What you’ll need:

Homemade Kettle Corn (without a Kettle Corn Machine!) – recipe below

Small Plastic Bags

Personalized Gift Tag Stickers from Wedding paper Divas

Ribbon or Twine

Instructions:

To start, you’ll have to prepare the kettle corn.  You won’t need a kettle corn maker; This easy recipe makes it east to bring the same salty sweet flavor to popcorn right on your stovetop!

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Oil
1/2cup kernels
1 ½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Makes 3 cups

1)    Heat Up 3 TBS of oil and put one kernel in the oil to test when it is hot enough. Once the kernel pops, you will know it is ready for the rest.

2)    Turn the heat down to med-low and pour ½ cup of kernels followed by 1 ½ tsp of sugar

3)    Saturate the kernels in the sugar otherwise the sugar will caramelize in the pan. Make sure you keep the lid on.

4)    Let the kernels pop and kind of shake it around to get even coverage.

5)    Once the popping has stopped, pour the popcorn into a large bowl and add salt to taste. Toss and mix a bit and you’re done!

6) Package the popcorn into the small plastic bags.  Fold the top of the bag over and wrap a ribbon around it.  Complete your package with a personalized gift tag sticker from Wedding Paper Divas.

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• Choose the stores that you register at carefully. If you really check them out, you’ll see that Macy’s, Bloomgindale’s and Bed, Bath and Beyond have virtually identical merchandise, even if the stores seem drastically different.  Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s are actually both owned by Macy’s, Inc., making them even more connected.

• Register at multiple stores. In my opinion, registering at 3 places is ideal.  You can pick a mid-range place, like Macy’s, that will cover both low-priced, mid-priced and high-priced merchandise.  In addition, you can register at a place like Williams-Sonoma or Pottery Barn, both which tend to be higher-priced.  Finally, you can add a speciality store or even a Honeymoon registry.  This gives your guests flexibility and different price ranges when choosing a gift for you.

• Do your homework before you go. Registering, although a blast, can be time-consuming, confusing, and frustrating.  Figure out how many place settings you want.  I have never used all 12 of my settings at once, but I can’t help but be happy that I have the option if a big family event is in my future.  Figure out what kind of pots and pans you want (Stainless?  Non-stick?  Brand?), how large of a knife set you want, and which things are most important to you on your registry.  (Tip:  I registered for a beautiful, high-end knife set, and am so happy I did.  Great knives make a huge difference, trust me!).

• China or no China? That is often the question of many brides.  I went for it and registered for both fine China and casual dishware, and I don’t regret it for a second.  When else in your life will your purchase China?  Plus, it’s something I can pass down to my children one day, and it works great for special occasions.

• Look for Registry Parties.  Many stores, including Macy’s, Williams-Sonoma, Bloomgindale’s, Crate and Barrel and more have registry parties in which the entire store is open only for couples registering for their weddings.  There are usually snacks, beverages, and tons of helpful staff on hand to guide you through the process.  It’s a great atmosphere and very helpful during the confusing registry process.

• If you’re not sure about something, register for it anyway! You can ALWAYS return stuff.  Every store I worked with had amazing return policies for bridal registries, with some even giving cash back.  With all the wedding planning, it’s hard to make tough decisions about what you’ll need for the next 50 years of your life.  Make them later.

• If you see something you love that is wildly expensive, register for it. A lot of people like to give group gifts, and items like that make it easy to do so.

I could come up with 15 more bullet points, but these, to me, are the most important.  Regardless, have fun!  When else will you get to make a huge wish list and actually receive most of it?!

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Each and every Tuesday, look for a new feature on Diva Dialogue called Diva Dish.  Send us your questions about all things wedding and our Divas will dish out their best advice.

Send questions titled “Dear Divas” to blog@weddingpaperdivas.com.  We can’t wait to answer your questions!

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Thanks to a knowledgeable wedding vendor, I was saved the trauma of having my invitations arrive at their destinations bent and smeared, which is what would have happened had I allowed my envelopes to be run through a post office canceling machine.

In a normal mailing situation, all envelopes are sent through a machine to cancel the stamp and show that it has been used, producing that little postmark with the city and date that shows when/where the mail was sent.  However, with delicate mail, you can actually have each piece hand canceled.  Some post offices will do this for you, but, being a control-freak, I asked for the stamp and did it myself at the post office counter, assuring that all of my invitations would arrive in pristine condition.

Don’t be afraid to walk up to the counter and ask to hand cancel your envelopes.  Most post offices are used to this, especially with wedding invitations, and shouldn’t even blink an eye.  It’s a small detail that doesn’t occur to everyone, but aren’t those the ones that matter most?

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Living in San Diego at the time, there were plenty of options to choose from to get the buff bod I desired; running on the beach, biking, hiking, surfing and swimming were just a few of my many choices.  But, you have to be fairly disciplined to stick to a self-motivated plan, which I am not.  After doing some online research, I found an outdoor bridal bootcamp that took place on the shores of Mission Bay in San Diego.

What a great idea–a group of girls, all with a common goal, working out in ways we never imagined!  I saw amazing results from my bridal bootcamp, and built some great friendships, including with a girl that shared my wedding day.  Don’t let the title bootcamp scare you away from these amazing classes…everything is adjusted to your fitness and activity level, and everyone is respected no matter their size, shape, athleticism, age or marital status!

Find a bootcamp in your area with these links or through a search of your own:

-Nationwide:  Adventure Bootcamp

-Atlanta: Operation Bootcamp

-Boston:  Fit Boot

-Chicago:  Bulldog Bootcamp

-Las Vegas: Fitness Training for Life

-Los Angeles:  LA’s Bridalicious Bootcamp

-New York:  Boot Camp Fitness NYC

-San Francisco Bay Area:  A La Vie Fitness

-San Diego Area: Wired Fitness

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An article on MSN.com caught my attention. Titled, “Biggest Wedding Regrets,” it reported various responses from newly married brides about the things they wished they had done differently. I’m listing a few of my own regrets with some from the article here. Hopefully, it’ll get those of you who are in the process of planning to realize the imperfection of all weddings, as well as help those who have already gotten married to accept your wedding’s little mistakes and dramas.

1) RECEPTION

One bride regretted having a chocolate fountain at her wedding because of the mess it caused with the flower girls and their dresses. She recommended either not having one or packing a kit filled with things like towelettes in case of this type of emergency. Another bride wished that she hadn’t relied on online maps as directions. To prevent your guests from getting lost, run through the directions at least once and then make sure to include direction cards with your invitations.

2) BRIDES

Brides regretted everything from wearing false eyelashes to not having a picture of the bustle before the actual wedding. The main theme here involves the importance of practicing beforehand. Make sure you try on everything prior to the big day.

3) WEDDING PLANNING

I wished I hired a wedding coordinator earlier in the process, and that I hired a videographer so my dad wouldn’t have felt like he was “working” during my reception. Think about whether you would rather spend a few thousand dollars for a more reputable company or for additional services.

Another bride said that she regretted doing her own invitations. Again, I think it’s important to weigh the cost of time versus money. Spending a little more money might be worth it if in return you’re getting better quality vendors and less stress from doing your own invitations. Also, I ordered my stationery online from Wedding Paper Divas (Wild Grass Save the Dates) to save money without having to sacrifice style or taste.

photo from: The Knot

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