Wedding Song: All of Me.

Hi everyone!

It's no secret that the wedding song of this wedding season is John Legend's "All of Me".  It's a beautiful song that he wrote for his wife and performed it on their wedding day.  The last time someone did something this swoon-worthy was Uncle Jessie on Full House. 

I fell in love with "All of Me" when John Legend performed it for the first time at the Grammy's.  He has such a lovely voice, how could anyone not fall in love?

Are you using this song as your first dance song, or as the song for your wedding video? It's a great choice for both!

XO, Val.

Wedding Invitations.

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about something that really surprised me when a wedding invitation someone I know received in the mail.  It was a fine invitation until I realized that on the bottom it said "please RSVP online at our website." I know that invitations have become less formal than they used to be, but I do believe they should never be online. This is something I have never seen before. No matter what, I think you need to send an invitation, AND a return card with a stamp in the REGULAR mail. 

Maggie's Creations. 

I'm sure somewhere down the line it will be the norm to have your wedding invitations online (cringe). But for now, I think we should stick to having them in the mail, RSVPing through the mail, and only have a wedding website to elaborate on your invitations. 

What do you think about having guests RSVP online?

XO, Val.

Why Hire a Wedding Planner?

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about why you should hire a wedding planner.  Planning your wedding is a job in its self.  It is however a very exciting and fun time in your life.  I know many girls dream about their wedding day, and have a perfect vision for their day.  They feel they don't need a planner because they want to do everything themselves.  

There are many reasons why people hire a wedding planner.  If they don't have a lot of help from friends and family, they don't have time themselves, or if they feel they simply need help because they want to be able to enjoy the planning process, and avoid stress. Also, couples are getting married after they get established in their career, rather than 21or 22.  Once they have a career, there is much less time to concentrate on a wedding. 

When you hire a wedding planner, they will do as much or as little as you want them to do. They will also work within whatever kind of budget you have; you don't have to have a $500,000 budget to have a wedding planner.  It's a great thing really; you get to do all the fun things, and your planner does all the dirty work.  They will call vendors, set up appointments, look over contracts, and more. I'm sure you and your fiancé can handle all of those things, but why should you?  You get to look back at your wedding day and remember all the great things, instead of the stress.

I also feel that everyone needs at least a day of coordinator for your wedding day.  You may not think so, but there are many, many things that could go wrong on your wedding day. You might be thinking that your venue has an event coordinator there already.  However, that person works for the venue, not for you. Having someone there for your entire day that YOU hired is invaluable.  Knowing that if you leave your veil at home, your maid of honor or mom doesn't have to drive and get it.  Or, if God forbid your wedding cake gets ruined, there's someone there to go to the closest grocery store, and fix the problem. 

So if you're on the fence about hiring a wedding planner, just know that being able to enjoy your wedding day, and your friends and family being able to enjoy your wedding day  is the most important part.  Being able to sit and get your hair and makeup done without people asking you for the number of the florist because she's late, or anything else that you shouldn't be thinking about a few hours before your wedding. 

I hope this helped!

XO, Val

Wedding Food.

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk to you about the food you will be having at your wedding.  Food is something that is absolutely essential for every wedding.  It is something people will remember; good or bad.  Most of the time wedding venues have the food included, and you can't bring in your own caterer.  That can be a good thing! It's one less vendor you have to choose, because it's already taken care of.  All you have to do is go to a tasting and decide what you want from the packages they provide.  All you can hope is that the food is going to be up to your standards; no matter what those standards may be.  Sometimes you have to pick a venue because they have better food than other venues. It's no secret; the more beautiful the venue, the more expensive it's going to be.  The food may not be as good as it should be, however.  

via the knot.

If food is something very important to your fiancé and yourself, picking a venue that lets you bring in your own caterer is probably the best option for you.  You can really customize your menu and have exactly what you want.  If you've opted to hire a wedding planner, use them to help you with this process. Without their help,this can be a very daunting task. They will know the venues that allow you to bring everything in, and they will know the best caterers. Try to skip using the big catering company that you've heard about a thousand times.  Yeah they have good food, but they know they have good food, so it's going to be more expensive.  Try to find someone less well-known.  They are going to have great food, but they are still trying to get their name out there, so it's a win-win for you. 

via the knot.

No matter what kind of venue/caterer you pick, having food for your guests near the end of the reception is a fabulous idea! It's been a few hours since dinner, and everyone has been drinking and dancing the night away. Bringing out 10:00 pizza, or fast-food cheeseburgers and fries is something that people will remember!

via the knot.

Hope this helped!!

XO, Val.

How Much Time Do You Need to Plan Your Wedding?

Hi Everyone!

Today I wanted to talk about how much time is needed to plan a wedding.  I know this may seem like such a simple thing, but some couples I meet with wonder if the time frame they have is realistic.  

I feel like in most cases you can plan a wedding with whatever time limit you have.  There are a few things that attribute to making the wedding planning process take longer.  When you are planning a wedding, I think there are three big things that need the most time.

#1. The venue.  Great venues get swooped up a year to a year and a half in advance.  If you have the option, waiting for your dream venue might be worth it.  If you only have five months to plan a wedding, it's time to be less picky and more creative about your venue.  

#2 The dress! we all know that the dress is something very import on your wedding day.  When it comes to the dress it takes time.  You need time to find the perfect dress, then around seven to eight months for it to be ordered and altered.  If you want/need to have your wedding sooner than that, there are still options.  You could buy a sample dress at a bridal shop and have it altered, but again you can't be too picky.  Buying a white dress that isn't a wedding dress is also an option.  

#3 The guest list.  Deciding who to invite to your wedding is a very daunting task, but that's not why you need time.  If you have a lot of family and friends coming in from out-of-town for your wedding, you probably need to give them more than six months to make their arrangements. 

On the opposite of this, having too much time to plan your wedding can be just as hard as when you don't have a lot of time. When you have two plus years to plan your wedding, you might think it's great but in reality a lot of the ideas you thought you wanted in the beginning of your planning process, might not be the same when the wedding is three months away.  You might find this great idea, but it's now too late and it can get expensive if you have to make changes to your original flower arrangements, cake, etc.  You may also go crazy over the little details because you have so much time after all the big things are taken care of.  

I hope this helped!

XO, Val

Traditions: Not seeing each other before the ceremony.

Hi everyone!

I wanted to talk to you about wedding traditions.  There are some out there that I agree need to stay put, and others I think we can live with out.  I'm going to start by talking about the bride and groom seeing each other before she walks down the isle. 

People say it's bad luck, but do you agree? They also say they miss the special moment when he first sees her. That is a pretty awesome moment, but its okay if you want that to just be between the two of you. 

First look photo shoots are becoming more and more popular.  It's an amazing moment that is captured with only the two of you and the photographer before the ceremony.  It's always very popular for couples who don't have a lot of time between their ceremony and reception, or if they'd rather not have a three hour gap between the ceremony and reception to do pictures. 

via the knot.

When couples opt to have their wedding and reception in the same location, it's much easier to do most of the pictures before hand, so you can actually enjoy your cocktail hour with your guests.  You will also have more time before the ceremony in this case, because it will be starting later in the day rather than at 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon like with Catholic or other church weddings.  

I personally love first look photo shoots.  They're special and romantic, and the pictures are always amazing. It's also the only time you and your future spouse will have any time alone. As a wedding planner, it also makes my job easier! i don't have to worry about the bride and groom crossing paths all day. 

I'm not saying that I dislike the traditional way, though. As a guest, seeing the groom's face when his bride is walking down the isle is one of my favorite parts of the wedding.  

What do you think of the first look photo shoot and couples seeing each other before the ceremony?

XO, Val

Wedding Website.

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about couples getting married having a wedding website.  It seems like a lot of people don't know what it is, so I wanted to talk about it.  

I always tell couples they should have one for their wedding for many reasons. The point of having one is so you can put information on there that further shares about your wedding.  For starters, you can add engagement pictures, and share the story of how the two of you met.  

It also helps keep your invitation smaller and lighter! We all know that a lot can go into your invitations.  A lot of them have folds and many different pieces, which is great but it means they will be heavy, and that makes postage more expensive. Things like directions, hotel information, and where you're registered (that should NEVER go into your invitation, it's considered tacky) can go onto your website. 

You would simply put your website on the bottom of your save the dates and invitation with "for more information please visit..."

  My favorite one is wedding wire.

There are so many designs, so you're sure to find a layout that matches your wedding perfectly!  People can even leave nice comments for you, and ask any questions they may have.  You can leave numbers and email addresses of who they should contact with further questions i.e. your wedding planner. 

So all you engaged couples, have fun building your custom wedding website! 

XO, Val