Wedding Invitations

Wedding Etiquette as an unaccompanied wedding guest has its own implications.

I have some direct experience with this issue. Not all that long ago, I was invited to my cousin’s son’s wedding.

The wedding ceremony was great, but I was one of the few guests who came alone.

I could have brought a guest, but I didn’t know if that was encouraged or not.

Not being crass enough to call my cousin and ask if that would have been OK, I attended all by myself (not a problem, especially since I danced off about five extra pounds at the post-wedding reception).

But that got me to thinking- what is the Wedding Etiquette way of determining if it is OK to bring a guest to the wedding?

I put the matter out of my mind until I recently read a Q-A from TheKnot.com on this very issue.

The question was: “I’ve been invited to a friend’s wedding, but I don’t want to go alone. Is it okay to bring a date?”

Some wise advice was provided by Lisa Carse, who supplied the answer from The Knot to the website of WABC-TV, New York.

“Check your invitation envelope. Does it just say your name or does it say your name “plus guest”? If yours is the only name on the envelope, then you’re the only one who’s been officially invited. Resist the urge to ask the couple if you can bring a guest anyway.

“Instead, figure out who else might be attending the wedding solo and plan your transportation (and accommodations) with them, if possible. If it’s still too uncomfortable to attend alone, then you can politely decline the invitation.”

(The Knot, via WABC-TV, New York)

Over the next several weeks we will discuss all the various tasks associated with planning your wedding pretty much the A-Z variety of
elements that are important to consider. The next couple of posts will list
things you should try to accomplish during the first 6-12 months.

• After announcing your
  engagement you will need to select a wedding date and time
• Decide what size and style of
  wedding you want (formal, informal, special theme).
• Set a preliminary budget
• Schedule a meeting with both
  sets of parents (if they are going to be involved) to openly discuss
  wedding expectations, costs and responsibilities.
• Hire a wedding coordinator at
  this time if you are going to use one.
• Buy a wedding planner or
  notebook, or use our free brides planning manual to remain organized and
  record decisions.
• Invite attendants to be in
  your wedding.
• Reserve the church or
  facility location for the wedding.
• Choose the officiant for the
  ceremony.

• Reserve the reception site
  and find out what services are available.

More next time. These are some of the most important things
to handle first in planning your wedding. Next time we will include more 6-12
month items to tackle. In the meantime be sure to check out our unique wedding
invitations at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com

Having an extra pair of hands on your wedding day can be
priceless - especially experienced hands. Your wedding coordinator will know
how to orchestrate a schedule that will ensure a smooth-running event. Just some
of the duties your wedding consultant will do are to take care of such detail
as coordinating and overseeing vendors, supervising and curing the wedding
party and music, and assisting with seating arrangements. Having a wedding
coordinator will enable a bride to relax and enjoy her day and be able to be
rest assured that her day will be handled with care. To sum it up, a wedding
coordinator’s greatest value is the time she’ll save you, her knowledge of
local services and the special touches she can add.

Even is you do decide to hare a professional to help you plan out your special
event, this manual will still prove to be priceless even if it is only to give you
the confidence that everything indeed is covered. Perhaps after looking over
all that needs to be done in our free wedding planner, you may decide that you
want some additional help that a wedding planner can give you.

Be sure to check out out all of our unique wedding invitations at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com

If you should decide that you want to hire a wedding
coordinator, be sure to get references first. Your best bet is to go with
someone a friend has used and been happy with. When looking for a wedding
planner, you can research them by checking with local business organizations or
associations. A couple of important criteria to be sure your consultant will
agree to are: make sure he/she has no other commitments that day. Make sure
that he/she is willing to stay through to the end of the reception just in case
they are needed. It also is important to make sure that they are not receiving
commissions from any of the vendors. That could be a conflict of interest and
the choice may not be in your best interest.

A good wedding planner will make sure she know the needs and
want of the bride and groom from the planning stages all the way to the last
dance. They should interview the couple ahead of time to understand their
vision for the wedding and reception. They should set up interview with the various
vendors and attend the meetings with each to be sure that the bride and groom
can make informed decisions. A good wedding consultant will keep in touch with the
bride and vendors all the way to the completion and delivery of their services
and will do whatever is necessary to make sure that all runs smoothly.

Next time we will wrap up the ins and out and ups and downs of hiring a wedding coordinator. In the meantime be sure to check out our unique wedding invitations at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com

The function of a wedding coordinator is to give you and
your family members peace of mind and help you handle all the details of your wedding
and reception. Some wedding coordinators charge a certain percentage of
the spending budget. Some charge by the hour and some a simply paid a flat
rate.

They tend to be rather expensive, but if your budget will allow it, they can
prove to be invaluable. They also could save you some money in the long run, in
the fact that they know where to go to get good value among the local vendors
available, and maybe even know how and where to get you discounts.

Stretching the dollar, while staying within a budget, a consultant will
alleviate financial anxieties. An established consultant will have a wide
selection of vendors and valuable connections. She/he will assist the bride by
knowing who to book and when, providing price comparisons, overseeing vendor
contracts, avoiding overtime charges, saving on services when guests don’t
show, all which will collectively result in considerable saving you money.

A good wedding planner has developed relationships with many vendors, and
because of the harmony that has developed, vendors may provide certain perks
without charge. You benefit by getting the feeling of a more elaborate wedding.

If you are a "do it yourselfer" and are on a tight
budget, you can follow our Free Bride’s guide with the help of your family and
friends be able to plan your wedding ceremony and reception without the help of
a wedding coordinator. All the tools you’ll need are found within this guide.

However, if you have the resources, and you are the type to get uptight and
stress or even overwhelmed by getting too many people involved, you might want
to consider hiring a professional to take the burden off your shoulders so you can enjoy making the decisions presented to you rather than being
involved in all the details of making sure that everything gets covered.

Time is also a major issue these days.
Everyone is so busy. Also you might just be overwhelmed with the idea of
coordinating such an extravagant event. If you have difficulty with
organization and /or maintaining focus, maybe hiring a professional would help
you to enjoy the process a lot more.

(When it comes to selecting your wedding invitations, you can count on our help
here at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com)