How To Be The Perfect Wedding Guest

Forget summer weddings, fall has now become the wedding season for me! I'm assisting in 4 weddings in September and I was recently invited to a friends wedding in November. Amanda (who also has a couple of weddings this fall and is a bridesmaid in the November wedding) and I got talking about being a wedding guest and what is proper etiquette. Now I'm sure all of you lovely readers are the perfect wedding guest but I thought I would do a quick refresher course on the subject. 

1.) When you receive that beautiful oversized envelope with a wedding invitation inside be sure to respond as soon as possible. When both Amanda and I received the invitations for the November wedding we filled out the reply card that moment and put them in the mail the next day. 
P.S The same thing goes for wedding showers! 

2.) Read the address on the invite! This will let you know who is actually being invited to the wedding. For example:
"Mr. & Mrs. Eat, Drink & Be Married = you and your spouse but no children
"Mr & Mrs. Eat, Drink & Be Married and family (or children's names) = you, your spouse and children.
"Mr. Eat, Drink & Be Married and Guest" = you and a guest
"Mr. Eat, Drink & Be Married" = just yourself.

Please don't call the bride and groom to ask about bring a guest or your children if they are not on the invitation. This usually happens when a couple is making some difficult financial decisions regarding their wedding and it's an awkward situation for the couple. 

3.) Make sure to ask the wedding party to find out where the bride and groom are registered. On a side note as per proper etiquette sending gift registry cards along with your invitations is a big NO!. That's like saying "please attend my wedding and bring me a gift". We all know that a guest will bring a gift so you don't have to announce it. 

Getting back on track - as I was saying before, make sure to ask the wedding party or the parents/siblings of the bride and groom to find out where they have registered. They will gladly tell you! 

4.) Purchase a gift of the registry. It may seem impersonal but it's not! The bride and groom obviously registered for these items and want it to be a part of their new home. If you want to make the gift more personal then why not add a hand written note in the card or a personal touch the couple will love. For example let's say the bride and groom registered for margarita glasses then in your card you could reference that crazy trip to Mexico you took and also give a bucket of margarita mix. That gift shows you went the extra steps to make it personal and still give the couple what they wanted. It's really a win/win situation!

5.) In all cases I would highly suggest not bringing your gift to the wedding. Think about who needs to bring those large gifts to a bridal suite (if they have one) as well as who has to take them home. As a guest you have up to a year to give the bride and groom a gift so don't sweat it! I would recommend having the gift delivered a few weeks before the wedding but after is also perfectly fine. Cards and monetary gifts are perfectly acceptable to bring to actual wedding. 

6.) Dress appropriately! Please take into consideration if the ceremony is being held in a church (cover your shoulders!), outside (wear something light and don't forget sunscreen), or if the wedding is causal or formal.

Pay attention to all the clues on the invitation - the date which helps you narrow down outfit choices, the ceremony and reception venue which will tell you how formal you need to be, and avoid colours that are on the invitation since those are the wedding colours. (The one exception to the colour rule is black. Black goes with everything and doesn't mean you are going to a funeral or not supporting the couple. Black is classic and always has a place.)

7.) Arrive on time!! I cannot stress this enough and is my biggest pet peeve. If you are normally a late person then plan to arrive 45 minutes early. Have some respect for the bride, groom and their families on one of the biggest days of their lives, pretty please! 

8.) Make sure to turn off electronic devices. Don't just put your phone on silent because we all know you will want to check your messages, actually turn your phone off. I would suggest leaving it in the car if possible! You are there to have a good time. You work hard so take the night off and relax! 

9.) Make sure to congratulate the bride and groom. Let them know how much you are enjoying their special day and are happy to be apart of it. 

10.) Be responsible. As much fun as open bars are at weddings remember that your actions affect the rest of the wedding. Don't drink too much and definitely don't drink and drive (although I'm sure I don't have to remind you smart cookies about not drinking and driving!) 

Being a perfect wedding guest is a great way to show the couple how much you love them and it allows you to have the best time possible! 
Enjoy the fall wedding season!

Morning After Photos

Yes, you read that properly. Over at Refinery 29 was an article on how more and more couples are partaking in something called "Morning After Photography" where the newly wed couple is photographed in their honeymoon suite the morning after they say "I do". 

Well this might be a great idea for some couples I can't imagine actually doing this. For starters I would be completely exhausted from the previous day and definitely would not want to have to wake up for hair and make up (which I assume most of these women are doing before being photographed). I'm not married but I also can't imagine wanting to share the first day of being married with a photographer. I plan to spend that day with my new husband, talking about our wedding day, sleeping..and doing other bedroom activities. 

The first imagine I came across is actually sort of cute and I could definitely picture this in a magazine.

But the rest...uggh.. not as cute. Maybe it's because I'm definitely not a model but I don't think I would ever be comfortable enough to say "sure Mr. Photographer, come join us in the shower to get these photos". Eek!

What do you guys think? Would you do Morning After Photos?
P.S HAPPY FRIDAY! Have an incredible weekend!

Feathers!

The Bride's Cafe featured an Atlanta engagement shoot this week and I can't get over how gorgeous her dress is! Chandra looks fabulous and I absolutely love that her groom to be is in a blue suit - very chic! 

Check out the rest of Chandra and Carl's engagement photos here:

http://www.thebridescafe.com/?postID=1878&atlanta-engagement-shoot-chandra-and-carl

Metallic Wedding Cakes

Metallic is definitely one of my favourite wedding trends of 2012 - I see it popping up everywhere and can't seem to get enough!! Check out these metallic wedding cakes from My Sweet & Saucy.

http://www.mysweetandsaucy.com/

Neutral Bridesmaid Dresses

Lately I am absolutely smitten with neutral coloured bridesmaid dresses! I love that the dresses allow for a big pop of colour in flowers, jewellery, shoes, etc. 

I also love how romantic neutral colours make the wedding. ♥ I think they go perfectly with the classic black suit, white shirt and black tie. It seems like a match made in heaven to me!

Wedding Extras!

What do you guys think of these beautiful shoe clips from Etsy? What a wonderful way to add a little extra pizzazz to your wedding day attire. These shoe clips are perfect for the bride to be, bridesmaids, family members or even a wedding guest. 

I especially love the peacock feather and the silver bow clips! I'm seriously considering buying myself the silver bows as an early Christmas present. :)

Headshots!

I just found out that my dear friend Kasia over at Armor & Adorn included me in one of her blog posts! Kasia took some headshots for me 1 week ago and I think they turned out great for amateur work. Kasia has always been a Photoshop wiz (at least in my opinion) 

Check out her post on Eat, Drink & Be Married Events here and while you are at it check out the rest of her blog. 

Her hard work on my first ever headshot:

Now I'm definitely NOT a model. I actually take some of the most awkward pictures you have ever seen so I give Kasia all the credit for this. 

I'll Grow Old With You

Love!