Chancey Charm has always been known for their luxury wedding designs and execution. You can expect that same unique design and top service with their boutique, featuring collections of beautiful pillows, poufs and other furnishings hand-selected for your wedding’s custom color palette.

These fabulous details will decorate not only your wedding, but they can come home with you and decorate your living room in the same sophisticated and chic style.

“Incorporating these lounge settings into a cocktail hour or reception has become a very popular request from our clients. It’s even become a topic of conversation at our first consultations with clients who have little to no vision for the decor or overall design,” – Sarah Chancey

Custom collections can be built for brides who are looking for specific color pallets, so if you don’t see the style you need, email Sarah and work with her to create the details that will enhance your wedding day.

Some of our favorites:

Shop now to find the collection that will charm your wedding!

So when it comes time to get married they have one of two choices, combine all of their stuff – keep the good and get rid of the old, or toss it all and start fresh with a new set of everything.

Is it rude to ask for other people to pay for your Honeymoon?

At first honeymoon registries seemed distasteful. People didn’t like the idea of just giving money to pay for an experience, they wanted to pick out useful items off of a list and send the couple their good wishes along with a vacuum cleaner.

As Honeymoon registries rise in popularity, it is becoming normal to see them in addition to a traditional registry, with gifts for guests who would rather give in that way.

It’s up to you what you do, but if you don’t want to register for the usual plates, pots and pans, use a Honeymoon registry to help send you and yours on the honeymoon of your dreams.

How to set up your Honeymoon Registry

There are numerous program to set up a Honeymoon Registry online with different services that will help you plan your vacation or simply manage the money as it comes in.

Another idea is on your wedding website, instead of listing where you are registered, add a sentence saying “Instead of household gifts we ask that you help send us on an adventure for our Honeymoon” and list out where you want to go and the adventures you have researched available.

Be specific on how they can give

List out different excursions you want to experience on your honeymoon and where you plan to go.  Add photos of your resort and stories about why you choose the location you did.

The more information you can give the more involved, excited and comfortable your guests will feel contributing to your honeymoon fund.

Write thank you notes

When you write your thank you notes make them specific. Even if the Jones Family just gave you $100, tell them what adventure you had with their gift. For example:

Thank you so much for the money towards our honeymoon. We spent a day whale watching on a catamaran and were able to jump in and swim with dolphins in Hawaii! It was an amazing experience and we are so happy you were able to celebrate with us in June at the wedding!

 Share photos when you get back

Most people love to travel and they want to see your photos from your trip when you get back. Tell stories and share photos so everyone will know their gift went towards a successful honeymoon!

How did your guests respond to your honeymoon registry? Offended or excited?

Who Hosts?

There are no right answers to any of these questions, they really depend on your preferences and unique wedding specifics.

Typically the brunch is at one of the parents or immediate family member’s house and either they can choose to cook (which most likely they will be too tired) or their close friends can offer to do a pitch in.

If you want to open gifts together make sure you organize this the night before to have all of the gifts brought over to the house where the brunch will be held. It is also fun to have a TV ready to look at photos or videos from the wedding – usually you will get some good laughs and stories being told.

There is always the option of catering the meal or having everyone meet out at a restaurant. This will save your family from  having to clean their house before the wedding or prepare food. The downside to having it out at a restaurant is it will be more expensive in addition to you won’t have the comfy couches to lounge around on while you chat!

What food should we have prepared?

This is up to you, but I always suggest to keep it simple. The morning after brunch is for you to gather together and spend some relaxing time as a family before everyone drives home, not have a 4 course meal of gourmet breakfast food. You all just came off a big meal at the wedding last night so light finger foods should be just fine.

• Muffins
• Bagels
• Coffee/tea
• Egg casseroles are good to make the night before
• Bacon (Can’t go wrong with bacon)
• Fresh Fruit tray
• Veggies tray
• Cinnamon rolls
• Make your own yogurt parfait with granola and assorted fruit toppings

Do I need to have activities at brunch?

No, this is not a time when you should be worried about entertaining. The guests invited to the morning after brunch should be your closest friends and family who are comfortable sitting around doing nothing.

Although you don’t need to have planned activities, it is always fun to open gifts as a group, look at photos and videos from the night before and share stories.

The bride and groom should plan on just being around most of the day so the family and friends that traveled from further out can spend some extra time with you before heading back.

Did you decide to have a brunch the morning after? What are your suggestions for making it a success?

Carry On Bag

• Ticket
• Drivers license
• Passport/Visa if you are leaving the country
• Credit cards/Debit cards – (find out my favorite cards to travel with here)
• Hotel reservations/Hotel address to tell your taxi driver when you arrive
• Camera (charged and ready)
• Snacks for longer flights
• Health Insurance cards (just in case!)
• Prescription medicine
• Good book to read
• Headphones

Clothes

• 2 Swim suits (make sure you bring one for sunning and one for more active sports if you are planning on getting out on the water)
• Swimsuit cover up/sarong for her
• 3 – 4 Sundresses for her
• 2 pairs of Shorts
• 2 – 3 T shirts
• Exercise clothes (you worked so hard pre wedding, don’t stop now!)
• Light sweater for evenings – just because you are going somewhere warm, it usually gets cold at night
• At least one pair of pants for a nicer dinner or cooler evenings
• Underwear/Socks
• Sexy Lingerie from your bachelorette party
• Flip flops for the beach
• Tennis shoes for your morning workouts together
• Shoes to dress up and wear out at night

Toiletries & Misc

• Birth control (unless you two are planning a honeymoon baby!)
• Toothbrush/Toothpaste
• Small bag of makeup
• Brush/Comb
• Jewelery
• Shampoo and Conditioner – most hotels provide this, but if you are particular about which type you like to use
• Facewash
• Deodorant
• Body lotion
• Lip balm
• Razor/Shaving cream
• Sunscreen
• Contact lens solution/glasses/extra contact lenses
• Chargers for cell phones, ipods, cameras etc.
• electrical adaptor if you are traveling to a new country
• Plastic Ziploc bags – you will be surprised how much these can come in handy

Print this list out and start checking the items off as you fill your suitcases. I don’t believe in overpacking, I actually only usually bring a carry on with me which makes traveling less stressful and your bag is guaranteed to show up.

Always remember if you need items such as medicine, toiletries or anything you forgot you can almost always get it there. Bring the items you know you will need and dont stress about anything you left at home – just enjoy being together!

Wedding planning is stressful so it only is fair that you and your new hubby/wife escape the stress and jetset to some exotic location where you can hide out in a hotel all day, drink champagne and celebrate… but, when is the best time to leave?

Let’s go over the different options:

Leave directly from your wedding

Literally, jump in a limo and take off to the airport for a red eye flight after your wedding. Or maybe you decide to have a morning wedding followed by a brunch and schedule your flight later that evening. This is for the brides and grooms that can’t wait to get to their next destination.

Leave the morning after

Close down your wedding with your guests, dancing into the night and then wake up early in the AM and catch the first flight out. This gives you a night to relax together, drop off your wedding dress with who will take care of it, get out of your wedding hair and make up and spend your first evening cuddling  in peace and quiet before you get out of town.

Give yourself a day to recoop

This is personally what my husband and I did. We had a lot of family in from out of town so instead of flying out the first second we got, our family and friends hosted a morning after brunch to get together one last time.

We didn’t have to stress about packing for our trip early, we did it the day after the wedding and we spent most of the morning opening wedding gifts with family and laughing about the stories the night before. For us, it was relaxing to be able to sit with everyone in a more casual atmosphere and celebrate being married.

A month or so later, when your schedules permit it

You can’t always plan your wedding around your honeymoon. Whether work is too busy to take 2 weeks off, or the location you want to go for your honeymoon has bad weather for another season. Don’t stress if you can’t get away the moment you are married, find a city nearby and do a weekend getaway for a few nights and then come back and start planning for your full blown 2 week honeymoon in an exotic location.

This also helps you stress less since you aren’t having to plan a wedding and a honeymoon all at once.

There isn’t a right or wrong answer…

Do what works best for you and leave for your honeymoon when you and  yours feels it is right. A lot of when you leave might depend on finding a cheaper flight at a certain time or when the hotel is available you want to stay at.

Just remember your honeymoon is for you two to re connect after a long and usually overwhelming year of planning. This is your time to kickstart your new life together on the right foot! Enjoy!

When are you planning to leave for your Honeymoon? 

Instagraming your wedding is a fun way to stay connected and get your guests involved, sharing photos from your big event.

Why to Instagram Your Wedding?

While you are busy being the center of attention, you miss a lot of what goes on with your friends and family. Creating a wedding instagram hashtag will let you follow along and look back at the fun from the evening from start to finish.

You will be able to wake up the next morning and do a quick search on Instagram for your unique hashtag and see all of the photos everyone took. This is a great way to capture the little moments that you would have otherwise missed.

How to Instagram Your Wedding?

Start with your Save the Date

Decide on your hashtag during the early planning phases and share it with your friends and family members from the beginning.

Wedding Hashtag Suggestions:

(I went from the last name LaForge to Eaton)

• #LaForgetoEaton
• #LaForge2Eaton
• #EatonWedding
• #LaForgeEatonWedding
• #TheEatons
• #Eatons2014
• MrandMrsEaton

Let your guests know early

Post your hashtag early in your wedding during your ceremony, so your guests know early on what your hashtag is and can start sharing photos early.

Pass out business cards

Business cards are small and easy to pass out. Whether you place them at each place setting or send them with your invitations, design them to go along with yoru wedding theme and pass them out.

Keep the design consistent

Encouraging your guests to Instagram at your wedding doesn’t mean your wedding has to be casual.  Use fonts, and photo frames to fancy up or dress down your wedding hashtag.

Have a Instagram DIY Photobooth

Set up an Instagram DIY photobooth for your guests to pose with. You don’t necessarily need a photographer since everyone has your phones and you want them to post it up online anyways. Ask a close friend to stand near the photobooth, directing people how to use it and reminding them of the hashtag to share the photo with.

What else did you do to make your wedding Instagram ready?

We see coffee bars most often at brunch weddings or after dessert treats.

How to host a coffee bar at your wedding:

First, Pick out your favorite coffee brand and style.

Offer an assortment of:

• Regular coffee
• Decaf coffee
• Espresso
• Latte or cappuccino
• Hot chocolate for the kids
• Teas for the non coffee drinkers

How to Personalize it

Design the cups and cup holders

Design your guest’s cups with your monogram or in a color to go along with your wedding theme.

Get your own special drinking mugs

I love these adorable I do… I do too coffee mugs off Etsy. Find mugs that represent you as a couple, pick out a black and white mug for the bride and groom or customize your own mugs to have special sayings.

Include a special gift to your guests

At the end of the night let your guests fill bags with whole coffee beans for them to take home and grind themselves. They get to enjoy fresh coffee in the morning while they are remembering the great evening spent celebrating with you!

Customize your coffee types and flavors

You can do this by picking coffee from around the world that represents places you have traveled as a couple or your heritage.

Also, if it’s a cooler evening, offer hot drinks and if it’s a warm summer morning plan your coffee bar around frappuccinos and iced coffees.

Coordinate the coffee flavors with the season (peppermint, pumpkin, etc.) or tie them to your cake flavor such as vanilla hazelnut coffee with hazelnut filling in your cake.

Add the extra touch

This is the fun part. The wow factor at your coffee bar.

This can be done by chocolate dipped stirring spoons, fun toppings like whipped cream, sprinkles, cinnamon shakers or homemade cookies to eat while the sip their cup of joe.

Are you hosting a coffee bar at your wedding? What are you adding to make it unique to your special day?

Different options to whiten your teeth:

Toothpaste

This typically takes longer (3 – 4 weeks) and you might not get the shocking white results you are looking for. While toothpaste can remove stains, it won’t change the color of your teeth and tends to be more abrasive causing your gums and teeth to become extra sensitive. Also, your diet will play a big role in this method, we suggest avoiding foods that will stain your teeth in your pre wedding diet.

Whitening strips

Whitening strips are a more intensive treatment than toothpaste, but work quicker (1 – 2 weeks). The results can last up to 2 – 3 years if you are properly caring for your teeth. I suggest trying these out a few months before the wedding to make sure they give you the results you are looking for.

Gel trays

The trays work similar to the strips but have a more dramatic effect, leaving your teeth noticeably whiter. This would be best if your teeth were  in need of some serious whitening. Talk to your dentist about which they recommend and how they can help you fit trays to your mouth. You also can purchase gel trays over the counter. Time wise they are similar to the strips (1 – 2 weeks)

Watch your diet

If you go through the effort to whiten your teeth don’t ruin it days before the wedding by drinking coffee and tea that will stain your teeth and lessen the effect of your treatment. Yes ladies, this means red wine too – limit yourselves in the days leading up to your wedding day to keep your pearly whites clean.

Be careful, beauty is pain…

If you’ve never gotten your teeth whitened before, beware of having your wedding day be your first. Your teeth come become extremely sensitive from the treatments, and can cause a lot of pain for your big day. They say beauty is pain, but is this the type of pain you want to be dealing with on your wedding day?

If you want to throw caution to the wind and get your teeth whitened anyways, despite having never done it before, give yourself a week or two to recover.

 Quick Poll… Did you whiten your teeth before your big day?

Don’t feel bad, it’s understandable with planning a wedding, that romance is the last thing on your mind. The only thing you can think about is what color linens to order, is your dress going to fit in 4 months and should you go with chocolate or vanilla filling for the cake.

Tough choices, I know.

I’m here to urge you to not put off the romance in your relationship and schedule time to remember why you are getting married. Set time aside where you and your fiance aren’t allowed to talk about the wedding. Go out and do something fun (do you remember what fun is?).

Wedding planning is stressful. As our stress builds we tend to take it out on those closest to us which means heightened emotions, shorter fuses and typically more bickering during the engagement period. This is unfortunate since your engagement period should be spent in celebration and good spirits looking forward to the exciting adventures you and yours get to enjoy.

So, how do you bring back the romance in the relationship when you’re planning a wedding?

Plan a weekend getaway

It’s hard to separate yourself from the wedding planning when you are hanging out in your own house that is piled up with invitations, wedding magazines and seating charts. You need to get away. Your weekend doesn’t have to be spent across the country, just find a hotel downtown or in the town over where you can relax together and spend time away from wedding planning. Your relationship will thank you!

Surprise each other

Surprises are always welcome throughout the wedding planning time. Cook dinner unexpectedly, pick up a small gift from one of her favorite stores or clean the dishes when it’s not your turn. Small surprises will help you remember that there still can be romance in the relationship and you both still have those ‘butterflies in your stomach’ love for each other that you did while you were dating.

Spend time with friends

It’s easy during the wedding planning to hole up in your apartment and focus on all of the to do’s you have to cross off before the big day. Never forget why you are throwing the beautiful wedding, in order to celebrate with your friends and family. You will be surprised how therapeutic a night of laughing with your friends can be. So really – go call your friends right now and make a date!

Use your words

It is amazing how quickly we can forget how to communicate with each other. Once you get into a long term relationship maybe we think we don’t have to try as hard, or say as much, the other person should ‘just know’. I don’t agree!  Let each other know that you still think they are the cat’s meow! Tell them that they look nice when they get dressed up, tell them you love them and you can’t wait to marry them. I know it sounds cheesy, but it helps to hear it sometimes. Make sure you say thank you to each other as you help out around the house and with the wedding plans. Don’t assume anything, use your words and communicate!

Here are 4 of my top suggestions, what would you add to my list? How have you and your fiance kept the romance alive while you are planning a wedding? 

When most women are doing ab work, they stick with the basic crunches and planks which focus on the rectus abdominus (the 6 pack section). Obliques serve as stabilizers, and are engaged in almost every lifting movement, and physical activity we do. It is extremely important that we build them up to be strong during our b fit series.

Here are my favorite exercises for working your obliques:

Dumbbell Side Bend

– Hold a dumbbell at your side and stand tall.

– Bend at the waist, directly to one side and return to a full standing position.

– If your back starts to hurt, lessen your range of motion or grab a lighter weight.

photo via fitness magazine

Russian Twist

– Sit on the ground with your knees bent and lean slightly back. *Most important here is keeping your back straight and not letting it curve. This will get easier as your abs get stronger

– Pull your belly button towards your spine, breathe in and twist to the right while you breathe out. Return to the center with a breath in and repeat the same movement to the left. This completes one full rep.

– To make this exercise more difficult pick your feet up off the ground and hold a heavier weight in your hand.

– To make it easier, keep your heels on the ground and don’t lose any weights, just focus on the twisting movement.

photo via fitbie

Windshield Wipers

– Start laying on the ground, with your back pressed into the floor and arms spread out for support.

– Slowly rotate your legs to one side and then the other, keeping your abdominal muscles engaged.

– Be careful to protect your back during this exercise and just not throw your legs to one side and the other. Ypu want each movement to be controlled.

– Begin by bending your legs, but as your abs get stronger you can straighten your legs in the area and lower them closer to the floor.

– Don’t forget to breathe!

photo via Prevention

Oblique V-Ups

– Lay on your side with your arms crossed in front of you.

-Lift your shoulders and feet off the ground and hold for 20 – 30 seconds before releasing

– This is a small movement but will engage your obliques and start to strengthen them. As you get stronger you will be able to bring your body higher up into the V shape.

– Be careful not to use your neck, all of the lifting should come from  your obliques.

photo via Mens Health Magazine

You have my 4 favorite oblique moves to add to your bridal fitness routine. Let me know if you have other exercises you use to strengthen your obliques, or if you have any questions on these!

Be Fit Brides!