Olga is manager at Best for Bride since 2005. Currently Best for Bride operates 4 bridal stores in Canada (Toronto, Etobicoke, Hamilton and Barrie). Best for Bride sells wedding, bridemaids, mob dresses and more. https://www.bestforbride.com/
We took a look at some of the most popular wedding checklists published, and we counted over 80 individual items that need to be completed with planning a wedding! And if your fiancé is anything like my husband, he will complete about 1 of those 80 items!
Reducing your stress during wedding planning is one of the best things you can do for your overall physical and mental health. So get your fiancé to lighten the load! Here are our top 4 suggestions for sharing wedding tasks that we promise your fiancé can handle:
1) Compile a list of his family and choose his groomsmen. This sounds simple and straightforward, that being said it may take a little prodding to get this completed. To help make sure this is done in time, make sure you give him hard deadlines of when you need a rough list and when the final list needs to be ready.
2) Plan the rehearsal dinner. Trust me, you have enough to do with planning the wedding. Let your fiancé and his parents take care of the rehearsal dinner. If you have specific dreams of ideas for the rehearsal dinner, let your fiancé know before he begins planning. Or, do what I did and sit back and enjoy the venue tours and food tasting, and only be responsible for helping make the final decision.
3) Confirm and book items that you have already agreed upon. This could include the wedding transportation for guests, booking the wedding band or DJ, wedding officiant, or booking hotel room blocks. Your time should be spent perusing wedding inspiration on Pinterest…not confirming things that have previously been decided.
4) Make sure guests know your wedding weekend details. Many couples use beautifully printed weekend itineraries, mass emails, or group texts to get this information out. Printed information is expensive and easily lost, group texts require you to be texting during your wedding weekend (which is no fun!), and mass emails get lost in your guest’s mailboxes. The best and most cost-effective solution to this problem is WedTexts!
WedTexts is the easiest way to communicate with your wedding guests. Our website (or app) allows engaged couples to pre-schedule helpful reminders to be sent to their wedding guests for every wedding event. Unlike other wedding apps, there is nothing for wedding guests to download! If your guests can receive a text message, you can be sure they are kept in the loop for every event.
After creating your free Wedtexts account, ask your fiance to manage your account! It’s one of the easiest things he can do to help reduce the stress surrounding your wedding weekend. And your guests will thank you too!
About the author: Kelly is a co-founder of WedTexts.
Sometimes a bargain can just end up being a headache. When it comes to weddings, proms, and formal events getting everything done right, on time, and with minimal stress, is tantamount to saving money. However, a cheap dress just might end up costing more you in the long run.
If you come across a price on a designer gown that seems to good to be true, it probably is. Nothing puts a damper on a wedding like finding out your dresses are low quality knock-offs when it is already too late to hunt down replacements.
Consider that an inexpensive dress may only afford you one or two wearings and might not survive a cleaning. The last thing you need at your prom or wedding is a wardrobe malfunction or a creeping hemline. High quality dresses are lined, and stitched to last with beautiful lasting fabrics and strong thread.
You do not have to go with a famous name designer to get quality. The bigger the name, the bigger the price; because you are paying for the prestige-factor. In fact, wearing mid-level and less known designers is an industry secret to getting the quality and the look at a reasonable price point. Regardless of how famous, when a designer puts his or her name on a piece, it is a symbol of pride. When investing in a designer piece you can expect heirloom quality to pass on for generations, or a wear again look to enjoy for years to come.
Unfortunately the internet is flooded with websites selling fake goods, cheap imitations, or even worse, just simply charging credit cards without even sending the gowns. Without dresses, can there even be a wedding? Wedding planners use reputable businesses to avoid unpleasant surprises. When searching for a reputable dress shop there are a few things to look at to make sure you are getting the real deal.
Right off the bat you can tell by the quality of the website and dress descriptions. Does the website mention information like specifics on styles and sizing? Anyone can throw together a quickie website. Be sure that the website you buying through is verified. If you are buying through Paypal or with a credit card, although you have some buyer protection, keep in mind that that still does not guarantee you finding replacement dresses by your deadline should something happen to wrong.
Read real reviews from real people who have used the services of the shop, and look for these reviews on legitimate ratings websites. A website with little to no reviews, or reviews that sound fake, is probably a scam.
How many years has the shop been in business? Do they have a real brick and mortar location? Ask questions and do your research. If the dress shop only exists online, this is something to be wary of. By using a dress shop that has a real physical location, even if it is not in your town, you can still count on top-notch customer service and timely deliveries. If you need alterations or customizations you can either buy locally or enlist the services of your local seamstress. Many dry cleaning establishments also offer alterations.
When it comes to clothing you get what you pay for. When thought is put into the design you can count on a great fit, blacks that will resist fading, and fabrics that feel soft against the skin. Knock off dresses are all about making a quick buck off of the hard work of someone else. There is no telling where, how, or who makes them. Even worse, you may end up without a dress at all.
If your Wedding is going to have a Vintage Theme, this is a lovely way to add some sparkle and Vintage charm to your favour boxes.
These little favour boxes are a perfect way to give your guests a lovely little gift they can keep.
Top the boxes with Vintage Style Brooches and fill them with Retro sweets to complete the Vintage look.
For your male guests, why not top the boxes with a key ring or bottle opener. You can attach these with ribbon to tie them on.
You will need:
Favour Boxes:
Favour boxes in a colour to match your theme. The boxes shown were for a pink and mint green colour scheme. You can choose different colours for male and female guests, so green for men and pink for women for this Wedding style.
Please note that you will need to choose boxes that have a ribbon attached, so that you have something to tie your brooches to. Or alternatively, if you prefer to add your own ribbon you can opt for adhesive ribbon or glue non adhesive ribbon onto the boxes with E6000 glue.
Party City has lots to choose from and even have Silver Glitter and Gold Glitter favour boxes which are gorgeous! (Although these do come without ribbon).
Retro Sweets:
You can fill your boxes with any kind of retro sweets you like, but to fit this size of box, Jelly Belly Beans and Mini Love Hearts fit perfectly.
Jelly Belly has lots of themed Jelly beans to choose from and if you are having a Disney themed Wedding, they have a range of Disney Jelly Beans!
If you like the idea of having your sweets personalised, Love Hearts do personalised mini love heart favours which are perfect for putting on top of your retro sweets inside your favour boxes! They can provide you with a sample pack for a small fee too if you want to see what they look like before purchasing.
Buy Vintage Brooches:
You can opt for any type of Vintage Brooch that fits in with your theme. We chose Pearl diamante brooches for an elegant Vintage look.
There are many places you can find Vintage brooches such as charity stores, house clearances, Etsy, Ebay and Amazon to name but a few.
Brooches can be costly, so do shop around and find the style of brooch you prefer before purchasing. You can also look for ‘brooches lots’ on Ebay and Amazon as buying in bulk can save you some money.
Brooches can range in price from one dollar to much more, so do set a budget and decide on what quality of brooches you are looking for. If you want to opt for genuine Vintage Brooches you may need to buy these individually on-line, or you may be able to find a ‘lot’ of genuine Vintage brooches on EBay.
Make Vintage Brooches:
Another option is to make your own Vintage Style Brooches. If you enjoy crafts then this is a good way to make stunning brooches which your guests will adore.
You can also save a few dollars by buying the materials to make your brooches in bulk.
This will take you longer, but you will be pleased with the finished result and it will also give you more colour options as you can make the brooches in any colour to match your theme.
Decorative Sticky Adhesive Tape in Vintage Trim:
This decorative tape can be purchased in a range of colours and styles to fit in with your Wedding theme. There is a wide range on Amazon and Scotch tape also had many to choose from. For this project we opted for pink Vintage lace adhesive trim to match the theme.
Remove the lid from each box and measure with a ruler how far down you want the tape to go. You will need to test by putting the lid back on to ensure that you can still see the trim.
Mark the boxes with a pencil to show where you want the top of the trim to start.
Start on one side of the box and neatly apply the trim all the way round. It’s best to make the trim meet at a corner so that the pattern joins up and the join isn’t so obvious. Repeat this step for all of your favour boxes. You can use different colours to match your boxes, or a contrasting colour to give a different effect.
Attach the Vintage brooches to the top of each box by undoing the pin and pushing it through the ribbon on the top. Fasten the brooch so that it is secure, you don’t need to glue it as your guests will then be able to undo the brooch and wear it on the day. You can do the same, but using additional ribbon to tie key rings or bottle openers for male guests.
Fill your favour boxes with Vintage sweets and put the lids back on. Now they are ready for your big day and can be stored in a box ready to take to your venue to give to your wedding planner to set up for you.
About the author:
This article was brought to you by Erin Monczak at Jewels & Faith Wedding Jewellery Boutique. Erin is a Bridal Jewellery and Accessories Designer in England and specialises in making luxurious individual accessories for brides to be.
Every bride has good intentions when she starts planning her wedding. You envision a beautiful day, surrounded by your family and friends, bridesmaids in beautiful dresses bursting with happiness and taking in all of the gorgeous details. No bride ever anticipates the pressure that can come with planning such an important day, but it’s inevitable. Everybody feels stressed at some point during their daily lives, and adding wedding planning to your already busy life can be overwhelming.
Remember that you set the tone for the wedding day and the months leading up to it. Those around you will feed off of your energy and if you are stressed, they will feel stressed. Starting off on the right track will not only keep your stress to a minimum but the stress of the people around you as well.
So how do you get from engaged to I do without losing your mind? Here are some tips for feeling calm and balanced during the wedding planning process.
Photo Courtesy of http://www.weddingdaystory.com/
Have a Plan
The best way to avoid any stress during wedding planning is to start off with a good plan. You and your fiancé must first decide on the type of wedding you’d like to have. Discuss the options with your parents as their input often comes into play as well. If you don’t have a wedding planner, you will be on your own to create a budget plan and wedding planning timeline for the months leading up to your wedding. These are very important! Make this your first step before moving forward.
Create a Realistic Budget
The budget is the number one cause of arguments and stress during the wedding planning process. You have to discuss the budget with your fiancé and anyone else that will be contributing to the wedding – come up with a number that works for everyone and stick to it. Be honest and don’t purchase anything that is over budget without discussing it with your fiancé. Prices vary from city to city, so you might have to do some research to see what average wedding costs are in your area.
Stay Healthy
Eating well and exercising has been proven to reduce stress. Physical activity creates endorphins and improves your mood, while a balanced diet can provide the necessary vitamins and minerals that help reduce stress levels. As little as thirty minutes of exercise three times a week will make a huge difference. A few easy changes to your diet like drinking more water, eating more fruits and vegetables, and cutting out fast food will give you the natural defenses you need to combat stress.
Find Your Happy Place
This is my favorite and most beneficial tip I can give any bride. We all deal with stress at some point, so you need to find that one thing you can turn to when things get out of control. Whether it’s reading, or getting a massage or pedicure, yoga, or even if it’s just locking yourself in your bedroom to meditate for five minutes – find something that works for you. When things get too stressful, you are prepared and can automatically turn to your happy place. You’ve heard that expression ‘Just sleep on it’. When you come back from your happy place, you might realize the problem wasn’t even that bad after all, or you’ll come back with the mental focus to face the problem head-on and deal with it.
Be Grateful
This will also be a big year for your parents, siblings, close friends, and family. They will be asked to throw bridal showers and engagement parties, purchase bridesmaid dresses, and take some of their time away from their personal lives to help with the planning of your wedding. Be patient and grateful, and make sure to include everyone in the planning process. Often the root of all family issues stems from someone not feeling like they’ve been heard or appreciated. Family dynamics are a part of every wedding, and this can be stressful when everyone has their own ideas and suggestions and insists on providing their opinions. So patience, forgiveness, and a small thank-you note or a loving hug can go a long way in keeping everyone happy during this time.
Know It Won’t Be Perfect
Let go of the idea that everything has to be perfect. Perfection is impossible to achieve and puts far too much pressure on brides. Every bride wants their day to go perfectly, but I can tell you this, your day will NOT be perfect. Little things will happen that you can’t anticipate, plans may not run exactly to schedule, and people will not always behave or react how you would like them to. In the end, your wedding day will be the perfect day FOR YOU. Have some perspective and appreciate all the good things about the day.Move forward knowing that there will be some bumps in the road, and you will feel less stress when you look at it that way instead of trying to pull off the impossible.
Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff
It can be easy to let your emotions take over when things don’t go how you want them to, especially for the most important day of your life. But if the napkins aren’t the exact color you wanted, or your bridesmaid orders the wrong shoes, or some wording gets mixed up on the invitations – remember there are worse things in life that can happen. Be thankful for the opportunity to be planning such a joyous celebration in the first place. Causing unnecessary drama will only create bad energy for your day.
Have Fun
This is supposed to be fun! If wedding planning is starting to feel more like a job, then you really have to take a step back and re-evaluate. Maybe you need some extra help – wedding planners can step in at any stage of the planning process to take over if you are feeling too overwhelmed or stressed out. Talk to your fiancé and your family – don’t be afraid to delegate some of the jobs so that you aren’t doing it all on your own.
Remember, if the bride is happy, everyone is happy. You set the tone and energy for your wedding day and the months of planning. Making an effort to stay calm and stress-free is important to a memorable wedding planning experience. Otherwise, you could become overwhelmed and turn into the dreaded Bridezilla, which no bride (or those close to her) wants.
– Tammy is a wedding planner, author, and the curator of TheWeddingGuru.ca – a wedding blog offering guidance and inspiration for the balanced bride.
Recent Posts: The Best Bridal Store - Your source for everything you want to know about weddings
