What Is an Engagement Party ?
An engagement party is a get-together that celebrates a couple who just got engaged, usually held within a few months of the proposal. It’s the first stop on the pre-wedding calendar, and its real job is simple: gather your people, share the news in person, and let both families start mixing before the planning rush […]
What Is a Bachelorette Party ?
A bachelorette party is a pre-wedding celebration held in honor of the bride-to-be, usually thrown by her closest friends in the weeks or months before the wedding. It can be a single dinner, a spa afternoon, a night out, or a multi-day destination trip, depending entirely on the bride. I’ve watched these parties shift a […]
What Is a Rehearsal Dinner ?
A rehearsal dinner is the meal you host the evening before your wedding, right after the wedding party walks through the ceremony. It’s the unofficial start of the wedding weekend, and usually the first time both families sit down together before the main event. Here’s the rundown I give my couples when they ask me […]
What Is an Eternity Ring ?
An eternity ring is a band set with a continuous line of matching stones, usually diamonds, that runs either partway or all the way around the finger. The unbroken circle is the whole point: no beginning, no end, which is exactly how most couples like to picture commitment. I’ve sized, stacked, and rescued these rings […]
What Is a Promise Ring ?
A promise ring is a ring given in a romantic relationship as a symbol of commitment and fidelity, usually exchanged before an engagement rather than as a proposal of marriage. It says, in jewelry form, “I’m serious about us,” without setting a wedding date. In my years planning weddings up and down the East Coast, […]
What Is a Tea Length Dress ?
A tea length dress is one with a hem that falls below the knee and above the ankle, landing around mid-calf and usually about three to four inches above the ankle. It sits right between a knee-length dress and a full-length gown, which is exactly why it gets so much love at weddings. In my […]
What Is Dressy Casual Attire ?
Dressy casual is the dress code that lands right between everyday casual and cocktail: polished and put-together, but comfortable enough to actually enjoy the night. It is dressier than what you would wear to the office, and a clear step down from black-tie or formal. Here is the cheat sheet I hand my guests when […]
What Is Beach Formal Attire ?
Beach formal is the dress code couples reach for when they want their seaside wedding to feel polished, not flip-flop casual — but they also don’t want you sweating through a three-piece suit on the sand. After planning more than 200 weddings, plenty of them on actual beaches, here’s the read I give every guest […]
What Does RSVP Mean ?
RSVP stands for the French phrase répondez s’il vous plaît — literally, please respond. When you spot it on an invitation, the host is asking you to confirm whether or not you’re coming. That’s the whole job: a clear yes or no, sent back by the date on the card. Here’s where it comes from […]
What Does “Plus One” Mean ?
If your wedding invitation says and guest, you have a plus-one, which means the couple is inviting you to bring one additional person of your choosing. If only your name appears, you are invited on your own. After planning 200+ weddings across the East Coast, decoding that one line on the envelope is among the […]