Blush + Bashful

Did you know that the vendor meals you order from your caterer or reception venue are usually a cheap, soggy  turkey sandwich? That’s right. All of the hardworking vendors you love that have been with you the entire day are being served a stale sandwich. Often they don’t even have a chair to sit their tired butts down on!

I just thought you should know.

(Hint: Order them a hot meal!)

Each year we see new trends popping up at parties during the holiday season. This year I’m excited about easy, inexpensive, and interesting ideas that make a statement without fuss. Set your party apart from the rest by adopting one or two of these!

1) Greener festivities…Use natural elements for your decor and you’ll save money by borrowing items from Mother Nature. You’ll reduce carbon emissions from fuel by not buying junk shipped from China and you’ll keep waste from our landfills. If you add just one organic menu item to your feast, you’ll save pounds of pesticides from polluting the groundwater! I’m not sure how many pounds exactly, but surely you’ll do some good.

2) Charitable donations…Many companies are opting not to have a Holiday Party at all for their employees this year and are instead donating to a favorite charity. PriceWaterhouseCoopers is one of these companies. They are known for throwing lavish fiestas with thousands of guests at fabulous locations like the Field Museum and Soldier Field. This year, they are opting not to partake. Although I love a great party, of course, I think that this is a wonderful idea.

3) Signature drinks…Will never go away! Try something unique like the Snowball Martini for your bash. It’s so easy! Just make “snowballs” out of shaved ice or sorbet and use them as ice cubes in your favorite martinis. I had one the last time I was in Seattle and it was fab!

4) Lose the red and green…Try a new color combination such as the royal aubergine and gold or deep turquoise and bronze (it’s the new tiffany and chocolate, according to HGTV). You’ve also got sage and chocolate, aqua and red, or gold and ivory. Fun!

5) Repurpose…Use items that aren’t traditional Christmas decorations and give them a holiday shine with glitter or ribbon. Be creative with what you have around your house! I’ve seen the most simple vase transformed into a beautiful holiday display by simply filling it with ornaments.

6) Casual…instead of slaving all day on a roast, try something simple and comforting. What could be more fun than a mac-and-cheese bar? Serve ooey gooey macaroni with special mix-ins displayed in bowls giving guests options like bacon, chives, jalepenos, or hot dog pieces. Pair it with mini burgers or pulled pork and you have a satisfying meal that is just as delicious as something you slaved away all day working on!

7) Forgo the holiday theme…Have a tropical holiday! Crank up your heat and invite guests to sport their finest Hawaiian shirts for a little getaway in the middle of December. Serve pina coladas and food from your favorite tropical destinations. You can find silly decorations at Oriental Trading Company that take the theme to the next level.

Wedding season is winding down for the year and I’ve got my mind on one thing: VACATION. It’s time to get away!

My hubby and I are taking off at the end of the month on a week-long trip to Aruba for some much-needed R&R. To prepare for our hiatus, I have been daydreaming about white sandy beaches, palm trees swaying in the breeze, glorious orange sunsets, friendly locals, and frosty pina coladas (served in coconuts with little umbrellas, of course).

Alas! Never one to forget about my job for long,  I’ve decided that fantasizing about planning fabulous destination weddings where I get paid to coordinate these things for adorable clients in flowing sheath dresses and crisp linen pants is a much better use of my time.

While we haven’t done a destination wedding  per-se (do Lake Geneva and Northwest Indiana count?), don’t rule us out for your out-of-town nuptials. We’d love to work with you and your family to come up with a plan for tackling your Destination Wedding with as much style and enthusiasm as we have for the Windy City…and maybe more if the destination is insane!

That being said, I’ve decided to dedicate as many pre-vacation blogs as I can to Destination Weddings until I get this out of my system. Stay tuned for fun and exciting blogs about destination wedding trends!

Your wedding here:

There are two ways to budget for your wedding.

1) Start with the amount you have to spend…and then spend that amount.

2) Start with the amount you have to spend…and then spend more.

Usually, couples come to me saying that they have a specific budget for their wedding. Then, we talk about their wants and needs and how they relate to this budget. We have two ways to go from there. We can make decisions based on their budgeted amount and stick to that amount, regardless of what they truly like. Or, we can make decisions based on what they truly love. If the latter is the case, we will almost always go over budget. (Disclaimer: I always try to keep couples on-budget. That is my job!!)

So, how can we stick to our budget and have the wedding we truly want?

My very wise friend, Meighan, who was married five years ago, gave me some priceless advice when I was planning my own wedding. She said, “Choose ONE area to really wow your guests and let the rest go.” This is a great strategy for saving money because it makes you focus your funds. If you want to go overboard with flowers and lighting and decor, serve chicken or pasta instead of beef tenderloin. If you had to have Cake Girls, then maybe you cut out the champagne toast and midnight snack. If your location will blow everyone away on it’s own, maybe your decor is quite simple. Wedding planning, like marriage, is a give-and-take.

In the end, you don’t want to have regrets about how you spent whatever amount of money you had for your wedding, so be sure that each decision you make is well-researched and true to you as a couple. If you follow those two simple guidelines and heed my fabulous friend’s advice, you’ll be setting yourself up for a matrimony made in budget heaven.

As we discussed in the previous post, we’re all trying to save money these days. I tried to give a few ideas about what to do to save big bucks on your wedding celebration. Now, here’s what NOT to do…

1) Don’t put your wedding on a credit card, unless you have a detailed plan for how you are going to quickly pay it off. The average Chicago wedding costs well over $50,000. That is a HUGE amount of money to put on the plastic without thinking it through.

2) Don’t assume that you’ll get anything from your guests as a gift. Yes, I know this is a taboo subject! But, I’ve seen it time and time again where couples go overboard thinking that they will “make it back” from their guests in cash gifts. Although there is an etiquette rule that tells guests to give a gift that covers the cost of their meal at the reception, most guests have no idea about this rule or how much their meal costs! You’ll be incredibly lucky to get even a quarter of your money “back.”

3) Don’t register for things you don’t need. Yes, the $500 print from Pottery Barn is beautiful and the perfect thing to put over your bed. However, if someone is hugely generous and gives you the $500 print when you really could use something else (like cash), you’ll be kicking yourself later.

4)  Don’t assume that you’ll be able to negotiate with your vendors on their price. Please remember that each of your vendors has to pay the bills, too! If you do try to negotiate, be fair. Ask for things like a small amount of additional time or a free set of prints that doesn’t cut into the vendor’s bottom line as much. Don’t come to them pleading, “I only budgeted $400 for your service. Can you match that?” That can be offensive!

5) Don’t forget to factor in “hidden” costs. Yes, you may be able to afford to rent a venue for $6,000 for your celebration. But, look closely at the contract to see what that cost includes. Often, you are simply renting the space without tables and chairs and often for an amount of time that may be too short for your event. Be sure to ask plenty of questions before signing the contract.

6) Don’t be afraid to back out of your contract. If something happens like job loss or home foreclosure, it is often better to cut your losses and see if you can cancel your elaborate wedding reception. Yes, there will be financial penalties for doing so. However, it’s better to lose $5,000 than to spend $75,000 you don’t have. Keep the date at the church and get married. But, lose the expensive reception. It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all…

7) Don’t jump into signing a contract that you are uncomfortable with. If the price is too high, but you just love the vendor, think it through! Talk to more vendors and see if there is anyone else who comes close. Talk to that vendor about other options. They may have smaller packages to better suit your needs.

Now that I officially feel like Debbie Downer,  I’ll repeat my message from the previous post. BE SMART about how you spend your wedding budget and you’ll be fine. Be happy! You are marrying your best friend.