Arlene Pecora: Advice on Wedding Tips

Many brides plan a detailed budget for their wedding ceremony, reception and honeymoon. After contacting their local DJ's, Limo Drivers, Caterers, Florists, etc, they have a general idea of how much they will spend for each. Unfortunately, brides and grooms often overlook the aspect of "tipping" which will greatly affect your bridal budget. Tipping is, however, a customary gesture and you want to make sure that you have allocated enough money for each vendor.

Appropriate tip amounts will vary depending on the quality of service provided, but the following guidelines are the customary ranges for wedding gratuities:

• Hairstylists and Makeup Artists: Just as you would at the salon, tipping at least 15-20% for good service is expected.
• Musicians and DJs: If you hired performers without the help of an entertainment agency, it's customary to tip each band member or singer $20-25, and DJs $25-100 each. Tips will often be included in an agency's contract, but a "service charge" is not a gratuity – it goes to the company, rather than the entertainers themselves, and you may have to tip in addition. When in doubt, always ask.
• Catering Staff: Plan to tip 15-20% of the total catering bill, to be divided among all servers and catering staff.
• Bartenders: Give at least 15-25% of the total liquor bill, given to the head bartender to be divided among his or her staff.
• Photographers, Videographers, Florists, Cake Decorators: If your photographer and other wedding vendors own their own businesses, tipping is neither required nor expected. But if they work as an employee of a company, be prepared to give $30-50 to each as a gratuity.
• Officiants: A priest, rabbi, or other religious officiant usually won't accept a tip, but it's considerate to donate at least $75-100 to their organization or place of worship. State officiants and civil employees are not allowed to receive cash tips.
• Wedding Planners: Tip at least $75-100, and up to $500.
• Chauffeurs or Limo Drivers: Plan to show your appreciation with 15-20% of the total bill.
• Valets, Restroom Attendants, Coat Check Attendants: Tip $1-2 per car (valets) or per guest, to be divided among all attendants.

Signature Grand Weddings

Signature Grand Wedding Planning

Planning a wedding can take hours upon hours of coordinating, scheduling, pricing and more. Luckily, Signature Grand Weddings helps take some of the stress out of wedding planning, so that brides and grooms can find some relaxation during the process. Here are a few of the articles that Signature Grand Weddings Features:

Budget Wedding Planning: Planning a wedding on a budget does not mean sacrificing your ultimate bridal dreams. Keep it simple and you'll be able to say "I Do" as you have always desired!

Plan with your Groom: We know that brides generally take over the planning, but involve the groom! This special wedding planning will help bond and create the dream that you BOTH have always wanted!

Love Letter Ceremony: Small, intimate ceremonies have become common during the actual wedding ceremony. Signature Grand Weddings recommends the Love Letter Ceremony in which the bride and groom enclose private love letters in a signature box and seal it away for a later date!

Signature Grand Weddings

Prepare for Your Honeymoon with TravelPro Luggage Outlet

Planning a vacation, especially a honeymoon, requires dedication and resources. Your honeymoon, after all, is the celebration of your new vows! Regardless of your method of travel, whether by plane, boat, train or car, you will need quality, durable luggage.

TravelPro Luggage Outlet has a few travel tips for the newly-wed honeymooners:

Use luggage tags: Even if you're taking a car, your luggage is at risk of being lost in the hotel/transit. Be safe and select bright, colorful luggage tags.

Brush up on luggage restrictions: If you're flying (or cruising), there might be restrictions on your luggage size and weight. Be sure to check the baggage restrictions to ensure luggage safety. Excessive baggage can be quite costly.

Opt for bright, colorful luggage: This helps your luggage stand out in a crowd!

Discount Luggage

Coed Baby Showers

Co-ed baby showers are showers that both men and women are invited to. This is in contrast to the more traditional women-only shower.

This might seem like an easy event to plan, however, now you have another party to plan around, the daddy. This event might not be all about frills and cookie cutters now. The event planner has to add activities and decor for the daddy as well. The idea is to provide the men with a comfort zone, and a barbecue is ideal for that.

Just because you opt for a BBQ does not mean that they men must stay outside and tend to the food. Encourage them to come inside and take part in the baby shower! A great game idea is "Couple Jeopardy". For this, each team consists of a man and a woman. Each team member takes a turn at going out of the room while the other is asked 5 questions about their partner. Once all 5 questions are answered, the other partner returns to the room and is asked the same questions. This game generally breaks the ice and creates a ton of laughter, perfect to break the ice for a co-ed shower!

If you have planned enough games and good to keep both men and women occupied, your co-ed baby shower will go off without any issues! Make sure that all guests have something to look forward to and something great to remember about you coed baby shower, and you will have a success on your hands.

Baby Shower Favors

Including Children in Your Wedding

I applaud any couple that chooses to incorporate children into a wedding ceremony/reception. While there are many couples that still opt for "child-free" weddings, there are many benefits to allowing and incorporating children.

If there are children in your ceremony, there are several "duties" that they can perform which are symbolic and meaningful. Of course, there are the traditional ring bearers and flower girls. There are also ceremonies such as the Unity Sand Ceremony which allows children to pour sand into the center vase with the bride and groom. These are great photo opportunities for the entire family.

For your reception, I recommend adding "children stations" around the room. Small activities such as coloring or even outdoor activities will keep children happy and occupied all evening (or morning - whichever you prefer!)

Child Friendly Weddings by Signature Grand

Honeymoon Planning Basics by TravelPro

Honeymoon planning is often one of the most fun aspects of getting married! Here are a few honeymoon planning tips for the newlywed couple!

1. Ask for help. While planning a short vacation is something that "anybody" can do, you might need the help of a travel agent for your honeymoon planning. If not, ask around. Friends and family members that have been on romantic getaways might have a ton of insight on wedding planning! Ask for brochures and scan the web. You're bound to come up with some great honeymoon ideas.

2. Look at your personal interests. When you think of "relaxation", what is the first thing that comes to mind? Beaches? Mountains? Italy? Start by asking yourself these questions to narrow down your ultimate honeymoon destination. Don't forget your groom! Be sure to ask him the same questions so that he isn't stuck on a desert island when he really dreamed of climbing a volcano!

3. There's a reason for the season. You have to triple check the season of your honeymoon. Romantic beaches in the middle of December aren't exactly ideal! What month do you plan on taking this trip and will the weather/climate be perfect?

Once you select your ultimate honeymoon destination, you will need to purchase quality, upright luggage. Whether your travel is by plane, boat, train or car, luggage accessories such as travel locks and luggage tags are also a necessity. Begin the honeymoon process by selecting luggage and creating a packing list!

Upright Luggage by TravelPro

Say "I Do" Vegas Style!

If you can't say your vows in Vegas, bring Vegas to you! The Las Vegas wedding theme is extremely popular as it is versatile and FUN! With various wedding decor and favor options available, the possibilities are virtually endless!

Las Vegas Tip #1 - Include the games! Set up poker and slot tables around your reception. Guests will have a blast - whether you play for real money or fake!
Las Vegas Tip #2 - Incorporate Vegas themed favors. They can be personalized as desired and guests will have a memorable keepsake to bring home!
Las Vegas Tip #3 - BUFFETS! Las Vegas is known for it's buffet style dinners - so incorporate that into your wedding! Brides and grooms often find they save money on buffet style dining and guests will enjoy the variety!

Las Vegas Wedding Favors

Signature Grand Weddings: Tips for the Perfect Wedding Dress Fitting

Trying on a wedding dress and instantly having it fit is a miracle. No. Seriously, it's close to it! Almost all brides-to-be encounter fitting issues when trying on wedding dresses. While this is not a big deal, the hassle of alteration after alteration can be time consuming and costly. Here are a few tips to help enjoy a smooth fitting session for your wedding gown:

Choose a dress that naturally flatters your figure. You might have one certain style in your mind - but it might not look so flattering on your body. Women come in all different shapes and sizes, and luckily- so do wedding dresses! Signature Grand Wedding Tip: A-line dresses flatter fuller hips and pear-shaped body types, while drop waist dresses and princess-line cuts are best for fuller waists.

Start with a dress in your size (or very close to it). While it’s possible to size a dress up or down, making drastic changes either way can yield disappointing results. Dresses that are much too big will need to be re-cut in order to hang properly on the body, and dresses that are too snug may not have enough of a seam allowance to be let out – and, with fabrics like satin or velvet, there’s a t endency for the original stitching to show. It’s generally easier to take in a dress than let it out, so if you’re not the same size all over, buy the size that fits the largest part of your body and have the rest taken in.

Signature Grand Weddings

Fun Baby Shower Games

Baby Showers are a great way to celebrate the birth of a new life and enjoy your friends and family. If you have been put in charge of the "games" portion, don't fret. Bellacroft has a list of fun games that will get the entire crowd going!

Measured in TP
Pass each guest a roll of toilet paper. Each guest counts the number of squares she believes would be necessary for the two ends to meet around the expectant mother’s tummy and then tears off her length. After every person has guessed, they wrap their share around the expectant tummy to see who is closest. Many people find this to be a humorous game - sometimes the mommy doesn't think so!

Who is the Baby in the Photo?
Have each guest bring a photo of herself from when she was a baby. Tape the baby pictures onto a piece of poster board and assign a number to each photo. Have the guests try to guess the baby pictures which go with the adults present. The guesser with the most correct matches wins a prize.

Guessing game and variations
Place 8-10 small baby items (pacifier, diaper pins, baby spoon, etc.) in a paper bag. Pass the bag around to each guest and let them get a good look. Then have everyone try to name as many of the items they saw in the bag as they can. Once everyone is done with their lists the items are dumped out of the bag and the guesses are tallied. The winner is the guest with the best recollection of the items.

Baby Shower Favors

Flower Advice for Wedding Planning

Flowers are a huge part of wedding planning. Here are a few ideas for flowers in your wedding:
Bouquet: select flowers with colors that coordinate with your wedding theme or color scheme. Utilize a tussy mussy with your bouquet - a unique way of displaying your bridal bouquet.
Flower Arrangements: Opt for unique flowers - creating a beautiful floral display. Try lilies or other flowers which will make a statement.
Flower Petals: scatter flower petals around the room which create a romantic element.

York & White features bridal decor and elements for the modern day bride!

Wedding Essentials