Tag Archives: stress-free wedding planning

Conversation Starters

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Conversation Starters are the hottest thing in weddings right now. From Pinterest to Marth Stewart, almost every wedding site is abuzz with dozens of  DIY ideas to get people talking at the reception! From sea to shining sea, here are our top five favorite Conversation Starters:

Origami Fortune Tellers – A throwback to your childhood, these simple, folded paper ‘toys’ are placed at the table with various questions and answers about the couple.

 

Quiz/ Questionnaire – A few fun, lighthearted questions about the bride and groom are guaranteed to get guests talking, reminiscing and laughing.

 

 Guest questionnaires about the bride and groom

 

 Scrapbook Guest Book –  To pull this off, designate a friend or family member to take pictures of guests with a polaroid camera  as they enter your reception and another to print the photos (yes, they still make polariod cameras). The photos are placed in a guestbook photo album so the guests can sign or wrote a sentiment next to their photo and everyone gets their own page!

 

Table Markers– For each table, find a creative use for the number. Example here 5 things you didn’t know about the bride or groom, or 6 places they would both like to visit, 7 relatives that you may not know. Each one is sprinkled with information about the couple, their family, their friends and everything in between.

 

For each person who has replied “Yes”, find an old photo of them to put on the place card. The older the picture, the better. If you met your best friend in grade school, using that picture will certainly spark some conversations!

For each of these very creative ideas, there is a lot of work involved. Folding paper, printing out questionnaires, preparing place cards or guest book pages. Doing-It-Yourself is not for the faint of heart. If you can’t tackle it alone, you can always ask for help! Perhaps you will have more fun with a bridesmaid or two, your mom(s) and a glass of wine!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Seating Charts Made Easy

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You are constantly being told this is your wedding and you should do things the way you want. In most cases, this is true but, when it comes to where to seat your guests, taking advice from others might be in your best interest. Use these ten simple tips to make your seating planning a breeze!

#1) Get a floor plan from the venue with the tables the way they will be arranged at your event. Make sure this floor plans hows how many seats are at each table.

#2) Don’t do anything in permanent marker, things might need to be re-arranged later. Tiny post-its or push pins is definitely the way to go.

#3) Ask both mothers or older relatives ( one from each side) to sit in on the seating plans. They will know the intricacies of some of the more difficult relationships better than you, especially if it is distant cousins or their friends.

#4) Don’t make the final seating plan until you have your final count. Moving things around too much will confuse you and you will be more likely to make mistakes.

#5) Use different color post-its for his family, your family, friends, co – workers, etc.

#6) Always start with the bridal party, then immediate family, then other family members, then relatives, then friends.

#7) Be aware of people with extremely strict political or religious beliefs whenever possible. The last thing you want is a heated debate over a touch topic.

#8) Keep a few extra seats on hand in case a guests unexpectedly shows up. this happens all the time!

#9) Try to seat all of the single people at one table. The guests who are single and choose not to bring a date will be able to mingle and meet new people.

#10) There is tons of software available for wedding seating charts – shop around and find one that works for you. But, always have a paper copy in case you lose your files.

The best tool you have when planning the seating for your wedding is common sense. That, and a sense of humor will make the whole planning process fun and easy!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

 

Friend vs.Fiance

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My husband is the greatest person in the world and still not everyone likes him. Hard to believe, right? Fortunately for me, all of my friends recognize his positive qualities and vice verse. Although that seems rather inconsequential, it is actually quite monumental and something I do not take lightly. I am blessed.

 

Oddly enough, this happens more often than you can imagine. Even more odd is the fact that it is usually the maid of honor or the best man,  so it is not just a friend it is your best friend, your BFF, your childhood chum or the keeper of your secrets  that cannot seem to be in the same room with your betrothed without a fight breaking out.

 

So what do you do when your friend and fiance do not get along? Can you ask her (or him) to be a part of a wedding they do not endorse? How do you avoid getting in the middle of their seemingly endless arguments about nothing? More importantly how do you avoid having  mugshots as your weddings photos?

 

1) Talk it out. Find a time when you can sit down with each of them apart and ask point blank if there is any reason for the disharmony. Be prepared to get an answer you don’t want to hear. Worst case scenario – she thinks he is cheating or he thinks she is stealing from your bank account…. I said worst-case didn’t I? Imagine the worst and hope for the best. If there is no concrete reason, ask each one to give the other a second chance. They may have gotten off to a rocky start but the fence can sometimes be mended.

 

2) Work it out. Find an activity that you like to do and invite each of them. Movie, sporting event, anything where you can avoid the tension…. how about a game of laser tag? Getting them to have fun together might just make them see  how wrong they have been and they might be willing to make a fresh start.

 

3) Be sensitive. Perhaps your friend is simply tired of being the third wheel and has no interest in attending all sorts of couples functions with you (as a couple). Try to keep your friend from feeling the pangs of jealousy by spending alone time and not insisting that they always be in tow. If that friend is in a relationship, work on a group relationship. Be prepared if your fiance and his or her partner don’t become besties …you are just looking for an occasional double date and a way to take the edge off.

 

If you have tried and tried but they continue to put you in the middle, you will have to make a difficult decision. The fact is that if you fully intend to marry the person of whom your friend so strongly disapproves, you will be fighting this battle for the rest of your life. The polite thing to do is to to explain to the friend that he/she cannot be in your wedding because there is too much turmoil  between her and your fiance. “While you are my best friend, I cannot endure any more tug of war between you & ______. So I am asking you to remain my  friend in life and  a guest at my wedding.” The other option is to bury your head in the sand through the entire wedding process and ignore the squabbles.

 

If your friend is offended by the mere suggestion that he or she opt out of standing up for your wedding, gently remind them that attendants are supposed to serve not only as witnesses, but uphold and support this marriage. If you are the friend in this case, why would you even want to be a part of something you don’t condone?

 

This entire discussion could quite possible put an early end to your friendship but it will also ease a lot of suffering for everyone. Realistically,  as time passes and your marriage grows stronger, your friendship will dissolve on it’s own.

 

On the other hand, as time does pass, people change. It is not a bad idea to keep an open mind but, for God’s sake -don’t torture yourself by putting yourself in the middle for too long.  NEVER complain to an unsupportive friend about a  future spouse that they don’t like to begin with – it is a recipe for disaster and confrontation.

 

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

 

Wedding Planning the Easy Way!

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After you have called your parents, siblings and best friends… the next most important thing you can do to start your wedding planning is to present a united front.

It seems like this is a simplistic way of looking at wedding planning but, it isn’t. There are the budget concerns, tricky seating charts and the possibility of having  difficult in laws. How do you handle these? the best answer is: together.

When your budget doesn’t quite meet what you had in mind: have a talk and decide (together) what can be traded. Don’t worry about having a grand affair if you can only afford a garden party, remember that you are getting married and the outcome is always the same.

When a difficult in-law says or does something that offends either of you; stand together and defend one another against all outsiders. Become a team, working together for the greater goal because having a cohesive plan to stick together will get you through all of the tricky wedding planning.

If you have a groom that isn’t interested in the planning process and you bothagree you will be doing the the majority of the wedding planning solo- make sure you have a good support system.  Enlist your most trusted family or friend and have at it. But only if you both agree.

People will inundate you with their opinions and you will have to learn how to politely decline some or most of their advice. People will insist you call their caterer or florist or seamstress or neighbor who does cakes. Tell them you have it under control and change the subject.

If you have a great support system and agree to make all decisions together, you are already off to a great start!

The next best thing you can do is to attend a Bridal Expo – together. Bridal Expo has fine-tuned the wedding planning experience so you can see dozens of vendors in your area who have samples of their work at each show. Kick the tires on a stretch Limo, smell the flowers, taste the cake, touch the invitations, listen to the DJ, sit in an actual photobooth and then relax while Bridal Expo brings to you a Bridal Runway Fashion show that will magically transport you to a New York Runway. Sounds nice? It is. The bonus is that you and your fiancee can literally satisfy all of your wedding planning needs in one place without arguing, planning or even steping outside the front door…. as long as you do it as a team.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago