Ensure Children Have Fun at Your Wedding Too!

Before I get into all the fun activities you can set up for children I want to briefly discuss the etiquette for inviting children to your wedding. If you are having children in the wedding ceremony (flower girl and ring bearer) it is only polite to invite all guests’ children. Also, if guests are coming from out of town to attend your wedding it is polite to allow them to bring their children. They are already paying for their hotel room and travel expenses; they will not want to pay for a babysitter and probably will not know one in town. Although it is your day it is important to consider your guests and their families experience too! Ok now on to the fun part!...

If you are inviting children to your wedding you need to have some activities planned to keep them busy while the adults are having fun! There are many different things you can do. The option best for you depends on the location and time of your ceremony and reception.

Activities to keep the little prince and princesses happy:

1.       Hire a story teller/impersonator- this is someone who dresses up as a character and vibrantly reads stories and does other activities while in character.

An example: http://www.winnipegprincesspartiesandmore.com/

2.       Scavenger Hunt List with Disposable Camera. The children run around and find/take pictures of everything on the list.

3.       Hire a face painter- Children love face painting! You can even get the painter to use colours that match your decor or theme

4.       Have a children’s table/room or tent: You can have a movie playing, bubbles, lego, colouring books, puzzles or maybe even a simple craft project

5.       Have colouring books available at the ceremony: This is a quiet activity they can do right in their lap while you are saying your vows

6.       A Play Dough station (non toxic) with cookie cutters to make fun shapes. Check out this site for lots of fun Play Dough ideas: http://www.oneperfectdayblog.net/2012/11/23/play-dough-fun-with-christmas-cookie-cutters/

 

Note: Don’t forget to offer children friendly foods! Chicken fingers, pizza, veggies and dip and maybe some cookies for dessert are all simple and inexpensive ways to keep kids happy

I would not suggest:

1.       Hiring a balloon artist: Most likely a few children will pop their balloons and then they will be sad and start crying.

2.       Hiring a clown: Some children find them really scary.

3.       Any kind of bouncing castle or inflatable slide because that is an activity that parents will want to be make sure their children don’t get hurt.

4.       Avoid anything that children could potentially choke on

You can check out these cute websites for some more ideas:

http://bridalmusings.com/2012/03/what-to-include-in-a-kids-activity-goody-box-at-a-wedding/

http://www.kidfriendlyweddings.com/c.aspx?n=wedding-ideas-for-kids-at-weddings

Shadow Boxes! Your next addiction...I guarantee it!

I am currently addicted to Shadow Boxes. They are the greatest thing since quinoa lol. For those of you who don’t know what shadow boxes are allow me to briefly explain. A shadow box is a 3d frame that you can purchase at Michaels or maybe even Walmart that you put on your wall and fill with absolutely anything you want that will help you remember to save for an event/trip in the future.

You can make a shadow big for:

1. Your wedding
2. Your anniversary
3. Your honeymoon
4. Your next vacation
5. Your baby shower
6. Your birthday party or your children’s birthday party
7. Any Holiday: Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, Halloween

Some fun examples:

1. You really want to go to The Bahamas for your honeymoon but it is really expensive. You print out a picture of your dream honeymoon and place it in the frame. Every day you put $20 into the frame and watch as the savings grow towards your dream trip.
2. Fill the picture frame with anything that inspires you for your dream trip: magazine articles, amazing pictures, pictures of cute outfits, lists of things you want to do. Everything that relates to the trip you put into the box.
3. Your dream wedding you can gather all the business cards, pictures, colour ideas, pamphlets or anything else that inspires you for your perfect day.

Once the event occurs you take out all your inspirational material and fill the shadow box with any items from your trip or event that have sentimental value. If it is a vacation you can put a small bottle of sand, a beautiful shell and your favourite pictures. If it is your wedding you can put some flowers from your bouquet, your garter, a decoration from your tables or cake, an invitation and some pictures. The possibilities are endless!!

Check out my Pinterest account for some inspirational Shadow Box ideas: http://www.pinterest.com/firstclassevent/pins/

Michaels has many different shadow box options you can choose from (http://www.michaels.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Michaels-Site/default/Search-AdvancedSearch?cgid=entire&simplesearch=Search&q=shadow+boxes).

NEW!! WEDDING SOCIAL COORDINATION SERVICE

NEW!! WEDDING SOCIAL COORDINATION SERVICE

This is what every Manitoban Bride needs! Every bride in Manitoba will say the same thing; planning their wedding social is the most stressful part of planning their wedding. First-Class Event Planning is here to help! We have created a Wedding Social Coordination Service. This service will decrease the stress and anxiety surrounding your wedding social and allow you to relax and enjoy your party!

The Wedding Social Coordination Service includes the following features:

1. Help obtaining the liquor license for your social. I will explain what you need to do and what the regulations are.
2. I will help you determine the correct about of alcohol to purchase
3. If you provide me with all your prizes before your social date I will organize, sort and wrap them into the prize packages.
4. I will help set up your hall décor (if you choose to have any)
5. I am the “go to” person for questions, problems, concerns or complications. This enables you, your family and your wedding party to relax and enjoy the night.
6. I create the schedule for the shifts at your ticket sale table, with backup individuals scheduled in case someone does not show up. I ensure there is always someone selling the drink tickets, 50/50 draw tickets and prize tickets.
7. I monitor the cash box and ensure funds are put into the safe when needed.
8. The week of your event I meet with you and ensure you have not missed any little details.
9. A schedule will  be created for the night to ensure the DJ, food, prize announcements and any other events of the evening are completed in a timely manner.

This service includes one face-to-face meeting the week of your wedding social and I will be there the entire night making sure everything runs smoothly.

To check out some of my previous work and learn a bit more about First-Class Event Planning check out our website.
http://firstclasseventplanning.com/new-wedding-social-coordination-service/

7 TIPS TO DECREASE WEDDING PLANNING STRESS

Tip 1. Plan in advance. No matter what size your wedding is it is best to start planning early. Even if your wedding is smaller it is important to plan for problems.  Complications always come up and it is much easier to fix them when you have time on your side.

Tip 2. Research your vendors. If you do the research on your vendors you will have confidence in their work and be less stressed about the result on your wedding day. Don’t just rely on one person’s recommendation as they might have different taste and requirements then you.

Tip 3. Rely on friends and family. As a bride you want to make sure every detail of your wedding is perfect, however, you can’t do everything yourself. Trust your friends and family to help you.

Tip 4. Incorporate “chill-out” time into you planning. Make sure you and your significant other have time together to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Don’t talk about the wedding!

Tip 5. Establish boundaries at the beginning. It is important for your family and friends to understand this is your wedding and you are not going to be able to please everyone. Having a chat with everyone at the beginning of the wedding planning will make your experience a lot easier.

Tip 6. Work with your significant other. You and your groom might not agree on everything but it is important that you work as a team. The wedding is about both of you and it is important you make decisions together.

Last, but definitely not least

Tip 7. Hire a professional: I realize I am a wedding planner so I am biased, but it really is true. If you hire a full service wedding planner you will have someone with you through all the decision making and if you hire a day-of coordinator you will have someone on the day to make sure everything runs smoothly and take care of all complications. Having a wedding coordinator is a huge weight off the couples’ shoulders.

The Wonderful Wedding Show: Ideas for inspiration!

My booth at The Wonderful Wedding Show. I was going for romantic with a hint of royal. The gold and plum purple really add that royal feeling and the champagne and diamonds add that bit of romance. I also wanted the display to be a bit fun and not too serious so I got a kindof wild centerpiece.

Etiquette Advice for Second Weddings

If you are getting remarried you are probably wondering what the proper etiquette is? Should you have bridesmaids or no? What kind of dress should you wear? What size should the wedding be? You might find yourself always wondering whether what you are doing is proper or improper.

Now that second or third marriages are becoming more common there is almost a stereotype around what the first wedding and second wedding should look like. For your first wedding you should have the Cinderella dress with a big reception and for the second wedding you should have a small intimate setting with a more subtle dress.  There are people who believe it is tacky to have two big weddings.

I personally do not agree with any of these stereotypes. Maybe you got married young and had a big wedding because you knew your dad was paying for it. It might also be that your first wedding was a more subtle small occasion because you were young and did not have the biggest budget and now for your second wedding you want a grand affair! If you are now a bit wiser and want to have another extravagant wedding, I say go for it! I do not think a Bride should feel like she has to conform what she wants on her Wedding day to fit some rules. If you think you found the love of your life and want to have a big party to celebrate then you should!

One area of etiquette that should not be ignored is around gifts. An encore marriage should not expect gifts for a second time; however, a supportive and enthusiastic family will usually give gifts anyways. It is acceptable to have a second bridal shower if someone offers to host it, however, a second time bride should not expect a bridal shower.

At the end of the day there really are no set rules. If you decide to go with a big celebration with a big dress for a second or third wedding it is probably more likely that people will gossip about it, but unfortunately that is just what people do. Ignore the possibility of gossip and plan your dream day!

For services to help coordinate your second wedding check out our website: http://firstclasseventplanning.com/wedding-planning/partial-wedding-planning/

The Art of Being A Confident Bride

For some reason every woman has an image of exactly what they are supposed to look like on their wedding day. The second a lady gets engaged they put this overwhelming pressure on themselves to have the perfect hair, makeup, skin, weight… the list goes on. What most brides seem to forget is the way they are supposed to FEEL on their wedding day. A bride should feel confident, happy and excited. As the wedding day gets closer Brides tend to start to notice more and more of their flaws when they really should be remembering and focusing on all their amazing qualities. Below are a few ideas to help Brides remember how fabulous they are:

1.       Remember that your fiancé loves you just the way you are and probably doesn’t even notice these “imperfections” that you want to change and are subconscious about.

2.       If you are the sentimental person who keeps cards take them out of storage. Re-read some of the loving words from your friends, family and fiancé from the past years. Realize how special you are and how much you are loved just the way you are.

3.       If there is one particular area of your body that is bugging you make a realistic plan to try and improve it (ex. Losing belly or arm fat, fixing bad skin). Everyone has parts of themselves that they are not thrilled about, which is fine. It is just important not to let those few areas define how you feel about yourself. Instead take the situation into your own hands and make a realistic plan to try and improve the areas you are less fond of.

4.       Read your resume: This might sound funny, but sometimes one needs to be reminded of all the things one has accomplished. Reading your resume will help you remember all the skills you have developed and all your best characteristics.

The most gorgeous bride is the bride that is comfortable in her own skin, knows who she is, is confident and is madly in love with her fiance!