RSVP Tracking

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After you've gone through the long, arduous process of compiling a guest list, ordering, addressing and mailing your invitations, getting your response cards back in the mail can feel like a huge sigh of relief.  More often than you would believe, you will get response cards that have either accepted or declined- they have just left off one key piece of information, the guest's name.  This can obviously be very frustrating, but something that is easily can be managed very easily.

When making your guest list identify each guest or family by number:

1. Jane and John Smith
2. Laura Webb

On the back of their response of their response card, pencil in very small #1, or 2 to correspond with the family's number on your spreadsheet.  When you get a response card in the mail with no name on it, but #2 written on the back, you will know that Laura Webb forgot to write in her name (and then you can call her and give her a hard time for leaving her name off).  

Happy Planning!

Julie Daniel

Southern Wedding Traditions

Originally posted on DCladies.com

Photo Credit: Photography by Mandi White

While we are technically south of the Mason-Dixon line, D.C. might not seem like the hub of southern culture and tradition.  Rarely do you find born and bred natives (like me), and most locals would not identify themselves as Southerners.  D.C. residents are from all over the country and the world which makes for a very unique culture.  Should you be getting married in the D.C. area and want to include some Southern traditions as a nod your family’s background or just for the heck of it, I wanted to share with you some of the top Southern wedding traditions.

• Stand in Bride- At the wedding rehearsal the bride will not walk down the aisle with her father but rather send a friend or bridesmaid (usually the maid of honor) in her place as it is considered bad luck for the bride herself to walk down the aisle at the rehearsal.

• The Father of the Groom is typically the Best Man and the bride’s brothers serve as groomsmen.  The bride’s brothers being groomsmen is not too surprising but the Father of the Groom is not something you see every day in most parts of the country.

• Groom’s cake- Why have one cake when you can have two?  A groom’s cake at the reception is an opportunity for the groom to show off his personality a little bit or pay homage to his favorite sports team or hobby.  They can range from tacky to classy and are catching on throughout the country.

• Brides will often receive pearls from her mother as a gift, from the time the girl is seriously dating a boy as a hint to hurry things up (as I have first hand experience- Southern mamas are relentless) or at some point during the engagement or on her actual wedding day.

• Monogramming- Not just for weddings, Southerners love to monogram everything.  One of my favorite bridesmaid gifts I’ve seen given is pink satin robes monogrammed with each bridesmaid’s initials that they wore while getting their hair and make done.  If you are going to be using your monogram on thank you notes for wedding presents, proper etiquette is to use your maiden name initials before the wedding and to not start using your married name initials until after the wedding (it’s considered bad luck).

• Registering for silver and china was traditionally a huge part of getting married and coming of age for a southern lady.  This tradition is slowly becoming less and less prevalent as brides are getting married later in life and already have (mostly) fully stocked kitchens by the time they get married.  Formal entertaining where silver and china is required is not on the top of most couple’s wish lists.

For more Southern Wedding inspiration one of my favorite resources is Southern Weddings Magazine.  Whatever your culture or heritage, I always encourage brides to incorporate it into their big day!

Happy Planning!

-Julie Daniel

Tangerine Tango Wedding Inspiration

The 2012 color of the year is Tangerine Tango, so we wanted to share some fun tangerine inspiration for your wedding or event!

Beaded Floral Embroidery from MJTrim.com:  MJ Trim is a great resource for ribbon, fringe, lace and all sorts of appliques to add a pop or color to your wedding!

Poms!  Poms add a touch of whimsy when hung from the inside of a tent, or from trees if you are having an outdoor ceremony or reception.

Tangerine Ring Bearer Pillow- for the bride who really doesn't mind doing things out of the box.

Paper Rosettes- These little rosettes would be great decor pieces throughout your reception and ceremony!

Happy Planning!

-Julie Daniel

Interview with Cindie Reinhold of Brides & Wedding of Northern Virginia

This week we had a chance to chat with Cindie Reinhold, publisher of Brides & Weddings of Northern Virginia.  Thanks Cindie!

I publish a local magazine (Brides & Weddings of Northern Virginia), website (www.bridesandweddings.com) and a blog (Bridal News Blog, http://bridesandweddings.com/wordpress), all designed to give brides helpful planning tools and keep them up to date with what's happening on the local wedding scene - be it wedding expos, bridal salon trunk shows and sales, catering open houses or available dates with area venues.

The inspiration for my business came from seeing a need in the marketplace for a quality-oriented, local planning guide. Brides who live, work and play in NoVA wanted a wedding resource that featured the vendors in their backyard. The editorial content in Brides & Weddings quite often comes from my advertisers - they are industry professionals who want to share their knowledge and expertise with the bride. And by staying in constant touch with those wedding professionals, I am able to find items of interest (and other cool stuff) for the Bridal News Blog. And, of course, I love food, fashion and fun - that's why I'm in the wedding business.

As for advice to brides & grooms: I say find the three or four things that are really important to your wedding vision, and put your time and resources into finding the perfect vendors for those products & services. Those things are going to be different for each couple. And that's where a professional event planner comes into play. She will help you identify what's important to your vision and recommend vendors who match your needs. A savvy event planner saves time, stress - and in the long run - money.

What to Look for When Hiring a Wedding Planner

Happy New Year! Congratulations to you if you were engaged over the holidays! I know you want to run right out and tell the world (which you should do immediately), and you are going to want to begin planning right away, too. Please begin by signing up for our email newsletter to receive our top wedding tips before you do anything, as you will find those very helpful.

When you begin your quest to find just the right wedding planner for you, there are some considerations that you need to keep in mind. Of course you will want someone with experience – all brides ask that question; and, you will want your wedding planner’s personality to mesh with you and your fiancé’s personalities.

In addition, here are some other things to consider –

• What are the wedding planner’s credentials? Is s/he accredited or certified through a wedding organization such as the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC), who also requires their members to keep up to date through continuing education? 

Note: All Splash Consultants are certified through ABC, and I serve as the Virginia State Coordinator for ABC. Our Consultants are required to have 36 hours of continuing education every year. In addition, Splash has a monthly training session on current topics for the Splash Team.

• Does the wedding planner have a real business or is s/he planning weddings as a hobby? While there are no State or Federal regulations for wedding planners, every wedding planner should be able to show you proof of a business license and at least one insurance policy. Many venues will not allow a wedding planner to work at their venue if s/he does not carry liability insurance, so make sure you ask your prospective planner! 

Note: A Splash of Elegance Event Planning, Inc. maintains a business license in Fairfax County, carries a $2M Liability Insurance Policy and Errors & Omissions Insurance.

• Kickbacks are very prevalent in the wedding industry. Does your prospective wedding planner accept kickbacks from other wedding vendors? 

Note: A Splash of Elegance is held to the standard of excellence outlined by the Association of Bridal Consultants, and does NOT accept kickbacks from any of the wedding vendors with whom we work. It is our belief that your money is your money. It is our job to keep you within or under your budget, and any money we can save you by using our trusted professional vendors goes straight to your bottom line.

• Who will step in on your wedding day if something happens to your planner and s/he is unable to work? 

Note: A Splash of Elegance maintains a team of credentialed wedding planners. Our team meets on a monthly basis to discuss our weddings and how we can best serve our bridal couples. In addition, each Consultant maintains a Splash notebook for each couple – ask your Consultant to see your Splash “bible.”

Please call or e-mail us for your complimentary meeting and happy planning!

Victoria Wagner

President & CEO

A Splash of Elegance Event Planning, Inc.

703.888.8728

info@asplashofelegance.com

Wedding Idea of the Week: Unique Place Cards

Wedding Idea of the Week: Use the colors of your wedding and the season your wedding is taking place in to create a unique place card!  For this fall-themed table, we used gourds to hold the place cards.  Contact us to start thinking of unique ideas for your wedding or event!