As you plan for your big day, you've probably seen wedding planning tips about how to choose a wedding budget, a date, a theme and a venue, but I bet you've never been told how to prevent a first dance disaster or what one food is sure to make every guest happy.
There are practical tips, like to review vendor contracts before signing them, and then there are the overlooked ones you don't often read in wedding planning books. To make sure you get from "I will" to "I do" without any hiccups along the way, here are some helpful tips you don't want to ignore.
Insure Your Ring
After you call mom to tell her you're engaged, call your insurance agent and add your engagement ring to your homeowner's policy. Your glowing "just engaged" look disappear if you lose your ring, the stone falls out or it gets stolen.
A Bridal Magazine Subscription Can Save You Money
Magazines offer subscriptions for a full year of issues at a significant discount over the cover price. The money you'll save can be put towards other wedding details, and you'll never have to worry about missing an issue because it will be shipped to your door even before it hits stands.
__How to Know Which Dress is "The One" __
Just like the guy, you'll just know which wedding dress is the dress. It may be love at first sight, but the true sign is that you won't want to take it off and if you do try on something else you'll want to put "the one" back on. But trust me. You'll know. You'll feel it.
Picking Your Color Palette
A simple (and free) way to decide on your wedding's colors is to visit a local paint store and collect paint chips. Take them home, lay them out on a white surface and group the colors you like together. Play with them. You'll soon see there are certain colors you're gravitating towards. Take your favorites to your florist to help make the final decision.
Bridesmaid Dresses: Guidelines for Your Girls
If you've decided to let your maids pick their own dresses, give them some guidance as to the exact shade, the length and the degree of formality. You want to make sure everyone looks great, feels comfortable and, most importantly, is coordinated.
Remember to Re-Register Again and Again
After you register for gifts, items will soon disappear from your wish list as people purchase them, or as the store runs out or discontinues items. To ensure your guests can easily find gifts that you want or need, make sure your registry is fully-stocked at all times. Add items to your registry about the time invitations go out for any pre-wedding parties—engagement party, bridal showers—and for the wedding. If you don't, you risk the chance of receiving unwanted gifts that you don't need, want or worse, can't return or exchange.
The Must-Serve Wedding Food
Pigs in a blanket or PIBs are the number one wedding cocktail hour food, hands-down. Guests of all ages will seek out the waiter with the PIB tray and gobble them down. But, more important than the PIB, which should be the classic mini-hot dog in a small doughy "bun" and not a fancier version, is the mustard you serve along side it. Opt for a deli-style mustard for the right amount of kick.
Test Drive Your Directions Card
Before you print and mail your wedding invitations with direction cards to your ceremony and reception locations make sure they're both clear and correct. Ask a few people who don't know how to get to your venues to test them out, since presumably, you know how to get there and may not read the directions as closely as you should.
What to Wear When You're Getting Ready
After all the time you spend the morning of your wedding getting your hair and makeup done, you don't want to take any chances smearing your face or mussing your hair.Since you won't be wearing your wedding dress at the beauty salon, put on a button down shirt so you can easily change out of it and into your gown. And just in case you forget and wear a T-shirt to the salon, the scissors in your emergency kit will come in handy when your bridesmaids have to cut your shirt off.
How Not to Slip Up on the Dance Floor
Before taking your first turn on the dance floor, it's important to score the soles of both the bride and groom's shoes. Take a scissor or sharp knife and carve several lines both horizontally and vertically into the heel and sole. If the dance floor has recently been waxed, an unscored shoe can lead to a disastrous slip and fall.
Anne Chertoff is the author of wedding planning blog From I Will to I Do. For more wedding planning tips and style ideas check out Anne's posts at WeddingWire.More Ways to Get Glamour
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