Pretty…AND Practical
In addition to making frugal centerpieces, you might want to consider getting potted flowering plants (i.e. azaleas, mums) and then raffling them to the guests! Your organization would make more money, and people could bring home nice flowers to enjoy. You might be able to get a garden center to donate the plant. All you would need to add to make the centerpiece pretty is a need is a square of foil or pretty paper and a nice ribbon…
Pretty and Practical!
Every bride should have an emergency kit near her at all times during the wedding day. While we don’t want to scare you, it is very possible that the back of your earring will fall off or you will spill something on your wedding dress.
Have someone you trust and who will be with you all day pack these items for you and then keep them with her (or nearby) during the day.
You want to cover all bases, but you don’t want your best friend carrying around a backpack everywhere, so we broke the list down:
| Must Have: | Optional: |
| Pain medication (Tylenol, Aspirin, etc.) | Wrinkle-out spray |
| Band-Aids | Extra pantyhose |
| Water Bottle | Tampons/Sanitary Napkins |
| Eye Drops | Dental Floss |
| Wallet, with extra cash | Camera |
| Extra earring backs | Perfume |
| Hair Pins | Extra Contact Lenses & Solution |
| Hand Sanitizer/Wipes | Scotch tape |
| Tissues | |
| Hair Comb/Brush | |
| Safety Pins | |
| Nail File | |
| Scissors/Tweezers | |
| Straws | |
| Hair Spray | |
| Stain Remover Spray/Wipes | |
| Breath Mints/Spray | |
| Cellular Phone | |
| Make-up for touch-ups | |
| Mirror | |
| Wedding Day Agenda | |
| Easy to carry snacks (like granola bars) | |
| Extra set of maps and direction cards | |
| Mini sewing kit | |
| Vendor contact information and copies of contracts | |
| Comfortable shoes (to change into during dancing) |
To have a meaningful day with minimal strain on your wallet and your sanity, sit down and outline the wedding day from a manicure and a pedicure to the bouquet toss.
Take an hour or so to jot down a list of your ideal wedding elements, ranking them from the most important to the least. If your list consists of 75 items, make peace with the fact that you can accomplish (and probably afford) only the first 25, and don’t even build the others into your timeline.
Have your florist create your bouquet in such as way that two portions can be separated at a later stage. Then instead of just giving them a different bouquet, give each mom their portion of your bouquet. I can guarantee this will make their receiving a bouquet extra special.
Ask your florist to prepare two very special bouquets as a “Thank You” for both mothers.
These are traditionally presented by the groom during his speech.