Wedding Planning|Wedding Planning & Wedding Advice

Last week, in the first part of our Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst series, we focused on The Bride. This week we focus on one of my favorite topics, food.

Part 2: FOOD

A good meal goes a long way to a great wedding!

Tips

1. Select a menu that your guests will enjoy – consider age range, lifestyle, etc.

2. Butter cream frosting and real whipped cream are tastier than their counterparts, but they do not have staying power. You can have your tasty cake and eat it , too, but make sure your venue will have room in the refrigerator and limit the display time before the cake cutting begins (particularly if the venue is warm – and most are…). While we’re on the topic of cakes – make sure your cake it out of harm’s way and on a stable surface.

3. Don’t miss out on the sample tasting your caterer offers – you want to make sure you like their recipes!

4. Use caterers, bakeries, and other vendors that have good reputations and staying power (they’ve been around for a long time or you know them personally and trust them). You only need one good relationship with a company that provides weddig services and then you can ask them to suggest other companies for everything you will need. You can also check online wedding forums for reviews or pay for a one-time consultation with a wedding planner and get recommendations.

Here’s a great example of why it is important to use a reputable business! A British online news service, The Bromley Times, reports that 29 weddings guests became ill after eating improperly cooked chicken and unpasteurized eggs at the reception. During the investigation, it was discovered that that the venue’s fridge was also malfunctioning. (Powell, Doug, “This is why we got married at city hall…”, Barflbog)

Sources, Additional Information, Great Articles:

Cohen, Gabriel, “Wedding-Food Disasters”, Gourmet

Shin, Jeanette, “Avoid Wedding Cake Disasters”, Food Editorials

Here are some of the funniest comments I’ve found from people about their real-life wedding disasters: Disaster Stories at Tressugar.com.

Related articles

• Tips On Wedding Planning That Might Be Overlooked (frommyexperience.com)
• Tips to Personalize Your Wedding (myweddingideas.net)
• Hiring a Wedding Planner (Coordinator) (myweddingideas.net)
• Tips for Choosing a Wedding Dress (myweddingideas.net)
• Get Married at the Winery This Valentine’s Weekend (lynfredwinery.blogspot.com)

I am now going to share something with you that is very valuable. It is the minute-by-minute schedule for a wedding ceremony and reception that went off without a hitch! When I created this, I was a Project Manager for a large corporation (I now work as a consultant – and as a freelance writer on the side).

If you’re not sure if you want to plan your own event, you should read two of my earlier posts at this blog: Planning Your Own Wedding: R-R-R-R-R-R-really? and Do I Need a Wedding Planner or Not?

Even if you are convinced that you are going to ‘do it yourself’, you might change your mind once you see the schedule below! Those involved in the event referred to it as “the novel” – it’s pretty long and detailed, but IT WORKED. Everyone involved received a copy with their responsibilities highlighted. We met and went through the document word for word about a week before the big day to make sure every one understood their role and how it fit into the big picture. I also tried to speak to each person one-on-one where it was possible. We didn’t really have a wedding rehearsal at the venue – we had everyone stand in their places and then we practiced leaving after the ceremony was over.

Some notes about the schedule below:

The wedding ceremony and reception took place at same venue, keeping our costs down. The martini bar opened immediately after the ceremony so guests stayed at the venue while we ran around the corner to a nearby park for pictures. I removed names due to privacy so you will see people are called “Best Man1″ or “Friend5″. Some people had two roles – for example, one of the Best Men was also the Master of Ceremonies (the wedding party was a bit different because it had two best men and two maids of honor.) Even with the double-duties, you can see that there were A LOT of friends and family involved (the wedding party, moms, a dad, brothers, sisters, 3 nieces, 2 nephews, 7 friends, and a dog).

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Are You Planning Your Own Event?

Here are some helpful tips if you want to plan your own wedding, from someone who has been through the experience!?

The Six R’s of Planning Your Own Wedding:

3 R’s

1. Realistic

By realistic, perhaps I mean pessimistic – but it’s actually for your own good. Don’t take any chances when planning this important day. Don’t leave things to luck. For example, don’t assume that someone will pick the best man up from the airport. Arrange it. Don’t assume that the caterer knows where the Main Hall you keep referring to is located – there might be several places called Main Hall in your city. Don’t hope it won’t rain, have a contingency plan in case it does.

Also, you need to be realistic about what you can ‘pull off’ all by yourself. If you’re not hiring a wedding planner, consider taking things down a notch or two. (You’ve heard the expression KISS before, haven’t you? Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Reduce the guest list size, try to hire caterers and rental companies that provide service staff and set up/tear down, or consider a destination wedding – many ‘destination’ hotels help out with services for weddings…

2. Research

There is a lot of information online and in wedding planning books. Also, make sure you research any vendors you want to use. Wedding Planners often have established relationships with vendors. Your vendor could suddenly go out of business or not show up – ask for customer references, check with the Better Business Bureau, look online to see what other people are saying about their experience.

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Answer these questions honestly and keep track of how many times you answer ‘no’.?

1. I have experience working with budgets (I can create one, track expenses, etc)

2. I am a financially responsible person (I can control my spending, separate my emotions from my decisions, and avoid impulse purchases)

3. I have a clear vision for my ceremony and reception (how it will look, what will take place). If not, I know I am able to see the ‘big picture’ and I’ll be able to pull all of the aspects of the event together to create a cohesive theme and style?

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