A Helpful Hint

Hopefully, my last post for tonight, although I'm bound to think of something else to add.

I read on the Knot (the bride's bible) that it's a great idea to have a wedding newsletter for those involved. I decided that they were right, especially since our wedding party is rather spread out among the northeast. I am doing one in each color which gives me seven altogether. I am sending one out every other month with updates. I have thus far put out two newsletters; the red and orange issues. My next one will be going out next month (October) which will be the yellow issue.

I was originally going to print them out and send each wedding party member a copy as well as both our parents, but it would have been too expensive. So instead, I publish the newsletters using Adobe Acrobat (I create them in Microsoft Publisher which has several predesigned templates) and email them to everyone. I send them to Staples Print & Copy Center and have two copies printed; one for my scrapbook and one for my mom (she's sentimental like me).

Here's a recap on the last two issues in case you'd like any ideas.

The Red Issue
Since this was the first issue, I included quite a bit of information. I started with the proposal story and a thank you from Matt and I. We wanted to thank everyone in advance for whatever work and time they were going to contribute. After that I wrote small bios on each member of the wedding party as well as a picture, since quite a few don't know each other. I gave a preliminary overview of the wedding party's dresses and tuxes so they could be prepared for fittings. Lastly, I included a page of everyone's email and phone number, including ours and our parents', as well as a list of helpful sites (mainly articles from the Knot). On the very last page, I included the basic details of the wedding: the date, locations, and tentative times.

The Orange Issue
In the second issue, I led off with an article on my dress shopping (and buying) excursions and a smaller article on our officiant, Father Al. We had already found our photographer, so I wrote about Jess and her new business. We had also sent out save-the-dates which I included in the newsletter. I found a site called NewlyMaid which allows bridesmaids to send in their dresses as a trade-in for a new little black dress. The dresses are either remade into new dresses or the fabric is donated. (Definitly check it out!) I wrote a follow-up article about picking up my dress and gave a tentative date for their appointment. I then wrote about the upcoming engagement party as well as directions to my parents' house from various places that our wedding party is located.

I'll be updating once I finish the third newsletter. Please let me know if you'd like a copy as a sample since I can't post it here!