Real Life Wedding Planning

Are you planning to have sparklers at your wedding?  They are often handed out as favors for guests to hold to form a sparkling tunnel for the bride and groom to pass through.  There are also large, 36″ ones that can be put into the ground to light a walkway and small ones that can be used to top the cake.

You and your guests need to exercise safety precautions when using sparklers.  Here are a few of them:

• Decide if you will allow children attending to have sparklers.  If you do, make sure they are closely supervised
• Make sure people hold sparklers away from their face, body, and clothes and away from other people
• Keep sparklers away from any highly flamable materials or substances

Carefully follow instructions given to you by the maufacturer.

Confirm that the city and county in which you are holding your wedding allows the use of sparklers.  And, confirm that your venue allows their use.  Many venues ban any kind of open flame in and around their facilities so ask before making any big plans.

Are you borrowing or renting folding chairs for your outdoor wedding?  Make sure you get either plastic or wooden ones, metal chairs will get extremely hot in the sun and you don’t want to risk burning your guests.

Some other outdoor wedding tips that might help your guests be more comfortable if it is warm:

• Schedule your wedding early in the day to avoid the afternoon heat.

• Provide shade with a tent, patio umbrellas, beach umbrellas or parasols.

• Give fans away as wedding favors.  You can order paper fans with your monogram or wedding program printed on them when you order your invitations.

• Rent outdoor fans and put them on a low setting to keep the noise level down.

• Provide water or lemonade when guests arrive.  Stay away from alcoholic drinks that cause dehydration.

Make sure you also have an air conditioned place where guests can retreat if the heat becomes too much for them.

Wearing a Piccione gown, “The Biggest Loser” winner, Michelle Aguilar, wed TV producer Micah Whitehead on June 14 at The Ranch House in The Colony outside Dallas, Texas.  The June 29, 2009 issue of Us Weekly magazine gives details you might want to steal:

• Michelle’s gown was silk satin, off the shoulder, with a crystal beaded bow on the left shoulder.  The seamtress cut out the inner lining so the dress would be cooler to wear.  The gown can be seen on the Piccione website.

• The bridesmaids wore lipstick red stapless cocktail length dresses from Alfred Angelo.

• Her family made hand-tied bouquets and centerpieces from pink, green, and white roses.

• The wedding cake they ordered didn’t make it so they got cupcakes which friends spkinled with pink and green glitter.

Find out more details and see photos in the magazine.

Did you watch last night’s episode of Wild Weddings on The Learning Channel (TLC)?  If you did, you probably saw the bride who fainted at the altar, twice.  The problem – she had not eaten all day.

Your wedding day timeline should include time to eat before the wedding ceremony.  Start the day with a good breakfast then prepare, or have someone prepare for you, healthy snacks that you and your bridesmaids can grab during the day as you are getting your hair and makeup done.  The snacks you select should not be too salty, greasy, spicy, or high in fiber, in other words, stay away from anything that might cause water retention, bloating, or an upset stomach.  You definitely don’t want to eat onions, garlic, or anything that will make your breath unpleasant.

And don’t think that you can just wait until your reception to eat.  You will be too excited and busy to get in more than a few small bites.  Don’t strave on your wedding day, plan in advance to take the time to eat.

Are you concerned about wedding crashers?  Not only strangers who want to attend a wedding party, but former spouses or partners who might cause problems, uninvited guests who think you “forgot” to invite them or thieves, if your gift table is in an open area.

Don’t ask friends and family members or your wedding planner to handle these concerns for you, hire wedding security.  Wedding security personal, sometimes off-duty police officers, dress as guests, blend in and provide assistance where and when needed.  Your venue should be able to suggest companies who offer these services to you or check with local security companies.

I hope I’m not worrying you too much, since my last post was about wedding insurance.  I want to make sure you take the actions you need to that allow you to fully enjoy your special day.

With all your careful wedding planning, could anything possibly go wrong?  Yes.  This is why, as I mentioned in a previous post, you need to make sure you read all the details on your contracts with wedding vendors before you sign them.  You might also want to consider purchasing wedding insurance.

Many types of wedding insurance policies are available to save you from financial loss if:

• You postpone or cancel because of illness or bad weather

• A vendor fails to appear or deliver as promised

• Your photos are loss or stolen

• You gifts are stolen

• Your wedding dress gets ruined

• Your venue requires that you carry liability insurance

Check with your insurance agent, get referral from recent brides, or check the internet for further information on coverage.

As with purchasing from any vendor, make sure you completely understand what you are paying for.

Do you want your wedding cake to be something other than the traditional white? Get ideas for a creative, artistic cake from the second season of WE tv’s show, Amazing Wedding Cakes, which premiers on June 7.  You can read more about the show at WEtv.com.  You can also get cake tips and find out how to prepare for a cake consultation from videos posted on their website.

By the way, you and your groom feed each other cake is believed to show how well you will take care of each other in your marriage.

You’ve found your wedding vendors (see post on April 25), met with them (post on May 15) and are ready to hire the ones who you believe are the best fit for you and your budget.  Professional vendors will give you a contract to review and sign along with a request for a deposit.  Be sure you read the contracts thoroughly to make sure you are getting what you expect.  A few things you want in your contracts:

• The exact product and service they are providing and the date and time they will be delivered.

• The type of changes that can be made and the deadline for making them.

• Refund and cancellation policies.

• Payment policies, when deposits are due.

• Their contingency plan – what will they do if, for some reason, they cannot be present or provide their services, as contracted, on the day of the wedding.  Who will handle your wedding in their place?

Even if you are working with a wedding planner, you need to make it a point to know the details for your contract so you don’t get any unwanted surprises on your wedding day.