Wedding Planner 2009 Edition

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.

T HE COMPLETE WEDDING PLANNER THE COMPLETE WChronicle EDDING LANNER A Supplement of The of Mt. P Juliet A Supplement of The Chronicle of Mt. Juliet

Getting Engaged Is Just the Beginning ... Now What? Are you one of the thousands of couples who got engaged over the holidays? This is the time for you and your soon-tobe to get everything you ever wanted -- the time to start from scratch;

to upgrade, expand and replace. To turn a whole bunch of mismatched mine and yours into a lifetime of ours. A lot of couples become overwhelmed, feeling they have to

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get it all done at once. According to experts, this is totally normal. When it comes to registering, you should relax, take your time and have fun. Go back to the stores of your choice as many times as needed, or update your registry online. Here are some additional tips to make wedding planning a breeze: Plan ahead: Start a bridal registry as soon as you say “yes.” This way you will be prepared

for your engagement party and bridal shower, as well as your wedding. Periodically update your registry by adding more products if you need to, even after the wedding. Be kind to procrastinators. Don’t be shy: Register for gifts in a range of prices and categories. This will give guests and group givers lots of options to choose from. Register now, because you won’t buy

it later: You may think you will... but you won’t. Now is the time to let others get you the stuff you’d never buy yourself. Your friends and family might even get together to purchase a higher priced “group gift.” Three sheets is a win: Register for at least three sets of sheets -- one for the bed, one for the linen closet and one for the hamper. This way you won’t be forced to do laundry.

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Watson / Estep Courtney Brooke Watson of Lebanon and Brian William Estep of Kingsport, TN, are engaged to be married on April 25 at First Baptist Church in Lebanon. The bride-elect is the daughter of Claude and Donna Watson of Lebanon. She is the granddaughter of Sammie Johnson and the late William “Brownie” Johnson of Mt. Juliet, and Jo Watson and the late Claude Watson, Sr. of Springfield, TN. She is a 2003 graduate of Friendship Christian School, a 2007 graduate of Tennessee Tech in Cookeville with a BS degree in Accounting, and a 2008 graduate of TTU with a Masters of Business Administration. She is employed as an Audit Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Knoxville, TN. He is the son of Terri and Homer Marcum of Greeneville, TN, and Bill Estep of Bristol, TN. He is the grandson of Norman and Joyce Fugate of Kingsport, TN, and Mable Estep of Bristol, TN. He is a 1996 graduate of Sullivan South High School and a 2002 graduate of TN Technological University in Cookeville with a BS degree in Management Information Systems, and also a 2006 graduate of TTU with a BS degree in Business Management. He is employed as a Regional Sales Manager with Landair Transportation in Greeneville, TN.

Realize the Wedding of Your Dreams with Planning There are a few things where weddings are concerned that cannot be predicted or controlled. What Mother Nature will do on the day is one of them. However, there are many items that are well within the control of the bride and groom; proper planning can help ensure the wedding of their dreams. One of the best ways to ease weddingday nerves is for the couple to get organized and begin planning their event the moment the engagement period begins. The earlier preparation starts, the better the chance vendors will be able to provide what’s needed, or changes can be made when unforeseen events pop up. By making a list of things to do, couples can allot time in their schedules for each task -and they can feel a sense of accomplishment and relief each time an item is ticked off the list. Decide on the wedding date -- Couples should select a date for their wedding soon after becoming engaged. After all, it is the countdown to this day that will help organize and determine planning schedules. Reserve a ceremony location -Traditional weddings take place in a house

of worship. It’s best to meet with a pastor, rabbi or other officiates to see if the ceremony site will be available for the wedding. Book a reception site -- After securing the ceremony location, couples will have peace of mind knowing they can now book the place where their party will take place. Sometimes the ceremony site is also the reception site, as is the case in many second weddings. Catering directors are typically on hand to talk about pricing and options. Select a photographer -- Photographers tend to book very quickly, particularly if they are well recommended. It pays to research and choose one early in the weddingplanning process. Every photographer has a different style. The couple should select one who will accommodate their wishes, but also suggest ideas that may not have been considered -- such as artistic black and white prints or photo journalism-type images. The photographer’s personality is very important. He or she will be spending the entire day with the couple and should be liked and personable. Couples should find out if the photographer they speak with at the studio

will be the one shooting the wedding. Some companies have multiple staff on hand. Book a band or DJ -- Another vendor that tends to have a busy schedule will be the wedding entertainer. Early booking ensures your date will be available. Choose a florist - Flowers add an elegant touch to the wedding day. A florist will provide flowers for the ceremony and the reception in many cases.

Select and order dresses -- Wedding and bridesmaid gowns can take several months to order and be tailored. It can also take some trial and error finding a

dress shop that meets the needs of a bride and her attendants. So its best if this fun part of wedding planning is done early on.

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Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something ... Green? If you have a hybrid car parked in your garage, recycle rain water to irrigate backyard plants and have replaced just about every bulb in your home with

compact fluorescents, there’s a good chance that you’re environmentally conscious. But what if you’ve just gotten engaged and want to impart some of these

green ways of thinking to the wedding? What can you do to be earthfriendly when tying the knot? W e d d i n g industry insiders say that the trend of going green with weddings is growing exponentially. Experts say that going green is one of the great business opportunities of the 21st century, and there is much potential for the wedding industry. Going green for your wedding day doesn’t mean you have to compromise on the elements that will make the day special. It just means you can take a look at the details and the bigger picture and develop strategies that will minimize the impact on the planet. * Go local: From food to flowers, choose vendors that use locally grown and raised

products. This reduces the amount of smog generated and fuel consumed to bring items in for your wedding. Many caterers are now collaborating with local farms and other vendors to offer organic, locally grown menu items. It pays to ask about availability. * Go to your guests: Figure out where the greatest number of your guests reside and then hold the wedding nearby. For example, a couple from the Northeast who has relocated to the West coast, but has all of

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their family still in the east, may want to hold their wedding in the east. It is less expensive and more environmentally friendly for the couple to simply fly to the wedding, rather than having hundreds of guests drive or fly west. * Choose recycled materials for wedding invitations and announcements: There are an increasing number of suppliers creating invitations from recycled materials. Some will do all the assembly for you; other less expensive items may be more hands-on. Cut down on further use of paper by creating a wedding Web site where you post directions, maps, party times, and other essential information so you avoid extra slip-in sheets with your invitations. * Create car-pool options: Bus guests to your venue to save on gas. It is also a safer option for those who will be indulging in alcoholic beverages at the party since they won’t have to drive on the return trip home.

Litsey/Williams

Trip over love, you can get up. Fall in love and you fall forever.

Carrie and Jordan Litsey, Jr, of Hermitage announce the engagement of their daughter, Jacqueline Nicole to Daniel Williams, son of Reed and Jennifer Williams of Mount Juliet. Nicole is a graduate of Jon Nave University and currently employed as an Aesthetian in Brentwood, TN. Daniel is a graduate of Strayer University and currently employed as Manager for a logistics firm in Nashville, TN. They will be married May 9th in a private ceremony at Butterfl y Hollow Farm, in Gordonsville, TN. Brother Chuck Groover of Victory Baptist Church of Mt. Juliet is officiating.

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Registering For a Delicious Future Each year, more than 2 million engaged couples face the exhilarating, and often times daunting task of choosing gifts for their bridal registry. Over the past decade, cookware has topped china as the No. 1 gift on bridal registries, indicating a major shift in focus from the dining room to the kitchen. That’s not surprising given that young adults today have come of age watching the Food Network where cooking is centerstage 24/7, as well as reality television series where professional and amateur chefs compete in the kitchen. A yearning to learn how to cook has sparked the launch of new food magazines and cookbooks, as well as a seemingly endless supply of Web sites and Internet chat rooms devoted to food. In this milieu of heightened awareness of all things culinary,

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it makes perfect sense that cookware reigns supreme on the minds of couples contemplating their bridal registry list. However, given the enormous amount of cookware options

available, many couples approach registering with trepidation. * Do a little soulsearching to discover your cooking style: Everyone has their own food style, including preferences for types of cuisines and cooking methods. And don’t forget to register for a few basic tools and gadgets, such as a garlic press, box grater (to grate cheese), pasta fork, and solid spoon for stirring the sauce. Prefer simply grilled burgers, chicken and fish? Register for a stovetop grill pan. Most pans are made for use on a single burner and come in round and square shapes. * Remember the holidays:

Getting married often means starting to host family gatherings for the holidays. Give some thought to what equipment you will need to create favorite family recipes and traditional dishes. A generously sized roasting pan is essential for cooking turkey, ham or a standing rib roast. Don’t forget dessert! The holidays wouldn’t be the same without festive cookies, pies, cakes and sweet breads made from recipes passed down from generation to generation. * Who’s doing the dishes? Most likely, cleaning up after dinner is not high on the list of things you love to do. If getting out of the kitchen as fast as possible is a priority, select cookware that’s completely dishwasher safe. Quality cookware leads to years of culinary bliss: Now is the perfect time to make a commitment to each other that cooking will play a major role in your married life. Cooking offers so many benefits -from engaging all your senses and teaching you teamwork, to soothing your spirits after a stressful day at work. Cooking inspires creativity and physically nurtures you in a way that’s usually much more healthy and budget-friendly than restaurant meals and take out. To get the most out of your cookware, look for these features, found on better quality cookware.

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I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury. ~ Groucho Marx

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Greg and Lisa Howard of Wheatley, Kentucky, are proud to announce the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Neesa Lauren Howard to Daniel Neal Richardson, son of Danny and Betty Richardson of Mt. Juliet. Neesa and Daniel met at Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2007 with degrees in Elementary Education and Exercise Science, respectively. Neesa Indoor & Outdoor Lifestyles teaches third grade at Located in the Heart of Mt. Juliet Natcher Elementary Vera Bradley • Summer Classics • Embroidery in Bowling Green. She • Archipelago Botanicals & Specialized gifts for brides will finish her Master’s Bridal Registry Now Available! degree in Library Media Education 2396 N. Mt. Juliet Rd. • Mt. Juliet, TN in May. Daniel is 615-773-0980 currently enrolled in www.dotandstells.com the Exercise Science Master’s program and is a graduate assistant at WKU. He plans to attend physical therapy school in the summer of 2010. Steak House The couple will marry on June 13, 2009 at the Specializing in Wedding Rehearsal Dinners & L & N Depot in Bowling Wedding Receptions Green, Kentucky. They will reside in Bowling Green. 2424 Gallatin Rd. N., Madison, TN • 615-859-5070

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sweetness of your and history of the area where I was married.” wedding day. in his signature style. Dorman said “It’s an honor for He said he likes to use that after 15 years in the me to be asked to take windows and doorways, business its difficult to part in what should be taking advantage of the choose a favorite wedding one of the best days in interesting and ornate he’s photographed, a couple’s life. I one certainly want to capture stands out in his those moments memory. that will last a life “This is really time,” said Mt. hard. But I did Juliet photographer photograph a Dale Dorman. “I wedding a few don’t want them years ago that to just look at does stand out. these pictures after A couple of years they get them, but earlier the bride I want them to became critically look at them 10, ill. She wasn’t 15 or 25 years expected to live; from now and be however, she beat able to relive those the odds although moments and to they said she remember how would never walk they felt. I want again. No one them to see the really knew the fun, the family determination she and the friends had to walk down who were there to the aisle. It was celebrate their day. Cover and above images by Dale Dorman an emotional day Photography I’ll capture it all. for everyone. The I’ve had my brides tell architecture of the area. ceremony began, the me ‘You were everywhere “I’ve photographed music started, the doors taking pictures and you weddings at The opened and everyone got everything, but you Parthenon, Union stood. They pushed her were never intrusive.’ I Station, Hermitage wheelchair to the edge think that’s important.” Hotel, Cheekwood, of the aisle and stopped. Dorman started Scarritt Bennett, The Then this beautiful bride in photography around Nashville Zoo and stood and made the walk 15 years ago as an Riverwood Mansion. of a life time down the assistant to another Each of these locations is aisle. I don’t believe there wedding photographer unique in their own way was a dry eye in the who was also a friend. and really say something place.” “She knew I had about the personalities of D o r m a n always had an interested the couple. I mean how recommends couples to in photography and as could you not have fun begin planning their a result she had asked at the zoo or be in awe wedding early and take if I could assist her at of the history of Union their time. a wedding,” Dorman Station or the beauty “I would said. “It was a lot of fun. of Cheekwood or the encourage any couple She asked if I would be serenity and tranquility to start planning their willing to help her again of Riverwood Mansion,” wedding no later than and of course I did. Now, Dorman said. “I love 10 months prior to their all these years later it’s photographing at old wedding date. Meet with still fun for me. That’s homes such as the Sam your vendors. Take the why I do it.” Davis Home or Andrew time to enjoy planning Dorman said Jackson’s Hermitage. what should be one of the he’s had the pleasure There is such character most fabulous days of of photographing some and charm in these the beginning of your of Nashville’s most places. But the most lives together.” favorite and popular special place for me to For more wedding venues, photograph is Riverwood information call 754incorporating the beauty Mansion because that’s 7520.

Perfecting the Rehearsal Dinner It has become commonplace for couples to practice what will be expected of them and the wedding party during the wedding c e r e m o n y . A church or synagogue may require an abbreviated run through of the ceremony, and the officiant will instruct the wedding party on how to enter and leave the building, as well as when to engage in scripture readings, etc. This rehearsal typically takes place the evening before the wedding or a few days prior. After the rehearsal, it’s customary for the immediate family and wedding

Did You Know? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2 million couples get married across the United States each year. Counting honeymoon and other weddingrelated expenses, the wedding industry grosses more than $1 billion annually. If 2 million weddings per year seems like a high number, consider the statistics in China, where a reported more than 9 million weddings in 2006 alone. And though Americans, particularly those who have already walked down the aisle, are often quick to bemoan the high cost of weddings, those costs are not exclusive to the Western hemisphere.

party to go out to dinner together and get to know each other before the wedding. Traditionally,

the groom’s parents host the dinner, which gives the mother of the groom a role in the wedding festivities. However,

many of today’s modern couples factor the rehearsal dinner cost into their overall wedding budget. The rehearsal dinner doesn’t have to be an extravagant affair. It can take place at a restaurant or even in someone’s backyard. Some of the best are informal and really allow everyone to mingle. This occasion is also the ideal time to give groomsmen and bridesmaids a gift for their participation in the wedding, especially if a bridesmaid luncheon is not being held. The bride and groom should also thank everyone for being a part of their special day and helped out with all of the wedding planning.

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To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you’re wrong admit it; Whenever you’re right shut up.

I used to believe that marriage would diminish me, reduce my options. That you had to be someone less to live with someone else when, of course, you have to be someone more. ~ Candice Bergen (1946 - )

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Wedding Tresses Made Easy Most brides don’t want stress while getting well-tressed for their wedding day. Besides hiring a reputable stylist and ensuring a practice hairdo run before the wedding, here are a few helpful tips. · Wear a button-down shirt when having your hair and makeup done on your wedding day - or for any other special occasion. This way you can take off the shirt without touching your hair or makeup. · Bring in your veil or headpiece in advance so your stylist can ensure that the haircombs attached will be in the right position for the style you’ve requested. If they’re not, you’ll have ample time to have that

rectified. · Don’t apply conditioner to your hair on the day of your wedding. Conditioner

may make your hair too silky and smooth, which could be a disadvantage when you want hair to

stay put and hold combs or pins in an up-do. · Opt for a twopiece veil if you desire a long cathedral-style veil. This way you can keep the long portion attached for pictures and the ceremony and then simply remove a portion for the reception and dancing the night away. · If your headpiece has gemstones or crystals in the design, have the stylist cover the stones up as much as possible before locking in your style with hairspray. After the wedding, talk to a jeweler about the right way to clean the stones. Otherwise the spray can tarnish the headpiece and potentially damage the stones. · Go with a simple style that matches your personality. You don’t want to look like a completely different person on your wedding day - just a better representation of yourself.

My wife has been my closest friend, my closest advisor. And ... she’s not somebody who looks to the limelight, or even is wild about me being in politics. And that’s a good reality check on me. When I go home, she wants me to be a good father and a good husband. And everything else is secondary to that. 1021 Odoms Bend Private Court • Gallatin, TN 37066 615-230-9356 www.clearingmanor.com

~ President Barack Obama

Expert Advice Translates to Successful Honeymoon Planning After months of planning and saving for a wedding, a honeymoon offers one-on-one time for the couple to have fun, develop a deeper relationship, and enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation. Among couples who enjoy a traditional wedding, statistics say that 99 percent take a honeymoon. The average honeymoon costs approximately $5,000. Since a honeymoon will account for at least 14 percent of the total wedding budget, couples want to ensure t h a t theirs is money w e l l spent --

reading the entertaining and informative stories in our multi-media digital magazine. You’re bound to find something you weren’t looking for that will help you create a better honeymoon experience.” Additional tips provided are: * Enjoy clear

especially in an economy where every penny counts. Preparation is the key to honeymoon success. “Working with travel professionals that specialize in honeymoon and destination wedding planning can help ensure couples have a memorable honeymoon,” says Scott Ellingboe, CEO of The Honeymoon (www. thehoneymoon.com), an online honeymoon planning resource with a honeymoon gift registry service and a nationwide network of independent, experienced travel agents. “Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or use a travel expert, you’ll enjoy browsing the honeymoon package and resort listings and

skies or bottomless blue water: Timing plays a large role in honeymoon travel. It’s important to research the average weather conditions for prospective honeymoon locales during the month you’ll be traveling as well as any events that may take place at that time. This way you book your honeymoon during an optimal time for the best conditions, both in regards to weather and the local culture. * Save money: Putting honeymoon plans into the hands of an expert could add up to considerable savings. “Travel agents have relationships with tour and package providers that they can leverage in ways the average

consumer cannot,” offers Ellingboe. Turn to a honeymoon expert for honeymoon planning needs so your honeymoon can truly be a trip of a lifetime. * Honeymoon registry: Not just for budget-conscious brides- and grooms-tobe, consider creating a honeymoon registry to give your wedding guests an alternative to crock pots, toasters and blenders. Wedding guests can improve your honeymoon experience by gifting the activities, excursions and dining experiences that make the trip memorable. * Pack a variety of clothing options: Bring a few different outfits of varying levels of formality so that you’ll have options on your trip. Depending upon the resort or ship, there may be specific dress codes at certain restaurants or meal times; you don’t want to be caught off-guard. Make sure your research includes destination clothing requirements since what is acceptable culturally varies widely across the globe. * Read reviews: There’s a reason review sites are so popular -- they help people make better, more informed decisions. Make sure that you read reviews of the places you are considering for your honeymoon so that you get a variety of viewpoints.

Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution yet. ~ Mae West

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