Wedding favors are inevitable on your to do list, and the options are seemingly endless. It’s easy to get caught up in grand ideas that are very pricey or just not very practical. Most guest won’t remember to take their favor home at the end of the night anyway and will only get tossed. Some impractical gifts such as mini succulents will be left there on purpose as people do not want to hold them on their car rides home or pack them to go on a plane. So here are some ideas of favors that your guest might actually use and enjoy.
Wedding Planners
You see this tip everywhere! From bridal magazines to bride help books to pinterest, everyone and their mother tells you to get a day of emergency kit together for your big day. And for good reason too! Of any day ever, this is the one day that needs to run perfectly. But what to put in your day of ER kit? Read on for a comprehensive list of what you’ll need.
Escort cards and place cards are one of those details that can be crazy intricate or amazingly simple, but either way they have one job and one job only- to lead people to their seats. This is a task that is really simple to do on your own and you can keep it as simple or get as creative as you’d like.
There are a lot of similar blog posts out there about how to plan and decorate for a wedding on a small budget. But to be honest those solutions are not always the most attractive. But this is a trick that keeps the budget affordable and is still big on impact.
There are a zillion ways to save money while planning a wedding. A simple google search will result in hundreds of ideas. But some of them? Not so practical. Such as- “Piss off your future mother-in-law- Cut your guest list to only 15” or “Have a potluck- because that’s totally not tacky.” We appreciate the help guys, but I think we maybe kinda sorta want this day to be an awesome and classy affair. So here are some ideas to save money planning your wedding!
You’ve just got engaged. You are a Type A personality through and through. You’ve printed all the lists, diligently put your bridal binder together, read all of the books and you are ready to be wed. So- you don’t need a planner, right? Wrong! And I’ll tell you why.
Planning a wedding is hard work, but something that will make everything easier in the long run will be to have a system that will keep you organized throughout the process. Here are a few steps that I used for planning my own wedding that worked really well for me.
Being engaged is such an amazing time in your lives for so many reasons. The most obvious is that you are getting to marry the person of your dreams! The love and support from friends and family, outpouring from every direction is also so wonderful, and sometimes overwhelming. Plus- you get to throw this big huge party and look like a princess without feeling ridiculous. Well- ok, while only feeling slightly ridiculous.
So you just got engaged! How exciting! You are about to marry the man of your dreams, your prince charming, the love of your life! It’s going to be amazing. Who could be more prepared to plan the biggest, happiest day of your life than you? You have been planning this since you were a little girl..
But have you really? You probably have some magazine cutouts of dresses you like stuffed away somewhere, and maybe you know you want to have it outside, with only your closest friends and family. But can you afford those dresses that you love on pinterest? What does your mom have to say about your meager fifty person guest list? And Grandma Lil has always pictured you getting married in the chapel where she married Grandpa Jack! How can you live without that dress, and with the disapproval of your family?
And have you researched your states laws and regulations regarding marriage laws? Where are you taking your honeymoon? How are you going to pay for it? Who is going to marry you? When are you going to send your save the dates? How far in advance do you need to hire a dj?
We all love to think about the fun aspects of the wedding planning process, such as dress shopping with your closest gals and cake testing with your future hubby, but the reality of it is much, much less glamorous. More like screaming matches about the guest list, and break downs regarding chair covers.
Having a wedding planner on your side can help with all of these issues and many more. Wedding planners plan your budget, and should stick to it. They can find you deals you wouldn’t be able to attain otherwise- businesses are always eager to work with coordinators because it makes their job much easier, and they may get future business out of recommendations from them. They know the ins and outs of the industry, they know where to skimp, and where to embellish. So maybe you can’t afford that $15,000 Vera Wang gown, but your planner knows a talented seamstress and can get you a discount to boot!
And let’s be real about just how much work one wedding is. Have you seen the to do list on The Knots website? The mere size of it was enough to send me into the thralls of a mini panic attack and, I’m sure, to make many seriously consider elopement. Planners are amazing at “assigning” aspects to concentrate on at the moment, and then following thru and actually getting them done, making the process much less intimidating.
A planner is a Godsend for the organizationally challenged bride. Can’t seem to manage to hold onto your car keys? How are you going to keep track of hundreds of RSVP cards?
A planner can also be the scapegoat in many situations. Your mom isn’t crazy about not having an open bar? “Mom, the planner said she’s seen one too many drunk uncles ruin the brides big day. She thinks that will be much less likely to happen with a cash bar.” Mr. Fiance isn’t 100% sure about hiring a professional officiant as opposed to having his friend from work do it? The wedding planner’s experience can help to make these decisions and conversations go much more smoothly. I’m not saying to use your planner to get what you want in every situation, (but wait a minute- that is what you are paying them for- right?) but their professionalism and knowledge of the industry itself can help shed light for some who just don’t get why you want things a certain way.
And the main reason I think EVERY person should consider a wedding planner? One word- stress. The stress of planning a wedding is not to be tampered with, and should not be taken on by just one person (because let’s face it- how many grooms out there are super excited about the planning process?) Do you want to spend the entirety of your engagement stressing over all of the elements that pop up left and right? Do you want to spend an eternity researching venues, booking appointments, jotting down every nitty gritty detail along the way? Or would you like to actually be able to enjoy your fiance, and keep is so that he still actually able to enjoy you! A bridezilla is never becoming, ladies.
So, for everyone’s sake- especially yours, hire a planner, kick back, and watch as the living, breathing entity that is your wedding day comes to fruition effortlessly. And then maybe you’ll still be sane enough for you to enjoy your honeymoon!