Category Archives: Inside Scoop

It’s In The Cards

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Alison in Inside Scoop, Planning

Let’s face it. When guests come to a Jewish wedding, they are ready to eat! Present them with the exciting experience of finding out where they’ll be eating through creative, personable, and colorful touches that are extensions of you as a couple! The escort card — the personalized memo to a guest that informs him or her of the table assignment — is a perfect opportunity to express yourself in your wedding day. When you have fun with escort cards, you’re escorting your guests into a feast of fun.

Fruitilicious:
Summer or spring wedding? Crisp, bright colors? Are you two just known for downright healthy eating? Stick a label in a piece of fruit and ta da! Life, breathed into an escort card.
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It’s Easy Being Green:
If you are planning a green wedding or looking for a way to plant a little nature into your day, mow your escort cards into a patch of grass for a very unique display!
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Tag! You’re It!
If you’ve planned a destination wedding or if you’re known for jet-setting habits, an escort card that serves as a party favor luggage tag is an excellent way to personalize your seating arrangements. Practical, informational, and thematic: now that’s a successful take off!
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Life’s A Beach:
Beach-themed weddings are popular because they’re awesome. Playing with a color scheme of blues and greens, holding tropical flowers, and even offering a signature drink that’s basically Hawaii in a cup are all great ideas for executing beach weddings. But what about the escort card? Shells! Starfish! Coral! Bring the beach to your guests and to their tables and they’ll be ready to go on your honeymoon with you. Okay, on second thought…
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Let’s Hang Out:
If you’re into the shabby chic or whimsical styles, you’ll love this cute idea! Hanging your escort cards on a line with colorful clothespins looks Martha-tastic and provides the ultimate DIY wedding look. This display works great for garden or private home wedding receptions.
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Put A Cork In It:
If you’re having a vineyard wedding or you just like to drink a lot of wine (don’t worry, we don’t judge you for that!), collect corks, slice some slits, and place your escort cards inside. This gives the card a little height in addition to creating a theme. Go the extra step and use corks that come from your favorite bottle of wine. And then stock up on ibuprofen and lots of water. Happy escort carding!
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Let Them Eat… ?
Are you providing your guests an entree choice? Let the wait staff know who’s eating what with adorable decals on the escort cards. When guests pick up their cards and bring them to their tables, the wait staff will know who signed up to eat what when they see a graphical representation of what should be on their plates. A picture is worth a thousand words… and full bellies.
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Think Outside the Book

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Alison in Inside Scoop, Planning

When flowers are taken home, the covers leave the chairs naked, and the champagne bubbles start to flatten, you can feel great knowing that you just successfully threw yourself a completely perfect wedding. If you’re like most couples, you’ll rehash the whole day over and over again when you’re alone and you’ll try to piece together the whirlwind of events. Besides your photos and your video, the details will be etched into memories. Another way to revisit these memories is through your guestbook.

A guestbook at your wedding gives your friends and families a chance to mark their territory and let you know they were there and wish you well. But does it have to be a book? Can this concept evolve into out-of-the-box ideas that reflects your style, personality, and practicality? You betcha! Today we’re showing you variations on the theme of all things “guestbook.”

Traditional Guestbook:
A pretty book with crisp, substantial pages will allow guests to express themselves with a sweet message. Make sure to leave out archival acid-free pens! (You can use the same ones you used for your ketubah signing!) Take it a step further and include pictures of yourselves in the guestbook. These can be childhood images, engagement photos, thematic shots from traveling or your favorite hobbies. This is your chance to really personalize your guestbook. Your photographer can make you a beautiful top-of-the-line guestbook from the same company that would provide your wedding album. Guestbooks made by your photographer will include your engagement or bridal session portraits and are designed with layouts perfect for signing! They will also stand the test of time and include the same lifetime guarantee your wedding album should come with! You can make your own, too, through photo book companies like MyPublisher or Shutterfly.

Instant Memories:
Why not go a little retro and incorporate Polaroid fun into your guestbook? Get your hands on a Polaroid camera and film, set up a table where guests can take pictures of themselves, and provide a book for them to slap the Polaroids on and write a message. You’ll have a face next to their name! This is a great way to make sure you have pictures of all your guests on your wedding day. Sometimes, they may not make it into the photographer’s professional shots, so the Polaroid guestbook method is creative, fun, and offers a little throwback to the 80s. And when they’re done, they can join the crowd on the dancefloor and shake it like a Polaroid picture.

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Dish it Out:
One of the coolest ideas we’ve seen is a guestbook platter! This can be done one of two ways. Guests can use permanent marker to write a ceramic platter. It’s pretty and practical. Another variation of the same idea is to use a silver platter and an etching pen. This is a more upscale version of the ceramic platter. Both ideas should probably just include signatures of guests as there won’t be room for everyone to write personal messages. Either way, guests can inscribe their heartfelt wishes to you and you will have a beautiful keepsake for your home. Keeping the platter in your china hutch or on a wall is a wonderful way to remember your wedding day.

Make a Wish:
Your guests can write you a wish and then hang it on a tree! At the end of the day, you will have a gorgeous tree with many “leaves” of wishes that you can use as decor in your home. Provide a basket of cards that can be standard shapes or you can cut the into leaf-like shapes. Make sure the cards are pre-tied with a ribbon so guests can hang their wishes on a branch of the tree. Typically, a mini manzanita tree is used because it has many branches that are the right length and width. After you’ve enjoyed your wish tree in its whole form, you can save your wishes separately and plant the tree in your yard for added symbolic meaning as you begin your life together. This is a dazzling look that involves some DIY creativity.

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You Rock:
Provide a basket full of smooth pebbles and permanent markers so guests can sign their names and a brief message to let you know that, well, you rock! They can drop their finished pebbles into a dish or vase for you to keep and display in your home. You can also line your yard or patio with these pebbles if you want to incorporate this idea beyond your living room. Take it up a notch and consider using items that are meaningful to you as a couple. Are you wine connoisseurs? Collect corks from bottles you’ve enjoyed (that could be fun!) and ask your guests to sign a cork. Are you beach people? Collect shells that your guests can decorate. Either way, you’ll have nice mementos from your wedding day with the personalization from your favorite people.

If the shoe fits, you must a-clip

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Alison in Featured, Inside Scoop

After last week’s post about wedding shoes, I got on a shoe kick and started to look up creative and cost-effective ways to be fashionable on the wedding day. Sometimes you may already have the perfect pair of shoes in your closet that are comfortably broken-in, but may need a little spruce up for the special day. Some wedding bloggers get excited about cakes or dresses or flowers. I like to dress up the feet. So shoe me. Er, sue me.

Shoe clips from Emmaline Bride change the entire look of a shoe you may already own. These unique accessories are easy to attach to the shoe, adding a splash of color or texture depending on your personal style.

Buying new shoes for the wedding day could cost you hundreds of dollars depending on the designer and style you select. If you have a pair of shoes you already like and feel comfortable dancing and standing around in, then you can wear those and no one will even know that they’re not brand-spankin’ new. Plus, if you are wearing a long dress, the main body of the shoes won’t even show. However, your tootsies would look so caaah-ute with the little poof of color peeking out under the dress.

We love that even after the wedding day, you can rewear the clips on other pairs of shoes and you’ll enjoy nice memories every time you see them.

Chelsea Clinton + Marc Mezvinsky

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Alison in Inside Scoop, Real Jewish Weddings

It’s been a little over a week since the biggest wedding of the summer happened for Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky. The Rhinebeck, N.Y. affair appears to have been a beautiful and private wedding that allowed the bride and groom to shine on their special day.

It’s refreshing to see that the day was about them and not her father’s fame or inner circle. However, it was no tiny occasion either. About 400 people came to see Chelsea and Marc get married in a picture-perfect interfaith ceremony. Marc is Jewish so the wedding included some of our favorite traditions as detailed in the photos.

Chelsea, who is now 30, wore a gown by Vera Wang who also happens to be a friend of the family. The strapless ivory silk gown had intricate beading at the waist. Millie Martini Bratten, editor-in-chief of Brides magazine said, “She looked very much a modern princess in 2010 … simple and chic and modern.”

Venue – Astor Courts Mansion, Rhinebeck NY
Photographer – de Manio Photography
Floral Design – Winston Flowers and Jeff Leatham
Dress – Vera Wang
Coordinator – Brian Rafanelli
Mother of Bride Dress – Oscar de la Renta
Tuxedo – Christopher Bailey for Burberry
Rabbi – James Ponet
Gluten Free Wedding Cake – La Tulipe Dessert

What a stunning and breath-taking moment! Chelsea’s long, flowing veil and picture-perfect Vera Wang gown give her the ultimate bridal look. She has since grown up to become a strong and beautiful woman, and linked to the arm of her father on her wedding day reminds us of her special relationship and childhood in the White House.

Chelsea is one happy bride! We love Mark and Chelsea’s simple and beautiful ketubah, neatly framed and on display at the ceremony. While wrapped in his tallit, he looks at his bride adoringly and girls across America melt! We can’t help but notice how tightly and excitedly they hold hands. Random piece of Yentas advice #273: Make like “Titanic” and never let go. No, really! Try at all times to be near your partner; hold hands; touch shoulders. This is the most special day you two will experience together and little squeezes and hand holds throughout the day literally bring you closer.

Bliss! And wow! Here’s our chance to check out that amazing detail on that Vera Wang number. The rouched bodice with the beaded waistline fits Chelsea like a glove. She obviously had the fortune of having “people” but for those of us who are not daughters of United States presidents, we don’t get to have “people” so it’s important to understand what works with your body and your style. A narrow waistline like Chelsea’s is perfect for the beaded band. The strapless dress complements her gorgeous neckline and shoulders. The A-line frame of the skirt hits all the right points, complementing her figure in ever way. High 5, Mrs. Mezvinksy.

Hey, we know those people! They look great, too! Taking time for family photos is a must. Make sure you go over your timeline with your photographer so that you make sure you get the combination you want in the kind of light that the photographer wants. Many times, we see wedding days run late and when the newlyweds get their images back, they’re disappointed that they missed a few. If you’re having a cocktail hour, make sure that your family members who will be photographed are aware of where they need to be for pictures. Looks like mother and father of the bride got the memo!

Hillary’s take on the mother of the bride dress is a standout! Her dark-to-light fuchsia gown is perfectly seasonal for her daughter’s summer, beach town wedding. Hillary’s hairstyle is sleek and formal while still looking like herself. Sometimes, people take special occasions like weddings to change their whole look, but we believe that those kinds of changes should be reserved for Halloween. Weddings and other formal affairs are times to look like the best version of yourself, not change your look completely. It looks like everyone was styled just right!

So You Think You Can Yenta

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Alison in Featured, Inside Scoop

If you’re anything like us, you looooooove looking at pictures of Real Weddings! And if you’re a recent-ish bride or wedding vendor, you want to be part of an installment of Real Weddings! And we want you, too! It’s really a match made in Yenta heaven. Let’s face it. We all have an addiction and a right to enjoy some guilty pleasures. Get your head outa the gutter! We’re talking about dresses, and flowers, and centerpieces, oh my!

If you get twitches and jitters about how complicated it must be or that it takes soooooooo long, stop it right now! Stop it, we say! It’s easy as pie (why is pie easy? Who thought of that cliche? It’s horrible!). Today we’re give you a step-by-step guide for submitting your Real Wedding!

1. Go through your images. Select about 15 to 20 of your favorite hi-res photos and make sure to include key moments and details! Remember, The Wedding Yentas is a Guide for the Jewish Bride, so you’ll want to include traditional details like the chuppah, walking down the aisle with parents, drinking from kiddush cups, a tallit, breaking the glass, the hora, and chair lifts. You don’t have to include all of these; we’re just giving you ideas! Also, you can’t forget wedding eye candy: the details shots. Brides want to see escort cards, place settings, aisle decor, and programs. Sending key moments from the wedding day like getting ready, first looks, the ceremony, and gettin’ down on the dance floor are important as well. Remember: these have to be hi-res, professional photos so you can’t go clicking through your Facebook or iPhone albums for pictures. Only the best for Yentas readers!

2. Once you’ve selected your photographs, next you prep them for the site. We have created a Photoshop action that resizes the images and gets them all ready to be showcased.

The Photoshop download can be found at:
/yentas/wedding_yentas.zip

What if the idea of using Photoshop gives you the willies similiar to when you think about the Passover plagues? No fear! The Internet has provided us with other options. You can send us your wedding images as a .zip file (this may require 2-3 emails since the folders can get very big even as .zip files), or use the wonderful options out there such as Dropbox.com or YouSendit.com. These sites allow you to upload photos, enter our email address (info@theweddingyentas.com) and the files are sent right over so we can upload them!

3. Email us (info@theweddingyentas.com) with a complete list of vendors and links to their websites. We want to make sure we give your vendors team some Yentas love! Here’s a list of vendor types you may want to provide us:
Venue
Photographer
Videographer
Florist
Bakery
Band/DJ
Caterer
Bar
Coordinator
Makeup Artist
Hair Stylist
Ketubah
Bride’s Dress (store and designer)
Bridal Party Dresses
Groom’s Tuxedo
Shoes
Jewelry
Veil
Favors
Stationery (invitations, escort cards, table numbers)
Wedding Rings/Jeweler
Chuppah
Yarmulke Provider
Honeymoon Travel

You have no idea how much of a help this is! Any vendor that was part of your wedding — even down to bathroom rentals or wedding day insurance — should be sent to us! We like to link back to as many vendors as possible.

4. The last step in the process is emailing us (info@theweddingyentas.com) a story! We want to make sure our readers fall in love with you and your wedding! The photos you submit will be gorgeous, yes, but there’s often a great story about the couple that makes the gush even gushier! Consider a “how we met” story, the how/when/where of the proposal, or a funny and sweet anecdote from the wedding day. The story should be submitted in 3rd person (no “I” or “we” or “our”) and don’t worry about feeling pressured to make sure it’s English major-perfect (that’s our job!).

That’s it! We welcome brides, coordinators, photographers — anyone involved in a wedding! — to submit a feature for our Real Weddings posts. We showcase Real Weddings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we’ll let you know if your submission has been prepared and scheduled for publication so you can brag, Tweet, blog, and Facebook all about your fame!

p.s. You can also submit a wedding via Two Bright Lights. What is Two Bright Lights you ask? TBL is an image sharing site that makes submitting weddings to a whole slew of editorial publications…including us very simple. Just click on the image below to be directed to the site and learn all about how to create an account, download weddings and submit them straight to The Wedding Yentas!