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Ten of the Best Wedding Hacks We’ve Ever Seen

Do your own wedding makeup! Or go makeup-free. Photo by Amanda Summerlin.

We’re all about wedding hacks this month on Glö, and today we’ve rounded up a list of our favorite ones, from all across the internet and our own experience in wedding land. From food to tech to some really simple ones to keep you comfortable in your own skin (and shoes), we’ve got all the wedding hacks you could ever need for saving time, money, and stress at your wedding.

1. Wedding Cake Hack from A Practical Wedding: This one is pure genius. It’s pretty much common knowledge that you can use sheet cakes in place of a fancy tiered cake to save major money on your cake, but here’s a way to turn even the plainest grocery store cake into something chic, cute, and totally on point using a few flowers and some ribbon.

2. Self-catering, Potluck, and Other Wedding Food Hacks: Speaking of food hacks, Bon Appétit has this handy guide for partially self-catering your cocktail hour by prepping good cheeses, meats, and dips ahead of time. This is a great way to ensure your appetizers are high on quality but not high on cost, which is pretty much the dream, right? A Practical Wedding also has this great guide to having a potluck wedding that is stylish and delicious, and deciding if a potluck is right for you. Genius. And if you are really ready to take the plunge on hacking your wedding food, consider Offbeat Bride’s complete guide to self-catering. Not for the faint of heart.

Rent this $1,200 dress by Marchesa from Rent the Runway for only $175.

3. Consider Renting a Dress: Grooms and their posses rent tuxes all the time, so why not rent a couture wedding dress? Rent the Runway has some truly amazing options at a fraction the cost of purchasing a major label wedding gown. There are also companies that offer rental services for bridesmaid dresses, like Union Station. Your ladies will thank you, because trust us, they won’t wear it again no matter what you do.

4. Break In Your Wedding Shoes: This might seem obvious but of course the best way to keep your feet comfortable is to wear shoes you’ve broken in. This goes for heels, of course, but also flats and men’s shoes. Weddings are long. Would you spend eight hours hiking in brand new boots? Exactly. You can also consider scuffing the soles of your shoes with sandpaper or even adding dance soles to prevent slipping. Solemates can prevent heels from sinking into grass, too.

5. DJ with an iPad or iPod: For some reason, rumor has gotten around that this hack will ruin your wedding. Glö staffer Dana did it for her wedding and had a positively raging dance party. It just takes some skill and a little planning (like, um, most things?). Here are her tips:

Assign one person to the playlist, and ask them to act as MC for the reception.
Make sure they are the only one that touches the iDevice, because you do not want anyone taking that over.
Rent amplification, because no one will dance if they can’t hear the music.
Be sure to set the music to crossfade for several seconds so there are no weird gaps or silence.
Dim the lights. Duh.

And that’s really just about it. More questions? Offbeat Bride has an even more extensive guide, including tips on using Spotify.

6. Get Married in Your Own Backyard: Think you have to have a huge estate in the family to pull this wedding hack off? Think again. Houzz recently did a great slideshow (and call for submissions) of backyard weddings from their readers, and the results show that you can have a wedding in any backyard, anywhere. You’ll save so much money on a venue, you can even consider upgrading your yard a little for the wedding, and that’s actually an investment you can enjoy long after the guests have left. Don’t have a yard at all? Consider public parks or generous friends’ spaces.

7. Bring Dryer Sheets: Seriously, these can take care of so many wedding emergencies. They eliminate static, get rid of armpit stains, or even use them as a quick replacement for a lint roller. All You has even more unexpected uses for them, including polishing chrome. Okay, maybe that one’s not for your wedding, but still: who knew?

8. Beautiful, Makeup-Free Skin from A Practical Wedding: Brides, do not let anyone convince you that you must wear makeup at your wedding. And of course you can just do your own! The point is to look like yourself, and if that means a fresh face, than why do anything else? If you want to go makeup free for your wedding, or go the DIY route, consider following these tips from A Practical Wedding to keep you skin as fresh and beautiful as possible.

Try a hip custom stamp to put on All The Wedding Things from Hoot Owl Press on Etsy.

9. Have a Custom Logo Made Into a Stamp: This is another one that Real Glöbies and Glö staff have rocked at their weddings. Have an Etsy vendor design and make one for you, or a local graphic designer can design you a simple wedding “logo” and then have it made into a rubber stamp (this can be done online or at office supply stores for under twenty bucks). Then use that stamp on all your wedding paper goods, including programs, menus, welcome bags, you name it. High impact visual cohesion for almost nothing? Yes please.

10. Our Favorite? Use Glö: Okay, this is maybe a bit of a cheat but seriously, using Glosite.com for your wedding website, invitations, and guest management is the best wedding hack out there. You will save hundreds on paper invitations and postage, plus you can custom design you wedding invitations (or glövites, as we call them). Hosting multiple events but not everyone is invited to every single one? You can invite certain guests to only certain events, and manage all your RSVPs in one place. Want to see exactly how useful that can be? Check out this Real Glöbie destination wedding with events in Nigeria and Maryland, with multiple events and great organization. Plus, with our latest API feature, Glö’s features are available on other websites. So sign up for a free 21-day trial now, and get Glöwing!

Have a favorite wedding hack? Or maybe you tried one of these? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!

28 May 2015

Cool finds, Inspiration, Spice up your Site

How to collect photos from all of your wedding guests

It’s no secret that we all get really excited when technology makes yet one more part of wedding planning easier and fun! One thing that I didn’t think about for my own wedding, until it was too late, is how to collect all of the photos that friends and family took during our 4 day event. For weeks after the wedding, I received emails with links to various photo sharing sites – some saved here, some saved there. Of course in my post-festivity state, I wasn’t organized enough to create a directory of all the links. Now, I have no idea where most of the photos are. Epic Fail on my part.

But yet again, a group of smart, young, insightful entrepreneurs have created a service that help us solve the problem even before we know it is a problem. Enter Wedding Snap – a new tech company focused on helping your guests collect photos of your celebration in one, streamlined place. Wedding Snap has just released their widget code, which makes it easy for you to incorporate their service right into your Glösite pages. Perfect for sharing all of the photos with friends after your celebration. I asked Michelle Tang from Wedding Snap if she would be willing to give you all some pointers on how to use the service with your Glösite. Here’s what she had to say:

So you’ve built your Glosite and it looks amazing. But it’s a few days after your wedding and trying to remember all of the fun moments you had. You turn to Facebook or pester a friend, but only get a glimpse of one or two pictures and you’re left there wanting to reminisce some more.

With Wedding Snap, you can gather all of your precious wedding memories in one place with ease. Wedding Snap is an online photo sharing experience that uses IPhone and Android apps to help instantly collect photos in one online album. Every photo that is taken with the app is uploaded to the live album. No waiting or begging. Your guests can watch your wedding happen in real-time, no matter where they are.

How Does it Work? Sign up, create an album code (e.g. Ashley25), and share that code among your guests through 250 personalized instruction cards that Wedding Snap sends you. Your guests will download the free Wedding Snap app to their smart phones. Every picture that your guests take through the app, a copy of it will be automatically uploaded directly to your album.

The service starts as low as $99 and the app is free. So, it doesn’t matter if you have an intimate wedding in Bora Bora with 10 close relatives and friends or if you rented out the entire hotel to fit your 500 guests, the price is the same.

But why am I sharing this with all of you Globies? With the new embedded code option, you can now have all of those Wedding Snap photos in your Glosite (I know, you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat for this)! Your friends and family can check our your Glosite to see all of the wedding photos they took in real-time. Now, you’re probably thinking, how do I get my photos in one place because I just can’t wait a moment longer!

How to Embed your Wedding Snap Album in your Glosite:

1) Log into your Wedding Snap album by typing in your album code and password:

2) Once your dashboard has loaded, click on the album you would like to embed into your Glosite:

3) From the album gallery, click on Share Album:

4) Once you’ve clicked the Share Album button, you will be brought to this screen where you can get your Embed Code:

5) Copy this Embed Code and go to your Glosite and click on Manage your Glosite. From there you should click on Manage Pages:

6) Scroll down the Page and Click on Edit for your Photos Page:

7) Scroll down to Add Widgets and Paste your Embed Code here (or use the HTML button on the text editor if you feel comfortable with code):

8) Click Save Page and view your Glosite. Now you can see all of your Wedding Snap photos all in one place in real-time!

Get Snapping Globies!

From the blush pink peonies to wedtech, a Managing Director at Wedding Snap, Michelle stay on top of all the up-and-coming trends. She loves all things startups, weddings, and technology, aside from being a huge foodie in her spare time.

Wedding Snap is a wedding photo sharing platform used to instantly and easily capture, store, and share all wedding memories with the help of our app. Within just months of launching, Wedding Snap has helped capture memories in more than 800 U.S. cities and 20 countries across the world.

Follow Michelle on Twitter @frangipani_love

4 Sep 2012

Cool finds, Inspiration, Twists on Tradition

Cowgirl boot wedding shoes (and my saloon-girl ancestry)

So if you and I have emailed, or if you follow Glö on twitter or facebook, you probably know that I moved from London to Colorado just about a year ago. I love it here! And I’m pretty gosh-golly excited to announce that I’ve acquired my first pair of cowgirl boots:

The beauties came from the legendary Colorado store Sheplers. I have to confess…I feel pretty sassy when I’m struttin’ my stuff in them.

Although this is my first time living in the Wild West, my family hails from these parts. In fact, my great-great Aunt Lizzie was a saloon girl in Wyoming in the late 1800’s. (The high-kicking, beer-pouring, put cowboys in their place with a glance kind of saloon girl – not the special-lovin’ in the back room kind – she was a happily married lady!)

I’ve been told by my great Aunt (who was born and raised in Colorado and will turn 102 this Christmas Eve) that Aunt Lizzy was one independent-minded, strong-willed and all-around-awesome lady. I like to think I’m channeling Aunt Lizzy’s girl-power when my new boots are on my feet. My high-kick…that leaves something to be desired.

In light of my new obsession with all things western, I was rootin-tootin excited to see that Sheplers has a selection of wedding boots!

I could totally imagine rocking them in a gorgeous lace-covered dress, getting married in an open field with the mountains as a backdrop. And considering how comfortable cowgirl boots are – dancing is definitely in the cards! (high-kicks are optional.)

Sheplers actually has a whole range of western wedding apparel and accessories. Yee haw!

Anyone planning some western twang in their own wedding? I’d love to hear about it!

9 Sep 2011

Cool finds, Vendors

Dress shopping at ShopBop

So to follow on from Kristen’s fab post about places to find your dress – she also alerted me to the fact that her favorite online shopping site ShopBop has a rockin’ new bridal boutique. I love that there are so many style, shapes and price points on here. Just wanted to share! (looks like the ship all over the world too – total score!!)

17 Jun 2011

Cool finds, Guest Post, Vendors

Wear-me-forever wedding jewelry

How many of us go crazy when we find the perfect pair of shoes / skinny jeans / sexy + comfy sweater that we know we’ll wear until the end of time (or at least until it completely falls apart.) For me, my wedding shoes definitely fell into that category. Yes, I fell in lust the moment I saw those perfect, strappy, gold, comfortable, goes with everything shoes. I even wore them twice before my wedding day, I couldn’t wait to get them on my feet. Three years on and those shoes have almost disintegrated but still sit lovingly on my shoe rack. Sigh – I should have bought two pairs!

My love-em-til-they-fall-apart wedding shoes

The super talented Neallie Walvatne knows exactly how this feels. Neallie’s euphoric discovery of her wedding earrings actually inspired her to start an entire line of knock-me-down-gorgeous pieces of wear-me-forever jewelry. It’s so beautiful that I want it all. I asked Neallie to share a bit of wisdom about choosing the right accessories for you wedding celebration – and here’s what she had to say:

I bought the beautiful earrings I wore on my wedding day in a little shop in Paris. I found them while roaming the boutique filled streets; the details of which little rue I was on have left me completely. The precious earrings however, I remember quite well: vintage-inspired sterling silver rounds with tiny ivory pearls and AB rhinestones. I knew the moment I saw them that I would wear them again and again, and I did – until I wore them out entirely.

This is the main question I would consider when shopping for your bridal jewelry is “Will I wear it again?” Ultimately the jewelry you choose for your big day will make you look and feel amazing, and they will continually do this for you on any ordinary day in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It may become your go-to accessory when you’re in a hurry because it never fails. It may be the extra sparkle you need to brighten your day, or the fun and funky piece that makes every outfit complete.

Of course, you may also consider the look and feel of your wedding, the style of your gown, how you will wear your hair or whether your wedding is going to be traditional, vintage, modern or bohemian chic. With all the many options to choose from, I still say “choose jewelry that feels like you” and it will remain your favorite for years to come. I am sure of this because for years later, I smiled every time I looked in the mirror and saw my little Parisian finds dangling from my ears.

Amazing, huh? It’s no wonder that Neallie’s entire line at Vatne Designs captures this same feeling. Loooook at these!:

And (total bonus for us all!) she’s offering a 25% discount and free shipping especially for Glö-bies – just enter promo code GLOBRIDE at checkout.

About Neallie and Vatne Designs

I create and handcraft each unique piece with this same inspiration, knowing my brides and all customers want the memory of the Big Day to be accessible everyday. The casual elegance in my collection easily takes you from day to night, completely wearable everyday out and about or to a special event. I love to customize my collection, and design according to my customer’s vision and make each piece the perfect one for you.

Visit my online shop at www.vatnedesignsshop.com and you can now find me on wedzu.

You can also find Vatne Designs on Facebook

23 Nov 2010

Cool finds, Vendors

Wedzu – for finding indie vendors and hand made wedding items

A friend of mine who’s in the midst of wedding planning shared a site called Wedzu with me today. Wedzu is sort of like the Esty for Weddings – with indie vendors offering hand-made wedding wonderfulness. The company has only launched this year, but already has pages and pages of items, in the categories of:

Accessories
Apparel
Bath + Beauty
Ceremony + Reception
Jewelry
Design & Calligraphy
Honeymoon

And Wedzu is a couple-founded company! We love that (being one ourselves…) Here’s what the founders write:

What is Wedzu? And who made it?

Anne and Brett, two artists from Austin, teamed up with the creators of Supermarket HQ to create Wedzu, an online marketplace dedicated to indie and handmade wedding design.

Anne and Brett are super excited to shop on Wedzu — and get married in November.

So go check it out! We want to hear about what you find…

27 Oct 2010

Cool finds, Vendors

Wish Upon a Wedding – Bid Your Wish for Wedded Bliss

Hey Glöbies! I wanted to share some news about an organization that Glö is proud to support called Wish Upon a Wedding, which is the world’s first nonprofit wish granting organization providing weddings and vow renewals and for couples facing terminal illness and serious life-altering circumstances, regardless of sexual orientation.

Here at Glö, we think this is a pretty big deal and so are thrilled to help spread the word. The best thing is that Wish Upon a Wedding has organized Bid Your Wish for Wedding Bliss. Until November 30th, 2010, you can bid on awesome product and services for your wedding and all of the proceeds go toward granting wedding wishes. That’s a deal that you can feel great about getting!

Here’s some more info (it’s ity bity, so click on the image to view in full size):

12 Oct 2010

Cool finds, DIY, Inspiration

Invitation and Accent Designs from OneHeart Weddings

So I’m always hunting around the web for different DIY design options. The other day, I happened across a fabulous resource from One Heart Weddings, which offers downloadable DIY designs. Their designs are super compatible to upload as Glövites, and you can print the designs at home if you need some extra paper invites for the older relatives. Plus, there are matching templates for Wedding Programs, Menus and Thank You cards. (as an added bonus, the first 2 downloads are free. yippee!)

I also love that there is a “backgrounds and accents” category with icons and images that are perfect for making Glösite designs.

One Heart Spiraling Flourish Invitation and Accent

To use a OneHeart Wedding invitation design as a Glövite, take the following steps:

1) Choose any OneHeart invitation design (I recommend using a portrait sized design) and clicked “personalize online”

2) Edit the text and click “download PDF”

3) To upload into Glö, you’ll need to crop the design and save it as a ,jpg, .gif or png format.

You can either crop the PDF version and then save it as a JPG using a program like paint (PC), paintbrush (mac) or Adobe Photoshop.
OR
You can take a screenshot of the finished design and save it as the correct file type
(Note: Glövite designs work best with the dimensions w: 431 x h: 531 pixels, but the horizontal designs from OneHeart are pretty spot on.)

4) Then, log onto your glosite.com account and go to “Manage Glövite” > edit/create a Glövite and upload the design

To make a matching Glösite design, you can download one of our DIY templates and use a coordinated OneHeart Wedding Accent to make something fabulous.

One Heart ‘True Love’ Invitation and Accent designs

30 Sep 2010