My trip down the aisle

(Disclaimer. Long post so be sure not to miss the photo slide show at the end. )

It has been 10 weeks since my wedding and that is plenty of time for me to have figured out what I coulda, shoulda, woulda done differently at my wedding. When sitting down to write this blog post it was a lot harder than I thought. So here is my best advice. It seems sorta random but there wasn't much that went wrong at my wedding, so I hope that my advice helps you get through the wedding planning process with some of the same tricks that worked for me.

1. Hire a planner. I know the economy is tough right now and the first thing you eliminate from your budget is a wedding planner but I think this is the wrong way to go. I couldn't have made it through my planning sanely with out Layla. If you can't afford to hire one for the entire time just hire one for day of coordination.

Layla and I had accomplished so much by the time it reached the two week out mark. That allowed me to be a stress free bride and really enjoy those last two weeks when everything could've hit the fan. By the time my parents came into town I had nothing for them to help me with. I was able to sit back and relax which was great.

Having a coordinator also gave me a lot of peace of mind. I didn't have to worry about the little details like calling all of the vendors to figure out a time line etc., decorating the event space, or putting out little last minute fires. That is where Layla came in. On the day of my wedding I worried about nothing. I knew everything was in good hands and it would be taken care of for me. That was priceless to me.

2. Browse the internet/message boards. I have to say that I was addicted to The Knot message boards and I'm slowing weaning myself off of them. This was an invaluable resource to me. It was an outlet where I could gather unique ideas and also share my own planning and receive feedback. I don't even want to think about the number of hours I spent on this site. It is probably embarrassingly high but it was worth every minute. All of my great ideas came from the internet and it allowed me to have a spectacular looking wedding day.

3. DIY (Do-It-Yourself) is not always the cheapest route but it does make your wedding day more meaningful. I loved walking into the church and reception space and seeing my hard work come to life. It is also a way for you to get exactly what you want.

Things I DIYed:

- Invitations - They were a labor of love but it came out exactly the way I wanted it. I never found anything I loved online so I pulled different ideas from different invitations and put them together into one. It also felt good when I got compliments and when people were shocked that I made them myself.

- Place cards - The way I wanted to display the cards was with photo clip things. I couldn't find them cheap enough so I made them myself.

- Aisle markers - Here's one where it might not have turned out cheaper but it was fun to make my own. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on aisle decorations and found a great picture of what I wanted to do. I bought the items to recreate the picture but it turned out that the styrofoam I needed and the amount of fake flowers I needed cost more than it might have cost for a florist to make them. At least I enjoyed making them with a good friend.

- Bridesmaid jewelry - Once I saw a picture of the pearl/ribbon necklaces I knew that is what I wanted. i didn't know where to find it so I bought the supplies to do it myself. It also meant a lot more to them than receiving something bought.

I'm sure there is more but that is all that is coming to me at this point and I'm sure you get the idea.

4. Budgeting. Layla introduced me to a way to budget when we first started working together and it really worked for me. She encouraged me to try and only spend 90% of my budget and to allow the leftover 10% for extras and last minute purchases. This really helped because at the last minute I decided to rent a dance floor and table linens. I'm so happy that I had that extra money because those two items really made my reception look great. And if you don't have any last minute stuff to spend money on you can always take the leftovers on your honeymoon.

I think that is about it. Just remember this exciting time for you will be over in a minute so really enjoy it but don't let it consume you or you might have wedding planning withdrawals like I did.

**Thanks goes out to Layla for recommending the personalized Pub Signs for groomsmen's gifts. They were a hit. See a picture above.**

Vendors I used:

Coordinator - Wed with Ease - She coordinated my wedding beautifully.

Church - First United Methodist Church - Beautiful and great Pastor to work with.

Reception Site - RiverFront Cafe - Very unique and modern. Great food. Great Prices

Photographer - LaBranche Photography - Great Price. Great Product. Most of the photos in slide show are his.

Videographer - S&B Weddings - Amazing Price. Well edited video.

Flowers - Anything with Plants and Flowers - Fun to work with. Beautiful work.

DJ - Carlton with McGee Entertainment - Work the money. Kept the dance floor packed.

Hair - Casey Does Hair - So pleased with her work. Great to work with.

Hotel - Omni - Great Service and Price.

Trolleys - Dana's Limousines

Reahearsal dinner space - Garden Club of Jax - Beautiful.

Rehearsal dinner food - d'Vine Cuisine - Great Price. Great Food. Fun to work with.


Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe got something out of it.

Stacy

P.S. See additional information and more pictures in these two blog postings:

Posting Number 1
Posting Number 2

Brides Against Breast Cancer Wedding Gown Sale in Orlando, Florida

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a very worthwhile event, the Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown Sale in Orlando, Florida. It was held in the Fairwinds Alumni Center on the main campus of the University of Central Florida.



There were many volunteers who gave of themselves that day to contribute to the success of the gown sale. Volunteers took on a number of responsibilities from loading gowns, registering brides, helping brides try on gowns, veils, and discussing their options.


One bride I remember that day (the first customer I assisted!), selected the exact gown she had chosen at a wedding gown shop, and tried it on in a smaller size & found that it fit! She was thrilled. She said to me "And, its for a great cause"


That feeling is wonderful, to help a bride purchase HER gown for less than she would have paid for it elsewhere, and raising funds for a great cause. We were able to make 34 brides very happy! And, we raised over $20,000 that weekend in Orlando.


Brides Against Breast Cancer is an organization that takes gown donations from shops and brides, then the funds are used to grant wishes for breast cancer patients. You can't get any better than that! Here's a shot of a wish that was granted in 2006:



Thanks to Allan Saltman of Allan Jay Images for the shots above. Allan's blog allows viewer's to see things from Allan's Angle.

Thanks again to all of the volunteers and to the brides who came to shop for their gown and contribute to our cause. If you have a gown you would like to donate, please either contact me directly or visit the Brides Against Breast Cancer website for details here: I'd like to donate my gown.

Congratulations to all of the volunteers who helped with the gown sale and to the vendors who participated.

until next time.....

HAPPY WEDDING PLANNING!

Stacy & Danny's Real Wedding

January 31st 2009 was a beautiful day. The sky was clear, the air was crisp. And, Stacy & Danny united in marriage on that day. It was perfect! I had three ladies assist me with the day, Cassandra Cherneski of Flaire Weddings, Maggie Layton (who was apprenticing with me for the first time) and Lauren Kelly.

Eye See an Easy Day for Stacy!




I'll give you a quick run-down of the vendors involved with the day, but I have a special surprise for my readers. I've asked Stacy to be a guest blogger to give you her experiences and to talk about the details of her day. What she did that she was happy with, what she may have changed, and any thing else she wants to say!

Ceremony/Church: First United Methodist Church, downtown Jacksonville
Reception Venue: Riverfront Cafe'
Flowers: Anything With Plants and Flowers
Photographer: Jim LaBranche
Videographer: S & B Wedding Images
Transportation: Dana's Limo & a wonderful friend of mine who owns classic cars!

Entertainment: Carlton McGee with McGee Entertainment
Linens & Dancefloor: GT Party Rentals
Cake: Publix, located at San Jose (they are the best!)

Here are some additional images from the day (Thanks to Jim LaBranche):








until next time.....

EASY WEDDING PLANNING!

Sneak Peek ~ Stacy & Danny's Real Wedding

Stacy and Danny hired me 18 months in advance to plan, coordinate and execute their wedding day to be held at the First United Methodist church in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. I assisted them with everything from selecting their ceremony venue, reception venue, and rehearsal dinner venue to managing their budget, selecting their table linens, and all their top notch vendors, as well as coordinating their beautiful wedding day. Now, that it's all done, Stacy, Danny & I have become wonderful friends!

It is with great joy that I bring you a few teaser images from their wedding day.

Thanks to Cassandra Cherneski and Jim Labranch for providing the images. :)

Full blog post to follow on Monday....so stay tuned!

















until next time.....

EASY WEDDING PLANNING!