Winter weddings are a growing trend. As more brides choose to get married in winter, the options available to brides to them are also more. As you go around customizing and adding personal touches to your special day, let us look at the essentials that you shouldn’t forego, so your winter wedding is delightfully complete. Here they are now!
1.A warm and cozy venue
Remember that your wedding guests will be bearing the chills, as they make their way to the venue. So, it is necessary to warm up the hall, well before they arrive, so they can relax and feel comfortable once they are there. Make sure that the hall is well-heated, and there are no drafts entering the room. Keep the ambiance warm and welcoming with soft glowing yellow lights and cozy decorations that immediately make it cheerful. You can also place a few blankets and throws for those guests who really feel cold, to wrap up in.
2.Warm drinks to ward off the chills
Who wouldn’t love a warm cup of cocoa, tea or coffee, when they enter indoors for your wedding. Make arrangements like a coffee or cocoa bar, where your dear ones can enjoy a warm drink before participating in the wedding ceremony.
3.Great lighting
This tip on the Wedding Party Website, is a very important one that all brides have to pay attention to. With the days being short, you do not want a gloomy setup with shadows all over the place. Make sure you pay attention to the quality of lighting, as this will determine the overall ambiance. Rather than choosing bright white lights, warm yellow glows and candle lights are pleasant. Candles also step up the romance, and enhance the holiday cheer.
4.Bring the outdoor elements inside
It is almost impossible to have an outdoor wedding when the cold season is at its peak. Nevertheless, you should add plenty of natural elements to your wedding décor, to add a natural charm to your party. Don’t skimp on flowers or foliage. If you are worried about the steep prices during this season, go with seasonal elements like pine branches, mistletoe and fir, or flowers that are available all-year round. Take inspiration from holiday decorations, and you will come across various elements that are perfect for decorating your wedding venue.
5.Appreciation for all those who made your wedding a success
Everyone from your bridesmaids, to the vendors and your guests have to work extra to make a winter wedding successful. So, you should openly appreciate all the effort they put in to make sure your big day a success. Appreciate and thank them openly for their contribution. Choose thoughtful wedding favors for your guests, and also add a special line or two, thanking them for the trouble they went through to come to your wedding. Similarly, thank your bridesmaids and the rest of the bridal party with gifts that they deserve. Lastly, don’t forget to send thank you cards and provide positive reviews to your wedding vendors.
Have you chosen your wedding dress for your cool, winter wedding yet? If not, come visit our bridal gallery on Best for bride and choose from the lavish collection we have.
When you are just engaged and about to embark on the interesting, but challenging task of wedding planning, it’s funny how everyone seems to share wedding planning advice. Well, it is the first time you will be planning something of this magnitude, and so you deserve some well-intended help. You may obtain some very useful information, and then again there is the occasional chance of hearing something totally unexpected or even bizarre. Nevertheless, there are always some things that most brides wish they’d known while they were planning their wedding but had to tackle as an unexpected and usually challenge.
While it is impossible to foresee everything that will happen on your big day, it helps to prepare for whatever is possible. Plan for everything, collate all the information you can possibly obtain, and execute it with gusto—you can then enjoy every expected and unexpected challenge that wedding planning throws at you.
Here is a list of ten things that every soon-to-be bride should know before she starts wedding planning. Check it out.
Checklists are your friend
Wedding planning is a complex task, and you are probably doing it for the first time ever. There are hundreds of details to plan, tasks to handle and arrangements to make. It is only human to make errors and miss out on certain things when planning everything.
The easiest way to stay on track is to turn to checklists for help. Divide up every wedding aspect into an individual project and create checklists of tasks to be completed for each of them. This will help you organize your time better, sort out tasks based on their priority and most importantly, make sure that you do not miss anything when planning your wedding.
You can always take the trusted pen-and-paper route for planning your checklists, or if you are a tech-savvy bride, use a tool that will help you manage it efficiently. Evernote is a handy option to keep track and manage your lists with precision on your digital devices.
Now, for the checklists that you will require, you can find a comprehensive checklist on Real Simple. This is divided based on the time by which you should accomplish each task. You may also like to take a look at this interactive checklist on Brides.com. This can be customized to meet your individual needs.
When choosing vendors, only go with those you are most comfortable with
If there is one task that you have to research well, it is choosing your vendors. From your photographer to your florist, you will have several options. The important thing is to remember that none of them will be the same. In fact, they’ll each be as distinct as you can possibly expect. Every vendor is different in the way they approach their work, how they interact with customers and how experienced they are in handling specific tasks.
You will be interacting with your vendors a LOT! So, don’t make the mistake of settling for someone who you aren’t comfortable with, right from the start. The personality of the person you have to work with will affect the way you feel about that aspect of your wedding. So, dig a little deeper than just trying to get the cheapest deal. Don’t just go with what others have to say about the vendor you have shortlisted. Don’t hesitate to ask for portfolios, samples or explanations, as is necessary in each case. It is also wise if you do not make assumptions, but clarify your doubts outright, so you can be certain that you and your vendor are on the same page. If you feel that the vendor you speak to doesn’t understand your vision, or cuts you off by saying that what you want is impractical, don’t let it be and comply with what they have in mind instead. Keep looking. After all, it is your wedding and there will be someone who can get you what you want, or at least the closest to what you have in mind.
Don’t forego this part even if you are working with a friend or family as your wedding vendor. However close they may be to you, you do not want anything ruining your wedding. So, make sure that you are one hundred percent comfortable with the decision you make, and you will not regret it later.
Disagreements are a given evil
You will be touching on several details during your wedding planning, and it is only natural to hit a roadblock once in a while. You may disagree with your parents, partner, vendor or even bridesmaids on some factor or the other. Everyone will have expectations and opinions. Your maid-of-honour may condemn the colour you choose for the bridesmaid’s dresses or your friends may try to convince you that a DJ is a better choice than a live band. If your parents or to-be in-laws are paying for part of your wedding, it is only natural that they will expect to have a say in it. You may also have friends or relatives who may pressurize you into handing over a wedding task to them when you prefer hiring a professional for the same. There is no easy way out, and you should realize where to draw the line. Accept that there will be disagreements along the way, and you may have to reject suggestions that you simply cannot take.
It is impossible to please everyone, or you wouldn’t have the wedding YOU want! Be prepared to say No when necessary, and it will be a lot easier to handle. As a bride, one of the most difficult tasks is to recognize when it is more important to go with your choice and when it is another opinion that would be a better choice in that situation. Our article on “How to Handle it when others try to take over your wedding” should give you some advice on how to tackle tricky situations in the best possible way. Don’t worry about what others may think of your wedding decisions. Finally, you will regret it if everyone had their way, but you didn’t get to do anything you wanted to.
Plan to spend on the most important things
There is no rule book that specifies how should get married. Like we said earlier, you will hear suggestions and receive advice. Nevertheless, it is your wedding, and you should get to pick what is important, so this day is special for you. Split your budget accordingly, and splurge on the things that are most important to you. Don’t worry about the rest.
Think of what you will find most memorable about your wedding day. If it is where it will be held, set aside the greater part of your budget for the venue and décor. If it is how you look, it should be your wedding outfits and accessories. If both of you favourite food, make sure the wedding menu is given due importance. If you have a penchant for the finer details, it could be the smaller things like your tableware, party favours and statement pieces that you should focus on. Some couples prefer to spend a major part of their budget on the photographer. If fashion photography or elaborate scenic settings are what you want, so be it.
Your wedding planning is hard work, irrespective of the style you choose
Whether you plan to host a casual or a formal wedding, it will be hard work either way. Remember that even though you needn’t choose the classic centrepiece flower design if you are having a casual affair, you will still have to decide what you want instead. Every decision has to be yours, and every single aspect is arranged under your supervision. This simply means that you will need time, organization skills and effort to plan everything. We think wedding planning is a difficult task, as almost every married woman will agree. When you handle every aspect of it yourself, it becomes even more tedious. A wedding planner can relieve your stress to a considerable extent, and so every bride should at least consider a day-of planner to get some breathing space.
Wedding planners can direct you to the right vendors who can meet your requirements, and they can also follow up and ensure everything moves as per plan. This in itself, is a huge stress-buster. Nevertheless, there is always a point in time when a bride suddenly feels overwhelmed and tends to buckle under wedding planning stress. The best way out is to realize the extent of effort that goes in and be prepared for it. Time is a valuable entity, so make sure you have plenty of time and divide your tasks so you have sufficient bandwidth to complete them all on time. Also, don’t forget to catch much-wanted breaks, when you spend time away from everything that is wedding-related.
Everyone has their own interpretation of terms
Almost every term in wedding lingo is highly subjective. When you say romantic, you may have a colour palette with peach, gold and gray in mind. You may envision your wedding to be at a casual, romantic outdoor setting such as a resort or garden. At the same time, the same term may give your mother an entirely different idea. She may consider your getting married to your prince charming in fairy tale style romantic. She may expect it to be held in an elaborate ballroom setting, with a four-course plated meal to complete it in classic style. The same goes for your dress selection, choice of wedding cake, entertainment and almost every other aspect of your wedding.
In the world of weddings, a word that is thrown around a lot is “classic.” Take a look at this page on the Knot, with some Real classic wedding examples. You will soon see how one couple’s idea of classic, is entirely different from another. So, the term classic can mean anything by itself.
So, make sure that you elaborate on what you mean, wherever necessary. Specify what you mean, especially to your vendors, instead of using vague terms or those that are prone to varying interpretations. If you have pictures to convey your ideas, that is the best option of all. When the concerned person can see what you mean, there is no scope for confusion. You can thus be certain that you will get exactly what you envisioned.
You will have to spend a lot of time reading terms and conditions
Once you shortlist your vendors, it is necessary to sign contracts with all of them, so the terms and conditions of service are documented. This will ensure that both of you know what is expected and that it is done properly. Unfortunately, many couples simply sign the vendor contracts that are drawn up by the vendors themselves, without really going through them in detail. This can cause many unexpected hassles on the day of the wedding.
For example, you may not have noticed the part where your photographer’s contract mentions that you will have to pay extra for every extra hour he spends at your wedding, or that he will be available only for so many hours. Imagine running up a bill that goes beyond what you anticipated, or worse, not having a photographer for the crucial exit moment of your wedding!
Make sure that you read every single sentence on your vendor contract, and have it modified to meet your needs, so you actually get what you expected. If you are unclear about any of the terms, make sure to ask and clarify before approving it. You can always negotiate and discuss the terms and modify the contract before you sign it. This will save misunderstanding later, and also allow you to make alternate arrangements when required.
Long-distance wedding planning isn’t for the faint hearted. The challenges are huge; you may be worried about not being able to inspect everything first-hand and having to guess how it will turn out instead of overseeing it yourself.
Nevertheless, long-distance weddings are the rage, and many couples consider this the ultimate romantic wedding. Travel Weekly reports that one in six couples who got engaged in the past year chose to have a destination wedding. The good news is that most of the couples who choose destination weddings have loved it and had no regrets. So, if a long distance wedding is what you want, cool down and believe you can pull it off too. We will help you with what you need to do it right. So, here goes.
Find a representative to take over your role
You cannot have everything running smoothly and coordinated without someone to oversee the plans. Enter an on-site coordinator! If you have family or friends staying in the locality, who are willing to help, you are one lucky girl. Otherwise, consider hiring a professional wedding planner. Your wedding planner will research vendors, find locations, bargain on your behalf and help you better than you could do so by yourself. If you have already decided the venue, check if they have a manager or coordinator who can do the rest of the arrangements for you. Make sure that the person you choose for the job is experienced and reliable, as you cannot afford any mistakes.
Let pictures do the talking
You know how impossible it may seem to get your idea across because what you envision translates to something entirely different for another person? This is a major challenge where your bouquets and party décor are concerned. So, take the help of pictures. Snip pictures off magazines, download them online and send them across to your representative with clear instructions on what you want. This will make it a lot easier to convey the idea and get what you want.
Be flexible with the details
There is only so much you can do to perfect something when you aren’t around to oversee it personally. Be flexible with the details and go with whatever has the least room for error. If your vendors have online links with pictures, make use of this option. Do everything well ahead of time, so you do not have to stress over details at the last minute. Trust your on-site representative and believe that whatever you get is the best possible.
Follow up
Just because you aren’t in-town, don’t delegate the task of following up with your vendors to anyone else. Make sure you have contracts with all the vendors, and are clear on the emergency cancellation alternatives. Call up your vendors at regular intervals to find out if everything is going as per plan. If it is possible, plan a trip to the wedding venue before the big day so you know everything is progressing smoothly.
With a little foresight and well-thought out plans, your destination wedding will be a smashing hit. At Best for Bride, we have the perfect collection of wedding dresses that will make you the perfect bride for the day. Check out our wedding dress gallery today and find one that will bring out your best.
While a wedding planner can help you with the planning process, and even reduce the stress associated with the task, she isn’t going to be responsible for everything. After all, it is your wedding, and you should have a role in planning it. A wedding planner can only facilitate your plans and execute them smoothly.
Check out this article on the Huffington Post , where wedding planners share their thoughts on what they wish brides would realize. This will open your eyes to the fact that wedding planners have limitations, and it will be better for both parties if you set reasonable expectations from her.
Having said this, let us come to the three most important things that you are responsible for. Make a mental note of these, do your research and planning on time, and you will make your life (and hers) much easier.
Planning your guest list accurately
The guest list is your decision to make. Unless your wedding planner knows you personally, it is unlikely that she can help you with who should be dropped, or who should be added to your guest list. You should be decisive about the number of people attending, and she will do the bookings and planning for them. While your planner may be able to accommodate a few last-minute changes to plan, she is not a magician who can make arrangements for 50 extra guests, who simply turned up on the day. Similarly, make sure you get those RSVPs on time, and follow up with those who don’t send it. Or else, you will simply lose money on those extra bookings you made, just in case. Your wedding planner cannot do anything about guests not turning up.
Making sure your bridesmaids are where they are and when they should be
While your wedding planner can create a well planned schedule for the day, help to speed things along and fix last-minute hassles, there is no guarantee that she can have your girls ready and in-place, unless they make the effort to do so. So, entrust this task to your maid of honor, and choose your bridesmaids wisely. Make sure they are girls who will be serious with their responsibility of getting their hair and make-up done on time.
Sticking to deadlines
Your wedding planner will put you in touch with the right vendors, caterers, photographers and all other services you require. They will offer options, and also suggest deals with the best value for the money you spend. However, they cannot make your decisions for you. Many wedding tasks are time-sensitive, and unless you inform her of your final decision on time, you run the risk of losing a booking or missing an offer.
Remember that your wedding planner can only help you so much. Have realistic expectations, and follow her instructions. This way, you will be a great client, and she will ensure that your wedding plans progress in the best way that is possible. For more wedding planning tips and advice, visit us on Best for Bride.
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