Maid or Matron of Honor Duties

In a platonic relationship, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon you is the role of Maid or Matron of Honor. Although this title can be a privilege and confirmation of your best-friendship to the bride, this job is a full-time gig – so you better be prepared! Even if there is an actual wedding planner on the job, don’t get your hopes up – your involvement with the wedding will still be extensive. There is a long list of duties that are associated with the Maid of Honor role, but here are some helpful reminders to assist you in your long and crazy journey:

• Make Her Smile: You’ll be the one she turns to when her pre-wedding spray tan makes her look like a creamsicle. It’s your job to console her; bring over a bottle of wine, Dirty Dancing, and some smut magazines to help her feel better.
• Be All Ears: Your darling mother gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason – to listen more often than you speak. You may have gone through this process before, especially if you’re a Matron of honor; however, this is not YOUR day. When the bride speaks, it’s your job to hear her out, no matter how ridiculous she may be acting!
• Coordinate with Fellow Bridesmaids: You are bridesmaid numero uno. It is your job to keep the others in the loop…and keep them at bay when necessary!
• Help Make Big Wedding Decisions: If your schedule allows you enough free time, help the bride-to-be with all of her major decisions. Some of these decisions include:
  • Dress
  • Hair Style
  • Makeup Style
  • Invitations
  • Venue
  • Cake
  • Catering
  • Flowers
  • Linens
  • DJ
• Be Involved with Parties: Do not feel obligated to plan every party, but you should offer your assistance with as many of them as you can. As the Maid or Matron of honor, you usually know the bride better than anyone else, and therefore will be able to throw her a bash that she (and everyone else) will remember for many years to come. As a side-note, some things that you should plan on delegating or personally taking care of are small duties such as keeping a list of the presents and who they’re from. This may seem simple, but it is extremely helpful to the bride! Some parties that you will be involved with are:
  • Engagement Party
  • Bachelorette Party
  • Bridal Shower
• Toast at the Wedding: It can be long and drawn out or short and sweet, but the Maid or Matron of Honor’s speech is highly anticipated by not only the guests, but the bride as well. Be sure that your toast is heartfelt and sincere – and not too overly-embarrassing!
• Organize Gifts: After the reception, the newlyweds will be in their honeymoon mindset – and rightly so! As a final parting duty, you should take on the responsibility of collecting the couple’s gifts and dropping them off at their home, or other desired location.

The aforementioned list becomes even more detailed if the bride does not have a wedding planner. Nudge her in the the direction of hiring a coordinator, and make everyone’s lives a lot easier! Best of luck.

Photo Courtesy Of: DexKnows.com

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

DIY Projects: Centerpieces

It’s a tough economy, and you just got engaged – first off, congratulations! If you saw dollar signs instead of stars when it finally hit you that you have a wedding to plan, this article is for you. There are tons of things that you can do to help yourself save money on your wedding – we’ve got you covered. For example, the most fabulous centerpieces are the eye-catchers of the table. You may be asking yourself, “how do you create striking centerpieces for cheap?” Well, honey, here are a few helpful suggestions:

1. Bigger isn’t necessarily better. Centerpieces may be the star of the linens, but they shouldn’t steal all the spotlight. Make sure that they tie in with the theme of the table, not overpower it.
2. Guests enjoy edible arrangements. Place a colorful candle or table number in the middle of a bowl of fruit, silver Hershey’s kisses, or nuts. Not only will your centerpieces get the attention that they deserve, they will keep your guests from complaining while waiting for dinner to be served.
3. Sentiment sells. Photos of you and your someone-to-be make excellent talking and laughing points as well as interesting centerpieces of the table. Take photos of you and your loved one holding up cut outs of numbers to let guests know what table they are sitting at. This is an extremely cute and relatively inexpensive idea.
4. Match your theme with simplicity. For example, if you’re having a beach-themed wedding, place some sand, seashells, and a few candles in the middle of the table – the only thing you actually have to purchase are the candles. Collection of the sand and seashells is also a great project for the flower girls, ring bearers, and junior bridesmaids!
5. Grow your own. Rustic, outdoorsy, eco-friendly/green, and bohemian are “in” right now – theme your wedding in such a fashion. Take the opportunity to develop your “love fern” with some actual planting. Flower seeds are cheap! Plant your own flowers in the months prior to the wedding and clip them before the ceremony. Put them in vases and voila! You’ve got beautiful, fresh flowers compliments of Mother Nature.

Photo Courtesy Of: WeddingChannel.com

Read Full Post »

The Team’s Trip to San Francisco

On Tuesday, the Catrina Maria Designs team had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of San Francisco to see an “Over the Top” presentation by the world-renowned designer, Preston Bailey.

His story was truly inspiring to listen to, and the designs that he shared with us were jaw-droppingly intricate. We had so much fun! For more information about Preston Bailey’s background and amazing designs, visit his website at http://www.prestonbailey.com/.

Before we headed to the cocktail hour at the Julia Morgan Ballroom, we visited My Boudoir SF to talk to the amazing and very knowledgeable lingerie stylist, Miriam Hernandez, for a some girly fun! For questions about your own undergarments, visit her website at http://www.thelingeriestylist.com/. 

At the Preston Bailey NACE event, we had the chance to interact with some very exciting vendors! Some of our favorites were:

• Green Barrel Wines: http://greenbarrelwine.com/
• Scribble Wall: http://www.scribblewallsf.com/

A big thank you to San Francisco NACE for hosting this event! The Catrina Maria Designs team had a blast!

Read Full Post »