Happy New Year!

Welcome 2012!!
Let's hope that this year is a fabulous one for you!!


Are you getting married this year? 

We'd love to meet with you to discuss how we can work together on the most important day of your life. From a few hours to a full day, we have services to meet your specific needs and budget.

"Like" our Facebook Page for your chance to win Bride & Groom T-Shirts! All you have to do is like us and post your 2012 wedding date on the wall. Five winners will be chosen at random throughout the month of January. Thanks and good luck!


Did you get engaged last year? 

Congratulations! Once you have your date picked, don't wait too long to book Coordination services as most Brides book 12-14 months in advance. Seems like a long ways away to book a service right? Not really. We book up fast (just like most other vendors), so book sooner rather than later to save you any disappointment.


Whatever this year brings for you, we wish you much happiness, love and laughter.
xo

Facebook Wedding Etiquette

Facebook has more than 800 million active users. That's a lot of likes, wall posts, photo uploads and tags.
Like most things in life, there are certain rules to follow for certain tasks.
Do you know how to properly use Facebook during your planning process?

Here are some guidelines when using the popular social media site:



Announcing your engagement.

It's totally normal to want to shout it from the rooftops and Facebook is the perfect platform to do so. Update your status to "we're engaged" or "is gonna be a Mrs!" to tell all of your friends about the proposal. You can also upload a picture of your diamond, or if you've got pics or video of him popping the question, by all means share it.

Sharing some of the details.

Feel free to share your wedding date via a status update, but be sure to keep it simple and to the point. Not all of your 100+ friends on FB will be invited to your big day, so be a little sensitive to that. And of course, change your relationship status from "in a relationship" to "engaged!!"

A lot of Brides like to keep everyone in the know about their planning process, and again, feel free to do this with your status, but be sure not to go overboard with Bride Brain.

Sharing a countdown to your special day is okay too - just try to stick with the landmarks of one year, 6 months, 1 week and 1 day. Seeing a constant countdown for most, is annoying.

Proper etiquette would be that you don't post your Registry information online. Getting a gift for getting married is a privilege, and not a right. If people (guests) want to buy you something, they will ask you, your fiance, a family member or a friend.

After your wedding feel free to brag a little. Heck, brag a lot. Post your pictures, thank your guests and  change your relationship status from "engaged" to "MARRIED!"
Just make sure to keep everything positive, do not complain about guest behaviour, or how much your new mother-in-law got on your nerves.

Wrap up all your wedding talk within 6 months, or less. As much as you're stoked to now be a Mrs, there are other things that should be important in your life as well.

Invitations.

Do not by any means invite friends/family/co-workers to your wedding using Facebook. Send out a proper invite with an RSVP card for them to reply.

Bridal Showers, Stag & Does and Bachelorette/Bachelor Parties can have Facebook Event pages to keep everyone in the loop, but we still advise that you send out proper invites or personal emails to all invited.



Incorporate FB into your Bridal Shower with customized cookies!

 Vendors.

Use Facebook to help you find vendors - that is if you don't have a Wedding Planner. And be sure to "like" the Fan Pages of the vendors you book with. Not only does it show support, but you just might see your wedding crop up in their status updates or albums.

While we're chatting about vendors, make note that it is a big no-no to post anything negative about your vendors through the social media site. We know that planning a wedding can be stressful, but please do not use Facebook to bad mouth anyone. Send an email or pick up the phone and make a call instead if you're not happy with their services/products.

On the day of.

Do not log on Facebook on your wedding day. You can change your status and upload photos the day after, or even when you get back from your honeymoon. Enjoy the day and stay offline.

Posting as a guest.

Most of your guests will post pictures from your big day on Facebook and tag you in the pictures. If this bothers you tell your friends that. Some people are private and do not want memories from their special day to go viral. There's no harm in placing a small note on your ceremony programs that you wish to be shown any pictures prior to posting - or that pictures simply aren't posted. Remember though, you can't control what others post, but you can ask - there's nothing wrong with asking and making that request.

However, as a guest - do your best to be respectful to the newlyweds and only post pictures that display them in their best light. Do the same for members of the wedding party - no one wants to see the Best Man making out with the Grooms sister. Tisk, tisk.

Now, go on....log on to Facebook and "like" us - The Bride's Butler.

"We gotta talk...."

No one likes hearing the words, "we gotta talk..." Usually those words are interpreted as trouble - but let me tell you, if you don't have this talk, you may very well have trouble - in your marriage.

Weddings are fantastic - they are fun, full of love and laughter and are really truly just one big party to proclaim your love and adoration for one another. What comes after the wedding is a marriage - and that is meant to last the rest of your life. So even though you are doing so much planning for your wedding, be sure to slot in some time to plan for your marriage as well.

I came across this article the other day on the Canadian Living website - "10 things to talk about before you get married" and think that all couples should have this chat prior to tying the knot.

Here are the 10 things that they say you should talk about:

1) Decision making.
What is important to you both and what is your communication style. It needs to work for both of you - and a little compromise goes a long way.

2) Chore & task sharing.
Responsibilities. Do you take care of the bill payments, but he does all the yard work? Do you do the laundry and he takes out the trash? Having a game plan for your life tasks and duties will help keep the arguments at bay.

3) Kids.
To have or not to have, that is the question.

4) Religion & values.
Do you share the same values, goals and beliefs? This question will also impact #3.

5) Family.
You can pick your friends but not your family. However, you've picked your partner, so remember that when it comes to family politics and dramatics. Chat about how much time you plan to spend with each others family, especially for holidays, birthdays and whatnot.

6) Careers.
Are you both established in your careers, or will you want a change in the future? Do one of you have to travel a lot for work? Will you relocate?

7) Sex.
You've gotta talk about your wants and desires in this category too. Life brings on different situations and stress levels, so you've got to let your partner know that intimacy is important to you no matter what. Also, I'd use this time to inform them of your thoughts on open-relationships and affairs if you haven't already done so.

8) Finances.
Money can cause a lot of issues for couples - especially when one makes more than the other. As a married couple, you need to decide if you will have a joint bank account, or keep your assets separate. How will you save for the future, and how do you plan on spending your earnings together? Trips, kids, etc.

9) Time together and apart.
You still need to have your girls nights and 'me time' even though you are going to be a Mrs.
Be sure to talk to your man about what both of your expectations about free time are. A lot of time this is where resentment starts - when you feel alone in your relationship because your partner doesn't spend their free time with you. We want to avoid this, have the talk.

10) Drugs, alcohol and gambling.
How do you both feel about these? Can you partake but in a healthy manner? Are there issues with one of these already present in your relationship?

So, have the talk with your partner. I suggest not to have it all at once, unless you have a few hours to invest in it. But, discussing your views on these 10 things will prepare you for your life ahead with this person. It will also act like a refresher for those of you that have been together for a long time and might have talked about some of these things earlier on in your relationship. Maybe your views have changed, and that's okay. People change and grow as they go through life - it's just that with a marriage, you are to change and grow together.

Good luck!

*the list was comprised from the article featured on Canadian Living, however the comments below each headline are my own opinions.