Bridal Guide, 2012

Special Supplement of the

February 17, 2012

2 • Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012

One-Stop Shopping for Brides at Wayside Inn Bridal and Fashion Show

By Doris Christelis Contributing Writer

H

aving hosted weddings for nearly three hundred years, the landmark Wayside Inn in Sudbury is opening its doors to all prospective brides during the Wayside Inn Bridal and Fashion Show, Sunday, April 15.

The Inn’s Sales Event Manager Melissa Striharsky is excited about this year’s show. “For those starting to plan their own wedding, the process can be exhausting,� Striharsky said. “The Wayside Inn Bridal and Fashion Show will offer ‘one-stop shopping’ on all the goods and services needed to create a perfect wedding.�

From noon to 3 p.m., show vendors will provide information on a variety of wedding day “musts.� “From florists, a bridal boutique, rental companies and wedding planners, to men’s

PHOTOS/COURTESY OF INVIDIA SALON & SPA

formal wear, musicians, jewelry vendors and makeup and hair specialists, the Wayside Inn Bridal and Fashion Show will make your wedding planning easy and memorable,� she added.

Frugal Flower’s Wedding and

Event Coordinator Allison Hassard is also involved with the program. “This is an exclusive opportunity for prospective brides to picture the Inn with all the options available in place to help them envision their

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special day before it happens,�

Hassard explained.

Visitors will be able to taste the culinary delights prepared by the Wayside Inn’s new executive chef Michael Brentana.

Brentana and his culinary team offer brides and grooms who hold their receptions at the Inn “dishes which feature unique flavor combinations coupled with artistic plate presentations.�

Again this year, brides who attend the Bridal and Fashion Show will be entered in a drawing for a “Giveaway Wedding.� The Wayside Inn wedding package giveaway includes a Martha Mary Chapel ceremony, use of the Inn’s Main Dining Room, one night of deluxe accommodations, a three-tier wedding cake, and much more explained Kathy Quinton, Director of Sales at the Inn. The drawing will take place in the Inn’s Main Dining Room at 2:45 p.m. The winner must be in attendance to claim the prize. Last year’s lucky winners, “Kate and Nate,� will hold their wedding ceremony and reception at the Inn after this year’s show.

The Bridal Fashion Show will begin at 3:15 p.m. in the charming Martha Mary Chapel.

Shelby O’Connell of SKO Designs helped to organize the event along with Edna Dratch Parker of EFD Creative. “The fashion show allows brides to see a variety of gowns and men’s formal wear in a genuine wedding setting,�

O’Connell said.

Frugal Flower and Invidia Salon & Spa of Sudbury, the Fashion Show Presenters, along with many award winning vendors will provide their services and products for this year’s ceremony and reception.

Flowers are always a key component of any memorable wedding. “With over 20 years of experience, Frugal Flower has worked with brides on every budget and in every style – from traditional to more trendsetting displays and bouquets,� noted Hassard.

As any bride knows, a wedding day is the time to turn to the experts for hair and makeup styling believes Invidia’s Director Jasmin Patzleiner. “Invidia’s approach to wedding services is one that emphasizes planning with strict attention to detail and elegance irrespective of budget,� explained Patzleiner.

During the Wayside Inn show, Invidia will offer bridesto-be special hair and makeup packages at Invidia’s Suite at the Wayside Carriage House Inn. “The Suite is an intimate setting for bridal parties to prepare for the wedding with the same state-of-the-art and professional skin and hair care that we offer customers in our full-service salon,� noted Patzleiner.

Tickets to the Bridal Show are $10 and tickets to the Fashion Show (with seating limited to 130 people) are $15. Preregistration and more information can be found at www. waysideinnbridalshow.com.

Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012 • 3

The Dress Test

8 ‘movement tests’ for your wedding gown

Y

our dream wedding dress will surely be beautiful, but will you be able to move in it? Can you sit in it? Dance in it? Lift your arms to throw your bouquet?

Can you bend over without giving the room too much of a view? As important as it is to choose a dress that looks beautiful on you while you’re standing in front of a fulllength mirror in a bridal salon, it’s even more important to test your dream dress to be sure it allows you full comfort and full coverage in any situation.

As you try on dresses, move in them. Don’t stand still.

You’ll get a feel for the tug of off-the-shoulder sleeves and decide whether the romantic look is worth the restriction on your movement. A tightly fitting mermaid-style dress also should be moved in to be sure you can walk in it.

Don’t forget that a professional seamstress will provide several rounds of alterations to your chosen dress, so most sections of your gown can be adjusted to give you more comfort. Everything from sleeves and seams to lace sections can be moved and/or removed, to make that dress perfect for your shape and make you feel more confident wearing it.

The best way to ensure comfort in your gown is to subject it to the following eight movement tests as your seamstress looks on, with pins ready to adjust whatever you might need.

1) Lift your arms. As you’re dancing with your groom, you’ll have your arms lifted to his shoulder height. It would be a disaster if your off-the

shoulder or full cleavage showing is the danger sleeves didn’t alhere, so bend over as if to pick low you to lift your something up from a chair arms that high. If or talk to a flower girl, and your raised arms assess how much skin you’re stretch the dress as showing. Bridal-gown expert you’re dancing, it Nancy Aucone says that having also ruins the lines the right fit and style of bodice of the dress and can is key. For this portion of the create an unattractmovement tests, your corset ive bumpy look all or bra will play a part in your down your back. dress’s appearance on top.

Not only is it un“Ideally, you should not even comfortable, your try on a bridal gown without dress’ strain will the proper undergarment,” Aushow in your wedcone says. “And you certainly ding photos and should not have your final fitvideo. So lift your ting without one.” arms and allow With your wedding-day your seamstress undergarments on, test your to tailor where the neckline to be sure that the dress needs to be undergarment doesn’t show let out slightly or and that the dress alteration taken in slightly. covers you well.

Make sure you can move in your dream wedding 2) Swing your dress.

7) Dance. Yes, dance in the arms. If your dress bridal boutique, to see whether you to sit without the risk of has sleeveless straps, it’s imporyou’ll be able to enjoy each and tearing your seams or making tant to be sure the armholes alevery song, fast or slow. it hard for you to breathe. low you plenty of room. A bad “I didn’t test this, and when 6) Bend over. Too much fit will cause the thicker fabric my new husband went to dip of the dress to rub against your inner arms, causing chafing.

3) Walk forward. Does the skirt of the dress allow you to take comfortable steps? A sleek-fitting mermaid dress could cause you to shuffle like Morticia Addams in your dress, which isn’t the effect you’re likely after.

4) Walk up and down stairs.

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5) Sit down. You will be sitFernando Fierimonte, Graduate Gemologist ting, albeit briefly, during your reception, so be sure that the Servicing the industry with honesty, estty, integrity, and value for over 30 years dress’ shape and fit will allow

me during our first dance, I almost fell to the floor,” says new bride Stacie Aarons. “If I could go back and do it again, I’d twirl around and bend backwards a little just to be sure the dress cooperated.”

If you’re wearing a short dress, as is a popular casual style now, twirl in the dress to be sure it doesn’t fly up too high. Your seamstress can make adjustments to limit your skirt’s twirling height.

8) Stand up from a sitting position and walk. A too-long crinoline or slip might prove dangerous if you take your first step into it. Brides have torn the fronts of their dresses and also taken a tumble because they didn’t test this particular movement in their dresses, especially when they hear a song they love and rush to get to the dance floor.

When you test your dream dress, any solution can be created to help you look beautiful and move beautifully.

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4 • Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012

Destination Weddings Exotic nuptials a dream or a reality?

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etting married on location can be a dream, but can a destination wedding be a reality?

Wedding experts say destination “I do’s” happen a lot and emphasize they’re not that tough to organize.

“This year, I’ve had 21 d e s t i n at i o n w e d d i n g s ,” says Mindy Weiss of Mindy Weiss Party Consultants and author of “The Wedding Planner & Organizer.”

“I’ve never done so many in one year. This was the year they all wanted to go away.”

According to The Wedding Report, a group that tracks wedding statistics and does market research for the wedding industry, its most recent figures on the trend show there were 259,000 destination weddings in 2008 with a value of $2.49 billion.

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“It’s like the gown,” explains Tiffany Cook of Dream Design Weddings & Events.

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The appeal of a destination wedding can range from the need for privacy to an urge for a romantic getaway.

Weiss says couples are always passionate about the destination.

The Wedding Report says top destination wedding locations include the Bahamas and places in the Caribbean, especially Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

“The Caribbean is still hot and hip,” says Cook, whose clients often choose destination locales such as St. Croix, St. John, St. Barts, the Antilles and St. Maarten.

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Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012 • 5

Destination Weddings Continued from previous page

York, Atlanta and Los Angeles are popular destination wedding cities in the continental U.S. Typically, destination weddings happen on weekends from Thursday to Sunday or Monday. Some destinations, including Hawaii, are yearround choices, but others can be too hot, such as Mexico in July, or prone to stormy weather, like the Bahamas during hurricane season.

Guest List Guests often love a getaway wedding because it’s a built-in vacation.

One of Weiss’ recent weddings had a large guest list -- 175 New Yorkers who traveled to Lanai, Hawaii, for the wedding.

While most destination weddings are smaller, with a range from 40 to 60 guests, taking care of these guests is a major priority.

“You’re not only planning a wedding, but you’re planning a trip and plan-

ning for all your guests,” says Weiss. “Everyone becomes an out-of-town guest.”

Entertaining Keep those guests happy with lots of activities.

“It’s a lot of entertaining,” says Weiss, noting how many destination weddings include a Thursday welcome party, a Friday rehearsal dinner, the wedding on Saturday and a brunch on Sunday.

Give guests welcome bags, as well as a very detailed itinerary that explains what’s happening and when and whom to contact if a guest has questions.

And remember that just because the wedding is a getaway doesn’t mean it’s a casual affair. Most destination weddings have a dress code of at least cocktail attire, while some destination nuptials are formal black-tie events.

The cost of a destination wedding can vary, depending on whether or not you cover some or all of your guests’ expenses. For example, some

brides pay for their bridesmaids’ rooms, and others cover the bill for all of their guests’ accommodations. Still, brides and grooms are not required to pay their guests’ tabs.

Destination Details Planning a destination wedding generally doesn’t take much more time than planning a local wedding.

“It’s nice to have a year out,” says Weiss. “Do a save-thedate, and be kind to guests.”

Be kind to yourself, too, by taking Cook’s advice and hiring a planner.

“Planning can be nerveracking,” she says. “A seasoned wedding planner can make your life so much easier and better if you’re having a destination wedding.”

Cook says she typically scouts a property online and figures out whether the venue’s style and price points are a match for the couple.

Before a hiring decision is made, she and the couple travel to the destination to

do a walk-through and firm up the plans.

Another important consideration is handling the legal details of a marriage ceremony and the license.

“I work with the property and work with local officials,” says Cook. “There has to be an officiant from the local area who presides over the ceremony, and the license is

handled at that location.”

When it comes to hiring wedding vendors, some couples choose vendors near the destination spot, whereas others hire vendors from home and fly them to the wedding site.

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6 • Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012

Blooms New wedding flower trends

W

edding flower trends evolve season after season.

This upcoming year, there are several leading trends coloring brides’ choices of floral motifs, bouquets and blooming decor: - Romance. Inspired by the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton), wedding flowers paired with romantic, lace-enhanced wedding dresses carry a soft look of Victorian femininity. In whites, ivories and soft pinks, flower trends follow the Duchess’s lead with delicate lily of the valley, or they may increasingly be seen as soft, muted bouquets or centerpieces made of big-bloomed, ruffled peonies. The lace of the gown is now brought onto the handle of the bouquet as an alternative to the satin-wrapped, hand-tied bouquet. And one of the biggest new trends for romantic florals, according to floral designer Georgianne Vinicombe, is feather accenting, such as having large, dreamy feathers

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- Vintage. Last season’s vintage theme carries into the new year with romantic flowers in muted yellows making up bouquets and floral pieces. Tiny touches of red in florals and berries act as accents.

- Rustic. With more weddings taking place in unique, natural spaces such as farms and vineyards, the overall rustic wedding trend extends into wildflowers in hand-tied bouquets and in loosely arranged centerpieces.

Brenda Bennett Maille, who writes “Brenda’s Wedding Blog,” says that elevated centerpieces provide architecture in natural accents, such as tall branches.

- Nautical. This trend is on the rise, bringing more navy blues into floral designs. Picture bouquets accented with shells and starfish.

Types of Flowers While roses and peonies lead the way in romantic, vintage Soft, romantic flowers are the leading bouquet choice

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Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012 • 7

Blooms New wedding flower trends Continued from previous page

and rustic weddings, additional top-trending flowers according to the Association of Bridal Consultants include daisies, lilies, tulips and hydrangeas.

These particular flower types spread across the seasons, as do similarly romantic flowers such as ranunculus, gardenias and orchids. For tiny dots of white or color, kalanchoe is a leading bloom, and succulents are taking their place at green-friendly weddings.

Types of Bouquets Romantic bouquets are most often hand-tied, meaning they are gathered together by hand, wrapped at the stem with a satin ribbon, and are more loosely constructed and relaxed this year than the more tightly bound designs of seasons past.

Also more relaxed in construction are the more playful bouquets made up of brighter, more vivid shades of hot pink, magenta, fall’s deep reds and

My garden-inspired bouquet in light green colors coordinated with our garden wedding scene for less contrast in-person and Lisa Gavejian in pictures Recent bride

purples. One overriding trend, according to TheWeddingReport.com, is pairing a bright color such as yellow or persimmon with accents of silver and accessorizing the bouquet with sparkle in the form of crystals, rhinestones and jeweled brooches. This gives the bouquet a more dramatic look, perfect for nighttime. In the day, clear crystals capture the light for sparkle.

For a less dramatic look, the “green bouquet” is a rising trend with a larger use of foliage and branches in a soft-green and ivory color scheme. Pops of yel-

low, light coral or pink act as the choice accessory hues.

“My garden-inspired bouquet in light green colors coordinated with our garden wedding scene for less contrast in-person and in pictures,” said Lisa Gavejian, a recent bride. “And I wore light green jewelry that also coordinated with my flowers.”

Lisa Anderson of Sweet Pea Flowers says that bouquets in 2012 will feature layering of textures. This is often accomplished by mixing smooth-petaled flowers such as roses with ridged or ruffled-edged flowers like the new, eye-catching varieties of

carnations, which now come in stripes and darker-tipped petals.

Anderson says that carnations, mums and baby’s breath are on the rise. Floral experts say this is partially because of their low market price and partially because of the duchess’s “crowning” of the simple garden flower as a top trend in bridal blooms.

Top Colors for Flowers At October’s Bridal Fashion Week in New York, top wedding bloggers delivered the floral color trends right from the runways. They showed florals in bright, bold, saturated tones such as hot pink, bright orange and Kelly green. The visual impact balanced by deep jewel tones such as purple, navy and the still-popular shade of chocolate brown. Brides are also mixing unexpected brights such as turquoise and purple, says the wedding blog NoteableExpressions.net.

Brides who desire a softer, romantic palette will choose light

tangerine, light aqua and gold, paired with interesting neutrals such as chestnut, beige and grey, which provide a deeper alternative to the barely there shades of ivory.

For both bold and romantic, floral experts say they’re increasingly blending dark and light tones in bouquets and centerpieces, as brides venture away from the all-one-color floral designs of yesteryear.

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Brenda Bennett Maille says that a top trend seen at upscale wedding show The Wedding Salon was the flowerless canopy that stood out simply and elegantly with pristine fabrics and velvet aisle runners. The trend in subtle flowers, including ceremony decor of greenerydecorated arches with very few blooms, shows that brides are making a less-is-more statement with decor and saving their floral wow factor for their bouquets.

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8 • Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012

The Picture-Perfect Wedding

How best to display your digitally captured memories

A

t many weddings over the years, brides and grooms have displayed elegantly framed family photos at their receptions. Now the trend has gone high-tech, with those priceless family photos kept safely at home and a slideshow of those same gorgeous photos displayed on a digital photo frame. Wedding guests delight in seeing generationsold photos, many of which have been digitally retouched or enhanced by a photo editor to correct coloring and fix fading.

The digital photo frame has become a top decor choice for the reception, as well as for additional pre- and post-wedding parties, and it’s used to display a variety of photos -- not just ancestral wedding portraits.

Here are some fun ways to use your high-definition digital photo frame to show images at your wedding celebrations. *At the Engagement Party - Display photos of the bride

and groom from their dating days. Gather everything from their prom photos to shots of them at college football games to pictures of vacations and their engagement.

- Display childhood photos of the bride and groom in a slideshow that can then be inserted into the wedding video.

At the Bridal Shower - Display childhood photos of the bride, showing her as a baby, in dancing school costumes, in Halloween costumes, in sporting uniforms and at milestone moments, such as her graduation.

- Display photos of the couple, especially if this is a coed shower.

At the Reception - Display courtship photos.

- Display the couple’s official engagement portraits.

- Display not only family wedding photos but also fabu-

lous casual family snapshots.

- Place a digital photo frame by the flowers set out in honor of departed loved ones, and display photos of those loved ones with family members.

When you show happy family memories, it makes the remembrance display a more uplifting one, as opposed to a photos-of-the-departed-only slideshow that’s seen more often at funerals.

At the After Party - Insert a flash drive or camera card into your digital photo frame and play a slideshow of photos from the wedding day that just happened. These will be candid shots from friends’ cameras, so expect a few out-of-focus pics among the gems.

- If you’re hosting a celebration after your destination wedding, share your gorgeous wedding images on a digital photo frame slideshow so that guests who missed the wedding can see them.

Styling Your Photo Slideshow Just as professional photographers do, you can create a highly stylized photo slideshow with artistic elements. For instance, your digital photo frame might have a fade-in/fade-out function that lets each image emerge from a white screen and then dissipate. You might take all of your digital images and show them in black and white, which lends a classy style to the photos.

According to The Wedding Report, 66 percent of wedding photos are chosen in blackand-white format. This elegant style could inspire you to create an all-black-and-white photo slideshow, which you can easily create using your photo software’s editing functionality as you compile the images for your slideshow. Another similar option is clicking on the “sepia” photo format button to show each image in vintage-inspired coloring.

A great photo slideshow con-

sists of more than 20 photos, yet not so many that guests crowd around the digital photo frame to watch the show for an extended period of time. If you do wish to display an extended collection of photos to a larger crowd, connect your image card or camera to a big-screen TV and just let the images play as a more dramatic background at the party.

Be Sure It Fits Your Event’s Style Wedding coordinator Jenny Orsini of Pampered Bride Weddings says a digital photo frame should work with the event’s overall design and theme.

“For example,” she says, “if you’re hosting a vintage-inspired bridal shower, showcasing a big digital frame smack in the middle of a lace-adorned table could look a bit off.” Orsini prefers actual frames at weddings but does think digital frames are appropriate for engagement parties, showers or after-parties.

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Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012 • 9

Endless Party

Managing post-reception plans with your VIP guests

E

veryone’s having too much fun to call it a day after the reception ends, which is why more wedding couples are planning after-parties to keep the celebration going. Smart wedding couples wait several hours after their receptions end and then embark upon their after-party plans. The delay is smart because the vast majority of wedding guests have left, and that helps to thin the herd.

“We made sure to tell our friends to meet in the hotel lobby three hours after the reception ended,” says recent bride Megan Stinson. “That not only prevented other guests from joining us, but it gave us time to go to our hotel room, change into more comfortable outfits, eat something -- since we didn’t get to eat much at the wedding -- have some time alone and then head out for the night.”

Brides and grooms who plan this delayed after-party are then joined by only their closest friends, which keeps expenses down, and they have something in their stomachs to help keep them from getting too tipsy as the celebration continues.

Types of After Parties - Out on the town. The bride and groom pre-scout a fabulous bar or club to which they’ll lead their VIP guests.

Often, the hotel will allow use of the free shuttle bus to bring the group to the club and back at an appointed hour, which provides a safe ride for all.

- In a separate party space.

The hotel might also have a small party room that the bride and groom can decorate with table linens, candles and dimmed lighting. This style of party is popular with biggerbudget brides and grooms, who arrange for late-night cocktail-party fare; food stations, for instance, could offer sliders, waffle fries and other bar-type food.

It’s an open bar, of course, and some after-parties even have a DJ playing music from the couple’s pre-selected playlist. When you book a hotel’s party room, they do require you to order food and drinks, but the entertainment is up to you. Many couples simply hook up their iPods for their after-party music.

- In a hotel suite. Not the bride and groom’s suite, mind you, which they’ll want to keep private. Rather, consider a tidy friend’s suite. Party guests need to keep it down to prevent bothering other hotel guests, but it’s a comfy locale for a small after-party group to unwind, propose a toast and snack on room service foods or a few delivered pizzas.

- At home. An at-home party allows everyone plenty of space to relax, kick off their shoes and maybe even go for a swim or a hot-tub dip. Selfcatered menus often include easy-serve finger sandwiches and dips.

It might be the bride and groom’s house, the parents’ house or a friend’s house that plays host to this gathering; in fact, friends may host the get-together as their present to the bride and groom. Or,

if the bride and groom have taken their friends out on the town, it’s often the parents who host their friends and close family in their home for a relaxed after party.

- Cocktail cruise. Again, on a bigger budget, the bride and groom might take their VIP guests on a midnight cruise around a harbor. These party cruises offer packages that include an open bar for two hours, an hors d’oeuvres buffet and a dessert, and onboard entertainment.

After-Party Planning Tips Some after parties form spontaneously, with guests winding up in the hotel lounge or getting invited during the reception.

That can be a smart strategy for limiting tagalongs as well.

If a couple were to send out invitations to the after party, others who didn’t make their VIP guest list might hear about the event and ask to join in. That sets up a difficult situation wherein the couple must diplomatically say, “No, it’s a private party” and either hurt feelings or agree to extra guests -- and pay for them.

As mentioned, be sure that any catering plans are easy to manage. You don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is relaxing and mingling. Easy-serve trays are the ideal option. Have some cut-up fruits in storage bags that can be quickly emptied into serving bowls, as well as quick-serve hummus that can be opened and set on the table with some crackers or veggies.

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10 • Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012

Guest List Smarts

Building a wedding guest list for any budget

O

ne of the first tasks to tackle when planning your wedding is creating your guest list. Not only is it exciting to think about those with whom you wish to share your big day, but your guest count also will determine where your wed-

ding will take place -- because a large headcount requires a larger ceremony and reception space -- and what your budget will be.

According to The Wedding Report, the average number of guests in 2012 will range from 140 to 150, with an average

expense per guest of $150 to $160. So if you’re on a tight budget, you might opt to plan a wedding that’s smaller in size. This will require you to be very careful when creating your guest list.

The Emily Post Institute advises against using a standby

When possible, invite your entire guest list at the same time rather than waiting to see how many people accept before sending out a second round of invitations.

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“When possible, invite your entire guest list at the same time rather than waiting to see how many people accept before sending out a second round of invitations.

When the guest list is carefully planned, and when you consider the likelihood that 10 percent to 20 percent of invited guests typically send regrets, this approach is much more straightforward than using a standby list.”

Whom To Include Countless etiquette and family diplomacy issues arise when it’s time to create a wedding guest list. Parents often apply pressure to invite extended family members who expect an invitation, and some guests apply pressure to have their children invited.

After all, the family doesn’t get together very often with everyone living in different states and on different continents, perhaps. Your wedding is a rare time for all to gather.

Use these tips to help you decide on a guest list that works for you: - Begin your list with your closest must-have guests such as parents, siblings and their

spouses, nieces and nephews, grandparents, the bridal party and their dates, and your absolute best friends and their spouses or dates.

- Your next class of guests likely will be your aunts and uncles and first cousins with their partners, and perhaps their children.

- Next is your circle of close friends. Whether to give them a plus-one -- which is wedding-talk for “a date” -- is up to you.

The Emily Post Institute offers the following guidance on this tricky topic: “Partners of invited guests must be included in a wedding invitation (when they are) couples who are married, engaged or living together. It is impolite of a guest to ask if he or she can bring a date -- but it is not impolite of you to refuse.

Say, ‘I’m sorry, but we have very limited seating at the reception and we just can’t accommodate any additional guests.’ Allowing single guests who aren’t attached to a significant other to bring a date is a thoughtful gesture, but one that is not required.”

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Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012 • 11

Guest List Smarts Make and organize your perfect wedding guest list.

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guests by making this rule: “We’ll only give a plus-one to friends whose significant others we know and have socialized with.”

Yes, that can ruffle the feathers of singles who wish to bring a date, but it’s your rule to make. Remind single friends that weddings are great places to meet other singles.

- Next is your circle of work friends and their dates, as well as bosses and their partners.

It’s become a strong trend to include your “work family” in your wedding, since you spend so much time with them and may have discussed your wedding plans while at work.

- Create a rule about kids.

The Emily Post Institute provides the official code of conduct: “If you are not inviting unlimited children, you may decide to include family members only, children of a certain age, or no children at all. It is inappropriate to write ‘No Children’ on the invitations.

Instead, communicate your wishes by writing only the parents’ names on the inner and outer envelopes -- and through word of mouth.”

Organizing Your Guest List Use a free guest list online tool, such as those found through your bridal registry or as part of an all-encompassing wedding organizer, to create your list and manage RSVPs in one place, with many templates adding up “accepts” and

“regrets” totals automatically.

No more miscounts.

Guard against any computer disasters, such as a crash that makes your all-important guest list disappear, by back-

ing up your wedding planning files onto a flash drive and printing out your list after each update. After the wedding, that printout becomes a great keepsake, as well.

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12 • Community Advocate • Brides & Bouquets • Friday, February 17, 2012

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