When you are planning a wedding one of the most important lists is your guest list. When you are thinking of all the people you want to invite there are many things to keep in mind.

I am going to be coming up with my guest list tonight. The first people on list will be all of my immediate family and all of my closest friends. While I am coming up with my list my fiance will be doing the same thing and writing down all of his immediate family and friends. My fiance and I have a lot of friends in common so that is always helpful. We have decided that we would like to invite around 120 people but once we write out our list we will see if it is possible to have that amount of people and not leave anyone out. You should have an idea of how many people you would like to invite so you can keep that in mind while thinking of people.

After you both write down all the close friends and family it is time to ask the family for help. I am lucky enough to have a sister who got married 3 years ago so I am having her send me her list to make sure I do not leave anyone important out. If you do not have that luxury then ask your mom, dad or anyone that knows a lot of the same people you know to help you come up with the people you might have forgot about.

After consulting others for help you should have a pretty good list of everyone you want to invite. If you look at that number and it is way to many people for the budget you are working with then you will have to either cross some people off your list or find a way to reduce your cost per person at the venue you chose.

Good luck I hope this helps you come up with a good list!

My fiancé and I had thought that we had are wedding venue and reception area all picked out….we were wrong! It turns out the place we wanted to have our wedding does not allow weddings where we were planning on getting married! What does that mean, well you guessed the hunt is on! Good thing we started planning so early!

We started out by making a new list of all of the places we would consider getting married. Yesterday, which was Sunday for us we took the day to explore all of are options. My fiancé and I love scenic places are favorite places include the mountains, places with a lot of water, and lots of green trees.

The first place we started out at was The Resort at the Mountain. We were really excited to look at this property because it looked beautiful in the pictures online. Well it turns out the property is being renovated and everything will be complete next year around the time we wanted to get married. We looked at the future plans of the property and it looks amazing. The only problem is that there is the two areas we have to choose from for venues are both located on a golf course! We like to golf but not enough to get married on a golf course!

Well the hunt continues……

After you have chosen your wedding colors you can start looking into flowers. There are so many different types of flowers to choose from you have to know where to start.

A good place to start is incorporating all your colors you have chosen into the flowers you choose. For example my wedding colors are red, black, ivory and silver, so my flowers should include these colors. It is up to you if you want to have more or less of certain colors. I decided that I wanted the majority of my flowers red and ivory. I ruled out the color pink for flowers because I feel with the color scheme we are after pink would clash. The next thing I did was start to research flowers.

There are many way to research flowers you can look online at different flower designs, you can look in magazines and books, or you can even drive to the flower store, just to get an idea of what you like. I did all three of theses activities. First I looked online and made a folder of all my favorite flower looks, making note of the flowers and accessories they had used to create different looks. I found out which flowers came in red and ivory and chose all of my favorite ones. Then I looked in a couple flower magazines and books to get some ideas. After I had an idea of what I liked I went to the flower store to see them in real form.

I have not made any final decisions on flowers yet, but I have a pretty good idea of what I like. I hope this information helps you when you are starting your flower planning adventure!

There are many different choices out there when it comes to music at a wedding. Some of the most popular options include; having a private band, hire a DJ or you burn all of your songs on to an i-pod and play the music yourself.

There are pros and cons to each of these choices. The pros about having a private band are that you get to enjoy your own live performances. Also if you have your own band they can play what ever song you want them to play whenever you want them to play it! The cons of having a live band include taking the time to choose which band you are going to hire and the high cost involved.

The pros of having a DJ are that you have someone to host the whole event. Also DJ’s are really good at picking good music and keeping the party going! The cons of having a DJ are again you have to take the time to choose the right DJ and also the cost involved, although they are less expensive then a private band.

Last but not least there is the option of doing all of the music yourself on an i-pod. The pros of this method are you save a lot of money! The cons are that it is a lot of work to do all of the music yourself. Also if you do all your music yourself you have known one to host the event.

Out of these options I think the best thing to do is hire a DJ and let them do all of the work! That way you do not have to stress out about doing it yourself and you are still saving a little money.

There are so many choices when it comes to bridal gowns! How do you even know where to start? When it comes to your wedding gown it is one of the most important decisions you will make for your big day!

The first thing to remember is that there are so many styles of gowns to choose from and if one style does not flatter your figure then there are always other styles that will! No matter what shape or size you are your perfect gown is out there waiting for you to find it!

The next thing to remember is to have your budget planned out before you start going wedding dress shopping. Once you know how much money you have to spend on your dress, you do not have to waste your time trying on dresses that you can not afford. Always stick to your budget when trying on dresses and then you will not have the problem of falling in love with a dress you have to leave at the store!

The color of the dress is another factor. When ever you are trying on dresses make sure to try on every color. I know that every girl dreams of a white wedding dress but you would be surprised by how good diamond white and ivory look on some people!

Good luck in finding the perfect dress! I hope this gets you off to a good start!

After you have worked hard to get all of the main wedding details locked in, it is time to start planning the Honeymoon! When looking at Honeymoon destinations you always want to keep an open mind. There are so many different areas of the world to consider!

One of the most popular destinations for Honeymoons is The Caribbean. One of the best ways to visit these areas in my opinion is a cruise! A cruise is nice because it is all inclusive, the food is excellent and you can go and visit the different ports and always have somewhere comfortable to come back to. We felt it is the best bang for your buck!

There are many different locations to choose from when you are looking into cruises. There is the Eastern Caribbean which includes: Saint Maartin, Saint Thomas, and the Bahamas which is always a nice way to go. My fiancé and I recently just got back from a cruise that went all of these places and it was beautiful. There were even some Honeymooners on the cruise! I thought there were a lot of very romantic places and each of the places we went was breath taking in there own way!

Now the Western Caribbean although I have never been I have heard amazing things about! The areas that are part of the Western Caribbean include: Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Montego Bay, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. This is an option that my fiancé and I are considering! We both would like to go on another cruise for our Honeymoon because he proposed to me on are Eastern Caribbean cruise and we feel it would be suiting!

If you decide to go with one of these two options I am sure you will not be disappointed!

How do you choose the perfect reception site? When I was looking into reception sites I wanted the reception to be somewhere close to the wedding ceremony. When I was in my sister’s wedding she had her reception about 20 feet away from her ceremony. Which I thought was perfect. So I wanted the same type of set up for my reception.

A couple questions you have to ask yourself is do you want to have your reception inside or outside, do you want it close to the ceremony or in different location, how many people are you going to have at your reception and what type of decorations did you want to use for it?

After you have answered these questions the reception site might be right in front of you if you choose to have it on site or you may have to start looking for the perfect location. If you are choosing a different location then the ceremony you always want to keep in mind what is going to be easier on the guests and keep there best interest in mind by having the reception close.

Start researching options right away so you can narrow down a solid list of places. Once you have your list go visit the sites and find out all of the information before making a decision. Make sure that your decision is with in your budget!

I hope this advice helps you narrow down your perfect reception site!

What is a good way to remember your wedding day, video tape it! A videographer is someone you hire to record your wedding. It gives you the ability to watch your wedding day over and over again. My sister had a DVD made of her wedding day and I would also like to hire someone to video my wedding!

Where do you start when looking for a good videographer? The best place to start is to ask all of your friends and family who they have used in the past if any. If your friends or family recommend anyone specific add them to your list and make sure to include them in your research.

Another way to find a videographer is to look online, or look in wedding books. Many videographers will have samples online to view there work. Take the time to watch there videos they have produced to see if that is the style you are looking for. Some videographers are more artsy and some are more conservative. It is your day so you decide which style you are after.

Once you take the time to research all of the different choices you will know exactly what you want. Videographers can be expensive so make sure to have a budget set aside for this part of the wedding experience!

So you are preparing for your big day and something that keeps going through your mind is “hairstyles.” There are so many different wedding hairstyles to choose from! How do you know which hairstyle is going to work best for you? Well I wanted to see what was in style for 2008 weddings. What I found is when it comes to wedding hairstyles there are a lot of choices!

If you want to wear all of your hair up then there is the classic up do, up do with curls, and up do with accessories (example: flowers, hair pins, pearls etc.). To wear all of your hair up, you need to have a certain length of hair to be able to pull back. Also you have to feel comfortable with it all up. I for one do not like it when all of my hair is up. I have a rounder face and so I always feel self-conscious when all of my hair is pulled back. Although the nice thing about having all of your hair back is you do not have to worry about messing with it!

If you want to go for more of a half up half down style then there is the sleek half up look, half up with a lot of curls, and half up with accessories. Again to wear your hair half up it has to be a certain length to pull back. This is a style that I would consider because it still pulls back your hair, but at the same time leaves some hair to play with.

The other option is to have all of your hair down. When you make the choice to have it all down there are a variety of ways you can wear it. You can always wear it long and sleek, or you can dress it up a little more by doing long barrel curls. If you have naturally curly hair you can always wear it with your natural curl. I recommend especially on your wedding day to wear it a new way you have never worn it before. In my opinion that would make your hair style that much more unique on your special day! Also always plan ahead to try a few different hairstyles before the big day.

What is the best way to relive your wedding memories over and over again, the photography! When you are looking into different options for a photographer there are many avenues you can go.

One way is to talk to your friends and family and ask to look at there wedding photos. If you are happy with the way there’s turned out then this might be a good option for you! If your friends and family recommend them, this is someone you can add to your list of options.

Another way is to research different options in books and also on line. Read about different people and look at the photos they have taken. If you like there style then you can add them to your list of options.

Once you have a solid list of options, it is time to educate yourself. Get to know all the different types of packages they offer. If you have not already set up a photography budget, now is a good time to do so! Once you are familiar with the packages and your budget you can start narrowing down the options.

Take the time to talk to each of your top choices. Make sure you will work well together, and then make your final decision! If you have done the proper research and are sticking in your budget, you will be happy with the results!