Dear Readers,
We offer our apologies as our Manic Monday got a little too manic here at PR! Tune in next week for a fresh new article!
PS Diary of a Bride is back in business tomorrow
Monthly Archives: April 2012
DIY Seating Chart
Links We Love by Aly Dailey
Seating Charts can be super stressful! But with the simple steps in this Once Wed tutorial you’ll be able to make a seating chart thats easy, inexpensive, and cute! Supplies include kraft paper and post its. The post its make categorizing your guests easy and the great thing is you can easily move around your guests to get your seating chart just right!
Check out the Seating Chart tutorial HERE!
The Beach Honeymoon
Fashion Fever by Aly Dailey
Your honeymoon is your time to relax after your wedding with your new hubby. Tropical locations are a great choice for honeymoons and can make you feel like you’re really getting away from it all. For this kind of trip you don’t need to weigh yourself down with tons of unnecessary luggage, just pack the essentials. So if your ultimate getaway includes sun, surf, and pina coladas we have just the packing list for you!
Sunglasses– protect your eyes with these adorable tortoise glasses
Hat– Protect your face from harmful rays in style with this adorable fedora
Bathing Suit – This sexy and flattering one piece is sure to look great lounging beachside
Shorts– These breezy, scalloped shorts are perfect for daytime
White Sundress – Light and breezy, this dress makes a perfect swimsuit cover up
Maxi Dress– This dress is comfortable, chic, and easy to pack
Sandals– These flats are great for sightseeing or for dinner
Wedges– These heels are easy to walk in and great for the more dressy evenings of your trip
Tote– Perfect for carrying all your beach essentials
Make sure you’ve got a good book, some sunscreen, and your camera. Then all that’s left is to let your hair down and have a good time!
Pre Dame Parties: The Newest Bachelorette Craze
It’s all in the Details by Jennifer Diehl
Are you going out with your girls this weekend, and want to glam it up? Or how about a girl’s-night-in party with some pampering and makeup lessons? Are you in charge of planning your best friend’s bachelorette party? If so, Pre-Dame is perfect for you!
Pre-Dame is New York City’s new “gotta have it.” Created by high fashion makeup artist, Stefanie Syat, Pre-Dame brings you back to the good old days of getting ready with your girlfriends before a big night out. Only this time, it’s with a professional makeup artist! The Pre-Dame crew comes to your apartment or hotel room with their entire professional makeup kit, fake lashes and of course, bottles of bubbly, to glam you and your girlfriends up before you hit the NYC nightlife.
The “Girls-Night Out” package is perfect for any occasion where a little extra glam is needed. And as an added bonus, the host gets a Pre-Dame goodie bag and her makeup done for free! “Group Lessons” are a great way to learn what works best for your skin type, eye shape or just to find a trendy new look! And this time, each girl gets a Pre-Dame goodie bag so they can re-create the look at home. All packages come with bottles of bubbly and an experience you won’t forget.
Pre-Dame is the perfect solution to any situation; their company lives by their motto “get pretty, drink bubbly, and go party”!
Visit them on their website
Follow them on twitter
Check out their newest video on Yelp
Dealing with Vendors
Manic Mondays by Jennifer Diehl
Vendors play a huge role in your wedding! The flowers, the music, the food, the make-up and more! Hiring the right team of vendors is critical to planning your dream wedding. One of the most stressful parts of your wedding can be choosing the right vendor for you, along with your wedding ideas and your budget, so we want to make sure that you’re prepared.
How do I go about choosing a vendor?
Do some research; it’s always good to go into your first meeting with some knowledge of the company. Look at vendor reviews; this is where you’ll really find the truth. Ask people that you know if they’ve heard of them or worked with them before. Be sure to ask questions, and get all the details in writing.
What do I do if my vendors bail last minute?
Don’t stress out, if you have a wedding planner they will have a back-up plan, so you won’t have to worry! If you didn’t go with a wedding planner, then one of your bridesmaids should step up and try and solve the problem! Running to the local florist or supermarket and buying as many flowers as possible, if your florist is M.I.A. (We at Private Receptions have dealt with this situation) If your photographer or videographer is a no-show find someone with a professional camera and appoint them to capture the action.
It’s your wedding, who’s in charge?
It’s important to find a vendor who you trust and who understands your vision for the wedding. While you should trust your professionals, don’t let your vendors take over, you make the final decisions. Listen to their suggestions, because they may have some good advice but don’t let them change your overall vision of your day.
How do I know what to tip my vendors?
In most cases tipping a vendor is optional, but is definitely recommended especially if the service was good! Here is a quick guide to tipping each vendor.
Your Wedding Planner- The average couple will tip their Wedding Planner up to $500 or a give them a very nice gift. Send them a picture from your honeymoon and a Thank you note as well!
Hair Stylist & Make-up Artist- It is expected that you tip 15-20 percent just as you would in a hair salon.
The Photographer & Videographer- They don’t always need a tip, but if their service was great $50-$200 is standard.
With any vendor, the most appreciated gift would be a testimonial letter complimenting their services.
Vendors come together to make your wedding day go beyond your expectations, so make sure you trust them and get along with them. And if you’ve hired a wedding planner, they’ll make sure you don’t have to stress about anything!
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Links We Love – Lover.ly
Links we Love by Lauren Cooper
Does your inbox get clogged with rss feeds from all the wedding blogs you subscribe too? Have an image you want to share but can’t remember which blog it came from? There’s a solution for that. Now you can organize all your wedding ideas and inspirations into one clean, 100% wedding themed space with lover.ly. Lover.ly partners with all of your fav wedding blogs and brings you the most gorgeous ideas from all of them…on ONE site! Yay. The site was founded by Kellee Khalil in order to organize and share wedding ideas, without being bombarded by emails from all the other members of the bridal party. Genius.
Glass Slippers
Fashion Fever by Aly Dailey
The right shoes are an essential part of your wedding day fashion. After all, what was Cinderella without her glass slippers? Different ceremony settings and different dresses require different shoes. It’s important to have your shoes by your first dress fitting so that the seamstress can hem your gown accordingly. These cute options are great for starting your wedding off on the right foot.
Ballet Skimmers- These are great if your groom is a little shorter or if you’re simply not comfortable in heels
Peep Toe – Try something with feather or glitter detailing to spice it up a little
Thong Sandals – Great for an outdoor or beach wedding, then pack them for your honeymoon too
Ankle Wrap Heels – These whimsical heels are perfect with a simple wedding dress
Strappy Sandals– These are great for evening weddings and you can wear them again after the wedding
Classic Kitten Heels – This elegant option is a sure thing, dye them black after the wedding to get more wear out of them
Platform– These are great for some extra height but still easy to walk in
Wedge– Great for an outdoor wedding, get some lift without your heels sinking in the ground
Remember, you don’t have to go with traditional white or nude. Make sure to have fun with your footwear! No matter what your preference, there is a shoe out there for you. Just make sure you can dance all night in them!
All About Groomsmen
Its All in the Details by Aly Dailey
Who says the bridesmaids get to have all the fun? The groom and his men deserve a little something too! These little personalized gifts are a great way to show your appreciation for all that your groomsmen have done:
Flasks- Initials or nicknames are a great personalized touch for this classic gift
Pocket Knives – Use some twine to attach this to the flask for a little something extra
Cufflinks- Use their initials or personalize them to their favorite hobbies
Bottle Openers- These old fashioned bottle openers are an awesome custom made gift
Customized ipod speakers- Who wouldn’t love a sleek tech-y gift like this
American Bar book – The ultimate manual for cocktails, this is sure to be a groomsmen favorite
Money Clips – Pick whatever design is most fitting for your guys, they’ll be sure to love this functional and elegant gift
Bowties – Whether its for the ceremony or just for fun a bowtie is a chic gift for your groomsmen
Make sure your groomsmen gifts are something they’ll use and that’s its appropriate for each individual groomsmen and have a little fun with it!
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Shower and Bachelor Parties
Diary of a Bride to be by Lauren Cooper
This weekend I was left to my own devices as my honey was in New Orleans for his Bachelor party! (Lucky duck!) He’d been planning the trip for several months while I was simultaneously planning to occupy my weekend with friends, chores, and a project for his wedding present . 😉 However, as I was trying to find ways to fill my time, a little bird told me to stop trying to make plans and then flew away without revealing any other information.
Time marched on and finally Sunday came along with plans to meet our Grooms-woman Meghan for brunch. As we walked to 340 Grill in Hoboken, I had a sneaking suspicion that this was it…the bridal shower. And I was right! I walked into a room full of my family and friends all there for a lovely brunch shower. Cue the whirlwind photographs, congratulations and introductions. Again, making me SO glad I have the Private Receptions team and a videographer the day of the wedding !
I had a great time with my sisters, my moms, and my awesome friends and family that all made the trip from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York! Whew! I can’t thank everyone enough for all their hard work that went into arranging this and making it so special for me! And to top off an already amazing weekend? I got to pick up an exhausted (but alive and unscathed!) Future Hubs at the airport 🙂 yay!
Everlasting Bouquet
Manic Mondays by Jennifer Diehl
Think about how much time you put into picking out the perfect flowers for your bridal bouquet. Then think of the amount of money you paid for them…and how most people throw it away at the end of the evening! Do you really want to throw them away after you’ve said ‘I Do!’? Try preserving your bouquet, so you can hold onto it as a keepsake or decorative piece for your home. There are three different methods to preserving your bouquet, using silica gel, pressing them, and using the freeze-dry method.
Preserving with silica gel is fairly easy and you can do it yourself! (We recommend being fairly adept at crafts and flower arranging to attempt this) All you need is a container big enough to fit your bouquet, silica gel (which can be purchased at any craft store), a can of clear acrylic spray, and a soft bristle paint brush. Then simply follow these steps!
1: Cover the bottom of an airtight container with 1” of silica gel
2: Place flowers face up so they aren’t touching
3: Make sure you completely cover the flowers with silica gel
4: Seal the container with the lid, and leave undisturbed for 5-7 days
5: Gently pour off the silica gel, and using the brush dust off any of the remaining gel
6: Spray with acrylic to help seal in the color and prevent breakage
7: Let dry
Another way to preserve your bouquet is by pressing them; this is a common method and can also be done yourself. All you need is a very heavy book, like a dictionary or a large textbook, or a flower press.
1: Place each flower individually between the pages of the book or the flower press
2: Leave them for at least two weeks to press and dry
After the flowers are pressed many people display them in a picture frame.
The last and most efficient way to preserve your bouquet is by freeze-drying them. It’s best to get this done by a professional. Professionals will spray the flowers with starch to set the colors and then “bake” the bouquet in a freeze-dryer. This method allows for open arrangements, offers the most life like results, and you can expect it to last a lifetime.
A few great places you can get your bouquet professionally freeze-dried are:
Whichever option you choose to preserve your bouquet it will last long after your big day!
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