Tuesday Tips | Volume 13 | Your Vermont Wedding Planner

Hello from Vermont! This week our hearts are with our friends in Scituate who were pummeled by the high surf from the Nor'easter over the weekend. I hope everyone has time to secure their homes before the next storm moves in tomorrow. OK, let's talk about something near and dear to my heart... flowers, more importantly, a bridal bouquet.  During my floral design years, making the bridal bouquet was always the highlight of my week.  It was the icing on the cake for sure. This week let's chat about how to hold your bouquet so it looks great on video or in pictures.  

How To Hold Your Bridal Bouquet

Photo by Kelsey Regan Photography

How to hold your bridal bouquet.  Seems like such an easy thing to do, doesn't it?  It is, but with a little guidance we can make sure you have it positioned in your pictures so it doesn't cut off your dress or draw attention to an area you would rather not.  I've always felt it was so much easier to explain this technique in person when handing off a bouquet to a bride.  You should loosely hold the bouquet with two hands close to the flowers, high up on the stems. You should relax your arms and let your elbows point out slightly while your arms were bent just a bit more than 90 degrees.  When we were in the bouquet making business we always placed a pearl pin in the back as a guide so that you would know you had the back facing you.  If your thumb was on that pin then the best side was always facing forward.  Like I said, it's so much easier to show you how to do this in person.  Thankfully for us one of Vermont's premiere floral designers Sarah Jo Willey of Creative Muse Floral Design has a video about this very topic.  Sarah Jo truly is an expert in this field and she has valuable insight.  Pay close attention as we hit the 2:30 mark.

Special thanks to SJ  for sharing her video with me.

Tuesday Tips | Volume 5 | Your Vermont Wedding Planner

Greeting from Vermont! We are FINALLY out of the deep freeze. Today the sky is blue and it kind of feels like Spring, if you close your eyes and ignore the snow. Ahhh, life in Vermont! Last week we started a conversation about prioritizing your budget so it seems to me the logical next step to take is to talk about your guest list. Your list opens up a whole new can of worms so let's break it down. Today I will address the age old question...

Should We Invite Children To Our Wedding?

                                                        Photography by Kelsey Regan Photography at Topnotch Resort

Your guest list is always a delicate matter but whether or not to invite kids might be the hardest decision of all.  I have had couples agonize over this decision.  This decision is yours and yours alone.  I can't make it for you but I can give some advice around the decision.  Make the decision early and stick with it... no wavering.  If the answer is "Yes, we love children and want them to attend".  Great!  Let's talk about a kids table and maybe an activity or two to help when they get bored.  If the answer is "No way".  Again, Great.  That was easy.  If the answer is "We obviously want our flower and ring bearer who are 2 and 5 but no one else under the age of 12" well, this is where is gets a bit tricky.  Having perimeters around age and who is allowed to bring their children is a decision, it's just one that comes with some explaining. We can talk about how to work that conversation in early before there are any hard feelings. It might be best to just pick up the phone and speak directly with anyone who you feel might take issue with your decision.  I think feelings get hurt when guests 'hear it through the grapevine'.  Invitations are a great way to help clarify the guest list too.  When addressing the invitations we need to make sure it is crystal clear who is invited for the wedding festivities. We can also add a message on your save the dates and your wedding website. If your wedding is a destination wedding and you feel that your friends and family may not want to leave their children for an extended period of time you can consider offering a Nanny Service.  We have some great ones here in Vermont. 

At the end of the day, this is a decision for the couple. Talk it over early; stick with your decision; make everyone aware of the choice you make and the reasons behind it.  And lastly, be happy that this decision is behind you and you are officially one step closer to your wedding day.  If you want to chat more about your guest list and all of your wedding planning reach out by clicking the button below.