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Planning a wedding is no easy task! Many things need to be arranged. Herriott's can assist you throughout the process and give you cost saving tips, planning advice, hints and suggestions to make your big day a truly pleasurable memory! Wedding Tips Planning Timetable Wedding plans should naturally be made as far ahead as possible and especially so if you are planning a spring or summer wedding. As soon as the date has been set and the type of wedding and reception decided upon, confirm the availability of your clergyman and the place where you will hold your reception. In some areas, reservations for a reception room may have to be made as much as a year in advance. You will want to contact Herriott's as early as possible. We will have most, if not all, of the items you will need for your ceremony and reception. As soon as possible, bridesmaids should be selected and the bride's gown and bridesmaid's dresses ordered. Be sure to take into account that the bridesmaids pay for their own dresses. Tuxedo rental arrangements should also be made at this time. A department or specialty store should be contacted and your choice of silver, china and crystal patterns registered for the convenience of your friends and guests. You should begin compiling your guest list at least three months prior to the wedding date. Be sure to obtain a guest list from the groom's mother. She will depend upon you to suggest the size of her list. It will be helpful to keep your list in alphabetical order on file cards with each card indicating whether the guest has been invited to the reception (R) or the ceremony (C) only. Those to whom announcements (A) only are sent should also be included. Invitations Your wedding invitations, announcements and other stationery should be ordered two to three months in advance. Addressing of both inner and outer envelopes is always done by hand. Invitations should be mailed out about one month before the wedding date. Allow about two weeks for replies and then give your caterer the final number of reception guests expected. Announcements are mailed the day after the ceremony. Caterers, Photographers & Others On the basis of your guest list, give your caterers, whom you should select at least four months in advance of the reception date, an estimated number of guests expected at the reception. Generally, you can expect about 75% of the number of people invited. A month in advance is not too soon to complete your final arrangements with your florist and photographer. Since you are arranging for once-in-a-lifetime pictures, a professional photographer is best. If you are planning to have music at your reception, these plans should be finalized at least four months in advance also. Gifts Wedding gifts are generally displayed in the bride's home beginning four to six weeks prior to the ceremony. It is not considered proper to attach name cards to the gifts, but a card noting the receipt of a check may be displayed. To make an artistic display, group china items together with silver, crystal and linen items in separate groupings. Duplicates should not be displayed. To make an elegant display, consider renting a banquet table with table risers. Transportation The bride's family is responsible for arranging transportation to and from the church. Think about renting a limousine, antique car, or Mass Transit Bus for this! Guests are expected to provide their own transportation from the church to the reception. Rehearsal Dinner The wedding rehearsal is most often held the afternoon or evening of the day before the wedding. It is customary for the groom's parents to give the rehearsal dinner for the bridal party in conjunction with the rehearsal. Wedding Reception The wedding reception can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose. Any wedding reception can be held in a church, reception facility or an outdoor tent. The simplest could entail a buffet table with assorted sandwiches, the wedding cake, assorted nuts and mints and punch or coffee. Floral arrangements and candelabra are generally used to make the table more attractive and to set off the other items. A more elaborate buffet would include two or three cold dishes and possibly two hot dishes in silver chafers or casseroles. A separate table might then be used for the wedding cake-- a 48" round table would be a good size. Another similar size table might be used for champagne, punch or coffee. A punch or champagne fountain is a decorative and practical addition to the reception since it eliminates the necessity for someone to serve the beverage. A seated wedding breakfast or dinner is, of course, the most formal type of wedding reception. The tables are arranged so that the bride's table is the focal point of the room. The wedding cake is the center of attraction at this table. A dance is generally included at a reception of this magnitude. The wedding reception is traditionally begun with the receiving line, which is composed of the bride and groom, the bridesmaids, and the parents of the couple. The order of receiving is generally the bride's mother, the groom's father, the groom's mother the bride's father, the bride, the groom and the maid of honor followed by the bridesmaids. The best man and groomsmen are not generally included in the receiving line. Traditionally, the wedding cake is served to the guests after the bride and groom have served each other the first piece, symbolizing their first meal together. You want to be sure to have someone available who is familiar with the usual reception process. This person will guide you through, making sure that no cherished moment is forgotten. If you want your guest's to always remember your wedding day, why not consider using a theme, and not just a color, as the basis of your wedding. We at Herriott's have compiled some theme ideas that you could use for your wedding. Wedding Theme Ideas Scottish Traditional wedding Americana wedding Country-Western wedding Fiesta wedding Harvest wedding Hawaiian wedding Illini wedding Holiday wedding Winter Wonderland wedding "Father of the Bride" Tent wedding Barefoot wedding "Day in the Park" wedding |
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