Sex and The City, at Last.

I went to see the new Sex and the City movie today. I cannot tell you how excited I was about this. I loved that show when it was on HBO. In fact, I turned down dates for the night it came on, just so I wouldn’t miss a moment.

Waiting for the movie to come out may have been torture, but it was worth it. It did not disappoint; the girls, the fashions, the luncheons, the accessories and the relationships were all there. And just wait till you see the bridal fashions. They are to die for. My biggest thrill was seeing a new take on bridesmaid dresses. It’s about time we see a change.

I won’t give anything away, but there is a lot you don’t expect happening in this movie. But you can expect to cry, sigh and laugh your way through it. Enjoy!

Searching for Inspiration...

I happened across a wedding blog today that I thought you might enjoy. It is Snippet & Ink. If you are having a hard time deciding on a look for your wedding and searching for inspiration check out this blog. She does a different inspiration board every weekday and then highlights a real wedding on the weekend. Her boards are beautiful and well thought out. You might find just the color scheme or look you have been searching for.

An inspiration board from Snippet & Ink

A Toast To The Happy Couple...

The wedding toast, it can be one of the best or worst moments of your wedding. Nothing is more touching than heartfelt words from your bestman or maid of honor. I have seen many brides and their guests moved to tears by a delightful toast. I have also seen the uncomfortable silence that follows a less than well done toast.

When planning the details of your reception, do not forget to plan for the toasts. I always suggest to my brides that toasts be given only by the parents to welcome the guests and by the bestman and/or the maid of honor for the couple. Any more toasts should be given at the rehearsal dinner, not at the wedding itself. Your guests will enjoy one or two toasts, more than that and they are bored and you are losing valuable party time.

I don’t believe the bride needs to control every detail of her wedding, but I do believe she should review the toasts that are to be given. This has a two fold purpose. One, it makes sure that the person that is giving the toast has actually prepared and written down their toasts. I have seen too many people struggling to throw together a toast at the last minute. Two, reviewing the toast makes sure that the wedding couple will not be in for any nasty surprises in the speech. Talking about ex-girlfriends or the little black book may seem funny to the bestman, but not so funny to the bride or her parents. A toast should come from the heart and be respectful of the couple and the moment.

Also make sure the toast is brief. Three to five minutes (at the most) is perfect. This is not a sermon, keep it short. There are mountains of books in stores and online that will give ideas for the perfect toast. I keep one in my emergency kit, just in case.

I prefer to have parents or the bride and groom do the welcome toast after the first dance. The bestman/maid of honor toast takes place after the guests are all seated and eating. This allows everyone to give their attention to the speaker. It also gets toasts out of the way without taking up party time. This can be followed by the groom toasting his bride at the cake cutting. This toast can be skipped if the groom is the shy type.

Remember the toast is something that will live on in your memory and in the video. Let’s make it something worth remembering.

Cutting Wedding Costs Interview

Here’s a video from CNN interviewing Rebecca Dolgin of The Knot. She is giving her ideas for cutting wedding costs. There is nothing ground breaking here, but I thought you might enjoy seeing it. We've talked about all of these tips in the past, but it can't hurt to hear then again.

CNN Interview

Outdoor Wedding and Unity Candles Do Not Mix

The Sand Ceremony is always the better choice for an outdoor wedding.

Ok, I have said this once and I will say it again. Outdoor weddings and unity candles do not mix. Brides will tell me over and over, “no problem, the rental agency (florist, best friend, whoever) told me to just get hurricane globes for the candles and everything will be fine.” No, no, it won’t. The candles are going to either never light or blow out. The tiniest amount of wind will find its way into every outdoor ceremony (even if you are having it in a covered area). The tiny breeze will blow out the taper as the mother tries to light her candle. It will blow out the votive they are trying to light from, or the lighters they are trying to use. When you remove the globes to try and light the center candles it’s going to blow at least one of them out.

Just be prepared, to either ignore the unlit candles and move on, or make the smarter choice and go with the sand ceremony.

Favors - When Should They Be Given To Guests?

Cookies shaped like a tiger paw are always a hit at Clemson weddings.

We’ve talked about favors before. As you know, I’m in favor of edible favors. Just about anything else, will leave your guests less than impressed and your check book less than full. Today, I want to talk about at what point in the evening is it best to give out your favors.

There are two schools of thought here; one (which I prefer) is to hand favors out as guests are leaving or two, that favors should be placed at each guest’s seat at the table. Personally, I prefer to hand them out as guests leave for several reasons:

1. If it is not a sit down dinner there is no “place” to leave them.
2. If they are left at each place setting you must have one for every person instead of one per couple (something you can do if you are trying to save some money or time).
3. With place settings, votives and centerpieces on the table, it may be just too crowded on the table for the favors to fit.
4. If they are placed on the tables, remember after dinner your guests will leave their place to go dance and mingle. The favor will lie forgotten. Believe it or not, I have seen guests gather up their favor along with other guests' favors when they are left unattended on the table.

Of course if you are handing them out as guests leave, there is always the chance that a guest may exit early and miss out on receiving their favor. We try to avoid this by having someone stationed at the door handing them out to anyone leaving.

I love the look of favors set out appealingly on a table by the door for guests to pick up as they leave or in baskets being handed personally to each guest. By handing your guests a small token of appreciation as they leave, you can be assured they will leave your wedding feeling special. Let the last thing they remember be how special you made them feel.

Headcounts - How Do They Work?

You will be required by your caterer and your site to give them an accurate headcount of the number of guests that will be attending your reception. Normally, this is due one to two weeks before the wedding. This headcount will affect everything from the number of tables and chairs to the amount of food the caterer will prepare.

Remember that EVERYONE attending your reception must be included in the count. This includes your wedding party, you, the groom, and vendors. You will want to feed your vendors something, so they should be included in your count.

Don’t try to save money, by fudging on the number of people you think will be attending. Believe me your caterer and site will not be fooled at your reception. The real headcount will more than likely show up on a final bill presented by a very upset caterer if you try to fudge. Don’t take the chance that you run out of food or drink at your wedding.

If your headcount turns out to be more than you or your checkbook expected, talk to your caterer. They will work with you to change your menu and stretch your dollars to cover your unexpected guests.

Having Your Child In The Wedding

With this weekend being Mother’s Day, I thought it might be a good time to discuss the roles the children of the bride and groom can have in the wedding. Making your child feel like he or she is an important part of your wedding is utmost in most parents’ minds. It always makes me feel good to see a bride and groom include their children in the wedding itself. There are many different ways that this important moment can be accomplished.

There is the ever popular choice of using them, depending on their age, as the flower girl or ring bearer. If they are over the age of 7, have them included as a junior bridesmaid or junior groomsmen. Having children (your own, or nieces and nephews) as the only attendants is gaining in popularity. Using children as your attendants certainly helps resolve the issue of which of your many friends to chose as your attendants. None of your friends will feel slighted if you have an all children wedding party. I actually did this for my own wedding.

Other options include, if the child is old enough, he or she can walk their parent down the aisle. Many couples chose to do a jewelry ceremony with the children after their own exchange of rings. The child receives a special ring or necklace that is blessed by the minister and represents them becoming a part of the new family. We have used this at several weddings and I can not tell you how proud the children are of this piece of jewelry. The joy on their faces as they show it off, speaks for itself. We have also had children be part of the unity candle ceremony, lighting their own candle and then using it to help light the candle of the new family. The same can be done with the popular sand ceremony.

If children are a part of your family make sure they are included in the wedding. It will be something, you, your guests and your child never forget.

The Importance of Having a Plan B For Your Wedding

This past Saturday, we did our first wedding at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens in Clemson. It is such a beautiful area. Our wedding took place in the Fran Hanson Discovery Center on the upper lawn and terrace. Our bride and groom, Denise and Mike, really wanted a outdoor wedding setting and the gardens gave them exactly what they wanted. Unfortunately Mother Nature also decided to give us rain, so we had to go with our plan B and bring in a tent for the actual ceremony.

Denise had early in the planning placed a tent on hold in case there was the threat of rain. Once rain was imminent, plan B moved into action and the tent was put in place. The wonderful florist, Dave McMillan of Memories by McMillan, adjusted his plans for the ceremony area and a beautiful design was once again in the ready. Luckily, Mother Nature saw fit to only rain lightly before the actual ceremony, so everything worked out perfectly.

After the ceremony, the reception took place at the Clemson Ramada in their ballroom. The cocktail hour was held in the atrium area by the pool.

As you can see by the pictures, everything was just beautiful, thanks to an excellent plan B. Congratulations Denise and Mike!

Pictures from Sunday's 2nd Annual Trash Your Wedding Dress Event

Here are just a few of the pictures, that I took at Sunday's Trash Your Wedding Dress Event. Now, I am no photographer so just imagine what kind of pictures these girls will be getting. Each bride that participated will receive a CD of all the pictures and a DVD video of entire event.

There were three photographers taking pictures throughout the event. Photography by Dennis and Yvette, Touch of Grace Photography and Storybook Day. Unforgettable Wedding Video capture the entire day on video. It was quite an exciting time for eveyone involved.

After getting dressed in a room donated by the Hyatt, the girls enjoyed wedding cake donated by Holly's Cakes.

Next it was outside for pictures at the fountain.

Then DL Limo picked the girls up and took eveyone to the Greenville Drive ball park. There the girls handed out brochures from the Cancer Society and went onto the field where cancer survivor Cynthia Phillips gave a quick talk to the crowd. Then it was back up in the stands for more pictures and a little trashing.

Dana is just so messy!

The little girls at the ballgame had so much fun getting their pictures made with the brides. It's not everyday that you see brides at a ball field. From the ball field the limo took the girls back downtown for pictures in the park and on Main Street. Believe me, we created quite a scene.




We would like to thank eveyone that was involved in the event. Once again we raised quite a bit of money and awareness for the Cancer Society.

2nd Annual Trash Your Wedding Dress Event

This Sunday, we are once again helping sponsor The Second Annual Trash Your Wedding Dress Event. If you remember, last year was a total blast. The six brides participating had a great time and were so much fun to work with. The event is put on to promote the awareness of the need for early detection of breast and cervical cancer. This year the event will begin at the Hyatt, where a speaker from the Greenville Cancer Society will talk to the brides. Then the girls will move on to the ballpark where they will have their pictures made. Since the brides are no longer worried about getting their dresses dirty, the pictures take on an edgier, more stylized look. These are not your typical bridal portraits. Each participating bride will receive flowers, pictures, a video of the event and a chance to help out with a very important cause.

You can learn more about the event in this The Greenville News Article.