Month: August 2011

The Best Wedding Advice Ever. Period. Exclamation point. Clouds part and angels sing.

by
Bride and women
Image by spaceodissey via Flickr

Cutting to the chase, now that the angelic chorus has weighed in, The Best Wedding Advice Ever: Ask for help.  Yes, it’s that simple.  Ask for help.

There’s a false image in the bridal media of the “perfectly organized” bride.  TV and magazines are full of brides with the color coded binders who’ve got everything mapped out down to the last rose petal.  Then there are the articles about “easy breezy” brides for whom everything just drops into place – as if in a dream. Do we buy it? Bullfeathers.

We know the reality, weddings are hard work! And keeping a handle on all of it alone is harder still.  If you don’t want to be made completely crazy by it all, Ask for Help.  The beauty part is, everybody wants to help you.  They tell you that too – but in your “I must be the uber-bride” mode you don’t even hear the magic words at the end of practically every conversation you have.

 “Oh, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help with the wedding.” 

With a knee jerk no, you could be brushing off a retired lighting designer, your aunt who’s taken up calligraphy, or even your best friend’s wife who planned events for a museum.  Why miss out on a failsafe lighting company reference? or flawless placecards? Expert advice? Don’t send these people packing so you can keep up a facade of being in control.

To paraphrase Jerry Maguire, “Help them help you.”  Be open to delegating which means letting go of that color coded binder.  Well, opening it up at least.  Take heart. You never know when Martha and the other magazines might decide real brides who work for their fairy tale deserve column ink too.

Wishing you creativity, patience and style!

Related articles

Sugar and Spice for Favors is Nice!

by

Favors- there are so many to choose from these days it can make your head spin. One thing we can say for sure: no one wants another little teeny picture frame. We’ve figured out how to mix and match them for dinner party placecards, but eight will suffice, thank you very much.

Edibles are always popular. Looking to go with something sweet? Rice krispie treats are delightfully old fashioned and inexpensive. Packaged individually in cellophane bags with pretty ribbon, they are a fun “grab” on the way out of the party.
http://www.ricekrispies.com/recipes/the-original-treats.aspx#/recipes/the-original-treats
Another sweet choice that’s easy to put together are the many options of custom designed candy bar wrappers one can order to dress up Hershey bars. Go for the full size ones- it’s a rare adult who doesn’t relish having a whole chocolate bar all to themselves.
http://wrappedhersheys.com/

As for spicing up your wedding night, we love what we’re reading about customized mini-Tabasco bottles. http://alwaysablogsmaid.com/2011/08/11/spice-up-your-wedding-night-w-baby-tabasco/trackback/

Little bags of chile peppers are another way of sending some heat home with guests, perhaps with a family recipe attached.
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/penzeysstores.html

And if you want to bring the heat and the sweet? Try cayenne chocolate truffles. Hello tastebuds!
http://www.chocolategarden.com/flavors.htm

Get creative with your sugar and spice!

Rain, rain. Go Away!

by

Rain on your wedding day. To many, this is the absolute worst thing that can happen at a wedding, particularly if it is being held outdoors. This is why if you are holding either your ceremony or reception en plein aire as the French would say, it is imperative that you have a rain plan. That may be a tent, or an indoor space, but with 150 people arriving, you don’t want to be making arrangements at the last minute. So find an alternate location, and decide how it will be communicated to guests ( a phone tree, signs or people directing at the original site). Don’t leave anyone standing in the rain.