“Every year, there are wonderful new ideas which take hold in the world of weddings. As one trend fades from memory, another is sure to rise to take its place just as quickly. Being up to date on the latest trends is a great way to get inspiration when planning your own wedding. Get current on the top wedding reception trends with this article.”

Two Wedding Gowns Are Better Than One

One of the hottest emerging reception trends over the last few years is not about the cake or the decorations, but about the bride herself. More and more brides are choosing to change their attire between the ceremony and reception. Typically, the bridal gown for the ceremony will be more traditional and grand, while the second gown for the reception is far less cumbersome. Brides will opt for the quick-change act for several reasons. Chief among them is the desire to get two fabulous dresses instead of just one! As having a second wedding for the reception has become a much more common occurrence, it seems like less of an extravagance to select a pair of dresses for the wedding. For many women it allows them to express two very different sides of their personality: the traditionalist who wants to wear a “princess” dress when her father escorts her down the aisle, and the modern woman who wants to show off her sexy side in a fabulous party dress. The other main reason why a bride would opt to change her attire is to be more comfortable at the reception. Brides today have the expectation that they will dance the night away at their wedding receptions, something which can be hindered by a heavy bridal gown. Rather than compromise by choosing a less lavish ceremony gown or sitting out a lot of the dancing, brides will frequently “slip into something more comfortable” after the formal photographs are done. This also gives the bride a chance to make a splash when she and her husband make their grand entrance into the wedding reception, thus indulging their diva side, for just one day. Typically, the second wedding gown is slender or short, and will usually be accessorized with a spectacular pair of shoes and dazzling crystal (the accessories will also be changed to coordinate with the second gown).

Happy Beginnings,

Mike

If you are selected to be your friend’s best man in his wedding, you have several important responsibilities to fulfill. The first is to plan a bachelor’s party for your buddy. When most people hear “bachelor party,” they think keg stands and g-strings.

In today’s article, we discuss the honorable origins of the bachelor party and how you can throw one with real class for your bud.

Pick an Activity

The first step in planning a bachelor party is to choose an activity to center the party around. Just because your fiesta won’t involve stuffing dollar bills into g-strings, doesn’t mean that it has to be a boring affair. There are plenty of other activities that will unleash your testosterone and get your heart pumping. Here are just a few ideas:

• Rent jet skis for a day on  the water
• Go snow skiing or snowboarding
• Attend a professional or  collegiate sporting event
• Attend a boxing or MMA match
• Spend the day golfing
• Take a deep sea fishing trip, charter a fishing boat, or take a lesson in fly fishing
• Plan a game of a football,basketball, soccer, or bowling
• Create a casino night,complete with a paid dealer
• Go paintballing

Take a camping or backpacking trip

Tips:

• Don’t do anything insanely dangerous. You want to have fun, but you don’t want to risk breaking one of the groom’s limbs. He’ll find it difficult to go scuba diving on his      honeymoon with a cast on his leg.

• It’s nice to surprise your friend with what he’ll be doing at his party, but be sure to cater to his personality and interests.

• Consider the relative budgets of your friends. You don’t want some of the groom’s friends to skip the party because they can’t afford to come.

• After you choose an activity  for the bachelor’s party, plan for a meal to follow it. If it’s warm, a  backyard cookout makes an excellent choice. If its cooler or you simply desire something more formal, rent a room at your friend’s favorite  restaurant.

• At the dinner, encourage your friends to make funny roasts and poignant toasts. They may also wish to impart words of wisdom to the groom. If you have some advice, or want to      say things that won’t be included in your upcoming best man’s speech, feel free to      contribute to the toasting.

Choose a Date

There are several considerations to take into account when planning the date of the party. While it is tempting to have the party the night before the wedding when all the guests are in town, this is not an appropriate choice. The groom needs to be sharp for the next day’s ceremony, not all tuckered out. Also, a rehearsal dinner is often planned for the same night and would conflict with your party. So choose a date several weeks before the wedding. If many of the groom’s friends live out-of-state, you may want to push it back even further, so they need not twice make the same trip in a short period of time.

Send Out the Invitations

Invite all the men in the wedding party and all of the groom’s good friends and male relatives with whom he is close.

Send out the invitations about three weeks before the party. The invitations should match the party’s level of formality. If the party is to be formal, send quality, written invitations through the mail. If the party is going to be a more casual affair, a phone call or email will do. If the party will involve an activity such as the ones mentioned above, include information such as the cost, meeting place and time, maps, etc.

Each invitee should be responsible for paying for the cost of himself and chipping into the cost for the groom. In the invitation, include a respectful request for a check to be sent to you for the appropriate amount.

Happy Beginnings,

Mike

Want to cut down on your wedding costs, but have nightmares about a roomful of guests picking at iceberg lettuce for dinner? Brides- and grooms-to-be, take comfort: Trimming wedding costs doesn’t have to mean foregoing the Plaza suite in favor of Grandma’s spare attic bedroom. Wedding consultants around the country told us that there are plenty of ways to nip and tuck the fat in your wedding budget without your family and friends being any the wiser.

1. Avoid the High Season

In case you haven’t noticed, the majority of weddings take place from May through October. So you could save across the board on limos, photographers and caterers, etc., by getting married during one of the quieter months, such as January or March…

2. Bond with Other Brides

We suggest networking with other brides to divvy up the decorating costs at catering halls. “Talk to the bride who is getting married immediately before or after to see if you have similar ideas for decorations, or share a tent??”If so, you might be able to split the cost.”

3. Cut the Cake

Another unnecessary reception budget-breaker: overloading on sweets. “I think people generally overspend on desserts,” After a long evening of eating, drinking and dancing, many guests will forego dessert altogether. For smaller weddings, we recommend using a faux bottom for the lower two tiers of the bridal cake: “It will look good for the pictures, and that’s really what matters,”

And for bigger weddings, here’s another trick: Choose a smaller version of your dream wedding cake and then get sheet cake (in the same flavor as the wedding cake) that can be cut in back and served to guests. They’ll never notice!

4. Greens Are Good

And how many of the guests know what kind of flowers are in season at any given time of year? “Stay with what’s in season, use more greens and fewer blooms,” “No one will ever notice.” Roses are always available, but brides should steer clear of floral-intensive holidays such as Mother’s Day, when high demand will drive up costs.  Don’t feel the need to adorn the church with fresh flowers for the ceremony. “People expect churches to be less ornate, and they’ll spend a lot more time at the reception,”

5. Dress down the Gown

Assuming that no one at the wedding will be checking out the tags on your bridal gown, the dress can be another good place to economize. Tate says that cheaper fabrics are almost always available for every dress design, and that using a lower-end satin can cut the cost by almost two-thirds. Sample sales and outlet stores are other good bets, and remember, the gown doesn’t need to fit like a glove right away: having a too-large dress fitted will still be cheaper than buying one that’s custom-made. How about this trick  ” Go to a bridal shop and picked out one of their bridesmaid dresses, ordered it in white, and voila simple wedding dress,”

6. Do Yourself a Favor

According to Markel, the average number of wedding guests is 157, which means that overspending on seemingly inexpensive items such as invites and party favors can add up to a big hit on your checkbook. “If you use candy kisses in the favor instead of truffles, you’ll save about $3 per bag,” We recommend letting place cards double as favors, or incorporating the favors into a creative table centerpiece of chocolates or candles. One of our brides used assortments of giant, colorful seashells for her centerpieces; guests loved it. We’ve even seen a bride put a small bowl filled with smooth rocks and a live goldfish on each table when she got married. The guests were given plastic bags to take the fish home.

7. Save a Tree

Most brides end up overshooting their initial budget by about 15%; we encourage our couples to think twice before spending hundreds of dollars on a seven-piece hand-engraved invite. The invitation liner is completely unnecessary, Keep it to a single sheet, this saves on the costs of both paper and postage.

No. 1 must-do savings tip is hire a wedding consultant. In theory, the consultant will do all the legwork for you, shop around for the best bargains, and use their network of vendors to get insider deals…

“Never lose focus of the marriage while planning your wedding.”

Mike

Want to cut down on your wedding costs, but have nightmares about a roomful of guests picking at iceberg lettuce for dinner? Brides- and grooms-to-be, take comfort: Trimming wedding costs doesn’t have to mean foregoing the Plaza suite in favor of Grandma’s spare attic bedroom. Wedding consultants around the country told us that there are plenty of ways to nip and tuck the fat in your wedding budget without your family and friends being any the wiser.

1. Avoid the High Season

In case you haven’t noticed, the majority of weddings take place from May through October. So you could save across the board on limos, photographers and caterers, etc., by getting married during one of the quieter months, such as January or March…

2. Bond with Other Brides

We suggest networking with other brides to divvy up the decorating costs at catering halls. “Talk to the bride who is getting married immediately before or after to see if you have similar ideas for decorations, or share a tent??”If so, you might be able to split the cost.”

3. Cut the Cake

Another unnecessary reception budget-breaker: overloading on sweets. “I think people generally overspend on desserts,” After a long evening of eating, drinking and dancing, many guests will forego dessert altogether. For smaller weddings, we recommend using a faux bottom for the lower two tiers of the bridal cake: “It will look good for the pictures, and that’s really what matters,”

And for bigger weddings, here’s another trick: Choose a smaller version of your dream wedding cake and then get sheet cake (in the same flavor as the wedding cake) that can be cut in back and served to guests. They’ll never notice!

4. Greens Are Good

And how many of the guests know what kind of flowers are in season at any given time of year? “Stay with what’s in season, use more greens and fewer blooms,” “No one will ever notice.” Roses are always available, but brides should steer clear of floral-intensive holidays such as Mother’s Day, when high demand will drive up costs.  Don’t feel the need to adorn the church with fresh flowers for the ceremony. “People expect churches to be less ornate, and they’ll spend a lot more time at the reception,”

5. Dress down the Gown

Assuming that no one at the wedding will be checking out the tags on your bridal gown, the dress can be another good place to economize. Tate says that cheaper fabrics are almost always available for every dress design, and that using a lower-end satin can cut the cost by almost two-thirds. Sample sales and outlet stores are other good bets, and remember, the gown doesn’t need to fit like a glove right away: having a too-large dress fitted will still be cheaper than buying one that’s custom-made. How about this trick  ” Go to a bridal shop and picked out one of their bridesmaid dresses, ordered it in white, and voila simple wedding dress,”

6. Do Yourself a Favor

According to Markel, the average number of wedding guests is 157, which means that overspending on seemingly inexpensive items such as invites and party favors can add up to a big hit on your checkbook. “If you use candy kisses in the favor instead of truffles, you’ll save about $3 per bag,” We recommend letting place cards double as favors, or incorporating the favors into a creative table centerpiece of chocolates or candles. One of our brides used assortments of giant, colorful seashells for her centerpieces; guests loved it. We’ve even seen a bride put a small bowl filled with smooth rocks and a live goldfish on each table when she got married. The guests were given plastic bags to take the fish home.

7. Save a Tree

Most brides end up overshooting their initial budget by about 15%; we encourage our couples to think twice before spending hundreds of dollars on a seven-piece hand-engraved invite. The invitation liner is completely unnecessary, Keep it to a single sheet, this saves on the costs of both paper and postage.

No. 1 must-do savings tip is hire a wedding consultant. In theory, the consultant will do all the legwork for you, shop around for the best bargains, and use their network of vendors to get insider deals…

Happy Beginnings,

Mike