Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy

Just Engaged! How to Start Planning a Wedding

Just engaged? Congratulations! Once the excitement’s settled in, the champagne’s been drunk and the engagement ring has been posted, you might be wondering - what’s next? What should you do now that you’re newly engaged? You know you need to start planning the wedding, but there’s a lot to do. What should you do first?

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Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy

Welcome Bags For a Destination Wedding

If you’re planning a destination wedding, you want your guests to know how grateful you are that they’ve come. So what’s the perfect way to thank them? By greeting them with a destination wedding welcome bag! Guests love getting a goody bag, especially when it’s full of fun, useful or tasty items. When you’re planning the welcome bags for your hotel guests, there’s a few things to keep in mind.

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Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy

Destination Wedding Photography: Hiring Your Photographer

When you’re hiring a photographer for a destination wedding at an all inclusive resort, you have 3 choices. You can use the photographer at the resort, you can hire a photographer who’ll travel to your destination. Or you can hire a photographer who’s local to your destination. Your decision can be based on your budget, the vendor rules at your resort or how important the photographs are for you.

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Dresses & Accessories Colleen McCarthy Dresses & Accessories Colleen McCarthy

Casual Beach Wedding Dresses: Simple and Affordable

No matter what style you’re looking for, you can find a dress that’s perfect for your beach wedding. You’ll find simple beach wedding dresses, with light, clean lines. There’s lots of casual wedding dresses, too - two pieces, with short sleeves. And even wedding dresses with pockets! See a round up of some of the best beach wedding dresses. These dresses are all under $500 - some of them are even under $100.

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Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy

Cheap Destination Weddings at All-Inclusive Resorts Under $10K

If you’ve got a small budget, you might be having trouble booking the wedding you want. The venue, the food, bar packages - it all adds up fast and the total is a lot more than you expected. If the total is too much for you, you might be looking for new ideas, such as a destination wedding!

Let’s look at beautiful and cheap destination weddings at all-inclusive resorts across the world!

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Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy

How to Plan a Destination Wedding in Dominican Republic

If you want to get married on a beautiful beach, but don’t want to spend a fortune, Dominican Republic is a great place to plan a destination wedding. No matter which area you stay in, there’s lots to do, from scuba and snorkeling to catamaran cruises and ATV jungle tours. You’ll find reasonable room prices and affordable wedding packages.

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Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy Destination Wedding Colleen McCarthy

Destination Wedding Venues in Jamaica: Locations, Pricing, Planning Tips, and More

A destination wedding in Jamaica can be very affordable. If you set your budget ahead of time, you can make choices that’ll fit your budget. If you’ve got a big budget, you can look at luxury resorts. If you’re on a smaller budget, look at less expensive resorts. The great thing about Jamaica is that even with a small budget, you can have a fantastic wedding.

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Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy

I Do BBQ Wedding: Invitations and Sample Wording

Barbecue is a great choice for your wedding menu. You can plan a traditional wedding and serve BBQ as your meal. Or you can plan an I Do BBQ, where it’s your theme and your food. No matter which you decide, you’ll need to start inviting people 6 to 8 weeks before your wedding. There’s lots of options for an I Do BBQ invitation.

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Venues & Menus Colleen McCarthy Venues & Menus Colleen McCarthy

BBQ Wedding Reception: How to Plan an I Do BBQ

Whether you’re planning classy or casual, BBQ is a great way to feed your guests. It’s delicious, filling and fun. With barbecue, you can choose a menu that fits your wedding style - and your budget.

BBQ food is an affordable option when you’re hiring a caterer. If you’ve got a smaller budget, you can order BBQ from your favorite restaurant and semi-DIY your wedding meal.

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Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy

I Do BBQ: Invitations, Decorations and Favors

I Do BBQ is a fun theme that you can use for any of your wedding related events. You can plan an I Do BBQ engagement party or an I Do BBQ rehearsal dinner. Barbecue is a great theme for your shower, too. Especially if you’re having a couples shower - everyone loves barbecue! You can even use the theme for your wedding reception and plan an I Do BBQ wedding. You can use “I Do BBQ” the same way you’d use any other theme for your wedding event.

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Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy

Day of Wedding Timeline For a DIY Wedding

If you’re planning a traditional wedding at a hotel or banquet hall, your timeline will be easy to set up. But what if your wedding isn’t at a traditional venue? And what if you haven’t hired a lot of traditional vendors? Maybe you’ve got a bunch of DIY projects to set up. Does someone need to pick up the cake? And what time should you start doing your makeup? If you’re doing DIY for your wedding, you’ll need to set up a schedule that fits everything in - and still leaves you time to get married!

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Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy

Bridesmaid Gifts: How to Thank Your Bridal Party

Once your wedding date starts getting closer, you’ll want to start thinking about thank you gifts for your bridal party. Your bridesmaids, maid of honor or matron of honor have been helping you plan and get ready. They’ve been buying clothes and accessories. Booking time off. Plus hosting and attending all your wedding events. It’s time to choose a thank you gift and show them how much you appreciate all that they’re doing for you.

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Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy Wedding Planning Colleen McCarthy

What Does a Day of Wedding Coordinator Do?

Planning your own wedding is a great way to save money. You’ve done your research, picked the best vendors. You’ve even done some fantastic DIY. Now you just have to figure out the logistics. On the day of your wedding, how will your projects get set up? What if a vendor is late? If you’re getting married, you’ve already got a lot going on. There just isn’t enough time for you to meet deliveries, answer questions and solve problems.

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