Archives for April 2018

While there’s no way to completely eliminate stress on your big day, we have some tips on how to lessen the effect and  avoid stress on your wedding morning.

Get Ready Solo

Things can get a little crazy when you’re trying to get ready for your big day. One option is to schedule some alone time in to your day as you get ready and then bring in your wedding party later in the day for some bubbly and laughs.

Throw Traditions Out the Door

We all know the traditions of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding and the one where couples stay in separate rooms the night before the wedding. But if breaking tradition makes you feel more at ease on your big day, then by all means stay the night with your hubby to be and have some one on one time the morning of your wedding – a great way to do this is a first look.

Practice Your Vows

Practice makes perfect, not really, but it does ease some of the pre-wedding jitters to rehearse what you’re going to say even if you don’t have custom vows. Hearing it out loud helps you when you’re up there saying it to your partner.

Delegate Everything Day-Of

There’s bound to be a slue of questions from your guests, vendors, etc. the day of. If you don’t have a planner, have a member of your bridal party, friend, or family member be the go to person for making last minute decisions and questions.

Have a Back Up Plan

Every couple worries about the weather on their big day. Most venues, ours included, can work with you to have a contingency plan in place for situations just like this. Rest easy knowing you’ve planned to the best of your ability should mother nature strike.

No matter how much planning goes in to it, there’s always going to be some wedding reception emergencies. However, over time we have come up with some tips and tricks for dealing with the most common wedding snafus.

When Red Wine Stains Your Dress

Ask the bartender for salt, club soda, water and a napkin with your next drink. Blot fresh stain to soak up excess liquid and sprinkle the stained area with salt. Then with club soda on a napkin dab lightly at the stain in a circular motion. Don’t rub, as rubbing spreads the wine and deepens the stain.

When You Can’t Find the Venue

First of all, don’t panic. The best thing to do is stop and call a friend who is also attending and see if they can help get you back on track. If you don’t have a friend, see if someone local can help point you in the right direction. The last thing you want to do is call or text the bride or groom and stress them out unnecessarily.

When Your Friend is Over-served

We all have that one friend that manages to have just one to many sometimes. Once your friend has gone from jovial to a public mess, do them a favor and call an Uber. If for some reason you can’t, we recommend taking them home and go back to the party – they’ll thank you later.

When You Lost Your Wedding Speech

With all the nerves of giving a speech you’ve lost your notes – take a deep breath and start typing out what you remember on your phone. If you still feel like it’s lacking, ask the rest of the wedding party for their favorite memories with the bride and groom. End by raising a glass to the couple and wishing them lots of love for years to come. There you have it, no one will ever know you forgot your notes.

More and more brides are asking themselves, do I need bridesmaids? The answer is no, not at all. Today we talk about 4 reasons it’s ok to not have bridesmaids and not only can it be ok it can be just what you needed!

Financial Aspect

Let’s be real, weddings are expensive and with bridesmaids comes the extra costs from dresses to gifts. If you’d rather spend that budget elsewhere, that’s totally fine. You’ll still be able to celebrate with those same friends regardless if they are ‘bridesmaids’ or not.

Faraway Friends

Not all brides’ friends are close by. Sometimes the logistics of getting your close friends together to plan, dress shop, etc. are more complicated than they are worth. And the idea of having bridesmaids that maybe you are not as close to just doesn’t work – it’s ok to opt out.

Choosing Between Friends

Even if your friends are close by, you may be stressed out by the idea of having to choose if you have a large friend group. Don’t fall into the guilt trap of having a bridal party because you don’t want to let people down – do what makes you feel happy.

Doing things Solo

Sometimes it just feels more comfortable to do things solo. Without a bridal party for some you have that much needed alone time while getting ready, the focus becomes more about you and your fiancé and decisions are easier to make without other’s opinions.

At the end of the day, do what is best for you and your fiancé on your wedding day. If that’s not having a bridal party then that’s ok and you’re day will still be full of celebration with friends and family.

The last thing you want to do is answer the myriad of questions guests often have whiles you’re planning a wedding. With that in mind, you can help alleviate some of the questions by providing this info clearly for them. We’ve collected the most asked wedding guest questions and given you tips on how to handle them.

Can I bring my kids?

Apart from the flower girl and the ring-bearer some couples feel that kids may not be appropriate at their wedding. But rather than just saying “no kids”, it’s better to ask in a positive and polite way that the kids stay at home. One way to do this is include in your invitation or website something along the lines of “We look forward to celebrating with you while enjoying a relaxing kid-free evening with us.”

Can I bring my new bae?

If you are okay with it, simply address your with & guest or plus one. If you already have a tight list and cannot afford to add everyone’s new significant other to the list then you will have to politely state somewhere on your invitations or website that you’d like for them to attend without a plus on.

What should I wear?

We have an array of events at our venue and the dress is always different. Whether its casual or black tie make sure it’s clearly stated to eliminate questions later on. The best place to put it is on the invitation and on a website if you have one. Also consider the wording, there is a difference between black tie, formal, cocktail, and casual.

Do you have a room block?

There are lots of places in the downtown Dallas area that are close to our venue where you can book a room block. If you secure a room block for your out-of-town guests make sure they know the details including when your room block time period begins and ends, number of rooms available, types of rooms available and rates.

What do you recommend to do in the area?

With so many things to do in downtown Dallas be sure to include these details for your out-of-town guests to explore if they have down time once they arrive. We are right near a collection of museums as well as some great restaurants.