Forgetful Wedding Party Syndrome

All these months you have planned an amazing weekend for your friends & family to celebrate your nuptials. And now it is time to actually celebrate! You're excited. They're excited. Wow, it is going to be great!

So here's the truth. You can't control everything. Nobody can. Besides weather you will have what I call the Forgetful Wedding Party Syndrome. You will probably have at least half of them swear they, "had no idea that they were supposed to be there then".
They will also inevitably ask, "Where am I supposed to go?" and, "Am I supposed to go to this?" and, "Can my date come?" And you of course, will probably want to strangle a few of them after you've been asked 43.7 times.

Well, you know you told them, and I know you told them, and I told them again at rehearsal, and its on their wedding weekend celebration program too. Yet still- they will swear, that they had no idea and nobody told them. So, the best thing you can do, is get started early. Every reminder helps.

10 days to 1 week before the wedding, mail everyone a last newsletter. Five days before the wedding, email everyone. Include the times, locations, and how they should get there (walking, personal car, trolley, private coach, etc.) and why they are there. By everyone, I mean any and all people who are scheduled for anything! This means, parents, siblings, bridesmaids, groomsmen, grandparents, and photo must people. It also helps to mention who does not need to attend certain things. In other words, make it perfectly clear. For example:

7:30pm
Just after the ceremony, we'll need just these people to stay on the beach for family photos:
John Smith
Jill & Jack
Jack & Lynn
All parents, our siblings, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flowergirls (and a parent)
It will take about 15 minutes and then a trolley will take you to the cocktail party where you can meet your spouses and the rest of our guests.

Yes, its a boring tedious task. But it will make your weekend that much easier for you so that you can focus on the real reason you are there; to get married!

Melissa & Chad: Another great directors cut

I have a good 4 weddings to catch up & post about- its been a great spring season! But we've got 3 more still to come before we wrap it up and have a few hours to get all the great photos posted. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at Cool Calm Cheerful Brides GORGEOUS Scottish wedding at South Seas. It was one of the largest destination weddings we've done this season(just under 200). I'll be posting more about this incredible wedding really soon.
I can't say enough about Rob and the crew over at AMC Video. These directors cuts are just amazing. How they manage to get 8 hours of fantastic wedding into this 3 minutes is beyond me.
Here's the link to the video

Bustles, Ties, Hooks & Eyes

Wedding Dress Alterations. Oh the drama, butts, and boobs I have seen. Alterations are typically the last thing you consider when purchasing your wedding gown. Let me tell you something though- it should be the most important thing once you choose your gown.

First things first. Go to a seasoned professional alterations person. Get referrals! I can't stress this enough.

Listen to the professionals at the salon. If they say size 8 is the size you need, order size 8...not size 6.

Plan on at least 3 fittings. One right away, one about 2-3 weeks before the wedding, and another the day you plan to leave the bridal salon with your dress (wedding week).

Ask the seamstress to double re-inforce all the elements. Do not back down on this. In other words, if she's planning on 1 hook & eye, ask for 2.

Snug is good, can't breathe is bad. Do not try to shove yourself into your dress. You will be uncomfortable, the attachments could give and break, bend or rip off. Trust me when I say its not worth it.

Fashion Tape, Safety Pins, and mini sewing kits can only do so much, especially if you have many layers, heavy fabrics, or a very long train.

The bustle that seems to work the best is the underbustle because it ties. Knots seem to stay put much better than sewn on hooks, loops, etc.

Ask the seamstress to number the ties so that whomever your designated bustle pro is, she can tie you up quickly and easily. Even if you have 27 bustle ties!

Ask for a ER plan- the wrist loop. Nobody wants to use it- but let me tell you something, if your bustle does fail, when the DJ plays "Shake your Tailfeather" and you are ready to boogie, if you don't have something to get the train off the ground you won't be shaking anything except your head!

It's Gettin' Hot in Here!

Sweaty shirts. Yuck. Not exactly what everyone wants to look at or see when flipping through a wedding album. Chances are that if you’re planning on having a wedding in a warm location and/or having a boogie down hour (or 2 or 3), your fellas will get a bit (or alot) sweaty in their suits.
I’ve seen more than my fair share of completely drenched male wedding party members; and I may have finally figured out a way to at least make it a little more comfortable for these guys and the photos alot more, ummmm, dry.
How about a change of clothes? Even better, make the change of clothes a gift!

Well before the wedding, purchase all the guys in the wedding party matching shirts that they can change into at the reception after all the formalities and formal photos are complete. This way they still look like members of the wedding party, because they’re all uniform; but at the same time, they are dry and feel oh so much better. Photographs will be “drier” longer into the evening, and they walk away with a nice new shirt that will always remind them of the best party they ever attended. If you want to step it up a notch, have their names or initials embroidered. Perhaps even the date.You can give each of the guys their gifts at the rehearsal dinner. To make things convenient, gift wrap the outfits in a tagged bag that is large enough to hold their suit jackets and wet shirts. Have your wedding planner take the bags and shirts after the rehearsal dinner. Then she can stash the bags under the table at each guys seat so that when they’re ready to make the change, it will be somewhere easy to find, and they’ll have a bag ready to collect all their stuff.

How many people to get bride-ified?

Apparently, quite a few.

1st, there is the support team: Then there's the pros (Fresh Beauty Studio): The mom and sister duo (1st attempt at the sash that wouldn't cooperate): The final touches squad (attempt 2 at the sash): Yep, the bride too (that sash still isn't right): Then of course, you know mom, dad, and the wedding planner all have to get in on it (finally, we got the sash on!): And with that, complete Brideification: Boy that was tiring:
Thank you Julie Goodacre for the awesome photos!