Real Life Wedding Planning

Whether planning a wedding at a place of worship or a home, one of the wedding decor details you can add is front door decoration to welcome your guests.  Your florist can make an arrangement for you that blends with the colors of your wedding, many times it is a wreath of your wedding flowers.

I recently found another idea from the March 2009 issue of Traditional Home magazine.  Their article on decorating a home for a Quinceanera included a rose-filled crown door decoration made by the company Door Couture.  The company designs memorable door decorations for special occasions.  I captured photos from their website, www.doorcouture.com, below.  Their site shows additional designs. You might consider having a door decoration designed to go with the theme of your wedding or you could even design one yourself.

To me, nothing can replace a great wedding planner.  But if you don’t want to hire one or are just trying to record all of the details of your wedding planning in one place, you might want to take a look at some of the wedding planning software available to you.  TopTenREVIEWS, Inc., a company that reviews and compares different types of technology, recently published their ratings, reviews and side-by-side comparison charts of wedding planning software from ten different companies.  This software is aimed at helping make it easier for you, the bride, to keep track of all of the details of your wedding without the using binders full of information, swatches and photographs.

The comparison chart can be found on their site at http://wedding-planning-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ The software is affordable, ranging from $29.95 to $66.99.  If you are interested in purchasing, look not only at the ratings and prices but also the features included in the software.  Decide what features are most important to you before you purchase because they don’t all have the same features.

Why you might NOT want to invest:

• You have to input information into the software and take the time to keep it up-to-date for it to be useful to you.  It’s like using financial software, such as Quicken, if you don’t input information, it won’t help you.

• You will still need a binder or at least a folder to keep copies of agreements and contracts you make with vendors.

• You need to be comfortable using a computer.  Many people prefer working with written notes and hard copies of information.

I use planning software in conjunction with forms I’ve created but I also keep binders full of contracts, swatches and photos.  Decide what system will keep you organized while being easy for you to maintain.

2006 Movie "Marie Antoinette"

Find inspiration for your wedding theme from the movies.  Marie Antoinette, the 2006 movie starring Kirsten Dunst, has giving many brides ideas for their colors, decor and floral design.  In fact, Golden Chic Events and Consulting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is holding a bridal exposition, Marie Antoinette: Let Them Eat Cake, February 28, 2009, based on this theme.  The event will feature wedding vendors, photographers, florists, among others, a bridal fashion show and a meal.  Find out more about it at their website http://goldenchicevents.com/innerindex.php?link=marie_antoinette_event

If you can’t make it to the expo in Milwaukee, here are some ideas on how to incorporate the Marie Antoinette theme into you wedding:

Colors - soft pinks, peaches, pearl, raspberry with touches of metallic gold

Flowers – roses in a variety of pink tones, peonies and hydrangeas

Textures – extravagant-looking table linens in fabrics are or look like silk, taffeta and brocade, add velvet if your wedding is in the cooler months

Music – if you follow the music from the movie, everything from classical music by Antonio Vivaldi to 1980s new wave

Favors – fans, boxes of petit fours, small candies in fancy boxes, or masquerade masks

Drinks – use champagne fountains to serve champagne, sparkling cider or punch

Food – multiple courses served on elegant china, multiple desserts

Attire – big ball gowns worn with large, sparkling earrings and necklaces for the bride and her attendants, men in informal suits or tails

Venue – ballroom with chandeliers, patterns on the wallpaper, drapes of silk or velvet

You don’t have to follow the theme exactly, just take some of these ideas and incorporate them with your ideas to design your dream wedding.

2006 Movie "Marie Antoinette"

Travel + Leisure - Dan Nevill

This blog is about wedding planning but I heard Mark Orwell, an editor at Travel and Leisure magazine, on the radio yesterday and wanted to share his tips about selecting a honeymoon destination.

Regarding all-inclusive (meals, activities and entertainment are included in the price) resorts:

• Decide what you want most, luxury, activites or location then select from there
• Make sure the activities included are ones you are intersted in doing, otherwise you are paying for a lot of things you aren’t going to use
• Look for an adults-only resort.  You don’t want a lot of children running around making noise when you are on your honeymoon.
• Many all-inclusive resorts only have one or two reataurants.  Find a resort with a program that allows you to dine at other nerby resorts so you don’t get stuck eating the same food on your entire trip.

Other tips:

Hawaii hotels are only at 62% occupancy right now because of the downturn in the economy not only in the U.S. but also in Asia.  You should be able to get some good deals there.

If you are looking to book in the Carribean, the month of October should be okay.  Mark said people in the islands have a saying, ” June too soon, October all over”, when referring to hurrican season.

When I hear more honeymoon tips, I’ll pass them along.