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Listmania!

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Lists are an important part of planning any big project, but the wedding industry has fetishized lists: the checklist is the most used tool in a planners vocabulary to keep things organized and under control.  So here it is – my top five list of tips about lists:

1)   Stay Flexible. Sticking too strictly to a list can derail any good plan.  Allow for some flexibility- don’t make plans/time/life less efficient because of your list.

2)   Stay Realistic.  Nothing feels worse than not accomplishing goals – so when you put too much on one list, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.  If your list is do-able, you’ll get it done and feel great.

3)   Stay Calm.  Sometimes writing down everything you need to do can be overwhelming!  If lists freak you out, try limiting yours to three or five items at a time.  If you’re still panicky, maybe they aren’t the best organizational tool for you.

4)   Stay focused.  Use the list to keep you on task.  Dawdling in front of the candles at the craft store? Check the list.  Where are you supposed to be? Re-orient yourself around the task at hand and get on with your productive day.

5)   Stay happy.  All tough stuff on the list will wear you down.  Make sure you tack on a task or stop that makes you happy! A milkshake, or visit to a favorite local park, make sure to put yourself on the list.  You’re important too!

So there you have it, a list about lists. Ready to make your own? Get going!

 

Be well, and love well.

 

Dinah

Wedding planning mistakes: always read the fine print.

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ALWAYS read the fine print. Great general advice, but wedding-wise, it’s extra important. So what’s the story on fine print anyway? And how does a couple make sure they don’t miss something that comes back to bite them in the budget? Read on.

Fine print refers to the tiny writing at the ends of contracts. Parts of an arrangement that might not be so favorable to a consumer hide out there, or perhaps on an extra page of  “terms and conditions.” Either way, the not in 12 point helvetica. slip in   You agree to those by signing the main agreement, so it’s your RodJeffWed_150responsibility to make sure you’ve read through the whole contract.  And, our advice is to have someone outside the happy pair read it too.  Gauzy visions of a perfect wedding can make that tiny print VERY blurry, and the terms include your filling the venue’s koi pond.

Another thing to check is that you’re booking the professional you are meeting, not one of their representatives. Paying for a professional’s services at your wedding? Make sure you sign a document that says so, not one that says he can send his assistant and go to Lake Tahoe on your dime.

You may find other surprises in your contracts, read them with eagle eyes. If you’re careful, you can avoid nasty surprises from the fine print.

Be well, and love well.

Dinah

 

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Wedding to do list: florist, baker, officiant…loan officer?

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It’s perfectly natural to want a more lavish wedding than you can afford.  The internet wedding and television world has raised the bar. Add the desire to have amazing photos for friends to admire on Instagram, Facebook, etc. and you have couples planning beyond their means. The finance world, ever predatory, has come up with a “solution:” wedding loans. They are a terrible idea both financially and emotionally.  Let’s explore why. wedding-loans-marry-in-style-with-collateral-free-loans-1-728

  • Financially, there’s no worse way to start your life together than by adding debt.  What a terrible wedding gift to each other! The easy solution that brings immediate happiness will be a terrible choice down the road when buying a home or car and you are still paying off loans from a party you had long, long ago.  Are you going to be glad then that you made that sacrifice to have beef instead of chicken?
  • Emotionally, the potential for fighting over money in a marriage is high. If either one of you is the slightest bit unsure about taking out a loan for the wedding, down the line that’s going to come out and be a point of contention.  And it will be a point of contention that will follow you in your relationship until you are completely out of debt! I wouldn’t want resentment over a loan floating over my marriage, that’s for sure.

So there are my reasons I am against wedding loans.  I am sure there are people who use them responsibly and find them very helpful. If you’re interested, make sure you read the terms very carefully.  For the rest of you, go make a good budget!

Be well and love well.

Dinah