8 Steps To A Piece Of Cake Wedding!
1. Don't panic! I can't stress this strongly enough. This is *your* big day and planning it is a lot easier and way more fun than you think , if you just get and stay a little organized. I always joke with my friends that I could plan a wedding in a week if I had to, and I stand by that statement. Why? Because at the end of the day it's not about little net bags filled with color coordinated Jordan almonds and doves being released as somebody reads "Corinthians". It's about you and your love, and nothing else matters. In the process of planning a wedding there can be a lot of bickering between you, him and any relatives that are financially contributing. Don't let this ruffle your feathers. You probably will all have to compromise on one issue or another, and that's just fine. Nobody will notice which silverware pattern you ultimately choose to serve dinner with, or which dad gives the first toast. Keep your eye on the prize, and that prize is the relationship you will have with your new partner, that's what you take home after your wedding. Now, how to plan it all?2. Don't do it alone. If you have a mom, soon to be mother in law, girl friends or sisters, you have a whole army of eager helpers , some of whom are sure to have experience with their own weddings. As woman we LOVE to help and give advice, and some of it is even bound to be helpful, so ask, ask, ask!3. Do yourself a favor and get out to some wedding fairs. These are huge ball rooms filled with professional wedding vendors who want your business and are usually offering discounts at the shows for current brides to be who attend. February 19 and March 4th 2012, I will be at the Bay Area Wedding Fairs in Concord and Sunnyvale respectively. For info go to www.bayareaweddingfairs.com . I would love to meet you and talk about what we can do for your wedding!4. Join some large bridal resource websites. Many of the vendors you are looking for advertise here. You can see reviews on vendors from their actual clients, photographs of their work in some cases, and talk to other brides on their message boards. You'll probably get ideas for locations and favors that hadn't even crossed your mind before! My company Rachel Levine Photography (www.RachelLevinePhoto.com) can be found on www.weddingwire.com and I do recommend them.6. Make one of those huge awesome bride books! They look like old fashioned wedding albums, but they have pockets inside to hold business cards and brochures from vendors you have met. If you go to a wedding fair and collect cards and brochures, make sure you take notes on your first impressions of who you met and what you thought of them. As the months go by it's harder and harder to remember who was who and notes will be very helpful to jog your memory.7. Hire a planner. You can do a lot of the planning yourself, but it's such a treat to have somebody there on the actual day to take the pressure off of you. A good planner will coordinate with your location to make sure everyone and everything is where it should be. Cake? Check! Flowers? Check! Groom? Hey, somebody forgot to pick the groom up! That will never happen if you hire a planner. I recommend Deborah "Bora" Barton. I've worked with her before and she can be reached at dbora32@yahoo.com.8. Budget. I know nobody likes that word, but if you start with it and stick too it, your marriage will not start out with a big debt that you'll be paying off for years. Bad finances are one of the biggest causes of divorce, so start the marriage off with your wedding already paid off. A happy marriage is more important than a showboat wedding, trust me girls!Well, thats my advice, and I hope you have found some of it helpful. If you have any questions I'm always happy to share my experience with you at RachelLevinePhoto@gmail.com