Wedding Tips and Tricks: Wedding Websites

Many of my couples ask me if I think they should make a wedding website. There are many benefits to doing so. You can include details about the wedding including travel and lodging information, share your stories and photos, link to gift registries, and even take electronic RSVPs. Here are a few tips...

Selecting a site - There are many templates available online, both free and paid. Some free ones to consider are The Knot, EWedding, and Wedding Channel. A paid site I like is Wedding Window.

Tell your story - Make the website unique and representative of you as a couple. Include stories and photos to reflect your personalities and help people better understand you as a couple.

Travel - Be sure to include information on hotels and any special rates/room blocks along with links to the hotel websites. I advise couples to give guests a few hotel options at varying price points if possible. This doesn't mean that you have to set up room blocks at multiple hotels, but at least give them information on other nearby hotels so that they can choose.

Local Points of Interest - Some of the best wedding websites I've seen include information on local attractions and things guests can do in their down time. Share restaurant recommendations and tidbits about your city.

Privacy - Remember that whatever information you put out there can be viewed by anyone. Be selective about what you include unless your site is password protected.

RSVP Option - In today's electronic world, this is a great feature and helps make it easier on the procrastinators and people who just don't return their reply cards. It will make your life easier, because you won't have to chase people down for a response.

How to tell guests about your website - It really isn't proper etiquette to include the website on your wedding invitation. A great place for this is on the Save-the-Date card or on maps and travel information that you send out.

Buffalo Bridal Expo 2010

This past weekend, we were exhibitors at the Buffalo Bridal Expo held at the Seneca Niagara Casino. All of the exhibitors were members of the Buffalo Bridal Association, businesses that you can trust to provide professionalism and quality for your wedding day. We really wanted to showcase our design skills, and show everyone the items and ideas we have at our fingertips to help you have the wedding of your dreams.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth! It was great to meet new 2010 and 2011 brides and grooms, and to see some of our current brides as well. Here are some photos of the tables we designed at our booth...

This first table is every "girly-girl's" dream! It is a pink and crystal table, with a beautiful candelabra centerpiece draped with crystals. Favors included wine bottles (white Zinfandel of course!) with crystal monograms, beautiful matching menu cards, pink diamonds, silver beaded charger plates, rose petals, pink chivari chairs, crystal napkin rings, and the gorgeous flowers by Flowers by Johnny (who did all the flowers at our booth - he's the best!!). This shows how beautifully all the separate parts can work together to create a complete look.

We do have this candelabra available for rent - just give us a call!

This next table is our sweetheart table. Check out the intricate lotus flower napkin folds (yes, that is only one napkin!), adorable Mr. & Mrs. chair backs, the lovely teardrop linen, calla lily centerpiece, and a love poem displayed in a frame. It is simple and elegant.

Our buttercream table was a big hit, with its huge floral centerpieces and modern look. We combined a beautiful buttercream string swirl linen with whites and ivories, playful paliette napkin rings, and a circular menu card to show you that you don't always have to think inside the box when designing your wedding tables. We had a lot of interest in these fitted chair covers with their beautiful broaches - but we know not everyone has the budget to have this look on every chair at their wedding. I suggest that if you like this type of look but can't fit it into your budget, you could use it for a head table or a sweetheart table. The chair covers are available in white, ivory, black & red.

Finally, our teal table was designed to show you how one color could work in any season. In the Fall, we paired it with brown and peacock feathers. We showcased a curly willow centerpiece with tealights as a "splurge" centerpiece, and a candle with coffee beans in a hurricane vase as a "budget" centerpiece idea. In the winter, we paired it with white and silver, utilizing our beautiful floating candle centerpiece as a great "budget" idea. Summer was red, with a neat design for arranging plates and napkins on the table, creative drink menu card by Belletristics , (actually someone liked that drink card so much it was stolen from the booth!), and spring was orange with some fun paliette tea lights, tissue paper poms, and bright centerpieces featuring beautiful tulips.

We hope that these tables provide you with ideas and inspiration, and look forward to continuing to inspire you in the upcoming year!

Spotlight Buffalo: The Ellicott Square Building

The Ellicott Square building built in 1896 is a really unique place to host your Buffalo event. The lobby can be rented out, and you are able to choose any vendors you would like to bring in. With its two grand staircases, marble mosaic floor and glass ceiling, it is an impressive space. It does take a little more work to hold an event in a non-traditional venue, but this allows it to be customized and more uniquely yours!

Here are some photos of a recent wedding I did at the building. These photos were taken by Expressions Studio.

We lined the entire balcony with about 150 votive candles. It looked amazing once it became darker. What a photo!

You're Engaged - Now What??!

So he popped the question...and you said yes. Congratulations! The excitement is winding down, and you wonder...now what?? Here are some steps to help get you started...

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Step 1 - Sit down with your fiancee and discuss the type of wedding you would like to have. This includes the size of the wedding, type of ceremony (civil, religious, etc.), who will be paying for the wedding, and an approximate budget. This is a good time to discuss what is most important to each of you for the day.

Step 2 - Meet with any appropriate parties (parents, etc.) to discuss the plans and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Step 3 - Choose a location and set a date. Keep in mind major holidays, school schedules, vacations, and how many people may have to travel to your location.

Step 4 - Begin to think about the big picture. How will the day look and feel? What will the rough time schedule look like? Collect design ideas from websites, blogs and magazines. Check out The Knot for great inspiration, including a notebook you can save your favorite photos to. Attend local bridal shows for inspiration and ideas. A great local show we are involved with is the Buffalo Bridal Expo on January 31st at the Seneca Niagara Casino. Bridal shows are a great way to get acquainted with vendors, view and touch items firsthand, and see what your town has to offer.

Step 5 - Assemble your team. You will be dealing with a number of vendors for your wedding. It is important to interview multiple vendors and see who you feel will work with your style, budget and personality. After all, this is such an important day and you deserve vendors who realize the importance of a wedding, and will do everything they can to make sure you have a wonderful day! Here's a list to get you started...

Reception Venue
Ceremony Venue
Officiant
Caterer
Photographer
Videographer
Wedding Coordinator
Florist
Transportation
Baker
Musicians for the Ceremony
Musicians for the Reception
Calligrapher
Stationer
Rental Company
Linens
Rehearsal Dinner Location

Planning a wedding takes a lot of time and organization, but it all leads to a wonderful day that you will cherish forever. Happy planning!

Wedding Etiquette: Division of Expenses

I have been receiving a number of questions lately from my 2010 brides and grooms regarding the etiquette of how to divide the wedding expenses. This is a tough question to answer, especially in today's times. Many more couples today pay for their own weddings, rather than in the past when it was more or less expected that the parents of the bride footed the majority of the bill. There are many reasons for this change; some couples are waiting longer to get married, weddings are more expensive and more complicated than in previous years, and many couples I work with have already established households together prior to marriage.

{Photo credit - Impressions are everything}

So most couples today are either paying for their own weddings, their parents are pooling resources, or a combination of all these things - there isn't one standard that is considered proper etiquette for today's couples. I consulted my Peggy Post etiquette book and materials from the Association of Bridal Consultants, and both confirm that it is quite common that the groom's family pays a larger share of expenses than in the past. They simply can offer to share the expenses by contributing a set dollar amount,or they can offer to pay for certain parts of the wedding such as the liquor, the flowers, etc.

If you want to know the traditional age-old etiquette, the majority of the expenses are paid for by the bride's family. The following costs were typically paid for by the groom and his family:

• Bride's engagement and wedding rings
• Groom's gift to his bride
• Gifts for groom's attendants
• Bride's going away corsage (oh my - let me see...how many of my brides have had a going away corsage?!)
• Boutonnieres for groom's attendants
• Corsages for immediate members of both families (unless bride has included them in her florist's order)
• Officiant's fee
• Marriage license
• Expenses of honeymoon
• All costs of rehearsal dinner
• Accommodations for groom's attendants
• Groom's apparel
• Transportation and lodging expenses for groom's immediate family
  

Any way you break it down - weddings are expensive. It is important that all parties sit down together to discuss expenses, set a budget, and stick to it.

Real Weddings: Lynn & Jonathan Part 2

Here are some more photos by Priore Photography from Lynn & Jonathan's September wedding. Overall event design by Distinctive Occasions. The wedding reception was held in the impressive Statler Towers Terrace Room. The Statler Towers are a beautiful location for a wedding reception. They have 3 different rooms to choose from, the Terrace Room being the most impressive in my opinion. Catering by Park Lane Catering is top notch and reasonably priced.



The wedding colors were chocolate brown and blue. The centerpieces consisted of brown branches with hanging led votive lights, surrounded by blue and white hydrangea. The tall centerpieces worked very well in the room with its high ceilings.


Large twig trees with hanging votives and crystals framed the staircase.


The sweetheart table...we used Lynn's bouquet as a centerpiece.

Table numbers and menu cards designed by Belletristics looked beautiful, and are a great option for the DIY bride. Lynn & Jonathan chose to name their tables after constellations, which tied in with the story of their first date. Unique table names are nice way to incorporate your personality and your story into the wedding day.

Cute cocktail napkins were available at the bars...


This was a beautiful wedding of a really special couple. Lynn & Jonathan & their large families were so much fun to be around all day - thanks for letting us be part of your celebration!

Real Weddings: Lynn & Jonathan Part 1

Today I have some beautiful photographs from Lynn & Jonathan's September wedding to share with you. All the photos were taken by Tracy and Gary at Priore Photograpy & Video. The great thing about Priore (besides their awesome photos!) is that you can book both your photos and video through them, which works out really well because they work together as a team, and let's face it...it's one less vendor to worry about!

Lynn's dress was made by Sposabella, and she was a radiant and carefree bride. Here is a photo of Lynn and her Dad entering St. Joseph's Cathedral...

The minute the service was over, it started pouring! The photographers had to go with the "rain plan", which was photos at the brand new Embassy Suites in the Avant Building downtown. It was the first time Tracy had taken photos there, and look how beautiful they turned out!

Lynn's bouquet featured ivory roses and blue hydrangea. It was wrapped with an ivory ribbon, and we tied an heirloom pearl necklace around the stems.

Stay tuned...more photos of this lovely wedding to come!