Springfield Bridal Bash!

Come one, come all!

Crista with Studio 7 Photography in Springfield will be hosting a Bridal Bash on Sunday, September 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Rail. She will be showcasing all her new wedding albums, as well as beautiful invitations, Save-the-Date cards and more new products she is offering!

But Crista's services and products won't be the only thing you'll get to see. There will be several other vendors joining in the festivities, including:

*Steven's DJ Service
*Treetop Productions
*Poe's Catering, which will provide food at the event
*Bergner's registry
*Savvi Formalwear
*Fridayz Florals
and more!

For those of you planning a 2009 wedding or helping a friend or family member plan their wedding, this is the perfect event to come out to and meet with vendors, not to mention check out all of Studio 7's new custom wedding albums and other products, and just have a good time!

For more details, visit Studio 7's blog.

Seating Chart vs. Open Seating

While you're looking around at different reception sites, you might start to consider not only the theme, the menu and the space, but what kind of seating you'd like to have.

Seating at the reception often goes hand in hand with the meal - sit-down dinners are much more organized with assigned seating - but not necessarily.

Open seating might seem like it would be fun and spontaneous, but you also wouldn't want your guests stranded out there, looking for a place to sit down, or a family that has to be separated. Your guests shouldn’t have to feel like they’re the new kid in the school cafeteria.

However, with a seating chart, you also don't want to get so picky that your guests must sit in a specific seat at the table. Only the most formal receptions require place cards at each setting, and assigning guests only to certain tables is definitely acceptable.

Take your time with the table assignments if you choose to create a seating charting. You're not only sticking people in a place for a meal, you're influencing the company they will be keeping for a large part of the reception, which will have a huge impact on the enjoyment they will have. Keep in mind everyone's interests and relationships with each other and with you.

Also keep in mind where you "put" their tables at the reception venue. You might want to put all of the tables containing family members in a certain area, and some of your livelier guests' tables by the dance floor for easy access for them.

And on the other hand, if you choose to go with open seating, remember that your guests will take longer to seat themselves and may need assistance from the event coordinators. You will also need to account for more table settings than number of guests, since it’s inevitable that there will be incomplete tables.

No one way is better than the other depending on different venues and the number of guests!

Are you an Uberbride?

I recently discovered a new resouce for brides online - the "world's first social wedding network."

This network is called Uberbrides, and although the site is up, I don't think it has been launched quite yet. I believe it will be soon though, so keep checking back. Check it out here!

According to the site, über means super, cool, powerful, and of course, a bride is a woman getting married. An überbride, therefore, is a "trendy, classy, easygoing bride who knows that her wedding will be the best possible, no matter what happens." The opposite of a Bridezilla!

Uberbrides tools are free to everyone - brides and vendors. Some of the resources you can take advantage of are:
*Wedding News, where you can get daily updates from wedding professionals
*Wedding Blogs, where you can start your own wedding blog to talk about your wedding planning process and share ideas
*Wedding Venue Maps, which allows you to research venues in your area or wherever you are having your wedding

Enjoy!