By Cynthia Hornblower
 Photo
© Mary Alice Fisher
How fabulous! You have just gotten engaged!
Now that tweeting the news is out of the way, it’s time to
begin planning the ‘big day.’ Over the course of your engagement,
you will have lots of things on your to-do list to accomplish,
but for now, concentrate on these four essentials.
Set the Date
When deciding on a wedding date, keep the weather and guest
travel logistics in mind. For instance: ‘mud’ is what your
guests will be wearing on their feet and not Manolos or John
Lobbs at that resort in Aspen in May, and hotel rooms will
be scarce and traffic a nightmare on Marathon weekend in
New York. Your best bet may be to consider a summer garden
wedding complete with a marquee and colorful umbrellas that
will look wonderful in photographs rain or shine.
Find the Venue
Think through the pros and cons of your wedding location.
Will planning for a celebration in Tuscany or Fiji be a
challenge? Will it be a stretch for some of your friends
and family to attend? And will Great Aunt Addie be able
to cope with the airports, heat, or rough terrain? Consider
looking closer to home for alternatives such as the Italianate
courtyard of New York’s Otto Kahn Mansion on Fifth Avenue
with a bucolic vista just over the balcony, or a Long Island
Sound yacht club that will quench your love of water views.
With a bit of research and creative thinking, any perfect
location can be found far -- or near.
Determine the Time of Day
Consider what time of day you want to marry. Having a midday
vineyard wedding or a rooftop bistro luncheon will take
advantage of the outdoors, but guests might not be up for
dancing at that hour. A late-afternoon wedding means your
guests will be more dressed up and ready to dance, since
your reception is likely to kick off after 6 p.m. Do you
have your heart set on a white tie affair and partying
into the wee hours? Choose an evening wedding. But do keep
in mind that some of your guests might not make it to the
pre-dawn cake cutting.
Shop For the Dress
Now, the fun essential…shopping for that dress! Your date,
venue and time of day will determine the appropriateness
of your dress. Because a wedding dress is basically custom
made, you should start looking for your dress at least
9 months ahead and order it about 6 months before the wedding.
Take advantage of trunk shows and sample sales at the salons.
Even check out the better consignment shops. When choosing
your dress, think about the fact that satin with yards
of skirt will be too heavy for the shores of Riviera Maya
and a barely-there slip dress won’t be red carpet enough
for your grand ballroom winter wedding entrance.
Once you’ve sorted out these four tasks, you can then get
down to the really fun part….food and cake tasting, orchestra
vetting, researching the ultimate honeymoon…creating the
wedding of your dreams.
--
Cynthia Edmunds Hornblower was the Executive Editor at BRIDES
Magazine for over 14 years. During her tenure at the magazine,
she was a spokesperson for the $161 billion wedding market,
as well as spearheaded the editorial branding initiatives
that included wedding publications, wedding music CDs and
industry seminars and events. In 2007, Mrs. Hornblower was
also instrumental in creating and launching the publication's
extensive collection of wedding stationery and accessories.
Email: weddings@fairfieldcountylook.com
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