It's been several months since my last post (Dec 08 in fact) and while I apologise for my lengthy absence from blogging, I'm back in the saddle and ready to ride. Er, post that is.
Yesterday I was asked by a friend if all brides and grooms exchange gifts just prior to their wedding. While not "all" brides and grooms exchange gifts, certainly some do, and those gifts run the gamut from grooms gifting their brides with jewelry to wear for the wedding, to brides gifting grooms with a wedding morning massage.
There really are no set rules, no specific dollar amount to be spent, no special plans that "must be" made. The gifts could be as simple as a favorite photo of the two of you framed in a lovely leather frame, suitable for the office. It might be a book by a favored author with a loving inscription inside the front cover. Then again, budgets permitting, a groom might gift his bride with a stunning pair of diamond earrings to wear for their wedding, or a bride might gift her groom with a watch inscribed with their wedding date or some words of love.
The point here is that it's the thought that counts, not the dollar amount or making this gift exchange about yet another thing on the list that has to be attended to. Give a gift if your budget and time allow it and your heart so moves you. Give it the day of the rehearsal, or after the rehearsal dinner, or the morning of the wedding, or have one of your attendants deliver your gift while your spouse-to-be dresses for the ceremony.
Looking for something a bit more intimate? Consider exchanging gifts in a private moment right after the ceremony before continuing on to the reception. This is your first official gift to your husband or wife and as such will have even more significance. I happen to be a woman who believes a few heartfelt, handwritten words carry more weight than gold. So my favorite gift from my husband will forever remain the wedding vows he wrote and signed. To this day that remains my most cherished gift from the man who is himself ... the greatest gift.
Lori Lamb
Love U Mean It
Showing posts with label ceremony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ceremony. Show all posts
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Thursday, November 6, 2008
What I've learned from weddings
As a wedding planner, it's my job to remain objective and professional while planning and organizing the happy couple's big day. It's also fair to say that from time to time, pure emotion and romantic fervor enter the picture and throw objectivity (temporarily) out the window.
Weddings and the emotions they sometimes generate often defy explanation ... even for well seasoned wedding goers and planners such as myself. Because the wedding I planned and executed this past weekend is still so fresh in my mind, I offer these observations;
* No woman is so beautiful as a woman in love and about to marry the man of her dreams.
* The Father/Daughter dance is guaranteed to make me cry.
* Always have tissues handy for those who thought themselves too unemotional to need them.
* No matter when your last wedding dress fitting occured, THE DRESS will need some minor adjustment on wedding day. Have safety pins, needle and thread handy.
* Including a map with the invite does not guarantee guests won't get lost.
* For some guests, an invite stating a 3:30pm ceremony will still be interpreted as "3:30 ISH"
* Grooms cry too. Tuck a tissue (or three) in his tux pocket. He'll thank you silently.
* Sometimes the best vows are the ones you write just before you say them.
* Ditto for toasts.
* An officiant with a sense of humor is a good thing.
* Always scuff the soles of new shoes.
* Holding the bachelor & bachelorettes parties two nights before the wedding isn't just good planning, it's critical for "hang-over avoidance".
* Shout wipes and Tide pens are a wedding planners best friends.
* All the planning in the world can't overcome the last minute snafu. Go with the flow. Don't sweat the small stuff. Breathe.
Planning a wedding can be a time consuming, headache-inducing, money-swallowing, tearful experience. It can also be a joyous, glorious, beautiful, laugh-fest of love. It's your choice how you approach the experience. A little patience, an honest appreciation for your budget, and a thorough wedding planner can help ease the pain and expand the pleasure. Wedding planning is above all else, a labor of love.
I've loved every single minute of the past nine months working on the Willeford/Sepp wedding.
Congratulations to Tyler and Amy,
Love U Mean It!
Lori Lamb
Weddings and the emotions they sometimes generate often defy explanation ... even for well seasoned wedding goers and planners such as myself. Because the wedding I planned and executed this past weekend is still so fresh in my mind, I offer these observations;
* No woman is so beautiful as a woman in love and about to marry the man of her dreams.
* The Father/Daughter dance is guaranteed to make me cry.
* Always have tissues handy for those who thought themselves too unemotional to need them.
* No matter when your last wedding dress fitting occured, THE DRESS will need some minor adjustment on wedding day. Have safety pins, needle and thread handy.
* Including a map with the invite does not guarantee guests won't get lost.
* For some guests, an invite stating a 3:30pm ceremony will still be interpreted as "3:30 ISH"
* Grooms cry too. Tuck a tissue (or three) in his tux pocket. He'll thank you silently.
* Sometimes the best vows are the ones you write just before you say them.
* Ditto for toasts.
* An officiant with a sense of humor is a good thing.
* Always scuff the soles of new shoes.
* Holding the bachelor & bachelorettes parties two nights before the wedding isn't just good planning, it's critical for "hang-over avoidance".
* Shout wipes and Tide pens are a wedding planners best friends.
* All the planning in the world can't overcome the last minute snafu. Go with the flow. Don't sweat the small stuff. Breathe.
Planning a wedding can be a time consuming, headache-inducing, money-swallowing, tearful experience. It can also be a joyous, glorious, beautiful, laugh-fest of love. It's your choice how you approach the experience. A little patience, an honest appreciation for your budget, and a thorough wedding planner can help ease the pain and expand the pleasure. Wedding planning is above all else, a labor of love.
I've loved every single minute of the past nine months working on the Willeford/Sepp wedding.
Congratulations to Tyler and Amy,
Love U Mean It!
Lori Lamb
Monday, August 18, 2008
Tell me again why I need a Wedding Planner
A wedding planner helps engaged couples coordinate the logistics of a wedding day. It sounds simple doesn't it? And it can be, if you have a wedding planner who believes that weddings aren't cookie-cutter events. While no bride really wants to be a "Bridezilla", there's no reason every bride can't have Her Day - Her Way.
Here's how I can help you ensure that your wedding vision becomes your reality;
Typically, a wedding planner's services include the following:
* several meetings with the couple to establish the couples vision and theme for the wedding as
well as to learn their expectations, needs, and to review their budget
* phone and email contact
* reviewing wedding vendor contracts to establish vendor obligations
* calling vendors to confirm details such as time of arrival and extent of services
* creating a timeline to schedule the events of the wedding day
* coordinate the wedding rehearsal
* provide in-person coordination of the events of the wedding day at the wedding venue
Many weddings are so elaborate that the bride can go crazy trying to organize it all by herself. This is where a wedding planner can be helpful. The planner is usually hired by a bride, and therefore treated as a vendor who has promised to deliver a service. The planner will stay in constant contact with the bride throughout the entire wedding planning phase, sense when there is a problem, and find a way to take care of it so as not to further stress the bride.
Wedding planners may actually be able to save the bride some money, even with their own fees factored in. Many planners have relationships with specific venues and/or vendors, and by providing them with multiple clients, may be able to receive discounted services .
Wedding planners usually have a thorough knowledge of a specific city/area, which may benefit brides monetarily as well. Planners know which venues are worth the money, and which are too good to be true, ensuring that the bride gets a fair value for the money she's spending.
Are you a bride who prefers to do the planning yourself? Do you just want someone to take the reins on the wedding day itself? I can help!
As a Day of Coordinator (or DOC's), a wedding planner is hired to work only on the wedding day, instead of the whole planning period. This way, the couple has total control over every aspect of the wedding, but has the ease of mind letting someone else make sure it comes together on the big day.
Like full blown wedding planners, DOC's are responsible for catching and troubleshooting any issues that may arise on the wedding day, so that the couple is free to focus on what they need to do personally to get ready.
This year, 21 percent of those marrying will use a wedding planner, according to Shane McMurray, author of the Wedding Report, a market research website.
There are so many components of a wedding - from the ceremony, to all the activities that take place during the reception. A wedding planner makes sure that you keep on schedule, maintain a great flow, handle any crises that may arise and make sure the day is worry and stress free for you.
Love U Mean It believes that every bride deserves to have her day - her way, and I'm here to help you do just that.
Contact me at L.U.M.I@cox.net to schedule an appointment to meet to discuss how my talents can best serve your needs. Since no two brides are exactly alike, all of my wedding planning packages are customized to your personal needs, with fees based accordingly.
Let Love U Mean It give you Your Day - Your Way!
Lori
Here's how I can help you ensure that your wedding vision becomes your reality;
Typically, a wedding planner's services include the following:
* several meetings with the couple to establish the couples vision and theme for the wedding as
well as to learn their expectations, needs, and to review their budget
* phone and email contact
* reviewing wedding vendor contracts to establish vendor obligations
* calling vendors to confirm details such as time of arrival and extent of services
* creating a timeline to schedule the events of the wedding day
* coordinate the wedding rehearsal
* provide in-person coordination of the events of the wedding day at the wedding venue
Many weddings are so elaborate that the bride can go crazy trying to organize it all by herself. This is where a wedding planner can be helpful. The planner is usually hired by a bride, and therefore treated as a vendor who has promised to deliver a service. The planner will stay in constant contact with the bride throughout the entire wedding planning phase, sense when there is a problem, and find a way to take care of it so as not to further stress the bride.
Wedding planners may actually be able to save the bride some money, even with their own fees factored in. Many planners have relationships with specific venues and/or vendors, and by providing them with multiple clients, may be able to receive discounted services .
Wedding planners usually have a thorough knowledge of a specific city/area, which may benefit brides monetarily as well. Planners know which venues are worth the money, and which are too good to be true, ensuring that the bride gets a fair value for the money she's spending.
Are you a bride who prefers to do the planning yourself? Do you just want someone to take the reins on the wedding day itself? I can help!
As a Day of Coordinator (or DOC's), a wedding planner is hired to work only on the wedding day, instead of the whole planning period. This way, the couple has total control over every aspect of the wedding, but has the ease of mind letting someone else make sure it comes together on the big day.
Like full blown wedding planners, DOC's are responsible for catching and troubleshooting any issues that may arise on the wedding day, so that the couple is free to focus on what they need to do personally to get ready.
This year, 21 percent of those marrying will use a wedding planner, according to Shane McMurray, author of the Wedding Report, a market research website.
There are so many components of a wedding - from the ceremony, to all the activities that take place during the reception. A wedding planner makes sure that you keep on schedule, maintain a great flow, handle any crises that may arise and make sure the day is worry and stress free for you.
Love U Mean It believes that every bride deserves to have her day - her way, and I'm here to help you do just that.
Contact me at L.U.M.I@cox.net to schedule an appointment to meet to discuss how my talents can best serve your needs. Since no two brides are exactly alike, all of my wedding planning packages are customized to your personal needs, with fees based accordingly.
Let Love U Mean It give you Your Day - Your Way!
Lori
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