The wedding season is approaching

Below are some great tips for planning your big day!

• 9 To 12 Months Before
  Determine who will officiate at the ceremony.
  Select a wedding date and time.
  Announce your engagement in the newspaper.
  Determine how many guests may attend.
  Determine the type of wedding you want (size, formality, style, color scheme).
  Select and order the bridesmaids' dresses.
  Establish a preliminary budget.
  Select and secure a photographer.
  Select a caterer if not already provided by the reception.
  Select and secure your reception location.
  Select and secure your ceremony location.
  Select and secure your DJ / MC.
  Begin choosing your wedding cake baker, videographer, and florist. Sign necessary contracts.
  Pick out engagement ring with fiancé.

• 6 To 9 Months Before
  Start compiling the guest list (inform your families to do the same).
  Select the attendants for your wedding party.
  Shop for the wedding dress, headpiece, veil, etc.
  Start planning for honeymoon.
  Register with a gift bridal registry in your favorite store.

• 4 To 6 Months Before
  Make appointments for a physical exam with your doctor/dentist.
  Check requirements for blood test and marriage license in your state.
  Shop for wedding rings.
  Select and order the invitations and stationery.
  Decide where to live after the wedding.
  Complete the guest lists.
  Begin shopping for trousseau.
  Send your engagement announcement to the newspaper.
  Inform mothers to select their dresses.
  Select and order the men's attire.
  Finalize honeymoon details and make the necessary reservations.

• 2 To 4 Months Before
  Confirm the menu and catering details with the caterer.
  Prepare all maps and directions for the ceremony and reception.
  Select your wedding rings.
  Buy a wedding guest book.
  Set the dates and times with the officiant for the rehearsal.
  Plan the bridesmaids' luncheon and any other parties.
  Determine your resources for designing and printing the program for the ceremony.
  Finalize the florist details, photographer, videographer, DJ/MC, etc.
  Arrange the necessary accommodations for out-of-town guests.
  Plan a rehearsal dinner, time and place.
  Confirm the wedding cake details with the baker.

• 6 To 8 Weeks Before
  Mail invitations and announcements.
  Prepare a portrait for the newspaper. Check your local newspaper for details and timing.
  Set appointment with photographer for your formal bridal portrait.
  Select gifts for all your attendants.
  Set appointments with any hairdressers and/or makeup artists.
  Hire the limousine or other forms of transportation for the wedding.

• 4 To 6 Weeks Before
  Decide what your menu is going to be for the reception. Estimate the expected number of guests.
  Buy a gift for the groom.
  Schedule a final fitting for your gown so it can be ready for your formal bridal portrait.
  Purchase a going away outfit.
  Pick up your wedding rings.
  Purchase (borrow) all wedding accessories such as the ring pillow, goblets, garter belt, candles, etc.
  Confirm florist details and delivery times.
  Plan the seating for the reception as well as other details for the ceremony and reception. Start writing placement cards.
  Make sure all bridesmaids' attire has been fitted.
  Buy a gift for the bride.

• 2 Weeks Before
  Set up final consultation with your DJ/MC.
  Make arrangements to have your wedding gifts moved to your new home.
  Handle business and legal details such as name changes, address changes, etc.
  Prepare the wedding announcement for the newspaper.
  Reconfirm your guests' accommodations.
  Make sure all clothing and accessories for you and the bridal party are ready.
  Get your marriage license and any blood tests which are needed.

• The Week Before
  Review any seating details with the ushers.
  Make sure all wedding attire fits.
  Finalize the seating arrangements.
  Reconfirm your honeymoon reservations. Ensure you have any necessary plane tickets.
  Start packing for your honeymoon.
  Call any guests who have not responded yet.
  Finish all the place cards for the reception.
  Review all the final details with your photographer, videographer, etc.
  Give a final head count to the caterer.
  Delegate responsibilities to reliable individuals on your wedding day.
  Wrap and present the wedding party gifts.
  Finalize your rehearsal dinner arrangements or other plans.

• The Day Before
  Get a manicure or massage to relax yourself.
  Stay with your family the night before and go to sleep early.
  Review and rehearse all the details of your participants.

• The Big Day
  Make sure the best man and maid of honor sign the wedding certificate.
  Allow yourself plenty of time to get dressed.
  Enjoy your wonderful wedding and cherish each and every moment!!!
  Be sure to eat properly.
  Rest and relax with a good bath.
  Prepare for your hairdresser and makeup appointments.

Tips, Templates and Hints about Wedding Bulletin Programs

Simply Weddings 4 Less http://simplyweddings4less.com

We offer 100's of blank, imprintable wedding programs (bulletins, order of service) ,Unity Candles and Unity Candle Holders & Stands,Ceremony & Reception Decorations,Personalized Wedding Bookmark Favors,Just Married Balloons and Car Decor. I offer a way to add class to your 'special day' without the costs.

Wedding programs are 24 to 30 lb. paper weight.We offer a variety of styles including half fold, chapel fold, tea length, tri-fold.

Throughout this page is photos of some of the items that we offer.

And wedding program bulletins order of service samples:

~ Please visit our store Simply Weddings 4 Less to view all of our items ~

http://simplyweddings4less.com

I am including the following information, based on the questions that I have been asked by previous purchaser's of my wedding programs. Hopefully, this will give you some idea's on making your programs "uniquely you".

Wedding programs are becoming increasingly popular, and brides are thinking up different ways to personalize them and make them unique for their guests' enjoyment.

Programs typically contain the bride and groom's names, the date, location, names of the wedding party, order and elements of the ceremony (unity candle, vows, etc), music, any other principals in the wedding, and thanks.

There are a number of other ways you can personalize your programs:

Rather than including only the names of your bridesmaids or grooms, also include how you met them and their role in your relationship (for example, if you met through one of your groomsmen, or a bridesmaid who supported you through your long distance relationship).
Include what the bride's "something old, new, borrowed and blue" are. For instance, if a bride is wearing a bracelet her grandmother gave to her, or if the wedding gown was her mother's.

If you are getting married in a significant location, explain it in the program. Maybe you and your groom met there, or had your first date there, etc. Even if the location isn't directly significant to your relationship, but has an interesting history, that can also be included.

Include a short explanation of how the bride and groom met, and the proposal story.

Include the lyrics to your first dance song and why it was chosen.

Explain the meaning and symbolism of parts of the ceremony, such as a huppah or breaking of the glass in a Jewish ceremony, or the veil and cord in a Catholic ceremony.

Don't think that you have to stick to a traditional two or tri-fold program. You can make it a few pages, or even a small booklet! You can add a beautiful touch by punching two holes down the fold, threading ribbon through, and tying it into a bow.

Include a wedding blessing significant to your heritage, such as an Irish blessing, or one in Spanish and translated.

Some programs now contain a photo of the bride and groom, sometimes drawn by an artistic friend. Perhaps a black and white version of a photo can be printed on a vellum overlay to the program.

Type out the text of readings or song lyrics.

If you have a theme, let the program play out in it also. If you have a fairytale theme, put a castle graphic on one or all of the pages. If you are have a dove theme and release, explain its significance.

Scatter love quotes throughout the program.

Include poem from the bride to the groom and vice versa.

Include a special dedication to deceased family, such as grandparents.


Lastly, it is always nice to thank all the people who helped you in the wedding, and don't forget to thank the guests for sharing this special day with you!

By using your programs as yet another way to personalize your wedding, guests will be sure to appreciate the personal touch
Love Quotes for a Wedding Program
Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
-Emily Bronte

Love is when you look into someone's eyes and suddenly you go all the way inside their soul and you both know it.
-Unknown

Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.
-Peter Ustinov

Without love in a dream, it will never come true.
-Jerry Garcia

Love is something that grows from friendship.
-Unknown

You may hold my hand for awhile, but you hold my heart forever.
-Nicole Louise Divino

Love is when you cry, when you laugh, when you smile. Love is when you dream.
-Anonymous

The heart is the happiest when it beats for others.
-God's Little Instruction Book

To love is nothing. To be loved is something. To love and be loved is everything.
-Claire Dempsey

Love is not a matter of counting the years, but making the years count.
-Michelle St. Amand

You may only be one person to the world but you may also be the world to one person.
-Anonymous

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is no remedy for love but to love more.
-William David Thoreau

Love is composed of a single soul inhibiting two bodies.
-Aristotle

There may be many flowers in a man's life, but there is only one rose.
-Unknown

The perfect marriage begins when each partner believes they got better than they deserve.
-Unknown

Where there is love there is life.
-Mahatma Ghandi

A life's worth, in the end, isn't measured in hours, or dollars. It's measured by the amount of love exchanged along the way.
-Douglas C. Means

And remember, as it was written…to love another person is to see the face of God.
-Les Miserables

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
-Charles Dickens

Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts.
-William Shakespeare

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.
-Blaise Pascal

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.
-George Sands


~~Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take..
but by the moments that take our breath away.~~