dresses
Dress shopping can be fun, exciting, and maybe a little scary. Here are a few important things to keep in mind when preparing for your first appointment at the bridal salon.
Be sure to save pictures of the dresses you really love to show your dress consultant so they will have an idea of what shapes and styles you gravitate towards.
Beauty
Don’t make this the day you’re trying out some totally new look for the first time!
The Rings
So many choices! Vintage or classic, diamonds or gemstones, platinum or gold – wedding rings come in many shapes, sizes and styles.
Are you envisioning a simple band or one with embellishments? Do you think you and your partner’s rings should match?
You’re going to wear this band every day, so the goal is to choose something that you love and will seamlessly become a part of your life. Narrowing down your ring options may seem overwhelming, but don’t panic. Pay a visit to the wedding ring experts at Zales. From simple bands in traditional metals to diamond eternity bands, Zales will help you find the perfect band that symbolizes your unending love.
The Venue
Choosing the venue is one of the most important decisions you’ll make early on. The location affects almost everything else, from how many people you invite to what kind of flowers go on the table. Knowing how many guests you’re expecting to invite is essential before you visit possible venues.
Also, it crucial to know how much your total budget is, as well as approximately what your design will cost to execute so you can make informed decisions when considering a venue.
Finally, ask yourselves what feels authentic to you as a couple, and choose a space and a design that’s a representation of who you are and the guest experience you want to provide. The bottom line is to explore your options, check out the top contenders, and ultimately select a place that fits your guest count, style, and budget.
The Flowers
Just like finding the perfect venue, you want your vision to be sync with your florist as well. Whether it’s designing a cascading trellis dripping with flowers for the ceremony or creating the perfect centerpiece for your reception, start the process by asking your florist for recommendations.
It’s important that you find someone who is able to deliver on your wedding décor choices and on your budget. Although floral samples will vary depending on your florist, we recommend asking them to include a mock reception table set-up, centerpiece, and bouquet so you can get a real preview of what your wedding and reception will look like.
The Décor
Discuss with your partner the vibe that you want your wedding to have and start looking for inspiration to make your vision a reality.
Do you love the idea of an outdoor wedding? Consider bringing the indoors outside by adding comfy lounge chairs, couches and love seats to your reception space. Depending on the season, be inspired by your surroundings and decorate with natural backgrounds of trees and other lush greenery. Fill the space with suspended lighting and twinkly candles to make your outdoor space feel more intimate. Most importantly, design a wedding space that you love, and your guests will love it to!
The Favors
Wedding favors should be a fun, extra wedding detail to show your guests how much you love and appreciate them for celebrating your special day with you.
For inspiration, think about some of your favorite treats or personal hobbies. Check out My Wedding Favors for a wide variety of unique and exclusive favors designed to capture your personality, style, theme and color palette. This way you will be able to send your guests home with something they’ll really love.
Begin your planning using these 4 tips
The Pre-Wedding Crash Diet
So many modern brides-to-be go on a pre-wedding diet, taking dangerous measures such as diet pills, fasting, or skipping meals to achieve their “ideal” wedding weight.
DON’T let this be you!
Even if you call it a “cleanse”, a wedding diet is still a crash diet. You should feel happy, energized and healthy on your wedding day, not fatigued and starving. Of course, you should focus on eating healthy, exercising and taking good care of yourself while counting down to your wedding day.
Overlooking Your Honeymoon
It may seem counterintuitive, but before you fully launch into the wedding planning process, take some time to plan your honeymoon.
Planning your honeymoon before the wedding-planning madness will help you achieve several things. First, it will help you set your wedding date in a season when you can get great honeymoon deals. Secondly, it will ensure you book your flights, hotels, and any other details early enough to get the lowest possible prices. Waiting to plan your honeymoon can leave you scrambling to get tickets and reservations, paying a premium price, and possibly missing out on your dream destination because of it.
Want to make the whole planning process easier?
Start by selecting a category or activity for a honeymoon. Beach vacations are the most popular and also cost effective. Many resorts such as the elegant and luxurious Sandals Resorts offer all-inclusive packages that are more affordable than putting together a honeymoon piecemeal, plus having everything already booked and paid for before you depart means you can enjoy the stress-free, dream honeymoon that you and your new partner deserve.
Of course for the adventurous, there are many other options, such as sightseeing in Europe or Asia, a Safari in Africa or a trek in the Andes, etc. But they can get pricey but they can also be memorable. Often though the stress of the planning and the events leading up to the wedding are best relieved with a week on a beach, perhaps that is the reason beach honeymoons are so popular. Depending on your budget and the distance you want to travel you could go to Tahiti, Koh Samui in Thailand or Seychelles and Maldives, for the exotic, or simply go to Florida, Hawaii, Mexico or the Caribbean for shorter times on flights and more time at the destination.
Doing It All Yourself
Speaking of planning, it’s normal to feel every aspect of your “perfect” wedding must be artisanally crafted and locally sourced. On top of that, everything must all be perfectly crafted by the couple to showcase their creativity and uniqueness. All of this crafting can get wildly expensive and end up costing you far more than simply ordering the products from a professional.
Planning an event for a large group of people requires a team of professionals who know how to arrange flowers, create favors, bake cakes, decorate and more. A wedding planner can mean the difference between stressing every aspect of your special day versus knowing that all of the details are handled.
Believing One Style Fits All
There are an overwhelming amount of styles and trends of wedding dresses for you and your bridal party. Let’s face it, weddings can be stressful and expensive for everyone involved.
Instead of requesting that your bridesmaids spend lots of money just so they have matching dresses, take this opportunity to let them choose their own dress related to a broad theme or color palate that you love. Giving each one of your girls the opportunity to select a custom bridesmaid dress will make her feel like you really appreciate her for who she is and will show that you respect her financial situation, too.
Most importantly, just be yourself and embrace a style you really love. Remember, the truth of the matter is no one will be looking at the bridesmaids when you enter the room, anyway!
