Unique Ideas For Your Beach Wedding

Sunday, July 20, 2008

My Personalized Wedding Program for a Budget Wedding

The very reason why I personalized my program is because I wanted to add special touches such as favorite poems, quotes, or photographs.

Creating your own design and customizing your own wedding program and other stationaries, is proven to be a one way of saving money - to be spent on reception or honeymoon. I am not a professional designer, but good enough to make my own. I did not really intend of making my own, however, when I started to see the result of my work I was beginning to like it and finally decided just to carry on with it.

and this is what I did... as you can see I only made 4 sheets, printed off all the details in both sides. My first idea was to make a personalized fan, but it turned out to be like "much prettier than a simple fan".

Like mine, instead of making just a ceremony program, you can create a program for the reception as well. Combine it with the ceremony program or create a separate handout for the beginning of the reception. The goal of the event program is to let people know the approximate times for things like the cake-cutting or special dances, as well as special meanings for particular events.

Please take this simple tip for you brides-to-be, just use your expertise in POWERPOINT, I made all of them by using that program.

My Wedding Planning Tips (1-8 Weeks)

My Wedding Planning Tips
(1-8 weeks before your big day)

Geeeezzz, it's getting closer and closer while you are getting more nervous! Yes it was exactly what I felt during those months, I tell you what I could even hardly sleep at nights thinking about how was it gonna be like, how things would be, and what about if I do this or not, etc... phew, with big eye bags everyday... hehehe

In theory you shouldn't be more stressful these months, because you have done all the major assignments already, do you agree with me? Well, hoping that you've managed to do all your tasks, the list that I gave you from the very start of planning stage, 6-9 months before your big day, then down to 4-6 months (its getting closer), and to 2-4 months. Now, here's what you should be doing this period in time:

1) Creating a seating chart for the reception.
2) Contact all vendors to confirm all details and set a timeline for the wedding day.
3) Have your final dress fitting with shoes, headpiece, jewelry and lingerie.
4) Compose your vows, if desired.
5) Write a toast to give at the rehearsal dinner or during the reception.
6) Visit salon for one last haircut and color.

7) Arrange for dress to be picked up or delivered.
8) Organize all wedding-day payments and gratuities in envelopes and choose who will distribute them.
9) Deliver final head count to the caterer.
10) Take care of last-minute beauty treatments, including waxing, facial, manicure and pedicure.
11) Finalize and organize all the accessories.
12) Pack for the honeymoon.

My Wedding Planning Tips (2-4 Months)

My Wedding Planning Tips
(2-4 months before your big day)

Based on my own experience, I should say that these months were the most hectic period for me, since all those things that you have started 6-9 months ago need to be finalized, would mean for you to go back from all the list you've done months back then. From 4-6 months, 6-9 months and from the very start.

List below are the things you need to do:

1) Mail out your invitations. - I did mine exactly 4 months before our wedding since ours was wedding abroad, giving enough time for them to book their flights and accommodations in Mauritius.

2) Contact the town/city or the place where you are going to get married - clerk's office to inquire about marriage-license requirements. It is pretty much easier for those having their wedding locally, was difficult for us because ours was outside Philippines & the UK.

3) Choose attire for the groom and groomsmen and place orders.
4) Choose and order wedding favors.
5) Order the wedding cake.
6) Select the ceremony and reception music.
7) Shop for attendants' gifts.
8) Choose and order items for welcome baskets if you're giving them.
9) Confirm group hotel rates for out-of-town or out-of-the country guests.
10) Do hair and makeup run-through with headpiece.
11) Decide on any necessary insurance-policy changes for you and the groom.

My Wedding Planning Tips (4-6 Months)

My Wedding Planning Tips
(4-6 months before your big day)

Now you are ready to go to the next step, after having been busy of sorting out your assignments from the past few months, just take a deep breath and be ready for your next one, which is your 4-6 months before the big day stage!

1) Place order for all wedding stationery: invitations, envelopes, thank-you notes. As for myself, I did make them all myself. If you know how to use Microsoft Powerpoint then you'll have the chance to save much money for your reception or other things you might need.

2) Book a caligrapher, if using one. I didn't apply this one and what I did was, just printing all the envelopes from my computer, format them based on your envelope size and that's it.

3) Meet with cake bakers and schedule tastings. We just booked ours at the hotel.

4) Make wedding-day appointments for hair and makeup, as well as a run-through four to eight weeks prior to the date. I did my run-though in the Philippines and my final one was in Mauritius done by completely different approach & style, but it turned alright.

5) Research accommodations and group rates for out-of-town guests. I did negotiate if with you travel agent in South Africa, she was very helpful indeed!

6) Finalize the guest list. Yes, because you need to inform the caterer, hotel or the venue for the total number of guests.

7) Plan the honeymoon and reserve flights, hotel rooms and a rental car. This is very important especially for a destination wedding. I had to book ours at least 4 months in advance, otherwise you'll panic.

8) Plan the rehearsal dinner. This is optional, if you feel there's a need then go for it.

My Wedding Planning Tips (6-9 Months)

My Wedding Planning Tips
(6-9 months before your big day)

Well, after you made up your mind (on my first planning tips), now you are ready to go to the next step of your planning stage - falling unto 6-9 months before the big day!

1) Book a caterer. Ours was the hotel itself, so it is quite of an advantage if you just book it from where you hold you wedding, only when you have a wedding at a certain hotel (like having a garden wedding) or a beach wedding.

2) Register for wedding gifts. Well, we omitted this one because we didn't want gifts. Our motto was like - YOUR PRESENCE IS YOUR PRESENT!

3) Order your gown and schedule fittings. Mine was quite funny, because my designer had to wait for 2 months before the wedding until he finally got my measurements. I had flown all the way from Africa to Philippines (I files an interruption only to finalize).

4) Purchase your shoes, headpiece, jewelry and lingerie for the wedding day. I purchased my shoes at amazon online, so as the rest of them.

5) Choose bridesmaids' dresses. My designer in Philippines looked after their dresses, so find yourself a reliable designer.

6) Choose your photographer and videographer, and schedule engagement portraits, if desired. It was been taken cared of by the hotel where we stayed! But we had to choose from various packages they offered.

7) Select your floral designer and schedule a meeting. Try to get in touch a flower shop which is close to the venue.

8) Select musicians for the ceremony and reception.

9) Begin exploring honeymoon options. We stayed for another 2 weeks in Mauritius for our honeymoon. Will be posting just our honeymoon story.

10) Send out save-the-date cards if desired. I designed ours myself, by using Powerpoint program, will write about it to give you an idea how to do it yourself..

My Wedding Planning Tips for the Brides

To be honest with you ladies, I was feeling a bit nervous as early as after having got engaged! You probably going to ask me why? Because I knew for sure that it was going to be very difficult for me to organize due to the fact that I am here working in Angola, in the middle of the bushes, no wedding shops, not even a single wedding planner you can talk to, etc.. So in short, I was a bit scared if I was going to make it! But, I was given myself at least one year to finish everything, which was just enough time.

To all who have just been ENGAGED and confused where to start? Here's some of my tips for you ladies:

FIRST THINGS FIRST:
1) Share the news of your engagement with family and close friends.
2) Announce your engagement in the local newspaper or start sharing the good news it to your friends.
3) Set a budget. Establish who will be able to contribute and how much.

4) Set the date.

5) Meet with potential wedding planners or event designers and organizers if you anticipate using one.

6) Choose your ceremony and reception sites.
7) Interview officiants.
8) Establish the number of guests you'd like to invite, and compile a list with input from both sets of parents.
9) Choose your maid of honor, best man and other attendants.

10) Start shopping for your gown.

11) Begin a pre-wedding beauty regimen to improve your complexion.
12) Schedule any beauty treatments (facials, waxing, brow-shaping, teeth-whitening) that you'd like to have the next few months.

More to follow and happy planning...

Wedding Preparations - Questions to Ask

Take some of these ideas that worked for me when I started planning our wedding:

Indeed, planning a wedding is a full time job! But it doesn't necessarily mean you have to resign from you job. All you have is to sit down with your future husband, discuss together all the basic details that you need to finalize even before going further to your preparation stage. Planning should be done by two of you, try to get him involve with every details that you are going to take, and try to enjoy planning together.

Dream of having a getaway wedding but unsure of where to start? Knowing the right questions to ask is key to creating a successful faraway wedding and avoiding a lot of stress! Our list of questions will guide you through the planning process.

1) PICKING A DESTINATION:
a. What is your ultimate getaway-wedding destination? Do you know all the requirements for obtaining a marriage license?
b. When marrying within the United States, call the county marriage license bureau of the city or town in which you are having the ceremony; ask for explicit guidelines regarding birth certificates, health tests, and proof of divorce (if applicable).
c. What is the ideal time of year to visit your preferred destination? When will the best weather and best prices coincide? And can you save money by marrying during the off-season?

2) FINDING YOUR WEDDING STYLE:
a. What kind of a celebration are you planning on having? Do you want a simple cake-and-champagne party or a seated dinner-and-dancing reception?
b. Are you comfortable handling details yourselves, or do you want to hand things over to a wedding specialist (on-site coordinator or destination wedding planner)? Is there an on-site wedding coordinator who can take care of last-minute details and answer guests' questions and/or concerns? Will that person be available to you on your wedding day?

3) INVITING GUESTS:
a. How many people are you inviting? Will everyone pay for their own airfare and accommodations, or will you cover some or all of the cost?
b. Have you sent out save-the-date cards? This is especially important for getaway weddings: Guests will need to know your plans well in advance to start figuring it out if they can make the trip and, if so, begin arranging their own travel and accommodation plans.
c. Will someone on the guest list be in charge of making sure gifts, the gown, and anything else that came from home gets shipped back to your return address?

4) SITE OR VENUE:
a. How many other people will be marrying at the location on the same day? If there are multiple weddings, will any interfere with yours, and if so in what way?
b. How many days in advance of the ceremony should you arrive? In other words, what needs to be taken care of and how much time do you need to accomplish this in the days before your wedding (such as obtaining a marriage license) that you cannot do from afar?
c. How many can attend the ceremony? Is there a charge for those not staying at the chosen location (applicable if you marry at a resort, for example)? Are children allowed?
d. Does your location offer honeymoon specials (applicable if you are marrying and honeymooning in the same place) that could alleviate cost and commotion, and make things more convenient for you? e. Does the location offer free weddings with honeymoons of a certain length (often the case at all-inclusive resorts)? This could be a great incentive, especially if you're having a quick, elopement-type wedding ceremony.

5) DESTINATION WEDDING CONSULTANTS: Is the consultant familiar or experienced with your chosen destination? How many weddings has she/he created there?

My Wedding Preparations

I tell you what, planning my wedding was the most stressful yet exciting months in my entire life!

YES, it is very true! Planning a wedding should be exciting, not hectic. The best wedding professionals are booked up to two years in advance. Mine was not even one year! Start making contacts today by browsing through wedding websites and clicking on the links that interest you. This idea gives you instant access to scores of wedding professionals who can help you make all the right planning decisions and offer suggestions to save you both time and money.

But before anything else, and even before I started looking browsing ideas from the internet:=

1) We had to talk and decide as what type/style of wedding would be ours? We said, it should be unique, and was it going to be a church, garden or beach wedding?

2) Also, we had to choose between Philippines, London and South Africa in consideration of the places where our guests would come from.

These two main factors had drawn us our attention to pick the best place in between these three major places of choices. It took us more than 3 months to decide the place, and we decided to have a BEACH WEDDING IN MAURITIUS! First thing came to my mind was, wow how exciting would that be and I was so so excited back then, to imagine myself walking by the beach.

I felt "I was the luckiest woman from among I've known" hehehe.... want more stories? of course will tell you about how romantic was it to get married by the beach.....