Searching For A Good Cause

All brides know that wedding planning requires a lot of research. You have to research venues, bands, invitations, limousine rentals, airline flights, hotels, and sometimes even simple wedding etiquette. There’s a great way to research for your wedding, as well as help others in the process.

GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine. They make donations to 90,000 participating members, you choose your cause and they will donate one penny to your nonprofit of choice.

The creators of this website have also created GoodShop.com. By purchasing items from participating merchants, a percentage will be donated to a cause. Since JJ Ramberg and her brother Ken created GoodSearch.com in 2005, they have raised $34,000 for the ASPCA which helps animals in need, $14,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and $12,000 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. You can use your wedding as a way to help those in need. When shopping for all of items related to your wedding, why not help others?

So, instead of searching for wedding photographers on Google or Bing , if you go to goodsearch.com, they will donate a penny for every search.

Effective Decision Making

Effective decision-making is very important when it comes to planning your wedding. There are a few things every bride must remember when she is having difficulties deciding…. what invitations to choose, whether I should have a live band oppose to a dj, should I include different dress styles for each bridesmaid, or should I have a flower girl? When trying to decide, here are some of the important things to remember:

·  It's important to not procrastinate when it comes to making a decision. You should set a deadline for completely each task and stick to those dates when trying to make a decision. The longer you wait to make a decision, the more likely it is for your favorite vendor to be booked.

·  When having difficulties making the decision, try to remember your overall goal. It’s very easy to lose sight of your original wedding ideas once you start reviewing all of your options and getting the advice of others. Don’t get distracted with all of the options.

·  If you still find yourself unable to make a choice, try to weigh the benefits and disadvantages for each of your options. For example, creating a pros and cons list is even helpful. Sometimes seeing your options and ideas on paper can help you see things clearly. Visually seeing the pros of choosing one vendor oppose to another helps you make your decision faster. Efficiency is key!

·  It's fine to ask the advice of friends and family, but be very selective in who you ask. Sometimes asking too many people for their opinions can lead to more indecisiveness. Try to only take the recommendations of close family members and friends who know your personal style. We all know that when planning a wedding, everyone loves to share their ideas! Remember how you first envisioned your wedding and try to stick to those original ideas, because it’s very easy to get sidetracked.

Just remember, every bride feels overwhelmed at one point or another, but take it one vendor at a time and things will begin to fall into place. The sooner you start making decisions, the closer you are to accomplishing your dream wedding.

Importance of Wedding Insurance

Most couples are too busy planning for the big day and don’t think about things such as insuring the wedding. I’ve done many weddings over the years and most have moved forward without a glitch, but there is always a small chance that something could happen. There are many reasons you should insure your event…for example if you are getting married in Florida and a hurricane hits on the day of?  Other examples are cancellation to wedding, vendor no-show or unexpected postponement due to an illness.  There are many companies that can help insure your wedding day.  A couple of websites which offer wedding insurance are www.insuremywedding.com and www.wedsafe.com.  Wedsafe offers two different insurance packages, as well as additional products to insure your wedding.   Coverage costs will depend on the level of coverage you require and your budget. 

Before moving forward with planning for the big day, remember to purchase wedding insurance.  You never know if you will need it, but why take a chance.   

Seasons for Weddings

As you may know, there is a season for weddings.  In each area of the country the season is different.  For example on the East coast, the peak wedding season is during the summer months May through September.  Whereas on the West coast, the wedding season is January through April during the winter when it’s cooler.  Can you image an outdoor wedding in Texas during the summer? 

Since there are different peak wedding timings around the country, you can use that to your advantage. You can hire vendors from different areas of the country for your wedding.  A photographer in New York during the summer will not only be difficult to find but also expensive.  Why not hire a photographer from Arizona or Texas during a summer wedding New York?  They will be more willing to negotiate on pricing since it’s off season for them.  Just remember to factor in travel expense for the vendors when you are negotiating with them since you will be covering their costs.

Hope this helps you with your budget when you’re planning your big day.       

Family Photo Dilemma

Weddings are such an emotional time for everyone involved. There are always are few difficult decisions that brides and grooms have to make.  For example, should boyfriends and girlfriends of your siblings be a part of the wedding photos?  I’ve had many brides come to me with this dilemma.  It a very sensitive subject and you don’t want to offend anyone.  I think the best approach is to have one photo with and one without the boyfriends and girlfriends. Then it’s up to you to choose which photo you want in your albums.  You never know what’s going to happen with the relationship, so this way you’ll be cover no matter what and no one gets insulted.

Hope this helps you when you are planning your wedding photo list.     

What is a Welcome Letter?

Welcome bags have become a major part of destination weddings but they can useful for your out-of-town guests as well.  The welcome letter is an essential component of the welcome bag.  Many of my brides have asked me to help them put together a welcome letter.  Have you ever wondered what goes into the welcome letter?   It can be a simple 1 page letter thanking your guests for being a part of your big day with information regarding events of wedding or it can be more elaborate like a booklet with information about the hotel, the area, in addition to the events of the wedding.   

Here’s what a detailed welcome letter would contain.

Page 1 - Cover Page

Page 2 – Note from Bride and Groom

Page 3 - Day 1 Itinerary

Page 4 - Day 2 Itinerary

Page 5 - Day 3 Itinerary

Page 6 – Information regarding the hotel amenities

Page 7 – Things to do in the area including shopping, restaurants, and places to see

Page 8 – Contact Information for Bride and Groom and a thank you

Here are a couple of examples of welcome bags.

Destination Weddings

We’ve done many destination wedding over the years.  Recently, I’ve noticed there have been many more destination wedding inquires coming my way.   There have been many occasions where I’ve been asked to make some suggestions for the destination weddings. So, here are a few of my favorite island properties where we’ve done weddings.   

Ritz Carlton – Cayman Island

Ritz Carlton – Jamaica

Ritz Carlton – San Juan Puerto Rico

W Hotel – Vieques Puerto Rico

Westin Hotel – Los Cabos Mexico 

Seven Stars Resort – Turks and Caicos

JW Marriott – Cancun Mexico

Mandarin Oriental – Rivera Maya Mexico

Four Seasons – Nevis West Indies

I hope this helps you with your search for the perfect destination wedding. 

Traditional Wedding Dress with a Twist

Your wedding dress will be one of the most important decisions you will make during the wedding planning process.  It’s something every bride has looked forward to since she was a little girl.  Over the years and the many weddings, I’ve been fortunate to see some of the most beautiful dresses.  A lot of my brides have put a creative, personal touch on the big day’s outfit.  One of my brides, Debjani, took a traditional South Indian sari and added her own personal modern twist. She bought a traditional cream Benarasi sari with a maroon and gold border and transformed it, with the help of designed Angelo Lambrou in NYC, into a modern work of art.  Debjani’s idea was to replicate the traditional pleats and draping of a sari and create a gown.  Angelo was able to achieve the look Debjani envisioned for her reception. The top of the dress was all cream folded fabric which imitated the pleats of a sari. The bottom of the dress had layers of the cream fabric bordered with the maroon and gold pieces of the sari, slightly off-centered, which also resembled sari pleats.

Debjani looked amazing.  I also love it when brides take their mom’s wedding saris and do something creative with it such as a modern wedding dress or a lengha. You can do what Dimple did and have her mom’s sari made into the blouse and boarders of her lengha.

I think it means so much, when picking your outfit for the big day, think outside the box, always choose something you will be comfortable in, and something you will remember for years to come.