6 Tips to Prevent Big Day Disasters

From booking vendors, to selecting the menu, to coordinating ceremony details, wedding planning can get very overwhelming. So how do you stay sane and ensure your big day goes off without a hitch? These simple tips will keep you organized, reduce wedding planning stress and prevent a dreaded big day disaster.

1. Create a Master Wedding Binder
The secret to stress-free wedding planning starts with a binder. You can purchase a specially made wedding binder (try Etsy), or create your own. Divide it into organized sections (budget, guest list, vendors, etc.), use colored tabs, fancy pens, stickers … whatever your little heart desires. This is where you should keep ALL wedding related documents: contracts, menus, invitation samples, post-its, confirmation emails from vendors, to-do lists, and inspiration from websites and magazines. 

2. Organize Your Inbox
Wedding emails can come flying at you during the workday at the speed of light. Keep yourself organized by simply creating a wedding folder within your email inbox. When you’re frantically searching for the band’s playlist in between meetings, you’ll know where to find it. 

3. Do Your Research
Don’t hire the first florist or photographer you find online or just take someone’s word for it. While great recommendations are important, you need to make sure that you and your vendors click. Take the time to review their past work, schedule a meeting, and determine if their work and personality (so important!) is your style before signing on the dotted line. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter to check out their latest work. Click here to find out how social media can impact your wedding planning. 

Dear Photograph

How cool is this site? All you have to do is take a picture of a picture from the past in the present. Say what? Once you figure that out ... it's pretty sweet.

Dear Photograph,
Dad always had the comfiest shoulder.
David

Check out the site for more.

Summer Drinks: 3 Ingredients or Less

Since today is officially the start of summer, it's only fitting to talk summer drinks. As seen on The Twitter (as grandpa likes to call it), @nytimesdining asked followers to share their favorite summertime beverages, made of just three ingredients or less #3orless.

Here are a few tweets:

Summer in a glass: Dark rum, ginger beer, lime

St Germain, gin, lemon OR St Germain, champagne, lemon

Margarita on the rocks: Tequila, lime juice, simple syrup

Vodka, pink lemonade, mint leaves

Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, and Cranberry Juice, shaken over ice

1 part vodka, 2 parts lemonade, 2 parts lager. Serve on ice with lemon garnish

Check out the their Twitter feed for more: http://twitter.com/#!/nytimesdining

I'm heading out now to celebrate the longest day of the year with just a 1 ingredient drink. Keeping it simple, kiddos. Happy summer solstice to you and yours.

What are your summer go-to drinks?

Zumba: Yay or Nay?

If you'd like to do awkward hip thrusts in the company of strangers, while wishing you were invisible, might I suggest Zumba?

In my quest to do anything other than the elliptical at the gym, I've started adding a little Zumba to the mix. And I have to say,  it's really fun. The teacher incorporates some hip hop, plays great music, and the class really flies by. Not only am I now a master of international dance -- it's a nice change from my usual gym shenanigans. Plus, I'm fully prepared should I be invited to a mixer in a retirement community.

The point is, it's nice to switch up the gym routine, step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Even if your salsa looks like an inverted running man.

Would you try Zumba? 

Love in NOLA

Any readers out there from New Orleans?  I'm looking to interview people for a story for WEtv.com about why NOLA is such a romantic city (well, unless you're there for a bachelorette party during Mardi Gras). If you got married in The Big Easy, went on a weekend getaway, or grew up there, please leave a comment below if you're interested in sharing some info for my upcoming story. Thanks!!

A Cure for Writer's Block

 

Yes, it is true. Sometimes the best cure for Writers Block is to just go to sleep, especially at work (no?). But if you don't have your own office, a small cot, and a white noise sound machine, then you're out of luck ... and you'll have to resort to wearing this cute eye mask when you snooze at home.

Give Me S'more!

The night I skip a weekly Bachelorette viewing party, the lovely hostess whips up these:

© 2011 How Sweet It Is.

WTF! I was at home eating a freaking Popsicle.

Now that I'm done sulking, this S'mores Cake in a Jar recipe is from a fabulous blog that I will be bookmarking, How Sweet It Is. The writer and I have a lot in common. We're both named Jessica and we both love bacon. Except she makes s'mores in mason jars, and I'd probably start a house fire if I attempted such a thing. (Note to self - confirm renters insurance coverage.)