Merriment & Mischief…

Congratulations to all those that got engaged over the holidays!  It takes some time for it to sink in, but now you need to start planning the wedding.  I’m sure you have a million thoughts and ideas going through your head, but most importantly, what should you do first?

Here are my top 10 to get you started!

1)  Announce your engagement.

You can do this through facebook/blog/build your wedding website/local newspaper/or plan an engagement party.

2)  Set a budget.  Where is the money coming from and how much?  Know that wedding loans do exist if you need one.  The average wedding in Columbus, Ohio for 200 guests runs about $28,000.

3)  Hire a professional wedding planner.  Make sure you interview at least 3, ASK questions, and make sure your planner is CERTIFIED, QUALIFIED, EDUCATED, and EXPERIENCED!

4)  Set the date and send “SAVE the DATES”.  You want to send these 6-8 months in advance to your guests.  Very popular if you have a lot of out of town guests.  You can get these from your wedding planner, order online, or go to a local invitation shop.  Save the dates are fun and this is also where you can be creative.  They can be magnets, calendars, cards, or even evites.

5)  Get organized and stay organized.  Start your wedding binder.  This is where all your thoughts, plans, pictures, and ideas will be collected.  Keep this with you and take it everywhere, because you never know who you might run into.

6)  Create an inspiration board.  You can create an actual board, it could just be a sheet of paper with lots of cut out ideas, or you can create it online.  This is a very handy tool to show wedding professionals when you meet with them so they understand your desired feel and look for your wedding.

7)  Start shopping for the wedding dress.  The local shops we have in Columbus are:

Alan Ray’s Bridal

Bella Laccio Bridal

Big Rock Little Rooster

Cleo’s Bridal & Formal

David’s Bridal

Elegant Bride

Gabriele European Bridal

Girls in White Dresses

Henri’s Cloud Nine

Joan’s Bridal Couture

La Jeune Mariee

Wedding Plantation

Wendy’s Bridal

9) Attend bridal shows. Get information, get inspired, interview wedding professionals, and win prizes!!

January 8th & 9th -The Columbus Bride Show, Vets Memorial, 12-5pm

January 13th-The Wedding Preview Cocktail Party, The Blackwell, 5-8pm

January 21st- Franklin Park Conservatory Bridal Show, FPC, 6-9pm

January 23rd-The Perfect Wedding Guide Winter Gala, Hilton Polaris, 12-4

January 30th -Claiborne Productions Bridal Expo, Aladdin Shrine Center, 11-4

February 17th-The Renaissance Hotel Wedding Tasting, 5:30-8pm

February 20th-  South Asian Bridal Show, Hyatt Regency Columbus, 1-5pm

March 6th-Columbus Buckeye Bridal Bash, Ohio Union, 11-4pm

April 15th – The Wedding Experience, Grand Oaks, Pinnacle, and Oakhurst, 6:30-10:30pm

10)  DID I SAY HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER?

Now released to the public an exclusive event just for our Columbus brides and grooms, “The Wedding Experience 2010″ hosted by ColumbusBrideandGroom.com! This event will be from 6:00pm-10:00pm on March 12th 2010. Your selected locations will be the new Scioto Reserve (country club), NortPointe (hotel location) and the new J. Liu’s of Worthington (banquet facility).

This is not your ordinary bridal show, couples will experience something for all the senses. You will attend as a guest themed cocktail wedding receptions with tons of glitz and glam. You will get to feel the textures of all the linens and hear the live band, Dj’s, and other live music. Come and taste the gourmet foods and signature drinks available for your season. Learn some steps to your first dance, get tips from expert make up and hair designers, get massages, try on veils and jewelery, and so much more.

Come see the hottest trends in decor and designs to wow your guests! Columbus’s top Wedding Professionals will be in action educating you in one evening! Grand finale at all locations with winning couples, prizes and goodie bags. This is an experience you will not want to miss! Selected couples will get free transportation to all locations for the evening.

Register online now as there is limited space. www.columbusbrideandgroom.com Go to the top of the page and click on The Wedding Experience.

Below are inspiration boards for the three themes that will be showcased at “The Wedding Experience 2010″.

Spring/Summer:

Winter:

Definately pretty in pink! I love the sexy shoes!

Tie in the stunning flowers by “Timeless Petal”

and the amazing love of a father giving away his daughter on her wedding day!

A grand bridal party with photos done at Creekside in Gahanna. Stunning!

What a truly gorgeous couple!

The ballroom at the Renissance was beautiful.

Cake designed from back of brides dress.

I love to see couples truly in love and this pictures says it all.

Ok this was the best father/daughter dance I have seen in a long while. It certainly helps when your father is a professional dancer. The spins were amazing.

Besides the bride and groom-grandma and grandpa were my favorite couple of the day!

I love this unique way of utilizing the bridemaids dress sashes for limbo. This was a fun bridal party- the girls did a great tribune dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” early in the evening too. Great tunes providede by Matt Ryan (http://www.mattryandj.com/)

I also have to give props to The Renaissance Hotel (http://www.renaissancecolumbus.com/) who did an amazing job on the food and service at this event.

Thanks to Jim Sanders (http://www.jimsandersphoto.com/) for providing photos for my blog, doing a fabulous job as usual and always being a blast to work with!