Escort Card Tip of the Day

To piggyback off of S's excellent escort card advice, (how beautiful were her candy apple masterpieces?!? SO worth the work :) I wanted to share an easy way to personalize escort cards that guests seem to love. My first tip is when possible, always find out the guests name. Go the extra mile even if your family and friend returned the RSVP card with the "And Guest" to find out who they are bringing. Adding their name to the RSVP card offers a very personal feel. Take the time to email, text or call your friend and family to ask who is going to be sharing the day with you all. This will help the "guest" feel at ease from the moment they walk in the door. It also becomes extremely helpful for you and your fiance when writing thank you cards!

Another simple, but extremely appreciated tip, is to acknowledge the other soon to be brides out there. Nothing is more exciting then attending a wedding when you are planning one and the excitement and love felt during the wedding is multiplied by 100 when you are thinking of your own day. My sister chose to acknowledge those people by labeling their place cards ..."The soon to be Mr and Mrs____." I followed suite with this advice and all of my engaged family and friends loved the personal touch. It also increased their excitement of their upcoming nuptials. I had one cousin tell me she kept the escort card on her fridge until they got married!

The Date is booked...Now what?!?

So the overwhelming tasks of choosing a location, season, date, along with finding the perfect ceremony & reception venues are behind you and you are left with piles of wedding magazines and likely a list of "preferred vendors" from your catering company and venue. Hopefully the budget and guest list are for the most part done given that a rough draft of both are definately needed before booking the big day. Where do you begin ? We get this question quite frequently from our readers and wanted to take the time to help organize this for all our brides to be. Unfortunately, there is not ONE right way. Different brides have different priorities to where they want and need their next move to be. Different geographic locations will need you to pay attention to different things before others, and different time lines will also come into play when trying to map out your next move.

Our biggest piece of advice is to organize and research. Give yourself only one or two tasks at a time so as it does seem overwhelming. Everything will and does get done, but having a focus helps keep you sane. If you are planning to send save the dates or a wedding website, this might be a good place to start. This takes some of the stress out of having to choose another vendor and helps get the bride and groom excited for what is to come. If an engagement party is being planned, it is also a good time to focus on that and have some fun before diving into some of the other tasks. If the engagement party is the only pre-wedding party that you will be having(i.e. no bridal shower), bride and grooms usually opt to register. If this is the case, registering for the party before the invites are mailed will also be priority.

The wedding dress and bridesmaid dress orders typically take some time so beginning the dress hunt (see our previous posts on how to get that fabulous task started!!) is usually important. Choosing a bridal party (if you choose to that is) should also be done in the first few months. Not only is this proper etiquette, but its also essential to having assistance in all of these wedding tasks. Bridesmaids are an excellent source of help and support and while all of your real friends will be during this time, its helpful for them to know in advance as well as they are going to need to prepare emotionally, financially, as well as with their schedules.

Vendors that tend to book furthest in advance are photographers and entertainment, i.e. band and d.js. Beginning to do some research, check out websites, schedule appointments and go to band/d.j. showcases will be a good place to start with this. Always think about people in your life that may have trusty referrals. An old friend, a relative whose wedding you adored, or even online community sources such as..you guessed it, blogs! Florists, limos, hotels, makeup, hair and invitations can usually wait while you and the groom handle the rest aforementioned tasks.



While this is a very brief summary simplifying enormouse tasks, it is a guideline to map out the plan of action in advance. Of course, keep in mind that things don't always work out how you planned and that is OK to. So if you happen to fall in love with a florist that you met while booking your venue, go ahead and book him/her. Be flexible! Just make sure that you don't make any decisions under pressure. Always give yourself a night to think, process, and compare before signing contracts and handing over that check.


And our most vital piece of advice is to discuss all decisions and plans with your fiance' and enjoy every moment. While the decisions may seem stressful at the time, it is how you come to the decisions together as a unit that foreshadows so much of what is to come in your marriage. And taking the time to stay present through it all makes the process that much more enjoyable. Which is probably why I was filled with tears of nostalgia and joy as I flipped through my wedding album for the first time this weekend, a month before the marking of our first anniversary together!!

Venue Shopping

image credit author's personal collection, Oheka Castle on my wedding day

So you have the perfect guy, bling on your left finger.........now what?

We'll first you need to get a general idea about your guest list. Are you keeping it small and under a 100 people? Or do you have a large family and your guest list is looking to be tipping the scale at 500 people? Knowing an approximate number of guests is key because some venues simply can't accommodate large weddings, and in other cases venues are so large that 100 people may get lost in the space. (Keep in mind that usually about 20% of your guests RSVP "No." )

After, you have an approximate number of guests you need to firm up your budget. The worst thing you can do is go venue shopping, find something you love, and find out that there is just no way you can make it work.

The first part of venue shopping is online and magazine research. Make sure you look in the area you were hoping to have the reception and some of the surrounding areas. You may be pleasantly surprised by some hidden gems. Magazines that cater to your city will be really helpful as they usually have a section in the back that can answer some of these basic questions. The first thing you are going to do is get organized!

Make a list of all of the venues that even look like something you may like. For each venue write down the information you find online. Your lists needs to contain at least the below basics;

1. Name of the place:

2. Location: (Is it convenient to public transportation or hotels, if that's applicable. Will you have to hire a shuttle from the ceremony location?)

3. Rental Fee: Not all locations have one, but most museums and historical venues do. This is just a fee to rent the grounds and doesn't include food. It may at some places include tables and chairs.

4. Price Per Person: They usually don't have this specific information online so you may have to go in to find out, but most bridal magazines will have a number range.

5. Number of people it can accommodate:

After you have a pretty decent list. You want to start narrowing it down. It isn't reasonable to visit 100 venues.

Things you are going to cross of right away: out of your budget, a large number of negative reviews online, & can't accommodate your guest list.

You should now have about 10 places, and it's time to start scouting them out. Most places will require you to make an appointment. Show up to the appointment a bit early and take a look around the outside space. If you can try to make an appointment on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday morning. Often times they are setting up for events so you may be able to get a better picture of what it looks like.

When you meet with the onsite event coordinator there are certain questions you want to make sure you ask and things you want to take note of. Here are a few; (keep in mind this may not all be applicable to your wedding)

1. Take a note of the grounds. Are they well kept? If you are having a daytime wedding it's possible your pictures will be taken here. This is why I suggested going a little earlier.

2. What is the decor like? The carpet? The chairs? Does it match your style or are you going to have to bring tables and chairs in? Will it need a lot of decoration (i.e. lighting and flowers)

• What are the regulations about decorations? Are candles allowed? If it's a historical venue can you eat and drink throughout the venue?
• OUTDOOR VENUES: what's the plan B? Where will the tent go? Where will you have cocktail hour, etc. Hash this out for every single venue if you are considering an outdoor wedding

3. Do they have an in-house caterer or do you have to hire someone? If they have an in-house caterer can you do a tasting before you book? If you don't love the food can you bring in an outside caterer?

4. Make a note of where the dance floor will go

• Is there enough room for a band or DJ?

5. Does the wedding venue already own a sound system with adequate speakers or will that need to be rented?

6. Do they have wheelchair access, adequate parking? Will they valet cars and what's the charge?

7. What is the payment schedule?

• What's the cancellation policy?

8. Is there an additional rental fee if you have your ceremony there?

9. Do they have a liquor license?

10. Do they have a place for the bride and groom to get ready and or relax?

11. Will the event coordinator be there the day of the wedding, If not who will be there?

12. Do they let you use any outside vendors that you want? Or do they require specific florists bands, etc. And if they do you should take a look at those vendors just to be sure you can work with them.

Now you should have narrowed your venues down to about 2-4. It's time to start thinking about the exact details of your wedding. Are you having your ceremony off site? Then be sure to get the answers to these questions;

1. How far are the locations and how will you get the guests from one location to another?

2. Do they both hold a similar amount of people?

Are you having your ceremony on site? Be sure to get the answers to these questions;

1. Does the wedding venue have an entirely separate area for the ceremony?

2. If not, how long does it typically take for the staff to change over the room?

Remember venue is likely to be the largest part of your budget and it sets the theme for your wedding. Before you sign any contracts make sure everything is very clear. If they are providing things like chairs, tables, table cloths, valet parking, etc. It should be in the contract. What time can you arrive at the venue to start setting up also needs to be in there. When you are making your final payment a few weeks before the wedding you don't want any surprises.

It's intense, but we want to help you say sane. We would love to help so email any questions you have about venues especially about venues on Long Island and NYC.

vendor review: minted

This morning we gave you some tips about making the invitation process a little less stressful.I have another tip for you. Find a great vendor! This is true for all of your wedding planning, but with invitations look for someone that is a good communicator, understands your sense of style, and is flexible.

If you find a vendor you love the whole process becomes incredibly easy. I was lucky to have W's cousin do beautiful, wonderful, custom invitations for me. She made the process easy and in the end I got just what I had dreamed.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have her, so I wanted to share another vendor I have worked with. I entered a contest at Minted (R) early on in wedding planning and won! I wasn't sure how I wanted to use the store credit, but I am so glad I decided to use them for stationary, christmas cards, and beautiful invitations (for another party).

Hands down their quality is better than other online invitation stores. The paper is thick and luxurious. It feels heavy and the texture is fantastic. The letterpress is intricately done and they will customize the colors to your liking. It doesn't end with great quality, their customer service is unparalleled. They will spend time emailing designs, walking you through the process, and answering any random questions you have.

There are so many stationary needs that come up during wedding planning, save the dates, shower invitations, thank you cards, bach-ette invitatations, and the wedding invitations; If you are looking for beautiful unique ideas without the cost that usually follows look into minted. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Here are some of my favorite designs.

Save The Dates: I love simple clean designs that get right to the point.

A great way to showcase your engagement photos

a picture not your thing? this is perfect and easy to change up to coordinate with your wedding color.

want something with more personality, don't fret minted has options for everyone.

Shower Invitations. I love anything from mod

ern to traditional with just the right amount of uniqueness

Wedding Invitations: I love tradtional with some color or design, again minted has everything from classic to modern.

Images all taken from www.minted.com

Invitation Tip

Trying to stay sane isn't easy in the last few months of planning.

Hopefully this tip will help with some of the sanity. If you aren't up to this part of wedding planning, bookmark this because you will surely thank us later.

Remember that handy excel sheet S and I spoke about in earlier posts. Add another column to that. This time, number each address that you are sending an invitation to. Since you have likely already compiled this list to either print the address or handwrite them, it shouldn't be so tough. After they are numbered, be sure to put the invites in the same order when stuffing them. With a pencil, label the RSVP cards on the back in one of the corners with the number that coordinates with that invitation list. For example, Mrs. Jen Smith is number one on your guest list. Well put a small number 1 on the back of the RSVP card that you stick in Mrs. Jen Smith's envelope. Follow this for each invite.

Might seem time consuming at first, but it really is such a time saver. Trying to keep sane when Blank, illegible., or duplicate RSVP cards come back in the mail is not easy. Any bride can attest this. While many compare recieving the RSVP back in the mail to Christmas, the Christmas morning can be ruined when you open a card to have it read Mrs. Smith and their are about 10 Mrs. Smith's on your guestlist. People write illegibly, people fill in the number of guests with a little note but never put their name on it and people forget to insert their first names leaving you and your fiance googling handwriting decodement as you sit and ponder.

Trust us, save yourself some time. You'll thank us later.

Any other time saving, sanity keeping tricks? Let us know. Have questions about the above post. Email us and we can help.

Invitations above by LA Engagement Party Invitations via Style Me Pretty