Monthly Archives: June 2012

28Jun2012

Save 15% Off Sitewide – Today Only!

Happy BrideToday only, save 15% off your order at Ann’s Bridal Bargains!                                           Just use promo code FUNDAY15 at checkout to save!

You May Also Like
Posted in Bargains and Special Offers | Tagged , | Leave a comment
28Jun2012

Checking it off the list! Sending rehearsal dinner invitations, plus fun icebreakers.

Wedding Planning Checklist: Section 6: Part 7

Wondering when to send rehearsal dinner invitations?

Rehearsal dinner invitations should be sent about four weeks in advance, unless you’re inviting any out-of-town guests. Then the invitations should be sent 2-3 months in advance to give guests ample time for including the rehearsal dinner in their travel plans.  

These days, rehearsal dinners can be intimate affairs with just the bridal party and immediate family, or they can include all out of town guests. You can make it as large or as small as you would like. We recommend small for budget purposes.

For destination weddings, all guests are usually invited to the rehearsal dinner. In this case, it is recommended to include the rehearsal dinner information on the save the dates and include a rehearsal dinner card with the invitations.

Still need to choose your rehearsal dinner invitations?

Shop our many discount wedding invitations and pick your favorite. Personalize it with wedding rehearsal dinner wording and you’re set! Check out www.verseit.com for wording ideas.

Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

Looking for ways to break the ice at the rehearsal dinner?

- Provide nametags with the guest’s relationship to the bride or groom.

(e.g. Tom Dallas – Groom’s Uncle)

- Nametags could also note favorite hobbies, books, movies, etc. These are all great conversation starters.

- Play yard games, hand out a quiz about the couple, play wedding-themed charades with each table as a team.

- Set up a table of photos near the bar area to promote mingling.  

If you’re in need of rehearsal dinner location ideas, check out our recent post, “Best Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Locations to Fit Your Budget.”

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Invitations & Stationery, Wedding Planning Guide | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
25Jun2012

Best Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Locations to Fit Your Budget

 The Backyard

You don’t have to get a fancy venue for the rehearsal dinner. Something intimate and comfortable is best for this fun, pre-wedding party with your closest friends and family. Which set of parents has the nicest backyard or patio? Does your church have an outdoor area for a celebration? Maybe you and your fiancé live together and would like to host the rehearsal dinner at your home. Anything goes, but this is a cheap and convenient option!

Public Parks

Public parks often have picnic tables and gazebos that are free to use for small events. Gazebos lend a beautiful setting for rehearsal dinners. Below you’ll see a venue decorated with white Christmas lights and paper lanterns. An enchanting look that’s easy and affordable! The downside to parks is that a kitchen is not usually available, although some do have them so check a few places out. Otherwise, who doesn’t love a grill-out? 

The Beach

Whether you’re near the ocean or a lakeside park, the beach is a very romantic wedding rehearsal dinner location. You may have to rent tables and chairs, but be sure to check with the park or location you want to use. They may have equipment for you or be able to recommend places to rent from. Again, kitchens aren’t readily available but grilling is usually an option.   

 Rehearsal Dinner Location Ideas

Community Rooms

Check with your church, local banks and community recreation facilities. These venues are often free if you’re a member or available at minimal cost. They may even have tables, chairs, tablecloths and other resources to offer you for the rehearsal dinner.

Wondering what a wedding rehearsal dinner is and what it entails? Read this blog post from our wedding planning guide, “Planning the Wedding Rehearsal Dinner.”

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Tips | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
21Jun2012

Inspired by Color: Shades of Green

Looking for a fresh color for your wedding? Choose shades of green to bring a little of the natural world into your event. Green is considered the color of peace and ecology. It soothes, relaxes and offers a sense of harmony.

Here we’ve featured Ann’s invitations in kiwi and leaf — perfect for your “green-themed” wedding. Add hydrangeas, mixed greens and green berries to your centerpieces to tie the look together. Need an additional splash of color? Decorate with paper lanterns hanging from your ceiling and kiwi green personalized cocktail napkins on your bar and dessert tables.

 Green Wedding Designs

1. Clearly Refined Kiwi Invitation 

2. Kiwi Green Paper Lanterns 

3. Floral Crest Leaf Invitation

4. Kiwi Green Cocktail Napkins

5. Floral Shadow Leaf Invitation 

Green is a fabulous color to use anytime of year. Pair It with rich reds for winter weddings, pink or lavender for spring weddings, yellow and white for summer weddings or mocha for fall weddings.

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Invitations & Stationery, Wedding Themes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
18Jun2012

Putting Together Your Wedding Day Itinerary

A wedding day itinerary is essential for having a successful wedding day. An itinerary can be as simple or complicated as you would like it to be, but a schedule of events for the entire day is necessary for keeping everyone informed and on task.

Sample Wedding Day Itinerary

Focus on these five things:

1. Phone List of Key People

This includes anyone you may need to contact throughout the day of your wedding: personal attendant and/or wedding day coordinator, bridal party members, parents, siblings and all vendors. Make a copy of this list for a few different people. We recommend giving it to the bride, the groom, the personal attendant and the mother of the bride and/or groom.  

2. Tasks and Times by person and/or vendor.

You may want to create an itinerary per person and/or vendor. These will be mini itineraries focused on each person’s assigned tasks for the day. This is a nice way to inform people of what time to perform their duties without overwhelming them with a comprehensive list for the entire day.

3. Pre-Ceremony Timeline

There are plenty of tasks to complete before the wedding ceremony even begins. Make sure everyone knows the timeline for pre-ceremony hair appointments, places to change, arrival times, picture times and so on. This timeline covers everything up until the start of the actual ceremony.

4. Ceremony Timeline

The ceremony timeline covers logistics of the actual ceremony as well as post-ceremony pictures and departure times for heading to the reception.

5. Reception Timeline

The reception timeline includes arrivals and set-up of each vendor, arrival of guests and arrival of bridal party. It also includes each portion of the evening, such as when cocktail hour begins, when guests will be seated, when the bridal party enters, welcome toast, food served, other toasts, cake cutting and so on all the way through the end of the dance. 

You’re probably wanting a few examples, so here’s a few templates and examples I’ve found helpful in the past.

Examples

• Budget Brides Guide has a nice article plus examples.

• PrincessWeddings.com has a nice example, too.  

Templates

• Google Docs has a basic template that’s easy to follow.

• Russell + Hazel has a simple template available to download as well.  

Wondering what tasks are involved in each person’s wedding role? Read our blog post, “A Quick Guide to Wedding Party Roles.”

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Tips | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
14Jun2012

See how we created this red, white and blue party look!

I love party themes, so when I was asked to put together a red, white and blue party look for a wedding rehearsal dinner, I was more than happy to do so.

I took lots of shots of the favors, accents and decorations, plus I’ve explained a few of the key elements below, so you can create a truly coordinated look for your own wedding celebration.

Remember that red, white and blue is just an example. You can use these ideas for any theme or color combo.

 Patriotic Party Look

The Food (1,3,9)

All food containers had a splash of color. I like to get creative with how I serve things, for example you can see I lined a tin pail with red metallic paper and filled it with potato chips — simple, but eye-catching. The cookies were decorated to fit the theme and placed on layered cake stands. The colored beverages added nicely to the overall look, too.

The Favors (2,5,6,7,8)

Guests had a range of favors to choose from here, but you could pick just one or two things for your party. White favor boxes are filled with red chocolate hearts and tied with coordinating ribbon. Red favor boxes with clear heart windows show the treats inside, which fit well with the décor. The blue, two-piece favor boxes are also filled with chocolates. Another fun favor idea is giving out personalized matches or notepads in a mix of colors, shown here in a small tin pail. And, of course, every summer celebration needs beverage koozies!

The Decorations (3,4,9)

Our number one goal here was to incorporate red, white and blue into the party decorations, but we also wanted to create a custom look. So we chose a design from Ann’s, which we added to napkins, favors and koozies. This added a wonderful element of personalization that really made an impact.

Personalized napkins are an affordable way to not only add a party essential, but also add color and a personal touch to the overall décor. You’ll also notice how we used ribbon to add colorful accents to otherwise plain items, like the canning jar filled with plasticware. And to top it off, literally, we hung cute paper lanterns from the overhanging tree branches. 

Learn more about creating your very own party look! Get a Coordinated Wedding Look for a Price You Never Thought Possible

You May Also Like
Posted in Budget-Savvy Ideas and Tips, Wedding Favors | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
11Jun2012

Great Bargains for Dressing Up Your Aisle

We’ve got some excellent wedding decoration ideas that are perfect for making your walk down the aisle even prettier. Spending a little extra time and effort making the aisle extra beautiful will help set the look for your ceremony venue. Here are some great décor bargains you can use to make your aisle absolutely lovely.

 Dress Up Your Isle

1. Silk Rose Petals. These rose petals are not the real thing, but if you can’t tell your guests can’t either. Silk flower petals are super affordable, they’re beautiful and they’re an easy way to add a splash of color.

2. Lace Aisle Runner. Lace is a hot trend right now, given its vintage feel and delicate beauty. Line your aisle with a white, lacy aisle runner, and you’ll feel simply divine walking along the lacy path rolled out just for you. 

3. Pew Cones. Pew cones work great as cheap wedding decorations because they look elegant while being simple and affordable. Choose ours made from botanical, handmade paper or make your own out of scrapbook paper. Fill with flowers and use colorful ribbon to hang them from each pew or chair along the aisle. 

4. Paper Lanterns. You love these colorful, modern party decorations and so do we! So we’ve added paper lanterns to Ann’s in a variety of colors, all at affordable prices. Cheap wedding decorations have never been cuter! 

5. Ribbon Chair Sashes. All you need are spools of colorful ribbon and a scissors. We guarantee you’ll come up with something beautiful for your ceremony pews or chairs. The ribbon sashes shown below are very easy to make — just cut, thread and tie.

6. Pew Bows. These shimmering, silk bows feature leaf and faux pearl accents. Pew bows are easy, inexpensive and classic wedding decorations for your aisle. 

Check out Ann’s Top 5 Cheap Wedding Reception Decorations, too.

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Ceremony | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment
09Jun2012

Bargainistas, it’s time to say “Hello!”

Writing in from our wedding retail partner, Invitations by Dawn, is Heidi, their primary trends expert. She’s going to tell us about Dawn’s newest boutique, Hello Hip. We think you’ll love this collection filled with super fun color combos, patterns and styles.  

“Hello, Bargainistas! This is Heidi from Ann’s partner, Invitations by Dawn, here to tell you all about our new boutique collection, “Hello Hip”! If you’ve been searching for an invitation that’s modern, unique and will grab your guest’s attention, look no further.  

We challenged our designers to create a collection of invitations that took the mix and match concept to a new level, and they totally blew us away. Think wide stripes, bold florals, intricate art deco and in-your-face monograms. And the colors…ah, the colors. These color palettes make us just plain happy!

Hello Hip Boutique

We loved the invitations so much we created a line of coordinating favor labels that will spice up your reception in a snap. Just peel and stick to anything your heart desires: favor boxes, canning jars, treat bags, wine bottles, water bottles and more.

You’ll see our favorites from the boutique right here, but be sure to come visit us to see more!”

                                                                                                                                    – Heidi

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Invitations & Stationery, What's New | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment
07Jun2012

Wedding Decoration Ideas for Dressing Up Your Aisle

Dressing up your aisle can be easy and you can make it as simple or elaborate as your budget allows. Here are a few photos to inspire some wedding decoration ideas for your aisle.

 Aisle Inspiration

Light the way with mason jars wrapped with wire and hung from a metal hook. You can use Christmas light hooks or garden hooks.

Petals are a great way to dress up your aisle. Generously sprinkle petals along the path or create a row of petals on each side. You could use real petals if the ceremony is outside and silk petals if the ceremony is inside.

Clean and elegant, aisle runners are like rolling out the red carpet for your wedding party! Choose something trendy like the simple, lacy design of our Lacy Patterned Aisle Runner or go for something sleek and sophisticated with the Monogram Aisle Runner from our favorite partner site, Invitations by Dawn.

Hang pomanders (round flower arrangements) on pews or chairs. Hang them every two rows to save money. You can reuse these adorable floral arrangements at the reception, too.

Ribbon adds beautiful color to chairs. Use ribbon as “rope” to create a beautiful swag look along each side of the aisle. Create chair sashes — not just an indoor decoration! Use them outside to decorate the aisle chairs and add color to the overall scene.

Quick Tip: Check with the ceremony site to see if there are any restrictions on decorating.

TALK TO US: Let us know how you’re decorating your aisle, or ideas you’d like to bounce off of us. We’d love to hear about your wedding decoration ideas.

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Ceremony | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments
04Jun2012

A Look at Different Styles of Thank You Cards

There are many different types of thank you cards you can use to tell your guests thanks for being a part of your big day.  Here’s a few from styles from Ann’s Bridal Bargains.

Photo Thank You Cards

Photo thank you cards can include one photo or a collage of photos. Ours are non-folding cards with your photos on front and message on the back. Envelopes are included.

Photo Delight Thank You Card 

Thank You Postcards

Thank you postcards are available with designs and with photos. This economical option saves you money on postage and doesn’t require envelopes (a bonus for the earth-conscious bargainistas out there).

 Thank You Postcard

Folding Thank You Cards – Printed

Folding thank you cards are a more traditional style of thank you card. Printed folders usually feature a design and the words “Thank You,” or your names, on the front and personalization of your choice is printed inside. Envelopes are included

 Flair for Style Thank You Note Folder

Folding Thank You Cards – Non-Printed

Non-printed folders are the same as above, except they come blank inside. These are your cheapest option. They’re the same great quality as printed thank you cards, but the price is much lower since they’re not personalized.

 Feather Fancy Folded Thank You Note

Etiquette Tip

Every guest and gift giver should receive a thank you card with a personal, hand written message.  Some couples choose to have a favorite verse, quotation or personal note printed inside, but you should always hand write a note, too.

You May Also Like
Posted in Wedding Invitations & Stationery | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment