Wedding Ideas That Make Planning Fun

For some reason, coffee, tea, and dessert treats really work well with fall and winter theme weddings. Almost everyone can imagine walking on a crisp fall night with some hot tea or good coffee. Just thinking about pumpkin pie brings back good memories of Thanksgiving and football with the anticipation of Christmas just around the corner.

All those delicious treats make us feel good - the tastes, the scents, the memories - and it is no different when it comes to holiday events and weddings. Just including a specialty coffee, tea, or treat is enough to bring back memories of good times that carry over into the good time everyone is already having on your big day. Along those lines, we thought we'd take a minute to bring up a few things you can do to spice up those fall and winter receptions.

Start with great coffee or tea. Use a special blend that includes holiday flavors - mint, crème, nut, or vanilla flavors would work well. If you want to use a more normal flavor, you can still achieve the effect with mix-ins, flavored crèmes, whipped cream toppings topped with candy or mint shavings. Mint or candy cane stirrers won't hurt either.

Serve that coffee or tea in a unique way. Most reception halls will have some kind of fancy coffee pot like the one on our inexpensive wedding ideas page that will add a little flair to an otherwise simple table. Simple twists on the typical coffee cup - like clear mugs with a short stem and handle ensure that your drinks will taste and look good. Again, many places can do this for you with ease - just ask.

If you don't want to use the drink - use the cup. You can put anything from scented candles to potpourri to ice cream treats in coffee mugs or teacups. It's a simple and inexpensive way to make the ordinary seem unique.

When it comes to edible treats, there are any number of things to use that are really a matter of personal choice. To make it easier, here are a few tips. If you want to make a do it yourself treat, you can get special pens that write on cookies and icing from stores like www.kitchenkrafts.com. You can also transfer drawings, designs, pictures, and logos to cakes and similar treats with rice paper, piping gel, royal icing, and even edible frosting sheets printed with edible ink from a computer printer. See our do it yourself monogram cookies page for details.

Whatever you decide to use, don't pass up the opportunity to evoke some good old fashioned holiday memories with scents and treats from the season. There's something about good food and great aromas that just makes people happy. That can only be good for you and your guests, too.

October 9, 2006 - Monogram Wedding Cake Toppers - Still Going Strong, but Changing

Monogram wedding cake toppers have been popular for a while now, but the trend is changing a little bit. As more options have shown up on the market, the types of toppers being used have broken up into three main categories. If you're in the market for a monogram cake topper now, you'll find an increasing variety of toppers in "off the shelf", jewelry, and custom varieties.

"Off the shelf" monogram cake toppers

Generally speaking, these toppers are offered in a single or small number of fonts with limited options. There are usually a couple of different sizes to choose from and there may or may not be options for a predetermined crystal design and color. Things to consider:

• Some designs are starting to become common, meaning that you may see your topper at another wedding. This may or may not matter because the letters will probably be different anyway.

• They're generally both affordable and returnable since they're "off the shelf" and not custom made just for you.

• If you want to coordinate the font with other items in your wedding, you'll probably have to start with the "off the shelf" cake topper's font and match the other items to it rather than the other way around. There is some variety in fonts but it is somewhat limited.

Jewelry type monogram cake toppers

Unless you have an unlimited budget to hire a custom jeweler to custom fashion a cake topper out of precious metals with the accompanying precious stones, you're going to have an "off the shelf" type of selection here, too. However, there will be more options, albeit at a significantly higher price. Things to consider:

• With jeweled cake toppers, you have some of the same issues as with any jewelry. You should distinguish between silver finish, silver plated, and solid silver. If gold, 10K, 14K, 24K? If jeweled, will you have diamonds, cz, or some other stones? Will they be good diamonds or yellow in color?

• Depending on the quality of the jewelry, you'll find all kinds of prices. As with any jewelry, if the price is too good to be true, look for a reason.

• Especially with precious metals, find out the thickness before buying and decide if that matters for your needs.

• There are some affordable, quality, jewelry style options out there. Though you may be limited in font, style, or design, some of them look great. Just be careful to not get carried away in a "keeping up with the Joneses" race to outdo someone else. After all, it's a cake topper, not something you'll be able to wear forever or probably even use again, beyond some shelf display options.

A good rule of thumb is this - if it looks great, you won't have to say anything about it. Everyone will appreciate it for what it is. If you find yourself having to explain how great it is because it's made of this or that (or any jewelry for that matter), you're probably going to sound pretentious.

Custom monogram cake toppers

Offering the most flexibility of the monogram topper options, these can be as inexpensive as the "off the shelf" models or as expensive as the lower end jewelry versions. Things to consider:

• Custom monogram cake toppers allow you to pick a font that's already in use elsewhere in your wedding. They also allow you to pick any font - since they're custom made, it doesn't matter.

• Crystal design is entirely up to you in a custom design - sizes, colors, and placements are all up to you. It's important to note that you can save a lot of money by adding do it yourself crystals for even more customization. It's easy and inexpensive to do.

• Custom designs are usually made from aluminum or mirrored materials to minimize expense. Custom made precious metals can get very expensive so it's harder to find those types of designs.

• When you order anything personalized or custom made, it's usually replaceable but not returnable. In other words, you can get errors or shipping damage problems fixed but you may not be able to return an item that was made just for you at your request. This is usually part of the terms and conditions of such an order. If you're not sure, it would be better to pick an "off the shelf" design.

Where the trend is going.

While the trend is still going strong, it's no longer "something new". As a result, people are looking for ways to find that unique look. Increasingly, the trend toward custom monograms and wedding logos is picking up steam. Logos often come in the form of a symbol or a monogram/symbol combination. Look for more of those in the coming months.

October 25, 2006 - Forgetting to Plan for the Small Things in Your Wedding Can Cause Big Hassles at Just the Wrong Time

Most brides don't think much about this but maybe they should. If you're like the majority of the population, saving money is a big part of planning a wedding. Usually, people think of that in terms of the big stuff. Reception halls, honeymoons, dresses, and menus take up a big part of the budget and deserve the attention they get in the planning and budgeting process.

But there are lots of little things that you'll get along the way or want to get at some point. Decorations, stationery items, favors, place cards, and all those "little" things add up to quite a bit when it's all said and done. Here are a few things to consider that may make a big difference in your budget for all those little things.

Because the little things seem insignificant in our minds, the tendency is to put off the search for them. But this poses a few problems.

• When you have a month or two to go, you're going to want to focus only on the big stuff - and there will be plenty of it to handle.

• The further along you get in your wedding planning, the harder it is to incorporate the "perfect" decoration, favor, or treat. This means it's going to take even longer to find that perfect thing. Then…

• Once you've looked with time that you didn't have to spare for the perfect item, color, style, and so on, you still may not be able to get it. If you've only left yourself with a month or two to get it ordered and delivered, you'll be up against processing time limits for personalization, backorder difficulties, and any host of other issues that could have been easily handled if you had enough time to spare.

• To correct some of those issues, it may cost more money than it otherwise would have. You may have to order rush processing and expedited shipping while hoping that the vendor got your order right and the shipper didn't damage it during delivery.

All of this adds up to wasted time, energy, and money - all of which are in shorter supply as your wedding day draws nearer. Instead of scrambling to the finish line, consider literally scheduling your planning process. This will help to even out your time and money expenditures while giving you options in case things go wrong. A couple of other tips you might be interested in:

• Wedding styles and products ebb and flow with the seasons. If you see a unique design or product that you really want, don't wait too long. A few months from now, that product or style may be nowhere to be found - discontinued until long after your event. This goes for anything from favors to stationery to themed items of all sorts.

• If it's late summer or fall, and you see a sale, take advantage of it. After the holidays, wedding season kicks in full swing until late summer again. Wedding companies can get so busy that they may raise prices just to slow things down. Like any other industry, high season is not the time to find great bargains.

• Along those lines, expect that some of the designs, products, and styles that retailers have in the fall, will be long gone after Christmas. The end of a year is a time of clearing out product lines and inventory to make room for new things in the new year. If there's something that you know you want, don't assume that it will still be there after the new year.

Most of all, pace yourself. Wedding planning is meant to be more of a marathon than a sprint. If you find yourself sprinting at the end, you'll lose some of the peace you'd otherwise have as your big day draws near. While everyone starts to feel some stress as everything and everyone comes together at the same time, you can save yourself from extra hassle and expense by planning your pace when planning the details.