Hubba Hubba

Be my Valentine, my love,

As I will be for you,

And we will love the whole day long,

And love our whole lives through.

Valentine's Day is in a few weeks and you may be thinking about ways to show your love and affection without spending a fortune. If you're getting married this year, you're probably working within a "we're getting married" budget. To help you out, here are a few 'stay at home' ideas to get romantic with your fiance without breaking the bank.

Faux 'take-out'

Rather than ordering in which can be pricey and greasy (ahem, wedding dress to wear in the near future) why not make your own? Make your own pizza, panini's or even chinese at home. Whip up a tasty stir fry and put it in chinese take-out boxes and eat with chop sticks. You can find the take-out boxes at a craft, paper or dollar store. Top off this meal with a selection of fortunes you made and placed into a pretty vase and then you and your hunny can pick one and read it aloud to each other.

Cuddle on the couch

Just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean that you have to watch a romantic comedy - in fact, you should probably watch your guy's favourite flick. Select a movie from his collection, pop some popcorn and cuddle on the couch. Since you won't be all that interested in his flick choice, use this time alone to behave like you first did when you started dating. A little make-out sesh on the couch never hurt anyone.

Lights Out

It's not what it sounds like. Once in a while it's good to 'unplug' all the technology and just spend some quality time together. Light candles, turn off the computer, cell phone, tv and ipod and just enjoy spending time together. Do a crossword or puzzle by candlelight, or read each other poetry. Take a bubble bath together, or give each other foot rubs.

Learn from each other

Are you a good baker? Does he kick butt at Poker? Spend an afternoon or evening teaching each other what you're good at. You might find out something new about your significant other through this exercise.

Get Active

Again, not what I mean here - get your mind outta the gutter. A great way to bond and spend time with your love is to get active together. Go for a hike, an evening stroll with the dog, play a few rounds of Wii Sport or get out your yoga mats and follow an instructional video together.

Something Blue

You made sure you had your something old, new, borrowed and now....you're blue!

It's been known that some Brides will experience post wedding blues. It makes sense to feel this way. All of the build-up and hype of your big day has simmered down, and if it's been a few months since your wedding day, the excitement and chatter has probably vanished.

The day that took you 18 months or longer to plan is gone, and that can make anyone quite sad.

It's not surprising that Brides feel depressed after their wedding, as this is a day they have waited for and looked forward to since childhood. After the wedding and the honeymoon a lot of Brides think there isn't  much to look forward to regarding your nuptials except viewing the wedding photography proofs. Before the big day there's lot's of planning, decision making, organizing, festivities and talk about YOU (and your fiance of course). But, now - life is going back to how it was before your wedding - and well, you might be bored.

When I meet with clients for our "Day of Coordination" services, I tell them that they must manage their expectations for their wedding day as things are going to happen - things they will not be able to control or avoid. With any major event, you must look at the big picture; people who love you gathered to celebrate with you and wish you all the best for your marriage. The same goes for after the wedding - look at the big picture; you had a wonderful party filled with love, laughter and happiness - and now, you're married!!

Marriage like any relationship consists of respect, love, compromise and dedication. Being married means that you are part of a team - a union of two people who love each other, so no matter how sad you feel that the wedding is over, know that you have a partner that has vowed to stick by you through the good and bad.

Settling into married life can take time - so be sure to give yourself time to adjust. Remember that life isn't perfect, so don't be bummed out when life doesn't turn out to be the fairytale you imagined it would be when you walked down the aisle. But, what you can remember is the wonderful day you had when you said "I do".
Look at your pictures often, reminisce with your hubby and friends about funny stories from the day, and look down at your left hand and smile at the ring that symbolizes your marriage.

Here are some things to do to help you beat the post wedding blues:

1) Recycle your stack of Bridal Magazines. You don't need to look at them and see all the ideas of things you didn't do. No "if only's, but I could have, or I wish I'd done", just toss 'em, or give them to a newly engaged friend.

2) Make a list of goals you want to accomplish. When planning your wedding you had a hefty "to-do" list, so keep that pattern alive by setting new goals for yourself and your hubs. This will help keep boredom at bay.

3) Go out on weekly or bi-weekly dates with your husband. Spending time together as a married couple will keep your union strong and remind you of all the reasons you said 'yes' to this special guy.

4) Relax. Wedding planning is one of the most stressful times in a woman's life. Take time to enjoy being a newlywed rather than a Bride-to-be.

Post generated with help from ehow.
Picture from Google Images.

Grooms are people too

This may come as a shocker, but....it's not all about the Bride.

It's known that the Bride tends to make most if not all of the decisions for the wedding, but the Wedding Industry is saying that Grooms are going to be speaking out more in 2011 and making more decisions.Your wedding day is afterall for both you and your Groom.

With blogs and websites like Ben the Groom, The Plunge and The Man Registry - guys have a place they can go to for advice, funny stories and even some educational content concerning their title as the "Groom".

Ben the Groom offers a checklist that offers "to-do's" from your Engagement to the night before your wedding. Knowing what to do before you are told to do it will make you look like an All-Star to your Bride.

The Plunge gives you a guys perspective and tips to prepare you for taking 'the plunge' into married life. From "How to: Replace a fallen Groomsman" to "Making a good impression with the In-laws" this site is a must for Grooms.

The Man Registry is an American site so you won't find local Canadian vendors there, but you will get awesome ideas for Bachelor parties and gifts for your wedding party dudes.

In 2010, Groom cakes made a bit of a comeback and I bet you'll continue to see more of them in weddings to come so that the Groom has something special to call his own. These cakes are usually personalized for the Groom with his hobbies, favourite sports team, movie or musician.

So, let's hear it for the boys and take joy in the fact that if you have a Groom that wants to participate and make decisions concerning your wedding and festivities - let him. Just be sure he doesn't get carried away and become a Groomzilla.

Newlywed "To Do" List

Now that you've said "I do" there are a few things you have "to do" as a newlywed.

Enjoy being Mr & Mrs

Go on your honeymoon, spend time together, make love and enjoy your new beginning.

Clean & Store your Wedding Dress

Within 6 months get your dress dry cleaned and properly packaged for storing. If you don't plan to keep your dress, put it online for another Bride to use it for her happy day.

Check out sites like Bravo Bride, Yes Bride & Kijiji.

Change your status

And we don't mean just on Facebook! You'll need to change your last name and possibly your home address after you get married. Insurance, Licence, Health Card, Income Tax, etc.

For Ontario Brides, check out the Service Canada website for assistance.

Send your Thank You's

You've got 2 mths before you're considered inconsiderate. Sit down once a week and get through the pile of 'thank you's'. If you need more time, take it - but get those cards out no later than 6 mths after your wedding. You and your hubby will feel really good knowing that your guests are thanked promptly.

Pick your photos

You'll be given a whack load of photos to pick once your photographer has tweaked them. Enjoy this process no matter how stressful it may seem. Enjoy reminiscing about your wedding.

Celebrate your Anniversary

Congratulations!!!



*post inspired by an article found on The Nest

Friendors

Vendors are business people/companies that offer services in a particular field. The Bride's Butler is a Wedding Vendor. A Photographer, Baker, Banquet Hall and Make-Up Artist are also Wedding Vendors. These people are the ones that help you create and form your event - unless of course you are going the "Do It Yourself " route on all accounts..and that to us = too much stress for you!

The Bride's Butler works with Vendors, whom we refer to as Friendors. These Friendors offer discounts and value add-ons to clients that are working with us for our Full Wedding Planning package.
Working together with a Planner and their Friendors can and will help you save money.

Often times Brides book us for Day of Coordination well before they've chosen any vendors - and we're pleased to suggest vendors for their wedding during the initial consultation meeting. Getting referrals from another professional, especially a Wedding Planner can help ease the decision making stress every Bride feels. There are also many Friendors that we're connected to that aren't listed on our site just yet.  

All vendors work in different ways, and I for one prefer to execute a wedding  alongside a professional that I know and trust, instead of with someone I'm meeting for the first time - or worse yet, someone I've heard unpleasant reviews about. Sometimes wedding vendors don't know what it's like to work with a Wedding Planner/ Coordinator - and that can be tough. We try our very best to communicate with all vendors at minimum the day before your wedding so that they are aware of our role, and of your (and our) expectations.

Knowing that a vendor has worked with a Planner/Coordinator before is comforting, as they will most likely respect our role as 'ring leader' for the day and will touch base with us and communicate any changes with us. Your vendors must act like a team on your wedding day - for we are there to work together for you; the Bride & Groom.

 
When a Vendor is a Friendor it's great for all parties involved.

Beginning in March we will have a monthly "Friendor Spotlight" on the blog. Stay tuned!

Welcome 2011!

Happy New Year!

We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones.

At this time we want to extend a big "thank you" to all of our Facebook Fans that took part in our "12 Days of Sharing" contest. It was a great way to let others know about us, but also to thank you for your support in 2010. We hope that the Fan Page and our Blog are keeping you intriqued and up to date about what's going on with us, with the wedding industry and with other local vendors.

The winner of the contest was Amanda Knight Kinnard. She introduced us to 12 new members. Thanks!


With each new year, we like to make goals for the following months ahead. This year we plan to:

1) Continue to assist Brides & Grooms with their wedding planning needs. Our popular and affordable "Day of Coordination" package is fabulous for DYI Brides that want to plan all their own details but have a professional onsite to execute their ideas and vision. You can't be 2 places at once.

2) Keep on blogging. We post every 5 days and will continue to do so. If there is something you'd like us to blog about please send us an email. We'd love to answer your questions and discuss topics you want to read about regarding weddings and special events!

3) Friendor Spotlights. Friendors are Vendor Friends of The Bride's Butler - more on this in our next post. This year we're going to try our very best to feature a selected friendor once a month on the blog. Stay tuned, this feature will kick off in March.

4) Gain more Facebook Fans and followers on Twitter. We'd love you to join us on social media, and be sure to tell your friends!

We have other goals that we'd like to meet - but those 4 are our top "must do's" - and we feel confident that we will be able to achieve them.We've enjoyed our start into the world of Wedding Planning (we began in '08) and we look forward to what lies ahead this year and the many that follow.

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." ~Oprah Winfrey