weddings

Limit Your Internet Wedding Planning Time! (otherwise you’ll go nutty)

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English: iPad picture
English: iPad picture (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have an Ipad.  I love it! I have this great app called Flipboard that pulls together my favorite blogs and websites.  But if I start reading everything, I can get completely lost in happy ipad land, and then all of a sudden an hour later I realize that none of the laundry’s been folded, none of my phone calls have been made and, well, I’ve wasted a whole boatload of time.

It’s not a new problem – getting sucked in to something online.  Facebook? Twitter? Don’t get me started.  But the absolute worst (or is it the best) way to lose yourself online is the whole World Wide Wedding-sphere.  As a bride, I could hardly pull myself away, which was hard because my boss was mean and didn’t care all that much that I was getting married.

So here’s my advice.  Set a timer- no more than 30 minutes at a time. Could be on the computer, your cell phone, or even the plain old kitchen timer on your counter, but it will keep you from falling down the internet wedding rabbit hole.

Live well, and love well.

-Dinah

What’s In a Name? When you’re Getting Married, It Feels Like A Lot!

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Marriage License Signing 2
Marriage License Signing 2 (Photo credit: Scott SM)

When planning your wedding, as a woman in our society, you get to contemplate whether or not you will take your partner’s name.  Some women have known all their lives that they’d be transitioning along the way, others have watched friends’ adventures as they hyphenated, kept their own, or invented new names. Some guys are very giving on this issue.  My stepsister and her husband BOTH hyphenate.  We have another set of friends where the gentleman (he’s the real deal, you’ll see) took his wife’s name so that her family’s line would not die out. Oh, that’s nutty, crunchy California, you must be thinking. But no – they are in that bastion of old-fashioned traditional behavior, Mississippi.  A gentleman indeed.

 

So what to do? I spend a lot of time in this space talking about not following the crowd, and respecting your instincts as you make decisions about your wedding.  I’d like to think that if you replace the word “wedding” with the word “life,” most of the advice can be extrapolated, since it’s mainly about being who you are, and trusting your choices.  This decision requires you to flex those emotional muscles in the most literal way possible, and to think hard about what you need to “be yourself.” One thing I know: it’s not all in a name. Not by a long shot.

 

Be well, and love well.

 

Dinah

Wedding Planning Balance: Your Budget and Your Priorities

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A reception at Craft, Tom Colicchio’s temple of fine food seemed beyond our budget when my husband and I planned our wedding. But in retrospect, there was a path to our twelve-course tasting menu with wine pairings.  Very simple: slash the guest list.  Even then, we wouldn’t have been able to do that, because having all our guests was a top priority.

You’ll be happiest with your wedding if you plan knowing you have to balance the two: your budget and your priorities.

  • BUDGET

First Step! Wedding Budget. I mean it! Write it down and everything. Before you start meeting with anyone, have a firm grasp on your – say it with me- BUDGET! Any wedding vendor worth their salt (in Palm Springs or anywhere else) should be able to take the parameters you give them and do their best for you.  My Little Flower Shop makes a point of working with brides- we make your vision come to life within your wedding budget. If a vendor turns up their nose at your numbers, it’s time to walk, supermodel!

  • PRIORITIES

    peojie
    Simple, beautiful centerpiece. A few blooms make a big impact! Photo by Djamilla Rosa Cochran Studio.

What’s most important to you? Sure you can spend $5,000 on amazing favors, but that may mean you’ll have a smaller cake, or fewer flowers (Don’t do it, for the love of beauty and grace! Cut something else!).  Pick what’s most important to you and spend your money accordingly.

And if what’s important to you happens to be earthshatteringly delicious, beautifully presented and flawlessly served food, I recommend you give the folks at Craft a call.

Live well and love well.

-Dinah