{Engaged Me} Where to Start

Congratulations! You’ve joined the millions of lucky ladies to get engaged around the holidays. I know that I had 2 close friends get engaged during the Christmas break and New Year’s Eve. It’s a very exciting time to celebrate a time every girl dreams about to share her life with an amazing husband. I know you are picturing a fabulous wedding day as you gaze at this picture. Now it’s time to get moving on your wedding planning and don’t stress…this is just to get your feet wet about what you like and don’t like.

Visit the Bridal Shows

Start easy - You should prepare yourself now because every vendor will be vying for your attention. For many ladies, grab a few girlfriends and/or family and hit the local bridal shows. Bring comfy shoes, address labels (oh you will see why), and an open frame of mind. You’re not booking vendors on this visit but learning who to call back after the show. My good friend and bridal boutique owner, Iris D Bridal has a Groupon to save you money at the Phoenix Bridal Show on January 8-9th. Here’s a link to her blog for more information- click here.

If you can’t catch that show, the Sedona Bridal Fair will be hosted on Saturday, February 26th, the Great Bridal Expo in Phoenix is on Sunday, March 13th, and the East Valley Bridal Show on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Take your pick ladies of many fabulous events throughout Arizona in preparation of your wedding.

Take Venue Tours

The best way to love your venue is to take a tour. There are several venues throughout the valley who host free venue tours. Below are a few to choose from offering open house tours:

East Valley Open Houses:

• Trilogy Golf Club at Power Ranch - January 11, 2011 || 4 to 7 p.m.
• The Windmill Winery - January 22, 2011 || 4 to 8 p.m.
• Tre Bella - January 26, 2011 || 6 to 8 p.m.
• Secret Garden - Every Wednesday || 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

West Valley Open Houses:

• Boojum Tree - Every Tuesday || 6 to 8 p.m.
• Virginia’s House - January 13, 2011 || 4 to 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Open Houses:

• Sassi Scottsdale - January 16, 2011 || Noon to 3 p.m.
• Troon North - January 28, 2011 || 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Venue Me || Bring Your Fiance

After my Open House visit last night with the Boojum Tree in Phoenix, I realized that there is more to searching for a venue. The one fine element includes your fiancé. I have always heard how many fiancé’s are either stuck at home or arrive kicking and screaming to the venue. Last night was such a surprise to hear each fiancé engrossed in the conversation and asking thoughtful questions. I have to wonder what the new shift in newly engaged couples has been to provoke such a bonding experience in wedding planning. Many of you are shaking your heads that this will never be your fiancé. Heck this is football season and sports or not, some men are hard to convince.

Sports Junkie

A little extra thought is required so think of the evening possibilities when it comes to your Sports Junkie. Consider the scheduled venues to not overlap on his favorite game night. This is a good time to clue into what team he roots for and check the game rosters. Make a checklist of your favorite venues and focus your attention on those open houses. This may include scouting out the local pubs and sports bars close to the venue. He will be thrilled that you helped him catch the live action immediately following your venue venture.

Late Nighter

Working a full-time job for your Late Nighter may not be flexible for a weekday walkthrough. Being thoughtful to present your fiancé with available dates and times to schedule a one-on-one walk through with the event staff is ideal. Many locations provide weeknight and weekend tours. This will show your fiancé how important the venue selection process is to you and help him keep his calendar in order. Try to not overwhelm yourself or your fiancé with too many appointments in one week. Pace yourself and have fun. Bringing snacks or a quick bite after work for him will also ease his hunger pains and help him be more agreeable.

Not His Thing

Some men prefer to have the bride do all the planning and the cliché is “they just show up at the wedding”. Your wedding is meant to represent a day that joins both of you in a loving, committed relationship. In this case, think like a man and schedule venue tours around things that really interest him. Many vendors including cake, DJ, photography, and catering will indulge different sides of his personality with their presented services. I always find that the cake and catering vendors strike it easy with the groom’s by offering delicious samples. Do your research on what your fiancé likes because he may just buddy up with the DJ over their favorite 80’s rock tunes.

Check out BLUEman the Male Perspective every Monday at 3:33 pm to learn more.

OPEN BAR...Sort of

You’ve picked the venue. The band is all lined up. The flowers are set to be delivered. The food you’ve chosen will wow your guests. What’s left to decide other than the obvious: to open bar or not to open bar? That could be one of the biggest questions of all.


In today’s weddings, men are fronting the financial responsibility just as much as women are. The traditional ways of a woman’s family paying for the wedding are less and less apparent. And let’s face it…you need all the money you can hold onto so that your life post-wedding is not off to a rocky financial start.

So how can you save a little dough and still provide a nice experience for your VIPs? As a man, you want an open bar. Let’s be honest with ourselves, when you’re invited to a wedding, one of the very first thoughts to pop into your head as a man is “open bar?” You want to drink, you want to let loose, and will gladly do so if it’s not on your dime. But now you’re the groom. Now you have to step up, right?

There are several options. Other than the obvious to have it open all night, or to a certain time in the night, you could limit the open bar for the cocktail part of your reception, the one-hour post-ceremony, while your wedding party is taking pictures. The only downfall is people will see that open bar window, and take full advantage. Plus, if someone is halfway done with their drink and decides they don’t really like it, they will leave it behind and go pick up something else. That just cost you $8 in leftover alcohol. As my dad always said, no beer gets left behind…but sad to say, people do ignore that idea.

But here is an option that worked, it can help you plan to spend no more than you can afford: Drink Tickets. By creating drink tickets, you can choose to take care of your VIPS (your parents and bridal party members) or everyone at the wedding reception. If you have 17 people in your bridal party, including parents, you can hand each of them three drink tickets good for a beer, well drink or glass of wine. Knowing that is 51 tickets, figure the high side of $8.00 per drink, and you’re sure not to spend more than a little over $400.00. But if you want to take care of everyone, consider handing out two drink tickets to each person. Let’s say you have 100 guests, including your bridal party, then that is 200 drink tickets and you can budget, on the high side, spending no more than $1,600.00 for alcohol. Anything beyond the drink tickets you hand out is a cash bar. So you’re not on the hook.

Whatever you decide, drink tickets are a great way to limit the amount of money you spend on the technically open bar. The great thing is, no matter how many you hand out, you can budget the max amount you will spend out of pocket. Better yet, you’re likely not to see all of the drink tickets turned in, hence, you save money for better things, like the honeymoon!

Stayed tuned for next week's blog on Monday at 3:33 pm.

Venue Me || Open Houses

It’s officially wedding season. As we kick off the New Year with countless engagements, it’s time for brides to check local magazines for their best wedding venues. Does looking at countless pictures sound familiar? I sometimes can’t decide what I really like by pictures alone. Is it the creative photography that captures your eye? Or, does the venue really have the appeal to make your wedding perfect?

Satisfying as it is, traipsing all around to find the perfect venue is no one’s idea of fun. Narrow down a few and take advantage of open houses to see the venue at its prime. Since most weddings are typically held during the evening. You also have an opportunity to meet other key vendors you need. Take some time to check out some local beauties in Phoenix such as Boojum Tree – Hidden Gardens for a fairytale location filled with nooks and archways around the property ideal for wedding pictures. They host an open house every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m.

Another hidden treasure is Virginia’s House located in Glendale. This historic home brings together the family atmosphere and romance from the 1930’s. I find myself in love with their venue that easily captures the essence of a charming backyard wedding. Their next open house is on Thursday, January 14th from 4-8 p.m. Open Houses provide you the chance to visit the properties you have been eyeing and choose your perfect venue.

For more ideas on different venues in Arizona, be sure to check out AZ Finest Wedding Sites