Note: Featured image provided by Caitlin Elizabeth Photography. Caitlin Elizabeth Photography has all the tips for creating a beautiful flat lay featuring your wedding invitation! If you’re not yet part of the Ask a Real Bride Instagram community, you have to join us: brides to be, mothers of the bride and groom, bridesmaids, and anyone… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: Should My Parents’ Names Appear on My Wedding Invitations?
Author: Christina Peterson
12 years and 3 kids later, Christina still counts her wedding day as the best day of her life. Maybe that’s why she loves connecting with brides, mothers of the bride and groom, and bridesmaids: she wants everyone to love their wedding season! Over the past year, Christina has cultivated an active, helpful Instagram community called @askarealbride, filled with daily etiquette Q+A’s, planning tips, and some occasional humor. Though planning can be stressful, Christina enjoys helping brides find the joy and face etiquette dilemmas with kindness, clarity, and grace.
6 Do’s and Don’ts for Choosing Your Bridesmaids
Choosing your bridal party can feel like solidifying your inner circle: it’s a big decision that carries symbolic weight, as well as real-life responsibilities. Your bridesmaids are your best friends, but they’ll also be your advisors, party planners, personal assistants, and more in the months leading up to the wedding. So how’s a bride to… Continue reading 6 Do’s and Don’ts for Choosing Your Bridesmaids
Ask a Real Bride: Is it Okay to Have a Wedding B-List?
For many engaged couples, the guest list is the first step in wedding planning: many factors, including the budget, overall vision, and venue capacity can make determining who gets the invite a difficult decision. One solution for trying to include as many of your loved ones as possible? Creating a “B-List.” What’s a “B-List?” A… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: Is it Okay to Have a Wedding B-List?
How Much and How Many? Your Guide to Wedding Registry Amounts
Even if you feel that you and your fiance “have everything,” we always recommend registering for actual gifts (not just setting up a honeymoon fund, though we love those, too!). But where to begin? How many gifts are too many gifts? And how can you predict what your guests are likely to spend? Let’s dive… Continue reading How Much and How Many? Your Guide to Wedding Registry Amounts
Ask A Real Bride: Destination Wedding Etiquette FAQ’s
Destination weddings seem to become more popular every year. With the ease of planning online and snagging great travel deals, why not have your wedding weekend double as a vacation for family and friends? Yet a wedding that involves travel may also lead you into uncharted etiquette territory–and we’re here to help! Read on for… Continue reading Ask A Real Bride: Destination Wedding Etiquette FAQ’s
5 Bridal Shower Themes Perfect for Wintertime
There’s no better time to celebrate the bride-to-be than the holiday season: your home is already decked out, family is in town, and cooling temperatures make everyone want to cozy up inside to enjoy a festive get-together. If “plan a bridal shower” has made its way onto your holiday to-do list, I’ve got you covered… Continue reading 5 Bridal Shower Themes Perfect for Wintertime
Ask a Real Bride: Help! My In-Laws Keep Adding Wedding Guests!
The trickiest part of planning a wedding is often the guest list. Determining who gets an invitation is often a collaborative process between the couple and their parents, and when one set of parents is paying, that collaborative process becomes a very delicate dance. This month’s wedding etiquette question comes from a bride trying to… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: Help! My In-Laws Keep Adding Wedding Guests!
Baby Showers, Sprinkles, and Sip and Sees – What’s the Difference?
New life is a gift and one worth celebrating! Over the years, you may have noticed that these new-baby celebrations have taken on different names: baby showers, baby sprinkles, and sip-and-see. What’s the difference? What do you need to know as a potential host, honoree, and guest? We’ve got you covered. Read on for everything… Continue reading Baby Showers, Sprinkles, and Sip and Sees – What’s the Difference?
Ask a Real Bride: Where are the Wedding Gifts? Why Some Guests Aren’t Giving–And What You Can Do About It
The Ask a Real Bride Instagram page is growing, and we would love to see you there, too! Every week, we discuss wedding etiquette topics like plus ones, dress codes, gift registries, and thank-you notes. And while there are many guidelines for hosting, gifting, and expressing gratitude, there’s one wedding topic that almost no one… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: Where are the Wedding Gifts? Why Some Guests Aren’t Giving–And What You Can Do About It
The Best New Baby Products Trending on Social Media
If you’ve got a little one on the way, you know how overwhelming it can be to figure out exactly what you’ll need to care for your new arrival. And that overwhelming feeling isn’t just for first-time moms—even if you’re on your second or third, it seems like new products are being released every day,… Continue reading The Best New Baby Products Trending on Social Media
Ask a Real Bride: The Truth About Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses
Wedding planning comes with lots of decisions and questions, and sometimes, finding an answer requires some crowdsourcing. That’s how the Ask a Real Bride Instagram account came to be, and this month’s question is the perfect example of women coming together to help each other in the wedding planning process! A Real Bride asks: “Hi!… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: The Truth About Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses
Your Wedding Reception Checklist
There’s more to a reception than “dinner and dancing to follow”–and while the reception is a festive celebration, there are also essential elements that make them meaningful and memorable. Your wedding day is going to fly by, and often, brides say they regret running out of time, running late, or forgetting to include important details.… Continue reading Your Wedding Reception Checklist
Ask a Real Bride: Should the Mother of the Bride Host a Shower?
Throughout the wedding planning process, the mother of the bride takes on many roles: she often plays the part of organizer, budgeter, coordinator, counselor, and confidante. But is “shower hostess” a title that should be taken on by the MOB? With the help of our Ask a Real Bride Instagram audience, let’s explore the traditional… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: Should the Mother of the Bride Host a Shower?
5 Things Your Wedding Guests Wish You Knew
If you’re engaged and in the thick of wedding planning, chances are you’ve experienced some decision fatigue: between flowers, food options, vendors, and venues, the choices can quickly become overwhelming. But what if I told you that to your guests, there are only a few things that really matter? That after you drive off to… Continue reading 5 Things Your Wedding Guests Wish You Knew
Ask a Real Bride: Can I Tell Guests It’s Too Late to RSVP?
Once you mail your wedding invitations, it all starts to feel “real:” after months of planning, the word is finally out, and you can’t wait for guests to open their envelopes and enthusiastically and promptly send in their replies! But it doesn’t always happen that way. Unfortunately, there will always be a few guests who… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: Can I Tell Guests It’s Too Late to RSVP?
Ask a Real Bride: What Should I Write on My Wedding Website?
In the past decade, wedding websites have become an essential information hub for the couple and their guests. In a recent survey on our @askarealbride Instagram page, 86% of brides reported that they’ve already built out a website for their upcoming wedding. If you’re in the 14%, don’t stress–we have you covered! Over 500 amazing… Continue reading Ask a Real Bride: What Should I Write on My Wedding Website?