Video Blog :: Economical Rehearsal Dinner Options

It's a long one today, but there were quite a few things I wanted to address regarding the topic of rehearsal dinners. Hope you enjoy it! 

Happy Friday!

"At Home" Engagement Sessions

What a gorgeous day today in the 'burg! It looks like spring is finally on the horizon!  

I was recently asked by one of my couple's if doing an "at home" engagement session was ok, and I wanted to take a few minutes to blog about this topic. My response to them? Absolutely! Obviously, I am not a photographer by any means; however, in my opinion, having your engagement session done in your home can be a great thing. Whether you're bored of the "traditional park photos", or just want to show off your new home together, there are many reasons to shoot your engagement session at home. I personally think that the idea is a great one, and like the idea of capturing the couple in their first home together. Years later, you can look back at the photos and reminisce about what daily life was like back then, and also see how your home decorating style has changed. To see more photos of an "at home" engagement session, click here.

What are your thoughts on "at home" engagement sessions? 

Photo courtesy of Collin Hughes Photography via Love, Milk & Honey

Ask Me Anything!

You may or may not have already heard "the buzz" about Formspring, a place where you can ask people you find interesting, questions about their personal or business life. Formspring allows you to ask questions either publicly or anonymously. Yesterday, I signed up for an account and wanted to use this as an extension of my "Ask The Planner" feature here on the blog.  

So, if you have a question about me personally, or Simply Perfect Weddings, feel free to head on over to our account http://www.formspring.me/spweddings and ask a question! I'd love to hear from you! 

Happy Friday!

Planning Workshops Coming to Pittsburgh

I frequently get asked planning related questions from brides all over the country, mostly from blog readers who don't have planners, but just want a little advice here and there. So, after putting some thought into these questions that brides are asking, I've decided to expand Simply Perfect Weddings and host a series of workshops for brides-to-be here in the Pittsburgh area. Given our current economic state, we understand that wallets are tight these days, and let’s face it, hiring a wedding planner is not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of thing! Workshops will be open to any bride that is feeling overwhelmed and has no idea of where to begin in the wedding planning process!

The workshops will be approximately 2 hours in length (held monthly) and will focus on the beginning stages of wedding planning. The workshop will include a variety of topics including:

• The planning timeline
• Organization
• Budget
• Vendor selection (including local recommendations)
• Choosing a color scheme
• Etiquette
• And more!

At the end of the workshop there will be an open 'Q & A' session that will allow brides to "pick our brains" on a variety of topics. We are currently finalizing all of the details, including dates & locations; however, the purpose of this blog is to gain an insight on how many brides would be interested in this type of service. If this is something you would be interested in, please feel free to comment below or email me directly at: sumer@simplyperfectwedding.net

We would love to hear from you and are welcome to any suggestions that you may have regarding these workshops!

Ask the Planner: Help with choosing the right size limousine

Our second question in our "Ask the Planner" series comes from a friend of mine in North Carolina regarding the size of limousine she should reserve for her wedding day. I felt the need to feature her question as I feel that it's a common question that many brides often ponder in this stage of the planning. Here is her question and my response:

Question: "I have a bridal party (including my fiance and I) of 10 and have no idea what size limousine to reserve. Can you help me out with some advice?"

Answer: I'm so glad you thought to ask what size limo you should be getting! So many people think that if they have 10 people in their party, that they should reserve a 10-passenger limo and be done with it. That is actually not the case at all. A 10-passenger limo is not made to hold 10 adults...deceiving, isn't it? While a 10-passenger limo may be alright if you're trying to save money on a bachelorette party for 10 girls, it's not alright for a wedding. One major thing to account for is the bride's gown...I typically tell my brides to allocate two seats for the bride, and to think about the size of the people in your bridal party. Is your soon-to-be husband an ex-college football player or basketball star? What about his groomsmen? You don't want to have everyone sitting on top of one another dressed in gowns and tuxedos...trust me, it's not fun on an 80 degree day in the middle of summer! I typically like to add an additional 2-4 seats depending upon your bridal party...at the very least, a 12-passenger limo would suffice; however, a 14 passenger is what I would recommend for a 10 person bridal party.

If you have a specific question you would like us to answer & feature on our blog, email me at the following address: sumer@simplyperfectwedding.net

New Series: Ask the Planner

I frequently get asked wedding related questions by our blog readers from all over the U.S. and thought I would feature their questions in a new blog series, "Ask the Planner". Not everyone is lucky enough to have a planner and often times when brides without a planner have a question, they turn to wedding related blogs for answers. I've seen a variety of "Ask the Planner" blog series and think that they are really beneficial, so I wanted to start one for the Pittsburgh area.

Here is our first question from a reader in Massachusetts:

Question: "Should I outfit my bridesmaids in the exact same style of dress?"

Answer: It's completely up to you! Do you absolutely have to?! No way! The beauty of weddings today, is that the days of "cookie cutter" weddings are long gone! In fact, a growing trend in the wedding industry is to actually dress your bridesmaids in different styles. Your bridesmaids and you may all be BFF, but that doesn't mean that you all have the same style when it comes to fashion. Every bridesmaid is different, and what may look good on one bridesmaid, may not look good on another. I like the idea of the bride selecting a color palette and then letting each bridesmaid choose their own style of dress from a particular store. Allowing your bridesmaids to choose their style of dress will ensure that each bridesmaid is comfortable and happy on your wedding day!

Photo courtesy of The Knot.