Tip: How to Choose Your Bridal Party

Weddings can be chock full of drama… and sometimes, one of the hardest decisions is who will be in your bridal party? Here are some of the questions I hear most often from my brides and grooms:

Do we have to have a bridal party at all?
Absolutely not! Consider it a favor to yourselves if you opt not to have a bridal party at all. Sometimes the decision can be so difficult with so many people pulling you from different sides that it just makes sense to keep things simple. All you need is each other.

Do we have to have the same number on attendants on each side?
Nope, this shouldn’t be a decision based on numbers. It should be based on the most important people in your lives… the ones you couldn’t imagine not having by your side on your wedding day. If you have more groomsmen, then your bridesmaids are lucky enough to be flanked by two dapper guys, and vice versa!

But my best friend is a guy/girl…
No big deal, they deserve to be by your side anyways! No need to stick to old traditions in this case.

What if I have two best friends?
I find this more common for women, so I’ll address it as such. If they are both equally important in different ways, then it’s perfectly fine (even the right thing to do!) to have two Maids of Honor. Or maybe one of them is married and can have the title of Matron of Honor. Better to have them share the duties than to have one of them slightly soured by not being picked for the role of “best supporting actress.”

But let me emphasize one thing… don’t pick/ask your attendants too early! I’ve heard so often the tale of the newly engaged bride-to-be who immediately asked her seven BFFs, only to regret it six months later when things went awry with one or two of them. Take some time to really consider it and think about who are most important to you and will be there for you in the long term (…and not that new coworker of yours who you’ve just recently been hanging out with more!).

Photo by Laurie Peacock Photography

My bride Dana opted to have one of her best guy friends as a “Man of Honor” and he wore a sweet pink bowtie to compliment the ladies! Perfect!

How many are you having in your bridal party, and was it a tough decision?

Venue Spotlight: The Newberry Library

I am super excited that one of my 2012 couples just booked one of my favorite venues, The Newberry Library as their wedding venue! It was a tough choice, and it came down to the Private Dining Rooms of Spiaggia and Fulton’s on the River. In the end, the uniqueness of the Newberry won out!

I first heard about The Newbery Library when I read The Time Traveler’s Wife (one of my favorite books) a few years ago! It also happens to be an amazing wedding venue… one that is booked solid up to 14+ months in advance! So if you love this place, be prepared to wait (or get lucky).

Why is it so popular? Well, first and foremost, it is a gorgeous library and you get the place all to yourselves for six hours. The $6,000 rental fee is fairly reasonable for downtown Chicago (ok, it’s still a lot…), especially when you consider that it includes all the tables, opera chairs, a parking lot, and you have the freedom to bring in any caterer (with the appropriate licenses and insurance) and can purchase your own liquor. It is also across the street from the lovely Washington Square Park where you can have your ceremony (a separate permit must be obtained through the Chicago Park District).

A ceremony across the street at Washington Square Park.

 

Ruggles Hall (check out those Opera Chairs!!)

 

  

All images above by Second Print Productions, from one of my favorite 2009 weddings!

Any Newberry brides out there?

Chicago Wedding at Holy Innocents Church & The Rookery

When I first met Suneeta and David over the summer, we immediately hit it off… they were just the nicest couple (I know that’s such a generic word, but they truly are such NICE people!!) and I loved the way they interacted with each other. I was beyond excited for their wedding at the Rookery, a venue I had just been itching to work at for ages!  They chose an amazing team of vendors and thus made my job that much easier. I love it when that happens :)

Suneeta and David chose photographer Dean Thorsen, of my favorites, and definitely one of the speediest I know. Within just a few short weeks I had the full DVD with over 1,500 glorious hi-res images to choose from. Yay!

Gorgeous ceremony at Holy Innocents Church and officiated by Suneeta’s uncle; I love it when there's a family connection.

This picture outside the church is just too cute! Hooray!

Dean is such an amazing photographer, and no one does portraits the way he does!

I was crazy about the teal and orange color scheme, perfect for fall!

The Rookery at last! There is nothing I don’t love about this venue, but most definitely the glass ceiling, the white airiness of the space and the grand staircase.

Suneeta embraced the Art Nouveau feel of the space and incorporated it into her stationery.

Nearly all of their guests, young AND old, stayed and danced until the sweet end… the sign of a great party!

VENDORS:
Coordinator: Sweetchic Events, Inc.
Photographer: Thorsen Photography
Videographer: Once Still
Church: Holy Innocents Church
Venue: The Rookery Building
Floral: Flor del Monte
Draping & Lighting: Art of Imagination
Paper Items: Grain Works (design only; printed and assembled by Suneeta)
DJ: Chicago Premiere DJs

2011 Pantone Color of the Year

Hold the phones, the new 2011 Pantone color has been announced, and it is Honeysuckle! Aka, a gorgeous shade of vibrant reddish-pink… and if you’ve been to my website or blog (as I’m sure many of you have, since you’re reading this after all!), you know I love me some pink!

Strangely enough, I’ve had very few brides with vibrant pink color schemes over the past 3 years! So I’m glad it’s going to make a comeback… but please, NO more blush pink and brown!

For those of you unfamiliar with the term Pantone, “The Pantone Color Matching System is largely a standardized color reproduction system. By standardizing the colors, different manufacturers in different locations can all refer to the Pantone system to make sure colors match without direct contact with one another.” (via Wikipedia)

Here are the colors from recent years:

Are you having any pink in your color scheme, whether as a primary color or an accent color?

How to Politely Decline Wedding Vendors

As a bride, you often interview a number of wedding vendors in each category, from planner/coordinator to caterer, photographer to DJ, and so on. You've spoken to them on the phone, emailed back and forth regarding packages and pricing, and chances are, you've even met with them face to face. After all, you want to make sure you are doing business with someone you like!

Lets say you've met with photographers A, B, and C. They've sent you their proposals, you've weighed your various options and you've decided to hire photographer B... Contract and deposit are signed, sealed and delivered, yay! But what about photographers A and C? Please be polite and don't leave them hanging! Many times as a consumer, you assume that if you don't bother to respond, they'll get the hint. But you will be much appreciated if you simply write them a brief follow up email. Here's a sample decline email; feel free to use it as a template:

"Hi photographer (planner/caterer/DJ/florist...)

Thank you for your proposal and taking the time to meet with us! We have decided to move  forward with another photographer (planner/caterer/DJ/florist...) that better suited our style (budget/personality).

Thanks again,
Bride & Groom"

That's it! It doesn't need to be long or remotely apologetic. As vendors, we realize that our services are not one-size-fits-all. But if we've invested time and effort in communicating, meeting with you in person, and drafting a proposal, we just want to know that you've moved on so we can close out your inquiry... no hard feelings!

Did you have a hard time declining vendors? How did you handle it?

Unique Table Number Ideas for a Wedding

Don’t forget about your table numbers! If you do, you may end up with the venue’s standard fare, which may look something along the lines of this:

Source

While there is nothing wrong with these, they are just a bit… utilitarian. (But if your venue has nicer framed table numbers, then score!) TIP: The easiest thing to do is to use the venue’s existing holder, stand or frame, and then insert your own number that matches your color scheme.

One popular trend these days is to name your tables after locations, such as places you’ve been to as a couple, famous local landmarks, or perhaps even your favorite books or movies. But here’s another TIP: Also assign that table a number. That will make it SO much easier and faster for guests to find their table, and just as importantly, for your caterer and their wait staff to find their way around.

Dennis Lee Photography

Here are other ways to still simply number your tables the old fashion way, but adding a unique twist to the display:

Delbarr Moradi via SMP

Sara France Photography Via The Bride’s Cafe

Via SMP and Snippet & Ink

Via Sixpence for Your Shoe and Ruffled

Via Steve Koo Photography

Via Ruffled

Have you given much thought to your table numbers? What do you plan to do?

Mightyvites = Traditional + Techy Wedding Invitations

I recently met with Chris and Stephanie, the awesome brother and sister team behind the new invitation site, Mightyvites… and it didn’t take me long to realize that this may be one of the coolest new concepts in wedding invitations. What exactly is so different about Mightyvites? They take the traditional printed invitation that we all know and love, and they add a customizable online RSVP that perfectly matches the printed piece, along with a guestlist manager. Here are some more details from their website:

“What's Included?

In Print:
- Invitations with copy crafted by you (with customizable color schemes)
- One set of enclosures with everything needed for your guest to RSVP online
- Outer envelopes with digitally printed guest and return addresses (yup, we take care of that too!)

Online:
- Guest ability to create and change their RSVP
- Event information that you create and which your guests view
- Event choices that you create and which your guests respond to (including meal choices!!)
- A guest list that you edit and later watch for RSVPs
- Email notification of guest RSVPs
- Ability to import contacts to your guest list from Gmail, Yahoo!, Outlook, etc.

You Can Also Have:
- Additional enclosures for event details you want to keep offline
- Your invitations mailed to your guests via the United States Postal Service
- Use of your own domain name for online guest RSVPs    ”

You can choose from either flat printing or LETTERPRESS! And the fact that you can upload your guestlist and their addresses… and Mightyvites will actually PRINT all the addresses directly on the envelopes for you… brilliant!

Here are some of my favorite designs from their gallery:

I saw the letterpressed version of the Regalia and it was beayooootiful!

Vintage Glee design and matching RSVP site

Blossoms design

The Urban

I can’t even express how smitten I am with Mightyvites. Their prices are surprisingly reasonable, considering how they truly take so much of the painful legwork away from you in regards to managing your guestlist, addressing your envelopes, mailing them out for you (obviously you pay for shipping), tracking your RSVPs, and more! And for those of you worried about your less-tech-savvy guests, you have the ability to print a smaller amount of traditional RSVP cards… voila! Easy and Done!