Choosing bridesmaids should be an easy task, right? WRONG! I have had so many people come to me and say, “My fiancé wants me to have this person in the bridal party, but I don’t really know them.” This is becoming more and more common, especially when there are siblings involved. Typically if either the bride or groom has siblings, or close friends, they are considered shoe-ins for a spot in the bridal party. But why? When choosing who is going to play a part in your special day do you want someone you don’t know that well? No, you want to have someone who means something to you and has played a huge part in your life.

Remember, these are the people that will be around you throughout your whole wedding-planning experience. You want to pick someone that you get along with and can get along with you. There is a lot of responsibility and honor in being a bridesmaid, and you want to have someone who knows this responsibility and who will cherish and honor the role.

It can also be very expensive to be a bridesmaid: the functions that have to be attended, the gifts, the attire - all of these things have to be purchased by each member of the bridal party. Someone who may not have a personal connection with you may not be as willing to do this.

There are so many other roles that individuals who are not as close to you, but may want to still play a part in your big day, can hold. They can share scripture or give readings during the ceremony. They can also be ushers or hostesses. All of these are very important jobs that will allow them to still feel included.

Be sure to visit Shafonne’s website, read her new plus-size bride blog, follow her on Twitter, and read more about her in this LWPI Instructor Spotlight.

Celebrity weddings always have and always will influence the masses. Women of every generation have had a favorite celebrity bride to look up to: Think of Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana and more modern brides, such as Gwen Stefani and Ivanka Trump (whose wedding was designed by none other than Preston Bailey, who has a signature course through LWPI).

So far in 2011 we’ve had a few celebrity weddings to ooh and ahh over, most notably the recent nuptials of Reese Witherspoon, who married celebrity agent Jim Toth. Their wedding took place in March at the couple’s ranch in Ojai, Calif. Witherspoon, who readily admits she is Southern to her core, mixed those Southern roots with the vintage theme of her 1920s home. Witherspoon also wowed guests with her choice of a pink custom gown designed by Monique Lhuillier. According to People, it was a “blush-hued gown with a Chantilly lace corset bodice and full tulle A-line skirt,” and “was adorned with a double-face silk satin ribbon with cascading silk flowers, which matched the dress of Witherspoon’s daughter Ava, 11, who served as maid of honor in her own custom Lhuillier.” Witherspoon also followed in the trend of other modern brides by changing into a second gown for her reception, “a second Lhuillier design – a white silk minidress with a party skirt.”

Going with a colored wedding gown is a trend that LWPI is seeing a lot of, and we asked you what you thought about Witherspoon’s choice of pink on our Facebook page. Among the answers we received were, “She’s gorgeous! that color looks beautiful on her!” and “It suited her that it was pink, however the fit was terrible and so was her hair.” In fact, when we asked about her choice to wear her hair down, you said, “She’s gorgeous no matter what, but I would have liked to see her hair up, maybe in a low chignon or something just off her shoulders.” (By the way: We hear that Hugh Hefner’s fiancee, Crystal Harris, is also going with a pink gown. We shall see in the coming months - this is definitely a wedding that the wedding-obsessed are waiting on!)

Also on LWPI’s radar was Michael Buble’s first and second weddings (yes! and there’s a third in the works!) to his Argentinian girlfriend, Luisana Loreley Lopilato de la Torre. Their first ceremony, a civil one, was performed de la Torre’s hometown of Buenos Aires. She chose a simple lilac sundress and silver heels when the couple first said “I do.” A couple of days later the pair went a more formal route, with Buble in a tuxedo and his bride in a silk chiffon, V-neck, Marchesa gown with embroidered waist. Their second ceremony was performed in a mansion outside of Buenos Aires. Their third ceremony will be performed at a later date in Buble’s native Canada. We wonder what style the couple will go with for their third celebration…

With these two weddings now in the books, and other celebrity weddings to come, one thing is clear: Candy-colored gowns are all the rage this year. As certified wedding and event coordinators are you seeing more brides choose colored gowns over white ones?

Every bride dreams of being a princess on her wedding day, and every certified wedding and event coordinator is intent on making their brides feel like princesses. But what do you think it’s like to actually plan the wedding of a soon-to-be-princess? The Royal Wedding is just weeks away, and we can only imagine the work, stress and planning that have been involved the last few months. Are you curious about the details? Do you plan to watch the whole thing at home? Have you bought any Royal Wedding trinkets? We want to know! Take this quick survey to give us your thoughts.

This is a very common question, especially because so many brides are falling into this category.

According to Wikipedia, anyone who is size 14 and up is considered plus size. Now if you ask me, this is a VERY large number of brides that are consistently being overlooked. We as certified wedding and event planners have to be considerate to this fact and ensure that we are doing everything we can to meet all brides’ needs, especially this growing group.

When dealing with a plus-size bride we have to realize that everything a regular bride wants is exactly what a plus size bride wants - an AMAZING wedding.

The main component of planning a wedding for a plus-size bride is bringing to light the different options and resources available in their attire. Plus-size wedding gowns have improved by leaps and bounds from the days of frumpy, dull, non-sexy frocks to vibrant, sexy, form-fitting delights of the eye. Planners need to be informed and educated on the different types of dresses and which materials and shapes will be the most appealing to a plus-size bride.

It is our duty, as certified wedding and event planners, to make sure that our brides get the attention and dedication that they deserve and appreciate that there are all types and shapes to everyone.

Be sure to visit Shafonne’s website, read her new plus-size bride blog, follow her on Twitter, and read more about her in this LWPI Instructor Spotlight.

Last month we shared with you some tips on planning a green wedding. This month, Kate Harrison, the author of The Green Bride Guide, shares with us the second of a two-part series on easy, eco-friendly wedding ideas. You can find more great ideas at Kate’s website, and if you’re interested in becoming a Green Wedding Planner sign up for her class through LWPI. It’s a great way to add a special niche to your wedding- and event-planning business!

6. Meaningful Favors: How will your guests remember your day? It can be hard to come up with a small gift to give to over a hundred guests that will be a meaningful token of your appreciation, and a fitting reminder of your day. More often than not, guests leave a wedding with a tiny trinket that eventually gets thrown in the trash. Consider instead something that your guests will be happy to see every day as they remember your special day. Plantable items, like seeds and tree saplings, are growing in popularity as wedding favors, especially because of the wonderful symbolism they provide: They grow and blossom, just like your love.

Edibles make perfect eco-friendly favors, too. Chocolates are a popular option, but if you’re looking for something a bit different, you still have choices. You could create a candy station and allow your guests to fill a kraft bag with their favorites. Perhaps there is a local specialty in your area that would be a delicious reminder of your wedding day, like a tiny bottle of maple syrup for a Vermont wedding, or a miniature bottle of wine for a vineyard celebration.

7. Choose to Reuse: Much of the wastefulness of weddings comes from the multitude of single-use items that are associated with them. Clothing, décor pieces, and even leftover food can find a use beyond the trash can if you plan ahead. When you consider bridal-party attire, think with future use in mind. The men can purchase new suits that they’ll wear again and again, or coordinate their looks with formalwear they already own. If tuxedos are a must, rentals are the best option since most men do not have a need for a tuxedo in their personal wardrobe. Women’s attire can be a little trickier, but matching gowns in one color are the hardest type to reuse. Instead, bridesmaids and children in the wedding party can be given a color palette from which to choose something they already own, or to purchase something they will wear again.

The bride herself can consider refashioning a family or vintage gown, or buying a once-worn gown on a site like smartbrideboutique.com. If her heart is set on a new gown, she can consider reselling or donating it afterward. Bridal shoes are also typically a one-time wear. Like gowns, these can be bought once-worn and then resold after, or the bride can choose shoes in a color besides white that she is more likely to wear again.

Leftover food and flowers can also find another use after the wedding, but these details require advance arrangements. Contact local hospitals or nursing homes ahead of time to see if your flowers can brighten up their patients’ days after your wedding. Arrange to donate your leftover food to a shelter or soup kitchen so none of it goes to waste. Even décor pieces can be repurposed or reused. Sites like recycledbride.com and brideshare.net allow couples to share or resell décor pieces so they don’t become once-used items.

8. Eat Your Décor: Favors aren’t the only wedding item that can be edible! In-season apples in a variety of hues make bright, beautiful additions to your table décor. Add a name tag to a ripe orange or a juicy peach, and voila! You’ve created edible place cards. Fruits, vegetables, and even herbs offer a rainbow of options to add color to your ceremony and reception décor. You can even work edible elements into your floral arrangements. Once the wedding is over, put these edible décor pieces on the menu for your farewell brunch the next day, or arrange to donate them.

9. Use the Season: Seasonal food and flowers are eco-friendly options, to be sure, but you can take “seasonal” even further by using it to inspire all of your décor choices. Chances are, you’ve chosen to have your wedding in a certain season to capitalize on the colors and elements associated with it, so all you have to do is look around. A June wedding, for example, is the perfect time to choose berry hues. Take your out of town relatives berry-picking as a fun and festive activity before the wedding, and hand those freshly picked strawberries over to your baker to decorate your cake. Gather a group of friends to make berry jam, and then gift your guests with the sweet treat in jelly jars that they can reuse at their homes. Baskets full of deep purple and brilliant red berries make a striking presentation and a delicious addition to your dessert table. You can use these ideas with any season’s bounty: think of orange and green gourds and gold and red leaves in the fall or deep green pine boughs accented with bright holly berries in the winter. Be creative with what’s available in your season, and be sure to coordinate your décor ideas with your florist.

10. Give Back: Part of being environmentally aware is giving back. There are so many ways to recognize causes in which you believe on your wedding day. You can include important charities by creating a charity registry, through which guests are invited to donate in lieu of more traditional wedding gifts. You can also make a donation in honor of your guests instead of giving individual wedding favors.

A number of organizations allow brides to donate their dresses after the wedding. This is a great option for a bride who prefers a new dress for her wedding day; the charity resells the gown and uses the money for their cause. Brides Against Breast Cancer and the Bridal Garden are two such charities. Operation Fairy Dust collects bridesmaid gowns and then redistributes them to young girls who cannot afford gowns for proms or formal dances.

One final eco-friendly option is offsetting the carbon impact of your wedding. You can use a carbon calculator like the one available at www.greenbrideguide.com to determine your wedding’s impact, and then purchase carbon credits through an organization like Brighter Planet.

Whether you choose just a few of these options or try to incorporate all of them, every choice makes a difference. You can make your green wedding more personalized, share your values with your guests, and likely save money, too.

Today’s Instructor Spotlight highlights Kim Brown, who will be teaching a certified wedding and event coordinator course at Delaware Technical and Community College, starting March 28, 2011. For more information or to register for the class, visit the class calendar.

Kim Brown created the concept for Xclusively Your Events in 2008. XYE is a premiere wedding and event company based in Salem, New Jersey. Kim has coordinated and designed numerous weddings, bridal and baby showers utilizing a variety of creative ideas, current trends, and styles while adding traditional and cultural forms unique to her client’s lineage.

Kim is originally from Delaware and has lived in Salem, New Jersey, for more than 25 years. She attended the University of Delaware, where she majored in chemistry. She has been employed in the field of customer service for more than 20 years. She began her event-planning experience while working for the corporations in which she was employed. She decided to open her own wedding- and event-planning business after planning weddings for her son, daughter and niece. With the encouragement of her family, and her belief that her customers would benefit from a trained and certified planner, Kim received the Professional Wedding Planner (PWP) designation at Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute’s certified wedding planning class held at Delaware Technical and Community College in 2009.

Kim has also been a contributor to The Women of Salem County magazine, providing articles that pertain to successful event planning. When not planning events, Kim enjoys reading and spending time with her family. She is also researching and planning to start a wedding-planning magazine for Salem County brides. You can learn more about Xclusively Your Events on the company website and Facebook page.

This month’s Real Wedding is another beautiful affair from Nicole Brennan of LovelyGirls Weddings in Wilmington, Del. Nicole definitely took her training and business to a whole new level by becoming a certified wedding and event coordinator. Are you interested in designing events or owning your own business? Check out the course calendar today, and sign up for a class in your area!

Nicole says: Working with Liza was so much fun! She was so DIY and absolutely had a fabulous taste for great vendors and photography. When Liza and I had first spoke, she wanted to host her wedding at the Central Library branch of Philadelphia Free Library on Vine. Beautiful facility. Downside, it was not going to be big enough to host Liza and Tom’s 200-plus guest list. So, onto searching for a new facility.

Liza had a modern flair. Loves Philadelphia. Even a flair for the dramatics. So, what did Liza and Tom find as their best option? The Adventure Aquarium located just across the Delaware River in Camden, N.J. With its modern decor, panoramic view of the Philadelphia skyline, and the ever dramatic shark tanks in the Currents Ballroom, it was almost like Cinderella putting on her glass slipper at the ball.
Well, at least you would have thought with the amazing shoe selection worn by the bridal party!

The best part about the wedding was having such a great team to work with such as Pat Furey Photography and Synergetic Sounds + Lighting. Their ceremony was held at St. Augustines R.C. Church (or better known as the church featured in The Sixth Sense). Also … Liza loved wedding planning so much that she joined the LovelyGirls team shortly thereafter!

What a beautiful wedding! We love that the colors came straight from the venu - aquarium waters and rockin’ bridal shoes! This wedding is also a great example of letting the venue work for you when it comes to decor. Great job, Nicole and company!

Interested in having one of your weddings featured? Contact our managing editor for more information. And for more on the vendors used in Tom and Liza’s wedding see the following links.

Ceremony: Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church
Reception: Currents Ballroom at Adventure Aquarium
Dress: Enzoani Couture, “Desiree”
Hair & Make-up: Sapphire Salon & Spa
Shoes: “Something Blue” shoes by MIX No6 from DSW
Groomsmen Tux: Chaps by Ralph Lauren
Bridesmaids: Davids Bridal
Floral: All done by the bride
DJ: Chris of Synergetic Sounds and Lighting
Trolley: Philadelphia Trolley Works
Cake: Brendenbeck’s in Chestnut Hill
Photography: Pat Furey Photography
Invitations: Whimsical Prints
Seating Chart: Sealed with a Kiss in Haddonfield, NJ
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel

Themed weddings often fall into two categories: well done and tacky. Many certified wedding and event coordinators would probably be less than thrilled to plan a wedding with a Valentine’s Day theme for fear of landing in tacky land. We understand! Plastic hearts, pink balloons and scarlet-red wedding gowns are a few choices that are hard to pull off and make classy. But there are many, many ways to create a classy affair, all the while fulfilling a bride’s fantasy of getting married on (or near) Valentine’s Day. We all know that today, being Valentine’s Day, is a day that many men will be down on one knee with a rose in one hand and a ring in the other. Be prepared for next year when these future clients come knocking on your door with dreams of a red, pink and white wedding. Here are some of our favorite ideas for Valentine’s Day themed weddings.

From left: Candy Anthony London, Candy Anthony London, LOIC Photography of San Francisco (Amazing photos - be sure to check them out if you live in the California area!)

From left: LMG Events/Chudleigh Weddings of Utah (So gorgeous!), Bridalwave/Hotel Bingham, Lund Photo of New York

From left: Pink Cake Box, Martha Stewart Weddings, Maisie Fantasy Cakes

From left: Eleni’s Custom Cookies of New York, Macarons by Food Blogger Tartelette, Williams-Sonoma cookie cutters

From left: The Flower Magician, Vintage Paper Bouquet by Melisa Simo, Wedding Flowers

See? Valentine’s Day themed weddings can be classy, adorable and unique! What are your favorite Valentine’s Day wedding ideas?

Many brides are looking for fun and easy ways to make their weddings more eco-friendly. But it can be hard to figure out the perfect details to create a fabulous Green Wedding. Kate Harrison, the author of The Green Bride Guide, shares with us today the first of a two-part series on easy, eco-friendly wedding ideas. You can find more great ideas at Kate’s website, and if you’re interested in becoming a Green Wedding Planner sign up for her class through LWPI. It’s a great way to add a special niche to your wedding- and event-planning business!

Many of today’s brides are thinking about having a green wedding, but it’s hard to know where to start. The good news is that even small green choices can make a difference in decreasing your wedding’s impact on the environment. Adding eco-details is easier than you might think, and as an added bonus, going green is usually a money-saver as well! You have to make so many choices for your wedding day, so why not make some of those choices with the environment in mind? Get started with these ten easy ways to add eco-details to your wedding.

1. Think Vintage: Vintage elements are a hot wedding trend right now, plus they are eco-friendly and will likely save you money, too. Your jewelry can be vintage — heirloom rings make gorgeous green engagement pieces, and your grandmother’s pearls are a special way to honor her on your wedding day — but don’t stop there! Infuse your day with a retro chic look. Scour consignment stores for vintage mason jars, pitchers, tins or vases. You can fill them with flowers for centerpieces, or load them with candy for a colorful and sweet display. Find vintage fabrics to use as your table covers, to wrap your bouquet, or to serve as or backdrop for your photo booth. Buy vintage postage stamps in mint condition on eBay to use on your invitations. For the ultimate in retro-glam, find a vintage gown and have a good tailor fit it for you. The possibilities are endless!

2. Green Your Travel: The impact of wedding-related travel is significant. Consider a small-ish wedding of about a hundred guests; even if four guests pile into a car (which is unlikely; most cars probably only carry two), that’s still twenty-five vehicles driving from one location to the next. One of the easiest ways to cut down on your wedding’s travel footprint is to have your ceremony and reception in the same place, which negates those emissions, and saves your guests the hassle of going from one place to another.

If you must have your ceremony and reception in different places, consider hiring a bus or van to move everyone en masse. If you provide snacks and drinks on board, a wedding bus can be a real highlight for you and your guests. A trolley could also be a fun option, and if you find a company that has electric trolleys, it’s even better.

3. DIY Details: Do-it-yourself projects can be a fun way to add eco-details and a personal touch to your wedding. Utilize your creative talents to decide what kinds of projects you can do, then green your DIY ideas by choosing repurposed, recycled, or vintage materials. Have beautiful penmanship? Create your own place cards from recycled cardstock. Crafty with a sewing machine? Stitch purses using reclaimed fabrics and give them as bridesmaids’ gifts. Have a penchant for paint? Repurpose old picture frames by painting them in fitting colors for your décor. Print or draw table numbers or menus on recycled paper to put inside the frame, or fill them with family or childhood pictures of you and your intended to decorate the ceremony or reception site.

4. Incorporate Natural Elements: There are so many ways to include nods to nature in your wedding décor. Coordinate the use of natural elements with the season of your wedding, and you will have a bounty of options: richly colored leaves in the fall, pinecones in the winter, beach sand and shells in the summer…you get the idea.

Wood pieces can be a great starting point for your natural décor. Fallen branches in the backyard can be collected and repurposed to create rustic ceremony adornments, or cut to become surprisingly elegant name card holders. You could even use a thin slice of wood as a uniquely beautiful ring pillow!

Using natural elements in your floral arrangements adds an unusual beauty, and cuts down on the use of flowers overall. Moss, grass, and driftwood are some options for creating beautiful bouquets and centerpieces.

Rocks and stones offer a variety of colors and textures to suit your wedding’s style. Work them into centerpieces, line them up at the ceremony site to create an aisle (instead of a wasteful disposable aisle runner), or use a water-based paint pen on them to create place cards without paper.

5. Surf for Green: Because most couples choose to set up a wedding website these days, this one may sound like a no-brainer. However, utilizing the internet is a great way to keep the environment in mind when you consider how much paper you can eliminate from your invitations and the wedding itself.

Use your wedding website to house all the important information your guests will need: directions, itineraries, carpooling options, lodging, menus, and more. Make sure your guests can also RSVP directly on the site, and there will be no need for the additional RSVP card in your invitation envelope. If you have relatives or friends who are not Internet savvy (and there are likely only a few), they can RSVP by phone.

Planning a wedding can be the most stressful thing we do. We must choose so many things: reception site, church, dress, music, cake, who is going to be in the wedding party, etc. But the very first thing that you have to do is PLAN A BUDGET. This is going to determine how much you can spend.

So many people come into my office with elaborate designs, but when we sit down and start talking about money they realize they can’t afford that huge reception with an open bar, top-shelf liquor and top-of-the-line food for 300 people. They realize that they have to scale back tremendously.

Everyone has a different idea of a dream wedding. Some want a huge wedding with all the bells and whistles. Some want a small, intimate wedding in a backyard or garden. Whichever wedding is for you be sure to make it a wedding that you want and are happy with so that you can truly enjoy it. When planning your wedding you want to take into consideration what is important to you. Is it your dress, cake, reception, ceremony or food? Most people will spend the most money on what is most important to them.

To finish I’ll offer these key pieces of advice. Make sure that you:

1. PLAN A BUDGET
2. Make your budget realistic.
3. Stick to your budget.
4. Determine what is important to you before spending.

Do you have any ideas on how certified wedding and event planners can help brides create a budget and stick to it?

Be sure to visit Shafonne’s website, follow her on Twitter, and read more about her in this LWPI Instructor Spotlight.