Can I invite guests to just my bridal shower and not the wedding?

Discussing wedding planning today with a newly engaged woman, she asked me if It would be considered rude to invite her co-workers to her bridal shower, but not to the actual wedding. Her justification was that she didn’t consider herself close enough to her co-workers to merit an invitation, however she felt obliged somehow that she needed them to still have a small part in the wedding.

Her intentions may have been good, but her co-workers will read into this that they are not good enough for the wedding and are only good enough for a bridal shower that will require them to bring gifts. Needless to say this will create work tension later on. It is considered bad form to invite guests to a bridal party and NOT the wedding and doing this will undoubtedly cause tension.

If you are adamant on having people at your bridal shower and not your wedding ensure that you are tactful. You can state on the invitation that the wedding is very small and limited to just family, however a bridal shower will give you the opportunity to celebrate with friends.

Some may debate that it is your wedding and you can do what you like, and sure there is truth in this, however some brides use this as an excuse to quite simply practise poor manners. You don’t have to invite all your family, friends and co-workers to your wedding, but you must be tactful and fair.

In the case of this newly engaged woman that inspired this post, she has decided to hold a small pre-wedding brunch with her co-workers and some casual friends and limit the wedding to just family and close childhood friends. She will explain to them that coming from a large family the guest list will be taken up by obligatory invitations of aunts, uncles and cousins (about 45 just on her side) and this brunch will be an opportunity for her to celebrate with her co-workers.

Guest Bloggers : Call Out to Wedding Vendors

Do you work in the wedding industry? Maybe you’re a wedding florist, a wedding photographer or perhaps you hire out classic cards to brides and grooms for their wedding transport? If you consider yourself a know-it-all in your chosen niche, we want to hear from you! Daily Wedding Blog is putting the call out for guest bloggers to join our writing team.

The Benefits of Guest Blogging
The main benefit of guest blogging is exposure for your wedding. We encourage our guest bloggers to include a few lines about who they are and a link to their business website on their post. Our posts remain online indefinitely, which means that an article you write today, could still be bringing you traffic to your business’s website years from now.

What Should I Blog About?
Blog about what you know and your expertise. What might seem like trivial information to you might be highly useful information for a couple planning their wedding.

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Things to Keep in Mind when Budgeting for a Wedding

We all know that marriage is a long term commitment, but what many people fail to realise is that planning the wedding to get to the marriage takes an investment of time too. There are a number of reasons why wedding planning can take some time:

● A wedding dress will usually take around six to eight months to make.
● Wedding reception venues are usually booked up well in advance.
● You’re waiting for the best chance of getting great weather on your wedding day.
● You’re waiting to save up the money you need to pay for your wedding.

It wouldn’t be surprising if that last point sounded new to you, because in an age of instant messaging, constant Facebook updates, multiple credit cards and store credit, it is hard to imagine waiting to save up for anything anymore. However, what you need to remember is that your wedding is just the beginning of your married life together, and you don’t want to start out that life with a mountain of debt in tow just because you wanted to invite 300 of your closest friends to your wedding.

Now is the time to be realistic about the differences between what you want and what you can afford – and how long you’re willing to wait to be able to afford what you want. That is where the following tips can help you when budgeting, planning and paying for a wedding.

Wedding Budget

So you’re ready to start saving for your wedding – but what are you saving for? Even though you’ve resolved not to go into debt to host your wedding and you plan to save the money you need, you still need to pick an end point, and be conscious of the amount you’re spending. Therefore, start shopping around and comparing prices to get an idea of how much the wedding you have in your mind, will cost to make a reality.

As you’re shopping, keep in mind the following tips to save:

● Avoid save the date cards. Instead of printing, stuffing and posting save the date cards and then having to go through the whole process again in a few months with the invitations, send a save the date notice to your friends and family via email. Sending a bulk email will be much faster and easier, not to mention free, and if you still want to give your guests something pretty to stick on the fridge, create a save the date document on your computer and attach the file to your bulk email so recipients can print it themselves if they choose.

● Grow your own bouquet. From the time you get engaged to the time you walk down the aisle you will have ample opportunity to grow just about any type of flower you want for your floral displays. All you need is some pots or a patch of garden and you can tend to your very personalised wedding decorations. Plus, after the wedding you’ll still have the plants in your garden as a reminder of your special day.

● Avoid wedding magazines. Wedding magazines can be upwards of $15 each, and there are dozens available on the shelves of every newsagent, so which do you choose? Often brides will buy all of the different wedding magazines, but why not save that money and take your wedding planning electronic. Most wedding magazines will publish an electronic version of their magazine on their website, so Google the magazines you’ve been eyeing, and save. Wedding planning isn’t just on the internet either, and can be done on your phone or iPad too with free wedding applications.

● Your bridesmaids can look good, again. The old adage that bridesmaids’ dresses are hideous to make the bride look better has gone out the window as more and more couples get creative in dressing their wedding party. Some will choose a common colour and vary the style of the dresses while others will create a rainbow of colour to make sure the dress suits the girl, not just the wedding. You can also turn this idea to your advantage to save some money by choosing a theme, such as ‘spring’ and having each bridesmaid choose and pay for a dress they like and will wear again.

● Shop around for your dream dress. One of the most fun parts of wedding planning is trying on all of the beautiful gowns, and just because you want to save some money on your wedding it doesn’t mean you can’t go to all of the exclusive bridal boutiques and try on their dresses. This gives you an idea of the styles you like, and which work for your shape, but you don’t have to buy the first dress you like. Instead, shop around for alternatives such as factory outlets who sell the sample dresses at a fraction of the cost.

● Value of wedding gifts. Your guests will want to give you something to commemorate your special day and start your life together, but the truth is if you and your fiancée have been living together for some time, you probably already have a toaster, dinner set, cutlery and towels. Outside of these traditional wedding gifts it can be hard for your guests to know what to buy you, which is why you can use services like Free Gift Registry on freegiftregistry.com.au, which allow you to make up a list of the specific things you need – a tagine, a knife set or a tent – and your guests can log in and buy you the item from any store. Plus, you can add items such as ‘donation to honeymoon’ if your guests want to give cash.

Wedding Credit

You’re likely to spend six months to a year after you get engaged, just shopping around for ideas and suppliers for your wedding. However, when you’re not spending for your wedding you should be saving for your wedding, so that you know the money will be there when you need it.

Start by opening a high interest online savings account. A high interest savings account can be opened and managed online, this is how the banks are able to offer you such high interest rates, and do away with all of the account keeping fees. You can even create sub accounts in many cases, so you can start saving for your wedding, as well as create a sub-account for the honeymoon, another for a house deposit and another for an emergency fund. This may well be the first account you and your fiancée open in joint names and is an exciting and momentous time as you both start planning for a future together. Then set up a direct transfer of funds from your incomes each week, into your savings account. The amount you choose will depend on your budget, and how long you are able to save for before the wedding.

Your savings will grow in no time thanks to your regular contributions and the compounding high interest. When you are close to your wedding budget, start comparing term deposit accounts. A term deposit account is a fixed account, where you deposit your funds for a term of one month to five years. The interest you earn is locked in for the entire term, and compounds over that time. You can’t access the funds until the account matures, so there is no temptation to spend your savings early.

Now, you may be wondering – what is the point of locking away my wedding budget just as I need to start paying deposits? This is where you start comparing credit cards. You are looking for a credit card with a low or 0% interest offer for a limited time. You can then use your credit card for all of your wedding spending, leaving your savings in your term deposit account earning healthy, guaranteed interest.

With a wedding credit card you have all of your wedding spending in one place so you can easily track whether you’ve paid a deposit for the flowers and the venue, and how much you’ve paid off of your dress. Then, as your term deposit matures closer to your wedding day, you can use the money in the account to pay out your wedding credit card in full, and reinvest the left over savings, or put them into one of your other savings accounts for the future.

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Savings Account Finder (http://www.savingsaccountfinder.com.au/) helps you compare online savings and term deposit products in Australia. We blog about useful personal finance matters and general tips to help you achieve financial independence.

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Wedding Photography Inspiration

Do you know what ‘look’ you are after for your wedding photos? Are you after a traditional look, something more artistic or an elegant theme? Spend some time before your wedding looking through wedding photographer’s online portfolios. It will help you determine what style of photos you are after.

To avoid confusion and miscommunication, always take your wedding photos with you when discussing photo shoots with your photographer. It doesn’t have to be a sample of wedding photos; it could be magazine images or general photography shots. You are merely after visual images that are inspiration for the style of wedding photographs that you are seeking.

Remember creativity is objective, so it pays to be precise in your communication with your photographer, not only with the style of photographs that you do like, but also communicate with them the style of photographs that you wish to avoid.

Don’t Forget your Wedding Feet

When planning a wedding, feet usually don’t rank high in wedding preparations, and so they shouldn’t.  However, if you and your bridesmaids are planning on wearing open-toed shoes,  some consideration should be had to avoid any last minute decisions and headaches.

Some Things to Consider When it Comes to your Wedding Feet
-    Will they be wearing nail polish?
-    Will they be getting professional pedicures?
-    Will the colour be unified amongst the bridesmaids?
-    What colour will it be in relation to the shoes (contrasting, matching)?
-    What colour will it be in relation to the gown (contrasting, matching)?

These needn’t be very hard decisions to make and defiantly not decisions that you should become overwhelmed by. They are merely part of the wedding planning puzzle. It is one of the small details that will make up the overall look of the bridesmaids.

Have Fun with Your Wedding Photos

Your wedding photo is likely one that will take up a main focal point in your home. Your actual wedding photo shoot will likely be scheduled between your ceremony and reception and may have time restrictions placed on it.

A fun idea is to plan a second photo shoot for after your wedding day, a photo shoot that reflects both you and your partner and a photo shoot were it wont matter if you get your gown dirty. You might even decide to trash your dress!

Trash The Dress

Wedding dresses once worn are preserved and carefully looked after by the bride, right? Well that’s not always the case; many brides are now trashing their dresses. They are going to the beach rolling around in sand, waiting for a rainy day and lying in the mud or splattering themselves in paint. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

(photo source:  http://www.bluenaluphotography.com)

 

 

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Daily Wedding Blog: Should I Invite Kids to My Wedding?

A sensitive issue that commonly comes up planning the wedding guest list is whether or not you should have kids at weddings.  There are strong arguments on both sides. Some couples feel that they don’t want to run the risk of children upstaging them during important moments of the day, such as during the wedding vows. Others feel strongly that weddings are a time to celebrate with family and loved ones, and children should not be excluded.

If you do decide to have children present at your wedding you must realize that the number one reason for disruptive children at weddings is boredom. There are certain tips that you should consider to ensure a smooth flowing wedding, such as;

Designating an older child or teenager to ‘babysit’ the kids during the wedding.

Consider organising a room for the children to play in during the ceremony.

It is important that the kids don’t feel like they have been tossed aside. Include them in the after ceremony mingling with the bridal couple and photos.

Have a ‘kiddy table’ at the reception so that the kids can mingle together with children their own age. It can be extremely frustrating for a child (especially an only child) to be seated with a group of adults and not to be included in the adult conversation.

Set up a game area to keep the kids entertained. Boards games and playing cards can be bought cheaply or can be be brought from home or borrowed from friends.

Visit our kid’s department to find great products for keeping kids entertained at weddings. Take me there!

Wedding Day Colouring Book

Consisting of 32 pages of coloring pages and activities to keep kids happy and amused, this wedding books has been designed with the purpose of being used at wedding receptions. Each colouring book comes with a pack of non-toxic crayons
Buy Now from our online store