Considering a Holiday Wedding?

Are you planning a wedding? Have you considered a date that's on or near a major holiday or 3-day weekend? There are some benefits, and also potential drawbacks to having a holiday wedding. Holidays and 3-day weekends can effect honeymoons, guest availability, wedding business/vendor schedules, and other less thought about aspects in either positive or negative ways.

Here are some basic things to consider:

• You'll need to give guests more advanced notice for holiday weddings
• Some vendors are busier near holidays, depending on the holiday and the vendor type. For example, florists are VERY busy around Memorial Day. Caterers and bakeries are swamped during Thanksgiving. DJ's are booked for New Year's Eve. Venues are rented for 4th of July celebrations, etc.
  Honeymoons, lodging and flights can potentially be more expensive during holiday weeks.
• Every year your anniversary will fall on or near a holiday (could be a + or --, depending on the holiday!)
• For traveling guests and honeymoon purposes, holidays give you extra days off from work
• Holidays offer fun wedding themes automatically, if desired
• Traffic can either be better or worse on holidays (depending on the holiday)
• Verify with vendors that they are indeed working that day if it's a major holiday, i.e. Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.
• Holidays and holiday weekends are just fun!

Does anyone have comments about their upcoming holiday wedding plans? Or comments from those who've had a wedding on or near a holiday? We'd love to hear from you...

Brides - Is Planning Your Wedding Making You Crazy?

Everyone knows that planning a wedding takes lots of time and money, but not everyone realizes the toll it also takes on sanity! So many brides that I know hardly have time to sit back and enjoy the process. Even up to the very moment they're walking down the aisle, they're still coordinating something. For my own wedding, I can remember the feeling of frustration while decorating. No one was doing it 'right', although I hadn't clearly told anyone what 'right' was...

Are you apprehensive about trusting someone else with tasks? Sure, that means a loss of "control" over that particular aspect, but it may just be worth it. Do you have to care about every miniscule detail? Maybe you do. Are you becoming 'bridezilla'? Maybe you are. Do you want your wedding to be great? Of course you do. Are you wondering how to make it all happen without developing an ulcer? Here are just a couple thoughts:

• Hire a wedding planner/wedding consultant
• Delegate tasks to trustworthy friends, family and bridal party members
• Get a planning and budget checklist to keep yourself on track (budget checklist available on our home page, bottom right corner: www.NWweddingplace.com)
• Take extra time off work before your wedding if you can
• Keep things as simple as possible
• Purposefully plan to enjoy the process and especially your wedding day

If you're a bride-to-be, a newly wed or have thoughts you'd like to share, we'd love to hear your comments on this topic! For more great wedding tips, love & marriage advice, Pacific Northwest information, and more, visit www.NWweddingplace.com today!
Be blessed...

Eco-Friendly "Green" Wedding Reception Centerpieces

Greetings readers! We in the Northwest tend to be fairly eco-conscious. Why not bring that "green" spirit to your wedding too! When going 'green', one of the main things to consider is not wasting or throwing excessive amounts of things away afterward.
If you've been looking for some green wedding reception centerpiece ideas, here are several ideas that we've come up with:

• Use organic fruit in bowls or on tiered platters. Beautiful and dual-purpose! Decor & snacks!
• Grow your own flowers - cut them and fill vases.
• Float tealights & flower heads in large bowls partially filled with water and river rock. Always recycle metal tealight cups.
• Use tiered deserts on platters as decor. Once again, they'd be dual purpose.
• Use the glassware, wine or sparkling juice bottles, colored napkins, and simple tealight candles. Candle light and glassware can be quite elegant. Recycle empty bottles.
• Have baskets full of your guest favors as your centerpieces.
• Decorate your tables with potted plants, and then also use them as guest favors.
• Use shells, sand, driftwood, and other 'found' items, then return them to nature afterward.
• Use homemade or locally made candles with flower petals.

For more "green" wedding tips and information, please visit our "Green Wedding Tips" article at our main site - www.NWweddingplace.com/green-wedding-tips-article.htm

I'm sure some of you brides & grooms have some other great "green" ideas too. Please share!