Lindsey Dillingham

Most wedding showers have a theme.  Showers can be co-ed or just the girls.  I was recently invited to a shower that is an Around the Clock shower.  Every guest receives a time of day and they have to buy a gift that goes with that time of day.  For example, I got the time 8 a.m. and I bought the couple a coffee maker.  If the couple is outdoorsy, they might have an outdoors themed shower, where they would receive gifts such as a tent, sleeping bags, etc.  Another idea is a personal shower, where the bride-to-be receives lingerie.  This type of shower is very common.  A garden shower is also becoming very popular.  At this shower the couple receives gardening tips, flowers, and all the necessary gardening tools.  An afternoon tea party shower is also becoming popular.  Guests are treated to a tea party and can bring gifts to coordinate with the theme, such as tea cups or tea pots.  Wedding showers do not have to have themes, but themes can make showers more fun. 

Wedding favors can range from elaborate to simple.  Wedding favors are not a must, but many weddings include them.  They can range from specialized CD’s to decorated cookies.  I went to a wedding last summer that had votive candles with their names and their wedding date on it.  For my outdoor wedding I am thinking of having fans for each guest.  One elaborate favor idea I have heard of people making charitable donations in their guests’ names.  Other ideas are plants or water bottles with monogrammed labels.  Wedding favors can sometimes be waste of money.  Do people really want a candle with someone’s wedding date on it?  When choosing wedding favors one should think about their wedding theme and whether it is practical for guests. 

Save-the-dates are a new trend for weddings and more and more couples are using them. Save-the-dates are very self explanatory. They should go out five months before the wedding and just say the date and place on them. They can be in the form of magnets, stickers, postcards, or just on card stock paper. Save-the-dates are a chance to be very creative. Almost all invitation companies make save-the-dates or you can make them yourself. Save-the-dates are important if you are having a destination wedding or your wedding date is on a busy holiday weekend. If you are having a destination wedding, you should send out your save-the-dates up to one year in advance. This is to allow guests time to take off of work and save money for the trip.

Keep the information on the card simple: Include your name and the groom’s, your wedding date, where the celebration will be taking place, and your wedding Web site, if you’ve got one. I helped my best friend make save-the-dates for her wedding. We bought light turquoise card stock paper and brown ribbon. Her mom wanted us to use dried flowers, but we used a fun mad-hatter like cake graphic. Our font was very fun and was brown. It turned out super cute!!! Here is how we did it:
1. Type your information, centering each line. Use a fun or fancy font. Leave space at top for a dried flower or graphic.

2. Print on notecard-size paper. Have extra paper for test runs.

3. With a paintbrush, apply a thin layer of watered-down glue such as Elmer’s to the top of the card and attach a dried, pressed flower. Or instead of the flower, paint a simple shape like a swirl or heart at the top of the card using slightly watered-down craft glue and a watercolor brush. Or you could just find a cute graphic to include at the top, such as a wedding cake.
Another idea would be to attach translucent paper (aka vellum) to the card by punching a hole in both the card and vellum using a hole-puncher and then tie with ribbon or twine.

One of my best friends is getting married this summer. A friend and I are throwing her a wedding shower. Joy is getting married in July. We want to throw it for her before school is out so that nobody has to drive really far since we will all be spread out during the summer. Our tentative date is April 29. Most likely she won’t be registered by then because her fiance lives in San Antonio, so it is hard for them to find a time to do that together. Since she won’t be registered we are going to throw her a personal shower. Yes, that means lingerie. It will be a lot of fun! We are currently looking for a place to have it because I live in a sorority house and Rachel, the girl I am hosting with, has a small living room. Joy is my first good friend to get engaged and I am really excited about throwing this for her.

My maid of honor is my younger sister. We went to Oklahoma City to shop for bridesmaids dresses. The first place we went to was JJ Kelly Bridal. I have been looking at dresses online and they carried all of the brands that I liked. They carry Nicole Miller, Charsa, and Dessy dresses. They carry a few more brands, but these were my favorite. When I went wedding dress shopping I knew almost exactly what I was looking for. My only requirements for my bridesmaids dresses were that they were strapless and pale pink. I found two dresses that I love and that fit my sister great. One is long and the other is tea-length. I can’t decide what length I want to have. I also haven’t decided on how many bridesmaids I will have. I know for sure that I will be asking one of my long-time friends. She was gone on a spring break trip and wasn’t able to go with us. Eventually we will go back and decide. It takes three months for the dresses to come in and then my sister’s dress will have to be hemmed because she is so short. So while I still have plenty of time it is not something that I can put off until last minute.

My big spring break plans were nothing other than staying at home all week! I hadn’t been home since school started so I was quite okay with just going home. Since I have been home my mom and I have discussed nothing but my wedding. We sat down (without my dad) to figure out my wedding budget. My dad thinks that everything is too expensive so it is best to just leave him out of everything and just give him the final total. Planning a wedding can be very stressful, especially when you are on a tight budget from your family. My mom and I tried to plan how much everything would cost so that way I can have an idea of what I can spend on everything. We divided everything into categories, such as my dress, bridesmaids attire, flowers, photography, location fees, food, decorations, invitations, etc. I’m hoping I can stay within the limits that have been set. Now that I have a budget I feel that I can really start researching what I want and what I can afford. Planning your wedding budget should be one of the first steps in planning your wedding.