How to Choose a Wedding Date
As soon as you’re engaged, the first question many people will often ask you (right after, how did they propose) is, “Have you set a date?” And while it seems like such a simple task, the fact is the date is essentially one of the most important aspects of your wedding. Choose a wrong day for your ceremony, and you may run into a huge array of problems. So keep these tips in mind in order to choose the most perfect day possible for your wedding.
1.) The time-frame. If you are looking to invite 300 guests and say your vows in front of a six foot ice sculpture, you’re going to need to give yourself a little bit of time to plan all of it. On the contrary, if you’re looking to go down to your local courthouse with a few close friends and family, a few months may be all you need.
2.) The season. Many couples choose to get married in the summer for a variety of reasons, namely the ease of travel, the gorgeous blooming flowers and the sunset wedding photos, but other seasons hold many benefits too. Wedding photos in the winter time are simply stunning, providing a one-of-a-kind glowing, white backdrop. Winter also lends itself well to more elegant, full-length gowns while summer lends itself nicely to light, airy and even shorter dresses.
3.) Your guests’ commitments. When all of my friends started getting married, we were all just finishing up college. Many of us were attending grad school. One of my friends decided to set her wedding for the second week of September. This is a great day except for one minor issue; all her bridesmaids and all her fiancé’s groomsmen were all still in college, so expecting all of them to miss the first week of classes was a bit of an obstacle.
It’s also not advised to have your wedding on a specific holiday. It’s quite a lot to ask someone to skip their yearly 4th of July family reunion to attend your wedding. Plus, other holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving or New Years are often the only time some people even get to see certain members of their family.
4.) The price. Venues are typically going to be much more expensive in the summer time, simply because of the demand. As the demand slows in the winter months prices tend to decline. If you’re looking to save money on the venue, choosing a wedding date in the “off season” might be a great way to save a couple thousand dollars.
5.) The day of the week. Getting married on a Wednesday? Don’t expect a lot of your guests to be able to make the trip. If you’re planning on inviting a lot of people, you have to make it somewhat convenient for them. A weekday wedding means they are going to have to take off work not only for the wedding itself, but on the days before and after for travel.
Also keep in mind what kind of atmosphere you want to have. If you’re hoping everyone will be enjoying the “refreshments” and dancing until the wee hours of the early morning, planning your big day on a Sunday is going to make that difficult. Likewise, if you’re having a dry wedding, a Sunday brunch would be lovely, as most guests won’t even miss the alcohol.
5 Questions to Ask Your Makeup Artist
Before you decide on a makeup artist for your big day, you need to do your research. And “doing your research” doesn’t just mean asking your sister-in-law who she used for her wedding. Here are five essential questions you need to ask every potential makeup artist you consider:
1.) How many weddings have you done and when were the most recent? Someone may have done 100’s of weddings, but if all those weddings were done prior to 1989, you might have a problem. Technological advances in makeup are constantly occurring, and your artist needs to be up to date on the options that are out there.
2.) How much will it cost and what does that cost include? Many makeup artists have their own personal fee system, so you’ll want to see where you get the most bang for your buck. Does his/her total fee include the trial run? Does it include additional products if adverse circumstances present themselves (you need different foundation because it ends up down-pouring on your wedding day)? What about the other bridesmaids or your mother, how much will it cost to pretty the up too?
3.) How much time will you need? After the trial run (you should always have a trial run) your makeup artist should be able to give you a fairly close estimate to how much time it will take them to complete your look on the big day. Make sure they have this much time (and preferably a little extra for unexpected snags).
4.) Do you have references I can contact? Any professional of any kind in any industry should have references. Without them…well…the person probably isn’t a professional. Ask for at least three references, and make sure to contact them with any questions you may have (How was he/she to work with on the big day? Were you happy with your makeup? Were you happy with the price? Would you use him/her again for another occasion?).
5.) Do you have a backup plan? Things happen, we all know this, and if something happens that prevents your makeup artist from making it on the day of the actual wedding, you don’t want to be hung out to dry. A good makeup artist will have something they can call on in case of an emergency, and this person will also be able to do the job you have planned. A “clean, natural” look should mean the same thing to both the original artist and the backup.
If all else fails though, you would be smart to learn a few tricks yourself, so if anything does happen you aren’t completely helpless.
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