Tybee Island Wedding.Com

While you’re planning your wedding, you will be thinking of centerpieces and colors, flowers and hairstyles, food and locations, when you get a few minutes, think of other things for you and your out-of-town guests to do. Rehearsal dinners, dolphin cruises, ghost tours… these are some typical Tybee things to do, but here’s a fun list of other things to do for your special, once in a lifetime day ~

Savannah Fun Tours ~ think about what you’d like to do in Savannah or Tybee (or call them and let them help you think) and let Cayce and the Gang put together a unique, one-of-a-kind night for you. Scavenger hunts, bachelor/bachelorette tours (they have a party bus WITH a bar!), family ghost tours… you name it!

Personalized beer or soda bottles ~ have your engagement photos handy? A favorite picture of the two of you? Have them put on a beer, water or soda bottle! Jones Sodas will put your picture and wedding information on their awesome sodas and send them in time for your wedding. You can brew and bottle your own beer and put your pictures on them. Serve them as drinks or give them as ‘thank yous’.

Caricatures of you and your guests ~ Or have a wedding artist come to your wedding and make art of you and your guests.

Shag lessons ~if you’re not from the South, ’shagging’ might have a whole different meaning to you. But down here on the beach it’s a type of dance. It’s kind of a ’swing meets the South’ type dance… “The Soul has a beat – put it on the floor.” Shag Lessons are available for Beginners & Advanced.  Don’t be bored or sit on the sidelines, there is something for everyone; basics, turns, spins, and lots of steps.  Shag Instructor, Pat Folds, is an accomplished National Shag Competitor and can be contacted at 912-272-1762.

OK, so you’re coming to Tybee from ‘away’ and you’re trying to pack all your essentials. You have to think about sun, beach, wedding, wedding ‘emergencies’, maybe even packing for that additional honeymoon… what do you bring? Do you raid the travel size section in Target (but not get the high end items you usually use)? Do you put all your special creams in small containers? Do you hit every mall and spend hundreds of dollars just to get their small travel sized items? Let Mojuba Wedding with their awesome Bridal Survival kits take the worry out this planning. They thought of everything you probably wouldn’t ~ from Advil for headaches and Pepcid for butterflies, to straws and clear gloss, mini scissors to tissues for tears of joy … there’s nothing in this kit you wouldn’t use. It comes in a really, really cute handy bag, AND it’s so affordable. There’s also a Mojuba for the Groom to be! 

In some African cultures, Mojuba refers to a bag of magical items  that bring joy and happiness, and a prayer of praise and tribute. 

Yes, it’s true. As supportive as family and friends can be while planning your wedding, they can also drive you CRAZY. Maybe there’s the sister who’s a little jealous because you’re getting the attention, a BFF/Maid of Honor who is sad she’s ‘losing’ her best friend, the Mom who wants your wedding to be perfect because hers wasn’t, the future mother-in-law who is fretting about losing her baby son… the list can go on and on, and that’s the one thing I get queried about constantly ~ “My family is driving me crazy. What do I do?”

Well, here’s some suggestions. And it’s going to mean giving up some of your control, but some of the happiest brides I’ve seen (and that’s been almost 1000!!) are the ones who have given up little parts of their special day to make someone else happy. They get to show up at their wedding and go “Look! It’s a party and it’s for ME (and the groom, of course)”. And the best part is that while you’re ‘giving up’, these people are feeling special, AND they’re doing something to make YOU happy, and they’re doing it with love ♥. 

I kind of equate it to the emergency/CPR training I’ve had ~ if someone passes out, you’re not supposed to just yell at the crowd that’s gathered around, “Someone call 9-1-1!”~ you’re supposed to grab one person, look them in the eye and say “YOU! ~ call 9-1-1!!”. 

So, here’s some of my “My family’s driving me crazy” 9-1-1: 

Before the wedding: 

♥ Give the people driving you the most crazy with suggestions or just simply willingness to help something specific to do. Grab them and say “YOU! are completely in charge of my bridal shower” or “YOU! are in charge of my flowers”. You can give them big jobs and little jobs, but be specific. And once you give it over, you can’t interfere. Don’t overwhelm any one person with too many tasks. You’ll find a lot of people want to help, and that they will if you give them something to feel special. 
To-be-Mom-in-Law pouting because her baby’s getting married and she’s feeling left out? Ask her to host your bridal shower. Or ask her to help the groom and groomsmen get their outfits for the big day. Ask your best friend to give you a blow out bachelorette party. Ask your sister to help you pick out the bridesmaids dresses in your colors. Ask your Mom to be in charge of the flowers. Now, again, you’re going to be giving up some control, but the best part is that while the flowers might not be exactly what YOU would have picked, it’s something Mom picked FOR you from her heart. And you might get something a little more extravagant than if you were just giving Mom the bill.  

♥ Bridesmaids dresses or groomsmen outfits ~ Now, while you most likely want to be a part of this, I’ve also had brides give this over to someone they trust (sister, BFF, mother-in-law-to-be) by being only specific enough to say “It’s David’s Bridal ‘pool’”. The bridesmaids go shopping, get the dresses they like, and the bride has the knowledge that they’ve gotten something they may actually wear again, and she will not be responsible for another hideous bridesmaid dress. I’ve also had brides say “A summer dress in any shade of blue”, and gave the bridesmaids matching jewelry as their gifts … these have turned out very cute, too. Groomsmen are a little trickier ~ you can’t trust every ‘guy’ to turn up in the correct ‘white shirt/khaki pants’ combo … it’s nice to have someone go shopping with them. 

♥ Give someone the task of helping with the little tchotckes that go on tables ~ you might not be a wedding belle, but maybe your best friend/sister/cousin/mom-in-law is. EVERYONE has a hard time with favors ~ if you put someone in charge of your “coral and ecru themed beach wedding” favors, they might come up with something surprisingly unique and fun for you and your guests. While you’re overwhelmed with hundreds of little details, they get to focus on and research for one item, and they’re going to make sure it’s the best. 

Day of: 
♥ I had a bride not too long ago show up at the reception hall with a gaggle of female family and friends all wanting to help. She pulled out two big boxes of centerpiece items she’d collected, pointed to the 10 tables and gave each person a table and a sign saying “This table lovingly decorated for Justin and Sally by ______”, went and got ready, and let everyone create their own tables for the bride and groom. Not only did it get a lot accomplished, but everyone felt special and like they had contributed, and they all wanted to make theirs the best. And the bride NEVER walked into the room and looked at the centerpieces and thought “The blue candles are supposed to be next to the white ones, not the coral ones” or fretted over how it was ’supposed’ to look. She was just happy with everyone’s unique interpretation, and they were happy being creative for her. 

♥ I also often see a lot of friends and family show up to help on the special day … and the bride taking over and not allotting jobs, so there’s a bunch of people standing around not knowing what to do. IT’S OK TO ASK FOR HELP AND TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO. Create a list of specific jobs, so when someone asks, you can look at the list and say “Yes, will you please …”. 
While you’ve been thinking about your wedding 24/7 for the past 6 months or more, they’ve been … well, not. And Cousin Rebecca who showed up because Aunt Rachel made her isn’t going to know what to do when you just say “Help”. Tell her “Please put the tablecloths on the tables”, or “The little pink buckets need to be lined up on the tables with everyone’s name tag set in the sand”. Work with people’s known strengths. If Aunt Bessie is creative, have her make the bows or decorate the gift table. If Cousin Monica is artistic, have her make signs for the wedding and reception. You’ll get so much more done if *you’re* organized first, and can organize and distribute tasks during the last minute push. Again, they have one or two tasks, while you have many more, and they’re going to make sure theirs are done to perfection. 

So, in summary, it’s OK to ask for help, and to be specific. Start practicing letting go NOW ~ “What can I do to help?” is much better responded to with “You can put the candles in the holders” than “Oh, I got it” or “Help with the decorating”. Remember, when calling out for 9-1-1, look them in the eye. 

Here are some ‘job’ ideas to give to people:
♥ Flowers
♥ Bridal shower
♥ Bachelorette party
♥ Centerpieces 
♥ Groom/groomsmen shopping
♥ Bridesmaid dresses (in your colors, of course)
♥ Favors 
♥ Decorating

BUDGET. There’s that word again…

Wedding ’stuff’ really only gets used once… and then what do you do with it? Those cool centerpieces, the little box or bird cage that holds  your many gift cards, the wedding bell decorations or the seashells if you’re doing something beachy. You can give them away afterwards, or toss them or try to get your wedding planner to buy them (thanks, but no thanks)… or you can get them inexpensively in the first place. For example: I have these beautiful fishbowls (they’re large, so they don’t look hokey) that already have sand and seashells in them. You add some candles in your colors and viola! you have an inexpensive, beachy, readymade centerpiece. eBay, of course, is always a GREAT option, because there is always someone who bought 40 of those eiffel tower vases (new) with pink ostrich feathers or 200 white lantern balls and want to recoup some money. I also found this website ~ it’s like a ‘classifieds’ or ‘flea market’ for just bride ’stuff’ :  http://www.vintageglamblog.com/classifieds/

Here’s another fabulous website for brides ~ after those pre-wedding hormones have subsided and you realize you have 400 white candles and 50 white lantern balls leftover, and that you didn’t wear your tiara AND your veil ~ what do you do with them? You sell them on BravoBride.com ! Excellent resource for everything from jewelry and wedding gowns to bridesmaid dresses and centerpieces.  

Tybee Island Wedding Japanese Sobas

I (Tybee Island Wedding) also have other items that I rent out inexpensively ~ like material Japanese umbrellas (white), , urn-shaped vases, tons of seashells, dozens of clear glass votive holders… all good stuff to consider. 

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Tybee Island Wedding has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™! 

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means Tybee Island Wedding is one of the very best wedding planners, officiant AND photographers!! 

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews. 

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.” 

Tybee Island Wedding would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!