Paris, France
Destination Type: City, Historical
Months to Visit: September - December
Climate: warm; short, quick showers
National Language: French
Common Activities: The Arts, Site-seeing, Food Tasting

Paris is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in all of Europe and is often referred to as the most romantic city on earth.  It has a great amount of Roman influence, thus lays its cultural and social prominence.  If opera, theater, high-fashion, fine food, historical monuments, and museums are things that you and your partner are looking for in your honeymoon destination, then Paris, France may be the place for you!

Paris is the largest city in France and since it’s greatly diversified, it is well known as the global center of almost every art-form.  Among performing arts, the Paris Opera and Opera Bastille dominate for opera and ballet performances.   Many types of clothing design from all over the world originate in Paris.  It is well-known for top models struting down runways in new designs at exclusive Paris fashion shows.  The mesh of many cultures in Paris has created vast diversity in cuisine, therefore Paris offers food fit for every tongue.  The Seine River runs through Paris and offers tourists the opportunities of sailing, dinner cruises, and canal tours.  The economy runs strong on tourism thanks to its famous museums and monuments such as The Louvre, Notre Dame de Paris, and The Eiffel Tower.

Au revoir, enjoy Paris!

Hello loyal Planning Elegance readers,

We would like to wish you a VERY Happy New Year!  Bring in 2009 with joy, happiness, and prosperity.

To help you in out in 2009 and kick off this great year, we have a New Year’s Promotion (a FREE Purely Elegant Planning Package) to help you save some serious cash.  Check it out!

Have a safe and memorable New Year!

-Amy Shah Patel and the Planning Elegance Team

Click Here to get more at CommentYou.com

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Choosing your wedding hairstyle is hard!  There are colors, extensions, add-ons, up-dos, curls…it’s never ending!  Here are some style ideas, both classic and new.  Don’t forget to get a trial prior to your wedding to make sure that you get the hairstyle that you want.

The Traditional Bun

This traditional hairstyle is great for weddings.  Buns look beautiful with any type of veil or a sari sitting over the bride’s head for South Asian weddings.  It is especially convenient for outdoor weddings since it’s wind-proof and tight.  To loosen up this hairstyle, you can have some tentacles coming down on either side, the front or the back.

The Sexy Loose Curls

This is definitely the “in” hairstyle right now.  This sexy hair works well with long hair, but if you have thin hair or not much of it, don’t hesitate to use extensions or hair add-ons, they are commonly used by brides nowadays.  The only down-fall of this is bridal hairstyle is with windy, outdoor weddings and long earrings…you want to make sure that your hair isn’t getting tangled in your earrings on your wedding day.

The Classic Up-Do

The up-do is the most popular wedding hairstyle because it keeps your hair out of your face and looks great with any dress or face shape.  The above picture is a side-view with a beautiful and perfect part along with a loose up-do.  The below picture is an up-do with tight curls that looks great and stays in place while dancing at your reception.

The Beautiful Half-Up

The great thing about a half-up hairstyle is that you can keep your hair out of your face, while still have some of that flowing beautiful hair behind you.  This is the perfect do for the indecisive bride and can work well with indoor or outdoor venues.  Since side parts and side bangs are the common hair cut now, this works really well because our hair can be put half-up with emphasis either on the left or right side of your head.

The South Asian Bride

Traditionally, South Asian brides either have buns or a single braid down the center of their back.  Nowadays, the beautiful South Asian bride can have any type of new hairstyle so long as it goes with the rest of the traditions.  Don’t forget that you have your tikka going down the center of your hair to rest on your forehead, because of this you may want to have a hairstyle with a center part.  Additionally, if you have bindis above your eyebrows, you may not want too many tentacles of hair in front of your face to take away attention from the bindis.  If you are having jasmines or a flower garland in your hair, ensure that your hairstyle can hold them without them falling.

Enjoy finding the perfect bridal hairstyle for you!  Keep in mind all of the aspects of your wedding like if it will be windy during your wedding day or the neckline of your wedding dress.  The most important thing that you can do is have a hair and make-up trial prior to your wedding day to finalize your look.  Have a great time getting your bridal makeover!

Although everyone dreams of the perfect wedding, not all people get that glorious day filled with detailed perfection.  Check out the YouTube video below with moments that must have been horrifying on the wedding day, but now we can just laugh at them.  We do not recommend you watching these videos when your wedding day is right around the corner.

Many of you have probably seen this. It is my personal favorite hilarious wedding video and I can’t stop laughing every time I watch it. This is truly the WORST best man ever!

Planning Elegance would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful Holiday Season!  Thank you for visiting our website, happy wedding planning!

- Amy Shah Patel and the Planning Elegance Team

For couples that decide to have alcohol at their wedding reception, this is one of the biggest monetary dilemmas when planning your wedding reception…The Bar!  How much money do we have to dedicate to paying for alcohol?  Do we pay the venue per person or per drink?  How long should we have it open for?  Here is all the basic information that you need to know.

Cash Bar - Guests can choose to purchase drinks of their choice at your bar

Open Bar - You pay for any types of drinks ordered by your guests

Limited Bar - You choose certain types of alcohol to pay for, like wine and beer, while your guests pay for anything else they may want like well drinks.

Per Drink -There is a set amount of drinks that each guest can have, and you are charged accordingly.  Some venues monitor this by providing guests with two tickets each that they can use to get drinks paid for by you.

Per Person - Not all venues offer this option, however there is a set amount that you can pay person for an open bar.

There are several options for what types of beverages to offer at a wedding reception open bar.  Some people offer only beer and wine, while others choosing to have a full open bar with well drinks.  Another option can be to offer drinks that go with your wedding theme or colors.  For example, if your wedding color is red you can have raspberry martinis, rum and fruit punch, strawberry margaritas, and red wine.

You lovebirds need to decide how to pay for the bar and who is paying for it. Speak with your parents, in-laws, and whoever else is contributing to paying for the wedding.  You should all decide on a limit of how much money to spend on the alcohol for the wedding reception.  The best way to handle your limit on the wedding day is to have a trusted guest (like a brother or uncle) that will be sober during the reception.  Let the venue know to inform this responsible party when you are getting close to the bar limit.  This way, if it’s only 9:00 pm and you’re reaching your lower limit, then they can choose to spend a couple hundred more…or not.  This option allows you to control the amount of alcohol on the spot at the reception.

Some more basics are to have the bar closed during speeches, the toast, and cake-cutting during the reception.  Some people prefer to have a separate soda and non-alcoholic beverages section so that young children and non-drinkers don’t have to go to the bar to get their beverages.  Additionally, you can request the bartender not to keep a tip jar out on the bar so as not to look tacky for your guests.  Besides, the venue will most likely be charging you gratuity on the bar services anyway.

Ensure that you have covered all the basic aspects of having a bar at your wedding reception in order to maximize your budget.  Take into account how many drinkers you have, how heavily they drink, and what types of alcohol you would like.  Don’t forget to enjoy your bar experience safely!

Several factors exist when searching for the perfect wedding venue.  The following aspects will help you prioritize what is most important for you in your wedding venue and make it easier for you to organize and select your venue.

Location

Within the consideration of the location, there are several aspects.  Distance is the first one to consider.  Choosing a venue that is close enough to your homes or a hotel you will be staying in is priority.  Second to that is the convenience for the majority of the guests to drive to your wedding venue.  Included in the category of location is the view.  If you are having an outdoor wedding, you should consider what the backdrop of your wedding is going to look like.  Some couples prefer the beach or a park scene, while others enjoy a golf course or lake look.  The view is going to be in all your wedding pictures, so this is very important when hunting for a wedding venue.  Amongst the location also lies the availability of parking and the safety of the surrounding area.  You don’t want your guests getting mugged while they are leaving your reception on a little buzz.  Although that’s an over-exaggeration, it is something to take into consideration when selecting a suitable venue.

Pricing

Generally, hotels and country clubs are more expensive than event venues and historical locations to hold a wedding.  Factor into the equation the cost of food.  If the venue is providing catering in the price, it may be cheaper than if you need to select an outside caterer to bring food on site and serve during your event.  Inquire about extra fees such as adding time on to your package, chair covers, decorations, and beverage fees.

Space

Your venue needs to be able to accommodate your guests comfortably.  This includes space for a dance floor, chuppah, mandap, extra decorations, stage, etc.  Any details that you would like to add to your wedding that would take up space in the venue need to be taken into consideration.  This is especially true for large weddings, like South Asian weddings, that have many guests, a buffet area, and decor that take up space in the venue.

Flexibility

Some venues are very stringent when it comes to their established rules and policies.  Ensure that they will allow certain aspects of your wedding that you need.  For example, if you need to bring in an outside decorator, they may need to possess a certain amount of insurances in order to work at that facility.  Additionally, if you have some sort of food restrictions and need an outside caterer, ensure that the venue will allow that.  Additionally, it is not uncommon for venues to prohibit fog machines, confetti, throwing raw rice, lit candles, and more.  Ensure that your dream venue can work with you to create the perfect wedding with all the aspects and details that you need.

Finding your perfect wedding venue is not easy.  You will need to visit several locations and ask the catering or evens director MANY questions.  However, a wedding coordinator can significantly ease the process for you since they have the resources and have worked with many venues themselves.  Additionally, if you are specifically searching for an outdoor wedding venue, there are different aspects to consider that affect your selection, you can check out our Advice for a Beautiful Outdoor Wedding.  Stay sharp and stay on top during your wedding venue hunt.

How many brides get stressed out when planning their wedding? ALL OF THEM! Although a wedding coordinator can help take the stress out of wedding planning for you, it’s only natural to feel a little worry and panic. The important thing to know if how to deal with that pre-wedding stress so it doesn’t engulf you on your wedding day.

Stay Down To Earth

You should expect stress and know that it will hit you at some point of your wedding planning process.  If you know it’s coming, you can be prepared to deal with it.  Realizing that your wedding is not like a fairy tale will also help you bog down the stress level.  Although you are marrying for happily ever after, your wedding planning process will not me totally happy for everyone.  Trying to please everyone will drive you insane.  Keep in mind that although you want to make you parents, in-laws, and grandparents happy…this is YOUR wedding.  You should be flexible on some things, but in the end be happy with the result and realize on your wedding day that what happens…happens.

Relax

Try yoga or meditation to calm your sense.  Taking a bubble bath or having a spa day are natural things that a bride should do before her wedding day.  Exercising and jogging are also things that help your emotions line up and cool you down.  Once you are relaxed, you will realize that a small glitch on the radar of your wedding planning is not going to send the whole day to hell.  Additionally, the more relaxed you feel, the better you will look.

Delegate

If you don’t have a wedding coordinator, does that mean you should do everything yourself?  Of course not!  You should have a luncheon with your closest friends and people that you know will do a great job on your wedding.  Delegate tasks to people that you know they can do.  Your creative cousin can be in charge of favors while your poetic brother can make the program.  Have your fun sister plan your bridal shower and/or bachelorette party while your food-savvy mother helps you choose out your wedding cake.  You can’t do everything yourself and you definitely shouldn’t.  When brides don’t delegate anything to others, they looked bummed out in their wedding pictures and high strung for the reception.

Your relationship with your beau is under extra pressure during wedding planning time, set some time aside to spend time together doing non-wedding things.  This should help you think of the life you are going to spend together after your married.  When it comes down to it, this one special wedding day is just a small piece of your entire lives together.

Your wedding party generally consists of your bridesmaids, groomsmen, the flower girl, and the ring bearer.  It is tradition to give all these people a little gift for helping you plan your wedding and participating in the ceremony.  We offer you some creative ideas to gift to your wedding party.

Truffle Cookies

The Cookie Chew

Price Range: $5.95 - $34.95
Offer your wedding party these unique and delicious cookies that come in 12 different flavors. You can order them with cute boxes or bags to give them a nicer look. The Cookie Chew offers personalized labels and ribbon colors so the couple’s names, wedding date, and wedding colors can be used.

Unique Scarves & Shawls

Jashun
Price Range: $15.00 - $50.00
The international style of these fabrics aren’t found in many shops or storefronts. The creative designs of the scarves, shawls, pillows, linens, and furniture covers offered here are gorgeous.

Gift Albums

Ribbon
Price Range: $25.00 - $750.00
Gift albums are a great way to ease the shopping experience to get people with different interests a great gift. You can order the albums online and choose which category of gifts you like, then you prsent your wedding party with an elegantly wrapped album in which they can choose and order their gift without paying for shipping or any other costs.

Personalized gifts like hand-made plates and mugs are also a cute idea.  Don’t forget about your flower girl and ring-bearer, it’s also a nice idea to get gifts for everyone who helped out with your wedding.  Enjoy shopping for your wedding party!