Are you planning a wedding?
This mama is in full wedding mode over here!
Allow me to share a few tips I have learned from
assisting my daughter and daughter in law.
Set that date and start researching venues.
Venues are booked up due to covid pushing everything back so
Think Outside The Box
Consider parks, vintage pavilions, backyards, farms,
destination weddings with VRBO rentals, Thursday, Friday or
Sunday weddings, morning weddings with a brunch,
elopement with a wedding reception later, a small intimate wedding,
your family home, your favorite hiking spot, a lakeside picnic,
Disneyland, or a favorite restaurant. Get creative and don't think you
have to follow the lead from friends/family who have tied
the knot before you. Have fun and enjoy the process!
Don't Fret, Sweat or Regret
Take it slow. Grab an armful of great bridal magazines and a good
bottle of wine or sweet tea with your tribe and play. Go to the nearest drugstore and
pick out a poster board like you did in grade school.
Throw in the baskets some glue sticks, markers and some scissors and
start cutting and pasting your favorite pics from the magazines.
Jot down notes next to the clippings, pick some shades of colors
you love and just play and dream big.
Research and Then Research Some More
When it comes to choosing a venue and deciding on vendors it can be quite
overwhelming if you allow it to suck you and gobble you up.
The vendors that will show up first in the search engines will be the most experienced
and most likely the most expensive. My best advice in this step is to.....
Divide and Conquer
All of those amazing friends and family who offered to help can be assigned a specific vendor to research. Share researching tips like scrolling Instagram, asking friends for referrals, asking other vendors for their referrals, scanning venue websites for their preferred vendors, looking at wedding photographers on Instagram and checking out the vendors they have tagged in photos. Call local universities and junior colleges to inquire on photography, graphic artwork for invitations, videography, musicians, vocalists, etc. Students are always looking for side work as well as building their portfolio. My daughter was able to find vendors who were fairly new to the business, within 1-3 years. This allowed for much better pricing as they build their portfolio. These vendors tend to be more excited and invested in their clients as well, which really makes it fun for the bride and the vendor. The same can be applied when it comes to finding a caterer. Contact culinary schools for referrals for catering as well as wedding cakes. My daughter in law took her time finding a caterer and she landed the most amazing vendor where the owners were all veterans and their food was literally incredible! And, more importantly they were some of the happiest and nicest folks who truly loved cooking for others and sharing their love of food. It was some of the very best "wedding food" I have ever had and she paid only a whopping $17 per guest! Crazy great price! You do not, I repeat, you do not have to break the bank for excellent vendors. I will provide, at the end of this post, the links to all the vendors we have used for our Texas and Colorado weddings. Do the research, you will be happy you did. Grab a big 3 ring binder with pocket inserts and dividers so you can store collected business cards, flyers, notes and photos. Nothing fancy just a working binder so you don't loose anything and you can quickly grab what you need to make calls. Ask your helpers before sending you their research to call to verify that their specific vendors they have found for you to consider have an opening on your wedding date. No need to pass it along to you if they are not even available. This will save you time and stress.
Behold Your Beauty
Every single bride is beautiful. I mean every single one. Beauty is from within and then
it radiates out. A soul that is happy can not be anything but beautiful. While much attention, time and energy is surrounded around "The Dress", please remember that a dress will only serve as an accessory to the bride on her special day. For the bride herself is what is most beautiful
and most important to her groom. This is yet another aspect of the wedding planning to play around with, enjoy the process and explore all options. Visit multiple shops, try on every style, and soon you will start
to narrow down what you like and what you don't like. Look at Pinterest, Instagram, Etsy, Poshmark and bridal websites. Consider new, like new, vintage, borrowed and family heirlooms. Nothing should be off the table. My sister wore my veil. Another sister wore my mom's pillbox hat from her wedding. One friend found her dress at a vintage store and altered it to her liking.
Another friend altered her mom's wedding dress. When it comes to hair and makeup, play around with hairstyles you like. Will it be an outdoor wedding? If so, what will the weather be like at that time of year? Consider your venue location and potential weather when deciding on wearing your hair up or down and deciding on sleeves or no sleeves for your dress. You will want to be comfortable, cool and still fancy and gorgeous! Hiring a makeup artist isn't always necessary. Even Kate Middleton did her own makeup for her wedding day. Choose your shoes carefully. No need to spend a large chunk of change on your shoes especially as they will most likely be hard to see under that fancy dress. Consider the height of your groom and also comfort level. Maybe change shoes for the dance floor? Keep a small clutch with your lipstick, some mints and touch up makeup at your table so you can grab and go to the powder room mid dancing. Make a list of all of your glamour gadgets and accessories you will be bringing with
you on your the wedding day so you won't forget a single item.
Expand Your Expectations and Your Imagination
This is YOUR day. No one two weddings are the same nor should they be. Add your own twist and turns.
Start new traditions and trends and make it your own. You be YOU! When the day is over and you kick off your shoes, let it be what you wanted and dreamed about. Live in that moment and not in someone else's. Eat the cake, drink the wine, dance with your grandpa and or grandma, let your hemline get dirty and kiss your groom a thousand times on the dance floor or under the moonlight. And after the party doors close if you are still hungry, have your groom drive you thru McDonald's like mine did to get a "Cheeseburger Happy Meal" because I was starving and why not? Have the most beautiful day full of blessings beyond your wildest dreams that will spill over into your marriage for years and years to come.
Engagement Blessing
Dear Heavenly Father, Bless this couple as they begin
their preparation for the sacrament of marriage. Guide them
as they begin this beautiful journey of love and faith.
Let their preparation lead them closer to you and to each other.
Through this special time of engagement allow this couple
to feel your divine love and grace present in their every day lives.
Allow them to see their beauty as individuals and what they will bring to
this marriage that will bless them going forward. May you grant them
health, safety and complete protection as they prepare for this holy covenant.
We ask this in your name, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen
Tried and True Vendors
