Wedding Planning Ideas: Write Them Down!

We’ve been re-arranging, decorating and cleaning our humble home recently. The blog Apartment Therapy and their guided “January Cure,” (a task-a-day kick start to a year of clutter clearing and nesting activities,) got us going and now we’re off on all sorts of projects and improvements.

When we get on this sort of kick, the ideas start flowing. There was one brilliant idea we were super excited about that was going to revolutionize our space and make our lives easier – but we can’t remember what it was.  During our burst of creativity and inspiration, we neglected to take out pad and pencil, (or Ipad and finger) and write it down. 

Write down how you see your decor, so we can get it just right, like this wedding canopy.

Write down how you see your decor, so we can get it just right, like this wedding canopy.

 

Do not follow our example with your wedding planning light bulb moments!  Write EVERYTHING down that inspires you.  Later on you’ll combine the decor idea from your co-worker’s cousin’s buffet with the recipe you read in Gourmet magazine at the dentist’s office, the classical music you heard driving after admiring a scene in a Bollywood movie with gauzy fabric and a zillion candles.  But it will only come together if you keep paper & a pen (or your favorite way to make notes- Ipad, voice memo, etc)

  • in your desk at work
  • in your purse
  • in the car
  • next to your fave spot to watch TV

Another great (and quite common) source of inspiration? Your dreams.  So don’t forget one more pad by the bed.  Sleep tight.

Live well and love well.

-Dinah

Enhanced by Zemanta

Should She Invite Her Ex to The Wedding? My Little Advice Shop

Q:  Should I invite my ex-boyfriend to my wedding?  I made a point of staying friends with all my exes through the years precisely so we could all “get along” at an event like this. 

 

advice for the bride and groom

advice for the bride and groom (Photo credit: @heylovedc)

 

A: Here’s the thing.  When it comes to post break-up relationships, there are two kinds of people:the Keep In Touchers  and the Never See Againers.  You are quite clearly a Keep In Toucher.  So, the question becomes.  Where does your man fall?  I have a feeling he’s on Team Never See Again, otherwise you would not be writing, you’d be putting together the perfect “singles table” of all your exes.  As a longtime player on Tean NSA, I advise that if that’s the case to let this one drop. Your man will be a hundred times happier on the big day, and that will show.  After you get settled in to married life, have a barbeque for the old crowd.  Lower the stakes over the steaks, get it?

 

Be well, and love well.

 

Dinah

 

Got a question? Need advice?

shoot it to us at  mylittleflowershopps@gmail.com

or add it to the comments below

 

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

A Wedding Reception That’s Just Desserts? Yes, Please!

A Dessert Party is a wonderful idea for an event whether it’s a shower, engagement or even a small wedding. (believe it or not, you don’t need sea bass or prime rib to have a great reception!)  A well styled buffet of elegant desserts can be a showstopper. You can go the DIY route, or find a local bakery (like Palm Springs’ own Pastry Swan) to take over. Either way, vary up your offerings – cakes, petits-fours, home-made cookies,

 

Petits Fours Français : Petits fours עברית: פט...

Live well, and love well

 

-Dinah

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Breaking News! Kate Middleton is Not Having Twins In July!

I gotta say, I’ve never imagined myself saying this, but I am really grateful that I am not the Princess of Wales. I can’t imagine my due date being worldwide breaking news.  I think that young newlyweds are under enough pressure as it is without throwing the international media into the mix.

Prince Harry and Kate Middleton at the Garter ...

Prince Harry and Kate Middleton at the Garter Procession (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And that’s where I’m going with this, to hope I can talk people into tacking on one extra new year’s resolution for 2013, namely to leave the newlyweds in your lives alone about their baby plans.  In American culture, as soon as the last grain of rice hits the ground it’s the next topic of conversation.  When will they start a family? When will there be grandchildren? And when the newlyweds show up anywhere, they face an inevitable barrage of questions.  And frankly, when (and whether) to have children is a serious, intimate decision that they may not want to share at Easter dinner.  It can be terribly uncomfortable.

So think twice about your questions when your favorite couple returns from their honeymoon, and avoid the whole baby thing. Suggestions: ask them about their trip, ask them about the wedding.  Ask them if they know Kate Middleton is not having twins in July!

Be well, and love well.

-Dinah

Enhanced by Zemanta

Wedding Planning Balance: Your Budget and Your Priorities

A reception at Craft, Tom Colicchio’s temple of fine food seemed beyond our budget when my husband and I planned our wedding. But in retrospect, there was a path to our twelve-course tasting menu with wine pairings.  Very simple: slash the guest list.  Even then, we wouldn’t have been able to do that, because having all our guests was a top priority.

You’ll be happiest with your wedding if you plan knowing you have to balance the two: your budget and your priorities.

  • BUDGET

First Step! Wedding Budget. I mean it! Write it down and everything. Before you start meeting with anyone, have a firm grasp on your – say it with me- BUDGET! Any wedding vendor worth their salt (in Palm Springs or anywhere else) should be able to take the parameters you give them and do their best for you.  My Little Flower Shop makes a point of working with brides- we make your vision come to life within your wedding budget. If a vendor turns up their nose at your numbers, it’s time to walk, supermodel!

  • PRIORITIES

    peojie

    Simple, beautiful centerpiece. A few blooms make a big impact! Photo by Djamilla Rosa Cochran Studio.

What’s most important to you? Sure you can spend $5,000 on amazing favors, but that may mean you’ll have a smaller cake, or fewer flowers (Don’t do it, for the love of beauty and grace! Cut something else!).  Pick what’s most important to you and spend your money accordingly.

And if what’s important to you happens to be earthshatteringly delicious, beautifully presented and flawlessly served food, I recommend you give the folks at Craft a call.

Live well and love well.

-Dinah

Enhanced by Zemanta

Why 2013 Brides Shouldn’t Worry About The Mayans And “The End Of The World”

Never fear – you will be married, all your planning will be worth it, and you have nothing to worry about.  But don’t trust me, trust the guy at NASA. This is pulled from their website at

http://astrobiology2.arc.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers

Check it out, and breathe easy.
Blue Marble - High-Res Image of the Earth
A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012. Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring
Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.

Answer (A):The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.


Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?

A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 — hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.


Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?

A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then — just as your calendar begins again on January 1 — another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.


Q: Could planets align in a way that impacts Earth?

A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. One major alignment occurred in 1962, for example, and two others happened during 1982 and 2000. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.
› More about alignment

“There apparently is a great deal of interest in celestial bodies, and their locations and trajectories at the end of the calendar year 2012. Now, I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy. But the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV and the movies is not based on science. There is even a fake NASA news release out there…”
- Don Yeomans, NASA senior research scientist

Q: Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?

A: Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles.


Q: What is the polar shift theory? Is it true that the Earth’s crust does a 180-degree rotation around the core in a matter of days if not hours?

A: A reversal in the rotation of Earth is impossible. There are slow movements of the continents (for example Antarctica was near the equator hundreds of millions of years ago), but that is irrelevant to claims of reversal of the rotational poles. However, many of the disaster websites pull a bait-and-switch to fool people. They claim a relationship between the rotation and the magnetic polarity of Earth, which does change irregularly, with a magnetic reversal taking place every 400,000 years on average. As far as we know, such a magnetic reversal doesn’t cause any harm to life on Earth. Scientists believe a magnetic reversal is very unlikely to happen in the next few millennia.
› More about polar shift


Q: Is the Earth in danger of being hit by a meteor in 2012?

A: The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs. All this work is done openly with the discoveries posted every day on the NASA Near-Earth Object Program Office website, so you can see for yourself that nothing is predicted to hit in 2012.


Q: How do NASA scientists feel about claims of the world ending in 2012?

A: For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.
› Why you need not fear a supernova
› About super volcanoes


Q: Is there a danger from giant solar storms predicted for 2012?

A: Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years. Near these activity peaks, solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications, although engineers are learning how to build electronics that are protected against most solar storms. But there is no special risk associated with 2012. The next solar maximum will occur in the 2012-2014 time frame and is predicted to be an average solar cycle, no different than previous cycles throughout history.
› Video: Solar Storms
› More about solar storms

Enhanced by Zemanta

Guest Video! British Blogger Matthew Oliver on Kids At The Wedding

Kids at the wedding – an age old debate. British wedding planner Matthew Oliver weighs in quite emphatically in this video. Big Fat Note – we are laughing very hard but not endorsing all of his wickedly funny comments! The kids issue can be handled appropriately either way…but hearing Matthew’s view is more amusing than the indignant kid advocates, whose thoughts can be pretty self righteous.  Check out more of this endearing Brit’s”5 reasons” videos here.

“I swear children have a club, and at the club they talk about ways to ruin a wedding.” – Matthew Oliver

Enhanced by Zemanta

Bridesmaids & Groomsmen’s Gifts – Avoid Envy!

I’ll never forget a wedding rehearsal dinner I attended where the proud groom beamed as his groomsmen opened their gifts: (then brand-new to the market) ipod shuffles!  I stole a glance at the bride across the room gifting garnet jewelry to her dearest friends, matching the maroon dresses they’d wear the next day. Dresses they’d paid dearly for, and would likely be on their way to Goodwill within 48 hours of the bouquet toss.

Gifts that mean something will touch Bridesmaids more than matchy matchy jewelry.

The groomsmen were gleeful as they  tore open the little boxes from Apple like kids on Christmas morning, and high-fived one another.  The girls sat drinking champagne quietly.  Let this be a lesson, brides. Chances are, your bridesmaids already own lovely jewelry they can wear to your wedding. So what if it isn’t matchy matchy? They’ll all show a bit of personality. That leaves you free to give them something that really reflects how much you care, and is not made of Swarovski crystal. Best of all, you get to see your girls high-fiving at your rehearsal dinner. Christmas morning here we come!

Be well and love well,

Dinah

Enhanced by Zemanta

I Want My, I Want My, I Want My…R.S.V.P!

Vintage Lace Response Card

Vintage Lace Response Card (Photo credit: blush printables)

In a bygone era, an RSVP was -get this- a  handwritten note.  An academic has no doubt studied how the formal note evolved into today’s fill-in cards. To event pros, it’s obvious. Guests weren’t replying! It had to be made easier. So the cards became the norm, and then self addressed envelopes, and then self addressed STAMPED envelopes.  And yet, guests still don’t seem to get the picture.

What does that mean for brides? That you have to be PROACTIVE. Here are some helpful tips.

  • Realistic Roll Out:  You’ll read in some books that invitations are traditionally sent 8 weeks before the event.  With guests response times as they are,  that’s bullfeathers.  Allow yourself plenty of time to get responses, and then tack on 2 weeks to chase after people. Don’t add stress by cutting your window too short.
  • Double check your response cards: There are too many brides who happily seal their invitations only to turn around and see extra sheets of stamps – they’ve forgotten to stamp the return envelopes.  Have a second set of eyes check that everything looks A-OK.
  • Enlist The Cool Kids: Get point people to set a good example- if there’s a family matriarch, see if you can get her to RSVP early and let everyone know that’s what’s expected.  Have your MOH spread the word among friends, etc.
  • Relax A Little: In the end, there are going to be slackers.  You’re going to have to have your Mom, and bridesmaids work the phones a little anyway, no matter how hard you try, so there’s no point in fretting that your cards aren’t coming back fast enough.

There you have it! Now all you have to worry about is seating everyone. Piece of cake. Unless you haven’t picked a cake. Which is nothing to worry about – THAT’S a fun one!

Be well and love well.

Dinah

Enhanced by Zemanta

Real Life Romance

The popularity of viral videos of proposals, weddings and first dances can  worry 95% of men trying to make a romantic gesture. How are you supposed to ‘top’ flash mob proposals or elaborate anniversary messages timed to music?  Guess what? Real life romance is what women want.

Barack Obama: “… “it’s [the] tension between familiarity and mystery that makes for something strong, because, even as you build a life of … mutual support, you retain some sense of surprise or wonder about the other person.”

 Sure, theatrical type stuff is charming. But even better is the kind of experience that isn’t completely removed from normal life.  Because something more down to earth is something that’s more likely to happen between special occasions, and romance woven into the every day existence of a relationship is the most meaningful of all.  So whether it’s a homemade anniversary dinner, or a proposal (with no audience) at a location that’s special to you, if the romance is of a less showy variety, we’re still going to be happy.  And when you throw in an unplanned detour to that spot, or whip up a weeknight meal, we’re going to be even happier.  What’s better than a guy creating a special romantic night? Knowing that our love created a special romantic guy.

So go forth! Bring romance into the everyday!

Be well, and love well.

Dinah

Enhanced by Zemanta