Archive for the ‘trendy tips’ Category

Taxes. A four-letter word? Obviously not, but it feels like it.

As with any big purchases, taxes will affect your final sales price. Your wedding is no exception. Remember to include your state taxes on projected expenses, such as:

invites
photography albums/photos
dress and tuxes
florist
venue (we’ll talk more about that…..)

Make sure you have a clear estimate from your venue on how much they tax their services and product. For example, some venues here in Evansville, tax their gratuity.

So, here is what your final bill will look like:

19% gratuity

6% tax on the final gratuity

7% sales tax (goes to the state)

1% food and beverage tax

= 33% total possible taxes

What does that mean to you? That $19.95 per plate meal that you are deciding upon, because you thought it fit within your budget, is now $26.53 per plate!

Staggering isn’t it? That’s why you want to really have everything in writing and ask question after question if you don’t understand. There are no stupid questions! Or hire a wedding planner. Either way…get the skinny on the true tax picture!

Plan on! -saundra

It takes guts to cancel your wedding. I just talked to a client of ours (September 12, 2009 wedding) and she informed me that they won’t be getting married.

While I am sad to lose her as a client, I have to commend her for having the sheer guts it takes to end the relationship. I know, this isn’t an upbeat topic, but if you think planning a wedding is difficult, it’s nothing to the day in and day out of a marriage. Don’t get me wrong. I adore being married. Hell would equal being single to me at this point of my life.

But while we all get caught up in the flowers, venue, dresses, invitations, entertainment and other positive accolades that wedding engagements bring us….we have to remember that at the end of the day, the most important aspect of your wedding is your vows and the actual “getting married part”.

Keep that in perspective and you’ll have a foundation that will last. Even 15 years or so.

Plan on! -saundra

You want to be gorgeous on your wedding day. With bright, glowing skin, like our gorgeous bride here, Virginia Corpus McDermott…..(shhh..she’s on our new header too with her hubby, Dave).

photo: rj photographics

Here’s a few tricks to get you in the mood…

1. First, drink plenty of water. Water, Water, Water. Veggies won’t kill you either…
2. Exfoliate your skin! I love The Body Shop products (thanks, Heidi). Put these little gloves on every time you are in the shower and your skin will feel amazing afterwards.

3. Then slather on the lotion. You need to pick good lotion. Again, one of my favorites, Shea Body Butter from The Body Shop. They have a lot of different scents…but my favorite is the Shea….your skin will feel amazing!!!! And you can’t beat the price.

4. A slight tan helps, I won’t lie. You don’t have to go out in the sun, but a little self tanner will make a huge difference. Make sure you test out the product that works best for you WAY BEFORE your wedding. No last minute attempts at the spray on tan salon down the street. I’ve used these products before and all I’ll comment is that the cheaper the self-tanner is….the cheaper your results will be. You know in life, you get what you pay for.

And remember, these are little treats you can give yourself everyday, not just on your wedding day.

Plan on! -saundra

This is a public service announcement on behalf of your family, friends and wedding vendors. If you are getting married and you are stressed out…..QUIT IT! Okay, easier said than done, but we can help you SNAP out of it! Just follow these few straight-forward tips:

1. Believe it or not, everything will get done before the wedding. You just have to sit down and write a list with deadlines.
2. Prioritize the task list. A=most important B=needs to be done C=if we have time to get to it. And no, not EVERY THING on the task list is an A task.
3. Stick to the deadlines you set yourself but don’t go overboard. Getting sleep is much more important than tying 300 ribbons on wedding programs.
4. If you are like me, you will wake up at 2am with your brain racing with a million things to do. Keep a pad of paper and pen by your bed to jot them down. Or…just get up and write them out and then you can go back to bed with a clear mind. (I have to do that second option because my hubbie isn’t a fan of me turning on the light in the middle of the night…and I don’t write well in the dark).
5. Delgate. For Pete’s sake, delegate!!! If you are a Type A personality and want to take on the entire wedding yourself, I understand. But don’t. If you can’t let go there has to be some little task that you can delegate to someone else. Pick the big and most important projects to manage directly.

Now try your best to quit freaking out because you just stress yourself and everyone else around you that wants to help you. Not to mention, you won’t enjoy your day that you are spending so much time, effort and money on.

Plan on! - saundra

Who doesn’t love to win stuff? Imagine YOUR mug on the cover of Modern Bride magazine?

Then get off the hiney and click your way over to Brides.com. Wouldn’t it be cool if someone local won??? We have the best looking brides around!!! And omigosh….if one of OUR BRIDES WON!!!

woot! woot!

The contest has begun today and here is a brief excerpt from the Press Release:

The contest will be documented on CBS’ national morning news program The Early Show and will be announced by Ms. van der Meer on the show on May 16^th. America will vote on Brides.com to select the five “Modern Bride of the Year” finalists. The winner will be chosen from the finalists announced on July 25^th on The Early Show. She will then be photographed for the cover of Modern Bride’s December/January issue.

Submitted entries will be evaluated and narrowed down to 10 girls. Of the 10, five finalists will then be flown to New York for three days to appear in several segments on The Early Show, which is scheduled to include a Macy’s “Supermarket Sweep”-type registry challenge, a dance competition, a runway fashion show and more.

NOW GO AND DO IT!!!! You have nothing to lose. Except of course, winning!

Plan on! -saundra

Trend alert:

NEW interesting songs to walk down the aisle to … such as:

This little diddy by Colbie Callat (her voice is smooth like butter). We loved it so much that we used this song for our 2008 Highlights video.

And my bride, Tara Brown, a couple of weekends ago had her Bride’s Processional to a song recently made popular by the movie Juno. Performed by Barry Louis Polisar who writes children’s songs. It was absolutely precious and I hope to see it again soon at another wedding.

Dontcha just love individualism? Have you heard of any other cool songs for the wedding processional?

Plan on! -saundra