#shecheckedyes

Mathy appreciation post

Caroline — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 13:06:11 +0000

If you’ve been around these parts for any length of time, you probably know that Mathy is one of my best friends. My mom and I are super close. Today is her birthday, as well as my parents’ 31st wedding anniversary. They got married on spring break because my mom was still teaching in Delaware. They actually didn’t live together until the following summer when she moved down to DC from Wilmington. I was born just before their first anniversary. I tried to get married on their 30th- but we “couldn’t get married on a Monday” so it ended up being 2 days before.

Mathy is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known, and I’m not just saying that because I’m her kid. Even before Candace died and she started crusading against her wrongful death, she was a fierce mama bear. It took me a while to catch up with her fierceness, but I think I’m doing an OK job now. I’ve had a great example to follow.

When Candace was born, my mom gave my dad two options: either we got a live-in nanny or she would stop working. Getting two babies up and ready for daycare before getting to work and then trying to pick us up by four was becoming an increasingly less viable option. (Any teachers reading this will understand that timeline is a joke). So we had nannies from the time I was two through 4th grade, but there was no mistaking who my mommy was and I would never say I was raised by nannies. We had live-in big sisters! My mom was at the doctor with one of us and we were being very calm but affectionate with her. The doctor turned and told her, “THIS is why all mothers should stay home with their kids so they’re this well-adjusted,” or something like that. I’m not sure if she corrected him, but she probably did.

I grew up in and out of her classrooms- watching her work with kids who had issues ranging from homelessness to abuse to simply having learning differences. One of my proudest moments, and there are a lot, was once chatting with an Uber driver who had two daughters she had taught. One was in college to become a mechanical engineer, and one was in college to become a math teacher. Not only did he make me feel like a celebrity simply for being Mathy’s kid, but when I told my mom she remembered the girls right away.

This is really pretty impressive because she taught somewhere in the range of 600+ kids in her career with Montgomery County, but each child mattered to her. She bought coats for kids who needed them and had snacks on hand for hungry tummies. I’ll never forget how proud she was that one of her kids, who didn’t speak or really participate in class, learned the sight-word, “fish.” It was the only word he seemed to know, but it was progress for him and that’s what mattered to her.

All of this doesn’t even touch on her extracurricular. She’s on my committees than I can ever remember and still finds time to advocate health safety for children and talk to other families who have lost kids. She’s super awful at being retired and continues to work with kids who need extra help hitting their targets.

Basically, this has been a Mathy appreciation post.

I love you, Mommy! Happy birthday, and happy anniversary. Thank you for marrying daddy and doing a great job for and with us.

photos by Darrell McDavid photography

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First looks

Caroline — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 10:21:33 +0000

For Valentine’s Day, you probably knew I’d bring some #shecheckedyes wedding content. Almost a year later, and I’m still sharing. I have no less interest in weddings than I did before Kendall and I got married, and that’s why this blog has remained/ become half a wedding blog.

For maybe the first time ever, I picked the picture for this post before I picked the actual content, but when I read Heather’s post about first looks, I told her that I was inspired to write my own coming from kind of a different place. Whereas she said she is not a sentimental person, I am the biggest sentimental fool on the planet, and I thought I would bring a different perspective to the table.

When I first heard about first looks years ago, I was wholeheartedly against them. Wouldn’t it ruin the big moment walking down the aisle to your betrothed? Short answer: ab-so-freaking-lutely NAHT. My MOH was the first bride I knew to do a first look and I asked her about this. She said it definitely didn’t take away from the aisle moment but it gave you an extra moment between bride and groom that’s even more powerful.

The other thing was, in a very short span of time, I was in a bunch of weddings. The ones with the first look went exponentially smoother. Case in point? My childhood beastie’s planner, when I asked him if we were on schedule as we lined up, told me no. We were three minutes behind. In wedding time, that’s early. Speaking of early, the limo driver we had for our wedding, who had been married three times himself, told me that I was the only bride he’d ever had who was delivered to the church early. I’m so proud of that.

I’d also asked photographers what they thought of the first look and every one I talked to agreed that it helped make things run smoother. We had a fairly large wedding/ wedding party, so anything to help with that was great by me. Knocking out all the formal family/ wedding party pictures before the ceremony was such a great way to gather everyone together, as well. We were all in one place to get in the transportation and nobody had to be rounded up! We took a few pictures in the church after the ceremony, a few at the hotel under the marquis, but for the most part, our photogs got great candids once we said the “I Dos” and that’s exactly what I wanted.

Kendall was at first reluctant to do a first look for the same reasons I was, but changed his mind when I reminded him that getting formal pictures out of the way would mean less “work” for us after the ceremony. Although we both agreed that nothing took away from seeing each other in the church, it did help get some tears out of the way beforehand. I’m a crier. Big time. And no, that doesn’t mean I didn’t cry at the ceremony because I definitely did.

I asked Kendall if he had any thoughts he wanted me to add to this post about doing a first look. He told me that he felt calm until he heard my elevator arrive and then a swarm of emotions came over him. Doing a first look made him calmer for the ceremony, but it didn’t take away from that moment for him either.

Just as an aside, there is NOTHING like walking through a crowd of people from every part of your life to the love of your life. The only way I can explain it is that it’s just like this (starting at 2:06):

And everyone looks at you exactly like that, too.

I wouldn’t trade my first look for a anything. It was so magical getting to see my groom and have him see me in my dress after all the jitters and stress of getting ready. It was just the two of us.

The only thing that can be tricky is finding a place in your venue or where you’re getting ready where nobody else will be around. We were on the mezzanine of The Mayflower and while we were mostly in a corner by ourselves, people could still see us and there was some clapping which was annoying. My MOH had the same issue where there was a big window to the balcony where they had their first look and nobody was supposed to watch, but of course people did. In the scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter because it’s still your moment.

Last a piece of advice regarding first looks, photography, and timelines- listen to your photographers (and planners- if you have them!). I thought I had the perfect timeline in my head which was getting to the church super early and doing the first look and all the formal photos there. Darrell and Tabitha together told me that it would make more sense to utilize the beautiful Mayflower lobby for pictures and not get to the church so early. Luckily, honestly for myself, I was not a bridezilla and open to options. I’m so glad I listened to them because I couldn’t have been more pleased!

Did you do a first look? Are going to? Why or why not?

photos by Darrell McDavid photography

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4 Tips for Hosting a Wedding That Everyone Will Love

Caroline — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 19:58:53 +0000

It goes without saying that your wedding is one of those occasions that you are going to remember for the rest of your life. Of course, it’d be a great bonus if all your friends and family remembered it for the rest of their lives, too. At least, if they remembered it well.

First and foremost, our weddings are for us and our partners. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t also want to make a good impression on the people we care about, and to make sure that as many people as possible enjoy the festivities, and share in our joy.

So, if you’re planning your wedding, and you want to identify some ways to bring everyone else in on the joy even more, here are some tips for hosting a wedding that (hopefully) everyone will love.

Host a wedding that you and your partner will genuinely enjoy

All right, let’s take this back to basics. Your wedding is first and foremost for you and your partner. It’s a declaration of your love for each other, your willingness to spend the rest of your lives together, and it’s also meant to be a fun party that the two of you get a great rush out of.

If your wedding guests are, for the most part, your close friends and relatives, they will inevitably feel happy when you and your partner are happy. On the other hand, if the two of you are clearly having a pretty bad time, but have set up the festivities so that everyone else hypothetically has something to enjoy, the people who care about you are likely to notice your downcast mood, and to have a worse experience themselves, as a result.

Aside from the dynamics that exist between friends and family, however, it is just naturally the case that people feed off each other’s energy. If you want everyone to enjoy your wedding party, the first key is for you, yourself to enjoy it as much as possible. And, of course, to bring your partner in the fun. Come up with a phrase that’ll help guide you. Ours was “punk goes Gatsby.” A little bit of pop-punk, a little bit of glam, and a LOT of fun.

Before you actually spend a lot of time thinking about what everyone else might love, think about what you and your partner will love. What kind of “theme” will make the day for you? What kind of food will make you feel on top of the world? Get a little bit selfish, and work these things out. They will impact everyone else, too.

Go for an “unusual”, or traditional theme

If you want people to remember your wedding as much, and as well, as possible – it makes sense that you should consider going for something “out of the ordinary”. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do something “wacky”, although it could mean that.

Considering that the majority of weddings follow a certain template these days, even hosting a “traditional” wedding could be quite a memorable experience.

So, is there a particular kind of theme, or template for your wedding that you’ve been dreaming about, and which has the added bonus of being somewhat uncommon these days? Do you, for example, stay up at night fantasizing about a traditional church wedding in a small village in the countryside, followed by an outdoor party next to a stone barn?

Or maybe, you’re an avid Star Trek fan, and both you and your partner are completely obsessed by the idea of a “Trekkie” wedding?

Even if your wedding is going to be more “conventional” (and there’s nothing wrong with that), finding ways to add a bit of “nuance”, as well as to make things a bit more “unusual”, is likely to go a long way in terms of ensuring that people remember your wedding – and maybe also that they have a good time at it. A perfect example would be our “concert ticket” escort cards with band name table numbers. Just something a little different to bring in our love of music!

Make little gestures to thank your guests

The tradition of wedding party favors is quite well-established, and certainly the kind of thing that could be worth your time considering.

On your wedding day, you’re going to be celebrating a momentous occasion in your life. Those who have come to celebrate that moment with you, are joining in on something very special. So, it makes sense to say “thank you” by giving them a gift, or token, to commemorate the occasion.

Of course, this doesn’t have to be anything big, expensive, or fancy. A small, commemorative token of any type might do the trick. Fridge magnets, commemorative cards, custom-made CD mixtapes, or even just sweets with customized wrappers, are good options. We started with cute lollipops from Oriental Trading and added a sticker with our logo for a bit of a personalization. My mom and some friends assembled adorable candy boxes with the same stickers.

The point isn’t so much the total material “value” of what you give to your guests – the point is that you make a symbolic gesture to thank them for turning up, to make them feel appreciated, and to help to underline the significance of the occasion as a whole.

Take the playlist really seriously

Quick, what’s the most important feature of any wedding? Well, you might answer that it’s definitely the cake, or maybe the perfect bridal dress. Of course, all of that is nonsense. The most important part of any wedding is the playlist – obviously.

All right, all right. So that paragraph was a bit tongue in cheek. But, it is still true, that the playlist you choose for your wedding will have a serious impact on the mood of the festivities overall, not to mention the degree to which everyone attending is able to enjoy themselves, and let their hair down.

When planning your wedding reception, take the playlist seriously. Like, really seriously. What I did was make playlists on Spotify and listened to them on repeat. If it turned out a song we loved was may inappropriate or not dance-able, it came off the list!

Spend some time with your partner, and consult your closest friends and relatives, in order to come up with the playlist which tugs at everyone’s heartstrings in just the right way. I asked both of my parents what they wanted. Mathy wanted some Pitbull, Andy wanted a few classic rock songs. To pick out our first dance song, Kendall and I each picked out a few choices and we practiced dancing to them. It might sound corny but we truly enjoyed it!

So, what kind of songs should you include? Well, obviously, you should begin with the tracks that have the most sentimental meaning to yourself and your partner. After that point, you should go for the tracks that everyone is most likely to be able to dance to and enjoy. Feel free so skip some of the traditional, overdone songs if they’re not your thing.

If you’ve got a niche music taste that none of your friends or relatives share, maybe indulge yourself with one or two songs from the genre, but keep the rest of the playlist more “accessible.”

For more wedding ideas and how we made our wedding personal to us, check out this post.

photos by Darrell McDavid photography

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Unique Details To Take Your Wedding To The Next Level

Caroline — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 14:22:07 +0000

While weddings can be based on tradition, there’s nothing saying that your big day has to conform to the same old standards. Every couple out there wants their wedding to be unique as unique as them, but, this can be tricky when everyone does almost the same things. Thankfully, you can make your wedding stand out by integrating just a few personal details and unique features. Here are six things that you can do to take your wedding to the next level.

Personalized Invitations

Your wedding invitations are the first thing guests will see and as such will give an impression of what your wedding is going to be like. With that in mind, you may want to skip the printed and mass-produced invites and instead opt for something a little more intimate. You could find an artist who can design personalized invitations to meet the vision you have of your big day.

Mismatched Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids traditionally wear the exact same dress, with only the head bridesmaid occasionally wearing a gown that doesn’t match the others. The issue with this is that the dress you choose may not flatter the skin tones and bodies of all of your other maids. To remedy this, you should break tradition and allow your special ladies to choose dresses they love and look good in. I knew from the very beginning that my girls would all wear different dresses- there was about a foot of height differences, different body types, and one ended up being pregnant. David’s Bridal made things super easy in that they have locations all over the country so they could go try on a few if they wanted before ordering. The prices are also pretty great.

Custom Drinks

The typical beers, wines, and liquors often served at weddings create very little buzz, which is why you should consider creating a custom cocktail. You can try to do this yourself or work with a bartending service, like BartenderCompany.com, and have them do it for you. If you and your partner have different tastes, then you could create one for each of you for the reception. Apparently, Kendo and I set records for the amount of signature drinks people ordered. It was definitely a very appreciated detail. I also had one of my favorite artists create the poster, and we plan to hang up our signature cocktails in our kitchen when we buy our first home. It’s such a nice memento of the day!

Midnight Snacks

After the main meal is served at your wedding reception, there will be hours before you’ll want your guests to go home. To keep them full and partying with you, you can arrange for food to be bought in a few hours after the main meal ends. There are plenty of tasty snack foods you could choose from, like pizza and sliders.

We thought about doing this (briefly) but decided since there was SO. MUCH. FOOD. between cocktail hour, dinner, and dessert that we would use this idea for our rehearsal dinner. We did heavy apps at Teddy & The Bully Bar the night before the wedding for wedding VIPs and out of town guests. Think high end comfort food- like a play on chicken and waffles. So yum! And they were so easy to work with! Plus, the atmosphere of a cocktail party instead of a formal sit-down dinner made mingling so much easier!

Photo Booth

You have a wedding photographer to catch special moments of your big day for you, so why not give your guests the same thing. You can do this by hiring a photo booth for the reception, which prints out pictures immediately for guests to take home. You may not want to miss out on these images yourself, in which case, you could ask guests to stick a copy in your guest book. I stole this idea from my friend Joanne’s wedding. We had two guest books- a traditional one at the church and a photo booth one at the reception. The notes and pictures are hysterical! I’m so happy we have this souvenier.

Grand Exit

A getaway car is a traditional wedding feature, but you can easily put your own unique spin on it. All you need to do is choose a vehicle that is personal to you in some way. If you’re into sports, for example, then you could ride off on a bicycle. If you’re a festival fan, you could opt for a camper van. One of the few concessions I had to make for our wedding was that I could not ride in my grandfather’s antique woody because a) it doesn’t run b) it would have cost an arm and a leg to bring it up here. Since we just went from the venue to the church and back, renting a limo and a bus for the bridal party was just fine. Whatever you choose, remember to add a beautiful “Just Married” banner.

Your wedding should be as unique as you and your partner are, so consider the special details above and take things to the next level.

Photos by Darrell McDavid Photography

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Essential Tips To Help You Stick To Your Wedding Budget

Caroline — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 10:50:44 +0000

Weddings can easily cost tens of thousands, making it absolutely vital that you stick to your maximum spend. That being said, when you actually start to plan your big day, this can get tricky, as your ideas build and grow. No one wants to start married life with a mountain of debt, so here are some tips to help you stick to your wedding budget.

Know Your Strengths & DIY

I know I’m useless with scissors and have the world’s worst handwriting, but darn it if I don’t have a bit of a knack for design. I knew I wanted a logo so I designed one myself… and I used it on everything. Using Picmonkey + Zazzle, I created our response cards, programs, menus, stickers for favors, and a few other pieces that would have cost at least double if someone else had done them.

But could I have chalk-boarded welcome signs? Nah, fam. Like I said, know your strengths!

Know Your Maximum Spend

To stick to your maximum spend, you need to actually know what this figure is. With that in mind, you should sit down with your partner, take a look at your finances, and come up with a realistic budget that you’re both happy with. Don’t forget that wedding planning often comes with unexpected costs, so you should plan for this by adding an extra 15% on top of the price.

Save Your Money Elsewhere

Once you start saving for your big day, you should keep the money somewhere other than your main bank account. This way, your finances won’t get mixed up, so you won’t spend your wedding fund by accident. Many couples like to store their money on gift cards so that they can only spend the cash on the wedding. This also lets loved ones run errands for you with ease.

Give Yourself Some Time

As long as there’s no real rush to get down the aisle, a longer engagement is preferable. This way, you have more of an opportunity to shop around, compare prices, and wait for price drops, like Amazon Lightning Deals. You also have the chance to haggle with vendors and suppliers without having to worry that you don’t have anyone booked yet. We were engaged for just over a year and it seemed to be the perfect amount of time.

Move Outside Wedding Season

Reception venues, catering halls, and more are all busiest during the wedding season, which spans from mid-April to mid-October. If you want to keep costs low and don’t mind the chillier weather, then tying the knot just before or after this time is the way to go. Even planning for a week or two outside of those months can make a huge difference.

Prepare To Make Compromises

Although there are going to be things you know you want for your wedding, you should try to be open-minded about everything else. Sticking to ideas too closely can leave you spending much more that you can afford to. If you’re happier about making compromises, there will be fewer disappointments along the way.

This came into play with our wedding cake. I’ve mentioned this before, but our cake was actually included with our Mayflower wedding package. However- upgrading the cake from a simple textured icing design to more decoration would have easily cost an extra $600. We opted to purchase some edible glitter and silk flowers to add a little extra flair and we LOVED the way it turned out!

Unload Any Unwanted Items

You are going to have to buy a lot for your big day, most of which you’ll never need to use again. Instead of leaving these things to gather dust in your attic, you should pick out the items you’re not too bothered about keeping and sell them online. This way, even if you spent a little more than you were happy with, you can make some of the money back.

photos by Darrell McDavid Photography

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Thanksgiving 2018

Caroline — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 14:04:00 +0000

I have a lot to be Thankful for this year, and every year, but I think these two pictures from our wedding sum it all up nicely:

I have always felt so loved by my family and friends, but marrying my Kendall, that love only seemed to multiply. (Gosh, imagine once we start having kids!)

I am so incredibly thankful that I married the man of my prayers and that my parents not only gave us the most beautiful, perfect wedding, but that they love him like a son.

I’m thankful that I have a whole big new family who loves me as much as I love them.

Besides that,

I’m thankful for my amazing boss who encourages me, laughs with me, and has helped me become infinitely more sure of myself in my bizarre role.

I’m thankful for our new friends in Glover Park (that only took 2 years!), the friends I’ve had forever, and all of them in between.

I’m thankful to everyone who has ever read, commented on, or shared this blog. You have no idea how much each little thing means to me. I’ve been doing this for almost 5 years and it’s still a learning experience, sometimes frustrating, but I keep going.

I’m just generally thankful for everything in my life right now. The older I get, the more often I count my blessings. And I’ve realized there are so many of them.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

photos by Darrell McDavid Photography

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Thanksgiving 2018

Caroline — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 14:04:00 +0000

I have a lot to be Thankful for this year, and every year, but I think these two pictures from our wedding sum it all up nicely:

I have always felt so loved by my family and friends, but marrying my Kendall, that love only seemed to multiply. (Gosh, imagine once we start having kids!)

I am so incredibly thankful that I married the man of my prayers and that my parents not only gave us the most beautiful, perfect wedding, but that they love him like a son.

I’m thankful that I have a whole big new family who loves me as much as I love them.

Besides that,

I’m thankful for my amazing boss who encourages me, laughs with me, and has helped me become infinitely more sure of myself in my bizarre role.

I’m thankful for our new friends in Glover Park (that only took 2 years!), the friends I’ve had forever, and all of them in between.

I’m just generally thankful for everything in my life right now. The older I get, the more often I count my blessings. And I’ve realized there are so many of them.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

photos by Darrell McDavid Photography

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Mistakes That Could Cause Wedding Woes

Caroline — Sun, 11 Nov 2018 05:18:07 +0000

If you were anything like me as a child, I’m sure that you spent countless hours planning certain details of your big day before you had even met the perfect man. However, there is a risk that your wedding won’t necessarily go quite how you had planned. After all, there are lots of mistakes that can be made and ways the special day can take a few turns for the worse. And you won’t want that to happen on your big day at all! The best way to avoid the most common mistakes is to figure out what they are. That way, you are equipped with the knowledge of what could go wrong and can do everything in your power to prevent it from happening. So, to help you out, I’ve thought about some of the mistakes that brides to be regularly make when they are trying to plan their wedding.

photo by Darrell McDavid Photography

Sending Out Invitations Too Late

One of the first mistakes that any couple could make is waiting too long to send out the wedding invitations. If you do wait a while before you send them, then you risk your guests already being booked up on the day with other occasions and engagements. There is one way around this, though – send out save the date cards as soon as you have booked the venue. That way, everyone knows to save the day of your wedding. You can then wait until a few months before your big day to send out the finalized invites to everyone.

Blowing The Cash On The Dress

Hopefully, you already have a wedding budget in place. This should help you allocated all of your money and ensure that you have plenty of cash to spend on the various things you will need to buy and rent out. There are lots of brides out there who get a bit too excited when they go shopping for their wedding dress. Sure, it is a very important purchase for them, and something that they want to make sure is 100% right for them so that they look and feel good. However, that is no reason to blow all the money on the dress! After all, you will also need to have some money left over for a heritage wedding venue, the catering company, flowers, and the groom’s suit. So, make sure you don’t overspend on your dress otherwise the other areas of the wedding might end up suffering as a result.

Forgetting To Say Hello To Everyone

On the actual day of your wedding, it is only right that you make sure you say hello to each of your guests. Not only is this a polite courtesy but it also shows that you are very thankful for their attendance. If you don’t say hello to someone then they might think that you are ignoring them. Don’t worry, you don’t have to have a proper chat with everyone – you probably won’t have time to talk to everyone who is there, and they will certainly understand about this! Just a friendly hello and thank you for coming should do the job. It’s also a good idea to send all your guests a quick thank-you card a week or so after the wedding too so that you can properly thank them for coming.

Trying To Micromanage Vendors

You will have a lot of vendors helping you out on your wedding day including a florist, caterers, wedding band, and cake maker. It can be very tempting to try to micromanage them to ensure that their work is of the quality that you expect and that everything goes as planned. However, this isn’t a good strategy and it could annoy all the vendors. They are experts in what they do and will have lots of experience of working at weddings. So, it’s best to leave them to get on with everything. If you trust them to do their job, then they will be able to help you create a magical day that you and your guests will never forget! (Besides- that’s what Tabitha was for!)

Not Giving Hair And Makeup Enough Time

Did you know that some brides often forget about booking someone to do their hair and makeup? It’s just one of those common oversights that often occurs. But it’s not always plain sailing for those brides to be who do remember to book a hairstylist as some often book them too close to the actual ceremony. Ideally, you need to give them at least a couple of hours to do your hair and makeup, and then it’s a good idea to leave an hour so before the ceremony takes place. After all, you don’t want to be rushing to the church with freshly sprayed hair!

Using Friends Instead Of Experts

Sure, your friend may be a fantastic baker in her spare time, but are you sure that you trust her with your wedding cake? Similarly, your auntie might love putting together floral designs as a hobby, but are you sure you wouldn’t rather use a professional florist? When it comes to finding someone to carry out a skilled job on the day of your wedding, like a photographer, it is always best to stick with the professionals. That way, your friend or relative can relax on the day and enjoy the wedding with you. Plus, there is no chance of you ending up in a dispute in the event of them fudging the job that you gave them.

Not Giving Your Partner Any Responsibility

Don’t forget that you’re not the only one getting married! Your partner will be stood by your side throughout the whole day, and it is their special day as well. So, it’s not really fair if you make all the big decisions about the wedding yourself. You should make these decisions together so that you both have a say in how the day plays out. I’m sure that your partner will enjoy the responsibility of giving a few different jobs to do himself before the big day. Admittedly, this one was hard for me. I’m a control freak and love to make decisions. But Kendall had a vision too! And even though the guys weren’t dressed how I originally imagined, he did a great job of styling himself and his groomsmen!

Forgetting About The Guests

It’s important that you think about how your guests will feel on your wedding day. Sure, it is a day that will be focused on your and your partner, but putting in some little touches can help to show your guests that you really appreciate them spending this special day with the two of you. For this reason, many couples decide to put wedding favours onto the reception tables. These are small gifts for each guest. Don’t forget to provide some entertainment for children too. If they get bored, they could end up making a huge fuss, which could spoil the day for some people! Some couples decide to have an outdoor space where children can play with some outdoor games.

Trying A Crash Diet

It’s understandable that brides to be want to look their best on their wedding day, but that is no excuse to try a crash diet. These types of diets are very unhealthy and could leave you feeling quite ill. But it’s especially important not to diet if you have already had your final adjustments made to your wedding dress. You might end up losing too much weight, and it might no longer fit you anymore. So, if you are already at your goal weight, it’s best to stick to a healthy diet so that you can maintain your weight.

The other thing I heard time and time again is that you will lose a lot of weight whether or not you want to right before the wedding. I lost 15 pounds not even trying because I had jitters about everything going right!

Not Feeding The Vendors

You may not think about it, but be sure offer a plate of food to all the vendors who will be working all day at your wedding. Many vendors have this written up in their contract- either that food will be provided or that they will have ample time to go get something themselves. Our venue had a “vendor meal” price, so be sure to check with them! You don’t want them going hungry as it could leave them feeling very tired and weak – no one wants a tired DJ playing at their wedding party; it could be a very lackluster event indeed.

Neglecting Single Friends

Sure, weddings are a great place to meet new people, but your single friends who attend on their own might feel slightly awkward if you put them on a table of people who they don’t know. Similarly, having a singles table could be quite embarrassing for everyone on it. So, it’s best to put them on a table with their friends, even if all their friends are in couples. I had a few tables with single friends- they were paired up with people they’d known for years and everyone was happy.

Hopefully, you don’t make any of the mistakes I’ve outlined above. More importantly, though, is to put you and your partner first. It’s your big day and you both need to have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of!

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Making It Personal: Tips To Bring Your Wedding Closer To Home

Caroline — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 00:43:24 +0000

In the modern world, it’s becoming more and more common for people to have incredible talents. With the state the world is in, people have the chance to explore the parts of their life they enjoy the most, helping to build skills and make them useful when you’re in need. Of course, though, how exactly can you take advantage of this on your wedding day? To help you out, this post will be exploring the parts of your big day which can be handled by someone close to you, even if they have to do a little bit of learning in the process.

photo by Darrell McDavid Photography

The Food

Cooking is one of the most popular fields of interest in the world. Unlike other areas, this part of life is truly accessible, with each meal you make being as easy or hard as you want it to be. As a result of this, it’s highly likely that you know someone with strong skills in this area. Having a friend prepare the food for your wedding will not only save some money, but it will give everything a very personal touch, enabling you to choose exactly what people are eating during the event.

The Photography

Documenting your big day will be a very important part of your wedding day, and photography is one of the best ways to do it. A wedding photography workshop can give someone close to you all of the skills they will need to get started in this field, making them into the perfect person to handle it on your special day. Of course, they will need to be good with a camera before they start, but this should be easy to find given the amount of people using smartphone snappers, nowadays.

The Service

As people move away from traditional weddings, it’s becoming more and more common for the service itself to be handled in a unique way. By having the main registration beforehand, you can have anyone give the main service, including someone you care about. It will take a lot of guts to do this for you. But, if you know anyone who is comfortable giving speeches, they could be perfect for this role.

The Music

Finally, as the last area to consider, it’s time to think about the time you’ll be spending once the ceremony is all said and done. Music is an essential part of a wedding after party, and this is another area which can be handled by someone close to you. This is a little different, though, as you will have to make sure that the music they will be playing falls into a genre you’d like to be hearing on a day like this.

Most people love the idea of being able to make their wedding more personal. When you’ve spent months preparing for this event, it will always be worth making sure that you’ve taken the right steps to make it special, and using people who you already care about is a great way to achieve this goal.

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3 Ways To Make Sure You Love Your Wedding Day

Caroline — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 15:53:10 +0000

Even if you have already researched plenty about what to do to make your wedding perfect, you will find that there are always many more things you can do to make that happen. This is part of the reason that it can actually be so stressful, as you end up not quite knowing where to begin with your wedding plans. However, there are certain places where you can start first and foremost if you are to ensure you enjoy your wedding as much as possible. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the things you can do to ensure that you truly and genuinely love your wedding day as much as possible. As long as you do that, you will find that you are glad you put the effort into making sure that happens.

photo by Darrell McDavid Photography

Make It True To You

First of all, perhaps the most important thing is that your wedding day is as true to you individually and personally as possible. This is important as it ensures that you are going to feel as though it is genuinely your day, and not just another wedding. However, it might take some time to work out what this actually means, and that is something which you need to think about if you are to get this right. It might be that you need to think about what kind of cultural background you need to include in your day, as the requirements of, say, a Muslim Marriage will be different to another kind of marriage. You should also make sure that you include as many personal things in the day’s design as you can, so that you can feel that it is truly yours. Do all that, and you will be glad that you did, for the difference that it will ultimately make.

Create Memories

You need to find ways to create memories on the day if you are to enjoy it as much as possible. There are a few ways to ensure that this happens, and it might be that you want to think about hiring a decent photographer, or even use a pop-up photo booth in the corner of the venue somewhere so people can do it themselves as well. All in all, the best way to create memories truly is to make sure that you are making the day as fun and enjoyable as possible, so focus on that first and foremost if you want to make that happen. You will find that it makes a huge difference overall.

Don’t Overlook Anything

Ultimately, you need to make sure that you have a strong eye for detail if you are going to make it work as well as you can, so that is something else to consider as well. As long as you manage not to overlook anything, it will make for a much more complete and successful day for you personally, so that is definitely something you need to remember. Focus on the details as well as the lager picture, and it should all come together much more easily.