I am working on a very special project for engaged military couples. I am seeking partners, sponsors, and business participants in all areas of the wedding industry. Sorry to be so cryptic but I want to keep the big surprise for the couples. If you’d like to learn more, please pop me an email at info {at} diybride [dot] com or use le contact form.

Related posts:

1. Volunteers Wanted
2. DIY Bride Wants to Upgrade Your Projects
3. Repost: DIY Bride Wants To Upgrade Your Projects

1. A contract is a legally binding document between the parties who sign the agreement. Many couples assume are under the impression that wedding-related contracts are casual, fluid agreements. Nope. They’re serious business agreements and will hold (usually) up in a court of law unless there is some serious flaw in the wording of the contract.

• Once you sign you are bound by law to fulfill your end of the agreement no matter what circumstances happen between now and the wedding, even if the wedding is canceled.
• Only the person(s) who sign the document have any authority – or responsibility – to fulfill, change, or cancel the agreement. If mom and dad sign the catering contract you and your beloved are at their mercy if they decide to, for example, change the entree selection from prime rib to pasta and meatballs to save some cash.

2. Beware of vendors who do not offer a contract for their services. Working without a contract is asking for trouble on both sides – vendor and client – as word-of-mouth agreements are notoriously difficult to enforce. Always, always get any agreement for services to be provided in writing even when it’s for something seemingly small or easy.

3. Don’t sign anything without reading and understanding the entire agreement.  Confused by force majeure? Don’t make a move until you understand that it’s a clause that releases the vendor from liability when circumstances outside of their control (act of God, act of Nature, the hotel where you’re holding your reception is having a strike of their workers…).  Yes, legalese is boring and often frustrating but it’s in your very best interest to read the fine print. It’s perfectly ok to take a contract home, do some research, and return it to the vendor. If a vendor pressures you to sign RIGHT NOW, that’s a warning flag. Conversely, don’t keep vendors waiting indefinitely. Many will require the contract be signed and returned with X amount of days (usually 3 – 10 business days) before it’s void.

4. The terms of a contracts are often negotiable but only before you sign it. If you have concerns or changes you’d like made to the contract it doesn’t hurt to ask for reasonable changes. Things that usually aren’t negotiable: cancellation policy, refund policy, payment schedule, travel expenses/arrangements.

5. The anatomy of a contract. While every vendor will have her own contract to best serve her and her clients (and meet local/federal laws), every contract should have the following basic information:

• Client Info: Your full names, address and contact information, type of event, location, date and time of the event, and alternate contact info (email, fax, cell, backup person to call, etc.)
• Vendor Info: Business name, address and contact information of the representative you are working with.
• Scope of Services: This is where the exact description of the services to be provided are listed. This section should be extremely detailed with the who/what/where/when/why/how of this business transaction. Never, ever assume anything left off of the SoS will be taken care of. If it’s not here, it’s not covered.
• Fees & Miscellaneous: This section will include information about what extra fees may be incurred by the couple. This could be rental items, overtime charges, tips & gratuities, substitutions.
• Payment Info: Your deposit and payment schedule will be listed here. Be sure it includes the amount of the deposit, the date when the remaining balance is due and/or a payment schedule, and the form(s) of payments the vendor will accept.
• Cancellation & Refunds: In the event you must cancel or reschedule your event, you’ll need to know what the vendor’s policies are. The vendor should clearly state under what circumstances and how far in advance of the event that deposits and payments are refunded, if any.
• The Fine Print: This is where the vendor talks about force majeure, liability, client responsibilities, and other other details not covered above.

I hope that gives you the basics. Coming up we’ll discuss major points to watch out for with specific vendors.

Happy Planning!

Related posts:

1. Vendors Wanted: Very Special Project
2. Real Problems: Vendor (Dis)Honesty

#10 is Audra: Matt and I are having a 4 day wedding weekend so there are lots of parts to our invitations – we plan on using the JIGster to get all of the invitations looking topnotch so our guests can find the information they need quickly!

#118 is Kacee: This tool looks amazing!! I am currently tackling my first DIY projects–Save the Dates (from the first DIY book, the one with the wheel!!) and Wedding invitations and I am sure to use this tool. It’s already been great fun, and I hope to create many more DIY projects

#133 is Leanne: We’ll use this to make quick work of our save the dates and programs, and whatever other paper projects pop up!

All winners have been notified by email.

Thank you, everyone, for participating! You made this one of the best contests ever at DIYBride. It was a lot of fun!

A special thank you to the crew at Envelopments for their generosity and support of the DIY Bride community!

Related posts:

1. Product Review: JIGster
2. Contest: Win One of Three JIGsters
3. Winners of The Crafty Countdown Giveaway #1

How can I get out of a venue that I don’t really like, even if I’ve already paid for it. Is it even worth trying? In a rush, I chose a venue that would be more economically satisfying, and now all I can think about is pulling out. Is this normal?? It seems I’ve been having this attitude with everything…including my dress. Please help.

Yes, it’s normal to feel this way. I think you’d be surprised by how common these feelings are. The vast majority of couples feel some sort of buyers’ remorse at some point in their wedding spending. And why wouldn’t they? Weddings are expensive and most of us aren’t used to paying that kind of cash for anything.

The first thing you should do is look at your contract. Most venues will have their cancellation policies written in the contract. In most cases you can cancel but be prepared to lose your deposit or a large percentage of the rental fee. The venue will likely have a minimum number of days before the event when cancellation is possible without forfeiting all of your money so check into that right away.

The next thing is to evaluate why the venue is no longer working for you. Do you have cold feet or are there irreconcilable issues with the venue/management? You didn’t say in your email but there are some things you can do to work through both scenarios. You’re welcome to email back and we can open up the conversation about strategies.

Related posts:

1. Contracts 101
2. Real Etiquette: Appetizer Reception Wording
3. Real Etiquette: Complex Invite Wording

I’m researching a piece on wedding insurance and would love your questions about it. I’ll be in touch with someone from an insurance agency soon and will pass along your queries for our Q & A session.

Here’s an interesting tidbit: according to a recent internal survey from Travelers Insurance, they found that 62 percent of all claims came from vendor/venue problems, up nearly 20 percent over the same study from the previous year. (Vendor problems cover these types of issues: • The bridal salon loses the dress • The groom’s tux gets ruined • A ring goes missing • The photographer overexposes the photos.) [Source: Travelers Insurance.]

If you’re considering wedding insurance this is a great time to ask some questions!

Thank you!

Khris

Related posts:

1. LA Brides: Soi-Meme Bridal Salon
2. How To Ask Us A Question – And Get A Reply
3. L Letterpress Quality Issues

Hey DIYers,

The awesome team at Envelopments have teamed up with me to give away a JIGster tool (retails for $69.95) to 3 DIY Bride readers.

The JIGster: Perfectly Aligned Layers Every Time

If you’re not yet familiar with the JIGster, it’s a simple-to-use tool that helps align layers of cardstock and paper. For those of you who’re making layered invitations, programs, menus, table numbers, seating/escort cards, etc. this is truly a MUST HAVE tool. With the JIGster you’ll create perfectly spaced layers each and every time.

I reviewed it not too long ago here.

How To Enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling us how you’ll be using the JIGster. That’s it!

Details:

Limit: Maximum of 1 entries per person; open to all.
Number of Winners: Three
Giveaway Closes: March 01 at 11:59pm PST
Announcement:The winners will be selected using random.org. and will be announced on this post on March 02. Envelopments will send out the JIGster to the winners.

See the JIGster in action below:

FTC CFR 16 Compliance: The products in this contest have been provided by:

{updated 1/23 to correct link & image information}

Related posts:

1. Product Review: JIGster
2. JIGster Winners
3. DIY Bride Contest: Reuse. Recycle. Repurpose.

Newly engaged and want to win a platinum + diamond pendant or a trip to Santorini, Greece? My friends at OneWed are having a contest. Enter your proposal story for your chance to win!

You lucky engageds in the Brooklyn area are in for a very special treat. Brooklyn Bride is hosting The Urban Wed event on March 23 & 24.  Urban Wed  a smaller, more intimate bridal event.

This is your chance to meeet with 10 amazing vendors who were chosen by Brooklyn Bride. You know it’s going to rock. Tickets will be available through Eventbrite, and you can check the Urban Wed blog for more info.

The Wedding Salon is hosting The Wedding Bootcamp on 22 February at Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC.  Details below…

Related posts:

1. Fab Finds Friday: Garter Girl
2. Fab Finds Friday: Mari Robeson + Priscilla of Boston
3. Fab Finds Friday: Fuji Instax Camera + Heather Bailey Felt

Here’s your chance to give me a piece of your mind (not that you’re very shy crowd to begin with). I need your input on 11 burning questions (below). Your answers will directly help me understand your DIY wants/needs. Since my crystal ball and membership to the Psychic Wedding Friends Network only go so far, this is where your help comes in.

The survey below will take about 5 minutes of your time.

Related posts:

1. Has DIY Bride Helped You?
2. {Guest Post}: Determing Your Tent Size
3. Work With DIY Bride

I’ll be taking the site down again this week to finish up the transition to the new setup. Expect the site to be down in the late evenings (California time). I’ll try to keep offline time to a minimum.

Thanks for your ongoing patience. I’ve got lots of great stuff coming up for your reward.

Related posts:

1. Downloads Have Returned
2. Scheduled Down Time
3. Vacation Time

First off, let’s talk about CHA in terms of wedding-specific items. There’s not a lot of product geared specifically towards wedding crafters. We are very much an  under-served market and I’m working very hard to raise our visibility with the crafts industry. The good news is that there are many “mainstream” craft products are wholly, wonderfully, perfectly adaptable for wedding use. (And, yeah, I’m your go-to girl to show you how!)

Here’s what I saw at CHA. It’s a short round-up of trends and thoughts about what’ll be available in the craft stores in the coming 6 months or so. Some of it will influence wedding crafts, for sure, but a lot of it won’t. I see a lot of innovation from you guys that could actually influence the industry instead of the other way around.

Overall Trends:

• Vintage. Oh, lordy, vintage everything is huge right now and it covers such a wide range of styles from Shabby Chic ™-esque, to 1940’s-50’s, to Steampunk, to … you name it.  Distressed elements, rich patinas, and antique bling was really hot. There wasn’t a lot geared towards those of us with a  more modern, minimalist esthetics in the context of what was on display but that’s ok. We can adapt!
• Steampunk has gone mainstream. I saw quite a bit of steampunk-inspired product. Papers, stamps, watch parts, gears.
• The die cutter market has exploded. There were several manufacturers of die cutting machines at the show along with companies that made compatible dies, software, accessories. Lots of great stuff to talk about here – and I’ll be doing so shortly. Die cutting is an exciting advance in the paper crafting community and really needs to be incorporated more into the wedding crafting pool. If you’re looking for a die cutting machine, hold on for another couple of month until the new cutters hit the market.
• Color schemes were jewel-toned and muted or distressed (it’s that whole vintage-thing). Rose, deep purples, darker greens and strong reds were hot. Orange was big. Grey, too.
• Motifs that were hot: butterflies, sunflowers, birds, feathers, nests, birdcages, watch parts/gears, damask,  floral prints. Damask is still huge but this year it’s distressed and aged.
• Paper flowers were EVERYWHERE. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that almost every booth had some sort of paper flower on display.
• I hope you like bling! Rhinestones, crystals, and glitter are hot, hot, hot.

Products: I’ll be doing a round-up of some of my favorite products from the show later this week but, as a sneak peek, here’s what I really loved.

• The Cricut Cake by Provo Craft. This is a food-safe die cutting machine that’s dedicated to cutting fondant and gum paste. Check out what you’ll be able to do with this thing (below)! I fully believe this will revolutionize the cake decorating industry (and that’s really exciting to me).  I’ll be doing a full product review when the machine hits the markets in April.
• The Easy Arranger. DIY flowers are fairly commonplace now. This product, a wire “disk” type contraption that fits over the top of a vase, makes arranging your own floral centerpieces a snap. I’m really excited about their version for bouquets as well.
• I’m pretty sure I’ve discussed (ad nauseum) my obsession with finding the perfect adhesive for invitations/paper crafts on these pages. Wait ’til you see the Glue Glider Pro from Glue Arts. Love this thing! They also have some really, really neat removable adhesive for sticking things to walls.
• PSA Esstentials has very pretty customized stamps that will take you from your Save-The-Dates through your Thank You notes and beyond. I adore multi-use craft tools. This is one of them.
• DB Card Studio has lovely DIY invitation kits that are affordable and easily customizable.
• Craft-N-Spin won me over with a “lazy susan” type turntable for crafters. You’ll have to see it.
• The passionate and creative team at GCD have some of the most beautiful and creative papers and embellishments on the market. I am in love with their entire line.
• FancyThat! has some super cool printed packing tape that’d be fun to embellish favors packaging with. Can’t wait to play with it.
• Jenni Bowlin’s line of products is the epitome of vintage cuteness.
• The Unibind folks have a unique album (photo/scrapbook) system that used repositionable resin I’m digging.
• Provo Craft have a new Cuttlebug (one of my favorite craft tools) coming out with some really cool plates that cut and emboss. These are going to rock wedding invites!

I’m missing dozens of others in the list. I’ll be going through my notes and posting pics/videos all this week. There’ll also be product reviews of the things I have in my hands already. It’s craft overload!

Related posts:

1. CHA: Live Blogging & Twittering
2. DIY Bride At CHA
3. DIY Letterpress, Pt. 1