HOT Bride Award

What a way to start off a Monday then to be nominated for the HOT Bride Award. What is it? HOT stands for Helper Of The. The award is for thoughtful and practical wedding advice. My friend, fellow 2011 bride, and also she-who-keeps-me-sane-at-work cohort, Val of Youngs and In Love, nominated me. Thanks Val!

HOT Bride Award

As part of the award, I need to share 7 pieces of wisdom on wedding planning. I'll do my best. Some of this I have learned on my own, and some of it is from observations from other people's weddings.

1. Create a separate email that you will use for wedding related items only. This is a repeat of what Val wrote. But it is the best piece of advice anyone can give. If you don't, your email inbox will get spammed with crap. You get signed up for email distributions that you didn't know existed.
2. Have a budget (and stick to it). Sit down and list out the top three items that are most important to you both and the bottom three items that you are willing to let go of. Keep this list in mind as you plan. It's easy to get lost in the details. You get inspired from blogs and such and want to incorporate the ideas in your own wedding; details add up (in cost). You don't want to blow your budget on something that wasn't important in the first place.
3. Stay true to yourself (and your fiance). Let's say that you wanted 4 bridesmaids, but you fear that you'll offend someone if you don't ask them, so you just go with 2. Screw it! Do what makes you happy. You wanted to be supported by your closest friends and family. These are people that are going to stand by your side as you begin a new chapter in your life.
4. Customs and expectations from each other and from the parents. Get this information up front. It doesn't matter who's paying for the shindig. Just get everything on the table so that everyone is on the same page. Hopefully this will help avoid drama later. This can also help with balancing the budget.
5. Don't buy the first dress you try on. Go home and sleep on it...for awhile. There are so many two dress brides out there because they thought the first dress was The ONE. Two dresses means more money, drama, and stress. I almost bought the first dress I ever tried on. It was The One, but not quite. I almost purchased it a few months later. But I kept dragging my feet and then I found THE ONE.
6. Keep a blog. It is a bit of work, but it's a great way to document the trials and tribulations of wedding planning. It's basically a virtual scrapbook. It's also a great way to jot down your ideas. A lot of my ideas stay in my head, but there are countless blog postings, photos, and other inspiration I've come across, but I can't find them now for the life of me. Let me tell you, I really wish I had some of them on hand.
7. Think outside the box. This applies to multiple things. Find ways to get what you want, but not pay full price (use a credit card with rewards or off to pay in cash for a lower price, haggle with vendors). Find ways to personalize items to reflect you and your fiance. For example, you don't need to have a box, basket, or birdcage to collect cards in. I saw a couple that traveled together extensively use a stack of suitecases for their cardbox. We're going to have a papermache penguin!

Clear as mud? OK, moving on to the next thing I need to do, which is to nominate 7 or more bloggers for the award.

1. Val of Youngs and in Love. Val is one of my wedding buddies. I love being able to just mention square tables and she immediately knows what I am talking about and understands how they make my heart hurt.
2. Abby of Peaches by Plums. I met Abby at a local Weddingbee meet-up. She's a wonderfully sweet person with a super cute blog full of inspiration. She recently married in Ireland, too. I can't wait for the recaps.
3. Lucia for Jason Angelini Photography. Lucia is the wife of Jason, our photographer. She's force behind their awesome blog. I love seeing Jason work at all the different weddings and e-shoots. Lucia also posts incredible finds on Facebook and Twitter.
4. Mrs. Mascara over at Weddingbee. I found Weddingbee after stumbling across Mascara's multi-post on DIY save-the-dates. Her craftiness and detailed recaps convinced me that I could DIY many of our wedding projects.
5. Mrs. Piglet on Weddingbee. Mrs. Piglet made me think twice about having a videographer. I'm still on the fence, but I can't stop watching her first dance over, and over, and over, and over....Also, don't get me started on her amazing DIY talent.
6. Mrs. Coconut also from Weddingbee. This is how I found my photog. Her engagement photos introduced me to Jason Angelini. I couldn't get him out of my head from that point.
7. Stacy and Kelly of Letters from a Pissed-off Bride. This blog is different from all the rest in that it's not a personal blog talking about their trek down the aisle. It's a compliation of letters written by irked brides from everywhere. You can pick up a glossy wedding magazine and see beautiful pictures, but this blog has the real story behind the beauty.