Finally -  someone is giving bridesmaids across the world the acknowledgment they so badly deserve and banishing the age old idea that bridesmaids dresses are a “one time, one wear” purchase.

The innovative geniuses at Two Birds Bridesmaid have created several lines of bridesmaids dresses that your girls can wear at least 15 other times after your wedding.  This concept will not only result in stunning and happy bridesmaids on your wedding day, but will officially making you a favorite amongst your friends that have been in at least 5 weddings and quite frankly are running out of closet space for the bridesmaids dress graveyard.

Take a look at www.twobirdsbridesmaids.com and see the dress that can be worn over and over again -  at least 15 other ways AFTER the wedding.

P.S This is a great idea for brides out there that love their bridesmaids dresses… get one yourself, and wear it whenever you like

A little bit of style can get you everywhere!

Personal style is what we all have , we may not all be tapped into it, but we definitely have it.  And sometimes all you need is a little push to help you either uncover your gifts or force you to uncover what you naturally have!

So, how about a “push” with incentives!

Southern Weddings is giving away everything from German pendant glass earrings to delicate ivory floral hair clips in exchange for you *tootin’* your own horn about your personal style!  All you have to do is answer the question: What type of bride are you? (in relation to your personal style?)

Click here for more info!

Unfortunately, there are many vendors out there that have mastered the art of “selling a big game” to brides during the initial interview, but fail to deliver on the wedding day.

Below are a few ways you can ensure that your vendors will deliver exactly what they promise in the interview – on your wedding day. There’s nothing worse than being disappointed by your vendors’ performance when it counts most – during your wedding.

Prepare For Your Meeting
You wedding is a HUGE investment, so you should approach your wedding-related meetings just as you would a business meeting in your professional life and prepare accordingly. Be sure to collect a service/product list from the vendor before the meeting so that you have time to review it on your own and make note of any questions you’d like answered.

Ask For Previous Client Referrals
The best practice you can adopt when interviewing vendors for your wedding is requesting previous client referrals. Most vendors should be prepared to offer you one or two names and email addresses of brides they’ve worked with so that you can call or email and chat bride-to-bride about the vendors’ performance on their wedding day.

Ask For Current Client Referrals
This may be a bit of a “curve ball” for most vendors – mostly because they’re not used to being asked for current client referrals; only previous. I suggest you ask for a bride you can contact that they’ve been working with for a few months already. Talking with someone that is still a client of this vendor will give you great insight as to what you have to look forward to from this vendor once you sign the contract and send in your deposit.

What’s The Back-up Plan?
This is crucial! It is extremely important for all of your wedding vendors to have a backup plan… no matter how small or large their role is in your wedding. When you prepare for your vendor interview, think of several scenarios that might cause your vendors to need a backup plan (i.e. rain, delays in wedding schedule, vendor illness). Bring these questions with you to your interview and be sure to get solid answers from your vendor. If you’ve proposed a question the vendor can’t answer, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hire them, but be sure to follow up with him/her on that answer before you do.

Don’t Bargain
Touchy subject… I know. But this is strictly my opinion, take it or leave it.

There is a time for bargain shopping and there’s a time to pay for quality. Your wedding day will be a very significant day in your life for years and years after the actual wedding is over. Wedding vendors are in the business of making sure that it’s absolutely perfect for you – this is a time to pay for quality. Assume that your vendors are quoting you prices that reflect the quality of service they plan to provide. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask questions about fees, especially if they seem abnormally high or low – it is well within your right to inquire about fees that are inconsistent with similar vendors in the same area and field of expertise. Any vendor that seems to be charging too little, or too much should be able to explain the rationale behind their fees, on-demand.

If you’re planning your wedding without the help of a professional planner, you won’t want to miss the announcements I have in store for you over the next few weeks!

© 2005-2009 Full Bloom Weddings & Events

Image Courtesy of Cara Sonnier

I don’t know about you, but I’m personally sick of seeing the same ole’, same ole’ when it comes to bridal party gifts. Because buying gifts for your bridal party is probably one of the last things on your “to do” list, by the time you come around to doing the research for the best gift, you’re so pooped from all the other planning tasks, you end up just buying a generic “one size fits all” gift. Blah!

Why not take the time to personalize your “thank you” gift to your girls by gifting them one of Cara’s beautiful creations.   Not only is jewelry a girls best friend, but this jewelry is personal, unique and handcrafted by a pro.

Say “thank you” the right way, and give the girls that mean the most to you a gift they’ll treasure for a lifetime!

My favorite: Top right corner (first photo) the orange stones are just stunning!

To download a complete list of jewels that Cara Creates… click here.

Have you come across other *fab* wedding gifts?  If so, do share and leave a comment below.

The benefits of having a personal brand for your wedding are two fold,

1. It keeps you excited about planning your wedding and coming up with new, creative ways to incorporate your brand and

2. Your guests will absolutely LOVE IT!

Check out these 17 tips from my new pals at Marked Event!

Repeat Patterns or Designs throughout your wedding. Create a design then use your design as your own Wedding Signature. Use an updated monogram or create a personal design to incorporate into everything. Invitations, Thank you notes, decorations and favors.

	Destination Weddings allow for a great opportunity to utilize your own personalized design. Make sure your design matches the time of year for your big day, while creating an identity that matches your tastes and styles.
	Why wait get a head start creating your design immediately. Then use as early as possible with your first announcements starting with upcoming wedding showers and/or you’re very own save the date. This will set the stage for incorporating your design into everything that is important to you on your special day.

Incorporate your design with baked goods. Nothing looks more delightful than a delicious desert gourmet pastry or cake, each with your unique design..

Unique Favors - Work with your hotel to leave a different gift on your guest’s pillow each night. Remember to incorporate your themed design.
Guest need something to set their beverage on, use an elegant coaster with your unique design to leave that special signature on your wedding.	Use designed theme Center Pieces for candles, bags, or flower arrangements. Each table allows you to spread your unique theme with your specific styles and tastes.

Make it fun for your guest to jot down memorable moments on your special day. Create a souvenir journal that incorporates your own unique design.

With guest traveling for your special day give a tote bag with your unique design. Helping your guest store important mementos from your special day while being reminded with your unique design each time of use. Use etched or printed design theme decorated canisters or cups for guests to refresh with mints or other refreshments. Outdoor Weddings allow for lots of fun when you incorporate your unique design with Coolers, Towels, Foot Flops, Picnic Sets, BBQ Grills and etc.

Some of the most used and practical favors can be found with apparel. Everyone wears T-shirts, polo shirts and hats. Make your personalized design be a part of your guest’s year around casual wardrobe as a reminder of your special day. Going dispensable can be a great alternative. Using your personalized design can really make the very best use of inexpensive plates, napkins, cups and coasters while appearing as if you’ve covered every detail for your special day. Personal care items with your personalized design can be a great inexpensive way for your guests to enjoy soothing products throughout the year. Selecting bride and grooms gifts can be a difficult and very time consuming. Use personalized designed favors to end tacky gift favorites like the dreaded bridesmaid key chain and the classic groomsman Beer mug. In closing use you’re design to create personalized thank you notes. A picture is worth a thousand words, while sending thank you notes use this opportunity to send photos from your wedding in a frame incorporating your personalized design. What a finishing touch from your day of memories. If you have a fun hip chic crowd use personalized bar accessories to be the hit with your guests.

Creating your own signature themed design for your event can be expensive or take creative talent you don’t have or find difficult to possess. Now Marked Event can eliminate these problems. Click on the link http://www.markedevent.com/free_design_form_in.html for your own FREE PERSONALIZED DESIGN.

In lieu of Mother’s Day, let’s explore a few ways to make sure you involve your mom in your wedding plans… after all, her baby girl is getting married!

That can be a hard pill to swallow for some mothers, so make the process easier by showing her some love during the planning months.

Below are a few ideas I put together to help you out!

1. Let her help!
Whether you actually want your mother’s help or not, you’ll find that the less you resist the better off you’ll be. I’ve seen this theory tested with brides with overbearing mothers and brides with fabulous even-tempered mothers. The key is planning. Make a note of things your mother is great at and keep looking for ways to let her put her talents to good use. If she’s crafty, ask her help on a few DIY projects you have planned. If she loves to chat and communicates well, appoint her “Bridal Party Coordinator,” giving her the tremendous job of making sure the bridal party is aware of important dates and deadlines.

2. Get sentimental
As I’m sure you’re aware, emotions run wild during the planning process, for both you and your family members. Don’t shy away from it; embrace it! Tap into your emotions and give your mom a sentimental gift – something that’ll remain valuable to her for years to come. Idea: Find a double photo frame and put a picture of the two of you from when you were both younger on one side and leave the other side blank. Explain that a wedding day picture of the two of you will go on the other side. You can engrave it with the wedding date or a saying such as “I’ll always be your little girl.”

3. Have a party
I think it’s a great idea to bring people together when you’re planning your wedding. It’s a great opportunity to bond with your friends and family, and even a few people that you may not have room enough to invite to the wedding. Here’s an idea: Host a party with your bridesmaids and their moms. You can pretend that it is a wedding shower, and then surprise them by saying “Actually, today is all about you, moms!” Serve them tea, show slideshows, and tell funny stories about each of the moms. Send them home with a pampering pack of spa products. If you don’t have lots of friends with moms around, it can just be a tea party for the two of you. Prepare her favorite treats, and honor her and have a great time!

4. Give her the gift of your time
A gift certificate for an activity that the two of you like to do together that she can use in the future. Moms sometimes worry that when their daughter gets married, she won’t have much time to do mother-daughter activities. So give her the gift of your time! Whether its tennis lessons, an hour at a pottery studio, or a big bag of spring bulbs with the promise to plant them together, your mom will love the idea of spending time with you.

5. A picture is worth its weight in gold
A photo album is always nice, but sometimes it’s a pain to fill it and use it. A great alternative to a blank album is a pre-stocked album with pictures of you and your mother over the years – she’ll love it! A fun variation on this is a Photo Cookbook, a blend of favorite recipes and family photos – this will take a bit more effort, but you’ll end up with a family heirloom.
Tip: Be sure to capture all your activities on camera while you are planning and partying with your mom. A collection of photos documenting your journey to “I Do” will make a great gift for your mom after the wedding day!

© 2005-2009 Full Bloom Weddings & Events

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Danielle Carter is the owner and lead event planner of “Full Bloom Weddings & Events” a full service wedding and event planning company that takes great pride in offering quality service and professional assistance for brides at any stage in the wedding process. If you’re ready to jump-start your wedding planning with a little (or alot) of help, visit www.fullbloomweddings.com for a FREE Report: The Top 10 To Do’s To Kick Start Planning Your Wedding

… and by “it” I mean, your fiancé AND the environment! A few months ago, a good friend of mine mentioned wooden wedding rings as an alternative to traditional wedding bands. So, I went on the prowl to find out what a wooden wedding ring would even look like! After searching the net (and being extremely under whelmed!) I came across Simply Wood Rings – A-MAZ-ING!

These tiny hand crafted works of art are just the most creative and uniquely inspiring products I’ve seen in a long time. So, if you’re looking for a symbolic, eco friendly alternative to the standard wedding set, visit www.simplywoodrings.com!

In these “unique” economic times, I’m sure you probably feel like your wedding definitely deserves it’s own bail out. Unfortunately, bailing out your wedding didn’t quite make it on President Obama’s Stimulus Plan…

But, not to worry, I’ve got you covered. Just like any other difficult situation, it’s not time to trade in your Silk Dupioni for Tulle just yet … it’s just time to get creative! After all, you deserve the wedding you’ve always dreamed of just as much as anyone else. Recession or no recession, the wedding must go on!

Below are 5 easy ways to “bail out” your wedding and save thousands in the process. Enjoy!

1. Make Your Own Invitations
Your wedding invitations do much more than just tell your guests the address of your wedding. When done correctly, your wedding invitation ensemble (Save the Dates, Invites, Response Cards, etc.) will set the tone for your wedding and give your guests an idea of what type of wedding you have in store for them. Think of your invites as a wedding “teaser”.

For the average 150-guest wedding, you can expect to pay between $500 and $1000 for custom printed invitations. Or, you could spend roughly
$200 on your invitations for something just as nice by going the DIY route!

A few months ago I came across an amazing DIY book. It’s full of modern, stylish and affordable “do-it-yourself” projects for the crafty bride
on a budget!

Check it out here: The DIY Bride

P.S. There’s a fabulous project on page pg. 44 “Savvy Stamped Invitations”. www.redstamp.com is an excellent resource for custom stamps and would work great
with this project!

2. DIY Personal Flowers!
No wedding is complete without the floral element, which is why you can expect to allocate at least 13% of your overall wedding budget to florals; a
pretty hefty number.

Why not enlist your best group of girlfriends to take a floral design class with you? Many boutique florists and/or community colleges in your
area offer design classes once or twice a month for the DIY bride. You’d be surprised how simple and easy bouquets and boutonnieres
are to assemble.

Then, on the night before your wedding, call in all the extra hands you have to get started! In some cases, you can even work out an
arrangement with your local florist to store and deliver your precreated florals in their storage cooler.

3. Team Up With Another Bride
Thousands and thousands of brides share the same wedding weekend and wedding location all over the world. Why not use that to your advantage? Can you imagine how much money you could save by splitting some of your wedding expenses in half?

To receive the full benefits of sharing your wedding weekend and location with another bride, it’s important to start looking for your location-mate as soon as possible. First, start with the catering manager at your wedding site. Ask him/her if there are any other weddings taking place at their location on the same weekend as your wedding.

Next, ask the catering manager to make contact with the bride to ask her permission to share her contact information with you. From there, you can pitch your ideas to your location-mate and figure out if you can form a mutually beneficial partnership with her.

Here are a few ways you can split the costs with your “wedding partner”.
Chair Rentals (major savings here) * Linen Overlays * Chair Cover Accessories * Vases *
Table Numbers and/or Holders * Flowers

4. Overlays Instead of Full-length Linen
Table linen can be another huge wedding cost item. Unique, specialty linen can range anywhere from $15 – $30 per table, which is obviously a
lot of money! Most brides are usually willing to splurge in the linen area because of the huge difference it makes on your tablescape – and
because the “free” linen that may be included in your wedding package is… Let’s just say, less than
desirable.

Rental companies charge by the “drop length”, so if you need your linen to touch the ground expect to pay the prices mentioned above. Or, you could save a few hundred dollars by using a specialty overlay and use the location’s “free” linen as an “underlay”. For example: If your reception tables are 60″ rounds, you would need either a 120″ or 132″ linen for a significant hang. Or, instead of renting a full-length specialty linen, rent a 90″ linen that will only cover the top of the table.

Not only will this tip save you hundreds by not purchasing the most expensive size linen, it’ll also
allow you to upgrade to fancier linen!

5. Let Your Wedding Website Do All The Work!
If you don’t already have a wedding website… get one! In my opinion they’re the best thing since sliced cake because it saves you time, money and energy while trying to keep 100+ wedding guests in the “loop”. We are, after all, in the age of the internet, so why not let your wedding website take some of the weight off your shoulders and put more weight back in your wallet?

Let your wedding website host your online wedding invitation (saving $.42- $1.50 per invite sent), collect your wedding RSVP’s (saving another $.42 per invite) and dinner preferences (saving you a million headaches trying to keep track of who wants fish and who wants chicken).
And if you’re a “modern bride”, you can even register your honeymoon and accept monetary gifts online to fund your trip!

Below are a few resources for wedding websites I recommend:
www.weddingwindow.com
www.weddingtracker.com
Stay tuned… your next issue will be dedicated to “Branding Your Wedding” (no, not with hot metal iron… but with style,
style, style!). I can’t wait to share it with you!

——————————————–

© 2005-2009 Full Bloom Weddings & Events

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Danielle Carter is the owner and lead event planner of “Full Bloom Weddings & Events” a full service wedding and event planning company that takes great pride in offering quality service and professional assistance for brides at any stage in the wedding process. If you’re ready to jump-start your wedding planning with a little (or alot) of help, visit www.fullbloomweddings.com for FREE Report: “The Top 10 To Do’s To Kick Start Planning Your Wedding”.