Most of our posts are oriented toward brides, but this one is applicable to grooms as well.  Getting married is a huge life-altering decision.  Huge life-altering decisions are scary to make, so it's natural to be nervous in the days leading up to your wedding--few people aren't.  You'll probably ask yourself if you're doing the right thing a thousand times, and you may begin to drive yourself crazy.  In most cases, you're just experiencing "the jitters".  In a few cases, someone may decide they are not making the right decision for themself, and decide not to go through with the ceremony.  This decision will lead to surprise, shock and probably some hurt feelings.  To assuage their own feelings of conflict, the one who cancels may seek seclusion to "sort it all out".  That's natural too, but remember the world doesn't stop when you're not participating in it.  It's important to let someone know you're OK.  Try not to do things that make your mother think you'll be dredged from the bottom of a river.  That's tough on moms.  Also, your fiancee' will be shocked, embarassed, and heartbroken.  He or she may react to you with anger to alleviate their feelings.  Be prepared for that.  Eventually, you'll have to see your friends and family again.

Time will tell how this current story will play out.  Will the bride be ordered to compensate the police for seach expenses?  This has apparently happened in other similar instances.  Will criminal charges be brought for initially reporting a kidnap?  Will the couple eventually get married?

Come what may in your wedding planning, it's important to think through your feelings, and be open and honest with your loved ones.  It may help to talk to someone you trust--perhaps your mother, father, a sibling, or your best man/maid of honor--about how you're feeling.  Speaking out loud, even to a pet, is a surprisingly effective way to clarify your thoughts and feelings.

A wedding is a ceremony that marks the uniting of two lives as one, but each one has to be making the best decision for their own self.  We can't reiterate enough that honesty and openness are key.  Feelings will be hurt--there's no way to avoid that.  But being true to yourself and honest with those around you is of paramount importance, and not just when your planning your wedding.

Whether you have a wedding to announce, a new baby in the family or a photogenic pet, PhotoStamps are a fun and easy way to add a personal touch to everything you send in the mail! You can also give them as unforgettably unique gifts, or keep them and frame them so you and your family can treasure your PhotoStamps for years to come!

"Perfect for weddings" is the claim, and how true.  What a cool way to personalize your invitations--the stamps can feature you and your fiancee'!  The USPS has authorized Stamps.com to offer PhotoStamps again.  After a trial last year, Stamps.com has been authorized to offer personalized stamps for your letters.  According to Stamps.com:

PhotoStamps are a new form of postage that allows customers to include their favorite digital photographs, designs or images on valid US Postal Service postage. Customers design state-of-the-art, professional-looking postage by simply uploading pictures from existing image files, digital photographs, and original graphics. An intuitive interface allows users to flip, rotate, and zoom in and out of their images, as well as add colored borders to create harmonized themes.

You set up your account, upload a digital photo, tweak it if you want to, and order your stamps in sheets of 20.  There is an additional charge for the personalization, which works out to cost about 75-cents for a 37-cent stamp (the stamps are available in other values as well).  The price goes down with each additional sheet of stamps you buy.  Remember that your invitations will probably require more than 37-cents to mail, so you may be buying a number of sheets.  It would be a good idea to weigh a complete invitation at the post office to figure the correct postage.  The average invitation costs around $1.00 each to mail, so your postage bill for 100 invitations would be approx. $150 for PhotoStamps, vs. around $100 for regular postage.

This is probably not for the couple on a tight budget, but if you have a little room to personalize your invitations, PhotoStamps are an idea to consider.  Get started today!

After today's weddings, we picked up the latest Alison Krauss CD, then grabbed a couple of Frappuccinos at Starbuck's.  Spring is here, and Mother's Day is approaching, and it seems everywhere we look, there are flowers.

The back cover of Alison's CD features a dressing room vignette with a vase of dried roses.  Starbuck's featured gift cards for Mother's Day with a cartoon flower envelope.  The window dressers at department stores and the prints at fabric stores feature flowers.  It's no coincidence.  Flowers add color and elegance.  Flowers set the mood, whether it's a store display or the Today show set.  And when it comes to planning your wedding, you don't have to think too hard about how to help set the mood you want.  Arrangements at the bar or in the bathrooms and petals scattered on the tables can help to unify your event throughout the entire location.  Many florists (us included) have for rent grand arrangements you can use to greet your guests in the entryway.

When it comes to setting moods and unifying themes, the experts choose flowers.  Your wedding deserves nothing less than what the experts choose.

Your invitation order should include either a small guide, or a pre-assembled invitation for you to examine.  In case not, here's what to do:

1. Address the mailing envelopes with the invitees' full address and the return address, if necessary (on many invitations, you can order the return address pre-printed on the outer envelope).
2. Address the inner envelopes with the invitees' names only.
3. Place the invitation face-up on a table.
4. Place a piece of tissue over the imprint area.
5. Place the reception card (if any) face up, on top of the tissue.
6. Tuck the response card face up under the flap of the response envelope, and place on top of the reception card (or tissue) with the response card facing up. Don't forget to put a stamp on the response envelope.
7. Place the entire pile inside the inner envelope.  The back of the invitation should rest on the inside of the flap as you insert the pile.  Fold the flap, but do not seal the inner envelope.
8. Place the inner envelope inside the mailing envelope.  The names on the inner envelope should face the back of the mailing envelope, so that when the mailing envelope is opened, the invitees will see their names.  Seal and stamp the mailing envelope.  You should take one invitation to the Post Office and have it metered so you can apply proper postage.  Fully assembled invitations are relatively heavy, and odd shapes may also require extra postage.

There will be some variations depending on how traditional or non-traditional your invitations are.  The main point is that your guests should see their names on the inner envelope as the mailing envelope is opened, and should read the response card when the inner envelope is opened.  The image below is courtesy of Birchcraft Studios:

Q: How much packing material do you buy each year?

A: None.

That's right!  Since we began the online part of our wedding business over two years ago, we have never purchased packing materials (aside from tape and recyclable corrugated boxes).  Every peanut, air pack and crumbled kraft paper that protected the thousands of items we've shipped was a re-use from our suppliers.  We work with the beauty of nature every day, and we enjoy the open farmland, parks and forests so abundant in our area (one of us even holds a BS in Environmental Science from Allgheny College).  The stems and leaves cut from our flowers have become mulch in our gardens, and we return the vast majority of shipping boxes back to our flower wholesalers.  As we grow, we'll continue to find ways reduce, reuse and recycle so our arrangements aren't the only place you'll find nature's beauty.

You'll see a lot of advice while planning your wedding about when to visit what vendor.  A lot of this advice comes from people who write about weddings, but don't actually produce weddings.  We'll give you some real insider's information here.

Before you reserve any vendor, you'll need to have your date and time.  These are determined by your ceremony location and reception location.  Book these first, especially if your church or hall has significant meaning for you.

Once you have your date and time worked out, find the vendors you want to talk to.  There's not doubt you'll find somebody to handle anything at your wedding, but do you really want just anybody to be a part of your special day?  Some vendors, such as photographers and DJs, can only service one wedding at a time.  Others, such as florists or bakers, can handle one or more per weekend, depnding on the size of the event.  Couture florists and bakers may only take one extravagant event as they wish.  Larger bakeries and dress shops can accomodate many, many events at a time.

In our case, we begin booking events about 18 months in advance, and the most popular weekends are completely booked at least one year in advance.  We have several May and June weekends in 2006 already full.  A good DJ friend of ours is almost completely book two years in advance.

Here's your insider tip: The top vendors book up quickly.  As soon as you have your date and time, begin contacting the vendors on your list.  You don't need to know exactly what flowers you want, or have your playlist worked out, to book these vendors.  In our case, a $50 deposit will guarantee your day.  We'll take some general information about your wedding at that time, and plan to meet with you during a slower time.  Although we write from a florist's point of view, we know our photographer and DJ friends have similar policies in place.  We'll all guide you as to when we need your shot lists, play list, or bouquet selections.

If you want to meet with a couple of different vendors, we always encourage that.  Make sure you find someone who understands your vision and can work within your budget.  But don't dally in meetings or decisions, or your top choices may be gone.  If you're out of town, you can reach us or a number of other top vendors via e-mail.  We can accomplish a lot--even planning entire weddings--via e-mail.

One of us sort of bungled the pricing on an invitation order this weekend (the couple got a really good deal), so this entry is as much a cheat-sheet as anything else.

Carlson Craft, Birchcraft and Regency invitations are 30% off every day.  Tempo invitations are 20% off everyday.  All napkins, matchbooks, seals, etc. are 20% off every day.  Shipping averages $8-$12, and turnaround time is 10-14 days.

If you can't make it in to look through our books, you can browse and order invitations on-line.  If you order your wedding invitations on-line, you will still receive the discount.

You can order Carlson Craft invitations, napkins, etc. at http://bloomery.cceasy.com.  Birchcraft invitations can be ordered from http://www.yourinvitationplace.com/bloomeryweddings, and Regency invitations can be ordered online at http://bloomeryweddings.regency.ac/.  Make sure to click these links in order to receive your discount.