2014 Postage Rate Increase

Get your Forever stamps for Save The Dates and wedding invitations before the postage rate increase takes effect on January 26, 2014.  The First-Class stamp is not increasing by one cent but by THREE CENTS!!!  See the details below:

• Letters (1 oz.) — 3-cent increase to 49 cent.  This stamp will be used for most Save The Dates and the reply card envelope.
• Letters additional ounces —  1-cent increase to 21 cents.  This stamp will be on the outer envelope for most wedding invitations.  So the cost will go from $.66 to $.70 to mail a complete invitation suite.
• Letters to all international destinations (1 oz.) — $1.15
• Postcards — 1-cent increase to 34 cents

STOCK UP NOW!  Just think, if you are mailing on average 100 wedding invitation suites w/ a reply card and envelope, the cost will be $1.19 per household/invitation for a total cost of $119.00 just on postage.

Until next time...WEDologize!

Components of Wedding Stationery

I thought today would be a good time to share the components of wedding stationery.  You might not necessarily include all of the elements within your wedding planning due to the budget constructions, but where you can include paper...do so.  It truly finishes off a wedding design.

Save The Date Card:  Sent AT LEAST 6 months before the wedding to alert guests of your wedding date. It's also useful to put your wedding website link on this card.
Invitation:  The official formal announcement of your wedding including the date, time and location of the ceremony.
RSVP Card:  The card that accompanies the wedding invitation that guest will return to you stating if they can or cannot attend the ceremony and reception.  It is proper to add postage to the RSVP/return envelope.
Reception Card:  Alerts guest where the reception is located and the start time. If the reception is located in the same location as the ceremony, it is proper to add "Reception immediately following ceremony" at the bottom of the wedding invitation.
Direction Card:  A wonderful gesture to give your wedding guests directions to the ceremony location and to the reception location.
Accommodations Card:  The card used to let guests know of your room block(s). This information can easily be added to your wedding website and the card omitted.
Schedule of Activities:  Wonderful paper item if you are having pre-wedding activities during the wedding weekend or if you are having a destination wedding.
Ceremony Program:  Gives the sequence of events during the actual wedding ceremony.
Escort Card/Place Card:  The escort card is given to the wedding guest when they arrive to the reception venue and will let guests know what table they are seated.  A place card is a card that is on the table and lets the guest know which chair they are seated.
Table Number:  Have the design from your wedding invitation transferred to the table numbers to tie the stationery design all together.
Menu Card:  Adds another design element to the tablescape and let's the wedding guest know the food courses.
Favor Tags:  These can be an added detail to anything you may be giving to your wedding guests during or at the end of the night.
Thank You Cards:  Suggest you order them when you order your invitation suite so that you can send out a thank you card as you receive wedding gifts.

Until next time...WEDologize!

(photo credit - http://www.dejanaeevents.cceasy.com and Invitations by Colette)

Save The Dates Examined

 

 

I recently attended a bridal show and one of the vendors there, a wedding planner/coordinator/consultant, was giving out a handout to passing brides that said Save The Dates should be mailed "4 to 5months" before the wedding.  In my opinion...NOT! Below I have listed some Save The Date etiquette to follow should you decide to mail them out.

• Save The Dates should be mailed 6-9 months before the wedding. This will allow traveling guests to make the necessary arrangements with their employers for the time off.  Plus, at the 6 month mark you should be focusing on your wedding invitation suite.


• Although you may not have selected your wedding invitation, the Save The Date should speak about the couple.  Maybe choose your favorite engagement photograph or use your wedding colors/theme when selecting the style.


• Keep your Save The Date short and sweet.  List your names, wedding date and city/state. Also add your wedding website and the phrase "Invitation to Follow".


• I still find Save The Date magnets to be the going trend because if placed on the fridge, it will be seen by your guests all the time.  Regardless of your selection, don't over do it, especially with weight and awkward shapes. You want to use a standard postage stamp when mailing.


• I shouldn't have to say this, but I will...if you mail that particular guest a Save The Date, please make sure they are on the guest list to receive a wedding invitation.

 

Until next time...WEDologize!

 

(photo credit - Sofia Invitations;  Atheneum Creative)

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/)

Postage Rates Are Increasing...Again!

On January 27, 2013 postage rates will increase AGAIN.  Get your Forever Stamps now for those save-the-dates, wedding invitations and thank you notes you will be sending this spring.  The new rate charges are below:

• Letters (1oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents
• Letters additional ounces — unchanged at 20 cents
• Postcards — 1-cent increase to 33 cents
• ...and USPS is introducing a new GLOBAL stamp that will allow you to mail a one-ounce letter anywhere in the world for $1.10.

 

Self Mailers a.k.a. Seal and Send Invitations must be able to go through the machines WITHOUT damage.  If damage occurs, they will need to be "hand cancelled" a.k.a. hand stamped for an additional $.20.  This change will take effect on January 5, 2013. 

Until next time...WEDologize!

(picture credit - www.ridingtype.com and www.DejanaeEvents.com)

The 2nd Episode of The Wedding Planners

I'm so excited to share with you the 2nd episode of The Wedding Planners airing TODAY!  Thank you so much for all the views and positive feedback regarding the debut episode and I'm sure today's show will not disappoint!  We will be talking about Save The Dates and wedding invitations with Peggy Lambert of Erickson Designs; delicious catering options with Wendy Pashman of Entertaining Company and how to add that WOW Factor to your wedding with my former bride, Hareder McDowell.

The Wedding Planners and our in-studio guests

The Wedding Planners and entertaining maven, Wendy Pashman

The Wedding Planners and guest bride, Hareder (Jackson) McDowell

The set for the 2nd episode of The Wedding Planners

Make sure to check us out at www.thewedplanners.com and share the 2nd episode with your friends!  And many thanks to Rush Event Photography and Video Productions for producing and directing a fab show!

Until next time...Watch The Wedding Planners and WEDologize!

Stamps Have Gone Up Again!

Effective on Sunday, January 22nd, postage rates have increased once again. Gotta love this economy :)  See the details below as your move forward with your wedding stationery budgets.

Letters (1 oz.) are now 45 cents.  These stamps will be needed for your basic Save The Date and reply card envelope.

Letters (2 oz.) are now 65 cents.  These stamps will be needed to mail your standard size wedding invitation set, which include the invitation, reception card and reply card.
***Note: Square-shaped invitations and postcards will still cost extra.

Postcards are now 32 cents.

So if you have 44 cent stamps, you will need to apply a 1 cent stamp in order to receive it back in the mail.  Still, I always suggested to take your wedding mailing inside the Post Office to have it properly weighed to ensure your guests will receive their envelope.

Until next time...WEDologize!

(photo credit: www.perfectpostage.com; www.brides.com; www.stamps.com)
 

Guest List Decisions

Today's post is simple...I'm going to focus on the dreaded wedding guest list and tackle some of the questions that every couple faces.

Almost immediately, you need to start discussing who you are going to invite to your wedding. And understand, this is a joint effort between the bride, groom and both sets of parents. I suggest creating three lists - (1) must be invited; (2) should be invited; and (3) would be nice to invite. Then decide do you want children to attend your wedding reception. Once the lists are compiled is when you can start making the final invitee list and begin working on your stationery items and pre-wedding functions. And to make your life easier in the long-run, create the list in a spreadsheet including their name, address, phone and email address.

Now how do I feel about inviting someone to the wedding ceremony, but not the reception...in my opinion don't.  The worst thing that could happen is the "uninvited reception" guest shows up to the reception" guest during the ceremony and hurt feelings evolve.  If you are limited in who you can invite to your wedding reception, just send those guest a wedding announcement after your nuptials to avoid unnecessary conflict.

There are also some rules of etiquette that must be considered. If you send someone a Save The Date, they should also be on the final guest list to receive the official wedding invitation.  Also, if a guest is invited to your bridal shower or couple shower, it should be your intentions to invite them to your wedding day celebration as well. Otherwise, it looks like you "used" them for a gift.

Until next time...WEDologize!

Save The Date...For what????

I recently attended a bridal show and one of the vendors there, a wedding planner/coordinator/consultant, was giving out a handout to passing brides that said Save The Dates should be mailed "5 to 4 months" before the wedding. In my opinion...NOT! Below I have listed some Save The Date etiquette to follow should you decide to mail them out.

• Save The Dates should be mailed 6-9 months before the wedding. This will allow traveling guests to make the necessary arrangements with their employers for the time off. Plus, at the 6 month mark you should be focusing on your wedding invitation suite.


• Although you may not have selected your wedding invitation, the Save The Date should speak about the couple and the type of wedding they are having. Maybe choose your favorite engagement photograph or use your wedding colors when selecting the style.


• Keep your Save The Date short and sweet. List your names, wedding date and city/state. Also add your wedding website and the phrase "Invitation to Follow".


• I still find Save The Date magnets to be the going trend because if placed on the fridge, it will be seen by your guests all the time. Regardless of your selection, don't over do it, especially with weight and awkward shapes. You want to use a standard postage stamp when mailing.


• I shouldn't have to say this, but I will...if you mail that particular guest a Save The Date, please make sure they are on the guest list to receive a wedding invitation.

Until next time...WEDologize!

(photo credit - www.DejanaeEvents.com)

Answering Questions?

As a planner, I get asked certain questions from couples throughout the wedding planning process. But I love to get hit with those new questions that cause my mouth to twist...but I won't go into those on this Monday's blog : ) Below, check out some of the questions and answers to assist you as you move forward with your wedding planning process.

When should Save The Dates be mailed?
No later than 6 months before the wedding. Typically they are mailed within 6-9 months of the wedding date.

Is it "required" to have the same number of male attendants as female attendants?
No. Some times that just isn't possible so there is no need to start grabbing strangers to be in your wedding to have a balance number of attendants. The pictures will still look great.

Who gives the first toast at the reception?
The best man (or woman).

Who handles the clergy fee?
If you do not have a wedding coordinator, the best man (or woman) will give the fee to the officiant.

How do you cut the cake?
The groom's right hand should be over the bride's as you slice the first piece using the cake knife and remove the slice with the server. SIDE NOTE: Hold the press on smashing cake in each other's face. It's no longer funny and can be viewed by some as disrespectful.

In case of divorce, how are parents seated?
If they do not get along and are unwilling to sit together, the bride's mother will be seated in the 1st row and her father will be seated in the 2nd row. The same situation would happen for the groom's parents. I have had situations where we needed to seat the father in the 3rd row, but only in extreme situations.

Until next time...WEDologize!