Flower Girl/ Ring Bearer Attire Made Easy!

Easter is on the way. What does this mean? The stores will be filled dressy clothes for toddler/preschool aged children...at great prices!! No one says you have to spend $200 on a flower girl dress that has to be pressed before the wedding and dry cleaned afterwards. The chances of the flower girl wearing that $200 dress again is lower than the bridesmaids wearing their dresses again. I appreciate the non-bridal clothes for the littlest members of the bridal party because the styles are more appropriate to their age group and they still look great. They are also easy to launder and can be used again more easily...that is until their next growth spurt! (Check out Target online!)

If you want the flower girl/ring bearer in formal clothes anyway, resale stores are a great place to start. I've seen beautiful dresses at great prices at stores such as Savers and at events such as Just Between Friends Sales. (I found a bridal slip at Savers for $5!!) I've also seen some ads on Craig's List with inexpensive used formal dresses/suits for the little ones. And don't forget Ebay...it's also a great price to find bridesmaids dresses too.

More cost savings ideas to come...

Until next time!

Annie

First Peek?

Today, I'm going to write about the first "first peek" I had a pleasure of being a part of. About 10 years ago, I was coordinating my best friend's wedding. At the rehearsal dinner the night before, the two families exchanged some words. Even though they all tried their best to forgive and forget that night, the bride and groom left tense. The next day with tensions still high, once everyone was dressed and pre-wedding pictures taken, I asked my best friend if she wanted to see her groom prior to the ceremony. Her face changed from worry to happiness. I offered the groom 10 minutes alone with her and he jumped on it. They both wanted to clear the air as soon as possible. So, I knocked on her door and advised him again that he only had 10 minutes as he entered her room. I shut the door and stood guard. As promised, at the 10 minute mark, I knocked on the door and told him his time was up. He walked out with tears in his eyes. "Thank you for allowing me to see her early, I really didn't want to cry like a baby at the alter."
This story was 10 years ago....prior to the wedding industry making it the new thing. Some will tell you that seeing the groom show the emotion at the alter is what it is about. Trust me, even with a first peek, the bride always takes the groom's breath away when she starts down the aisle.
Some couples use the first peek to calm their pre-wedding jitters together. There's not a lot of time for the couples to spend alone during their wedding day. The bride is rushing all morning to hair and make up appointments with her attendants. The groom is usually doing the last minute errands. After the ceremony is pictures, dinner, toasting, dancing, cutting cake, and personally greeting each guest. Not much alone time built into their schedule.
Do I recommend first peeks? Yes, I do. Do I get upset when a bride and/or groom won't do it? Of course not. It's not my day...it's theirs.

Until next time...

Annie

Plan B?

With today's blizzard like conditions, I felt the need to blog about the need of contingency plans when it comes to your big day. Do I mean just planning for weather? Well, yes and no. Things to keep in mind:

1) Weather at the wedding location--Especially if the wedding is outside. ALWAYS have a plan B for outside weddings. If you don't, you could end up scrambling at the last minute to find a place for your ceremony. Some reception venues can be used as ceremony venues as well, as long as you tell them in contract negotiations that it is the ceremony alternate site. Some will allow you to make the call the morning of as long as you provide them the room set up for both options. Also, with any ceremony, you have to plan for severe weather impacting your guests ability to drive to the ceremony.
2) Weather at your out of town guests' location--Especially important is someone very significant has to fly or drive in. This includes members of the bridal party, parents, grandparents, etc. Having them travel a couple days prior to the big event gives some time for delays, cancelled flights, etc.
3) Pack a good emergency kit (or have your bridesmaids do this!)--If you hire a wedding coordinator, he/she should bring one as well. I can tell you my emergency kit is quite large! This is a link to the Knot's list. It's pretty comprehensive.
http://wedding.theknot.com/bridesmaids-mother-of-the-bride/bridesmaids/articles/the-brides-emergency-kit.aspx

I hope this gives you food for thought when planning your day...and for planning your plan B's for your day! If you have questions or need more suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me...

Until next time...and hopefully with better weather!

Annie

Food during cocktail hour?!

Whether you call it a cocktail hour or it's just the time that passes while the bride and groom get their pictures taken, anytime you serve alcohol, you should serve something to eat. (Plus it gives the children something to munch on.) Does it have to be hot appetizers passed by someone in a dinner jacket? Of course not. Raw vegetables and ranch dressing, chips and dip, cheese trays and wheat thins, all are viable options that won't cost a fortune.

For instance, the bride and groom I helped in November had cheese/sausage trays, raw vegetables/ranch dressing, pretzels, and this wonderful buffalo chicken dip with pita chips. I'd never seen it before. However, everyone was coming back for more, even the kids! I had to ask the bride for the recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

* Two 12 oz cans of chicken (you can use 2-3 chicken breast if you want but this is much less time consuming and no one ever knows the difference)

* 1 cup of Ranch Dressing

* 1 cup of Frank's Original Red Hot (per recipe, don't substitute)

* One 8-ounce package of cream cheese

* 8 ounces shredded cheese (such as cheddar, monterey jack, mexican, etc)

Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut up cream cheese into appx 1/2 inch cubes. Lay cream cheese cubes evenly in pan. Cover evenly with shredded cheese. Pour ranch dressing and hot sauce over cheese. Put in oven for 7-10 minutes, uncovered. Remove, stir. Return to oven for 7-10 minutes, remove and stir. Continue this until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well mixed together. Meanwhile, drain and shred chicken. Once cream cheese is melted, pour chicken into mixture and stir until well mixed. Best served cold but great right out of the oven too! Serve with wheat thins, pita chips, toritlla chips, celery, etc.

ENJOY!

Until next time!

Annie

To Dollar Dance or not to Dollar Dance?

I received a survey yesterday from one of the major bridal magazines on wedding trends. It definitely got me to thinking about this past year and some of the trends I've noticed personally here in Kansas City. One of the changing trends is the dollar dance...

To those unfamiliar, the dollar dance is held typically after any symbolic dances (couple's first dance, father/daughter dance, mother/son dance, you get the point). Guests line up to pay a dollar to dance with the bride and/or groom. The maid/matron of honor and best man are the first in line and then stay to collect the money and control the line. It's a great way for the guests to get a little face time with the couple (especially if there wasn't a receiving line) and for the couple to get a little extra spending money for the honeymoon. Sounds great, right?

In the changing times and depressed economy, couples are more and more opting out of the traditional dollar dance. Some feel as though people have already purchased a gift, probably attended showers/engagement parties, and sometimes traveled great distances to attend their wedding--all on their own dime. Therefore, they feel greedy asking for more money. On the flip side, some of the best pictures from the reception can be captured during this tradition. How often do you see the groomsmen lining up to get to dance with the groom? And don't forget the pictures of the kids dancing with the bride.

So, how can we "save" this tradition? One option is to place note cards and a small golf pencil at each place setting. In order to get to dance with the bride or groom, the guests must write a piece of advice or well wishes on the note card and present it to the honor attendants before they get their dance with either member of the happy couple. All the note cards can be collected and placed into a scrapbook for the couple. Tradition saved and no money changes hands. This also works well when one side of the family wants to uphold the tradition and the side feels it's tacky.

If you have any other ideas, please let me know! I'm always collecting thoughts for my future brides!

Until next time,

Annie

Why should you hire a wedding planner? Part 2

Another reason to hire a coordinator...bottom line, we can save couples money. We know the vendors and we know how the best value for your money. We can point the couple to the least expensive options for providing their guests the experience they have dreamed of.

Until next time...

Annie

Perfect September Wedding

I had the pleasure of both officiating and coordinating a wonderful little ceremony this weekend. The bride and groom wanted to get married on the anniversary of the day they met, September 18, 2008. However with this job, he never truly knows when he will be home. When he found out on September 11th that he would be home on the 18th, he reached out to me to help him make it happen. He made a beautiful wooden archway. I wrote their service, provided the cake, champagne, table, and photographer. She purchased a wedding gown off the rack from David's Bridal. They got married in the middle of his family farm on an old stone bridge the covered wagons used. It was a beautiful day for this perfect couple. It was truly my pleasure to help them.

Weddings don't have to be huge. They don't have to cost a fortune. They don't have to have a wedding party of 20 people or even 300 guests. They can be just as beautiful and done simply.

Thank you again, Mercadies and Kreg, for allowing me the privilege. And congratulations again!

Until next time...

A