Wednesday, April 22, 2015

How do I Address My Save-the-Dates / Invitations?



It is #WeddingWednesday! As promised, I am presenting a blog on one of the most common questions about wedding planning!

This week’s question asks what the proper way to address your invitations is.  Often individuals find themselves stressing over this.  If you take a breath and look at these tips, you’ll find yourself tossing those invites in the mail in no time!

The invitation, or Save-The-Date, is the first indication to your guests what the atmosphere of your event will be.  This will help them determine what to wear, how to groom, how they act, etc.  As such, it is important to send a clear message.  Will your event be formal?  Will it be super casual?  Let’s break this down into design/style and wording.

Design/Style
When deciding on the design and style of your invitation, the first thing you should think about is the formality of your event.  If you are hosting a White- or Black-Tie function, a more elaborate invitation would be appropriate.  Think lush paper, multi-layered envelops and inserts.

If you are going for a laid-back, casual affair, a single sheet/single envelop invite works great.  You could use postcards, or even email depending on the event and audience!

Don’t forget to consider your theme and/or color scheme, if you have one.  Are you planning an “under the sea” waterside picnic? It’s probably going to be a little confusing if you send out movie themed invitations!

Wording for Invitees
The next big hang-up is how you write the names on the invitations.  Again, first, consider the formality of your event.  If you are hosting a White- or Black-Tie affair, formal titles are a must.  Imagine if you received a lush wedding invitation with tons of layers and inserts, but then it was addressed “Kaylee and Simon,” instead of “Miss Kaywinnet Frye & Dr. Simon Tam.”  It would be a little confusing as to the environment of the affair.
Here are some ideas for how to word your invitations:

Man’s name first, Woman’s name second when listing them together formally.  If listing them separately and/or informally it would be Woman’s name first, Man’s name second.  If you were inviting the crew of the Serenity, the invite might look something like this:

Formal: Mr. and Mrs. Hoban and Zoe Washburne
Informal: Zoe & Hoban Washburne

If the couple has the same last name, you can keep them on the same line, as above.  If not, you can list them on separate lines…with the Woman’s name first, Man’s name second.

Ms. Zoe Alleyne Washburne
And
Mr. Hoban Washburne

With same-sex couples, I would follow the rule of thumb to list the person you are closest to first (This also applies for male/female couples where you don’t really know one of the people).  If you are just as close to both people, list them alphabetically.

Ms. Yolanda Saffron Bridget
And
Ms. Inara Serra

If you don’t have a multi-layered invite, the envelop should list all of the individuals invited, including children.  If you do have a multi-layer invitation, you can list the adults on the outside envelop and add the children to the inner envelop, if children are invited.  I follow the rule of listing children from oldest to youngest.

Formal: Mr. and Mrs. Hoban and Zoe Washburne, Mr. Stegosaurus, Mr. Apatosaur, & Miss Ceratosaurus
OR
Mr. and Mrs. Washburne & Family

Informal: Zoe & Hoban Washburne, and Stegosaurus, Apatosaur, & Ceratosaurus
OR
The Wasburne Family

In regards to single invitees, the following examples works:

Shepard Derrial Book
OR
Shepard Derrial Book and Miss River Tam
(If You Know Their Guest’s Name)
OR
Shepard Derrial Book and Guest
(If You Don’t Have a Guest Name)

When deciding to use titles, be sure to use the correct titles.  Don’t list someone as Mrs. if she uses Dr. or hasn’t taken her husband’s last name…in which case it should be Ms. (Unless of course it is Dr…lol!)

CORRECT: Dr. Simon Tam
INCORRECT: Mr. Simon Tam

Wording for Host(s)
When deciding whether to list who is hosting the wedding, and if so how to word it, once again the formality of the wedding should be taken into consideration.  A formal wedding invitation is more likely to have the host/parental information listed.  For example:

Ms. Inara Serra and Capt. Malcolm Reynolds
Wish to Invite you to the Wedding of their Daughter
Miss Kaywinnet Lee Fyre
To
Dr. Simon Tam
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Regan and Gabriel Tam

If neither set of parents is contributing to the wedding, the bride and groom may opt to leave this out.  If they decide to list their parents’ names in the invitation, it should be bride’s parents first, groom’s parents second.  This should also be the order if both sets of parents are contributing to the wedding.
If one set of parents is contributing, but not the other, some may argue that the non-contributing parents should either be left off the invitation or listed second.

I hope this helps you check off your Save-the-Date/Invitation to do on your wedding planning checklist!  Send me your questions, and I’ll answer you in depth in a future blog!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Wedding Trends 2014

Are there any 2014 wedding trends you plan on incorporating into your wedding?  Check out this ABC article about some of the trends popping up this year.  And following, find some thoughts to keep in mind if you do decide to utilize any of these ideas!  Remember to have fun and be yourself!

Give Tiffany Weddings and Events LLC a call today to get started planning your big day and for helpful tips on how you can incorporate these and/or other 2014 trends into your wedding style!

Social Media Wedding:  Be aware that if you use a hashtag for your wedding, it is not exclusive to you.  Some couples fail to take this into consideration, and when guests use the hashtag to look up information about the wedding they often find unrelated subjects...some of which you may have preferred didn't pop up with your wedding pictures!

Mindful Favors:  Personalizing your wedding favors is always a nice touch.  You don't always have to DIY in order to achieve the personalized feel, but your favors should relate to or invoke something special to the two of you as a couple.  If the item(s) are more obscure, you may want to think about including a short story about them in your thank you and/or farewell speeches to ensure your guests fully appreciate the meaning behind the favor.

PHOTO: Cakelets. Courtesy Alizé at Palms Resort Casino.
Courtesy Alizé at Palms Resort Casino
Cakelets:  Such a wonderful way to be a little creative.  Wedding cakes have become the go to dessert for weddings, but cupcake cakes have moved into the spotlight as well.  These are a nice in-between option.  Be sure to look at your budget before deciding to go in this direction.  It is possible these mini creations could break the bank.  Although they are closer to the size of a cupcake as opposed to a wedding cake, their intricate designs require more time to decorate and thus more cost for labor.  These would make a lovely prop for proposals as mentioned in the article, or even for anniversaries!  You could even use them for birthdays.  While they might be a bit much for every birthday, they would be a nice touch to some of those more significant birthdays, like Sweet 16s, 30th, or 50th birthdays.

Silent Disco:  This is an interesting idea as well.  Just keep in mind any additional cost for the headphones, including damage/replacement fees.  Also, think about the volume being funneled into the headphones and how it is controlled.  People often don't take how loud the music is into consideration, this is especially important with headphones.   You don't want your guests to remember your wedding as the place their hearing started to go!

Friday, February 28, 2014

Flower Fridays Present the Morning Glory

Welcome to Tiffany Weddings and Events LLC's first Flower Friday!  We are so excited to kick off this new segment with you.

Fridays we will feature a new flower.  We will include a picture or pictures of the flower, what the flower means, and some ideas on how you can incorporate the flower into your wedding or other event, or draw inspiration from it to incorporate in a less direct manner.

Tiffany Weddings And Events LLC Logo
Original Image courtesy of D Quinn Photography
So enough explanation, let's get started!

This week Flower Fridays Presents the Morning Glory!

Some of you may have wondered what kind of flower is featured in the Tiffany Weddings and Events LLC logo.  If you guessed the Morning Glory, you would be correct!

The Morning Glory has many meanings, including "Affection", "Love", and "Mortality".  It is often thought of as a symbol of life and death, as most of the flowers in this family bloom in the morning and die in the afternoon.  The family does also include a night blooming Moonflower, which blooms later in the day and last through the night.

The Morning Glory comes in a variety of colors including red, pink, blue, purple, and white; which makes for a nice range to accommodate any number of wedding or event colors and themes; and are climbing or trailing vine flowers that bloom in the summer and early fall before the threat of frost.  Their leaves range from 2-5" in length, and the flowers tend to be around 3" long x 2.5" wide.  

Blue Morning Glory Flower in Nature
Image courtesy of Stoonn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
They are fairly delicate, particularly their roots, so I wouldn't suggest using them in a bouquet unless you are planning on carrying some form of potted bouquet.  These flowers aren't suited for cutting generally speaking.  However, they could make beautiful potted centerpieces.  They could also be used to decorate an arch and/or trellis for garden or garden inspired weddings and events, if you plan ahead.  Do keep in mind the bloom times of the flowers you choose though.  If you are having an early afternoon wedding, you may want to have a combination of Morning Glories and Moonflowers, otherwise, your flowers will start to close before the end of your affair.

The Morning Glory is often associated with the 11th wedding anniversary, so if your significant other is into flowers and gardening, consider giving the gift of the Morning Glory for that 11th anniversary together.  It is also one of the birth flowers for September and could be a wonderful element to add to your party decor in September, depending on where you live.

You don't have to incorporate live flowers into your decor in order to use the Morning Glory for your event.  One place you may be able to use the flower is on your stationary, flowers make beautiful stationary decor for all occasions.  Another great place to incorporate the Morning Glory is on your dessert design.  Just keep in mind that the seeds of the Morning Glory are toxic, so you wouldn't want to use any live plants on any food for decor.

Hopefully you have found this first Flower Fridays feature to be both entertaining and inspiring!  We look forward to showcasing more flowers as the year goes on.

If you have used Morning Glories in your event design, please share your story and/or photos with us and follow us on Facebook!  You can find us at Tiffany Weddings And Events LLC.

Don't forget to call (631-805-2055) or email Tiffany today to start planning your big event!