Category: Wedding Tips

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3 Wedding Social Media Etiquette rules to follow

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Have you noticed the post that was making the rounds on Facebook, where the wedding officiant announces, “You are now pronounced man and wife. You may now update your Facebook Status.”

This is of course, an exaggeration. Nevertheless, we all know that every event, ceremony and celebration is incomplete until it becomes a part of the online world today. Social media has crept into every aspect of our lives, and weddings are not left behind.

And with this factor comes a whole new list of what is right and what is wrong. If you are worried about how much networking is alright so you do not ruin the mood at your wedding, and how to make sure you do not overstep any boundaries, we have help.

Here are the four cardinal rules of social media etiquette for couples, where weddings are concerned. Do not break them, and you will do just fine.

#1 Remember that it is more personal to do things the traditional way

Your friends may not mind receiving your wedding invite via email, or posting their RSVP on your wedding website. But remember that the old-fashioned pen and paper style is more personal. Go for traditional wedding invites and telephone calls where it is necessary. This will be better received.

#2 Be sensible about what you put online for everyone to see

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You certainly want to show off your engagement ring, and may feel tempted to tweet or post every update on your wedding plans. Resist the temptation. Remember that not everyone is as excited as you are, and may feel you’ve intruded their space with too much information. Be especially careful about posting negative comments about people or plans, as news travels quickly, even if the person isn’t online. Don’t end up in a fix, where you will regret what you wrote.

#3 If you don’t want people to post your wedding details, mention it explicitly

We can perfectly understand it when you say you do not want people glued to their phones during your ceremony and reception. But, don’t assume that they will do so. If you don’t want to feel disappointed when you see them tapping away at their phones all the time, make sure you tell them so. Consider putting up a humorous board that suggests your wedding is a social-media free zone, if you are dead against it. However, it is better to be understanding and expect them to post occasionally. If you do not want your wedding pictures to go online before you upload them yourself, make sure that your guests are aware of this.

#4 Share your wedding hashtag information

This is the best way to make sure that all your wedding pictures are in one place. By using a hashtag generator, share your wedding hashtag with all the guests at your wedding, and request them to upload the pictures with the tag. To do this you can either add it to your wedding invitation, or put it up on your wedding website. You could also mention it on the welcome board at your venue, for those who may have missed making a note of it.

Hopefully this clears the air on how to enjoy social media in moderation, so it doesn’t take over your wedding day. For more valuable wedding tips and advice, keep visiting us on Best for Bride.

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Tips For Avoiding Wedding Planning Stress

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/
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.

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5 Tips to help you plan a big wedding

So, you’ve begun the challenging job of cutting your 300+ something guest list short, and it doesn’t look like most of the people are going out of it. What do you do?

You have a big wedding!

Well, it wouldn’t be true if I said that it was no big deal, but throwing a big wedding isn’t as impossible as it may seem. All you need are a few tips to start you off, and you will be soaring forward with your wedding plans in no time. So, what are you waiting for. It’s time to plan that big wedding you want, with this important advice.

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#1 Start with the guest list and plan your budget, and not the other way around

For a small wedding, the ideal approach is to fix your budget and then decide how much money goes where. Forget this for a big wedding. First plan your guest list. Then look at affordable venues that can accommodate this head count, and caterers who will serve a decent meal, without breaking your bank. Do your calculations along the way, and see what you end up with. If it is more than what you can afford, it may be time to look at vendors who charge less, or think again about what you want.

If you’re thinking of selling your old collections, you can start selling them on different platform like eBay or any other similar platform. You can sell your sports card collections here, or do some research on which platform will be best for your specific collection. Keep in mind that for selling things online, you need to put some effort into it and be patient, as it may take a while.

#2 Hire a professional planner

Small weddings are stressful enough, imagine perfecting the details for a large one! Unless you are a super-organized, cool-headed, planning perfectionist, planning the details of a big wedding can be huge stress. Hire a professional to take on the task, and it will be money well-spent.

#3 Ditch all that which isn’t necessary

Check out this wedding at A Practical Wedding Blog.  The sensible couple left out centerpieces, by opting for an informal buffet style reception. With this arrangement, there was no need for elaborate floral arrangements on the tables. Instead, they splurged on the caterer who supplied a delicious spread and also hired an amazing band that kept the huge wedding party on their toes.

#4 Make sure you hire an experienced vendor

Don’t sign a contract unless your vendor has previously worked with a party just as big as yours. The same goes for the venue you choose. Can it accommodate so many people? Do they have enough bathrooms, so your guests won’t spend all day in a queue to the loo? Check out these details before confirming.

#5 Keep your calm and let some things go

It may seem impossible at times, but just remember that all this is definitely worth the effort. You will be surrounded by everyone you always wanted at your wedding. So, who cares if you couldn’t gift them personalized favor bags, or you had to make do with a simple cake with no fancy flavoring! Everyone’s had a bash in the end, and your memory will forever be remembered. Isn’t that worth it?

Find a splendid wedding dress for your big wedding at Best for Bride, and also look through our services for affordable options that will help you sort out your wedding shopping at an affordable price.

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5 things you should do to make your out-of-town weddings guests comfortable

It is likely that every wedding will have at least a few guests who travel from far for the ceremony. As a couple, you should appreciate the time, effort and money they spend to be part of your big day. The least you can do is to make sure they are comfortable and enjoy their stay while they are in-town. Here are some simple ways in which you can make their visit worthwhile and easier.

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Inform them early

As you may be aware, air ticket charges peak as the date nears. Since your guests will be footing their travel expenses, make sure you notify them of the date well in advance so they have enough time to find a good deal. “Etiquette on Out-of-town Wedding invitations” on Map happy suggests giving four to six months advance notice, as this will allow your guests to research their travel options and plan their trip so that it doesn’t cost them dearly. It would be helpful if you could provide them an itinerary of the various events they have to attend, so they can pack for it accordingly. This would also give them enough time to plan their trip.

Be considerate and do what you can to help them

Your out-of-town guests go through a lot of trouble and spend a lot of money to make it to your wedding day. So, the least you can do is to be considerate and help them with what you can. While you are not responsible for their accommodation, they would find it helpful if you could provide a list of affordable hotels and arrange the bookings on their behalf. If possible, visit them once they are in town or at least call and make sure they have arrived safely and are comfortable. Make sure to mention how you appreciate their presence, as these thoughtful gestures go a long way in making them feel the trip was worth it.

Suggest options so they stay occupied

Unless your wedding itinerary is action-packed with events, your guests will have plenty of free time to themselves. It would be a good idea to provide them suggestions on how they can spend this time. If there are local museums or tourist attractions, recommend them. If they are in town at the time of your rehearsal dinner, consider including them. Assign the responsibility of these guests to one of your bridesmaids or groomsmen, so they have someone to turn to should they require any help.

Small treats go a long way

Arrange for a small bag or basket of treats to welcome your out-of-town guests. You do not have to spend a huge amount on it, but they will appreciate your thoughtful gesture of remembering them when they find a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates in their hotel room. After your wedding day, don’t forget to send them a thank you note. Besides thanking them for their gift, specifically mention how pleased you were to have them at your wedding.

If you are wondering about what party favors would be good for your out-of-town guests and also all the others at your wedding, visit us on Best for Bride for some fabulous ideas.