Wedding Etiquette Wednesday: Etiquette Myths

The rules of etiquette at weddings can sometimes be a bit confusing. There are many good suggestions out there for proper wedding etiquette, but there is also a lot of bad advice. Etiquette expert Peggy Post gives her list of common etiquette myths on the Wedding Channel’s website and we have listed a few of them below….

• Myth- A bride and groom have one year to send out thank you notes.
• False! Thank you notes should be personal and sent out in a timely manner; usually two weeks after the honeymoon and never more than three months. Make writing thank you note a fun project for you and your spouse to do together.

• Myth- The bride’s family is required to pay for most of the wedding and reception expenses.
• False! Many couples today pay for their own wedding expenses. Both the bride and groom’s families can share expenses too. However you plan on financing your wedding it is important to create a budget and communicate about costs so that you avoid overspending.

• Myth- A bride should expect her bridesmaids to host a shower for her.
• False! Sometimes it is not possible, due to any number of reasons such as financial burden or location, for bridesmaids to host a bridal shower. Brides should never ask friends to host a shower.

• Myth- A couple does not need to send out save-the-dates to guests.
• True! Save-the-dates are helpful, but not necessary. It is a nice gesture to send save-the-dates if your ceremony falls on a holiday, requires guests to travel long distance or is at a popular destination that could get booked.

• Myth- It is best to send wedding invitations on either white or ecru paper.
• False! A couples invitations should be a reflection of their personal taste and the style of their wedding. White and ecru are traditional formal invitation colors, but are not the only type of invitations to send.
• cloud 9 Papers offers a great selection of stationery for your invitations. We even offer some great eco-friendly products!

Check out Peggy Post’s complete list here…

Think Water!

Krista and Erik are an outgoing couple that love to travel so for their July wedding at Denver Botanic Gardens with the reception at the Ritz-Carlon, Denver, we are doing a water theme. They frequent New Zealand and other fun spots so the theme is the mountains meet the beach! We are doing a great water feature that doubles as an escort card table as the guests enter into the cocktail hour to set the tone for the reception. Their colors are aqua, navy, copper and soft white. Here is their letterpress invitation from Spark that cloud 9 Papers did and it is getting high praise from their guests!







Thank you Adam Houseman for the photos!

Wedding Etiquette Wednesday: Technology

We live in a connected world. Today even elementary school students have cell phones and are more than efficient at texting and Tweeting! Along your wedding planning process you have probably made use of a few pieces of technology that have made your life a lot easier. However, when it comes to the big day, being old fashioned regarding technology is a good idea. No one wants their vows interrupted by an obnoxious ring tone. Here are some tips for modern technology at the ceremony…

Cell Phones: Your guests will have them (probably glued to their finger tips). It is a good idea to remind your guests to turn off the phones during the ceremony. Etiquette guru Emily Post suggests including a friendly request on your invitation for phones to be shut off or placing signs at the guest sign-in table or the entrances to the venue. The most effective, but also most intrusive way, would be to have an announcement made prior to the ceremony.

For guests: Texting during the ceremony is a big NO! Wait until after the ceremony before pulling out your phones to text or check messages.

Other technology: MP3 players or iPods should be left in the car, but if you do bring it please make sure to have it turned off and put away during the ceremony. This should be obvious but you would be surprised!

Inspiration 101: Slate and Yellow

I had a fabulous meeting with one our fantastic brides at the Sanctuary Golf Course for May 2011 recently and she announced that they changed their color palette. She hesitantly told me what they were and when she did, I was so excited and smitten right away! I was hoping do to this combo: Slate and Yellow.

Here are some great pic's from Kent Meireis of Kent Meireis Photography of the ISES Denver Wedding Showcase in January where Perfect Petal in the Highlands rocked these two colors...

Decor from the ceiling- umbrellas!

Here are some great yellow and slate invites from cloud 9 Papers to set the tone for the wedding:

Inspiration 101: Teal and Citrus

Nothing says summer like these two hot colors! Gone are the days of picking polar opposites on the color wheel. Teal has always been my color- hence my logo for Nancy Chase Weddings & Celebrations and my new logo for cloud 9 Weddings & Papers. I just couldn't let it go!

There are so many versions of these two lovelies that narrowing down pic's was hard to do. The style boards came from Style Me Pretty and the invitations from Tru, Checkerboard and Exclusive Weddings II you can find through us. I would love to do this combo soon for a wedding!

Wedding Genealogies

Add something fun to the reception! Wedding genealogies are customized charts, similar to a family tree, that detail how the bride and groom are related to all of their wedding guests. Great for a cocktail hour or reception, these charts fill guests in on who is a family member, childhood friend, a neighbor and more. We found these through Melangerie, a Brooklyn, NY based specialty shop designing paper, gifts and details for events big and small. You can check out their Etsy shop here. But, back to the custom charts - enjoy the details!

Our Third Baby Shoot w/ Frances of Frances Photography

My dear friend Frances Marron with Frances Photography, took these gorgeous pictures of our third child Quinn when she was 7 months. This little firecracker is going to be 1 next week and we just can't believe how time flies. Thank you Frances for capturing her at her cutest (don't you just want to squeeze her?)! There is a reason that you do what you do!

Quinn Marlin: 7 months

Here are Frances' words from her blog: http://theweddingartist.com/2010/02/quinn-marlin-7-months.html

February 20, 2010 portraits
I have had the wonderful pleasure of photographing all three of my dear friend (and wedding planner extraordinaire), Ann Marlin's, sweet babies now. Ann and I met right after she had Wes, so I photographed him at 6 months and then his sister, Cate, when she was 6 months. I made Ann adorable little coffee table books for both other kiddos so it was only fair that Quinn got her day in the spotlight and a book too! :-) I really love photographing babies. I think we can learn a lot about happiness from babies and every time I work with one, they make my day brighter. Love you Ann! LOVE these photos...

Baby Announcements for a Steal!

Through the end of this month- Embossed Graphics is putting all their Baby Annoucements, Baby Thank You Notes and Baby Shower Napkins on sale for 30% off. If you are having a baby- this is line you must see! If you know someone that is having a baby- personalized baby thank you notes as a gift are a hit with mommy (take it from a mommy herself!).

Embossed Graphics Sale!

Embossed Graphics is a great stationery company that offers personalized stationery, notepads and napkins for a steal! To add to that, they are offering two great discounts for the month:
We would love to send you a catalog that features the complete line. Email me at ann@cloud9bliss.com with your address to recieve it. Happy writing!

Wish Upon A Wedding - Save the Date for the Launch Party!

Please join us at our Wish Upon A Wedding Launch Party on June 24th at 4:30 at Baur's Restaurant. We are an organization that grants wishes to couples with terminal illness. We are looking forward to granting our first wish soon. Please show your support!

What To Register For?

While reading a favorite blog today http://www.smittenkitchen.com/, I came across 'How To Build Your Own Smitten Kitchen' and instantly thought it would be a great starting point for building a registery. Take a peek here - it's great!