Do you ever feel like blogging is that last thing in the world that you want to do? Most people say no.  But maybe if you buy a house, get pregnant, grow a baby, and continue working on several fabulously wonderful weddings for 2011 and 2012 then you’d say yes. I may or may not fall into one of those categories. Either way, blogging must go on. (says the marketing business. ) I have some things to share with y’all here soon, but I am quickly slumping into that second category and need to stare at the real world instead of my computer screen.  To tide us over, here’s 5 tips for you lovely brides out there:

1. Have you seen the weather lately? Consider not getting married outside in May. Unpredictability is not our friend.

2.  Save money and don’t print one wedding program per guest. Try printing just 50. No matter how large your guest count is. That’s all that’s ever used up anyway.

3.  Hire a wedding coordinator. Have I said this before? Can’t remember.

4 .  Your wedding photographs can never be redone. Hire a good photographer the first time. They are second most important to hiring a wedding planner. (Love to all my photographer friends, you know your place in my heart.)

5.  If your toast givers (Maid of Honor and Best Man) are likely to be intoxicated half way through your reception, consider sparing them and every single person in the room the embarrassment, and place the toasts in the beginning of the night.

1. You will go over budget. Don’t be naive about the money it will take to make your wedding happen. Just count on going over. I see it happen every time.

2. Think of an upside down bell-curve: expect the beginning of your planning to be hectic, stressful,  and full of decision making. Then there will be a lull in planning followed by a crazy, stressful 1 month count down. Plan on it. (Also hire a wedding coordinator to help manage it.)

3. You will have trouble creating, cutting down and finalizing your guest list. Don’t break up with your fiance over this – it can be worked out!

4. You will have some guests who do not return their response cards and make it hard for you to chase them down by phone.

5. Your groomsmen will take their sweet time to complete their tux rentals.

6. Not everything will turn out exactly how you envisioned it – sometimes better, sometimes not as great.

7.  At the end of the wedding day, you will be married and that is what matters most!

Be very mindful of the relationship between your ceremony start time and the type of reception you offer.  I know this can get tricky when you are trying to save money or do things on a tight budget. Many people think, “I’ll get married at noon or one o’clock and then have an hor d’oeuvres receptions,” or, “I’ll get married in the evening and have a drinks and desserts reception.” It is totally possible to do that, however not the best, most thoughtful way. If you can only afford an hor d’oeuvres reception, plan your ceremony time at a mid-meal point in the day – such as 2pm or 3pm. This way your guests will have already eaten lunch and your reception will end before the dinner hours are up allowing them to grab dinner on their way home. If a dessert reception is all you want to offer, then again, place your ceremony at a mid-meal time of day or late at night. In the event of an evening wedding with desserts only, try not to have a ceremony earlier than 7pm and make it loud and clear on your invitations that it will be a dessert only reception. If you have an evening ceremony between 5-6pm and do desserts only, consider allowing extra time between the ceremony and reception start time so that guests can grab a quick dinner somewhere on the way.

Typically, wedding receptions should look like this:

• 7am-10am Ceremony Start Time: Brunch Reception
• 11am-1pm Ceremony Start Time: Lunch Reception
• 2pm-3pm Ceremony Start Time: Hors d’oeuvres, Cocktail Reception
• 4pm-7pm Ceremony Start Time: Dinner Reception
• 8pm on Ceremony Start Time: Dinner, Cocktail or Dessert Reception

It’s not always fun to figure these logistics out. If you are dealing with a site location that only has certain time slots available for your ceremony, pick the one that allows you to have the type of reception you can afford. A word to the wise: Everyone is happier when they’ve been fed!

If the gown is not your biggest concern for your wedding day or if your budget for a dress is smaller than most boutiques allow, check out this link:

Church Street Bridal

You can find hundreds of gorgeous designer dresses here. They are NEW (not secondhand) by way of overstock, fashion shows or sample inventories. My good friend found her wedding dress here for $150 and it looked stunning on her! Pack your patience and an open mind and you are bound to strike a deal. You can also check out Filene’s Basement (home of the hilarious “Running of the Brides”) as an option for a super deal on your wedding dress!