Expert Advice From Top Planner Nerissa Montemurro – Part Two

As promised, here’s the second half of my Q&A with savvy wedding expert Nerissa Montemurro, Founder & CEO of Private Receptions™. Happy planning!

What are your top money-saving tips for a bride on a tight budget?

· Reduce the wedding guest list for a more intimate affair that reflects what you want.

· Chances are, you will pay the bulk of the expenses about a month before the wedding. If there are multiple family members contributing to the wedding, take their contributions upfront, and put the money into a savings account or short-term CD to earn interest on it. This way, your money is making money within the year.

· Save with DIY wedding projects, if you’re crafty. Always purchase 20 percent more of the materials you need, because it leaves room for error, requires fewer trips back to a store for supplies, and eliminates additional shipping costs later.

An intimate 52-person wedding in Santorini.

What are the top things you often hear a bride say she wishes she had known or thought about while planning her wedding on her own, without the help of a planner?

Most brides feel they can handle the wedding planning, and start the race out in a full sprint only to die out shortly thereafter. The engagement process is a journey, and a bride doesn’t know what she doesn’t know (especially if she has never planned a wedding).

What are your best stress-busting tips for a busy bride?

· Once you have the look and feel for your wedding, stop reading bridal magazines.

· Always go with your gut feeling.

· Take the week off of work before your wedding.

Nerissa preparing brides at the Jan. 31, 2010, event “The Art of Planning Your Own Wedding™.”

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced throughout the planning process? What do you most wish you had known when you were first getting started?

(Photo Credits: Photo #1 -- Carli Bauza & Photo #2 -- Freed Photography)

Respected throughout the wedding industry for her business savvy and artistic talent, Nerissa Montemurro brings to life a company that not only has it all, but gives every ounce of it to you! Private Receptions™ is a full service wedding planning and wedding design company founded by Nerissa herself. The firm specializes in one-of-a-kind weddings that represent their client's unique style and vision.

Expert Advice From Top Planner Nerissa Montemurro – Part One

In January, Stephen and I attended a fantastic event called “The Art Of Planning Your Own Wedding,” hosted by Private Receptions™ at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown in Washington, D.C.

“This event was designed specifically to help brides/grooms that either enjoy planning their own wedding or cannot afford the luxury of having a planner,” said Founder & CEO Nerissa Montemurro in our recent email exchange.

Featuring a round-table planning session, panel Q&A with top wedding experts, and raffle giveaway, the event was fun, helpful and extremely innovative. As a bride entirely familiar with the challenges of planning one's own wedding, I strongly recommend this program to couples looking for expert guidance that is straightforward and truly useful.

Best of all, Nerissa has now been kind enough to share even more of her planning tips and strategies! Enjoy, and be sure to check back tomorrow for the second half of our Q&A.

Another day at work for Nerissa Montemurro (left) of Private Receptions™!

What are your top tips for a bride just beginning the planning process? What should she consider when trying to decide whether to plan her wedding herself, or whether to hire a planner?

· Consider how much free time you actually have. A realistic assessment of your availability will save you heartache down the road.

· Get a good understanding as to who will be contributing to the wedding, and how much each contributor will need to be involved in the decision-making process.

· Be flexible! It’s very common for a bride to change her mind in reference to an idea, date, style, venue, etc., and quickly learn she is looking for something entirely different.

Brides taking notes at “The Art of Planning Your Own Wedding™.”

What should she look for and think about first, and what are the most common mistakes she should avoid?

· First, determine a budget. The purchases you make for a wedding are a lot larger than from a spontaneous day at the mall. You need to know how much you have for the entire wedding, honeymoon, and any other events you may be hosting for yourself (engagement party, shower, etc.)

· Second, determine which is more important to you – the ceremony and reception location, or the date. If you determine that the location is more important, call for the dates available in the season or month you are looking for. If the date is more important, it will help you weed out the venues that are booked.

· Common mistakes:

#1 -- When shopping around for vendors, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Most of the time, brides are looking at the bottom-line number, and are not educated about what that dollar amount offers.

#2 -- Online research is both a benefit and a huge hindrance! Many sites out there are marketing a product or service, or flat make money from advertising but lack quality content. Know your author and become an informed and empowered bride.

Nerissa speaking with a group of brides at the Jan. 31, 2010, event “The Art of Planning Your Own Wedding™.”

What are some good solutions for a bride who can’t afford a full-service planner?

· Hourly consultation with a planner to help them get started

· Workshops like “The Art of Planning Your Own Wedding™”

· Look into partial-planning options

Are you planning your own wedding, or bringing a planner onboard? What are some helpful tips you’ve learned along the way?

(Photo Credits: Photo # 1 -- Private Receptions™ & Photos #2-3 -- Freed Photography)

Respected throughout the wedding industry for her business savvy and artistic talent, Nerissa Montemurro brings to life a company that not only has it all, but gives every ounce of it to you! Private Receptions™ is a full service wedding planning and wedding design company founded by Nerissa herself. The firm specializes in one-of-a-kind weddings that represent their client's unique style and vision. Based in New York City, the firm services the greater metropolitan areas of New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.

A Bride’s Spring Training: I’m Featured in SELF!

After working hard last year to lose weight and get in shape for our wedding, I’m so honored to be featured in SELF this month as a Challenge success story! (If you read the magazine, I’m on page 83.)

If you’re not familiar with the Challenge, it’s an awesome diet and exercise program SELF features annually beginning each March that’s fun, customizable and inspiring. Last year, I even lost 21 pounds through the program, and continued to lose more after it was over!

To make sure I don’t undo any of my hard work before June rolls around, I’ll definitely be taking up the Challenge again this year. Here, some of my other tops tips and strategies for losing weight and getting in shape!

· I love to run outdoors, and scorched tons of pounds by running at least three miles five days a week last year. But I also hate cold weather, and the snowy winter months have put a snag in my plans. Instead, I bought a fairly inexpensive manual treadmill for $120 so that I can work out while I watch an hour of TV each night. I also go to a Saturday cardio and toning class, offered for a reasonable price at our community center, and alternate between different workout DVDs, including the tough but effective 30 Day Shred.

· I’m not a morning person in any sense of the word, so I schedule most of my workouts in the evenings and at night. The truth is that if I tried forcing myself to exercise in the morning or during lunch, I know I’d quit, so I instead try to figure out the best time based on my body’s natural rhythm throughout the day.

· As hard as it sometimes is, I stop eating when I’m no longer hungry, rather than waiting until I’m completely full. This takes a ton of willpower, but saves lots of calories!

· If I do the same thing for too long, I get bored. To mix things up, I frequently change the fitness classes I take, and also cross-train by including dance, running and weight exercises that work different muscle groups.

· I’ll exercise by myself if I have to, but I enjoy my workouts much more when I have a buddy to share them with. So, I love that Stephen and I usually go running together. I’m also much more successful if I have a specific goal to train or work toward, such as a 5K race. It literally forces me to get moving!

What workout strategies work best for you? Do you have any specific goals you’d like to reach before the wedding?

(Photo Credits: SELF)

Wedding Reception Dilemma: Hand-Passed vs. Displayed Hors d'oeuvres

Thanks, ladies, for all of your help settling our cash vs. hosted bar dilemma a few months ago! I’m happy to say we now have some great news to share about this part of the wedding.

As long as our guest count ends up in the range we expect it to, and we also stay on track with our budget in other areas, we’ll be able to upgrade to a catering package that includes three hours of hosted wine and beer, plus a champagne toast. Complimentary soda, coffee and tea will be offered throughout the night, and we’re still hoping to feature our signature sangria, as well.

This new package also includes one cocktail hour display spread of cheese, fruit or veggies, as well as three hand-passed items of our choice. However, if we’re not able to work this out, it will be on to the next quandry – whether to offer a couple hand-passed appetizers during the cocktail hour, or stick with a display featuring a variety of gourmet cheeses and crackers, plus chips and salsa to help get everyone in the mood for the Mexican buffet to follow.

While the hand-passed options are definitely more “exciting,” with choices like tomato bruschetta and chicken satay, the downside is that guests would likely have to patiently wait to be served at the start of the cocktail hour. A display of cheese and crackers, plus salsa and chips, on the other hand, would allow guests to serve themselves immediately after arriving.

The display items strike me as being potentially more filling, too, compared with tiny bite-sized hors d'oeuvres. And while a guest might not like the hand-passed items that are offered, I think most guests would surely be able to find a couple cheeses they enjoy. And who doesn’t like chips and salsa?

As a guest, which option would you prefer? What are you planning to offer at your wedding?

(Photo Credits: Google Images)

Big Wedding Change Revealed!

Well, ladies, I’ve officially joined the ranks of brides who have changed their minds about…the gown! Yes, I’m excited to say I’m now an Alfred Angelo bride!

After revealing my original gown a few weeks ago, I couldn’t shake the feeling that although it was beautiful and I did like it, I just didn’t feel as happy and thrilled as I thought I should. I didn’t get a rush when I imagined waking up and changing into the gown on my wedding day, and there were nagging doubts in the back of my mind about the fit and style.

But being just short of three months from the big day, I knew I’d really have to get moving if I wanted to make a change this big at such a late date. So, when I saw that a local boutique was having an Alfred Angelo trunk show a couple weeks ago, I decided to make an appointment to try on a few of the gowns that had been my favorites in photos way back in the beginning. As you may remember, I never got to even try these gowns on, since I bought my original dress at David’s Bridal before we had a chance to go anywhere else!

Going in, I really wasn’t sure what would happen. I thought I might fall in love with a new dress, but also thought I might feel reassured in my original choice. Well, from the second I put on the dress I’ve now ended up choosing, I had a “wow” moment I’d never felt as strongly with the other gown. In my heart I knew even then that the first choice had been wrong, and that this was truly MY dress!

But did I really want to change my mind so quickly? Did I really want to pay another $1,000 for a new dress, when I had already paid at least $600, including alterations, for the first one? So, I thought about it. For two weeks. I went back and forth, trying to remind myself of the things I do like about the first gown. But over time, I couldn’t stop thinking about the Alfred Angelo dress, and when I pictured myself on my wedding day, I started to see that very gown.

This weekend, hoping to make a decision, I made an appointment at the Alfred Angelo salon in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Not only were the consultants and managers amazing, but when I put the dress on again, there was no need to think it over any longer. This was 100 percent my perfect dream dress, and since the salon even had it in my exact size, I could see and feel the perfect fit. I felt happy and beautiful, and since Alfred Angelo was having a big sale, I got the new dress for just around $850, including tax!

So now, without further ado, I give you my gorgeous wedding dress as viewed from the front, back, and up close! This fabulously romantic dress truly has everything I want – soft lace, crystal beading, a little pop of our grape color, and a semi-cathedral train that’s longer and more stunning than the train on my original gown. Plus, the fitted upper bodice shows off my hard-fought curves, the result of hours of hard work and exercise over the past year. And the best part is that my awesome consultant Tina even showed me how to make the skirt at the bottom appear a bit fuller by adding a crinoline slip, since the full skirt was really my favorite thing about the first gown. Without a dobut, this gown is “me.”

So in the end, athough I did lose money on the first gown, I know I made the right choice. Plus, even factoring in the cost of both gowns, I’m still under the original $2,000 budget I set for myself in the beginning. And since the new gown fits almost perfectly and was custom ordered three inches shorter, there should be very few changes needed when it arrives in late April or early May.

What do you think, girls? Would you have done what I did? Have you followed your heart to change any big aspects about the wedding pretty late in the game?

(Graphic Credits: Google Images)