As l am from England,  of course l have BBC America! I absolutely love this channel and have come across a new television show (well new to BBC America anyway!) called Don’t Tell The Bride.

This show follows the groom-to-be who has been provided with $20,000 to create his bride’s wedding of her dreams. There is one catch however,  which is that the groom only has one  month to plan the wedding, from selecting the venue, invitations, wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses etc. and CANNOT speak or visit with his bride until the day of the wedding,  at the altar!

Throughout watching a couple of these episodes, l have felt excited, anxious, surprised and overwhelmed for these bride and grooms, and l do not even know these people! So this left me with a burning question for you bride-to-be’s out there.

Would you let your husband- to- be plan your wedding from start to finish, including selecting your wedding dress?

If you would like to start watching this nail biting television show, the next show airs on BBC America, July 17th at 9.00 P.M.

Happy TV watching!!

(image from BBCAmerica.com)

Zach Thomas took some of these amazing pictures of the wedding day, which are shown below. He is a great people person who puts everyone instantly at ease. He has a unique creative vision, and really captures the energy of the moment. To find out more information about Zach please check out his web site ztphoto.com.

Working with such a talented group of people is always an amazing experience, especially when you see everyone’s individual ideas come to fruition, creating a seamless wedding day event.

Creating your dream wedding cake involves many different decisions, including the number of tiers, shape and style, elaborate, simple or elegant. Of course one of the main decisions about selecting the right wedding cake is choosing the right flavors, and also to make sure the look of the cake fits in with your wedding day theme.

To some people the wedding cake is such an important part of the wedding day planning, and to others it is not. I know that l did not spend much time thinking about my wedding cake, but l wish l did now. I believe the important thing about making sure you get your dream wedding cake, is to work with an excellent wedding cake baker. Make sure to share every bit of your wedding cake vision with your cake baker, and they can help your visions come to fruition.

Pastry Chef Paul Collins has been in the pastry food service industry for over 29 years. He creates amazing and delicious cakes. He provided me with some pictures of his wedding cakes below.  To find out more about Chef Paul, please go to his web site: http://www.signaturecakesbypaul.com/. Finding the right cake baker can make creating your dream wedding cake, a piece of cake!!

Dear Emma & Melanie,

We just wanted to thank you both SO MUCH for all your help before & during our wedding!  You two were so professional & organized, but also a lot of fun!! We really enjoyed working with you and really want to thank you for a job VERY WELL DONE!  Your energy, enthusiasm, and organization during our wedding was worth every penny! Thanks again!

Love,
Colleen & J.T.

If you can master your nutrition you are well on your way to that perfect day.

If you would like to get some more information on nutrition, cardio and resistance training contact Tiegh Collins at TieghCollins.personaltrainer.llc@comcast.net.

David Hanscom, Former President of the National Association of Mobile Entertainers and current President of the North Florida Professional DJ Association offered his insight on this subject. “While gratuity is a hot button topic it is something that frequently gets overlooked.  It has always been customary to pay a gratuity to individuals that work in any service industry.  Vendors in the wedding industry, such as Planners, Disc Jockeys and Musicians all provide a specific service versus a product.  Many times their time and talent are how they measure their value and worth.  Customarily a 15 – 18% gratuity is reasonable when you feel a service provider has gone above and beyond your expectations.”

One of the most valuable signs of your appreciation to your vendors would be to recommend them to others. A thank you card to your vendors is also a nice touch to show your gratitude for their hard work. By incorporating your planned vendor tips into you’re wedding day budget, you will have one less thing to worry about on your big day.

For more information on wedding day gratuity, check out the following web sites:

http://www.hudsonvalleyweddings.com/guide/tipping.htm

http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com/wedding-gratuity-guidelines.htm

As soon as l got engaged, l was very excited to start planning for my special day. Even though l help to coordinate weddings, you really learn how easy it is to go over your wedding day budget when it is your own wedding. To keep within my budget l cut back on the things that l thought were not as important to me. However, looking back l now wish that l had really thought about it a little more. One of the biggest things that l wish l would have spent a little more money on was my photography package. Since l had a videographer l skimped a little on my photography package and did not get as many pictures as l had wanted. Nearly two years later l now know why people say to spend that little bit extra on your photographs, as a picture lasts a lifetime!

I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid and also coordinating the Bachelorette party.

I wanted to do something fun but also a bit different to the traditional Bachelorette parties that l had attended in the past. I decided to do some online research to get some fun party ideas. After some intensive research, l decided to order a Tarot Card Reader / Belly Dancer to attend the party. I was a little skeptical of how this would work out, not knowing how entertaining a Tarot Card Reader/ Belly Dancer would be. The company found at this web site: http://www.aleena.com/magi/ was very professional and leading up to the bachelorette party promptly returned any of my phone calls or emails.

On the night of the Bachelorette Party, I decorated the house with some fun items from Party City! Melanie, the Tarot Card Reader/ Belly Dancer arrived right on time. She immediately made everyone in the room feel comfortable and got straight down to business. We all got to have individual readings, which l must say were incredibly accurate. Everyone in the room was buzzing with excitement about their readings. Once the readings were complete, Melanie then gave all of the girls a lesson in Belly Dancing, which was quite a work out!

Melanie stayed for a little over two hours, and l feel like it was money well spent. She fit in with the group of girls splendidly! Everyone who attended the party had so much fun, especially the bride to be!!

1. Be organized. Have documentation, preferably an excel file, of all payments that have been made and all payments that still need to be made for the wedding. This way you will easily be able to stick to your wedding day budget, and you will be able to follow the payment progression.

2. Relax and unwind. A couple of weeks before the wedding, book a massage or facial at your local spa. This way you can spend at least one hour pampering yourself and relaxing your mind and body.

3. Exercise. If you are too busy to hit the gym, try taking a 20 minute walk or jog around your neighborhood. This will help you to work out any tensions and frustration you may be feeling.

4. Don’t stress the small stuff! Worrying about how the weather maybe on the wedding day, or how Aunt Sue may react to seeing Uncle Bob, are minute details, that do not need to be fussed over. Relax and take comfort in knowing that your wedding day will be magical, no matter what happens.

An important thing to remember when the wedding day is near by is to ask for help. Family and friends will be there for you, and would probably love to take over any tasks that maybe causing you stress.