Fun Ideas for Announcing Your Engagement

Mail Announcements
The traditional way to announce that you have just been engaged is to mail letters or cards to family and friends. You can buy ready-made engagement cards on stationery stores. But the better way of course is to make a personalized letter or card so that the recipient can feel how important he or she is to the couple.
To save you money, and effort, use this also as a save-the-date card. Now, if you are techie and you do not want to consume too much paper, electronic mailed announcements can be the ideal option for you. Just bear in mind that you should only send out mail announcements to people you intend to invite on your wedding day.

Publish in Local Newspaper
Another customary way of announcing an engagement is by having a published announcement in the local newspaper. First, you have to call up the newspaper staff to inquire about guidelines, fees, deadlines or rules about announcements. Ask if you can send in photographs, graphic designs, and your own words. Typically, a newspaper engagement announcement includes information about the two of you such as educational background, professional credentials, and parents’ names. Wedding date is not usually included to avoid gatecrashers or home burglaries.

Throw a Party
For those who love to party, the most fun way to announce the news is to throw a wonderful bash consisting of family and friends. To add to the fun factor, do not tell anyone that you and your future spouse are engaged so that it would be a surprise. Instead, let them think that it is just a regular gathering. Do not forget that you should only invite to the party those whom you are going to invite at the wedding so that you do not offend anybody.

Make a Wedding Website
The Internet is a great venue for announcing your engagement. It is accessible, easy-to-do, and simple! You do not have to be a techno-savvy to pull this one off. Many wedding websites offer guides and templates on how to create personal wedding websites as well as user-friendly website building tools that you can use to inform family and friends about the upcoming wedding and keep them updated with the latest details.

Give Away Announcement Gifts
This is not a common practice but if you want to make your engagement extra special, you can consider sending little gifts that would come with the engagement announcement. For example, you can give away small potted plants with a tag line that says, “You have seen how our love has bloomed so we want to share with you the news that we are getting married soon!” You can also send a set of decorative ribbons that recipients can use for wrapping gifts. To give it a fun creative twist, tie one of the ribbons into a knot and scribble on that ribbon something like, “We are tying the knot!”

There are various traditional and creative ways you can use to let people know that you are getting married. At the end of the day, it depends on your and your partner’s choice on how you are going to announce your engagement. Whatever way you choose to do it, you can expect surprised and happy reactions from people closest to you.

7 Questions to Ask Your Wedding Planner before Hiring

It has been a while since my last post. I have recently come across an article and thought it might be of interest to both my readers and clients:

Before giving a thumbs-up to a particular wedding coordinator, make sure that you ask these very important questions first.

1/ How long have you been a wedding coordinator?
Experience is very important when hiring a coordinator because after all, experience is the best teacher. Ask the planner how many clients she has had in the past, ask her to cite their names and to describe the wedding preparations and planning she did for her other clients. It is important to get the list of her past clients so you can check with them how the wedding planner really works and if her clients are satisfied with her performance.

2/ What type of formal training have you had?
Aside from experience, of course, it would also help if a wedding planner has undergone formal trainings on wedding planning. You should also inquire if she is affiliated with any wedding planner associations and event trade organizations such as ABC, June Wedding, ACPWC, AFWPI, or ISES.

3/ What is your style when it comes to planning?
Ask the wedding planner to describe to you in full detail how she coordinates weddings, how she organizes tasks, and how she ensures that everything goes smoothly.

4/ How do you handle problems?
Give hypothetical situations that would be problematic for the wedding planner. One example would be “How would you handle it if at the last minute you find out that the flowers for the church did not arrive?”
If she refuses to answer saying that this will never happen then the wedding planner is probably not prepared to face such predicaments. You will be better off with someone who would offer a solution and then assure you that nothing of that kind would happen to your wedding.

5/ How much do you charge for wedding planning service?
Obviously, you need to know this detail so you can determine if you can afford the service of this wedding planner.

6/ What is your set of criteria for recommending vendors and suppliers?
It is not a good sign if a wedding planner just picks out any vendor or supplier that she finds on Google. It is a must that a wedding planner chooses only highly reliable and competent suppliers that will not give problems to you on your wedding day.

7/ Can you work within my budget?
You have to hire a resourceful and creative wedding planner who can work within your budget and not insist you on spending more than what you can afford.
Your wedding planner would play a significant role in your special day. For this reason, you have to ensure that you pick the right one who will help make this day something that you will forever treasure. Otherwise, you might as well just do the whole planning yourself. That is better than to hire someone inefficient that would only ruin your big day.




Seasonal Flowers for your Winter Wedding

Favorite Winter Wedding Flowers
Holly, the flower that resonates the Christmas season, is the perfect bloom to use for Christmas winter weddings. Amaryllis, a winter flower available in red and white, is also one of the most popular flowers for winters.


DAFFODILS

Anemone, which looks like a star, comes in colors blue, red, pink or white. This bloom is usually in season during the first part of the winter. Yellow daffodils usually bloom around January to June and blue forget-me-nots are of course blue, these are the favorite choice for fairy or Jack Frost themed winter weddings.
Aside from these flowers, the list of winter wedding flowers is endless. It includes ivy, freesia, magnolia, carnations, snowball mums, gardenias, stargazer, Casablanca, calla lilies, chrysanthemums, hydrangea, daisies, and poinsettias.
If you do not like the typical flowers used for winter weddings, why not go the unusual ones? Jasmine, which many people do not consider a winter flower, is actually a beautiful winter blossom you can use to add zest to your special day.
In addition to this, you can also make use of the exotic Anigozanthos, more popularly known as kangaroo paw that is grown in Australia. This bloom is available in pale pink, lime green, yellow, or rich dark red, so you can expect striking contrast if you are going to use these flowers.


CALLA LILIES WITH IRIS

Nerine is another pretty flower choice that is not commonly used for weddings. It is a delicate flower with pink petals that can add unique touch to this special affair. Other unusual choices on winter wedding flowers are cosmos, tulips, waxflower, ranunculus, and bells of Ireland.
Winter Wedding Accents
After you have picked the flowers to use for your winter, you would probably want to throw in some seasonal accents to make the blooms even more beautiful. Holly leaves, berries, pomegranates, evergreen braches, pinecones, ivy leaves, fir branches, Christmas ornaments, snowflake embellishments, ribbons, mistletoe, eucalyptus, baby’s breath, and wheat stems are just few of the many options you have for winter wedding accessories.
Color Palette Options
White is the dominant color as this is the backdrop of a winter scene. Meanwhile, the colors you can use to liven up the setting are red, burgundy, silver and forest greens. Most of the winter wedding flowers and accessories come in these shades. Now, if you want the celebration to have a modern feel, you can also make use of blues and purples.
Winter wedding flowers add a touch of warmth, traces of color, and classy beauty to your big day. It does not matter if you are going to have a small intimate gathering or a huge extravagant one, winter wedding flowers will still play a role in making your wedding event special and memorable.

Article posted on Bridezilla Times