Including Your Man

When my hubby and I were getting married I wanted to include him in the planning. Well, at first I did, then he didn't seem interested so I just went about the planning asking him occassionally what he thought. There were a few touches that were ALL him, such as the Metallica during the dinner music...subtle but effective. But some of those touches are the ones I remember the most and I wish I would have done more. I recently saw a U of M garder which I would have loved to surprise him with, maybe if we renew our vows someday!

Some of my couples this past year included little touches that both couples enjoyed but were inspired by the groom...

Kevin and Jess were a couple I worked with that live in Ireland. Kevin is Irish and Jess is from the Grand Rapids area, what a fun couple.

The couple both participate in a sport called hurling in Ireland...Kevin is quite well known. Jess and her sisters created these adorable place cards with pictures of hurlers with the guests name and table number at the top.



The place cards were in baskets with dirt and grass to look like the playing field. I had such a good time setting it all up.







For the guest book they used a "hurley" which is the stick used in the sport. All the guests really enjoyed leaving fun messages for the couple on it.

Another fun touch they added was that instead of just numbering the tables they called them different hurling positions such as Center Forward. This was such a fun and creative wedding, thank you Jess and Kevin for letting me be a part of it.

Tune in later this week for part II of "Including Your Man" for Ellen and Jerry's wedding details.

To Clean or Not to Clean

Some friends and I got into the discussion of what to do with your wedding dress after the big day. One said she got her dress cleaned and vacuum sealed in case her daughters wanted to wear it someday. Another said she had it cleaned but not boxed so she could take it out again if she wanted. And me? well...gasp! Mine is still hanging in the basement 5 years later with the frosting still on the hem of the skirt! I know, I know, I should at least have it cleaned, by now the stains are probably there to stay, I'll have to get ahold of Tami at Great Lake Wedding Gown Specialists. Tami specializes in cleaning and preserving gowns, as well as being the owner of September's Bride, an amazing bridal store in Holland.

So it begs the question...what is the right thing to do with your dress after the wedding? I believe it all depends on what you want to do with the dress in the long run. If you want to keep it around for your children to see it in all it's glory then by all means definitely have it professionally cleaned and sealed up to preserve the color and integrity. Having it cleaned with or without sealing it up is a great idea, just to keep it fresh and beautiful.

There are many options out there for the dress after the wedding, if you don't know what you want to do with yours, consider the following...donate your dress. Many second hand or thrift stores and also consignment shops will take wedding dresses, just think if you aren't going to reuse your dress maybe someone that can't afford such a beautiful item would treasure it as much as you did.

{picture courtesy of September's Bride}