The Office Wedding: Forever on the Dance Floor

If you watched the Office on NBC last night, then you got to see a hilarious episode and (finally!) the wedding of Jim and Pam. I, like many of you, loved it. I loved that Jim cut his tie after Pam ripped her veil. I loved that they snuck off and got married on their own. I also love that they still came back to the planned ceremony and didn't care that the wedding party was pulling some pranks.

The dancing down the isle was taken from a couple who was married earlier this year. I overheard some people talking and they sad, "Wouldn't that just suck if you were the couple they were mocking on the Office?"

I disagree. Copying is the biggest form a flattery. Yes, they were doing it more for a huge laugh on the show, but obviously they wanted something to make the moment special on TV. I actually give props to the bride and groom who originally did it. What a great idea that made the ceremony special, and definitely not boring. We say take a cue from this offbeat couple. Celebrate your day in a way that is uniquely you!

(The original couple)

Bookmark this on Delicious

Tune In: Fox 10 News Friday 9/04

We are very excited to announce that our invitations will be featured in a news story on Fox 10 this Friday morning at 9:30! We will be respresented by Arizona Weddings Magazine, along with dresses from Suzanne's Bridal Boutique, flowers from Sugar Magnolia, and food samples from Heidi's Event & Catering.

The segment will focus on ways to save money on your wedding by talking with your vendors. Often items can be modified to fit your budget and still be similar to what you originally wanted.

Tune in to AZ Fox 10 at 9:30 this Friday 9/07/09.

Bookmark this on Delicious

Don't Ask Carly About the Rehearsal Dinner

When we have the time, we love to pick up a bridal magazine and read it. It keeps us up to date on trends, let's us see what others are doing with their wedding design, and also keeps us fresh on current dilemmas brides and grooms are facing.

One magazine we often read is the Knot. The Knot's editor in chief, Carly Roney, has her own column featured every issue called "Ask Carly". It is basically a "Dear Abby" column that brides can write in to and ask their most daunting of questions.
A recent question in this column has us up in arms.

"My future mother-in-law keeps calling the rehearsal dinner the 'groom's dinner'. She wants to send out invites saying, 'Please come to dinner in honor of my son on the eve of his wedding.' I think it's rude that she isn't including me. Am I right?"

Carly's answer was understandable - but we personally think incorrect. She stated that the typical dinner before the night of the wedding is called a rehearsal dinner. But if your mother-in-law is the one paying, she can call it anything she wants.

No way. As someone that really struggled with an extremely rude mother-in-law while planning her wedding, I really have a problem with that answer. I do understand if she is paying, she has say in what goes on. But we all know if you are doing a rehearsal before you eat, it is a rehearsal dinner.

I think this is the perfect time for your fiance' to step up and let the mother-in-law know that this is a celebration for the two of you. There should be no excluding the bride unless it was at a private event for the groom that the bride will not be attending. Let her know if she absolutely wants to have a dinner in his honor another time, she can do so. But the rehearsal dinner is NOT the time to do it.

I know this may cause stress between family members, but that is the chance you must take to start to have a solid family relationship. Otherwise you will always struggle and be unhappy with putting up with her rude comments and actions. Just trust it will get better over time. Believe me, I know.

Bookmark this on Delicious

Social Etiquette - How to Handle Guests Who Invite Themselves to Your Wedding

It never fails. You write your guest list, consider your budget, and begin making cuts. Then someone you didn't plan on inviting to your wedding starts talking about how they can't wait to attend the event.

When planning our wedding, I actually had a coworker tell me she couldn't wait to come and wanted to know if she could bring a guest. First off, she wasn't dating anyone. So this guest would be just some random she would have picked up at a bar. Second, I wasn't planning on inviting her anyways because I did not know her very well at the time. (She had just started to work with me a few months before the wedding.)

In such circumstances, the best course of action is not to have bad manners in return. Most of these people do not realize they are being rude, and do not consider the cost of adding more people to the guest list (and often have not planned a wedding themselves to know the pressure and stress you are under!)

Instead, try to stay gracious and tactful. Let them know you can only invite enough people that your budget will allow, which may only be your family and closest friends. End with it is unfortunate because there are many people you would like to invite but will not be able to.

This simple statement can help you dodge this awkward situation, and hopefully avoid inflating you guest list - and your budget.

Bookmark this on Delicious

New Tradition: Family Walking Down the Isle

When it came time to plan our actual ceremony, my future husband and I wanted to make sure we included all of our parents in the ceremony. We didn't like that only the father of the bride got the spotlight along with the couple.

While attending another ceremony, we saw both parents walk the bride down the isle. We thought this was a great way to let both our parents share this special moment, and we decided to take it one step further.

First, we had my grandparents walk down the isle before anyone else. They are the oldest couple in our families (my husband has never known his grandparents) and they also signed our marriage license as our witnesses.

Then my husband walked down the isle with both of his parents. The rest of the wedding party went in the traditional twos, and then both my parents walked me down the isle.

Since then, we have seen some of friends continue this and had their parents involved. We love this new tradition, and hope more couples join in.

Bookmark this on Delicious

Cost Saving Invitation Tips

It seems to be what's on every bride and groom's mind: How can we have a fabulous wedding and still com in under budget? Well, we have decided to pass on some great information when it comes to saving money on your custom wedding invitations.

1. If possible, stick with black ink only. This is the cheapest way to save on your printing costs. If black ink will just ruin the look of your invitation ensemble, then ask your designer about other standard ink colors offered by the printer. Many times these colors can be used, even if it is at a percentage. (such as 20% blue will then be a light blue.)
2. Ditch the bells and whistles. One rhinestone will have the same impact as if you used three. Tie a simple bow instead of wrapping the whole invitation in ribbon.
3. Change the invitation style, but keep the design. I just quoted a customer twice - once with the design used in a gatefold card tied with ribbon, and once as a flat card. The gatefold card was nearly 3 times the cost of the flat card, and still had the design the customer fell in love with.
4. Don't be afraid to ask your designer for files. We are more than happy to create something for someone and allow them to do their own printing and assembling. Just pay for the cost of the design and CD, and then choose how you want to use it. This is a great way to save - and you can use your custom art on other items such as tags and labels.

If you are interested in custom design, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Bookmark this on Delicious

Inspiration Boards

A current trend we love is putting together an Inspiration Board. An Inspiration Board is simple. It is a collection of words and photos that inspire what you want to create or achieve. This idea isn't really new. One of my most talked about loves, the Secret, mentions to do an Inspiration Board for the goals you want to reach in your life. I have also heard of doing this with work and other areas of interest. (I currently have an inspiration board in my office, illustrating everything from what I want my business to become as well as achievements I would like to see succeed.)

The newest twist with these inspiration boards is many creative people are using them to help understand the tone they want to set for a wedding or event. Brides can easily envision their wedding with photos from various magazines or online articles. Don't be afraid to also use words or quotes that you feel captures your mood.

Be In Love Designs is going to start our own Inspiration Boards on the blog soon. For now, we would like to give credit to http://greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/2009/01/inspiration-board-9-fresh-green-romance.html for the following Inspiration Board. It was something I found while looking for yellow and green Inspiration Boards online and I thought it was fabulous.

Bookmark this on Delicious

...and Baby Makes 3.

Today I decided to touch a little on a subject that may be in the back of all of a new bride's brain: starting a family. As I was wrapping my sister's gifts for her baby shower, and putting the finishing touches on her diaper cake (it was too cute not to share - so here is the photo), I started to think about not only my dreams of having some kids of my own, but also what new brides may be thinking as well.

My husband and I will be married two years this April, and we defiantly have baby on the brain. For personal reasons, we have decided to wait another year and let my sister's new addition take the spot light for a while. Yet many of my friends did not take the route of waiting. For instance, my maid of honor, Melissa, seemed to get pregnant almost instantly! (OK - maybe three months in.) By the time they celebrated their first anniversary, they had a beautiful baby boy in their arms.

Another friend, Micaela, waited only a year before getting pregnant and it was only because of insurance reasons. She comes from a large family, so she couldn't wait to start her large family as soon as possible. (and he's a handsome, full head of hair baby boy who was just recently born.)

Many brides start their wedding planning because the baby is on the way or recently born. It is defiantly an issue that I recommend you speak to your husband about before the wedding. Being on the same page about the details of your future together is very important. Some marriages end because of the lack of communication on this issue because one partner does not want what the other one does.

I will probably touch on this subject from time to time since it is defiantly on my mind. We will also be introducing Be In Love Baby that will offer adorable designs for baby shower invitations, baby announcements and young birthday milestones.

Whatever your feelings regarding children is, we wish any new couples the best of luck in their new journey. A new life is such a precious thing.

Bookmark this on Delicious

Fainting Videos

I thought it would be fun to share videos on our blog. This one is a bunch of people fainting at the alter. Why would you want to see this? (C'mon, relieve some stress and laugh a little!) But really it teaches an important lesson that you should pass on to everyone in your wedding party.

DON'T LOCK YOUR KNEES WHILE STANDING AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER BEFOREHAND!

It is very rare and usually only happens in combination with stress (that causes you to forget to move), heat (the hot day already makes you more susceptible to fainting), and poor circulation.

Bookmark this on Delicious

The Great Debate

As much of the country finds their way to the polls today, I took a moment to ponder all the "for" and "against" arguments of the election. It seems people's opinions became more vocal than ever before. While this great nation of ours does give us the freedom to choose both who we want and what we want them to do, it is not so in every life matter. To be specific, weddings are usually decided on by only the Bride and Groom, and possibly a few close family members and friends.

Just like the elections, not everyone is going to be happy with the decisions you make for your big day. Although you want everyone to enjoy themselves and possibly comment on how good the food and music was, it is ultimately your choices that shape the wedding.

Now, at Be In Love Designs, we do believe that your wedding should be planned and carried out the way you want. Yet we want you to remember you have guests attending the wedding that might not agree with your choices - and it's OK.

A great example of this: you and your fiance' love hamburgers, but half of your guest list is vegetarian. Choose to serve mini hamburgers as an appetizer instead of as your main meal. If you take the time to compare what you want for your wedding to what it will take to please those attending the wedding, you can have a well executed event that everyone will enjoy.

Lessons of this post:
• Look at BOTH what you want and what your guests will like.
• Make simple changes or "meet in the middle" decisions to have the best of both worlds, and possibly avoid problems with other demanding guests.
• Don't forget to vote today!

Bookmark this on Delicious

New Beginnings

Hello Everyone!

We are so excited for the release of our site today. As you can tell, we are in the beginning phases of our business. Over the next few months, Be In Love Designs will grow and evolve into a wonderful shopping experience of invitations, favors, and more. Both Brides and Grooms to be will have the opportunity to create highly customizable invitations at affordable prices. We welcome any comments and feedback you may have in order to make both our products and our website as user-friendly as possible. We encourage you to please check back often, since we will begin to display inspirational photo galleries and design ideas, elaborate on our products and services, and of course, update our blog with useful stories and tips to help you get through the stress of planning your big day. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and we look forward to sharing our big adventure with you!

Bookmark this on Delicious