Wedding Planning Blog

I had a rare day off yesterday (a Saturday) and it was wonderful! I got together with three of my best girlfriends. We had a great lunch with mimosas and then we had a pedicure. We laughed and talked all afternoon. It was so relaxing — Truly good for the soul.

It made me think about many of my brides who ask me whether or not I think they should schedule a bridesmaids luncheon or a spa day with their girls. My answer every time is YES! What could be better than spending time with your closest friends? Its a great way to unwind and get ready for the crazy days ahead.

Some day spas will have a group pedicure room that you can rent for a couple of hours, have wine and snacks and hang out while they make your feet pretty. Other pedicure salons will have you in the same room with the other clients. That is still fun. You will definitely be treated like a celebrity when you mention you are a bride-to-be.

There are so many things to think about during the wedding planning process, don’t forget to schedule some time for yourself among all the vendor meetings and gown fittings. You will be a much happier bride!

Yesterday my team and I participated in the most wonderful wedding show at the Ritz-Carlton, Orlando Grand Lakes. The concept was to have the best wedding planners in the city including Susie Weiss from Wonderful Weddings, Lisa Konecny from E-Events , my good friend and colleague, Michele Butler, and me with the rest of the Just Marry! team, work with our favorite designers to come up with signature looks to present to brides.

Lee Forrest was our wonderful designer. He did an incredible job.

The results were amazing. I am including some photos below. My camera does not do the work justice. I will post the ones from the professionals, including those from my wedding-planner friends, as soon as I get copies.

I hope you enjoy the photos!

I am best friends with my “competition.” Its a funny (but wonderful) thing. We go out to dinner, go to the movies, go for drinks, email and chat on the phone. We are each others’ best supporters. So, it is really hard when a bride shops all of us.

We are all qualified, talented planners, but sometimes, we have a difficult time distinguishing among us as to who is the best. Actually, I don’t think there is one answer to that question. So aside from the normal list that you see on how to choose a planner like, How long has she been in business? How many weddings has she done? Is she a member of any professional organizations? What does she charge?, I have come up with a two additional questions to consider.

1. Does the planner match your style in both look and personality? My friends and I are all a great group of girls, but each of us has a distinct style. Whimsical, serious, older, younger, vivacious, and reserved are just a few adjectives that have been used to describe us. Make sure the planner you choose is a good fit for you.
    
2. How does the planner work on the wedding day? Some planners are hands-off and others are right in the thick of things. Some brides hire a planner for the prestige of having a planner so they like someone who will mingle with guests and stand out, others hire a planner to be — a planner and feel more comfortable if she stands in the background and makes sure everything runs smoothly.

I hope that you have as many wonderful options for wedding planners as we do here in Orlando. It will make shopping around a lot more fun, but the decision making may be a bit more difficult. As I always say, go with your gut, you get what you pay for and once you make a decision stick with it and enjoy the planning process.

You’ve finally decided to make your destination dream wedding a reality! He’s popped the question; now your search has begun, researching faraway tropical locations at remote distances across the globe. You can already picture the sun, the sand, and the warm ocean breeze flowing through your gown. You’re surrounded by your closest family and friends as you exchange rings and I dos. If you’re like most bride’s it won’t be long till you’re sharing the news of your destination celebration with everyone that you want to be there. Then the reality sets in: who does have passports and more importantly, who doesn’t have a passport? You want everyone to have the ability to make it to your desired destination without getting tied up with obtaining a government issued passport in time.

The first option is to take a look at what is available right here in the United States. Florida boasts some of the most beautiful tropical locations and western Florida beaches have pure white sand along the Emerald coast.

Those interested in traveling a bit further and don’t mind the larger price tag on the airfare can remove themselves from the mainland of North America and head over to Hawaii. There is no mistaking Hawaii’s natural beauty. The sites and sounds of the Hawaiian Islands create a tropical backdrop for any destination wedding.

If you’re ideal setting would be a Caribbean island there are a few things you should know. If you are traveling by cruise ship be sure to check with your cruise line because most have changed their policy in the last several years and they do require passports now. When returning by air from anywhere in the Caribbean or Mexico (even Canada), US citizens need to present a passport. Gone are the days when you could get by with an official birth certificate and government issued identification.

The exceptions to this rule are the US territories. According to USA.gov these include American Samoa, Guam, the Mariana’s Islands, Puerto Rico and the USVI (St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas). It doesn’t matter how you get to them (by air or by sea), if you are only traveling there and back, no passport is required.

For that island atmosphere a bit closer to home the best destinations would be Puerto Rico or any of the U.S. Virgin Islands. So although your choices might be limited there are options available for that dream wedding that all of your U.S. guests can attend with just an airline ticket and hotel reservation. If you are interested in making this dream a reality contact Just Marry! to get started on your full service destination wedding, where all you need is the sun, sand and your closest friends and family (tropical umbrella drink not included).

I just came from the most wonderful appointment. Well actually, I am still here. I am in the lobby of the beautiful Portofino Bay Hotel here in Orlando. You can see a photo of it on our website: I just left a menu tasting and I am waiting for a wedding rehearsal.

So, I have a beautiful wedding scheduled for May here at the Portofino. Today we made our final menu selections. The chef prepared petite selections of various soups, salads and entrees for us to try. For the soup course we chose between Cream of Acorn Squash Soup (so yummy) and Wild Mushroom Cappuccino Soup with a truffle foam (we chose this one).

Our salad selection was among Baby Greens with Grilled Fruit with walnut crusted goat cheese, grilled apples and pears with a balsamic vinaigrette; Warm Four Cheese Tart with carmelized onion, mixed herbs and mushrooms on a bed of greens with chilled asparagus; or a Golden Beet Salad with chevre and a crispy basil leaf. The were all great, but we settled on the Four cheese tart.

Finally, my client is doing a dual entree, fish and beef. We had to choose among Sliced Tenderloin of beef stuffed with Porcini Mushrooms, Fillet Mignon, Striped Bass, Black Grouper or Trout. We chose the stuffed tenderloin and the grouper. It was all so good. You can see the final plate in the photo below.

We didn’t get to try dessert because in addition to wedding cake, they are having a sundae bar (the groom’s one and only request). I can’t wait to see how it all turns out. I will have photos for you at the end of May.

Menu planning and food tasting is a very important part of the wedding planning process. You can tweak the food presentation with the chef and make sure you like the way all the flavors were combined.

Besides, it’s lots of fun!

Happy planning!

I attended a fabulous wedding last night — as a guest. We had so much fun! The decorations and the meal were simple but very good. The DJ did a great job and we danced all night.

I think the camaraderie among all the guests was key. The friends of the bride and groom had known each other for years, some since high school. Everyone was really invested in the bride and groom and in each other. I am very new to the group, but they all made me feel welcome. In fact, they wouldn’t let me off the dance floor!

This proves once again that it isn’t the money you spend, the decorations, the food, the gown or the location… it is all about the relationships in the room. By all means, if you have the money to spend for an over-the-top event, do it! It is great fun. BUT, if you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on your wedding, don’t fret, invite the ones you love and have a blast!

The Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Show here in Orlando was absolutely wonderful. More than seven hundred brides showed up to see some of Orlando’s finest wedding vendors. There were two fashion shows and lots of cake samples. Brides in Orlando could shop for everything from gowns to wedding favors.

Susan Southerland’s Just Marry! Wedding Planning Secrets went on sale for the first time yesterday as well. The DVD was very well received. I enjoyed talking with many of the Orlando brides to hear about their wedding plans and to answer questions.

You can order your Wedding Planning Secrets DVD here.

There is so much attention spent to planning a wedding properly. You can find numerous checklists on the Internet and in magazines telling you what to do when. I think there should be more attention spent to how you spend the twenty-four hours prior to your wedding day. It is with that in mind that I came up with the following checklist:

Starting Your Wedding Day Right

1. Don’t get completely hammered the night before. Wedding weekends are a great time to celebrate and alcohol is typically a part of that celebration. I love a good martini, and sometimes, I love to have lots of them. However, the night before your wedding is not the time to over imbibe. You will feel miserable on your wedding day and you certainly won’t look your best. So, the night before, enjoy one or two, but switch to club soda at some point during the evening.
    
2. Get plenty of rest. Again, late nights are so much fun and it is so tempting to celebrate all night with your friends, but you want to be your best on your wedding day. Set a time in your mind when you need to leave to go to sleep and share that time with your friends, they will help you stick to it.
    
3. Wake up and eat breakfast. Sometimes when nerves get the best of us, we don’t feel like eating. Nerves and starvation don’t go well together. If you want to avoid fainting during your ceremony or simply avoid the miserable feeling of low blood sugar, have a nice simple breakfast and plan to eat small snacks throughout the day.
    
4. Avoid too much alcohol prior to the ceremony. First off, some officiants will not perform a wedding ceremony if they have any inkling that the bride or groom are intoxicated; even if that isn’t an issue, if you get too intoxicated too early, you will not enjoy the ceremony and reception. Also, sloppy-drunk brides are not pretty.
    
5. Do something relaxing while you wait for your ceremony time. Avoid answering emails or working. Gather your closest friends and people who don’t stress you out, and talk, listen to music, put your makeup on together. Just enjoy spending time with those who you love.
    
6. Give your cell phone to someone to hold for you. I have noticed that the bride and groom get inundated with phone calls on the wedding day. I have often wondered if guests consider that the couple is getting ready to get married. They have things to do other than worry about transportation, ceremony start times and missing socks. Let someone else deal with issues that day.
    
7. Put yourself in a positive state of mind. Shoe gets a stain — don’t worry. Flowers pale pink instead of light pink — don’t worry. Break a finger nail — don’t worry. I think you get the idea… small things just don’t matter on the wedding day. No one else will notice most minor catastrophes. Prepare to enjoy yourself and don’t let anything stress you out. I have found that wedding celebrations are disturbed not by the little mishaps that come up, but by the way those mishaps are dealt with by the bride, groom and their parents. Don’t let anything get in the way of having an amazing day.
    
8. Relax and have fun. During the months of planning your wedding, you should have been planning a celebration that reflects you and your groom. You should get ready to enjoy your favorite food, dance to your favorite music and spend time with your favorite family and friends. Let yourself relish every moment. Once you say your vows, eat, drink, dance and enjoy every moment. It will go so fast. Don’t let the fun pass you by.
    

Following some of these tips will help you look your best and start your wedding day right! After all, your wedding is the climax of months of planning… special attention and care should go toward making you look your best on the grand finale!