Wedding Junkie » Planning Tools

Wedding Planning Spreadsheet

Wedding Junkie — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:57:36 +0000

When it comes to keeping track of your wedding planning, there are three kinds of Wedding Junkie’s out there:

Wedding Junkie’s who use Wedding Planning Workbooks
Wedding Junkie’s who use Online Planning Resources
Wedding Junkie’s who use a Wedding Planning Spreadsheet

For those of you who fall into the latter category I’ve created a template for you to use. This spreadsheet is separated into the following “sheets”:

Wedding Guest List
Shower Guest List
Rehearsal Dinner Guest List
Wedding Gifts
Shower Gifts
Bridal Party Contact Info
Budget
Vendor List
Who is Doing What
Timeline
To Do List

Feel free to download it and comment right on the blog if you have questions.

To download just click on the link below — there are two versions available depending upon what version of Excel you have. If clicking on the link does not work, try “right clicking” on the link and “Save link as“. This will allow you to save it into your computer and then open it while you are in Excel. If you do this — be sure to remember where you saved it.

DOWNLOAD: Wedding Junkie Wedding Planning Spreadsheet (version: Microsoft Excel version 97/2000/XP)

DOWNLOAD: Wedding Junkie Wedding Planning Spreadsheet (version: Microsoft Excel version 95)

Feel free to ask questions by commenting on the blog. Enjoy, gals!

“Hello, gal. This is Oprah…”

Wedding Junkie — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:06:44 +0000

Most small business owners, battered wives and brides-to-be dream of getting “the c-a-l-l” from Oprah. Why, you say? Well, likely it means you’ve been added to Oprah’s Top 10 -or- lucky you, Dr. Phil will be giving you marital advice -or- better yet, Oprah herself has chosen you to be the proud (and when I say “proud” I mean wet your pants excited-roll over in jubilation-tell your boss to take a hike-kind of excitement.. it’s really more likely to bring you shame… but I digress) recipient of Oprah’s Million Dollar Wedding. We all should be so lucky, right?

So, while we all wait in anticipation for the call, we can still enjoy the inspiration that Colin Cowie provides on his website’s photo gallery featuring Oprah Winfrey’s Million Dollar Weddings. Have you seen this yet, gals? If not, grab a tissue for your drool and get ready to be amazed.

Just click on the photos to go to be redirected to the gallery. Enjoy!

photos courtesy of www.colincowie.com

Fruit in a bowl. Who knew?

Wedding Junkie — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:44:43 +0000

You know what they say… the simplest ideas are often the best ideas. And in this case it’s true! Using fruit as an alternative to the traditional floral arrangement can give your table an unexpected punch of color that’s easy on the budget. Check out the tips and tricks below that will help you pull together a colorful centerpiece that looks good enough to eat!

Helpful Tips: #1: Use hard skinned fruit that can withstand being handled that doesn’t easily bruise. Green or red apples, pomegranites, tangerines, oranges, lemons, limes, or unripened pears are great choices. #2: Fruit is buoyant and if you plan to add water to the vase your fruit may float. Pack your vase full of fruit to reduce the chance of fruit floating to the top. #3: Pre-order your fruit from the produce department at your local grocery store so you don’t have to go to multiple stores to get all that you need. #4: If you pre-order fruit ask if you can get the fruit without those annoying little stickers on them. #5: To add a shine to the fruit rinse them in a bath of one part white vinegar to five parts water. Then towel dry to shine. #6: Mix em’ up by using two types of fruit in one vase. #7: Add a touch of food coloring to the water to infuse yet another element of color. #8: Buy 10% more than you think you need. There’s nothing worse than getting to the last vase and having only two pieces left to work with. #9: Have a “fruity” party with your friends to get all of these little guys prepared for your big day. Create an assembly line to remove stickers, wash the fruit and re-pack it into boxes. #10: Purchase your fruit a day or two ahead and keep it covered in the box and out of sunlight. #11: After the big day is over donate it to a local charity.	Wrapping a color coordinated ribbon around the vase can add a great finishing touch. Instead of pearls you can opt for another colored ribbon to lay in yet another element of your color scheme.	Check out how stylin’ your table will look by using black and white damask tablecloths with shiny red apples.
	We filled this three foot tall vase with pears and then tinted the water pink for that added glam factor.	Prop your centerpiece up on something or set it on top of a mirror. Think about adding some soft candlelight to the ensemble for some added sparkle.
	Check out this combo, Maybe a little over the top, but the fusion of fresh limes with classic pearl beading is a cutie!	Fill the fruit to the rim gals — the more the merrier!
	Red apples look fantastic with black, white and silver.	There are so many options when going with a black and white color scheme. Here we accented the black and white with bright yellow lemons in an apothecary vase. Hello, Hollywood Glam!
Who knew something so simple could look sooo glammy? All I can say is Flowers must be jealous! Send me your photos, ideas and thoughts on using fruit in your centerpieces to my email at stacey@weddingjunkie.com. I would love to feature your ideas in an upcoming blog.

Will you be my Flower Girl?

Wedding Junkie — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:25:33 +0000

Confessions, gals. How long have you been dreaming about your wedding day? They say that most of us start at the wee ages of infancy. For those of us with nieces we know that this myth is actually true. Just last week I bought my niece the coveted Wedding Barbie for Christmas — it’s all about weddings for her this year and she’s only four! So, whether or not it’s a co-marketing conspiracy between Mattel and Macy’s or it’s just the magic of the dress AND the prince AND that huge cake that does us in — we’re hooked until our big day comes! So, don’t let the opportunity to pamper your lil’ bride in training, a.k.a. Flower Girl, pass you by — here are some ideas to help you make this experience unforgettable for her as well.
You’ve Got Mail! A few places on the web have great cards that you can send to your Flower Girl to ask her to be in the wedding. I mean what kid doesn’t love to get mail, right?	$5.50 from Classy Bride
Forget the sandbox — we’re going shopping!! You went to a dozen bridal stores to try on gowns — so how about taking that little gal on a shopping trip that’s all about her. I mean, of course you’ll have to try on a gown or two yourself, but have this day be really be about her. My niece Sarah, pictured right, was the star of the show this day when we went to a quaint bridal boutique to glam her up. There she was all in curls with smiles from ear to ear.	Bride-in-training, Sarah, trying on Flower Girl dresses.
What’s a Flower Girl, Auntie? For lots of little ones this will be the first time they are in a wedding and they will want to know everything there is to know about being a Flower Girl. Luckily, there are some great books out there that explain all the in’s and out’s to help your little helper prep for her big day.	$13.00 from Classy Bride
Will you be my Flower Girl Care Package If your flower girl doesn’t live nearby you can still involve her in the process by sending her a Flower Girl care package. Here are some ideas on what to include: “Will you be my Flower Girl” card Flower Girl book Flower basket with fake rose petals to practice Pictures of her dress Flower Girl t-shirt	Starting from $9.95 plus shipping on eBay’s eFavormart
All-in-all remember to have a blast while you’re planning and use every possible opportunity to pamper yourself and those around you during this exciting time in your life! How did you pamper your Flower Girl? Send your stories and photos to stacey@weddingjunkie.com to be featured on an upcoming blog.

Northern and Southern California Event Locations

Wedding Junkie — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 21:58:45 +0000

Hey – congrats gal! Now that you’re engaged it’s time to find the ultimate location to hold your once-in-a-lifetime-shin-dig. With so many things to consider when searching for just the perfect location who can choose just one? Well if you’re anything like me I imagine you’ve been thinking to yourself… “Self…. should it be a garden or beach setting? In the country or in the city? Long aisle or short aisle? Inside or outside?” If this sounds like you then you’ll want to check out a fantastic online resource called, Here Comes the Guide, to help you navigate your search.
Straight from Here Comes the Guide… “Your complete resource for California event locations and services. Our online database has over 1,000 fantastic locations and pre-screened event professionals to help you plan weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate events or parties.Find the perfect wedding location, search for wedding dresses, and compare florists, photographers and other vendors by using the easy-to-search listings and other features on herecomestheguide.com.” Excerpt taken directly from www.herecomestheguide.com
Here’s a taste of some of the great features this website offers: First and foremost — from the comfort of your office chair and on your bosses dime you can research multiple event locations from one website! multiple photos of each location are available 360 degree tours are often available pricing is listed you can see the “rules” of the event location: can you have your own caterer? can you supply your own alcohol? can you play music until dawn? etc. you get a listing of the services and amenities offered the search function let’s you set your search criteria to narrow your search results
All-in-all I have found this to be the most comprehensive website for event locations in California. I hope it’s a useful resource to you.If you used Here Comes the Guide to find your wedding location send me an email at stacey@weddingjunkie.com with the location name and why you picked it. Better yet – just submit a comment right here on the blog.

I’ll go first — I selected the Piedmont Community Center after seeing it on Here Comes the Guide. The Piedmont offered a spectacular garden setting and also had a beautiful ballroom to boot! The venue only scheduled one wedding per day which allowed my vendors the flexibility to set-up all day without being rushed. The indoor/outdoor thing was a big requirement for me. At the Piedmont we were able to dine outdoors and then take a few short steps right into a beautiful ballroom for dancing, cake cutting and chocolate fountain eating! It was perfect!How about you?

photos are from www.herecomestheguide.com