Lost & Found

I was at the New York Gift Show today and saw tons of cool products for weddings. I came across a journal, notebook and planner by Ecosystem. Besides being eco-friendly each journal, notebook and planner has an ID number that you can use to find out all the manufacturing details and track your book if it's lost.

If you lose your book (of course you'll have to write down the number somewhere) you enter the ID number into the company's Web site's "Lost" section and if someone finds your book they can enter the ID into the "Found" section and they'll recover your book for you.

I think this is a great idea and highly recommend you have your contact information in your wedding organizer or planning notebook. You don't have to put all of your personal info in it but your email should be fine and in case you leave your wedding organizer at a vendor or a store someone will find it and be able to email you that they have it.

Just for Fun: Me and Dave Sing & Dance with Preston Bailey

Gloria Gaynor performs her signature song, I Will Survive, at Preston Bailey's book party. Can you spot me and Dave partying with Preston? (Hint I'm not wearing my glasses.)

And here's a pic of me, Dave, Preston Bailey and Marcy Blum having a laugh.



For more pics from the party click the Photo Credit link below.

Video Credit: Wedding Podcast Network

Photo Credit: Guest of a Guest

Hair and Makeup Tip on Tipping

I got my hair blown out the other day at a salon I've been going to for years for blow outs and when I went to pay my bill I was told that I couldn't add the tip to the credit card payment. Tips were now cash only.

I had a similar issue at two other salons this year and I refuse to use a non-bank ATM at a bodega so I had to go back the next day with a cash tip for the stylist, which I felt really bad about doing.

If you're getting your hair or makeup done at a salon for your wedding - or any other occasion - you should ask if you can add the gratuity to the bill or if you need to bring cash for it.

Also, when it comes to your wedding you should check if gratuity is included, especially if the stylist is coming to you.

Preston Bailey's Celebrations Book Party

Just got in from the fabulous party for Preston Bailey's latest book Celebrations and trying to think of a wedding planning tip based on something at the event.

The setting was gorgeous. The food was delicious. And the entertainment was amazing - Gloria Gaynor singing I Will Survive live! But a tip...

I guess it would have to be inspiration.

Of all the details that were at the party -from the passed hors d'oeurves to the dessert buffet, the sort of naked dancers to Gloria Gaynor's performance and the life size gold and silver statues to the cages lit with electric ice cubes - the party offered a lot of ideas for people planning an event, whether it be a wedding or other celebration.

When you're attending parties, wedding or otherwise, take (mental) notes about all the different details and party elements because wedding inspiration doesn't have to come from other weddings. You can be inspired by anything.

And if you're looking for some amazing inspiration, check out Preston's new site, prestonbailey.com.

DIY Do's and Don'ts

Many brides want to create the details for their wedding. You can find tons of DIY wedding projects on blogs, Web sites and in books and while they look beautiful they may not be so easy to make. Here are some quick dos and don'ts you should follow if you are considering calling yourself a DIY Bride:

DO give yourself enough time to complete the project - weeks and months if necessary

DO a test run to know exactly how many materials you'll need, how long it will take you and how complicated the project is

DO ask friends and relatives (aka bridesmaids) to help

DON'T forget that time is money so compare the time you'll be spending to complete a project vs. how much it would be in savings. Saving $200 may not be worth three weeks of nights crafting

DON'T be upset with yourself if you can't complete the project

You DON'T have to DIY every element of your wedding just because you think you're a DIY bride. Pick and choose the projects you want to do

Don't Let Wedding Planning Take Over Your Life

Planning a wedding is time consuming but there’s no reason that it should take over your entire life. I do know girls who quit their jobs to plan their weddings and even dropped out of college – I’m sorry, took a semester off – to plan, and I think both are completely ridiculous things to do.

Whether you have a year or a matter of months to plan you will have enough time to plan every detail. I promise. All it takes is hiring vendors who you trust, a helpful fiancé and group of friends and organization.

Don’t leave all the details till the last minute if you can help it. Make your favors – if they’re not perishable - weeks in advance. Once you finalize the bridal party and ceremony send the info to the printer for your program. Don’t be afraid to ask others for help.

There’s nothing wrong with taking a few days here and there off for appointments but save those vacation days for your honeymoon!

Shades of Pink and Red

I received an email to day from Beautiful Blooms in Philadelphia on their stunning Valentine’s Day arrangements and just fell in love with this one. I love the different shades of pink mixed together.

If you’re thinking of having a pink or red wedding color palette Valentine’s Day is a great time to look for floral inspiration. There will be displays in floral shop windows and online flowers sites and you can also find red and pink inspiration in home, clothing and food store displays. Today I walked by a bakery with pink iced cupcakes in the window and Broadway panhandler – a kitchen store – with pink and red colored cooking supplies and aprons on display.

Wedding Planning Tip: If you are planning on getting married around Valentine’s Day don’t be surprised if the price of red roses seems high. They’re in demand the week of Feb 14th, so think about using other types of red and pink flowers in your bouquet and centerpieces. And if you’re getting hitched in the week or two after Feb 14th you may save money on red roses because the demand will have tapered off.


Photo Credit: Marie Labbancz

A Quick Tip for Grooms

The groomsmen are your responsibility.

Don't make your fiance email and call your friends and relatives to tell them what to wear, where to be and when. The bride has enough to handle, including the bridesmaids, so help her out and take the initiative to find a tux rental shop and make an appointment (tell her when it is so she can be there) and email your guys and make sure they show up.

Then take on the additional responsibility of confirming that they all know when to pick up their tuxedos and that they do the weekend of the wedding.

It's a rather simple task and you'll gain lots of brownie points!

FREE TICKETS: NYC Wedding Bootcamp Next Wednesday

I told you wedding events will start cropping up every week now that the holiday season is over. Here’s another one for NYC-area brides:

The Wedding Bootcamp – produced by 4PM Events (they also produce The Wedding Salon in NYC, LA and Miami) – will be held at NY Wedding Dance (1261 Broadway, Suite 510) on Wednesday, January 27th.

The Wedding Bootcamp is an educational wedding event featuring a variety of wedding experts who will give brides-to-be tips on how to avoid hidden wedding costs and save money on your wedding. You’ll also learn basic wedding etiquette, enjoy cake tastings and cocktails and receive a fab gift bag.

Admission is $15 for two (bring your groom for complimentary dance lessons!) but The Wedding Salon is allowing me to offer 10 free tickets! Visit weddingsalon.com and enter the code BRINYC to register for the event for free!


And don't forget to bring these essentials with you to any wedding event you attend.

Backup Your Files

My computer's memory is full so I think it's time to get a new one - and one with more memory. The last time I bought a mac I didn't think I needed a lot of memory because I didn't have an iPod so there were no music files, I rarely took pictures and never took video so all I had to save were Word and Excel files.

In the past year all of this has changed.

I got an iPod for Hanukkah in 2008 and have hundreds of songs saved. And since RB I'm constantly taking pictures and video. So today we're off to Apple to buy a new computer with a lot of memory.

When planning your wedding you are probably going to be downloading music ideas for your ceremony and receptions, taking pictures of ideas and of course after your wedding you'll be downloading and uploading pictures and videos that you and your family/friends took on the big day. You may even download podcasts from the Wedding Podcast Network to listen to wedding planning advice or planning tools from various wedding planing Web sites.

In order to protect everything on your computer I highly recommmend getting a backup system to protect all of your files - wedding related or not. It won't be fun to have to start collecting guest addresses again. And I'm sure there are non-wedding files on your computer that you won't want to lose, possibly forever.