Wedding Planning with Jen Thomas and Bud to Blossom Events

OK! You're engaged. Yippee! You may want to just sit back and enjoy that for a while. Go out to eat (check out Philadelphia Restaurant Examiner over to the right for ideas), hold hands, gaze into one another's eyes. This is a magical time. And you don't want to miss it because there's another task to be done.

But sooner or later, you'll be ready to start planning! Wedding Priestess would like to introduce you To Jen Thomas of Bud to Blossom Events. Jen is going to pop up from time to time on this page with information about Wedding Planning, Wedding Planners, Trends, Venues and Vendors and who knows what else.

To get us started, the first questions I asked were the first questions we all ask. "Jen, how do we get started? What do we need to do first?"

Jen's very practical response were two clear cut assignments (how did you know she was going to say this?):

• Set a budget! A budget is going to help you determine where to look. It can cost $200 a person at a downtown hotel. Your budget is going to help you figure out what makes sense – and Wedding Priestess certainly hopes you're going to be sensible about your budget!
• Get a guestimate of guests! venues are number specific, can't have 400 guests to dine at an intimate inn! This means you need to think a little about what kind of wedding you want to have or how many relatives you want to invite! The most romantic venue in the world can be all wrong for you if the two of you are longing for a large family wedding.

Before you get final answers to these questions, you need to be clear who's going to be setting the budget. Are you paying for your wedding? Are your parents helping or perhaps paying for everything? If your parents are paying, who's making the decisions about the venue, size, etc? Remember, the greater percentage you spend, the more the decisions are yours to make.

It's all about making choices. If you're not a great decision maker, or you want some help figuring out what the options are, a wedding consultant is going to be wonderful support. Remember, like most in her business, Jen works on both an hourly or a project basis, so there are lots of ways she can help you!

One more way to move from "I do" to happily and healthily ever after.

(And remember, I need your help to keep this column current, sassy and useful. Write to me with Philadelphia wedding venues, products and services to explore. Put The Wedding Priestess in the subject line.)