Bad Bloggers

Okay, we admit it. We’ve been slacking off on the blogging lately. But it’s only because we’ve been busy coordinating weddings and enjoying summer vacations with our families. We’re going to get back on track soon (we promise!) so be sure to keep us on your RSS feed!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Today is Elizabeth's special day. Care to leave her a few birthday wishes in the Comments?

With This Ring

I love the idea of replacing the traditional ring pillow with a ring dish or bowl. Pick something that reflects your personalities or have it customized with your names.

Every night, right before you go to bed- you can both place your wedding bands together in the same dish they sat in before you exchanged them the day you were wed! And every morning when you awake, you will remember the promise you made to each other and how that ring you slip on your finger is a symbol of that promise.

[ring dish by etsy seller Paloma's Nest]

Customized Cookies

Who wouldn't want a cookie that looked exactly like them?! Check out Parker's Crazy Cookies. These would make adorable wedding favors!

Heaven in a cup (cake)

If anyone out there is looking for gift ideas for my birthday - several months from now (what can I say? I’m a planner) - these little gems from Coldstone would be most appreciated.

Does the roof of your mouth stand still on an island?

That has to be the strangest blog post title ever written, but I wanted to take a moment to address a few commonly misused words in the wedding industry, as this is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. The misuse is occurring everywhere from The Knot message boards to vendor websites and blogs. Below I offer definitions for the offending terms as well as their grammatically correct counterparts (source: Dictionary.com).

Palate vs. Palette
You don’t select a color palate for your wedding; you select a color palette.

pal-ate (noun) The roof of the mouth, consisting of an anterior bony portion (hard palate) and a posterior muscular portion (soft palate) that separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity.

pal-ette (noun) The range of colors used by a particular artist.

Stationary vs. Stationery
Your invitations are not part of your wedding stationary; they’re part of your wedding stationery.

sta-tion-ar-y (adjective) Standing still; not moving.

sta-tion-er-y (noun) Writing materials, as pens, pencils, paper, and envelopes.

Isle vs. Aisle
On your wedding day, you don’t walk down the isle; you walk down the aisle.

isle (noun) A small island.

aisle (noun) A longitudinal division of an interior area, as in a church.

Are you using these terms correctly?

Website survey - we just need a minute!

A fellow wedding planner has developed a brief survey to collect information about what brides and grooms value in terms of vendor websites. We’d love it if our blog readers would take a moment to fill it out. Below are the instructions:

I promise this will only take a minute of your time! If you wouldn't mind, please click on the link below and answer 9 quick, easy questions about different design aspects of wedding vendor's websites.

Wedding Vendor Website Survey

We won't record anything about you other than what state or country you are from - we don't even ask for your email address so no spam or anything like that.

You will likely see this link on lots of other blogs and sites - this survey is being shared all over the blog-o-sphere so please take the survey only once. If you have additional comments on the subject, please feel free to email me with those and I will share them with the other wedding vendors who are participating! e can't wait to hear what you have to say!

(If you are a wedding vendor and would like to participate, just copy this post to your blog and email me the link at emilie {@} emilieduncan {.} com - I will send you the results once we have closed the survey in March)

Happy Valentine's Day!

And a perfect way to celebrate this romantic occasion is to order in some delicious food, snuggle up on the couch and rent one of Bliss Wedding's Top Ten Wedding Movies recommendations!

Enjoy!

Mamma Mia! (Elizabeth's current favorite. Embarrassing confession: I've watched it TWICE today alone!)

It was like shooting a sitting duck. A little small talk, a smile and baby I was stuck.
I still don't know what you've done with me. A grown-up woman should never fall so easily.
I feel a kind of fear when I don't have you nearUnsatisfiedI skip my prideI beg you dear.
Don't go wasting your emotion. Lay all your love on me

Love Actually

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Michael... I love you. I've loved you for nine years, I've just been too arrogant and scared to realize it, and... well, now I'm just scared. So, I realize this comes at a very inopportune time but I really have this gigantic favor to ask of you. Choose me. Marry me. Let me make you happy. Oh, that sounds like three favors, doesn't it?

Father of the Bride

I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong. That's getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition. I know. I've just been through one. Not my own, my daughter's. Annie Banks Mackenzie. That's her married name: Mackenzie. You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. An adorable little girl who looks up to you and adores you in a way you could never have imagined. I remember how her little hand used to fit inside mine. Then comes the day when she wants to get her ears pierced, and wants you to drop her off a block before the movie theater. From that moment on you're in a constant panic. You worry about her meeting the wrong kind of guy, the kind of guy who only wants one thing, and you know exactly what that one thing is, because it's the same thing you wanted when you were their age. Then, you stop worrying about her meeting the wrong guy, and you worry about her meeting the right guy. That's the greatest fear of all, because, then you lose her. It was just six months ago that that happened here. Just six months ago, that the storm broke.

Wedding Crashers

Anyway, I saw this widow and she's a wreck. She has just lost the person she loved the most in this world and I realized we're all going to lose the people we love. That's the way it is, but not me. Not right now. Because the person *I* love the most is standing right here and I'm not ready to lose you yet. Claire, I'm not standing here asking you to marry me, I'm just asking you not to marry *him* and maybe take a walk, take a chance

The Wedding Planner

Love can’t always be perfect. Love is just love.

The Wedding Singer

I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad

Carry you around when your arthritis is bad

All I wanna do is grow old with you.

I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches

build you a fire if the furnace breaks

Oh it could be so nice, growin old with you.

I'll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold.

Need you, feed you, I'll even let you hold the remote control.

So let me do the dishes in the kitchen sink

Put you to bed when you've had too much to drink.

Oh I could be the man to grow old with you.

I wanna grow old with you.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

My family is big and loud but they're my family. We fight and we laugh and yes, we roast lamb on a spit in the front yard. And where ever I go, what ever I do they will always be there.

Sweet Home Alabama

What do you want to be married to me for, anyhow?

So I can kiss you anytime I want.

27 Dresses

Love is patient, love is kind, love is slowly going out of your mind!

Now that's what I call trashing the dress!

This photo from Jerry Frazier’s blog cracks me up. Images of brides frolicking in the ocean or running through a field of daisies are beautiful and all, but if you really want to trash the dress, this is the way to go!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of our clients, colleagues, and blog readers a very Merry Christmas!

~ Jessica & Elizabeth ~

Virtual Reality

The hubs and I made a run last night to my favorite place on Earth... TARGET! Although I have zero (nada, zip, zilch) gifts purchased for Christmas... it was essential that I find wrapping paper. What can I say? The wedding planner in me is a sucker for presentation... whether I have something to present or not.

As we were browsing the store, Jay gave into his recent The Sims 2 obsession and decided to peruse the computer games section. As I was looking, a game caught my eye.

(photo credit: Fenomen Games)

Dream Day Wedding allows you to plan the wedding of fictional "friend" Jenny. Select gowns, shop for beautiful wedding cakes and browse other boutiques for the perfect accessories for Jenny's special event! This game is available for play on PC and is brought to you by Elephant Entertainment.

(photo credit: Fenomen Games)

(photo credit: Fenomen Games)

(photo credit: Fenomen Games)

Also enjoy Dream Day- Married in Manhattan, Dream Day Honeymoon and Dream Day First Home. This game would be a fun break from real-world wedding planning tasks.

[And for those of you who just couldn't stand the suspense, my wrapping shopping trip was a success! I'll have the most stylishly wrapped gifts amongst my family and friends this holiday season! ;-)]

If you can't say something nice . . .

An anonymous comment was recently submitted on this blog in response to one of our 2008 weddings. The commenter stated that they were a guest at this wedding and expressed frustration over the seating arrangement. Since the commenter chose to conceal their identity, I am not able to address this matter privately with them, so I wanted to take a moment to address it here.

I got the impression that this comment was left in an attempt to point out some sort of oversight on our part, and so I am going to ask this person to consider that as wedding planners, we are not necessarily consulted on every decision made in relation to the event (and even when we are, our recommendations are not always followed by the bride and groom). This is especially true in instances where we are hired to perform day-of coordination services only, as was the case with the wedding in question.

Since the anonymous comment also included some negative opinions about the bride and groom’s choice of flowers and décor, I am choosing not to publish it, as I would not want the couple to read it and feel badly. I guess it’s true what they say: you can’t please everyone.

Bliss in action

There’s a question we get asked -usually by a guest or two - at almost every wedding we coordinate. It goes a little something like this:

“Are you the wedding planners?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, so you’re like J-Lo?”
“Well, not exactly.” :-)

Being a wedding planner is a lot of fun, but it’s not always the glamorous career that it’s portrayed to be in the movie. A lot of people get the wrong idea about the wedding planning profession, thinking that it’s not a real job or that it’s nothing more than picking out flowers and dresses. Those are certainly some of the more glamorous aspects, but there’s a lot more to it, especially on the day of. At almost any given wedding, here are some of the tasks you might find us doing . . .

. . . pinning on the groom’s boutonniere:

(photo credit: Russell J. Corriveau)

. . . pinning on the groomsmen’s boutonnieres:

(photo credit: Russell J. Corriveau)

. . . pinning on the father of the bride’s boutonniere (are you starting to see a trend?):

(photo credit: Dreamscape Studio)

. . . helping the bride maneuver up the church steps (no easy task in a billowy wedding gown!):

(photo credit: David Photography)

. . . opening the church doors for the bride’s grand entrance down the aisle:

(photo credit: Dreamscape Studio)

. . . filling in for the bridal party during formal photos (just kidding!):

(photo credit: Ken Lax)

After all is said and done, however, the best part of the day is seeing the smiles on the couple’s faces as they embark on a brand new phase of their lives.

(photo credit: Robert Norman)

And that’s what it’s all about.

Just for fun :-)

Love, Honor, and Charity

There is so much going on in the world today. Stressing about finding the precise shade of blue for your bridesmaid dresses or the perfect cardstock for your invitations seems inconsequential when there are people in this world who are simply trying to survive, day-to-day. However, your beautiful event CAN make a difference. Below are just a few of the ways.

JustGive.org
This website provides couples with an alternative to the traditional wedding gift registry. Instead of receiving yet another picture frame (that will probably stay in storage until Aunt Nelly visits), consider registering on JustGive.org. This website will give your guests an opportunity to give you a gift in the form of a charitable donation to a worthy cause.

Donations in lieu of favors
Ah, the wedding favor. Intended as a token of thanks for wedding guests, it is an unfortunate reality that favors often end up sitting in some forgotten corner of guests’ living rooms, if they even make it out of the car at all. Make your wedding favor count! Select your favorite charitable organization (The ASPCA, World Vision, St. Jude’s Hospital for Children, etc.), one whose mission touches your heart. Gift your selected charity with a specified amount (to your discretion) on behalf of your wedding guests. Your friends and family will appreciate that your care and generosity have helped someone in need.

BridesAgainstBreastCancer.org
For many brides, the wedding gown holds a great deal of sentimental value. Some opt to keep it for future children. Others choose to have it cleaned and preserved so they can simply admire it whenever the mood strikes. However, if these ideas don’t suit you, there is something else you can do that will benefit someone in need. Donate your gown to bridesagainstbreastcancer.org and proceeds from the sale of your dress will enable Making Memories to grant final wishes to men and women suffering from terminal breast cancer.

However you feel compelled to give, just know that your support may mean the world to an individual in need. Why not celebrate your marriage by making a difference in the life of someone else?

"Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery"

Not so, unfortunately, when it comes in the form of plagiarism. We recently came face to face with one of the downsides of internet marketing when we discovered that two other companies who offer wedding consulting services – one in Illinois and one right here in Connecticut (actually, it's a florist who dabbles in wedding consulting) – have blatantly copied text from our website. Now, we can certainly understand visiting competitor websites to get an idea of how other wedding professionals are positioning their services in the marketplace, but these people didn’t even make an effort to change things up a bit. The verbiage was copied word for word directly from our site.

What makes matters worse is that this is a creative profession, one that requires out-of-the-box thinking. One of the offending companies even uses the word “Original” in her business name. I can’t think of anything original about taking someone else’s work without permission and claiming it as your own. We have contacted these companies to make them aware that plagiarism is a crime, and we encourage other business owners to run a search on your own websites to see who may have “borrowed” copyrighted material. You can visit www.copyscape.com to utilize this free service.