Feature Article
By Tracey Baxter
Your budget is actually irrelevant! A wedding is a time for grace and that’s not a category that can be calculated on the balance sheet. The intrinsic value of proper etiquette at a wedding is immeasurable. So if you want to plan a wedding fit for royalty, the budget is the last thing that will be remembered. Invest some time at your local library or bookstore perusing the wedding etiquette section. Your wedding is a great opportunity to learn (or relearn) how to properly address invitations, how to delicately tell your neighbor that the wedding will be an intimate family affair, and overall how to be a delight to others.
Above all, remember, friends and family mean well! The devil is in the details as they say! What makes your wedding special to you is not necessarily going to speak to your best friend’s tastes and desires. It’s OK to disagree with others on what trend you should be following this season or what menu to offer. This is your wedding and the only thing it should be is a reflection of you and your fiancé’s love for each other. Remember you can agree to disagree without ruffling too many feathers just by saying “You might be right about that!” And then gently change the subject to a different wedding detail or other topic entirely.
Although it might be a given where Prince William and Kate Middleton will be wed, the ceremony location is perhaps the most important place to visit first. Kudos to Kate for her first public wedding planning step she’s taken since the engagement announcement: taking a personal look at Westminster Abbey where her ceremony will very likely be held. Without the ceremony site, there is no wedding. So don’t book too much until the ceremony location is secured.
Guests reign supreme especially when they are royalty and dignitaries from foreign lands. But every bride should take plenty of time considering her guests when planning her wedding. Yes, it’s your day but you want to convey to your guests that you truly desire for them to enjoy your day too. So how can you do that? Plan responsibly! Consider your event day timeline carefully by allowing plenty of time for travel between the ceremony and reception sites. Your guests want to enjoy every part of the event you have planned for them. If it takes more than half hour to travel from the ceremony to the reception site, and your ceremony will end at 4:00pm don’t plan your cocktail hour to start until 5:00pm. Your guests will have time to freshen up and safely arrive without missing a moment of the fun!
Don’t forget the smallest guests! With children in tow, some guests feel it’s challenging to attend a wedding. From individual fun buckets to a table of shared activities, make it easier for guests to relax by providing kid friendly entertainment and fun! This also keeps the kids from controlling the dance floor and thereby allows the guests without children to feel comfortable to enjoy the party too! What should you provide for the kids? Etch-a-Sketch, Rubik’s Cube, Mad Libs, and easy clean crafts in a back pack or bucket are a great start. Lining a kid height table with a stack of butcher paper with a canister of markers, crayons and colored pencils makes a fun table – and it’s sweeter with a centerpiece featuring big yummy lolly-pops for all the kids!
Traditional, trendy, theme-ey or timeless, your wedding above all else should be enjoyable for you and your fiancé. There may be many hurdles to jump but unlike Kate & Prince William you won’t have all the world watching and scrutinizing your every step. Keep your wedding stress perspective! Don’t let yourself get so stressed that you are prone to bride-zilla moments. Take time for yourself to relax and have ‘NWP’ days – Non-Wedding-Planning days that is! Recharge, regroup and relax so you are not overwhelmed. Plan these days into your wedding planning itinerary!
Your Wedding Planning Homework: Plan a spa day, shopping trip or movie night with your bridesmaids, sister, mom or other friends. It's time to relax and recharge your batteries!
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