The basics of a wedding are all the same, no matter who the couple is.  Here’s a list of opportunities to put your personal mark on your wedding.

1.  Ask your caterer to prepare you or your finance’s favorite dish or your grandma’s holiday pie that’s a family tradition.

2.  Design a personal logo as an element of decor throughout your wedding - invitations, menu/place cards, lighting, favors, and cake toppers

3.  Instead of the tried and true wedding march, have your ceremony musicans play a song that’s special to the both of you.

4.  Design your own wine.  At the reception or cocktail hour, service wine that you’ve made yourselves.  Try Crushpad in San Francisco.  If you’re in an area without wineries, create your own wine lables.  Try www.bottleyourbrand.com

Here’s a simple outline of items that will make planning your rehearsal dinner easy-breezy.  The rehearsal dinner will set the tone for the wedding and it may be the first time that the wedding party can mix and mingle.  Wedding etiquette dictates that the groom’s family will host the rehearsal dinner.

• Choose a location with a private room with a relaxed atmosphere and style that compliments your wedding
• Choose a pre-selected menu & signature drink/cocktail to compliment your food choices
• Any person that is part of the rehearsal should be allowed to bring their significant other to the rehearsal dinner
• Allow at least 3 hours for your rehearsal dinner 
• Begin with introducing each guest
• Toast and thank the parents of the Bride & Groom
• Thank the wedding party and present them with gifts of appreciation and thanks
• Surprise your groom with a groom’s cake for dessert!

Every movie with a wedding scene always has the bride and groom happily making a grand exit from the ceremony or reception as all their guests surround them with well wishes and love as they start a new life as husband and wife.

What happened to the grand exit?  I love this part of the wedding.  The Grand Exit has somehow faded away from wedding ceremonies and receptions.  Now, it seems like guests rush off after the ceremony to avoid traffic jams trying get to the reception site.  On the other hand, receptions fizzle like a night club when the lights come up and the bride and groom are left with a handful of straggling guests.

Bring back this classic tradition and plan a Grand Exit with style.  Your guests can send you off with rose petals, bubbles, or sparklers.  Don’t forget about the time honored tradition of decorating the get away car with "Just Married" decorations.  It’s such a great moment to capture via photo or video.    

Let your wedding planner, photographer, and DJ/MC know what time you will be making your grand exit and they will alert and coordinate your guests for you.

P.S. No confetti - it’s too messy.  It gets stuck in your hair, eyelashes, cleavage, etc.

Weddings are tricky & fabulous at the same time.  For some strange reason, weddings cause people to go crazy, get stressed out, and accidentily offend their friends and family.  Here is some wedding invitation etiquette that will keep you out of hot water.

DOs

• Call guests to verify their attendance if they have not responded by the RSVP date
• Make sure the names of your guests are spelled correctly
• Send children of relatives that are 18 years and older their own invitation
• Invite the partners of guests who are married, engaged, living together, or involved in a long term relationship
• Send an invitation to your officiant and their significant other
• Send your parents and wedding party invitations as keepsakes
• Put return postage on reply cards

If you don’t want children at your wedding DO: 

• Omit the children’s name from the invitation
• Have friends & family pass the word that you do not want children at the wedding
• Add one of the phases to the reply card:  "Adult reception" or "# of seats have been reserved in your name"

DON’Ts

• Include "cash only gifts" wording.  It is considered rude to request cash for a wedding gift
• Include your registry information.  This information can be communicated through friends and family or your wedding website.  Registry information can be included with the bridal shower invitaiton.
• Send invitations to guests that you assume will not be able to attend.  Only send invitations to the number of guests that your budget can accomodate.
• Forget to proofread your invitations.  Have a friend or relative read it over as a second pair of eyes.
• Include reply cards for the ceremony only.  This is only appropriate if their will be NO reception

Music is everything at any event.  Music will set the mood and attitude of your wedding.  At your wedding:

• The song playing as you walk down the aisle will frame the moment where you begin a new chapter in your life
• The songs during your ceremony makes your guests excited to share in special day
• The song played during your first dance tells your love story

With all the different types technology - MP3s, IPODs, DJ software, Itunes, etc., there is bound to be a few flubs due to human error or compatibility issues. 

Make sure you have all the special songs for your ceremony and wedding burned on a CD just in case your DJ is having technical difficulties.  Give the back up CD to your wedding planner, maid of honor/best man, or a good friend for safe keeping in case a technical difficulty arises.

If you’re using the church’s sound system, do a trial run with their staff at the rehearsal.  No one wants to walk down the aisle in silence, to the wrong song, or from the tiny speaker of a portable CD player or IPOD.

As Rihanna says, "Please don’t stop the music!"

I love winter weddings!  It combines my two favorite things - the holiday season and weddings.

Although some may feel that a holiday wedding is inconvenient, it has many positive attributes.

First, all of your family is usually in town to celebrate the holiday - why "knot" kill two birds with one stone and celebrate a wedding.

Second, every wedding venue is already decorated with beautiful holiday decor that will perfectly accent your winter wedding.  This can save you extra money in your budget.

Third, in this tough and tight economy, corporations are cancelling their holiday parties.  Vendors will be more than willing to offer freebies, discounts, and include additional services at no additional cost.

Welcome to Wickedly Fabulous Weddings & Events!  We’re so excited to share our newly designed website and wedding blog with you.  We are an Orange County wedding planning and design company. 

We started this company because we love weddings and the joy true love brings.  We also love special events like birthday parties or anniversaries that bring family and friends together to celebrate.   We enjoy planning, designing, and coordinating every aspect of a wedding or special event to make each event unique and outstanding.

Your wedding or special event will be one of the most memorable times of your life and we want to offer you our guidance and expertise in wedding planning.

We offer affordable wedding planning packages for Southern California including, but not limited to Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego.  Every wedding or special event that we plan is never less than FABULOUS and is always Beyond the Bouquet!

We invite you to check out our wedding planning and special event services.  Please visit us often as our wedding blog will contain wedding planning tips and advice on wedding etiquette, décor, budget, and everything else a bride and groom needs to know for their wedding day.