Today's guest blogger is the oh-so-talented it makes you sick, Kelly Ashworth of Kelly Ashworth Design. Her custom invitations and graphic design work are sure to make you swoon and guaranteed to make your event the envy of your guests. Kelly got hitched a few years ago and today shares a bit about her own wedding planning experience. Her advice is spot on and she even shares some photos from her own wedding! Okay, enough of my gushing, here's Kelly!
My wedding was a whirlwind planning adventure. I had just launched my custom stationery business and didn't know many people in the industry, so my mom and I spent about six months winging it. The idea of having the wedding in Arizona was quickly nixed by the parental units because "it will be too hard on the grandmas to travel." And since we were doing everything on their dime (launching a business isn't cheap and it left us totally cash-strapped) we were fine with it.
So a wedding in our native Michigan it was. I wanted a fall wedding because it was always my favorite season growing up, and because the chance of oppressive humidity would most likely be nil. My fiancé and I met while working summers at a country club in Northville (about 30 miles from Detroit), where my dad was (and still is) a superintendent. So our first thought was to have the wedding there. Not many couples have the opportunity to literally get married in the exact spot where they first met, so we were thrilled when we got the OK from the event coordinator.
I learned a lot about planning a wedding in those months leading up to the big day, namely that if you can work it into your budget, you should hire a planner! Here are a few other tips from my own personal experience . . .
DON'T:
• Try to make your reception site something it's not. I originally wanted a very monochromatic/mod style, but dinner and dancing took place in a clubhouse built in 1929. So I opted for a more traditional look and I'm so glad I did. Now that I've done my fair share of invitations and paper products, this is one of my biggest pet peeves. Embrace your surroundings: the end result will be stunning, I promise.
Natural decor: berries outside the clubhouse• Use the word "perfect" in the course of planning your wedding. As in, "I want this day to be just perfect." You're setting yourself up for disappointment if your goal is perfection. Could I have done without the DJ in the jack-o-lantern tie? Of course. But he played good music and later told me that my party was "off the chain". (Score!) Was it a bummer that the rice served with our main course was crunchy? Um, yes. But our wedding cake was absolutely delicious and because it was a friend of a friend, it was only $150! Take it all in stride; most likely your guests will have no idea that some things didn't go as planned.
Autumn-themed escort cards
DO:
• Offer guests a late night snack. We put out cider and donuts from the local bakery, and our guests loved it. What's better after a night of drinking and dancing than a sugar donut? My sister-in-law had pizzas delivered towards the end of her reception and everyone devoured them in about five minutes. If you can't think of a creative favor, the late night snack is a great Plan B.
Coffee beans with custom label. Label reads,
"Established October 9, 2004. A dynamic blend with nutty nuances."
3 comments:
I think this is simple yet great advice. So many people get carried away with every detail and want it to be some movie miracle perfect event. But even the movies have out takes, we just never see them. I have been trying to go with the flow, and keep in mind that while this is a major event in my life, and I am spending time and money planing it, it is not the end all be all of my life. And I figure the more that I obsess about things the greater the chance that something might not be quite right. I am hoping to be surprised by how well everything goes than saddened by how one thing was just off a bit. So thanks for spreading the word!
Kelly is nothing less than an exquisitly talented PRO and I value her advice immensely. Nice job Kelly!
I think the newlywed blend is really Cool-
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