Wedding Websites...Beyond The Save The Date

This morning a thought came to me about wedding guests and the information that's available to them regarding your wedding day. As I searched various bridal show sites, I was given driving directions and parking directions among many things. This is the very type of information that should be made available to your wedding guests.


Some wedding websites are FREE while others you will have to pay a small fee, but they all very user-friendly, so why not create one?! The perfect opportunity to let your guests know that you have a site is to have the information printed on your Save The Dates. That way, guests will have the information early enough to make arrangements to attend your wedding festivities. I've listed some easy-to-use wedding websites below:

http://www.theknot.com/
http://www.theweddingtracker.com/
http://www.weddingwindow.com/
http://www.ewedding.com/
http://www.mymemorypage.com/

Some valuable information to post on your site would be information about the ceremony and reception including the times and attire; gift registry links; travel and hotel accommodations; driving directions to wedding locations and local activities going on the weekend of your wedding. And to make the site more personalized, add the story of how you and your fiancee' met or the proposal story and mention your bridal party and their relationship to you.

And now that most people are unable to function without Smartphones, their is a FREE application called "Appy Couple" that can hold all of your wedding information and downloaded by your wedding guests. How cool is that?!?!

Until next time...WEDologize!

(photo credit - http://www.angelachenportfolio.com/)

Some Wedding Don'ts!

Every bride wants the perfect wedding day, but becoming a bridezilla isn't very attractive to your fiance', family, friends or vendors.  Going on almost 13 years of planning fab weddings and events, I have seen a thing or two.  Below are a few ways to eliminate that unwanted stress from your wedding planning process:

1. Don't be a "SuperBride"!  You can't do everything.  Enlist help from your attendants, family and friends for those special projects.  They'll feel included and you won't have those tension headaches.
2. Please do not include registry information on your wedding invitation.  Simple...it's just tacky.  Get the word out about where you are registered on your wedding website, bridal shower invites or through word of mouth.
3. Don't boss your bridesmaids or wedding party around.  They are adults and spending both money and time to be apart of your special day.  Being disrespectful isn't the path your want to take when planning your wedding.
4. Don't have those gigantic breaks between your ceremony and reception.  Having guests wait longer than 2 hours before your reception begins is a sure why to loose guests.  And having them travel from one side of town to the next to get to the reception is another guarantee you paid for an empty seat.
5. Don't alienate your fiance'.  Include them in on the details even when you think they aren't listening or won't have any input.  It's not just your day, but his also.  Plus, this is a way to start developing negotiating skills ;)

Until next time...WEDologize!

(photo credit: www.vsphoto.com)

Where's the Gift?

I have couples a lot of the time that only want to receive monetary gifts from guests for their wedding...the "Wishing Well Syndrome" is what I've named it. Couples are merging two households or have been living with one another for a while before the wedding date, so why register for gifts "when we have everything". But if you add registering to your wedding to-do list and register thoughtfully, you will thank yourself in the months and years to come. Plus take into consideration the guests who just want to give a gift or have credit cards to use instead of cash.

I have listed a few registry tips to help you with this process:

• Register early in the planning process so you won't find it to be a tedious task later down the line
• At minimum, choose two stores to ensure your guests have various price ranges
• Choose stores that will have your registry posted online and the website is user-friendly
• Remember, registry information should not be included inside your wedding invitations. Word-of-mouth and wedding websites are the best options for spreading the word to those who want to purchase a gift or gift card.
• And have fun with it! Your registry is a wish list of items you want to enhance your home as Mr. & Mrs.

Below are some popular registries you might want to consider:
www.Macys.com
www.BedBathandBeyond.com
www.Target.com
www.Kohls.com

Until next time WEDologize!