A Wedding website is an extremely valuable resource for you guests. The website is also a value to the bride; Since the guests will (hopefully) look at the website before contacting the bride about their questions, it will save her a lot of time and frustration from dealing with the guests.
There are a few places to make to a wedding website. Popular hosts are theknot.com, mywedding.com, and weddingwire.com. I personally prefer mywedding.com, because it's really simple to use, has a variety of templates and backrounds and most importantly, has an easy url. With mywedding the url would just be http://mywedding.com/(whatever you choose)
Now that you know why you should make one and where to make one, you're probably wondering what to put on it. At the very least it should have the venues, date and times, and accomodations. A more comprehensive website would include:
1. Your story/the proposal
2. The wedding party
3. Wedding events (Engagement party, bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception)
4. Accomodations
5. Transportation (Buses/routes, local taxis)
6. Airports (if your guests are out of town)
7. RSVP
8. Your Registry
9. Guestbook
10. Photo Galleries
11. Contact
To inform your guests of the website, you should first send the address with your save the dates. For magnet save the dates, the website address can be placed at the bottom. For paper save the dates it can be at the bottom or on a separate small insert, like printed on a business card. The site should also be sent when the invitations are mailed on a separate small insert.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Timeline: 1-2 Months
At 2 months out you should try to get as much done as possible. The earlier you get these things done, the easier and more relaxed your life will be around wedding time. Trust me you want to enjoy the week of your wedding, not be freaking out the whole time that you have all of these things to do and not enough time.
Get marriage license**
This is important for obvious reasons. Most marriage offices will allow you to get your license up to two months in advance, but some only do one month. Make sure you know what the rules are for your city, especially waiting periods. Some cities require a waiting period, where you can get your license but you have to wait X amount of days before you actually use it to get married. Make sure you have enough time to get the license and wait out the waiting period before the wedding.
Send out invitations**
Obviously you want to give your guests enough formal notice to make travel arrangements and plans. Usually, you want to give the guests a few weeks to respond, so you can get a final count for the venue, caterer etc. So start from the date you need to tell your vendors your final count. Add a week for calling up the guests that haven't responded yet. Then add about 2 weeks min. for the guests to respond, and a few days for mailing time and that will be the latest date you should send out the invites.
Purchase gifts for wedding party & parents
You should get gifts for the groomsmen, bridesmaids, and ushers. Parent gifts are usually given, but if they're not paying for anything, it's not a necessity. Gifts are usually given at the rehearsal dinner.
Make the seating chart*
You should have a seating chart or at least assigned tables unless you have a handful of guests. The seating chart can't really be completed until you receive the rsvps from the guests, but you should get this done as soon as the responses come in.
Finalize honeymoon plans*
If you're taking a honeymoon, finalize all reservations within these months. A few weeks before contact the hotels to confirm your reservation, especially if it is out of the country. Also, for international trips make sure you have your passport(in your madien name) and order any necessary travel accessories.
Plan rehearsal & dinner
If you're having a rehearsal dinner, plan the date and time of rehearsal, so the bridal party can plan to make it. Also, if going to a restaurant, make a reservation sooner than later, as most restaurants will need advanced notice of such a large party.
Have your final dress fittings*
Dress fittings should be done at 6, 4 and 2 weeks before the wedding. Make sure you are wearing the shoes, and undergarments that you will be wearing on the wedding day, as these will alter the shape of the dress and alterations needed.
Arrange Hair and Makeup trials
These trials are important so you know what you want and what you will be getting on your wedding day. If you are doing DIY make sure to pratice multiple times and start trying which makeup products will work on your wedding day.
Get marriage license**
This is important for obvious reasons. Most marriage offices will allow you to get your license up to two months in advance, but some only do one month. Make sure you know what the rules are for your city, especially waiting periods. Some cities require a waiting period, where you can get your license but you have to wait X amount of days before you actually use it to get married. Make sure you have enough time to get the license and wait out the waiting period before the wedding.
Send out invitations**
Obviously you want to give your guests enough formal notice to make travel arrangements and plans. Usually, you want to give the guests a few weeks to respond, so you can get a final count for the venue, caterer etc. So start from the date you need to tell your vendors your final count. Add a week for calling up the guests that haven't responded yet. Then add about 2 weeks min. for the guests to respond, and a few days for mailing time and that will be the latest date you should send out the invites.
Purchase gifts for wedding party & parents
You should get gifts for the groomsmen, bridesmaids, and ushers. Parent gifts are usually given, but if they're not paying for anything, it's not a necessity. Gifts are usually given at the rehearsal dinner.
Make the seating chart*
You should have a seating chart or at least assigned tables unless you have a handful of guests. The seating chart can't really be completed until you receive the rsvps from the guests, but you should get this done as soon as the responses come in.
Finalize honeymoon plans*
If you're taking a honeymoon, finalize all reservations within these months. A few weeks before contact the hotels to confirm your reservation, especially if it is out of the country. Also, for international trips make sure you have your passport(in your madien name) and order any necessary travel accessories.
Plan rehearsal & dinner
If you're having a rehearsal dinner, plan the date and time of rehearsal, so the bridal party can plan to make it. Also, if going to a restaurant, make a reservation sooner than later, as most restaurants will need advanced notice of such a large party.
Have your final dress fittings*
Dress fittings should be done at 6, 4 and 2 weeks before the wedding. Make sure you are wearing the shoes, and undergarments that you will be wearing on the wedding day, as these will alter the shape of the dress and alterations needed.
Arrange Hair and Makeup trials
These trials are important so you know what you want and what you will be getting on your wedding day. If you are doing DIY make sure to pratice multiple times and start trying which makeup products will work on your wedding day.
Timeline: 6-8 Months
Plan hotel accommodations for out-of-town guests*
This is actually a pretty easy task, although it may seem annoying. For this Hotel Planner is your best bet. You just input the information for your dates and what you need, and local hotels will "bid" you a price for each room. When reserving a block of rooms, the most important thing is to make sure that you are not financially responsible for the unused rooms in the block. Most hotels will give you a discount and a link or contact person that all of your guest can go through to reserve a room. Typically they will reserve a set amount of rooms for your date, so your guests are guaranteed a room if they book there. Also some hotels will give you a free wedding night suite with the block, so negotiate.
Finalize guest list & send Save-the-date cards*
The guest list should obviously be completed before you send your save the dates, unless you are splitting the list into an A and B group and don't really care if your B group receives a save the date. Also, make sure you have your hotel block and website up, so that you can put the information with your save the dates. Usually save the dates are sent 6-8 months before the wedding.
Book photographer and videographer*
Really amazing photographers get booked way ahead of time, so if you have your eye on someone and if photography is really important to you (which it should be) get this done asap. Sometimes the photographer will also do the videography and a lot of brides are not even having videographers now, so the photographer is really the main goal with this task.
Create your wedding registry
Same as the wedding website and hotel, you'll want to have this done generally around Save the dates, just so the info is on the website, which will be on your save the date. This can probably wait for 2-3 months before the wedding, because most people won't start shopping until last minute.
Order wedding cake
You really just need to book your cake baker and do your taste tests so you know you have someone that can give you a cake for the date you need. You should have a general design in mind, but it's really not necessary to have the whole cake planned to the tee.
Book ceremony officiant
This is pretty important if you don't have a lot of officiants in your area and your date is during season.
Select bridesmaids’ dresses
Bridesmaid dresses take around 2-4 months to come in depending on where you get them, so its helpful to the bridesmaids and your sanity to get this done early. At the very least decide your color and general style and the price range that is doable for your bridesmaids.
Book florist
Again, not too important but you don't want to put it off to the point where there's no one left to do your flowers. Decide whether you want to do DIY or are going to go with a florist, and have a general budget and idea of what you want.
Book DJ and ceremony musicians
In most towns there are tons of DJs, so if it's not too important to you, this can be delayed a little bit. You should know a few price quotes and have it narrowed down to a few DJs though. Ceremony musicians are pretty scarce for the regulars, so if you really want musicans this should be done by 6 months.
Book wedding day transportation
Not a necessity, but if you are using limos, vintage cars, carriages etc. make sure you know what you want and you'll probably want to put a deposit down around 6 months, just to reserve your date.
A word of caution: Just because some of these timeline items aren't too important and I say you can push them off, doesn't mean you should. I did for my wedding and it worked out well, but that's because I was a good planner and knew which vendors I wanted ahead of time, I just didn't officially book them. If you do leave these tasks to be done later, just be aware that you will most likely be a little stressed out about having so many things to do. You would be surprised the amount of little things you don't think of having to do until the month of the wedding.
This is actually a pretty easy task, although it may seem annoying. For this Hotel Planner is your best bet. You just input the information for your dates and what you need, and local hotels will "bid" you a price for each room. When reserving a block of rooms, the most important thing is to make sure that you are not financially responsible for the unused rooms in the block. Most hotels will give you a discount and a link or contact person that all of your guest can go through to reserve a room. Typically they will reserve a set amount of rooms for your date, so your guests are guaranteed a room if they book there. Also some hotels will give you a free wedding night suite with the block, so negotiate.
Finalize guest list & send Save-the-date cards*
The guest list should obviously be completed before you send your save the dates, unless you are splitting the list into an A and B group and don't really care if your B group receives a save the date. Also, make sure you have your hotel block and website up, so that you can put the information with your save the dates. Usually save the dates are sent 6-8 months before the wedding.
Book photographer and videographer*
Really amazing photographers get booked way ahead of time, so if you have your eye on someone and if photography is really important to you (which it should be) get this done asap. Sometimes the photographer will also do the videography and a lot of brides are not even having videographers now, so the photographer is really the main goal with this task.
Create your wedding registry
Same as the wedding website and hotel, you'll want to have this done generally around Save the dates, just so the info is on the website, which will be on your save the date. This can probably wait for 2-3 months before the wedding, because most people won't start shopping until last minute.
Order wedding cake
You really just need to book your cake baker and do your taste tests so you know you have someone that can give you a cake for the date you need. You should have a general design in mind, but it's really not necessary to have the whole cake planned to the tee.
Book ceremony officiant
This is pretty important if you don't have a lot of officiants in your area and your date is during season.
Select bridesmaids’ dresses
Bridesmaid dresses take around 2-4 months to come in depending on where you get them, so its helpful to the bridesmaids and your sanity to get this done early. At the very least decide your color and general style and the price range that is doable for your bridesmaids.
Book florist
Again, not too important but you don't want to put it off to the point where there's no one left to do your flowers. Decide whether you want to do DIY or are going to go with a florist, and have a general budget and idea of what you want.
Book DJ and ceremony musicians
In most towns there are tons of DJs, so if it's not too important to you, this can be delayed a little bit. You should know a few price quotes and have it narrowed down to a few DJs though. Ceremony musicians are pretty scarce for the regulars, so if you really want musicans this should be done by 6 months.
Book wedding day transportation
Not a necessity, but if you are using limos, vintage cars, carriages etc. make sure you know what you want and you'll probably want to put a deposit down around 6 months, just to reserve your date.
A word of caution: Just because some of these timeline items aren't too important and I say you can push them off, doesn't mean you should. I did for my wedding and it worked out well, but that's because I was a good planner and knew which vendors I wanted ahead of time, I just didn't officially book them. If you do leave these tasks to be done later, just be aware that you will most likely be a little stressed out about having so many things to do. You would be surprised the amount of little things you don't think of having to do until the month of the wedding.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Another Sale!
Gilt is having their Wedding Shop sale now through April 21st @ Midnight. They have everything on sale; Dresses, gifts, beauty, jewelry, groomswear, honeymoons, and favors. They are even selling early access passes to Klienfield's Sale. Gilt is also running a contest for a Marchesa gown and a trip for two to go to New York to choose the gown and have a custom fitting.
A new item is their "Wedding in a Box" This a a whole wedding with chef Mario Batali in New York. It includes for 100 guests:
• Standing wedding ceremony location, to include setup (chairs) and music during ceremony
• Bridal party bouquets and boutonnieres
• Cocktail reception for one hour to include chef’s selection of passed assaggi
• Four-course seated dinner: antipasto, primo, guests’ choice of secondi, dolce
• Premium open bar throughout
• Wedding cake
• Tables set with Masa & Frette white linens and silver candelabras with white candles as centerpieces
• 5-piece Del Posto house band (with vocalist) and space for dancing
• Use of Gattinara Room as bridal suite for getting ready
It does come at a steep price though, $40,000, but still really awesome.
Some favorites from the sale are:
Happy Shopping!
A new item is their "Wedding in a Box" This a a whole wedding with chef Mario Batali in New York. It includes for 100 guests:
• Standing wedding ceremony location, to include setup (chairs) and music during ceremony
• Bridal party bouquets and boutonnieres
• Cocktail reception for one hour to include chef’s selection of passed assaggi
• Four-course seated dinner: antipasto, primo, guests’ choice of secondi, dolce
• Premium open bar throughout
• Wedding cake
• Tables set with Masa & Frette white linens and silver candelabras with white candles as centerpieces
• 5-piece Del Posto house band (with vocalist) and space for dancing
• Use of Gattinara Room as bridal suite for getting ready
It does come at a steep price though, $40,000, but still really awesome.
Some favorites from the sale are:
Happy Shopping!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wedding Sale!
Hurry up and go to Ideeli. Today starts their Ready, Set, Wed Sale and Dresses have started to sell out within minutes! They have everything on sale; Dresses, Bridesmaid dresses, accesories, veils, honeymoons, housewares, photo books, lingerie, jewelry, shoes and bachelorette wear. These are some of my favorites: 
Now go, save some money! This sale ends in a day!
Now go, save some money! This sale ends in a day!
Linens on a Roll
MYdrap is a new product for linen placemats and napkins. Each are provided on a roll, so you just roll out the napkins/placemat, rip it along the perforated edges and you have a nice alternative to standard wedding napkins or chargers. The great thing about them is that they are small/portable, come in unique colors and are reusable.
Right now you can only buy them at Daily Grommet as they're not very widespread in the US yet. The price is pretty comparable to renting linens. Cocktail napkins are 50 cents each, lunch is $1.04, Dinner is $2.17-2.67 and the placemats are $2.83. I think the cocktail napkins are the best deal, because normally you would have paper cocktail napkins and for around the same price these are linen and look way nicer. They come in Ecru, Fuchsia, Grey, Red, Navy and Sea Blue.
Right now you can only buy them at Daily Grommet as they're not very widespread in the US yet. The price is pretty comparable to renting linens. Cocktail napkins are 50 cents each, lunch is $1.04, Dinner is $2.17-2.67 and the placemats are $2.83. I think the cocktail napkins are the best deal, because normally you would have paper cocktail napkins and for around the same price these are linen and look way nicer. They come in Ecru, Fuchsia, Grey, Red, Navy and Sea Blue.
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Wedding Dress!
Shopping for your wedding dress is one of the first fun things you do to start planning. Make sure you leave ample time for your dress to be ordered; Most dresses will take about 8 months, so start shopping early! A few tips to make dress shopping fun and easy:
1. Don't take a ton of people or anyone you are not really close with. I suggest only family or very close friends. Keep in mind the more people you bring the more opinions you will have overwhelming you.
2. Know your dress budget before you start shopping.
3. DO NOT try on a dress that is out of your budget! You will undoubtedly love it and be heartbroken you can't afford it. After that no other dress will compare.
4. Be open to the stylist's suggestions. The stylist knows what will look good on your body shape and flatter your features. Many times the one style the bride didn't want was the one she ended up choosing. Dresses on the hanger look much different on the bride.
5. Keep your dress suitable to the wedding you are having. For example, don't choose a satin dress for a summer beach wedding; You will be sweating. Keep the material applicable to the season to insure you're comfortable. Also, keep the design close to the style of your wedding, you don't want to look out of place at your own wedding.
6. If you go to David's Bridal be prepared for poor customer service and sneaky salespeople. They will try to get you to buy and add on unnecessary things that will majorly up the cost of your dress. Also, if you do buy a dress from them, keep checking in, as they have the reputation of messing orders up. David's bridal also has extremely high alteration costs, so I suggest going to a local tailor that alters wedding dresses regularly.
If you are looking to save some money on your dress, here's some resources to help you out:
Brides against Breast Cancer: This company sells designer dresses at deep discounts and they travel around the country with their sales. Designers donate their dresses and then BABC sells them for a donation to breast cancer research. They have a store in South Carolina, but also tour around the nation. Go to:Brides Against Breast Cancer for tour dates in your town.
Flash sale websites: These sites will have a handful of wedding dresses and accessories on sale for a few days. They have limited inventory, so its best to buy as soon as they go on sale. I saw a $1600 dress for $300! When you sign up, the sites will email whenever they have a sale, keep a good lookout and you could score a dress for cheap. Sites include:Hautelook,Gilt,and Ideeli
Sample sales are also a great way to score an extra discount, but will not be as big of a sale as the ways above. Sign up for your local bridal stores and they will contact you about sample sales. Sample sales are usually only a certain designer, so if your flexible you could save some money. Also, ask if you can buy a dress off the rack. Make sure they are no major flaws, and usually you will receive a discount for the as-is dress.
Happy Dress Shopping!!
1. Don't take a ton of people or anyone you are not really close with. I suggest only family or very close friends. Keep in mind the more people you bring the more opinions you will have overwhelming you.
2. Know your dress budget before you start shopping.
3. DO NOT try on a dress that is out of your budget! You will undoubtedly love it and be heartbroken you can't afford it. After that no other dress will compare.
4. Be open to the stylist's suggestions. The stylist knows what will look good on your body shape and flatter your features. Many times the one style the bride didn't want was the one she ended up choosing. Dresses on the hanger look much different on the bride.
5. Keep your dress suitable to the wedding you are having. For example, don't choose a satin dress for a summer beach wedding; You will be sweating. Keep the material applicable to the season to insure you're comfortable. Also, keep the design close to the style of your wedding, you don't want to look out of place at your own wedding.
6. If you go to David's Bridal be prepared for poor customer service and sneaky salespeople. They will try to get you to buy and add on unnecessary things that will majorly up the cost of your dress. Also, if you do buy a dress from them, keep checking in, as they have the reputation of messing orders up. David's bridal also has extremely high alteration costs, so I suggest going to a local tailor that alters wedding dresses regularly.
If you are looking to save some money on your dress, here's some resources to help you out:
Brides against Breast Cancer: This company sells designer dresses at deep discounts and they travel around the country with their sales. Designers donate their dresses and then BABC sells them for a donation to breast cancer research. They have a store in South Carolina, but also tour around the nation. Go to:Brides Against Breast Cancer for tour dates in your town.
Flash sale websites: These sites will have a handful of wedding dresses and accessories on sale for a few days. They have limited inventory, so its best to buy as soon as they go on sale. I saw a $1600 dress for $300! When you sign up, the sites will email whenever they have a sale, keep a good lookout and you could score a dress for cheap. Sites include:Hautelook,Gilt,and Ideeli
Sample sales are also a great way to score an extra discount, but will not be as big of a sale as the ways above. Sign up for your local bridal stores and they will contact you about sample sales. Sample sales are usually only a certain designer, so if your flexible you could save some money. Also, ask if you can buy a dress off the rack. Make sure they are no major flaws, and usually you will receive a discount for the as-is dress.
Happy Dress Shopping!!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Timeline: 9-12 Months
This is the detailed time line for 9-12 months. Most of the items are very important because they are prerequisites for the rest of your planning. The sooner you get these done, the sooner you can get to the fun stuff.
Plan budget*
You can't figure out what you can afford for each vendor if you don't know your total budget. Also it's easier to narrow down vendors, when you know you can't afford them. You should also prioritize what's most important to you and relate it to the wedding. For example, for me the photography was the most important, so that's what I spent the most money on.
Make rough guest list*
To get a basic quote from any vendor, you will need to know a rough estimate of the number of guests you will have. The venues will have occupany limits, so knowing a rough count will help you know if certain venues are even possible.
Set wedding date*
Of course you will need to know a date before you select venues and vendors. Sometimes, if you have your heart set on a specific venue you can choose your date on what they have available, although you will still need to decide a general season you would like your date in.
Book ceremony & reception location*
The venues are the first things to be booked. Popular venues in season may be booked a year in advance, so if you really want a certain venue make sure you book it asap! If you are out of season or have a flexible date, you may have a little more time. Also, the venue may set the tone of your wedding, which will set what you may want to wear, eat and how to decorate.
Select bridal gown*
Unless you know you want to buy an off the rack dress or buy preowned, the dress is one of the first things you should do. If you are ordering from a designer, most dresses have a lead time of 8 months. Some designers can rush the dress or have a shorter lead time, but if you don't want to be restricted by time, start shopping asap.
Select members of wedding party
This is the least important task, especially if you are only going to have a small wedding party and they are in town. Otherwise, if they are out of town, you should give them notice, so they can arrange travel plans etc. You probably already know who will be your maid of honor, best man, groosmen and bridesmaids, but discussing it with your fiance sooner better than later is best.
The Planning Timeline
The timeline for planning a wedding varies on so many different factors (destination weddings, out of town guests, smaller weddings etc). This is a very general guide to when you should complete your planning tasks. I will be breaking up the timeline into many posts to explain why you need to get these things done in this time frame. For now, this is the general timeline you should go by. These dates are the latest you should get things done, if you want to do them earlier, by all means do so. If you are really far behind, don't worry, I've had to book a few vendors within the same month as the wedding, it will be okay, I promise. The *'d items are the very important tasks; make sure you can get these done. Have fun planning!
9-12 months before wedding
□ Plan budget*
□ Make rough guest list*
□ Set wedding date*
□ Book ceremony & reception location*
□ Select bridal gown*
□ Select members of wedding party
6-8 months before wedding
□ Plan hotel accomodations for out-of-town guests*
□ Finalize guest list & send Save-the-date cards*
□ Book photographer and videographer*
□ Create your wedding registry
□ Order wedding cake
□ Book ceremony officiant
□ Select bridesmaids’ dresses
□ Book florist
□ Book DJ and ceremony musicians
□ Book wedding day transportation
3-5 months before wedding
□ Order wedding invitations*
□ Plan honeymoon
□ Select and order wedding favors
□ Order groom’s & groomsmen’s attire
□ Select wedding bands*
□ Book hair and makeup*
□ Finalize menu for reception
1-2 months before wedding
□ Get marriage license**
□ Send out invitations**
□ Purchase gifts for wedding party & parents
□ Make the seating chart*
□ Confirm all hotel accommodations
□ Finalize honeymoon plans*
□ Plan rehearsal & dinner
□ Have your final dress fittings*
□ Arrange Hair and Makeup trials
1-2 wks before wedding
□ Confirm wedding day transportation*
□ Confirm guest count with caterer*
□ Confirm time and location with Officiant, Florist, Cake, Photographer, DJ, and Videographer*
□ Pack for the honeymoon
9-12 months before wedding
□ Plan budget*
□ Make rough guest list*
□ Set wedding date*
□ Book ceremony & reception location*
□ Select bridal gown*
□ Select members of wedding party
6-8 months before wedding
□ Plan hotel accomodations for out-of-town guests*
□ Finalize guest list & send Save-the-date cards*
□ Book photographer and videographer*
□ Create your wedding registry
□ Order wedding cake
□ Book ceremony officiant
□ Select bridesmaids’ dresses
□ Book florist
□ Book DJ and ceremony musicians
□ Book wedding day transportation
3-5 months before wedding
□ Order wedding invitations*
□ Plan honeymoon
□ Select and order wedding favors
□ Order groom’s & groomsmen’s attire
□ Select wedding bands*
□ Book hair and makeup*
□ Finalize menu for reception
1-2 months before wedding
□ Get marriage license**
□ Send out invitations**
□ Purchase gifts for wedding party & parents
□ Make the seating chart*
□ Confirm all hotel accommodations
□ Finalize honeymoon plans*
□ Plan rehearsal & dinner
□ Have your final dress fittings*
□ Arrange Hair and Makeup trials
1-2 wks before wedding
□ Confirm wedding day transportation*
□ Confirm guest count with caterer*
□ Confirm time and location with Officiant, Florist, Cake, Photographer, DJ, and Videographer*
□ Pack for the honeymoon
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