Sometimes just getting started with all the planning can be challenging for the Bride-to-be. Something that you can suggest to your bride is to go to a Bridal Expo or Fair. I went with the bride and a few of the bridesmaids this past weekend and it was super helpful! We got great ideas for flowers, cakes, centerpieces, food, invites and so much more. There was even a fashion show with wedding gowns, tuxes, and bridesmaid dresses. There are usually a great deals if you book that day and you can sign up for tons of free gifts and give-a-ways. They do usually charge admission but it was totally worth it. It really sparks some great ideas for the bride and made for a fun girls weekend!

Posted by Jessy, Developer of Dots – Photographer

Looking great in your wedding or bridesmaid dress is always something that girls worry about. I would love to say that I’m in perfect shape to pull of a sweetheart cut strapless dress today but that would be a big fat lie! I luckily have 10 months to change that! I found that Sparkpeople.com has an amazing list of workouts to help you get into wedding dress shape! It’s separated into open back-shaping, chest-defining, arm-toning, body-shaping, and leg-defining workout ideas to help you focus on whatever part or parts of your body you aren’t comfortable with. Another great thing it does is not only does it show you workouts to do at the gym but also simple dumbbell, resistance band, stability ball and equipment-free workouts that you can easily do at home with little to no cost! It makes getting into wedding day shape really affordable. Now with a little bit of hard work, you can be ready to not only walk down the aisle but boogie all night and look fantastic while doing it!

Check out Sparkpeople.com wedding dress workout at:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=565 

Posted by Jessy, Developer of Dots – Photographer

One thing that I plan on doing as Maid of Honor is putting together a wedding day survival kit with everything you could possibly need while getting ready and through out the big day. There are many things that you can put in this kit, some of which being:

Brushes
Mirrors
Hair Spray
Bobby Pins
Earring Backs
Double Sided Tape
Stain Remover
Static Remover
Breath Mints
Deodorant
Tampons
Bandages
Pain Reliever
Facial Tissues
Needle & Thread
Lint Roller
Antacid
Flower pins
Make Up

You can put all of these things in a tote or plastic container that you can keep with you the whole day. This way, you are ready for anything that might come up. Best of all, it should help to take a few things off the bride’s mind on her big day!

Posted by Jessy, Developer of Dots – Photographer

A few months ago, two of my best friends got engaged! Since then, we’ve been planning a surprise engagement party and it was surprisingly easy! The hardest part has been not telling them! First things first, we had to come up with a guest list. This really sets the whole mood of the party. We decided to keep it small and intimate with just the wedding party and the happy couple but you could invite family and other friends too. We thought to keep it easy we would just have it at a restaurant so we didn’t have to do any cooking. Once we had the location and guest list, the rest was pretty simple. I ordered personalized invites and address labels from SimplyWeddingStuff.com and got them sent out in plenty of time for people to respond. Since we were in a restaurant, we decided to keep decorations simple with mini candy bars on the tables and balloons for centerpieces. The best part is, since we would all be paying for our own drinks and dinner, we put the whole thing together for about $50. It just goes to show you that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to create an evening that the couple will remember!

Posted by Jessy, Developer of Dots – Photographer

I have the pleasure of being named the Maid of Honor in a wedding where two of my best friends are getting married! Even thought the wedding is still over 10 months away, I’m trying to do everything I can to make the whole process easier and fun. Here are a few of ideas that I’ve done so far to do this! A couple of weeks after they got engaged, I got the bride a bridal magazine to start generating ideas and a binder that would help her keep all of the wedding details organized. I also started a notebook for myself to keep track of contact information for the wedding party, important dates and information. I’m looking forward to planning the bridal shower and bachelorette party and having this information all in one place will make this so much easier! I’ll keep you all posted on more ideas to make it easier as the date gets closer. Happy planning!

Posted by Jessy, Developer of Dots – Photographer