With the royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William coming up soon, it's been a media frenzy, with strong focus on her wedding dress. She is having Sarah Burton, for designer Alexander McQueen, design her “elegant, yet bold” dress in hopes to make a statement. Here are a few accessories JdV associates love and wanted to share with you!  Take this tip on how to make your own statement on your big day!  Always celebrate your *joie de vivre!*

Add a pop of color to your dress.

Add a fun or bright colored accessory to your hair.

Wear an unexpected piece of jewelry, like a bold necklace or bracelet.

Intensify your eyes by doing a colored smokey eye.

Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the best days of your life, right? But for many, it turns out to be pretty stressful! After all, it is the culmination of months and months of planning, coordination with family, flowers, vendors, etc. and making sure everybody else is doing what they’re supposed to be doing.  So to alleviate some of the seemingly-unavoidable stress, making a wedding timeline of events early in the planning phase will help ensure smooth sailing on your big day.

You will need two separate timelines: one for the wedding day prior to the ceremony and one for the reception.

For the wedding day, it is easiest to work backwards from the ceremony.  From there you can figure out what time you need to be at the church, when you should make your hair and nail appointments, what time the rest of the wedding party should arrive, etc.  A common mistake is not including travel time in between different activities – don’t forget this!  Make sure to leave yourself plenty of time; you would much rather have extra down time than be rushing around.

Give everyone in the wedding party a copy of this timeline; it will help keep everyone on schedule. For extra help, you can request your maid of honor to keep everyone in the wedding party on task!

For the reception, first think about all the different things that will be occurring – dinner, the first dance, father-of-the-bride dance, best man speech, cake cutting, etc.  This is where every bride has the chance to customize her celebration!  Lay everything out to see what you are working with, then place them in the order you’d like them to occur. Once you have the order figured out, timing is cake!  A critical person to keep informed with your timeline is the DJ – don’t forget to give him a copy prior to the wedding day!

The ultimate way to be stress-free on your wedding day is to have someone else in charge. Visit us at Joie de Vivre Events to see what options we have available to take care of as little or as much as you want on your big day!  Happy Planning!

Wedding favors can be one of the most dreaded parts of wedding planning. There are thousands of items to choose from, and on top of that, every bride wants their favor to be unique – an expression of her and her hubby.  It has to be something the guests would like, something they would keep, and can only cost a couple of dollars. The quest to find a needle in a haystack begins! Here are a couple ideas to help narrow down the possibilities and decide on a great favor.

1 – Favors traditionally fall into two categories: edible or nostalgic, and you can typically personalize just about anything.  Decide which route you’d prefer and this will eliminate a lot of options.

2 – Is there is anything you and your other half are known for? Any specific food you love, go-to brands you always choose, or guilty pleasure you have? These will work. For example, say you love peanut M&M’s: you can buy these in bulk, put them in mini bags, and get them personalized. Tie with a ribbon and, voila!

3 – Make sure the item is something you would enjoy having, that you would actually use or keep, and is something that will work for both men and women.

4 – Incorporate your wedding theme to tie everything together. This could be something as simple as adding your initials, using the same colors, or using similar patterns. Small details can make a big impact!

Research websites with more great favor ideas and don't forget about The Wedding Shop from our friends at The Knot!  Come visit us at Joie de Vivre Events to schedule your complimentary wedding consultation, and hear more of our great ideas to enhance your celebration!

Deciding on a gift for the groomsmen can be a chore. Buying gifts for one guy can be tough, but for a whole bunch of them? Sighhh. It can be downright stressful.

So, consider this: What if the groomsmen gift was something you know they’d wear and love, and would add an element of cool, comfy, style to your wedding? Buying your groomsmen a cool pair of sneakers that they could wear with their tuxedos in the wedding could be the perfect present. You can even tailor the sneakers to match the color scheme of your wedding perfectly!