Category Archive

Friends & Family Advice

Whether it’s your mom pressuring you to lose weight or not inviting family to your wedding or how to fire a bridesmaid… this is our archive of how to handle wedding planning drama with friends and family. Be sure to check out our archive of copy ‘n’ paste conflict resolution posts, too!

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Use Minglo to get wedding guests of all types to know each other

When we shared Ariel’s awesome Minglo party idea (mingling + bingo) over on Offbeat Home, Homie Marina told us she used this idea with great success at one of her wedding parties…

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Friends as wedding vendors pros and cons: What I learned from getting our photos for free

Shortly after my husband and I were engaged, we ran into an old family friend who I hadn’t seen in probably over a decade. We chatted for a bit, during which she enthusiastically offered to photograph our wedding for us free as a gift. I had to restrain myself from jumping down her throat with my “yes.” Photography is important to me and my family, but we had a relatively small total budget, and there was almost nothing in there for photos, so I figured this was perfect. It is now almost four months since my wedding, and I’m having some issues with my choice.

Here’s what I’ve learned from my experience with using friends as wedding vendors…

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Should we still have a wedding shower if we’re an eloping military couple?

Since my fiance is in the Army, we are not able to include friends and family on our wedding day. Should we be able to have a bridal shower and bachelorette party as planned? Are we cheating our friends out of what’s due to them since they are giving us gifts? Is it unfair to invite people to a shower, and then not invite them to a wedding?

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Why I’m giving all my wedding guests +1s

Right now, we’re at the point where we’re addressing and sending out our Save the Dates. I was trying to figure out the best way to include “and Guest” on the envelope, so I searched around. You know what the answer I got everywhere was? “Ask your guest their partner’s name!” and “Guess what! You don’t HAVE to invite people to bring a guest you don’t know! Yay!” Not helpful.

Believe it or not, we decided way early on in our planning that we are totally excited for people to bring people we don’t yet know to our wedding.

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Do group yoga on your wedding day

A wedding day can be stressful or hectic. A great way to set the tone for the day and bond with select people is to do a group (or even individual/couple) yoga before your ceremony!

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When your culture is counter-culture: Lovingly explaining your more traditional wedding choices

Offbeat Bride has some wonderful, “Thank you for your interest but I’ve already decided” conflict resolution posts that apply to pretty much anything. But here are some specific scenarios if you, like me, find yourself a little bit too onbeat for others’ likings.