TOP 5 Do's and Don'ts of the DIY Wedding

Top 5 Do's and Don'ts of the DIY Wedding

Everyone loves to save money, which is why, in my opinion, DIY is so popular.  The sense of accomplishment is much greater when you DIY instead of paying someone else, and the story of saving cash and turning your old suitcase into a mini bar is much more interesting than "I bought it at Home Goods".  Nothing against HG. I love the place...a bit too much, admittedly.  

So it's not a wonder why brides want to try to DIY as much as possible.  Even the biggest budgets like to have a personal stake in the design cred.  But there are some serious do's and don'ts when it comes to the DIY wedding.  

Here are my lists of my top 5 for each:

DO DIY

•Address the wedding invitations

•Make Wedding favors

•Create Sign-in table decor

•Make Bridal party gifts

•Assemble Bouquets, if you're crafty

DON'T DIY

•Centerpieces

*unless they are completely assembled 30 days before the wedding and you have less than 10 of them total.

•The bar/catering

•The wedding/groom's cake

*even if you're an award winning baker!-- Just don't.

•The DJ music list

•Your day-of management

For more tips on DIY, or to know why I chose the items on these lists as my top 5, send me a message! Carolyn@AllAboutEvents.net or comment on this blog.  

Happy Planning!

Transportation Tricks

Organizing your wedding or event transportation can be tricky and frustrating.  The details are important and knowing what to ask for is key.  This element can be costly, but necessary.  If you're not sure if buses are needed, here are some rules to help you decide:

You DO need transportation for your wedding guests if...

• The host hotel(s) are not in walking distance to the ceremony and reception venues
• Your wedding is a destination wedding, where more than 50% of the guests will be traveling and staying in hotels
• The ceremony venue is not walking distance from the reception venue
• Your friends are likely to try to drink and drive

You DO NOT need transportation for your wedding guests if...

• The venues and hotels are all in walking distance from each other
• All of your guests are local and will have their own cars
• If only a few of your guests are from out of town you can consider a small option for transportation, like an executive van

Here's how wedding transportation companies work:

BUSES

There are two different types of buses, 55 passenger and 29 passenger.  Some companies may have a different seating arrangement and will have 52 and 27 or the like, but the gist is there are big ones and small ones.  Don't try to have a bus make multiple trips.  Guests will either get to the wedding way too early or just in time and the chances of them being late is too great.  Some bus companies charge a minimum of 3-5 hours for their wedding buses. Some will allow you to do what's called a "transfer" or a one-way trip.  Some companies will only offer transfers for daytime weddings.  Make sure you understand what can be done before you contract.  Some companies can offer you the option to pay gratuity in advance.  If they do, take the option.  Its one less thing to worry about on the wedding day.  Make sure to ask the company if they can put a sign on the bus or in the window that has your wedding name on it, like "Smith-Jones Wedding" or "Kim & Kanye".  If you're traveling from uptown New Orleans to the French Quarter, get a police escort that can take you through traffic lights.  You'll save an hour off of your trip. Finally, when you plan your bus pickup points, choose hotels that are host hotels or locations that are central to all of your hotels.  Full sized buses are NOT allowed in the French Quarter streets, so if you're a French Quarter wedding, choose locations on the perimeter of the Quarter, like Canal Street, Rampart Street, St. Peter, or Esplanade Ave.  Tell your guests where the pickup points are via your event website, the welcome gifts, and via email if possible. Then don't forget to let all of the hotels know the plan so that they can communicate to guests that have questions.

LIMOS

As with buses, there are companies that require a certain number of hours for weddings and there are companies that offer transfers. For a wedding limo, a transfer can often take the bride and her father from the get-ready location to the ceremony and then wait for the bride and groom to take them to the reception all in the same transfer.  For the bridal party, you can have one limo pickup the guys and bring them to the ceremony and then go back and pickup the girls to get them to the church, only if the trips fit within an hour or so time frame.  If you don't have a wedding planner, ask the limo company to help you figure this out.  I always like to have one or two 8-10 passenger limos for the bridal party and a separate, 6 passenger limo for parents.  Then the bride and her father can take one car or rolls that will later bring the bride and groom to the reception.

I DO NOT recommend that you use Louisiana Limousine aka Northshore Limousine aka New Orleans Charter.  They once made a huge mistake in my transportation order and then cursed me out saying "All you white b*itches are the same"  .....I know.  I couldn't believe it either!

That being said, here are some transportation companies in New Orleans that I can recommend:

For Limousines, buses, party buses and those cute little streetcar buses:

  

For Rolls Royce and Small shuttle buses:

 U n i q u e   T r a n s p o r t a t i o n

To plan your wedding in New Orleans, visit www.allaboutevents.net

New Trends for your Save the Date

There are so many ways to send out your Save the Dates these days.  You can go the traditional route of the postcard with your photo on it, the common but still popular refrigerator magnet, or the new age of internet and do an online save the date.  One trend that is rising and that I actually do like is the video save the date.  This is something that can be sent online, shipped to the recipient as a DVD (good for the not-so-tech-savvy), or linked to a QR code that gets sent as a postcard, among other ways.  Here is a link to an extravagant and most likely expensive, but pretty awesome example of what I mean courtesy of Vimeo:
Bambo & Janice Save the Date video

To Tip or Not To Tip...

To Tip or Not to Tip.... That's every bride's question.

There are lots of articles out there explaining who you should tip and who you shouldn't tip.  At the end of the day, it comes down to this:  if you would tip that person when its not your wedding day, you should tip them when it is your wedding day.  If you feel like someone went out of their way or went above and beyond, tip.  Tips should be 10-20%, just like when you tip at a restaurant, based on the performance of the person giving the service.
Here's the breakdown:

Tip Expected:

• Transportation drivers (check first to see if tip is included--you can pay this in advance)
• Hair and Makeup
• Head Waiter
• Bridal Attendant
• Waitstaff (check first to see if this is included)
• Bartenders (if they put out a tip jar, you can tip them just for you and the groom.  If not, give a little extra for the guests)
• Hotel bellmen and concierge
• Anyone that does something extra for you

Tip Appreciated but not Expected (more of a bonus than a tip):

• Musicians/DJ
• Extra Entertainment
• Caterer
• Wedding Coordinator
• Celebrant
• Anyone that works day-of and on-site

Tips are best in cash, but if that's not possible, you can add it to a payment by check.  Have tips and payments ready in advance, in sealed, labeled envelopes that will be easy to hand out day-of.  If you have a wedding coordinator, you can give these envelopes to him or her at the rehearsal and check that off of your list.  

If you have more advice or questions about tipping, please comment!  

We're Engaged! Now what??

The most popular time of year for engagements is upon us.  New Year's Eve, Christmas, and Valentine's Day bring out the romance in men, I guess.  The next wave of engagements will be the practical, planner-types who are graduating from college and pop the question in cap and gown.  No matter when the engagement happens, your next few months will be filled with questions from friends and family, bombarding you with when, where and how.  To get you started, here are some helpful tips for making the process of getting married in New Orleans easier:

• If at all possible, pick your venue first, then your date.  For example, if you know what season you want (the most popular dates for outdoor weddings in New Orleans are in October and November, then March, April and May for those that don't mind an indoor option), then search for venues you like and ask them what weekends they have available.  Choose from those dates.  Remember, most brides start planning a year or more in advance, so if you're less than a year out, your dates may be more limited.
• Keep an open mind about the day of the week if you want to save some money on venue rental fees.  Many locations give discounts or lift restrictions for Friday and Sunday weddings.
• If you have guests coming in from out of town, check the convention calendar before you commit to a date. If there is a convention or event in town that is expecting more than 20,000 people in attendance, the hotel industry calls this a "city wide", in which the major hotel chains jack up their rates and start requiring 2 and 3 night minimums. The NOMCVB will check up to three dates for a bride who calls in directly.  You can also call any Hilton, Marriott, or similar hotel in the downtown area and simply ask for a wedding room block quote for the weekend you're considering.  If there is a city wide on those dates, the rooms will be expensive or not available at all.  Many hotels rule out wedding blocks during major conventions and events.
• Create a wedding website before you send out a save the date.  When you are planning a destination wedding, especially, people will rely on the website for hotel information, tips to navigating the city, and wedding agendas.  When you're a local, this is the best way to share your gift registry, which can never be included in wedding invitation or save the date mailings.  Free websites are easily found on most wedding sites, but I find that the simplest templates with the shortest URLs (without all the letters and numbers you see in some web addresses) are on www.weddingwire.com.  Choose an address that's easy to remember, like your two first or last names, and use the wedding date or a significant word as a password.  You don't have to have the whole website complete by the time the save the date goes out, but you do want to include your website address in the mailing.
• Pick your venue before your pick your dress if you want more location options.  The wedding dress sets the tone for the entire event.  If you choose a formal location, you'll probably want a formal dress.  If you choose a more comfortable feeling space, you may want to go with a more simple style of gown.  Your invitation will follow along with whatever tone you choose, giving guests the first idea of what the wedding attire will be.  The more formal the invitation, the more formal the dress code.
• Send save the dates out up to one year in advance.  The save the date does not have to match the wedding invitation, so this is your chance to have a little fun.  Postcard save the dates are an inexpensive alternative.  Create your own or use picture postcards from your wedding destination city. 
• When you create your guest list, include phone numbers.  Once your RSVP deadline (30 days before is my go-to RSVP date) passes, you'll want to call each of the guests that did not respond, or have a family member or friend call, so that you can get an accurate guest count for catering and venue needs.  When I make these calls for my clients, I say something like "The bride and groom didn't receive your RSVP, so they're worried that you didn't receive your invitation."  This gives the guest the chance to RSVP without feeling like they've been rude by not responding on time. Usually they admit that they forgot or simply answer yes or no.

These few helpful hints will save you a lot of headache as your start your plan.  If the process seems overwhelming, call All About Events to handle it for you! :)

Photo courtesy of www.bestofneworleans.com and Scriptura

Wedding and Baby Shower Etiquette

  http://www.allaboutevents.net/
I remember growing up and going to bridal and baby showers.  They were mostly the same when I was a little girl.  I'd go with my mom and I'd always look up at the guest of honor and think about being the center of attention like that one day.  I loved seeing all the pretty presents wrapped in themed paper and the ladies chatting and eating tiny food.  My favorite part was always the sherbet punch.  I liked lime the best.

Then when I got older, I learned that there were some showers to which only big girls get invited.  These showers were much more...entertaining.  :)

The one thing that I've noticed recently--maybe within the last 5-10 years--is that people are throwing etiquette out the window when it comes to shower planning.  There are some basic rules that I've found people breaking right and left for both baby showers and bridal showers alike.

The #1 faux pas in shower planning is when a family member, or even a bride or mom-to-be, throws the shower themselves.  Etiquette tells us that its rude to ask for presents.  That becomes more and more difficult as the gift registry becomes more and more popular, but there are still ways to throw a proper shower and follow the social rules of etiquette.  Hence, rule #1:

• Bridal showers are supposed to be thrown by friends, coworkers, or extended family members.  That means all you brides and mothers-to-be out there can't throw your own shower.  Your mom can't do it either.  You're on the fence if its thrown by a sister, but you're safe if its your cousin or your aunt.  Traditionally a bride gets several showers during the time leading up to her wedding.  An expectant mother may get 2 or 3.  A bride's "friends shower" is usually thrown by the maid of honor or by the bridesmaids as a group.  The "family" shower is thrown by an extended family member.  Baby showers are thrown by the best friend, the future Godparent, or a close, but not immediately related, member of the family.

Another thing that I've noticed is the size of showers these days.  I can't express the level of boredom everyone goes through watching someone else open 180 presents and then passing them around the room to oooh and aahh with Aunt Vera on one side of you and the 11 year old boy who's mother couldn't find a sitter on the other.  If you have to give the guest of honor a break from opening presents to grab a quick piece of cake, your shower is too big. This leads me to Rule #2:

• Keep showers small.  As I mentioned in Rule #1, the honoree should have several showers throughout the process of getting ready for the big day.  Typically, a bride, for example, will have a shower with her girl friends (this is usually a lingerie shower or something fun like that), a family shower (this can be one where a general registry, kitchen shower, etc works best).  She could also have a work shower.  I'll touch on that again in Rule #3, but this type of shower usually calls for a group gift. Its during lunch, so very brief, and often just has some finger foods and punch on the break room table.  A "couples shower" is another possibility.  This is usually for a bride and groom or soon-to-be parents who have known each other long enough that they have the same friends.  In this case, both men and women are invited.  Each of these showers should be no more than 40 guests (with the exception of the office party, which should include all of the female employees).  A shower should not require a rental space.  Hold it in a private home or a pretty back yard.  Limit it to a couple of hours.  Bridesmaids and families spend a small fortune on your day. Don't make them chip in on a Reception Hall too!  If you absolutely cannot avoid having one large shower with everyone invited, have people bring unwrapped gifts.  Assign someone to creatively display the gifts at the party so everyone can view them at their leisure.  Then you can treat the event more like a reception, with a focus on the guest of honor.  Still keep it brief.  Two hours is plenty of time.

Speaking of bridesmaids, each maid is not required to buy a gift.  They are buying the dress, the shoes, the hair, the makeup, the nails, the time, and sometimes the flight and hotel.  That is very generous.  They may be invited to all of the showers.  But they are there to share the time and mingle with your guests--maybe help run the show--but that's it.  If they decide to do a group gift, that is a very sweet gesture.  You should thank them profusely.

Now that we've touched on guests, I'll introduce Rule #3:

• Only those that are invited to the wedding should be invited to the shower.  The only exception is the office shower.  Don't even think of inviting your Granny's neighbor to the shower because you know she'll give you a great gift unless you're inviting her to the wedding, too.  Hey...maybe you'll get two great gifts!

And speaking of gifts...

• For weddings, your shower invitation is the only printed item that can include the gift registry information.  You can also include it in your website, but by no means can you include gift registries in your save the dates or wedding invitations!  Most stores can provide you with a little card that you can include in the shower invitation or you can just print the registry codes, websites, and store names in the invitation verbiage.  But only the shower invitations!  And please, please, please....if you're going to rent a trailer or some sort of over sized vehicle to transport the gifts after the event, don't park it in front of the entrance.  A little decorum, people!

I hope you've enjoyed this brief look at Shower Etiquette.  If you've liked what you've read, please subscribe to this blog to read more entries like this one.  And if you know anyone who is planning a shower, pass this article along.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.  I'll try to make sure your questions get answered and your comments get posted.  Thanks for reading!

:) Carolyn

"Life is an occasion...rise to it!"

--Mr. Magorium

Carolyn Arthurs is the owner of All About Events, LLC.  Find her and her work at http://www.allaboutevents.net/

Email Carolyn at carolyn@allaboutevents.net