Getting Married? Attend a wedding show or event.

If you are engaged and looking for quality vendors for your wedding day, consider attending a wedding show or event. The Puget Sound area has some excellent wedding events to attend and check out local wedding professionals.

As a professional wedding consultant , I will be at Seattle Wedding Show coming next year on January 11^th and 12^th, 2014. Come by and meet me and other vendors.

Below are some suggestions for attending any wedding event to make it a more valuable experience for you:

·         Go to the show online and pick out your top 5 vendors that you want to see and consider for your wedding. Write down the booth numbers and company names. Shows can be overwhelming when there can be 200 vendors or more at a show. This way you have a plan of who is most important for you to see.

·         Many wedding events have vendor drawings and you may also want specific vendors to contact you after the day of the show. Consider pre-printing some labels with your crucial contact information.  I cannot tell you how disappointing it is as a vendor to have a drawing and not be able to decipher the handwriting of the winner. Your labels should have the info you want to share: Name (Bride/Groom), phone, email, wedding date, and your mailing address (if you wish). Any office supply store will have labels you can print at home and then peel off and place on entry forms or contact forms at the show. Quick and easy for you and easy to read for the vendor.

·         You may find the perfect vendor for you at the wedding show. Go to the show with your checkbook and credit card so you can book a vendor that day if you wish. A few words of advice: Do not feel pressured to sign right then and there. Read the entire contract before signing or making a “deposit” to hold a vendor for your day. Most vendors take a “first payment” which is frequently non-refundable. I suggest making an appointment with a desired vendor for the week following the show. This will allow you to meet and ask questions in a less hectic environment than the show floor.

·         An additional way you can improve your wedding show experience is by considering your comfort. Wear comfortable shoes – you may be walking the aisles for 2 or more hours. Choose clothing that can be worn in layers. When the show floor gets crowded it can get quite warm and at the beginning of the show it can be chilly. Bring a handbag that is not heavy with items already before the show even starts. Your back and neck will thank you after the show.

·         Do bring information you already have for your wedding day. A small binder is a great way to have all your info gathered in one place. You can add the vendors that you meet and like at the show to your binder for easy locating later. You will be thankful later that you did this when you don’t have to sort through everything you picked up at the show.

 

Wedding shows and events are fun and sometimes overwhelming. If you start off prepared, you will enjoy it so much more.

The Wedding Ceremony - When Sarah marries Sam

So finally Sarah and Sam are engaged. This is an exciting and exhilarating time for a newly engaged couple. It can, however, also be a time filled with concerns and questions about how to plan their wedding ceremony.

Let me tell you a little about Sarah and Sam, my fictional couple for this post. Sarah and Sam just got engaged after being together for several years. They both live in and grew up in Washington State. They are very excited to be taking the step of marriage in their relationship. They are both in their middle to late twenties. Sarah is not very religious but Sam grew up going to church. Some of their family and friends are very happy for them. However there are others who do not support their engagement and upcoming marriage. Sarah’s parents were divorced when she was fairly young and her mom has remarried. Sarah is close to both her step Dad and her father. Sam’s parents have been married for almost 30 years. They are uncertain if they can be supportive of Sam’s marriage to Sarah.

As Sarah and Sam start to think about their wedding day, they have many of the same questions and issues that other couples have. They, as a couple, have never had to consider the aspects of planning a wedding ceremony.

·         Who will walk down the aisle with Sarah or Sam? Will it be Sarah’s Step Dad, her father, or both of them? Sarah now needs to think about what this decision will mean to each of her “dads”. Will Sam walk down the aisle with parents or alone? Maybe Sarah and Sam will each walk down the aisle alone or together and not be “given away”.

·         Will they have friends and family in their wedding party and if so, how many people? Neither of them wants to alienate any of their friends or family by not choosing one of them. Who will stand up for them and support them? Many they will be unique and have a Man of Honor or a Best Woman.

·         Which family members will sit in the first few rows at the ceremony? Will Sarah’s Mom sit in the first row with her husband along with Sarah’s Dad or will this a point of contention? Will family or friends who don’t support them decide not to attend at all? Will Sam’s parents come around and be there for them? How will Sarah and Sam feel about this possibility?

·         Will they write their own vows or go with a more traditional ceremony based on Sam’s religious background? Perhaps Sam’s family, trying to be involved and supportive, will give lots of unsolicited advice about what they should or should not do. How will the couple address this in a strong but loving way so they can have the ceremony that they really want and still be respectful of Sam’s parents?

·         Who will perform their ceremony and marry them since Sarah does not belong to Sam’s church? Will they even be able to marry in Sam’s church or will they need to consider getting married by a non-denominational celebrant at their reception venue instead?

These are a few of the many decisions Sarah and Sam will need to make for their wedding ceremony. Just the same as other couples, they will have some easy and some challenging moments during their wedding planning. They now can plan their wedding ceremony in Washington State and say “I do”. Until now, this was not a legally recognized option for same sex couples. But now, with some family support, love and good wedding planning, all the details will come together on the day that Sarah marries Samantha.