Wedding Vendor Website

Here is a great website where you can look up different vendors in your area. (Wedding Wire) It has many different wedding helps, but the one I find most useful is the section on vendors. You can put in your zip code and what sort of vendor you are looking for and "Voila!" tons of vendors in you area. 

My favorite part? It has reviews! I love a good review.  I'd much rather use someone that has great reviews other than pick a name out of a line-up. After all then they can tell you if someone is "So awesome they made my day perfect!" or if they were, "hard to communicate with, not a good value for the dollar, poor quality or just in general a giant poop-head." 

Check it out. I think you'll like it.

Cultural Hall Decorations

Question

What is the best way to decorate an entire cultural hall? I wanted to do my wedding outside mainly because I wanted to let nature decorate for me.
If it is in the winter though it is really hard to do that and I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a wedding venue?
~Brittany

Answer

There are many ways to decorate a cultural hall. The options are limited only by your imagination and budget. Lots of beautiful things can be done for very little money. You can bring in “decorations” from your home, borrow from others or rent any number of things at various price ranges. You can hire a decorator to come in and take care of it all for you. Be careful not to spend so much money that it would have been cheaper to just go to another venue.

Here are some ideas that go beyond the “norm” for cultural hall decorations:

• String wire across the ceiling and weave fabric through it to create a billowy effect.
• Line the walls with fabric. 
• Use tables, benches, podiums and other furniture to create levels to decorate. (You can cover less sightly ones with fabric.)
• Bring in backdrops, pictures, archways, curtains, dividers, furniture from home, flower arrangements, mirrors, etc.
• Hang twinkling lights or some other alternate lighting (Chinese lanterns are very popular)
• Decorate tables and other surfaces with linens and creative centerpieces to draw attention (for example: flower arrangements, candles, jars, pictures, etc. )
• Embellish chairs, by wrapping lengths of fabric around them and adding a flower at the knot
•  Bring in a canopy or large tent and decorate with lights and flowers

Here are 2 websites that give some general guidance to decorating a cultural hall:

• LDS Living
• Deseret News

The things they add to what I’ve said is:

• Don’t feel obligated to decorate the entire room. Close it in a bit using whatever means available (for example: dividers, backdrops, furniture, or curtains)
• Use linens on the ceiling, walls, tables and floor
• Add in small touches and details using small props 
• Don’t limit yourself to the cultural hall (You can also decorate the pathway leading into the reception)
  

Just remember that it’s a good idea to either decorate the night before the wedding or have someone else do it for you. This will leave you free the next day to concentrate on your wedding and to not be worrying about details.

Thanks for the question Brittany!

Choosing a Precise Color

Choosing a color can be very fun, but it can also be tedious. It's important to be very clear about the exact color. For instance, when you say "blue," do you mean navy blue, periwinkle or turquoise? And even being that specific can get confusing. About a million people are going to ask you about your color and if things match you color and if things compliment your color and if your color likes their color. (You get the point.) So, it's best to choose a paint sample or fabric swatch and disperse it to anyone who will need to match it. For example: florists, dressmakers, cake decorators, bridesmaids and people doing centerpieces or other decorations. Just to name a few. ;)

When I was planning my wedding, my mother asked, "What color do you want?"

"Yellow," came my immediate answer. Was that enough? Oh no, we needed to know exactly what shade and tone. So my mother, my future mother-in-law and I took a field trip to the fabric store for an exact color decision. Do you have any idea how many shades of yellow there are in the world? A bajillion. (That's an exact count.)

After spending about 10 minutes with me and getting frustrated that I didn't really care which shade of yellow was chosen, my mother decided we'd split up in order to cover more ground. We were supposed to meet back at our current spot in 15 minutes with a few choices. I spent the next 15 minutes staring at a rack of fabric and imagining how great it was going to be being married and what a wonderful husband my fiance will be. All too quickly, my two mothers returned with their choices. I had nothing to show for my time alone. Not to fear, my mother had come prepared with several choices.

They showed me their options and I said, "I don't care they're all beautiful. I just want yellow." This last part was said with a whine as I had not yet matured to the completely decisive, all opinionated and non-whiny Ann that speaks to you today. My mother had a plan, she would narrow it down to a few. She would hold them up to me two at a time and ask, "Which one?"

"I don't care Mom"

"Come on Ann. Which one?"

"You pick. I don't care."

"Ann, it's your wedding. You choose."

I shrug and just point to one at random, "Okay, that one."

Mom then responded with a longing look at the opposite color and asked me, "Are you sure?"

"Mom! I don't care. Pick the one you like." Is it over? Are we done? Can we go home now? Am I married yet?

So, believe me, I know how frustrating getting down to the exact color can be. Just go with it and try to have fun.

Holiday Wedding Decorations

When having a holiday wedding, many people choose to use the current holiday's natural decorations. This can be fun. You can have a nice Christmas or Easter or Patriotic wedding. Things may be cheaper and more readily available. It helps encourage you to use things that are currently in season which also brings down cost.

However, don't feel pressured to decorate your wedding for the holiday. It's your wedding. You can have it be whatever color or theme or decorations you want. Keep yourself open to suggestions and opinions of others, especially anyone whose contributing financially, and then choose what helps keep the feel you're hoping for.

My own wedding was right on top of Valentine's Day, and I didn't want the place surrounded by little naked cupids, red and pink hearts and tacky Sweetheart phrases like, "Puppy Love" and "Tweet me". (Okay, people didn't tweet when I got married, but you get the point.) So I had bright yellow and white summer daisies in the middle of winter! And guess what? It was beautiful and I'm just as married as I would have been with the Valentine's decor if that really is your heart's desire.