Ten Fabulous Ways to Indulge the Bride after the Wedding

I am reading The Bridesmaid Guide: Etiquette, Parties and Being Fabulous by Kate Chynoweth and I wanted to share with you some great ways to indulge the bride!

• Make a grand gesture to celebrate the couple’s commitment by planting a tree in their back yard the night before or after the wedding.
• Collect the disposable cameras from the reception tables and develop the film.
• Before the bride leaves the reception, give her a honeymoon kit stuffed with sunscreen, sunglasses, a great book for the plane, and blank journal in which to record her adventures.  Toss in those hilarious Polaroids you took at the rehearsal dinner.
• Organize an intimate post-reception gathering where everyone can kick off their shoes and toast the newlyweds one more time before hitting the hay.
• Leave a basket of treats on their dining room table the night before they return from their trip, to cushion their return to reality.  If you’ve forgotten to get their keys, leave a pretty bouquet and a Welcome Home card on their doorstep.
• Several months after the wedding, organize a girls’ night to revisit the bridal shower scrapbook, pore over the wedding photographs and reminisce about all the fun.
• Schedule a group manicure and pedicure with the girls to help her stave off the inevitable post-wedding depression after she gets back from the honeymoon.
• Give the couple theater, ballet, or concert tickets for an evening about a month after the wedding.  This give the couple a chance to dress up and go out on a date while they are still broke from the wedding, overwhelmed with unpacking and starting back to work.
• Offer to be the bride’s special helper at the reception after she and the groom depart, and collect the cake topper, the top tier of the wedding cake, the guest book, extra flowers, and the gifts, and transport them to a designated place.  The best man or the bride’s father will be in charge of tipping the musicians and caterers but you should add your enthusiastic thanks.
• If the couple isn’t leaving for their honeymoon immediately, decorate their bedroom or hotel room.  They’ll be thrilled after the long wedding day to find their wedding night chamber filled with a chilled bottle of champagne, fragrant flowers, a book of love poems, and a small portable stereo playing their favorite music.

Happy Planning!

Deb Merriner, Splash Consultant

5 Ideas for a Summer Wedding

Here are 5 quick ideas for a fun Summer themed wedding or event!

• Take advantage of the weather and have an outdoor wedding! We highly recommend having a tent set up to protect you and your guests in the chance of high temperatures or rain.
• Dress your tables with lightweight linens such as cotton and linen.  One of our favorite vendors in the area is gala cloths. 
• Decorate with Fruit: Lemons, limes and oranges can make gorgeous and inexpensive centerpieces!
• Nothing says a day at the beach more than bridesmaids in Lilly Pulitzer dresses or groomsmen in khakis and Vineyard Vines ties.
• Keep your guests cool; make sure when the temperature rises to have water easily accessible.  Chinese fans make great favors that can also keep you cool!

Happy Planning!

Julie Daniel, Splash Consultant

Creating Your Financial Future- Together

We wanted to let you know about an upcoming, free financial workshop that engaged or newly married couples could greatly benefit from. Thrivent Financial is offering a workshop on Saturday, August 7th to help couples find common ground with money management and work together to reach your goals.

 

From Me to We is a 50-minute education workshop that takes a stewardship approach to helping you prepare for your financial future. At this workshop you will learn to:

• Identify your values and attidues about money.
• Set goals and use a budget to help you reach them.
• Manage your money together.

Couples are asked to pre-register no later than August 1st by calling Corridor 7 Associates at 703-444-9576 or by emailing nancy.orta@thrivent.com.

From Me to We

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

11:00 AM

1950 Roland Clarke Place, Suite 120

Reston, VA 20191

Wedding Gown Preservation

One of the many concierge services we offer here at A Splash of Elegance is Wedding Gown Preservation through Wedding Gown Preservation Co.  

I wanted to share my experience with gown preservation as I was hesitant at first two send off my mother's gown so I'm sure other people are as well.  My mother's wedding dress has been hanging in a garment bag for the past 30 years at my dad's house.  For the past few years I have been nervous about it yellowing or being otherwise damaged.  Until I joined the Splash team last year I had never heard of gown preservation.  It had been on my long-term to do list to get it cleaned professionally, so when I heard about preservation I wanted to learn more.

After talking with Victoria (the owner of A Splash of Elegance) and learning about all of the advantages of gown preservation, I decided to take the leap and send off my mom's dress.  The process is so straight-forward and easy, Wedding Gown Preservation Co. does all the work for you.  Once I purchased the gown preservation kit, I simply put the gown (and veil and slip) in the pre-addressed box, jotted down my address on a form and taped it up!  Easy as 1-2-3!  The hardest part was leaving it at the UPS store, I was a little hesitant to let it go.  A few weeks later the package arrived at work (they will not deliver to a home address for security).  It was weeks quicker than I had anticipated and arrived wrapped up so nicely!

(My mom's wedding dress after being preserved)

The folks at Wedding Gown Preservation Co. were great to work with- I got an email as soon as they received my gown and an email letting me know of the progress.  They have been doing this for so long; they have seen it all and know they best ways to get out certain stains (did you know sugar causes the most damage to a dress), they know the best way to mend tears, and I can tell the truly care about each dress and each bride that they encounter.

I highly recommend preserving your wedding dress, your mom's, your grandma's, etc to save it from damage, so that future generations can enjoy it, there are so many reasons to consider preservation!  Please contact us if you are interested in having your gown preserved!

Happy planning-

Julie Daniel, Splash Consultant

How to Spot a Worthwhile Investment in a Vintage Wedding Dress

We wanted to share some tips we read in DIY Wedding: Celebrate Your Day, Your Way by Kelly Bare.  Enjoy!

Start with the fabric – natural fabrics (silk, cotton, wool) are superior to synthetic.  Rub it between your fingers – each has its own unique qualities: Silk shantung should feel heavy and substantial, lace should be delicate and lightweight, satin should be smooth and free of snags.  High quality fabrics will feel good in your hands, look beautiful and drape well on your body.  If the fabric needs “brightening”, a natural fabric brightens best.

Look for a designer’s label and make a note of what it says.  You may recognize the designer’s name immediately but if you don’t do some research.  (Note; handmade items often don’t have a label: consult an expert if you’re not sure what you’re looking at). 

Check the seams – are they double- or single-stitched? (Double-stitched is a sign of fine workmanship)  Either way, how are they holding up and can they withstand a night of dancing?  If there is not adequate seam allowance, do not think you will be able to alter a dress that is too small.  For that matter, don’t think you can lengthen a dress that is too short.)

Inspect the garment for obvious signs of wear – pilling, thinned fabric in places, tears and holes – and for stains.  Look more closely than you think is necessary and then take the garment to a window or even outdoors to get a good look at the dress in the kind of light you’ll have on your wedding day.  Broken zippers can be repaired but dresses with holes, stains and tears on other than a seam should be avoided.

If the dress has beading or other detail work, check the quality.   Pull (gently!) on the beads to see how firmly they are attached.  Look to see how many are missing.  If the garment is old, it’s almost guaranteed that some will have fallen off.  A seamstress can easily replace them


Speaking of seamstresses, our own Splash Consultant, Lynn Nelson, can honor any heirloom dress you may come to possess.   Check out her website http://www.bridalsilhouette.com/ to see some of the beautiful work she has done.  If you can dream it, she can design (or re-design) it!

Happy Planning-

Deb Merriner, Splash Consultant

How to Get Your Entourage to Bloom

Behind every beautiful bride you will most likely find a lovely group of devoted bridesmaids whose job it is to help usher the bride from her single to married life through any number of tasks and rituals.  What sometimes makes this a challenge is the configuration of the modern bridal party which is often comprised of not just sisters and extended family members on both sides but  college roommates, grade-school buddies and the new best friend at work.  As wonderful and supportive as these friends are to the bride, they are often complete strangers to each other.

When the bridal party is not a tight knit group of childhood friends who live in the same home town, there are options.  Perhaps the easiest way to break the ice when the bridesmaids hail from different parts of the county is to forward their email addresses to the maid of honor with a request to introduce herself to the bridesmaids via a short email.  (Best men can also take this tack with the groomsmen).  Including some interesting facts (how she met the bride, her hobbies and interest, her "sign", her favorite adult beverage, etc.) and a personal anecdote about the bride would be a great start.  She will certainly want to talk up how much fun the wedding will be and then request that everyone "reply all" with similar information along with their phone numbers and the best way/time to reach them.

Everyone can participate in this simplest of icebreakers for team bonding and who knows what new friendships will develop because of it!

Happy Planning-

Deb Merriner, Splash Consultant

The Splash Advantage

Why hire a Splash Consultant?  Here are the four reasons we share with Brides when they call to inquire after our wedding planning services.  We always assume they are shopping around for a planner so we want to let them know, even if they don't choose us, what to look for in a wedding planner.

Credentials:  Our Consultants are all members of the Association of Bridal Consultants and have completed their Professional Development Program in order to be designated as a Professional Bridal Consultant™.  Anyone can hang up their shingle as a wedding planner (sounds like a fun job, right?) but please make sure you are working with a professional who has the support and knowledge that comes along with an affiliation to a professional wedding association.  A Splash of Elegance is additionally a member of the Association of Wedding Professionals.

Flat Fee Pricing: When you sign a contract with Splash, you know what you are paying up front.  We choose not to charge a percentage of what your wedding costs so there are no surprises in the end.  Any discounts we receive from vendors are passed on directly to you- we take no kickbacks.  We want to make the wedding planning process as stress-free as possible!


Insurance:  A Splash of Elegance carries business insurance to make sure our Consultants are covered -- make sure you hire a "real" business. 
Back Up: With a large team of consultants, there is always someone available should you at the last minute need a planner (have you heard of our 911 service?).  In the unlikely event that your Consultant or the Assistant Coordinator becomes ill, we will always have someone available to step in and take over to make sure your event goes off without a hitch! 

Happy Planning!

Julie Daniel, Splash Consultant