flowers that are in season. These will be less expensive than say, tulips in the winter. Listed below are flowers by season:

Year-round

Calla lily
Carnation
Freesia
Gardenia
Lily
Orchid
Ranunculus
Rose
Stephanotis

spring

Cherry blossom
Daffodil
Dogwood
Forsythia
Hellebore
Hyacinth
Lilac
Lily-of-the-valley
Muscari
Peony
Quince
Sweet peas
Tulip
Viburnum

summer

Astilbe
Cosmos
Dahlia
Daisy
Delphinium
Garden rose
Gladiolus
Hollyhock
Lady’s mantle
Larkspur
Marigold
Scabiosa
Snapdragon
Violet
Zinnia

fall

Autumn leaves
Chrysanthemum
Dahlia
Hydrangea
Seasonal berries
Sunflower

winter

Amaryllis
Anemone
Evergreen
Forced bulbs
Paper-whites
Poinsettia

Have fun shopping and smelling the sweet aroma of flowers.

Cake Topper

I know it’s been awhile since I have blogged. I’m still trying to get used to this blogging thing.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce a new type of cake topper. Maybe not so new, but unique. You have probably seen other types of monogram cake toppers, but these are absolutely gorgeous. Each handcrafted original monogrammed initial is beautifully sculpted and set with genuine Swarovski crystals. They have a gleaming high-polished finish and are lead-free. The stem is removable so you will be able to use them over and over again after the wedding.

They take about 3-4 weeks to ship. If you are interested in ordering a unique monogrammed cake topper for your wedding or other event, please contact me and I’ll be glad to help.

Colin Cowie Responds!

Wow! I am psyched! Colin Cowie actually saw my blog (see below) talking about his book and he sent me an e-mail in response. Here is what he said:

"I saw your comments about my book on your blog and I wanted to say
thanks. It was very nice of you to say those things and I am glad
that I was able to inspire you in your business. I was just looking
at your site and I am impressed. I wish you the best of luck with
your business and thanks again for the kind words."

I can't believe he actually responded. Now, that's a classy gentleman.

Colin Cowie Rocks!

I love Colin Cowie. If you have never heard of him, he has helped celebrities and other famous (and very wealthy) people plan their weddings. He is THE celebrity wedding planner IMHO. He is the epitome of elegance. I just purchased his latest book, “Colin Cowie’s Extraordinary Weddings: From a Glimmer of an Idea to a Legendary Event.” (Okay, I know. I’m shamelessly plugging his book and he probably doesn’t even know it. Colin, call me, okay?)

Wow! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all could afford weddings like he plans? “But, I can’t afford a celebrity-style wedding,” you say. That’s okay. You don’t have to, but perhaps you can use some of Colin’s ideas or ideas from other books, etc. and downsize it to fit your needs and budget. Quoting from Colin’s book, he says, “The examples may be lavish, but readers will surely find ideas here that they can incorporate into their own celebrations…” Even if you don’t have mega-thousands to spend on your wedding, you can still glean some great ideas from this book. He certainly inspires me to help brides create beautiful weddings and receptions.

I just love seeing all the ways he creates what the couples want. They just give them their ideas and away he runs! He would be one person I would love to meet one day. Okay ‘nuf said about Colin. I just had to write something about him. It’s time to get back to reading and looking at the beautiful pictures in his book…

Meet my new granddaughter

It's a good thing we had the baby shower when we did because my granddaughter decided to arrive 18 days early!

My daughter called at 12:50am Tuesday morning with the news that her water had broken. Her doctor said wait about an hour and then come to the hospital. This gave me time to take a quick shower and get to the hospital.

After only a little over four hours of labor, my granddaughter was born at 5:58am on Tuesday, February 27. She weighed in at 6lbs 13oz and is 18.5" long. I was able to be in the delivery room with her helping to hold her legs, along with her husband and other grandmother, and encourage her to push when it was time. Wow! What a miracle birth is. It was so exciting to see my granddaughter born. It was amazing!

Now, the fun begins - spoiling her to death!

Wedding Night Stories

"What? Wedding night stories?" you ask. "But, I'm not married yet. How can I have a wedding night story?"

That's okay. I'm not looking for wedding night stories from you. But, you certainly have friends and family that are married. That's where you can help.

As a wedding planner, I always wonder in what unique ways the bride and groom will celebrate their wedding night. To me, the wedding night should be the most special, memorable, and romantic evening of your married life and should be just as carefully planned as the wedding itself. So, one day I was thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great to have a resource out there for couples to get great ideas on how to plan for their wedding night?” That’s when the idea came about to put together real-life stories into a book that could be shared with others.

Some couples probably don’t even think that far ahead when they are so busy planning for their wedding. But, I think it’s just as important to really make that first night together as husband and wife as special as it can be. You’ll never have that night to do over again. Sure, you’ll have plenty of romantic evenings together after you’re married, but there is nothing like that first night. It’s just like having that first kiss, that first dance, etc.

Therefore, I am currently in the process of researching stories about how couples made their wedding night special and romantic. I want to know the creative ways couples made their first night together as husband and wife unique and memorable.

I want to know such things as where they spent their wedding night. Was it a luxurious hotel suite, a bed and breakfast or in their new home? What did they do? Did her husband carry her over the threshold? Did they use candles? Did they have wine, champagne, or something else? Rose petals tossed around? Did they have romantic music playing in the background? Did something funny happen? Those are the kinds of things I’m looking for.

With these real-life stories, I hope to help future brides and grooms get ideas on how to make their night special, romantic and something they will remember and cherish forever.

If you think your friends or family would be interested in submitting their wedding night story, please have them send me an e-mail through my Web site at: www.smoothweddings.com and I will send them more details.

Maybe their story will help inspire you to plan the most romantic and memorable night of your life.