My Fair Wedding

My Fair Wedding with David Tutera Premieres Sept. 27th

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Wedding Tips

David Tutera's Top 10 Wedding Tips

A glimpse at David’s new book
“The Big White Book of Weddings: The How-To Guide for the Savvy, Stylish Bride”

10. Overall Planning: Think about the big picture! Before jumping into all the details, take some time to envision the overall end result (what is your dream wedding?) Organize all your thoughts and great ideas, andthen, with a goal in mind, start with the shopping and decorating as a calm, cool and collected bride with a great plan.

9. Budget: There’s no need to spend a ton of money to have a beautiful wedding; you just have to spend the money you do have wisely! Remember, being over-the-top is not a necessity – less can be more and some of the most elegant weddings are done with well-executed simplicity.

8. Invitations: Invitations should set a tone of excitement for your entire affair! The outside of the envelope, the stamps, the layout of the invitation, and the font—all the details count. When you’re creating invitations, imagine what it will be like for your guests to be receiving them. A great invitation grabs the attention of your guests and guarantees the impression that yours is a wedding not to be missed.

7. Décor: When it comes to table centerpieces and reception floral arrangements, ask for a mix of high and low arrangements, or a variation of three correlating arrangement designs (that vary in cost) mixed throughout the tables. This combination will help cut costs from having to pay for all large arrangements for each table and will also add aesthetic variety to the look of your reception on many visual levels.

6. Your Wedding Dress: There are so many gorgeous gowns out there to choose from—how do you pick “the” one? The key is to flatter your body and work with what you’ve got to look amazing in a fashion piece that compliments your every move. Pick a dress that compliments your body type – know your body shape and what styles work best on you before you go dress shopping, and you’ll be sure to find a dress that’s truly the “perfect fit!”

5. Hair and Make Up: Hiring the right amount of make-up artists for your wedding party makes all the difference. Ask your make-up consultant in advance how much time she needs per girl, and how many assistants you need to hire to get the job properly done with time to spare for any touch-ups. Create an order of who in your bridal party will be done first, starting with mothers of the bride and groom and doing the flower girl towards the end (kids love to play with their hair and face, so the shorter amount of time between your flower girl’s styling and the wedding, the better.) You, as the bride, should be last—with plenty of time to spare to enjoy getting beautifully bridal!

4. Food and Beverage: Food can be so much more than a meal—you can even use it to help convey your personalities and include your guests in your love story! For example, instead of just selecting regular foods to serve, create a menu that is inspired by places you and your groom have visited, your heritages, or your favorite dishes.

3. Expect the Unexpected: Always keep your guests guessing to keep them eagerly anticipating what they will experience next! Have something different happen every 30 minutes. Introduce a new food or drink, change the lighting or the music, have a new type of entertainment, move locations, or choose to have unique wedding timeline to change up things for your guests so it’s not just another cookie-cutter wedding! Your guests will have unforgettable memories.

2. Happily Hosting: Being a great bride also means being a great host! Take time and make efforts to let your guests to know how much it means to you that they came to share in your special day. Receiving lines, toasts and visiting tables as a couple are great ways to show your gratitude (and to see everyone!)

1. Enjoy every step of the way! You will only be able to enjoy the rush and elation of planning your wedding one time, so revel in every moment of your wedding dreams coming true. Wedding planning should feel like an exciting series of events leading up to a grand finale. Include your closest family and friends and make the whole process a joyful journey.

Bonus Tip: Be a beneficiary bride! Post-wedding, consider donating your gown to a special shop that resells pre-worn wedding dresses to raise money and make wishes come true for breast cancer patients. Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation – Nationwide Tour of Gowns offers over 2,000 donated wedding gowns, with all proceeds from the wedding gown purchases go towards this great cause.www.makingmemories.org.

Saving Cents: Trimming wedding costs

By Sherry Williams / 11 News

HOUSTON—Summer is a big season for weddings, and even though the recession has caused a drop in what families spend on the big day, the average cost in Houston is still running about $28,000, according to wedding expert Laurette Veres.

11 News Video

11 News video

July 24, 2009

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One of the easiest things to do to trim the wedding budget is to attend a bridal show, she said. There, you can find everything under one roof: cakes, dresses, photography vendors and caterers.

The biggest bridal show in the nation happens right here in Houston, and it takes place this weekend, July 25 - 26, at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

“The vendors will come with their best foot forward. They always run specials at the show that you can only get at the show,” said Veres, Producer of Bridal Extravaganza Show. “Girls truly can leave our show at the end of the day, have their whole wedding planned. It’s amazing.”

Experts say some tips for cutting costs are:

Cut down the guest list. Caterers charge per guest, and their bill is a huge part of the expense.

Veres suggested adding everyone you can think of to your list and then paring it down one by one, considering carefully how important it is for you to have each person at your wedding.

“If you were sitting down for dinner in a restaurant and that person’s portion of the bill was $100, would you insist on paying it for them?” Veres said. If not, you may want to exclude them from the guest list.

If you cannot exclude children from the reception entirely, serve them Happy Meals or some other kid-friendly fare in a separate room at the reception. They’ll be happier with the food, and so will your wallet

Don’t forget to hire a babysitter to monitor them. The cost of one may be cheaper than the cost of feeding one child a catered meal.

Skip the open bar and serve champagne, wine and soft drinks.

Hire a DJ instead of a live band.

Ladies, try not to go overboard on your dress. The only thing that matters is whether or not it looks good on you, and even an inexpensive dress will look good, because it will be altered to fit you perfectly.

No one knows what your dress costs, anyway.

Avoid the trap of trying to have a lavish wedding to impress others. You cannot and will not please everyone, and there is always someone who will be hyper-critical about the ceremony and reception.

But there is one area that experts say you shouldn’t cut costs: The photographer. Think about it like this – once your big day is over, those pictures will be all you have left.

Veres said average wedding costs in Houston are:

Caterer -- $15-$35 per person, depending on menu selected

Music & DJ& -- $900 (DJ or small live band)

Venue -- $3,000-$7,500

Dress -- $3,000

Flowers -- $800-$1,200

Cake -- $400-$1,200

Photographer -- $4,500

THE EVENT

Bridal Extravaganza Show

George R. Brown Convention Center

1001 Avenida de las Americas

Downtown Houston

Hours:

Saturday, July 25: 10am-5pm

Sunday, July 26: 11am-5pm

Tickets:

$10 at the door

Wedding Venues: Budget Pros & Consvia Featured Articles

Wedding Venues: Budget Pros & Consvia Featured Articles Bridal Guide on 2/6/09
Wondering what you should expect to pay for the perfect place to tie the knot? Here, the inside scoop on costs for locales.Your choice of a venue will be among the first decisions you make-and cost will play a big role. Depending on a number of variables, including location and size, expect a wide range of prices. (All those mentioned here are approximate.) According to Cheryl Beitler and Dale Flam of the Zanadu Group in Hollywood, Florida, a tent wedding may run about $4,500 for your main tent and about $600 more for a cook tent. For a loft space or a private estate, they say, you'll fork over $4,000 to $10,000, while a catering hall may range anywhere from $500 to $4,000. Hotel ballroom packages vary greatly, but the amount you pay is usually all-inclusive. For a private home, you should expect to have many of the same additional expenses as you would for a tent wedding.

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Plan the perfect Wedding

Weddings and marquee events
AN OCCASION TO REMEMBER

An occasion to remember at one of Somerset’s most historic houses, starting the moment you turn under the Manor’s imposing triple arched entrance gates into the tree-lined drive. Ahead of you lies the 16th century grade 1 listed gatehouse with the manor house standing behind.
For smaller weddings and events we use both the house and a small marquee leading out of the front door.
For larger weddings and events we use the lovely walled garden to house a traditional pole marquee. This walled garden looks out over the house, quadrangle and beyond with wonderful views towards Taunton Vale and behind on to the Quantocks.
Our lovely marquees are available in various sizes catering from around 40 people up to 200 people seated.

We provide a traditional pole marquee for your wedding - set within the warm quantock stone walls of our walled garden which creates a spectacular setting for your special day

EVERYTHING ORGANISED FOR YOU

We also have our own wedding and events co-ordinator, who will organise the entire day for you. Choosing menus, wines, flowers, photographer etc is made easy, as we will go through the choices and prepare a quote. Once you have decided on these we will the organise it all. We can also arrange all sorts of other extras from firework displays to quad biking !