Photo: Courtesy of Mindy Weiss
Celebrity wedding planner Mindy Weiss, who's worked her magic for stars like Jimmy Kimmel, Channing Tatum, Fergie, and even Bachelor Sean Lowe and Catherine Guidici, offers up her biggest wedding planning do's and don'ts. Here, everything she's learned from the 47 star-studded bashes she's designed this year.
Don't plan your entire wedding the week you get engaged.
Savor the moment! Celebrate with both sets of parents and get a mani, stat; everyone's going to be saying, "Oooohhh, let me see your ring!"
Weddings aren't about the "next big thing."
As much as I try to find the newest and greatest ideas, it's more important to listen to the couple getting married and discover what they like, no matter how trendy—or not.
If you're not on Pinterest, what are you doing?
Pinterest is the single greatest thing that's happened to the wedding world.
It's okay to have to keep your numbers low.
The best time I ever had at a wedding was at my second one because I knew all 35 guests.
The minute I say something is over, I see it done well in a wedding magazine.
The truth is, even if I'm tired of something, the bride is seeing it for the first time. I will say that casting your monogram onto the dance floor with gobo lights is D-O-N-E. Please. Let it stop.
And I have other pet peeves.
They are, in no particular order of egregiousness: disposable cameras on dinner tables, glass vases filled with colored rocks, blown-up pictures of the couple for people to sign, and long lines and tip jars at the bar. Avoid!
You don't have to personalize everything at your wedding.
Choose a few things to personalize. At the cocktail hour, customize paper napkins with a stamped motif or a printed message. At the party, decorate your newlywed chairs at the head table. It always makes a pretty pic.
Put some thought into your wedding-party gifts.
Make sure they're not generic. Each should be special and tailored to its recipient. If you want to buy one thing in bulk, then I love the whole bridesmaids' robe trend that's happening right now. Monogram them with each girl's initials—such a stylish gift.
Celebs—they really are just like us!
They're just as hopeful as we are about this moment of their lives. They don't want anything passé. And they bring tear sheets of celebrity weddings too! The main difference? Paparazzi.
You don't need a million-dollar budget to win over your guests.
The recipe is simple and, quite frankly, free: Talk to your guests and thank them for being there. Don't stray from the groom; your crowd gathered to see the two of you together. Play soft music at dinner so people can hear one another without shouting, and make sure centerpieces are low (or high) enough that they don't block guests' view. Let them scope out their prospects!