Your Wedding Advice - StrictlyWeddings.com Blog

Can I add a Gift Registry Card to my Wedding Invitations?

It is never okay to add a gift registry card to your wedding invitation suite.

According to Peggy Post, wedding invitation etiquette: registry and gift giving information is spread by word of mouth or can be given by inserting into a shower invitation. This information should NEVER grace the wedding invitation. This puts to much emphasis on the gift and not the guest attending which is the most important part of your inviting and hoping the guest can actually attend. Inserting such information can be a turn off for your friends and family. Gifts are the guests choice.

Adding a gift registry card in with or on your bridal shower invitation, that is a different story. The person giving the party is allowed to give their guests gift ideas FOR YOU! Parents, grandparents, aunts and bridesmaids can verbally tell the guests gift ideas when asked.

Growing in popularity among brides and grooms is the creation of a wedding web site. This would be an acceptable place to provide a link to your Registry.

Tips to Plan Your Honeymoon

Your honeymoon destination is a personal choice, so here are a few things to consider as you plan your romantic getaway for two:

• Availability. Are you lucky enough to be able to take off two weeks for your honeymoon extravaganza? Maybe just one week? If not, how much time will your work permit you to be gone? With today’s economy, more and more couples are choosing to have honeymoon weekends where they travel to destinations closer to their home town. That way, they can have a relaxing getaway weekend and still be home in time to be back at work monday morning.
• Weather. It is extremely important to research the weather of the location you’d like to visit for your honeymoon. If you choose a tropical paradise, make sure you aren’t going during their rainy or hurricane season. The best thing to do is to research which locations have the best weather during the month you plan to get married and then take it from there. Check out weather.com for the best weather advice.
• Budget. When choosing a location, you must factor in a budget. If you are looking for a way to stretch your dollar, there are many travel sites that offer all inclusive packages to many romantic locations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America. These exciting locations can be good for the soul and good for the budget!
• Off Season. Some fancier locations may offer lower prices during their off season. Besides the price, another major advantage to a destination during off season is privacy. During this time, hotels are less crowded, allowing you to enjoy your environment more peacefully. Just know that you are going to be taking a gamble with the weather if you go this route. More and more couples are electing to take advantage of this opportunity and find the gamble well worth the risk.

My fiance and I each have a child. We would like to include them in the ceremony.

Of course there is the traditional flower girl and ring bearer, but depending on their age, level of responsibility and of course willingness, they can:

• Ask guests to sign pages in a scrapbook
• Walk you down the aisle
• Hand out wedding programs or directions to the reception
• Serve as altar boy or altar girl
• Greet guests
• Turn pages for the musician
• Carry the bride’s train
• Hand out flowers to guests
• Help take care of gifts at the reception
• Junior bridesmaid
• Take candid pictures of the family and bridal party
• Follow the photographer around, pointing out special people to photograph
• Play a musical instrument or solo
• Carry ceremony flowers to reception
• Help guests find their seating arrangements at the reception
• Present wedding favors to guests
• Help serve the wedding cake
• Be in charge of the guest book

Tips for a chic wedding

• Use images of yourself and your groom on your save-the-date notice. Whether printed or emails, a personalized save-the-date won’t be forgotten.
• Instead of a place card at each place setting, have a menu printed that’s personalized with the guest’s name on top.
• Instead of traditional table numbers, personalize each table by naming it something that’s relevant to you, e.g., your favorite cities in the world, names of streets you lived on, schools you attended, favorite authors, or favorite wines.
• For a summer wedding at an outdoor ceremony, provide the ladies with fans that are personalized with the name and date of the bride and groom.
• Let the celebration begin—and there’s no better way to make it special than by offering a series of signature cocktails named after each of the bridesmaids and groomsmen.
• When it comes time to hit the dance floor, have a gobo made with the bride and groom’s initials projected onto the dance floor.
• Have a slideshow made with images of wedding. Set up a screen or computer monitor for the show to be seen at the day-after brunch.
• Make a CD with the music played at your wedding: from ceremony to reception and party. Give the CD to your valet parkers and have them place one in each car, or place a pile of CDs on a table where guests depart for them to help themselves and take one home.
• Instead of a traditional sign in book, have your guests write a message on a ribbon that is then tied to the ceremony area. The ribbon can be collected after the ceremony and saved as a memento for years to come

What to do with leftover wine

Most retailers will take back unopened bottles of the wines they sell to you as long as the labels and cork area haven’t been damaged or stained. Some will take back only full cases of the same wine; if your retailer requires full cases, keep those nine bottles of Merlot and enjoy them on ensuing anniversaries, or give them to friends and family as mementos or hostess gifts. For best results, store bottles horizontally in a dark space and at a consistent (cool) temperature. A bottle of opened bubbly may last another day or two in the fridge, but no longer.

Wedding Day Gratuity Guide

Gratuities are normally extended to vendors who have done more than you expected before the wedding day and on the actual day of your wedding. For sure this is important info to use, and you can pass along from generation to generation!

Put Some Thought to Your Gratuity
Reflect on the planning process and how the various vendors helped you with the details that led up to your day. Follow your conscience to determine what you feel is right. Be sure to clarify with your vendors if the fee for their service already includes tips for support staff. Since some establishments automatically add a tip to the bill for service to large parties, be careful to avoid unnecessary double tipping. If you choose to extend gratuities, here a few ideas to help you get them in order:

1. In advance, estimate each gratuity and then write a check or place cash into an envelope with the recipient’s name, and/or their title on the front of the envelope. The envelopes can be distributed to the appropriate vendors during or at the conclusion of services on the wedding day by your wedding planner or someone else you trust to handle on your behalf. An additional envelope can carry cash to make up for discrepancies once the final bill arrives and the percentages can be tabulated.
2. Write thank-you notes to the vendors who helped you throughout the planning process. Often, a sincere note of thanks is appreciated as much as or more than a tip.
3. Give the planner cash in an envelope and have the wedding planner discreetly pass out the tips to various vendors who have surpassed expectations.

Mandatory Gratuities
Transportation and catering always include gratuities (15% to 20%) in the total service fee. Gift basket delivery requires a $2 to $3 per bag or basket to have a bellman deliver to a guest room at a hotel. On occasion, hotel staff will hold a bag or basket behind the front desk and give it to the guest upon check-in, in which case it is wise to tip the front desk manager when you drop off the bags or baskets, just to ensure that your request is executed.

How Much to Give
Since all your vendors are in the service business, gratuities are a kind and generous gesture of appreciation for going the extra mile to make your wedding day perfect. The following list is of vendors that usually receive gratuities on the wedding day. Keep in mind that gratuities are customary, but maybe not a fit for your budget, you will decide that.

These receive gratuities most of the time:
Banquet Captain — Oversees the servers and makes sure your guest’s food and beverage wishes are met. Often acts as the head maitre d’ for the reception and works closely with wedding coordinator. Tip: $1 – $5 per guest.

Hair and Makeup Artists — Assists with all the beauty needs of your bridal party, keeps flow of group while everyone is getting ready. Tip: 15 -20% of the total fee, whether you go to the salon or they come to you.

Bellman — Assists with loading wedding items, i.e. gifts, flowers at the end of the night, luggage, etc. to your hotel room or car. Tip: $10 – $20 each. This is something that you an work out ahead of time with Hotel Staff.

The following receive a gratuity/tip 60-70% of the time:
Wedding Planner & Team — Assists with all aspects of the pre-wedding planning and wedding day execution. They often serve as the designer, director, producer, therapist, seamstress, dry cleaner, touch-up makeup beauty stylist, coach, consultant, honeymoon suite decorator, bell-hop and bridal party assistant. It is impossible to categorize all the services your professional planner is capable of executing. Tip: 15% of total service fee.

Catering Manager/Director of Catering / Food and Beverage Director — Assists primarily with the pre-planning of the wedding day and occasionally oversees the Banquet Captain on the day of your wedding At the hotel, they can usually make sure your hotel suite is upgraded, amenities are given and your stay is special. At a private venue or country club, they can additionally oversee the kitchen and bars. Tip: $50 – $500.

Entertainment — Musicians. Tip: $20 – $50 each. DJ. Tip: $50 – $300.

The following receive a gratuity/tip 50% or less of the time:
Photographer & Videographer — A gratuity can be given to the “lead shooter” and/or the assistants on the wedding day or on the day you receive your finished product. Tip: $40 – $100 each. This is just a suggestion, please ask your photographer about this in advance.

Florist/Designer and Team — Whatever the tip, the florist/designer should divide it among the set-up and break-down team. Tip: $50 – $200.

Tanning Tips

If you’re hoping to get a bronze-ish look for your wedding day go for an even tan. Remember that most of your guests will see you from the back – the cermeony, dancing, etc… so it’s important to look good from all angles. Here are some tanning tips:

1. Test the tanning spray, bed, cream, etc.. months before your wedding so you know how your skin will react.
2. Don’t lay in the sun days before your wedding without proper sun lotion. You don’t want to get a burn or sun poisoning the week of your wedding.
3. If you are using a spray or lotion to get the perfect tan, make sure you cover yourself evenly and ask for help for those hard to reach areas like your back.
4. Do not put any type of tanning lotion or spray on the morning of your wedding in case it can rub off on your white dress.

Preserving the Wedding Bouquet

• Preserve the bouquet yourself or let a professional do it for you. Make this decision well in advance of the wedding date as all methods of preservation require that the treatment begin no later than one to four days after the wedding.
• Keep in mind that some home methods of flower preservation can take days or weeks to complete. Will you have the time to monitor the process yourself? Will you be able to begin the preservation process immediately after the wedding?
• Choose to have your bouquet professionally freeze-dried if you want the resulting bouquet to look as realistic as possible. The elements of the bouquet are taken apart, freeze-dried if possible, and then put back into the original arrangement. This method will take three to four weeks to complete.
• Choose to have your bouquet professionally pressed. The bouquet is taken apart, the flowers are pressed, and then they are rearranged and framed. Even though the flowers will be flattened, the original silhouette of the bouquet can be achieved. This method takes 8 to 10 weeks.
• Make bouquet preservation arrangements in advance of the wedding date. The preservationist will give you instructions on how to care for and transport your bouquet.
• Expect to pay $100 and up to have your bouquet professionally preserved. The price will depend on the size of the bouquet and any additional services, such as special frames or glass enclosures. If there is no professional in your area, you will also have to pay to have the bouquet shipped overnight.
• Use drying agents such as sand, silica gel or borax to preserve your own bouquet at home. The process involves covering each flower completely with the chosen substance to draw out moisture.
• Press the flowers from your bouquet at home. Frame your own pressed arrangement.
• Create your own dried flower bouquet. This is perhaps the simplest preservation method to accomplish at home. Take the bouquet apart and hang the individual flowers to dry. Reassemble the bouquet. Take care with the resulting brittle petals and stems.

Source: eHow.com

Photos courtesy of our new Chicago Floral & Event partners: Left to right – Larkspur, Kehoe Designs, Hello Darling

Ceremony Etiquette You May Not Know

The first thing you can do for the wedding couple is to arrive on time. It doesn’t matter that most weddings don’t begin at the exact hour indicated in the invitation. It is still good manners to show up on time. If you are going to be late or arrive after the appointed time, you can do the following:

• If the processional is underway, don’t stroll down the aisle at the same time as the wedding party. If the processional is underway, wait in an area outside and/or out of the way until the processional has been completed.
• Exercise discretion: you may prefer to be up front, but this time, you should sit in the back to avoid drawing attention away from the ceremony underway. Enter and seat yourself as quickly and quietly as you can.
• If you are attending a religious ceremony of a faith other than your own, be respectful. Be discreet in your non-participation.This is not the event for making a political statement.
• If you are unfamiliar with the religious rituals, go with the crowd. Watch what others are doing and do you best to follow along or blend in.

Budgeting for Flowers

It is common to allocate approximately 10 percent of the total wedding budget to flowers, but you may choose to spend more or less, depending on your priorities. When you meet with florists, be honest about your budget from the very beginning.

The florist should be able to give you a good idea of what can be accomplished within your budget and offer you helpful advice and alternatives if your requests are unrealistic. If you’re not satisfied with one estimate, shop around; prices can vary widely among vendors.

Cutting Costs
Here are a few ideas to stretch your budget.

• Buy flowers that are in season: For an August wedding, asters and phlox from the farm down the road will be significantly less expensive than peonies, which are out of season at that time.
• Use less-expensive varieties. For example, thousands of daisies can make a wonderful display for the cost of two or three elaborate orchid arrangements.
• Find ways to make flowers do double duty. Bring the arrangements from the church to the reception, or place the bridesmaids’ bouquets around the cake table. You can even use pots of flowers from the bridesmaids’ luncheon again at the rehearsal dinner.
• Avoid a wedding date that coincides with holidays such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day, when flowers are at a premium.
• Choose simply constructed arrangements, which are more affordable than complicated wired bouquets.
• Don’t limit yourself to cut flowers; instead, consider garlands, foliage, potted plants or herbs.

Check out previous postings for additional ideas.