Tip #35: Cocktail Hour

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If you plan on having a cocktail hour, here are some imporant tips. Make sure that you serve more alcoholic beverages. Provide cheese & crackers, passed appetizers, fruit and veggies. Also, this short party before the recpetion starts should last no more than 90 minutes. Ideally, cocktail hour should be 45-60 minutes.

Tip #34: Making guests comfortable

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Provide enough heat after dark for an outdoor wedding:It's a beautiful 80-degree day, but after the sun goes down at 9p.m. you still have guests dining outside under the stars. Make sure to have heaters in place for your guests' comfort at night. If heaters are out of the budget, purchase scarves for the ladies, which also make for a great take away gift or you can donate the shawls to a women's shelter.

Tip #33: Gifts for Bridal Party

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Remember to choose and purchase gifts for your wedding attendants. Have them wrapped and ready before they are given out at either the rehearsal dinner or bridesmaids luncheon. You can also begin writing thank you notes for any other individuals that have, or will be, contributing their time and/or talent to the wedding (i.e. a friend who will be doing a solo during the ceremony). You may also wish to purchase small gifts for these individuals. Sending a small bouquet of flowers or inviting them out for a lunch date is a kind gesture of your appreciation.

Tip #32: Honeymoon Details

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Don't forget about your honeymoon details-- passports, airline tickets, hotel reservations, etc-- be sure to go over any last minute details with your travel agent. Also, begin shopping for the items you plan on purchasing and packing before the trip. It's a good idea to start packing at least a week before your departure. Consider what the climate will be like and the sorts of activities you have planned for the trip and pack accordingly. Don't forget to bring along plenty of one-dollar bills for tipping cab drivers, baggage handlers, etc.

Tip #31: Directions available at wedding

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Sometimes you would think that an address in the invitation is enough for your guests. Families, friends and guests may not be familiar with the wedding venue, so it is always wise to give directions or sketch, which you can enclose in your invitation. This is especially helpful if the venue is quite hard to find. Of course, you don't want your guests getting lost on the way to your wedding.

Tip #30: Set Realistic Expectations

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One of the most important wedding planning tips that you have to keep in mind first even before starting with your planning is to set realistic expectations of what you want. Sometimes, you may be overwhelmed of what you want. Most often, women want their wedding to be unique and some may even think of never-been-done-before ideas, which in the end, may lead to disappointments and expectations not met. Firstly, you have to set your mind only to what can be realistically done and separate your fantasies into reality.

Tip #29: Groom's Attire

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Looking good and feeling good is not just a quality of women. A groom to be is just as important as a bride to be. The tuxedo, or chosen attire, must fit properly. How many times have you seen a man in a three piece suit where the shoulders of the jacket are too broad, the pants way too baggy, or the collar of the dress shirt too tight? Of course with the bride wearing a white dress, almost any color tuxedo will match. However, the color of the tie and/or vest that the groomsmen wear should incorporate the colors of the bridesmaid's dresses. Let's say for example that a bride and groom are adamant that they both wear white, the groomsman wear white tuxedos, and the bridesmaid dresses must be a light canary yellow. White and yellow are two colors that mesh extremely well because they are very light and soft, yet are subtle enough where they do not detract from the focal point of the wedding, which is the bride and groom. All the groomsmen would need to do in order to make the court look beautiful is to wear a yellow tie or vest and maybe a small yellow rose boutonnière.

Tip #28: The Wedding Bands

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The engagement rings and wedding bands are two of the most important investments you will ever make in your life. The rings are the symbols of a marriage. They are the visible images that represent the unification of a man and a woman as husband and wife. There are so many factors to weigh when choosing rings; such as type of stone, type of metal, and type of diamond arrangement. Since she is most likely going to be flaunting her engagement/wedding ring for the rest of her life, you'll want to pick a ring that is timeless and represents great quality.

Tip #27: Don't overfeed your guests!

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Certainly you don’t want your guests to leave your reception hungry or unhappy, but over ordering food or planning a seven-course dinner-palooza isn’t the answer. The more choices you order, the higher the cost. Work with your caterer. Let her know what your budget is, what kinds of food you want, and she’ll determine what she can give you within those parameters. Trust that she’ll come up with creative options.

Tip #26: Resist Peer Pressure

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 Don’t Fall Prey to Peer Pressure. Resist keeping up with the Joneses. You don’t know all the details about that fabulous wedding you just attended—lobster, filet mignon, the best champagne. Who paid for it? How much debt did this couple take on? Don’t be affected by the choices of others. You’ll be more likely to create and stick to a budget you can afford.

Tip #25: How to get groom involved

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Tip Courtesy of Planning a Perfect Wedding
Now you are a happily engaged couple, planning the wedding of your dreams. Traditionally, the bride has taken the most responsibility for planning the wedding ceremony and honeymoon. Thankfully, gender stereotypes are being challenged and more and more grooms are stepping up to the plate and helping to plan their weddings.
The following lists some simple ways for you to get your groom interested in the planning process:
1) Have one-on-one discussion with your groom.
2) Make wedding planning fun for groom. Try to lower his anxiety about wedding planning and boost his self-confidence. For example, compliment him on his creativity, organizational skills, musical tastes, etc.
3) Create manageable tasks that the groom can be involved with and take accountability for, such as ordering the wedding invitations, addressing them and mailing them to your guests.
4) Ask your groom to what degree he would like to be involved regarding wedding planning. Avoid trying to read his mind about his feelings about being involved in planning your wedding.
5) Ask your groom if there is a special area that he would like to be responsible for one of the following areas:

• wedding music
• flowers for ceremony
• flowers for reception
• planning your wedding lunch or dinner menu
• finding tuxedos or suits for himself and his groomsmen
• listening to different DJs and bands and selecting his favorite one
• researching and visiting reception sites
• planning honeymoon (destination, accommodations, itinerary)
• selecting and ordering wedding cakes and desserts

6) Work with your groom’s special interests and talents. For example, if your groom loves cooking, have him plan the menu for your wedding lunch or dinner. If your groom loves music, have him plan the musical entertainment for your reception.
7) Delegate certain simple tasks to your groom.
8) Brides, avoid the “Bridezilla” phenomenon. A “Bridezilla” is defined by the following behaviors and characteristics:

• controlling behavior
• irritability
• yelling
• making all the decisions
• being hard-to-please
• criticizing the groom’s tastes, ideas and preferences

9) Encourage your groom to think about planning your wedding together as a special, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you two to bond in a unique way and learn more about one another through the wedding planning process.
10) Ensure that you have open and honest discussions about your wedding budget, including the overall budget, budget for ceremony, reception and honeymoon. Discuss what expenses the groom, the bride, the couple, the bride’s parents and the groom’s parents will be responsible for.
11) AVOID fighting over wedding planning and wedding budgets. Finances is the number one topic married couples fight over. Start your marriage on the healthy path by having loving, mature, productive discussions about your wedding finances.

Tip #24: Save keeping of contracts

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After signing all vendor contracts, it is a good idea to photocopy every contract and keep the copy or original contract in a safe place.

Tip #23: Pick Your Organizational Pleasure

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This tip is courtesy of TLC Weddings

The days and months following a happily accepted proposal are truly a type A bride's time to shine.

Thanks to their meticulous note-taking abilities and organizational prowess, type A women are already equipped with most of the necessary tools for planning a beautiful wedding. Before scheduling even the first cake-tasting appointment, brides of all persuasions would be wise to devise a specific organizational system. Electronically inclined brides might choose to keep appointments scheduled on computer or Blackberry, whereas others might select the old-fashioned (yet trusty) paper day planner.

Whichever method you choose, commit to one form from the very beginning or risk appointments falling through the cracks. Unless you have a photographic memory, wedding planning isn't the time to rely simply on your brain to keep things in order. Details will surely be flying from every angle, leaving brides without an organizational system frazzled and frustrated.

Tip #22: Who to bring when shopping for Wedding Dress?

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When shopping for the wedding dress, the number of people you bring is very important. A good rule of thumb is to bring a small group (no more than three people). Too many ideas can derail a bride from using the perfect dress for her and not conforming to others opinions.

Tip #21: Wedding Day vendor payments

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Before the wedding day, put together tip and payment envelopes for your vendors and make arrangements for someone to deliver them. This is a great job for your wedding planner to do.

Tip #20: Keep track of e-mails

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Keep wedding emails organized by creating an email account exclusively for the wedding.

Tip #19: The Role of the Bridesmaid!

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DO feel free to ask them to …

• Accompany you dress shopping (beware of inviting too many as too many “opinions” can make it a bit stressful
• Act as a go-between with your friends and family
• Assist you in addressing wedding invitations, assembling favors, packing welcome gift bags
• Have their hair or makeup done (within budget)
• Pick up guests from the airport
• Help you with your dress throughout the day

DON’T ask them to ….

• Alter their hair, appearance, lose weight, dye their hair, cover tattoos
• Let guests they’ve never met stay at their house
• Go broke because of expenses associated with your wedding
• Sit apart from their significant others during the reception
• Spend the entire wedding acting as a wedding coordinator
• Be your 24/7 complaint box when you get stressed out

Tip #18: A Tasting Do!

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Do not overlook the importance of tasting the food! One wouldn't purchase a new car without test-driving it, so the same should be said in regard to the food served at a wedding. A caterer may be the nicest person in the world, but if the food doesn't taste well, that is what the guests are going to always remember. Choosing the right caterer for your wedding is one area that is best not to skimp on, as it is an incredibly important component of the reception.

Tip #17: Plan B: What happens if it rains?

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If your ceremony and/or reception are outside its always a good idea to come up with Plan B. Since we live in the Pacific Northwest and our weather is rather unpredictable, its best to plan ahead. Whether its having a tent or the ability to move the party inside, its best to know your options.

Tip #16: Wedding Regisry

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One of the funniest aspects of preparing for your wedding is the creating the wedding registry. This can be a great bonding time with you and you fiance finding the best products to complimnet your home and to start off your married life together. For men, its the power of the registry scanner and for women its picking out your own gifts. The key to a successful registry experience is to register together since this is for the both of you; and to make a whole day out of it by going out to lunch or dinner afterward. Remember the process can take anymore from one to three hours so make sure that you are not under any time constraints.

Here are some helpful hints for registering.

1. Determine what store(s) you want to register at and what are your needs for the household. Make sure that you register at stores you frequent and if you are going to register for a speciality store make sure that you register for a nationwide department store to accommodate all of your guests.

2. Register in person rather than online. This is best since you can touch and feel out the products and then after completing your registry you can always go online to change or add a product.

3. Register for items to fit every kind of budget. With the current state of our economy make sure to register for a wide variety of products with price points. But don't shy away from registering for big ticket items such as a luggage set since a new trend is for wedding guests to pool their money to purchase one large gift.

4. Do your research on household products. Before you register figure out what your needs are. Don't register for something just to register. Stick to one brand for linens, towels, stemware, luggage and china. This will avoid receiving several items from different product lines.

5. Before your wedding, find a reliable friend or family member to gather all of your gifts at the church and/or reception venue to bring to your residence.

Tip of the Day #15: Who should marry you?

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A new trend in weddings that is becoming very popular is having their friends or family members perform the marriage ceremony instead of a religious officiant.

The benefit of having a friend or family member is that person knows the couple more intimately and can share more personal stories about the bride and groom and them as a couple.

For more information, visit the Universal Life Church Monastery.

Tip #22: Wedding Day Treats

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Think of your wedding party's health and well being by having have small snacks and water on hand during the wedding day. This is great during photographs or right before the ceremony starts. For the ladies, it is best to use straws for water as to avoid water marks on dresses. For snacks, cheese/crackers, fruit, pretzels are good treams. Avoid greasy sandwiches with mustard and mayo!

Tip of the Day #14: Marriage License

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Here are some helpful hints about obtaining a Washington State Marriage License.

You must wait three days before the marriage can take place. The 3-day waiting period does not begin until you have both appeared in the office.

You must both be at least 18 years old. Bring photo ID and both parties must be present to apply for the license.

The fee is $64.00 cash, money order, or cashier's check. No personal checks. (Some counties have varying costs, please check your county first)

Your marriage license is valid in Washington State.

A blood test or physical is NOT required in Washington State.

A marriage license and marriage certificate are different documents. The marriage license permits a marriage to take place. The marriage certificate indicates that a legal marriage has been performed.

Tip of the Day #13: Thank you notes

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A post-wedding must do is the Thank You card. To get a jump start on them is to start once you receive a gift in the mail. Your thank you accomplishes two things, it thanks your guests for the gift but also lets the sender know that you received the gift. Be thoughtful and personalize each card. If you are sending the thank you before the wedding, you can say that you are looking forward to seeing them at the wedding.

Also, to avoid back-up of handwriting all of those thank you cards (Yes, these need to be hand written and not done on the computer, its more personal this way) when you get home from your honeymoon is to write them on your flights for your honeymoon.

9 years and still going strong!

Today, marks my 9th wedding anniversary to the most wonderful man! We first met on October 19, 1997 when I was a freshman at Washington State University and he was a sophomore. We have been together ever since and now have two beautiful sons, Grant,7 and Jackson who turns 5 on June 28.

Our success is due in large part to our parents who combined have been married for 72 years. We have great role models in our parents, grandparents and greatgrandparents.

We were engaged at midnight on New Year's Even in 2001. We were engaged for 18 months before our big day came and in front of 225 of our closest friends and family we celebrated like only Cougs cans.

It was planning my own wedding that led me to this career and I thank God everyday for all the success I have had since I started Elegant Affairs back in August of 2005.

Tip of the Day #12: When to mail out Save the Dates?

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A good rule of thumb is to send out Save the Date cards 6-8 months before your wedding, even earlier if you are planning a destination wedding to allow guests to plan and book their travel arrangements. If you have a longer engagment, expect a lot of out of two guests, Save the Dates can be sent out even earlier.

Another tip is to add your personal web site information to the Save the Date, so guests can keep updated about travel information (Hotel accomodations, etc.)

Tip of the Day #11: To pin or not to pin!

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Pinterest is the best way to store inspirational images for your big day. You can search for photos of  centerpieces, flowers, hair styles to invitations and other decor and then "pin" the images to inspiration boards. This is a great way to convey your vision to your vendors with what you like.

Tip of the Day #10: Creating wedding web site

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A great way to keep your wedding guests up to date on your wedding, create a free web site (My personal favorite is www.weddingchannel.com). Your site can include information about you as a couple, wedding, registry information and photos. Another great feature is that the site can be password protected and you can have your guests RSVP through the site.

Tip of the Day #9: Contract language

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Before signing any vendor contracts, make sure to read every word very carefully and make sure that you understand everything and note everything you have asked for is listed on the contract.

Also, look for things like what will would happen if the vendor fails to show up on your wedding day or doesn't deliver the services they were contracted for.

At Elegant Affairs, we want to help our clients as much as possible and to ensure that they are getting everything they are paying for so we review every contract before they sign on the dotted line.

Tip of the Day #8: Share the Duties

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Share the Duties: This is the best way to get things done. You both should be involved every step of the way. Make a list of details to be taken care of, then divide the list in half. Each of you choose what you want to do. This will make grooms want to be involved, instead of making them feel like they have to help. Sure, your sweetie probably isn't concerned with exactly which flowers you carry. And maybe you're not picky about what tuxedos he and the guys wear (or maybe you are!). But involving your husband-to-be will make him feel that it's his wedding, too -- something he helped plan, not just something he has to show up at.