How Should Your Wedding Party Stand

Did you know that when the groomsmen are lined up at the front of the church awaiting the bride coming down the aisle, they should be standing with left hand over the right? Bridesmaids should be standing with bouquets held just below their navels. If they rest their arms on their hip bones, the flowers will be in the perfect spot. Also, the wedding party should be facing the bride as she comes down the aisle and then pivot to face the minister as the bride passes. It really is like a beautifully choreographed dance when all goes according to plan.

Another Sweet Thank You To Willrich Bridal

I just received another sweet thank you note from one of our couples.  These notes just make my day.  We feel so good that Willrich Bridal can make such an important day in a couple's life that much better.  I love my job!

Children's Table at Your Wedding Reception

I was recently asked what I thought about kiddie tables at receptions. Well it depends on what kind of kid’s table you are talking about. If it’s a table where children will be seated together to eat dinner, I say forget it. It doesn’t work. Children will not sit there. They will be up looking for parents or parents will be up making sure little Johnny’s steak is cut up for him. It just doesn’t work to separate parents and their children during the meal. Even older children won’t stay at the table for long. They want to be with their parents.

Now, if you are talking about tables set up in a children’s area with board games, coloring books, video games, stickers, etc. I’m all for it. Giving children some entertainment while adults are partying is a great idea. Ever been at a wedding where all the children are chasing each other across the dance floor all night? Well then you see my point. A separate room for children to play in after the meal or even a corner of the reception set up for children will work. Just have a responsible adult hired to keep watch over the children’s area.

How Many Ushers Do I Need For My Wedding

Did you know the rule for ushers is one per every 50 guests? Why? Because that is the number of guests they should be able to seat in 30 minutes time (the time most guests arrive before a wedding). You can use either groomsmen or ushers for this duty. Just be sure they are available at the entrance to the church or wedding site to seat guests as they arrive.

The Secrets To Having a Happy Flower Girl in Your Wedding

Flower girls, they are sweet little visions of loveliness that glide down the aisle just before the bride enters. They bring tears to guests’ eyes with their sweet innocence or laughter when they don’t do what they are supposed to. Believe me; I have seen both, the sweet angels and the naughty little devils that refuse to do anything you ask of them.

Did you know that flower girls first walked down the aisle to spread grain at the feet of the bride to ensure fertility and a happy marriage? Today’s flower girl most often drops rose petals for the bride to tread upon as she heads into marriage. It can be a beautiful picture as long as you keep in mind a few simple rules.

Don’t pick flower girls that are too young. Four to nine years old is the proper age. Any younger and there is little chance they will make it down the aisle, any older and they should be junior bridesmaids.

If they are young, it is always better to have two instead of just one. There is definitely courage in numbers.

Also, when sending young children down the aisle remember to have a family member seated in the first few rows of the church. That way they can walk toward someone they know, a much needed comfort to small children. I suggest allowing them to be seated with this person and not stand up front with the bridal party. They tend to get bored standing through a ceremony and bored children are never a good thing.

Remember to pick something the girls will be comfortable wearing. Too many times I have seen itchy lace be a huge problem on the wedding day. Take them shopping with you to pick the dress. Let them wear the dress around the house before the wedding day so they get used to it.

Last, but not least, a new toy used as a bribe to get them down the aisle is really not a bad thing.

Willrich Bridal Wins a WeddingWire's and Martha Stewart's Bride's Choice Award

Greenville, SC, January 19, 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Willrich Bridal and Special Events has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Planning


The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Willrich Bridal and Special Events is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Willrich Bridal is among the very best wedding planner within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at www.weddingwire.com/willrichbridal

Gloves - A Hot New Trend For Brides in 2010

Want to know what the hot item for 2010 weddings will be? Gloves, yes that’s right it’s the return of the 50’s. Most of the major designers are showing gloves with their dresses. Everything from opera length to wrist length, sheer, airy light gloves are going to be hot. Monique Lhuillier had all her models in her recent runway show wearing gloves. I love it!

Keeping Boutonnieres Picture Perfect

Did you know that boutonnieres are always pinned on the left side? Be sure the groom knows when receiving all those loving hugs from friends and family that he should lean in from the right to save the fragile blooms from being crushed. You might even want to purchase a second boutonniere for him to switch to when the first one is beyond repair. It will look much better in pictures.

Brides Purchase Dresses and Make Memories in Greenville, SC

We just finished working the Brides Against Breast Cancer, Making Memories Bridal Show. It was such a good event, for such a great cause. We met lots of happy brides that wanted to share their happiness by purchasing donoted dresses. The money from these purchases will in turn be used to give someone suffering from breast cancer a wonderful memory.

I was amazed at the number of dresses available to choose from. I spent a little time looking through the dresses and there was such a variety available. No wonder brides were walking out carrying out pink bags filled with beautiful dresses.

If we met you at the event, thanks so much for stopping by our booth and I hope to talk to you soon. If you didn’t make it to the event here’s a few pictures to show you what you missed.

Willrich Bridal Takes Part in the Brides Against Breast Cancer Charity Wedding Gown Event in Greenville

Are you currently searching for your wedding dress? Well this weekend may just be your lucky day. Friday, January 15th from 2 to 8pm and Saturday January 16th from 10am to 3pm, Brides Against Breast Cancer Charity Event will be held at the Greenville Hilton. This is the giant bridal gown sale where all the proceeds are for charity.

These gown sales are an important fund-raising event for Making Memories. It is an opportunity to buy your dream gown at great prices, while making dreams come true for women who are fighting breast cancer.

Designers, manufacturers, bridal shops and individuals have donated these gowns to be sold at a 25% to 75% savings. Gown prices will range from $99 to $799, while their average values can run as high as thousands of dollars.

Some of the areas best vendors (including us, Willrich Bridal and Special Events) will have booths at the event and are eager to meet you and tell you what we have to offer to make your wedding day as spectacular as your dress!

Willrich Bridal Rocks!!!

Sorry, but I couldn't help patting myself on the back.  Remember our beautiful December wedding?  Well today, we received the sweetest thank you note ever from the bride Carrie.  I just had to share it.  It really makes my day to know we made such a difference in someone's special day.  Thank you Carrie, we loved working with you guys and your families.

Yesterday's Wedding Festivals Show in Greenville, SC

If you were lucky enough to attend the Wedding Festival Show at the Hyatt yesterday, I know you had a great time. We saw so many excited brides and grooms, eager to learn everything they could about putting on a great event. If you didn’t make it to the show, here are a few pictures of what you missed.

This was our booth.  I thought it turned out really nice and was a good introduction to what we do as wedding planners.  It was so nice to meet so many interested brides that really seemed to understand the worth of a good planner.

We hope you had a great time at the show.  We understand that it can be overwhelming to see all the choices and all the ranges of ideas.  Give us, Willrich Bridal, a call and let us help you make sense out of everything that is available to today's bride and groom. We will help you find the vendors that best suit you and your budget.  As we say, let Willrich Bridal and Special Events "guide your wedding dreams into reality".

The Wedding Festivals Show is on Saturday, What You Need To Know To Enjoy It

I just wanted to remind everyone that this Saturday is the Wedding Festival show. If you are planning to attend be sure and stop by our booth. I love to meet readers of my blog.  Attending the show is really exciting for soon to be brides and grooms but it can also be somewhat overwhelming.

Avoid show burn out by following these easy tips:

• Have in mind what you are looking for. Don’t let every pretty thing you see sway your plans. Vendors will have lots of “sign up now for a discount” offers. Unless you have done your homework and know that this is the vendor you want to hire, don’t be pushed into a decision. Ask for a day or two to get back to them. This will allow you some time to go home, review things and check references. Sure you may lose out on the vendor, but better losing out than hiring a vendor that turns out to not be what you want.
• Wear comfortable shoes, this is not the time to bring out the stilettos. You are going to be doing lots of walking and standing.
• Stop by every booth you’re interested in and pick up their information. Yes, you are given a bride’s bag when you arrive at the show, but be aware vendors had to pay to put their information in that bag. Not every vendor’s info will be included. So go by the booths and pick up the information. Do not count on it being in the bag.
• Print out your email, address and phone number on a sheet of stickers. Instead of having to take time to fill in each give away card, you just slap on a sticker and go.
• Speaking of email addresses, be sure you set up a new email account to give to wedding vendors. You don’t want all those “hire me” emails coming to your personal account. Set up a new one you use only for the wedding.

See you at the show!

A Chance to Purchase Your Dream Wedding Dress and Help A Good Cause at the Same Time

Next weekend, we have a booth at the Brides Against Breast Cancer Nationwide Tour of Gowns. I am so looking forward to meeting all the brides searching for their dream dress. I also have to admit, I can't wait to have a chance to drool over all the beautiful dresses. I am wedding dress crazy.

All these beautiful dresses have been donated by designers, manufactures, retailers and individuals. So come pick a dream gown and then let us help plan your amazing event.

What To Know Before Choosing A Church For Your Wedding

You would think choosing a church for your wedding would be easy. You’ve attended the same one for most of your life; of course you want to get married there. Perhaps it’s not your church but your grandmother’s church you’ve dreamed of being married in. Before you make that decision, stop and ask a few questions. Churches have a lot of rules, as they should. Make sure these rules fit your dream wedding,

What are the requirements for photographs? Most churches don’t allow flash photography; some don’t allow any photography at all. Always dreamed of that close up of the ring exchange, well if your church doesn’t allow a photographer anywhere but in the balcony it probably isn’t going to happen. Same goes for videography. Find out what the rules are and do these rules allow for the video you’ve always dreamed of.

What hours/days are wedding ceremonies held? Dreaming of a Saturday night wedding, you better check and make sure that is an option.

What are the rules for décor? Are flowers allowed? What about candles, open flames? Planning to save money by moving your flower arrangements from the church to the reception? You better make sure you are not required to leave the flowers at the church.

Planning on wearing a slinky, cut down to there wedding dress or wanting short cute strapless bridesmaids dresses better check the church rules. Churches are really upping the dress code.

Moral to the story, just make sure that the site you choose for your wedding, matches with the dreams you have for that wedding day.

Our New Brochure

I’m so excited, we just received our new brochures designed by Sara Theisen Design and they are beautiful. They came just in time for us to give out at Saturday's Wedding Festivals show at the Hyatt. If you’re planning on going to the show, be sure to stop by our booth say hi and pick up a brochure.

Willrich Bridal's Year In Review

Thanks to all our wonderful families we were lucky enough to work with during the past year. And thanks to my wonderful staff that worked so hard to make each wedding a success.