Wedding Invitations

There’s a new reality television series on Lifetime now called Top This Party. It’s hilarious to watch because these people who are too rich for their own good are so unrealistic. Mind you they didn’t get where they’re at by thinking small, but some of the things they come up with are so out there. The crazy thing is they actually expect it whether it means breaking the law or defying the laws of physics to get it.

For example, there was this one lady and her assistant that wanted to throw a party on a yacht and actually bring live lions and an elephant on board. I can see that going well on this tiny vessel. It was big but not that big for those kinds of animals and all those people. Disaster would have been certain. Not only that, they wanted to roast an entire pig right there on the deck. Obviously the coast guard wouldn’t allow an open flame on board a vessel like that, so that wasn’t going to happen either. These ladies were so upset with the party planner not being able to make that happen (as if it were his fault) they were constantly threatening to cancel. Each alternative idea they came up with was just as unrealistic. The poor guy came up with numerous ideas, but they shot him down each time and game him nothing to work with. It was so frustrating.

You may be wondering “what does this have to do with wedding etiquette?” Well, wedding planners have to handle the same kind of eccentric ideas and cater to unrealistic people all the time. You may be one of them. So the moral of the wedding etiquette story is…It’s ok to think big, but be realistic and don’t get mad at your wedding planner when it’s something they have no control over. And please, please, please, give them something to work with.

I realized that after yesterdays wedding etiquette “tipping” blog, I left things pretty vague. The big question that still remained was “how much money am I really looking at for the tipping?”

Below is directly quoted from “Wedding Planning For Dummies” to help give you a better idea of what to expect.

                      
Banquet manager $200 and up (or personal gift…)
Bartender (head) $50 and up
Bathroom attendant $1 to $2 per guest or flat fee…
Chef $100 and up
Coatroom attendant $1 to $2 per guest or flat fee…
Hair dresser 10 to 20 percent of fee, depending on heads
Maitre d’ or head waiter 1 to 3 percent of food and beverage fee, depending on number of guests and amount of bill…
Makeup person 10 to 20 percent of fee, depending on number of faces
Musicians (ceremony) 15 percent of fee
Musicians (reception) $25 to $50 per member, especially if guests make numerous requests     
Parking attendants $1 to $2 per car; or 15 percent of bill for valet parking (usually included in bill)
Photographer $100 for extraordinary service if you’re paying a flat rate with no overtime fee
Tailor 10 percent of fee
Transportation Driver $25 additional for van or bus driver; 18 to 20 percent for limo (usually on bill) plus $25 for exceptional service
Wedding Planner 15 percent of fee; 15 to 20 percent if charged hourly or just for the wedding day; or a personal gift

(Some people and services were left out in order for the blog not to become a novel).
                     

Just when I thought I had seen all the “For Dummies” books, I ran into “Wedding Planning For Dummies”. It is actually a very good book packed full of information and wedding etiquette info. I think if you read it, you’ll find it’ll save you a lot of wedding headache down the road. If you’re penny pinching, saving for your wedding, you may get lucky and find it at your local library like I did. 

The very first page I opened to was a list of people and services to tip. It’s amazing how many people there are to tip. There’s no way the average Joe would know, if no one informed them or if they didn’t read a list. Many people understandably assume that the fees cover everything and don’t even think about all the extra tipping.

On top of the normal fees for the services provided, a 15-20% gratuity is generally considered appropriate.  Looking at the list and adding it up in my head, I thought “no wonder people decide to elope”. (No I’m not making any suggestions).  Of course not everything on the list will necessarily apply to your wedding.

Here’s just a small example of people to tip:
- Chef
- Bathroom attendants 
- Parking Attendants
- Tailor
- etc. etc. etc.

Remember to include tipping into your wedding budget. If you have a wedding planner, you can often have him/or dispense the tips so you don’t have to worry about it when you should be focusing on other things. 

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

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.

Every bride knows that her guest’s first impression of her
wedding comes from her wedding invitations as that is the first thing they see
regarding her wedding. The wedding invitations not only set the tone for the
event but also convey the couple personalities. It’s easy for brides to feel
overwhelmed by the choices not to mention the wedding etiquette that should be
followed. For most brides this is the first big event they have ever planned.
It doesn’t have to be that way.

At least when it comes to planning your wedding invitations, it is important to
go to someone with experience helping brides specifically with invitations. A
wedding planner has some experience in many facets of planning a wedding but
planning all the ins and outs of wedding invitation wording, etc., is a highly
specialized field and you really are best off consulting someone who sells
wedding invitations and provides unlimited help when it some to the proper
wording, selecting the type of invitation to fit your wedding theme, etc.

Here at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com, we have been helping brides for
over 8 years and would love to have the opportunity to help you as well. Give
us a call at any time at our toll free number (800-214-8990) where we are
available from 9-5 M-F Eastern time. Be sure to experiment with your selection
and wording on out website. You can see your wording through a virtual proof
and play with it by switching out different font styles and ink color. It
really is a fun experience. You can save what you have created and come back
later to edit as you please.

More on selecting wedding invitations and accessories next time.

Every bride knows that her guest’s first impression of her
wedding comes from her wedding invitations as that is the first thing they see
regarding her wedding. The wedding invitations not only set the tone for the
event but also convey the couple personalities. It’s easy for brides to feel
overwhelmed by the choices not to mention the wedding etiquette that should be
followed. For most brides this is the first big event they have ever planned.
It doesn’t have to be that way.

At least when it comes to planning your wedding invitations, it is important to
go to someone with experience helping brides specifically with invitations. A
wedding planner has some experience in many facets of planning a wedding but
planning all the ins and outs of wedding invitation wording, etc., is a highly
specialized field and you really are best off consulting someone who sells
wedding invitations and provides unlimited help when it some to the proper
wording, selecting the type of invitation to fit your wedding theme, etc.

Here at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com, we have been helping brides for
over 8 years and would love to have the opportunity to help you as well. Give
us a call at any time at our toll free number (800-214-8990) where we are
available from 9-5 M-F Eastern time. Be sure to experiment with your selection
and wording on out website. You can see your wording through a virtual proof
and play with it by switching out different font styles and ink color. It
really is a fun experience. You can save what you have created and come back
later to edit as you please.

More on selecting wedding invitations and accessories next time.

Every bride knows that her guest’s first impression of her
wedding comes from her wedding invitations as that is the first thing they see
regarding her wedding. The wedding invitations not only set the tone for the
event but also convey the couple personalities. It’s easy for brides to feel
overwhelmed by the choices not to mention the wedding etiquette that should be
followed. For most brides this is the first big event they have ever planned.
It doesn’t have to be that way.

At least when it comes to planning your wedding invitations, it is important to
go to someone with experience helping brides specifically with invitations. A
wedding planner has some experience in many facets of planning a wedding but
planning all the ins and outs of wedding invitation wording, etc., is a highly
specialized field and you really are best off consulting someone who sells
wedding invitations and provides unlimited help when it some to the proper
wording, selecting the type of invitation to fit your wedding theme, etc.

Here at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com, we have been helping brides for
over 8 years and would love to have the opportunity to help you as well. Give
us a call at any time at our toll free number (800-214-8990) where we are
available from 9-5 M-F Eastern time. Be sure to experiment with your selection
and wording on out website. You can see your wording through a virtual proof
and play with it by switching out different font styles and ink color. It
really is a fun experience. You can save what you have created and come back
later to edit as you please.

More on selecting wedding invitations and accessories next time.

Every bride knows that her guest’s first impression of her
wedding comes from her wedding invitations as that is the first thing they see
regarding her wedding. The wedding invitations not only set the tone for the
event but also convey the couple personalities. It’s easy for brides to feel
overwhelmed by the choices not to mention the wedding etiquette that should be
followed. For most brides this is the first big event they have ever planned.
It doesn’t have to be that way.

At least when it comes to planning your wedding invitations, it is important to
go to someone with experience helping brides specifically with invitations. A
wedding planner has some experience in many facets of planning a wedding but
planning all the ins and outs of wedding invitation wording, etc., is a highly
specialized field and you really are best off consulting someone who sells
wedding invitations and provides unlimited help when it some to the proper
wording, selecting the type of invitation to fit your wedding theme, etc.

Here at www.BeautifulWeddingInvitations.com, we have been helping brides for
over 8 years and would love to have the opportunity to help you as well. Give
us a call at any time at our toll free number (800-214-8990) where we are
available from 9-5 M-F Eastern time. Be sure to experiment with your selection
and wording on out website. You can see your wording through a virtual proof
and play with it by switching out different font styles and ink color. It
really is a fun experience. You can save what you have created and come back
later to edit as you please.

More on selecting wedding invitations and accessories next time.