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Tips for the perfect wedding

Poor planning can turn your dream wedding into a nightmare.

But relax. Rather than turning into a bundle of nerves when preparing for the big day, let the professionals lend a hand. The arrangements can seem endless: picking a disc jockey for the dance, an entrée for a meal and, of course, the venue.

Here are some ideas to make your wedding pain free — on your budget and your sanity. After all, it’s a day to remember for the rest of your life.

For many engaged couples, starting the wedding planning process can be a bit daunting. And as far as planning goes, choosing a venue is one of the biggest items on the pre-marital checklist.

Choosing a place that fits the bride and groom’s personality and tastes is key, but according to Amanda Fett, wedding coordinator at the Hormel Historic Home, flexibility is also essential if the newlyweds really want to enjoy the biggest night of their lives. Jeremey Flagel, food and beverage general manager at the Austin Holiday Inn, said picking a venue is one of the first things an engaged couple should do, and it helps other decisions fall into place. Fett and Flagel have five tips for picking the perfect reception hall.

1. Gameplan, then attack

Before making any big decision, research is usually a good idea. Wedding planning is no different. Flagel said the Holiday Inn, which hosts wedding receptions, offers a checklist and timeline for potential brides’ planning, and choosing a site is at the top of that list. He said www.theknot.com and www.go2wed.com also offer checklists and many other useful tools.

2. Send in the scouts

Once the bride has a general gameplan, it’s time to check out a few of the venues at the top of her list. Fett said looking at pictures ahead of time is helpful, but potential brides should also see the location and request a walk-through.

“(The Holiday Inn) invite our brides to have a tour, invite them back and look at a couple of actual weddings (once the reception is set up) so they can see what the ballrroom looks like before,” Flagel added.

3. Bend, so not to break

Fett said one of the most important words in a new bride’s vocabulary is “flexibility.” She said it’s best to find a site that can meet a couple’s needs, but that they shouldn’t expect perfection.

“A lot of frustration has been that they aren’t as flexible as they could be,” Fett said.

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Clean Mama Printables is an Etsy shop started by work-at-home mom, Becky that keeps it “all” together with a cup of strong coffee and a checklist. She’s a former art teacher with a flair for graphic design. After making her own personal printables for years, she decided to open up an Etsy shop last March to showcase a different type of printable. Her printables focus on homekeeping, organizing and all things clean. Buy them to organize your life and make things a little bit simpler (and cuter). Becky has put together Kits to make everyday tasks a little more fun: The Busy Mama Homekeeping Kit (19 documents), is a complete kit to keep your homekeeping manageable and on-track. The Busy Mama Kit is designed in fun fonts and colors and is meant to be used month after month, year after year. It has documents that every homekeeping binder needs – a variety of lists, perpetual calendars, a deep cleaning checklist, a medical information sheet, daily and weekly planner pages… The Organized Kitchen Label Kit is 11 documents in an easy to use, print and label format – the ideas are endless. Get ready to label your entire kitchen – canisters, spice jars, dry storage containers – and with plenty blank labels, you can label other things in your home as well. You can print the labels on clear label sheets, vinyl, white sticker paper, colored paper, printed scrapbook paper…… The Original Everything Kit bundles 4 of her best-selling kits (32 documents) – The Busy Mama Kit, The Cleaning Kit, The Vertical Weekly Docket, The Meal Planning Kit, and the Christmas Planning Kit (the Christmas Planning Kit can be switched out for any other kit with 5 or less documents). This kit is perfect for someone just getting a homekeeping notebook started.

In addition to the printable kits, Clean Mama Printables also carries individual documents. All printables are in PDF file format so once your order is finalized, you can print the digital files as many times as you like for your own personal use. Becky can create a document just for you – she loves special orders, so if you have something in mind but don’t see it, just ask!

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