Friday is the New Saturday

We all know that Saturdays are the most popular day of the week to have a wedding. This may blow your mind but I'm going to tell you right now - we've been wrong the whole time! After years and years and years of weddings thinking that Saturday was the best day to hold a wedding, we had it all wrong!

Friday is undoubtedly the new Saturday. And I am going to tell you why!

Is Saturday really worth $5,000?

Not only is the price per person significantly higher on a Saturday, but there is a little thing called a minimum, which is actually going to affect your budget much  more than you thought!

For those of you who don't know what a minimum is, it is a dollar amount that a venue requires you to spend in order for you to hold your wedding on a certain day of the week - and they sometimes change based on the month. Even though the cost per person may be $50 and you are only inviting 100, you may not actually able to afford your wedding at this venue. If the minimum for that Saturday is $10,000, for example, your are going to have to spend at least $10,000 in order to book that date. And get this, that is $10,000 before tax and service charge.

Every venue has a higher minimum on Saturday than they do on a Friday and Sunday. So that's a quick way to save a couple thousand dollars...at least!

Long weekend anyone?

I know you are all worried about your guests having to take off work for your wedding but believe me, the don't mind...at all! If your guest wants to be there, they will be there and will be ecstatic that you "required" them to take a day off of work. And the bonus is for those who are traveling from out of town - not only will they get Friday off of work, but they will be able to enjoy the entire weekend for a mini-vacation. A Saturday wedding totally ruins their chances of doing any exploring while there!

Who will remember anyhow?

If you're worried about what others are going to think, please get that out of your head RIGHT NOW. If you are trying to going through with planning your wedding while worrying about the opinions of others, then get that out of your head immediately or I can tell you now, you are going to have a pretty stressful time with planning.

So many brides think that they have to have a Saturday wedding because everyone will disapprove of a Friday or Sunday, but do actually think they are going to remember what day of the week it was held on even a couple of months from now? If you don't know the answer, it is no. Your guests won't even remember what they ate that night, let alone the fact that your wedding was on a Friday. Focus your time on making your wedding a night for everyone to remember, rather than worrying about what day of the week it is.

Less Guests = Lower Cost

We've gone over budget many times and I think by now, you all realize how much a single wedding guest affects your wedding cost. So is there really any harm in a guest not being able to come? I really am not trying to sound harsh but those who really want to be there, will find a way to be there. And if at the end of the day someone cannot make it to the wedding, at least you're saving some money, right? If you have done your due diligence and given advance notice, especially for those out of town guests, your guests will find a way to celebrate with you!

Do you see a difference?

If you're still not convinced, please take a look at the photos below. The left shows a wedding that was held on a Friday and the right shows the same wedding held on a Saturday.

Friday Wedding

Christopher Todd Studios

Saturday Wedding

I am not sure how long you've been examining the two columns but you may or may not have noticed that both are exactly the same. You're absolutely not going to find any differences between the Friday wedding and the Saturday wedding. Because no matter what day of the week it is on, you're still going to get married and you're still going to have the exact same vision!

**To be honest, they're literally the same photos, uploaded twice into this post. I didn't have two weddings just to illustrate my point...although that would have been a fun weekend!

If you want to spend more money, have more guests to pay for, make your guests travel from out of town and not be able to enjoy some time for vacationing and instead spend their only day at your wedding, and stay in work an extra day, then yes, you would absolutely love a Saturday wedding! And if you don't like a sound of that, I think you are quickly realizing that Friday is the new Saturday - we've had it wrong the entire time!

A Font to Flatter Your Vision

Written with love, by Kristi Charter

Invitations offer your guests their first taste of what your wedding will be like. The style, color, size and font of your invitations all work together to construct a vision your guests will have for your special day. Before you begin designing your invitations however you need to first have a clear theme in mind for your wedding. There are many themes that you can choose from but knowing which one you will be selecting for your wedding is crucial to the design of your invitations.

Even something as basic as the font can make a dramatic difference to the aesthetic of your invitation and can depict the theme of your wedding. The font you select is just as important as the wording itself! While selecting the right font out of thousands can seem pretty daunting especially when it is one of many decisions you have to make for your wedding, with a few handy tips you’ll have no trouble at all.

Test for success

When browsing through samples of invitations online, you need to keep in mind that while you may love a certain font as it appears on the sample invitation this can sometimes change once you input your own text. Even though it may seem perfect on the sample, the capital letters of yours and your partner’s names can look completely different to that of the names provided on the sample. So it is always best to test out your names and text in the font first, before committing to a certain style. A great tool for testing out your font is http://www.google.com/fonts

Simply enter your names or your chosen text in the preview section.

Multiple Fonts

If you decide to use more than one font on your invitation, make sure that they complement each other. If they are both loud and extremely different, the fonts will clash and can look a little messy. There is nothing worse than having font appearing as if they are competing for your attention. This doesn’t mean that multiple fonts never work because they can, you just need to ensure they blend seamlessly together on the page. The main font which will contain all of the important details should be neutral and easy to read allowing the secondary font, which will be better for names or titles, to shine. Two popular fonts that work well together are Mate SC Regular Caps and Pinyon Script. If you do decide on using contrasting fonts, as a general rule it is best to stick with a maximum of two.

True Reflection

When selecting your font, remember that it will reflect the tone of your wedding. So it is important to make sure your selection is a font that conveys the style of wedding you will be holding. If for instance you are hosting a casual garden wedding ceremony a font you might consider using could be Scriptina or if instead your celebration is the complete opposite, say a formal reception opt for a style similar to Andante.

Size Matters

The size of your font really does matter. Your font needs to be practical irrespective of how attractive it looks or that you’ve managed to squeeze all the information onto the one page, it needs to be readable. Simply put a small font size may not be convenient for some of your guests. If ordering your invitations online it is best to print out any proofs you are sent before approving the final layout, that way you can get a true feel for the size and weight/thickness of the font. 

If you’re still unsure, ask a friend or relative to have a look at your font to ensure it is the perfect choice before the printing and assembly process begins.

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Giant Invitations

Giant Wedding Invitations is a leading manufacturer of designer wedding invitations and wedding stationery based in Melbourne, Australia. Focusing on original and modern stationery designs combined with state-of-the-art technology and great attention to detail, Giant is specialized in creating lifetime memories for all wedding couples. With over 200 unique styles starting at just $3.00 each, FREE personalised design, hand assembly, printing, envelopes.

Who is The Overwhelmed Bride?

Many of you have been following my blog since it began last August and even more of you are new to my site. So today, I wanted to take a quick moment to tell you who we are and why we are here.

For those of you who have not read our "About" section, my name is Jenn and I am the founder of The Overwhelmed Bride. I have been a wedding coordinator for the past six years and have worked with hundreds and hundreds of brides. For a couple of years, I was doing around 130 weddings per year so I can truly say that I know weddings front to back and upside down. And last summer, I had the experience of being on the bride side and saying "I Do" to my now husband, so I definitely know the feelings you are all experiencing from engagement and through the planning process.

Theresa Bridget Photography

How did this all begin?

After leaving my last company, I had some time on my hands while I was in the process of searching for a new job. Now I am the kind of person who cannot stand sitting around and doing nothing, so I decided to start a blog to take up some of that free time. I created the website and started writing. A couple of months down the road, my site had progressed. I had changed the style a couple of times, had signed up for a couple of social media accounts, and had gained a pretty large following, to my surprise. This was something I was doing for fun so I could not believe so many people loved what I was doing!

So after a couple of months of writing, I really fell in love with what I was doing. I couldn't stop those Instagram posts late at night as I saw a gorgeous pair of wedding shoes. And each morning I would wake up and couldn't help but begin to write! And then it happened...I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I want to make The Overwhelmed Bride my career.

I absolutely love waking up to emails from brides with a question about how to cut down their guest list, or sending over an article that may help with some stress they are facing. It puts such a huge smile on my face and that is what allowed me to realize that this is what I am supposed to be doing.

What makes us different?

I know, I know. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of wedding sites out there and a majority of them have blogs that go along with them...but we are a little different :)

I know how stressful planning can be. You pinned everything you love and created the best inspiration board for when the time comes. And then you begin planning and realize that the table cloths you fell in love with are $300....each! And those chiavari chairs are $7 per chair, and the decor you just have to have will be an additional $4,000, let alone the open bar that will cost you $8,000 for your 150 guests. I know, it's expensive.

Many wedding websites having amazing inspiration, inspiration that you would need to spend $70,000 on to make a reality. They show you the weddings that a majority of us cannot even come close to affording. Now I am not saying you can't dream and look at those beautiful photos out there - we have a Pinterest to show you that we love that inspiration too! But here at The Overwhelmed Bride, we cater to the every-day bride. We provide tips and inspiration for the couples that aren't going to be able to spend $50,000 on their wedding day.

So when we feature a wedding, it is a wedding from one of our followers. When we write a post on how to get you through a stress-free wedding day, the plan isn't to hire someone to do it all for you. We keep all of our brides in mind and do our best to bring you helpful content - content that will benefit every bride out there.

How can we help you?

If you haven't had a chance to look through our site, we have so many ways to help you out! We offer:
 - FAQ Tuesday: Ask us anything wedding related and we will answer back on our site that day!
 - Monthly Contests: Fun contests for your chance to will some cool wedding prizes!
 - Blog Posts: If you have a question that can't be answered in a quick sentence, we will blog about it!
 - Featured Weddings: We want to feature your wedding on our site for the world to see :)
 - Featured Vendors: Every Wednesday, we feature a vendor who writes a guest blog on their area of expertise...because we don't know it all!
 - Email: Yes, I have an email AND a contact form right on the site...and you can email me when you have questions! Crazy how that works, isn't it?
 - Wedding Coordination: I am a coordinator myself so would love to help you plan your wedding at the most reasonable cost I can offer. And I can travel anywhere! Email me and I will get you a quote ASAP!
 - Bridal Mixers: A wedding show, but much less overwhelming. You tell us your budget and vision, and we will invite vendors who match that!
 - Social Media Inspiration: If you want to see daily inspiration, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. (links at the top of the site!)
 - Blog Subscription: You can subscribe to our blog and each post will go directly to your email!

We have so much to offer and we are always looking for new ways to help YOU! If you have an idea, send it our way!

What do we ask from you?

Everything on our site is absolutely free! Of course, minus the coordination services but maybe one day they will be! :)

If you love what you read, or love what you see, we would love for you to spread the word! We cannot have a site without all of our amazing followers out there so would love for you to Tweet an amazing article you read, #repost some inspiration you see on our Instagram, or "share" a contest you're participating in on your Facebook so the rest of the world can see.

I love blogging for all of you and doing my best to get you to and through a stress-free wedding day but I can't be a blogger without a growing following.

Thank you so much for being such an amazing follower of The Overwhelmed Bride and just remember, I am here to help in any way I can. So let me help you stay stress-free throughout the process :)