Wedding Timeline

12 - 16 Months before the wedding

Choose a wedding date
Discuss & Choose the style and formality of your wedding
Decide on a wedding budget*
Hire a wedding consultant *
Select a ceremony location
Select a reception site
Start shopping for a wedding gown

8 - 10 Months before the wedding

Select your bridal party
Interview and Hire the following:*
Wedding officiant*
Reception Caterer *( if the reception site does not offer catering)
Photographer and Videographer*
Band or DJ*
Decide on bridesmaids dresses
Start compiling names & addresses for the guest list
Sign up for a gift registry
Engagement party*

5 - 7 Months before the wedding

Finalize the guest list
Shop for your wedding stationery (invitations, thank you)
Arrange accommodations for out of town guests if there are any*
Select your wedding cake
Begin preparations for your honeymoon*

4 Months before the wedding

Book your florist*
Shop for your wedding bands

3 Months before the wedding

Send out your invitations
Select tuxedos
Arrange for rental of items*
Discuss finalized menu options and costs with your caterer*
Arrange transportation/ limousine service*
Order wedding favors if having any*
Shop for bridal party gifts

2 Months before the wedding

Choose your wedding music
Select a location for your rehearsal dinner*
Confirm with formal wear shop*
Schedule your alterations
Schedule fittings for the bridesmaids and flower girl.
Confirm your order with the florist*

1 Month before the wedding

Design your wedding programs if you are having them*
Apply for your marriage license
Have a final gown fitting
Choose all of your wedding accessories
Visit your hair stylist
Visit your make-up artist
Hair & make-up done, have your formal bridal portraits done.
Discuss and finalize details with wedding service providers*

2 Weeks before the wedding

Give the caterer a finalized head count*
Give your DJ or Band a list of songs*
Confirm rehearsal plans*
Complete floor and seating plan*
Confirm all rental and floral delivery dates and times*

1 Week before the wedding

Make any last minute seating arrangements/adjustments*
Organize your wedding day attire
Confirm honeymoon reservations*
Confirm reservations for out-of-town guests*
Pack for your honeymoon.
Gather all necessary documents for travel
Confirm rehearsal plans with attendants*
Confirm reservations for the rehearsal dinner*
Pick up formalwear

YOUR WEDDING DAY!

Eat Something!
Get your hair and make-up done
Have someone check the reception site*
Dress for your wedding.
Have candid photos taken with family
Enjoy, you've worked hard

****Any of the items marked with an astrisk can be handled by your coordinator should you have one. That will alleviate the stress on you the day of and the weeks before****

Q&A: Wedding Details: Can We Afford a Consultant?

Q.

We're not sure if we can afford the services of a wedding consultant, but we desperately need help -- we both work full time and our jobs require frequent travel on the weekends. What are our options?

A.

The good news: Skilled wedding consultants are trained to work within a variety of budgets. While it's true that many are hired on a soup-to-nuts, start-to-finish basis (which can get expensive), wedding consultants can facilitate wedding planning in other capacities too. For example, you can schedule a consultation where the consultant provides a blueprint -- usually a preparation guide and a list of trustworthy, talented vendors to check out. You can also hire a wedding consultant to oversee things on the evening before and actual day of the wedding. Or you can contract a wedding consultant to work with you on a freelance basis (to scout out a location, and advise on catering firms and florists, for example), in which case they're paid by the hour. These selective services should run quite a bit less than full-service help. Note that the billing process depends on your coordinator: Some consultants charge by the hour, others charge a flat fee depending on what you need them for. So make a list of things you know you want the consultant to handle, then call a few to see what they charge.

mdfriedman13
I did the exact thing. Honestly my friends and everyone were offering to help and it was great but at the end of the day I really want everyone to be able to relax and have fun at the party and not have to worry about the details. I found someone I feel comfortable with that will do a great job and when I need her to do something I know she'll do it and do it right. She'll even take care of things I don't need or want to know about which is great. Hoping to have a very carefree day and I believe worth every penny.

ohla
I've worked as a wedding coordinator's assistant and I am now planning my wedding in May. It is the best money you will ever spend, believe me. If you can only afford her for the "day of", DO IT. We've done weddings where everyone was willing to help, but as the event goes on, your helpers want to party and have a good time. Hire someone who know her sole purpose for being there is to get it done beautifully. You won't regret it...

As published by The Knot.Com

Bridal Shower Game

So I was at a bridal shower over the weekend and they played a great game. Sometimes shower games are not all there cracked up to be, we've played them all many times and are very familiar with dress up like a bride using toilet paper, wear a clip and you not able to say thename of the bride or groom. Don't get me wrong there fun but well over played. Well at this shower I can honestly say I have never played this game before. The bridesmaids asked the groom a list of 16 questions in which they asked the bride to be. For every question the bride to be got wrong she had to chew bubble gum, not a stick of trident but real hubba bubba chewing gum and in different flavors let me add. So after not getting 7 of the questions correct her mouth was full of the most disgusting flavors of gum you can imagine. It was also very funny because since she had these pieces of gum in her mouth we could not understand her answers on some of the questions. It was extremely funny to listen to her and a great game to be played at a shower. A few of us also disgused playing this game at an anniversary party with the couple to see how well do they STILL know each other after how many years. There are pictures from this shower I will post soon!!!

Date Selection Tip

This is just a tip:

When setting your date be somewhat flexible, as I have learned if you are having the ceremony and reception at the same location both venues may not be available for the same day. I came across this at a certain location where they had a really cute house as the bridal suite that lead out to one of the ceremony sites. They had numerous ceremony sites but only one "bridal suite" which makes it difficult there are more than one weddding at this location. They only allow one bride to use the bridal suite the day of the wedding. That was just this particuliar site, also if you do not book early your desired date could as well be booked. So try to pick maybe a couple dates that work for you to have available so you will not be upset when your first date is booked.

Ana & Miguel- Venue Selected

Castaways in Burbank sits ontop a hill and overlooks the Burbank valley. This is the location Ana & Miguel have choosen for their special day. At night the views from this location are absolutely beautiful with the city lights in the background. This is our first mission accomplished, next we are on to the engagement photo session.

Ana & Miguel- Visiting Venues

Today we visited to venues in Burbank, Pickwick Gardens and Calamigos Ranch. Both were very nice venues, all though the smell of being at the equestrian was not something I would want to smell during the ceremony. The banquet rooms are very nice size depending on the amount of guests you would be having. There Grand Prix room is really nice with a fireplace and lights over the dance floor that reflect the mirrored ceiling. The White House is very beautiful house that has a room for the Bride to get ready in and enter the ceremony site at the Garden Courtyard. Here is the link to look at photos of this location, decorated nicely it would be beautiful if you didn't mind the smell. http://www.calamigosequestrian.com/calamigos_home.htm.
The Pickwick Gardens to my amazment was also very nice. As a young person I frequesntly went here to either bowl or ice skate and I was not aware the gardens existed. I was a little concerned about the smell since being so close to the equestrian area, but you could not smell anything. The grounds were very lush with beautiful flowers and fountains and walkways. The amount of trees that would be blooming during the time of year Ana & Miguel would have their wedding would be gorgeous. Their banquet rooms were also nice, one in particuliar had views of the grounds all lit up at night and big windows doecorating the ceiling with swag linens would make the room more intimate. Here is there website too, these pictures though do not do it justice you need to see it in person to appreciate how nice it really is. http://www.pickwickgardensconferencecenter.com/california-garden-wedding-reception.htm They have also looked at Castaways in Burbank which is known for their amazing views. At this point Ana and Miguel have to deceid on a guest list count that works within their budget so we can move forward to secure a location. We need to figure which location will be the best for the money and also offer what they want for there special day. More to come from the two of them....

Sherwood Country Club

Sherwood Country Club is amazing!!!! It is absolutley beautiful. I talked to the events coordinator today Michelle and she said they are having a Platinum Wedding there soon. I can only imagine how gorgeous this will be. I was looking at it for Ana & Miguel, let's see if it makes it in the running. I just wanted to share this beautiful spot.

Bridal Showers

So my bride is having her first bridal shower in a week. She told the maid of honour to add to the guest list people who are not invited to the wedding. So how do you handle this situation, one of the guests of the shower who is not invited to the wedding approached the bride and asked about purchasing something personal a few weeks back, then recently asked the bride about buying a gift for the wedding. The bride does not know what to say to this, since this guest is not invited to the wedding. Do you let it go, and she will realize when she does not get an invitation to the wedding? Do you have the Maid of Honour say something to her since she did the invitng? Hmmmm.....

***Answer***

We(mother of the bride and I ) have talked about it and came to the conclusion that maybe this person would not mind coming to the wedding as a helper. The Maid of Honour will have to confirm that she is ok with all of this granted, but if so we could use the help. So at this point the Maid of Honour does not think it will be a big deal to the guest that she is not invited, since she knows her well enough we are going to go with that. If things change the invitation to help out still stands.

Ana & Miguel

Ana and Miguel got engaged a few months ago. The planning was on hold since Ana is a teacher and works on the track system. Last month Ana was off and began her search for locations, as some of you know looking for locations can be really time comsuming and exhausting. After picking a few places she kind of gave up and just wanted to go to Vegas. I had to offer my services to her because I knew she wanted to have a Wedding that represented the two of them. So I offered to make there reservations at locations I felt suited her and Miguel. So while on vacation I did just that, I set up appointments for them to go look at locations this coming weekend and next. Mind you I still am on vacation with my family and still took time out to spend with them but also managed to schedule the appointments I needed too. So this is where we stand: 1. visit locations and see if we can pick one, 2. Find out which photographer Ana would like to use as well as hair and make up and schedule engagement photos. This is her trial run for her wedding using them for engagement photos. If you don't like something about them you can always get another hair or makeup person and use them for your showers also, so you can make a decision before the big day. I will post engagement photos as soon as they are taken...I will definately keep you posted on the process of this wedding. The Wedding Date is June 19, 2010.

Mckenna & Seth

So Seth and Mckenna met when they were both 15 yrs. old. Little did they know that after 6 years of knowing each other that they would end up getting married. Seth is from Nebraska and Mckenna is a L.A. girl. Seth dropped everything for McKenna and moved here to be closer to her, now how is that for following the love of your life. I mean moving from a small town in Nebraska and coming here to Los Angeles CRAZY!!! Just driving here is insane. Anyway back to my couple....So in January of this year after dating "officially" for 5 1/2 months Seth popped the question while at a weekend at Disneyland. Mckenna was so excited needless to say!!!! So now let the planning begin with the wedding being in May, there was not alot of time to get alot of things done. We are coming up on less then 50 days til the big day and all th emajor planning is done! The Dress..Done, Suits..Done, Location..Done, Flowers..Done, Photographer..Done, Bridesmaid Dresses...Done, Catering..Done, Officiant..Done, Transportation..Done All that's left is a few decorations and the beverages. Here are a few of there Engagment Photos.... The Soon~To~Be~ Mr. & Mrs. Hyatt