No longer will you feel that pain!

It's three days before the wedding and your seating chart is complete! Phew! Last item checked off of your list and it's time to relax and pamper yourself before the big day!

If that is how the three days before your wedding goes, consider yourself lucky. Very very lucky.

Here is how the three days before my wedding went:

3 Day Countdown

 - A friend calls and adds a date to his RSVP
 - Two cousins change their meals

2 Day Countdown

 - Two friends break off their relationship so will not tolerate sitting beside each other
 - Two family meals are changed

The day before the wedding...

 - One cousin calls and changes their meal back
 - The couple that forgot to RSVP finally called back to RSVP with a "yes"

This doesn't sound too bad, does it? Until you're in my shoes!

Plain and simple: the seating chart is not easy.

It is not easy for anyone, even if you have no one call to make changes. You have to make sure the divorcees are not next to each other, the grandparents are not being blasted by the DJ's speaker, and figuring out how to fit all of those families with people they know (and like) at tables of 8 is not quite as easy as it sounds. 

Taking a look back at my countdown:
 - It would've been very easy to fit the additional guest, but their table just happened to be at its max
 - It's just a meal change, but you already gave the venue the seating chart, meal count, and now you have to bring a new one back in for them after the changes have been made

You'll feel the pain when you get there. Or will you?

I found the most amazing program for managing your guest list and I so wish I had discovered it about a year ago. It would have made my life a million times easier. And before you ask, just know that I was the one who contacted this company and asked if I could write a blog on their product. I truly believe in it and want to share it with all of you so you don't have to feel that horrendous pain that I felt just days before my wedding!

Let me introduce you to (drum roll please)...

This is like, amazing. Like you have to go check it out, amazing...like now. I promise you will thank me (and them) in a couple of minutes.

While I have explored the program quite a bit myself, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with the owner of All Seated, Sandy. She told me about features I wouldn't have ever dreamed up in a million years - believe me, they have thought of it all!

Before you get to exploring yourself, here are some of the coolest parts of it:
1. It's free! That's always a plus :)
2. It's a virtual seating chart (if you didn't already figure that part out)
3. They can upload the floorplan for ANY venue just for you!
4. You can use your guest list to plan seating charts for all of your events! And categorizing the invites for each event (bachelorette, engagement party, rehearsal dinner) is as easy as 1,2,3!
5. Categorizing (his football teammates, her cheerleader friends...I know, my husband and I are that cheesy couple)
6. Meal choices can be added to each guest, changed in a second AND emailed to the venue as updates are made!

And want to know one cool trick that will make your wedding stand out from the rest?? If you were at a wedding and a server came to your table and said, "Jenn, here is your salmon," I think that wedding would seem pretty high class if you ask me! Well with this program, you can email your venue your seating chart with each individual listed along with their meal choice. And if the meal changes the day before? No problem, the change is just one click and an email away!

Pretty cool, huh?

I'll leave the rest of the exploring to you :) Now go check it out!!

How My Big Day Went Wrong

Written with love, by Piper Stewart

There is so much that goes into preparing and planning for your wedding day that when that day finally arrives you will be drained! And when I say drained I mean you will be exhausted from putting all your efforts into making your wedding day amazing. And so the very last thing you will want to focus on is making sure your photographer captures all of the candid moments you desire. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT forget to provide your wedding photographer a Shot List! Let me tell you why.

Dean Michaels Studio

How my day went wrong

I got married in 2011 and spent so much energy preparing for my Big Day. And when it finally arrived I sighed a big sigh of relief. But I was so nervous that I couldn’t focus on any of the little details. You know those little details that turn out to be big details a few weeks later.  Our photos finally arrived and to my dismay there were no photos of my favorite aunt, no photos of my kids with their grandparents, no photos of our Beautiful Candy Buffet. And guess what? No photos of our first grand entrance as Bride and Groom. Oh, and no photo of my veil because I was so nervous I forgot to put it on. Need I go on? And the worst part was that I didn’t even get to see the Candy Buffet during the wedding. Well, what could I say? I didn’t provide my wedding photographer a shot list, so he was not to blame. In fact, the photos that he captured were amazing. Out of all the planning that I did, I just wish I had taken a few more moments to prepare a Shot List.

It doesn't have to happen to you!

For you, my dear bride, it is not too late. Simply, go over with your photographer the type of shots that may be important to you and prepare a list. There are many things to consider so I will share some of them to get you started.

Pre-Wedding Shots

First, you will want to list all of your Pre-Wedding Photos. This will include you the bride as well as the groom and all of the wedding party as you are getting prepared. Here are a few popular shots, to name a few:

·         Bride getting makeup done by her
          glam squad.
·         Bride’s dress on a hanger
·         Bridesmaids and/or Mother of the
          Bride assisting the bride in putting
          on her wedding gown
·         Groom putting on his tie
·         Father pinning the boutonnière on
          the Groom

Next, once everyone is dressed and ready to go you can have a little fun and capture silly moments with the bride and her bridesmaids, the groom and his groomsmen, and the parents of the bride and groom. And let’s not forget about the little people (flower girls, bell ringer, ring bearer, etc.)

Once the ceremony begins, usually an experienced photographer knows the important shots to take here. But do not assume! If you require a specific shot here, please let them know.

Before the Reception

After the ceremony, you will take all of your photos together. Here, time is of the essence as all of the photos will need to be captured during Cocktail Hour for your guests. So, things will go a lot smoother if your photographer already has a list. Here are some of the must-have shots.

·         Groom alone
·         Bride Alone
·         Bride and groom together
·         Bride and Groom with their immediate family
·         Bride and her bridesmaids
·         Groom and his groomsmen
·         Flower girl and Ring bearer (Bell ringer)

Intimate Moments

Last but not least there are all of the intimate moments at your reception. I feel it’s important to capture your grand entrance along with the wedding party’s grand entrance as you are being announced. And you will of course want to capture your first dance as a couple. Here are some intimate moments but not limited to:

·         The first kiss as husband and wife
·         The first dance with parents
·         Groom’s face as he sees his gorgeous bride
·         The toasts by the best man and maid of honor
·         The cutting of the cake
·         Close up of centerpieces
·         Close up of wedding décor
·         Close up of seating card display
·         Bouquet/Garter Toss
·         New Couple’s departure
·         Photos with close family/friends (grandmothers, godparents, etc.)

And these are just to name a few. Every bride is different, so you will want to list what and who is important to you. If you need help, feel free to discuss this with your wedding photographer. They usually have a set routine they follow when capturing photos. Your wedding day only happens once so be sure to capture all of these beautiful memories that are sure to last a lifetime.

All in all, my husband and I agree our wedding day was the best day ever!! Regardless of the little mishaps that occurred, including not having a shot list. As always Happy Wedding Planning!!

---

An online wedding boutique specializing in bridal accessories, wedding favors, and ceremony and reception decor.

Sticker Shock

"This dress is more than I pay for rent!"

...said every bridesmaid ever. If you haven't heard it yet, prepare yourself. It's coming. The shock of that price tag on your dream bridesmaid dress.

If she has never been in a wedding and is not married, then this sticker shock is bound to happen.

The stress of being a bridesmaid

Christopher Todd Studios

This is one area that a majority of brides experience an obscure amount of drama around. A bridesmaid refuses to pay, or refuses to come to your wedding altogether. Remember, this stress is what we are trying to manage. Like that's literally the whole point of The Overwhelmed Bride.

So follow my advice, and pass the advice along to your bridesmaids. Sorry to break it to you, but your bridesmaid is not always in the wrong. And if you are a bridesmaid reading this post, I promise you it is not always the bride's fault. We can point fingers at the wedding industry for being so dang expensive and be done with it but we all know that pointing fingers will only make matters worse. So here it is...

Please hold up your right hand and repeat after me.

"I (your name), promise to follow the rules of The Overwhelmed Bride as stated below, in order to keep stress from entering into this wedding party."

Great! You promised! So now you have to listen to me :)
 

Rules for the Bride:

1. First of all, don't choose the most expensive items out there. I know you saw it on Style Me Pretty and you just have to have it but we don't always get what we want. You don't want to be stressed and I sure hope you don't want your bridesmaids to lost their homes because of your wedding, so let's work together on the price of the dress you choose. A good range is $150-200 for a bridesmaid dress and if you can find it for less, that's even better! But don't expect your girls to fork out $400 for a dress she is going to wear just once. And take a look at our "$ Bridesmaid $ Expectations $" chart from Monday to make sure your choices are all within a reasonable range.

2. Choose a dress that can be worn again. This is much easier said than done but if you can find one, she will be more than happy to spend a little extra if she knows she will get some great use out of it :)

3. Let the girls choose their dresses.  If you choose a color or even a color and a fabric and allow them each to choose a style, they will feel more happy about their purchase and not as forced to be spending $200 on a single, wear-one-time item. It's her decision, so she can't complain to anyone about price but herself! My bridesmaids chose their dresses...and they all wore the same dress. Not sure how that worked out but it can happen!

4. Offer to help. And please keep reading. If you have a bridesmaid who is really tight on money, I am not saying you have to pay for her bridesmaid expenses. But you do have a wedding budget set aside, correct? Lend her some money from your budget and let her pay it off slowly. Just make sure her "payment plan" is completed well before the wedding so you aren't caught having to fork out more. I know it may seem a little scary, lending your wedding funds, but she is one of your best friends so I sure hope she wouldn't try to cop out of that one!

5. Let them choose their own shoes. I gave my bridesmaids a color of shoe and let them all purchase their own. If you choose a neutral color like black or tan, some of them may already have shoes they can wear. And that is a savings right off the bat!
 

The Bridesmaid Promise

I haven't done it in a while but for those of you who have followed The Overwhelmed Bride from the beginning, you know that I love to get my point across using math. Want to know why? Because I am literally proving that I am right. Obviously I hope you all take my advice into consideration, but with math, there is no denying that I am wrong. So here is goes (let's hope this goes well):

Christopher Todd Studios

one $8 drink at the bar = $8
three drinks in one night at $8 = $24

Now let's pretend that you go out once a week for drinks. Over the course of the year, if you go out one less time each month (or just don't drink that one time), you will have saved yourself $288.

And for those of you who don't drink...

one $30 meal = $30

Let's pretend you go out to eat once a week. Over the course of a year, if you go out to eat one less time each month, you are going to be saving a total of $360 in a year.

The next time you complain to a bride (and stress her out) about the price of a dress, please think about where your money is being spent currently. Is it worth stressing your best friend out over drinking one less night a month? Or one less meal out a month? Put yourself in her shoes and ask yourself the same question.

When your wedding day comes around, you are going to realize that doing anything in your power to make this experience the best experience for your best friend, is well worth it.