Wedding Planning For Dummies

Bride's Day-of Wedding Supplies

Brides, don't forget essential supplies for the actual wedding day. As a bride, blushing or not, your big day will run more smoothly if you're prepared for a tiny crisis or two. Pack a satchel or gym bag with the following items to help you get through the day:

Bar Supplies for a Wedding Reception

Planning for your guests' enjoyment at your wedding often includes accounting for alcohol intake. If you're sponsoring an open bar, make sure that you supply the bartender with enough liquor and mixers — the following table can help you plan.

Note: Amounts noted in the following chart are for 100 guests with a four-hour open bar including cocktail hour. The quantities are mostly in liters because that's how liquor is sold, even in the United States.

For ice, figure on 1-1/2 pounds per person; 2-1/2 pounds per person if also chilling bottles.

Planning Space-per-Person for Your Wedding

Knowing how much space each wedding guest requires can help you determine your wedding venue. Consider how much space your guests will need — whether you're planning an intimate wedding for 20 or an all-out extravaganza for 300. The following table shows recommended amount of space per person for various wedding-related activities:

Planning for Tablecloths and Servers for Your Wedding

Tablecloth sizes and the number of servers you need sound like mundane decisions for wedding planning. But the tablecloths and servers at your wedding reception can make a difference. After all, the right table coverings contribute to the overall effect you want to achieve, and having enough servers to carry food and drink can prevent a dining room disaster. Following are recommendations for both essentials:

The ratio of servers to guests varies according to where you live and how formal your wedding is, but the following table offers suggestions for various types of receptions:

How to Incorporate Good Deeds into Your Wedding Planning

As you plan to celebrate your wedding, you can share the love with the less fortunate and show some love for Mother Nature. Be socially conscious and contribute to your community by using one or all of the tips in the following list:

• Donate food: With rare exceptions, there will be significant leftovers if you are having a large reception. Arrange with the caterer before hand to give the prepared perishables to a food bank, and give them the details to follow through. Your caterer must be prepared to act quickly. You can find a local food-rescue organization through Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest) and be sure to read the organization's food guidelines chart to find out what they accept and what their storage requirements are.

• Give a gown: Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation of Portland, Oregon, holds "Brides Against Breast Cancer" charity wedding gown sales. Two other organizations, which outfit financially strapped teens for the prom, are The Glass Slipper Project in Chicago and Fairy Godmothers Inc. based in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.

• Register for charity: If you have enough pots and pans, discreetly steer your guests to a Web site where, in lieu of gifts, they can donate money to your favorite charity. Just Give and the I Do Foundation enable you to create donation registries. Or have it both ways: Register with I Do's partner stores and up to 8 percent of gift purchases will be donated to the charity of your choice.

• Go green: Tree-free invitations, organic food, party favors that help the homeless, eco-tour honeymoons — every aspect of your wedding can make a statement about being environmentally and socially responsible. Organic Nature News steers you toward eco-friendly choices.