My 22 year old step daughter, Lora, is having a wedding, she is very scared about it and does not know where to begin with it all, she needs my help, but I have no clue what so ever where to begin ether, I rented a beautiful ball room, but other than that, I have no clue!
Please help, me, any ideas would be great
2007-10-28 07:06:05 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
P.s. she asked me to help her just so you know.
2007-10-28 07:08:33 · update #1
There are 10 million websites that help you do this. Why not search the internet? Start with http://www.weddingchannel.com
2007-10-28 09:21:22 · answer #1 · answered by Susan N 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hi Nicole. Planning a wedding is so much fun! How nice that you are able to share this time and experience with your step-daughter.
Here is what I think you should do and where to start:
The first thing....before ANY "colors", dresses, invites, etc. are picked out is for your step-daughter and her fiance to decide on WHAT type of wedding ceremony and reception they want. Everything revolves around that. A big traditional wedding? A church ceremony? An outdoor wedding ceremony? If outdoors....where? In a park? At the beach?
Other things to decide ..... how BIG do they want the wedding?
How many guests? How many attendants?
Once the idea of where the ceremony will be and where the reception will be (it sounds like you already have the reception venue lined up), the SECOND thing to figure out is ...WHAT IS THE BUDGET? Everything revolves around the budget. Tell your step-daughter that "traditions" are out the door. It's 2007, so in today's world it's the bride and groom that are responsible for paying for the wedding and reception. Now, the bride's parents and/or the groom's parents MAY offer money, of help to pay a portion, but gone are the days when the bride's family paid for "this", and the groom's family "that." That is why establishing a budget is so vital now.
Once all of the above is figured out
~ Venue for ceremony and what kind
~ Venue for reception and what kind
~ How many guest
~ How many attendants
Then you can go on to other things:
~ Book the church right away (if the ceremony will be at a church)
~ Book the reception venue ....(already done by you)
~ Book a photographer
~ Book a DJ
Then you can go on to other things:
~ Dress for bride
~ Tux for groom
~ Attendants dresses and tuxes
~ Flowers
~ Cake
~ Invitations
~ Centerpieces
~ Invites
Good luck and happy planning!
2007-10-28 08:30:14 · answer #2 · answered by iloveweddings 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You don't NEED a wedding planner, although they can be very helpful. Wedding planning can be done by your and your daughter, you just have to take it one step at a time.
You've got one of the most important things down, which is the venue. Do you have a guest list together yet? That'll be the driving force for a lot of the decisions surrounding budget.
Next, depending on how far out the wedding is, she needs to start looking at wedding gowns. Look in wedding magazines and peruse the gown page over at http://www.theknot.com/gowns A lot of designers can take anywhere from 4-8 months to come in, depending on the designer and style.
Start thinking about colors - does she want an elegant feel or something funky? Cool and natural tones such as blues, greens, browns and ivory will give off an elegant feel. Bright, contrasting colors such as pink, orange and yellows will give off a high energy, funky feel.
http://www.theknot.com is a very helpful resource. They have local boards where she can discuss planning and venues with other girls in her area.
If you do start to feel overwhelmed, consider hiring a day of coordinator, which can be less expensive then a full blown wedding planner. They can suggest vendors, with you doing most of the footwork, but they are also there the day of the wedding to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Good luck and enjoy the experience! There's no reason to be scared, it's a wonderful time and can be very fun and creative!
2007-10-28 07:42:49 · answer #3 · answered by Muhnkee 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You haven't mentioned the date of the wedding. You need a wedding planner. You can buy books and magazines about weddings. You rented a ball room for the reception, right? If you're only asking about the decorating part, well, you can incorporate her wedding motif to the colors of the flowers or whatever decoration you will have. Every table you can have a candle for a centerpiece or flowers on small tall vase. Otherwise ask your florist any decorating ideas.
2007-10-28 07:24:13 · answer #4 · answered by EmmyLee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First start with colors
ask her if she wants a theme...
has she picked out a dress? the dress might set the tone for the whole wedding/reception.
What time of year is the wedding? does she want it seasonal?
does she like modern, classic or unique decor? The centerpieces will be a big part in the ball room...
I am an event coordinator for an organization... if you need ideas, I would love to help. You have lots of decisions to make regarding food, music, thank you "gifts" on the table...
2007-10-28 07:15:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The easiest thing you can do......search websites like theknot.com
Find a picture of a decorated room that she likes and begin copying it. People are too worried about how "unique" they can be and end up with a wedding they don't like or doesn't represent them.
In your case it might also be worthwhile to consider hiring a wedding planner or even an interior decorator to help you. Price out professionals as well as getting a graduate student from the college to help.
2007-10-28 07:38:03 · answer #6 · answered by pspoptart 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a wedding planning book, sign up for theknot.com, get bridal magazines.
Pick colors, and bridesmaids and a maid of honor, find where the ceremony will be held. What are something she thing are important to have at a wedding? You can pick a theme if she wants one such as the two hearts one soul theme, a beach theme, a victorian wedding, a retro wedding...anything is possible.
Pick out some things from her personality and his and incorporate that into the info you find in books, mags, and online.
below i will add some wedding sites...
good luck and have FUN planning!
2007-10-28 07:18:02 · answer #7 · answered by Sunshine 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I kept my planning pretty simple (it did help that my mom was an events director, so she has helped people with lots of weddings). The ball room director will probably help you with the tables (linens, chairs, etc). I had all white chairs and tables with white linens, a mirror, a few candles and glass vases with very simple flowers. For my bouquet and my bridesmaids, we carried tulips and the guys wore roses on their lapels. The things we really wanted were good music, dancing, awesome food and an open bar, so that's where we kept our focus. We had an awesome caterer and they did an excellent job since they had done weddings before. Just remember - people will not remember how it looked, they will remember the food and if they had a good time. Good luck!
2007-10-28 07:13:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
well that is a start now you need to find a officiant or church that will conduct this wedding also a location if you plan on a non church wedding is the location where the ball room is does it have gardens or a out door venue where you might be able to rent??
next you need to look at if the ball room caters or you need out door cater company look around who might be able to do your event also shop around don't go with the first choice
at this point you have dates all set in now it is time to look for florists DJ or band photographer video person dresses limos for this event
also its time to get dresses and get them altered also you have to pick brides maids
party invitations
also if you plan on a sit down dinner and what not and a seating chart might be needed
here is a few sites that i love and use not only on weddings but when i do big events for work
http://www.blissweddings.com/wedding_planner/planners.asp
http://www.usabride.com/centerpieces/a_floral2.html
http://www.seatingarrangement.com/screenshots.htm
http://kitchen.robbiehaf.com/NapkinFolds.html
hope this helps
2007-10-28 08:16:47 · answer #9 · answered by rodeogirl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first thing to do is get her dress. It takes a while for them to do all the alterations and all the fittings before the wedding and stuff. Then go to diff. flower shops, search for the perfect flowers she wants. Then, you need to book the caterer. With the caterers also, go to different places, taste there food. Food is very important at a wedding! Then, decorations, if you have money to spend than get nice stuff, but if not, go to arts and crafts stores like Micheals. I hope this helps!!! Good luck! also choose all the wedding party's attire: flower girls, ring barer, ushers, best man, bridesmaids and maid of honor!!!!
2007-10-28 07:59:41 · answer #10 · answered by Hannah's Mama 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sign up (its free!!) at www.theknot.com
Once you have signed up and put a date in, it will automatically create a checklist for you... in the order of what you should accomplish first. By doing this, you eliminate the wondering ("How soon before my wedding should I start looking for my dress?" "How soon before my wedding should I book the caterer?") of what comes first, what comes next, so on and so forth.
This website also has a tool to track your budget, your guest list, etc. There are so many resources listed on this site and you can save them to a 'notebook' with just a click of the mouse! It's really very convenient.
2007-10-28 09:44:34 · answer #11 · answered by lo im ve 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋