NC Destination Wedding Planner Blog | Elite Bridal Concierge™

Bridal Tops for Strapless Gowns

Posted by Tabitha on Feb 25, 2012 in bridal gowns | 0 comments

In some religious congregations, women are not permitted to wear strapless attire to church service, nor during their wedding ceremony as sign of respect. So I wanted to feature a few stylish options for covering your shoulders and backs without some of you spring and summer brides feeling like you’re compromising the beauty of your bridal gowns. These fabulous bridal gown accessories are from Rosa Clará.

I love the embroidery on this bridal jacket. It is very elegant.

This works well for a halter style bridal gown to cover up from back at least in part.

While you can always purchase a bridal jacket. I strongly suggest hiring a seamstress to custom design one that matches your bridal gown, especially if it has embroidery or has been adorned with jewels or intricate designs (see below). In this way, you can ensure that your bridal jacket matches the style for your wedding gown.

This bridal top style would also work well as a covering for those you who have a bit of cleavage and especially would like to be modest and distract attention away from your bust during your marriage ceremony.

Wedding Priorities: Budget Planning

Posted by Tabitha on Feb 19, 2012 in wedding planning | 0 comments

Establishing your wedding budget upfront permits you to stay in control of your wedding guest list and realistically invite the number of guests that you can afford to entertain, which will prevent you from exceeding your wedding budget.

The wedding guest list is one of the leading factors that causes couples to exceed their wedding budget, followed by misallocation of funds, for example, spending too much of your wedding budget on one aspect of your wedding. My advice to you is to let your wedding budget dictate how many people you can invite to your wedding, not the other way around and this starts by taking the time to figure out how much of a wedding you can afford to have and then plan from there.

Failing to establish a wedding budget will cause you unnecessary stress, frustration, and make for an unpleasant wedding planning experience and if you significantly exceed your budget, the aftermath of your wedding can be troublesome for your marriage. However, you can prevent this stress by establishing your wedding budget early on. In this way, you can realistically put things in perspective and make smart decisions when planning your wedding, not ones that are going to unnecessarily put you (or your parents) in debt the first year or couple of years that you are married.

Featured above is a wedding expense chart that I created to provide you with a working guideline of the percentage of your wedding budget to allocate to each component of your wedding. Please note actual percentages may vary for certain aspects. However, the cost of your reception (venue, food, drinks, and the wedding cake) with the cost of flowers and decorations will almost always take up about 50 percent of your total wedding budget, which is influenced by the number of guests you invite to your wedding.

*Originally published January 9, 2011

Fall Wedding Favors – Cardamom Honey Caramel Pears

Posted by Tabitha on Oct 16, 2011 in event design | 0 comments

Look at what I stumbled upon, Cardamom Honey Caramel Pears, over on what I am sure to become one of my new blog reads, Not Without Salt. Of course, I have had candy apples, but the thought of adding honey and caramel to pears, surprisingly hadn’t crossed my mind until seeing these–caramel apples and pears.

Why if I had to imagine what manna tasted like, I wonder if caramel pears would come close. The taste of those pears (and apples) must be divine, they look divine, and well my mouth is watering. Is that too much information? Nevertheless, these would be great to have as edible wedding favors for a fall wedding. Wouldn’t you agree? You could set them up as you would any other dessert bar, or display one at each place setting at the guest tables, or use as escort cards. For the recipe, click here.

Should Wedding Planners Sign Vendor Contracts?

Posted by Tabitha on Sep 22, 2011 in wedding planning | 0 comments

As a wedding planner, I do not sign vendor contracts on behalf of wedding clients.

When it comes to your wedding vendors, a wedding planner’s job is to assist you with finding suitable vendors for your event. This may include researching and making vendor recommendations, prepping you to ask the right questions when you meet with vendors, and accompanying you to primary vendor meetings, as well as, reviewing vendors’ contracts and negotiating some services (not price) where applicable.

However, as the client, you make the final decision as to which vendors you will hire, not your wedding planner, so it is your responsibility to sign all vendor contracts. In essence, our job wedding planners is to be an advocate for you when dealing with vendors. Once you have determined which vendors you will hire, the majority of us will manage your vendor relations by acting as a liaison between you and your vendors. This includes corresponding with your vendors to arrange, confirm, and finalize your services.

If you are a wedding planner and have been signing vendor contracts on behalf of your clients, please stop immediately. By doing so, you are assuming liability of the respective vendors if they do not deliver the services they were contracted for. Another way to put this in perspective is that just as you have been hired by the client to provide planning services in preparation for and on your client’s wedding day, it is the same for vendors. In other words, wedding vendors will be providing a service to your client, not you and so your clients should always sign vendor contracts.

*Originally published in July 2009

Friday Weddings

Posted by Tabitha on Sep 16, 2011 in featured, wedding planning | 0 comments

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Are you thinking of hosting a Friday wedding?

I say go for it. In fact, what better way to kick-start the weekend than having an evening wedding on Friday?

Think about it! The majority of people head out with their family and friends on Friday anyway. Therefore, I think it is a more than appropriate day for many people. Say with me, “food, drinks, entertainment, and an evening of laughter and dancing.”

Previously, I discussed the reasons why bridal couples choose to have a Sunday wedding, as well as, some pros and cons. Now, I would like to offer a few suggestions for Friday weddings.

To start with, if you are planning a Friday wedding, I strongly suggest that the start time is no earlier than 7:30 that evening considering it is a workday. In this way, you are giving your wedding guests time to get home from work and get dressed for your special occasion.

Upon stating that, I would also like to suggest that instead of your wedding ceremony starting at 7:30 have your cocktail hour first. There is no rule stating that you must have it after your ceremony or just before your reception.

By hosting your cocktail hour before your wedding ceremony, you allot time for any guests who may be running late to get there in time for the ceremony. In addition, I am confident that your guests will be highly appreciative of being greeted with a signature drink, hors d’ouevres, and entertainment upon arrival.

After the cocktail hour, you can move on to your wedding ceremony. Following, your guests will be invited into the reception area. Please note they should already have their seating cards, which they should have collected during cocktail hour.

Once all guests have been seated at the reception and it is time to introduce the wedding party, I suggest that you go straight into your first dance. Following the first dance, your parents can dive into the welcome speech, and then the blessing of the food and so forth. Happy Planning!

Sunday Weddings

Posted by Tabitha on Sep 11, 2011 in featured, wedding planning | 0 comments

The most popular day of the week to host a wedding is on Saturday, but there is no rule stating that you must get married on this day. Excluding holiday weekends, you may save some money by choosing a day other than Saturday to host your wedding.

So, what other days are bridal couples hosting their weddings?

Sunday weddings are the next popular wedding day to get married. There are a couple reasons why bridal couples choose to get married on Sunday. The most likely reason is that they have a specific weekend and venue in mind that they wish to get married, but the venue they wish to host their nuptials and celebration may have already an event for Saturday, so the couple opts for Sunday as the alternate day.

Another reason couples may chose Sunday for their wedding is that many wedding venues offer special rates for events hosted on non-competitive days of the week. So, if you are working with a tight budget, choosing a non-competitive day like Sunday to get married is one way to get the best for your money.

One thing to keep in mind about Sunday is that it marks the start of the week for the majority of people, so do not be surprised if your wedding ends earlier than anticipated, especially if it takes place in the evening or if your RSVP count is low because people are unable to attend. The most logical explanation as to why guests leave early is that they have to get ready for work the next day or to get back home to get the kids to bed for school.

If you want your wedding guests to fully enjoy everything you have planned and of course in consideration of your out-of-town guests, I would suggest hosting your Sunday wedding early in the day. For example, you could have a late morning or noon ceremony, followed by a luncheon reception. In this way, out-of-town guests can travel back home late that afternoon or early evening and be back home at a decent time to get ready for work the next day. In addition, you will save more money by having a luncheon reception in lieu of an evening dinner reception.

One last thing to note about Sunday weddings, particularly if you want a church wedding, is that you will be restricted to certain times, considering worship service take place on Sundays. Of course, if your church has multiple services, this is another thing to take into consideration, which poses a challenge for event logistics–setting up your ceremony decoration in between services and having to break it down and clear the area before the next service starts. My suggestion: you will need a team of professionals to work both your wedding locations and equally important, who are great with event logistics.

{Original article published in August 2009 and content has been updated.}

Natural Hair Brides: To Veil or Not?

Posted by Tabitha on Sep 8, 2011 in natural brides | 1 comment

Editor’s Note: This past August marked a year ago that I did the once unthinkable in my mind of what is known as the “big chop” in the black hair community, which is ridding oneself of chemically processed (relaxed) and straighten hair by chopping it all off, which results in one going back to their natural textured hair. Let me just say, it was the most liberating and one of the best things I have ever did for myself. The point in sharing this is that hair is so important to many of us as women in general, and a great deal of us have been socialized to believe and accept that straight hair is the best way to wear one’s hair. But, where does that leave all of the naturally curly and coily women, which is more common than bone straight hair, regardless of race and ethnicity? Do we keep subjecting our delicate hair shafts and scalps to toxic chemicals? Or, do we straighten our hair with flat irons every day, which leads to heat damage to conform to societal expectations? Better yet, do we embrace it as it was meant to be? I have been chemical free for a little over a year and one of my new favorite past-times is reading and perusing natural hair blogs and websites, especially Curly Nikki, Naturally Curly, Tightly Curly, Natural Chica, Kisforkinky, and so many others. If you’re a natural hairlista and have been living under a rock, you must check these blogs out like today. Nevertheless, I’ve learn that some natural hair brides feel pressure from family and friends to at least straighten their hair for their wedding day. Seriously? Then, there are those who have very short hair or very big hair and are uncertain as to whether to sport a wedding veil or not, so I wanted to republish a post I wrote last year. The original article is featured below and was first published in October 2010.

To wear a wedding veil or not?

Feeling the pressure to be traditional or straighten your hair for your big day?

The choice is really up to you, but I say whatever you choose for your wedding day hairstyle and whether you accessorize it or not, let the versatility of your natural hair guide you and of course, reflect your personal style and preference.

Even more, natural brides, there is so much personality in your natural hair texture, so why not let that personality shine on your wedding day as well.

Whether you will be sporting a “TWA” (teeny weeny afro) on your wedding day, …

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