My usual Monday Email arrived on Sunday

AAWP's Weekly Words of Wedding Wisdom™ Did YOU Catch The Queen For a Day Syndrome? Copyright 2009 Deborah McCoy, all rights reserved. Hi Jane Skarosi This week we'd like to discuss wedding priorities and "The Queen For a Day Syndrome" or the phenomena that occurs when a bride gets so caught up in wedding she forgets about what makes a wedding a wedding. Let's look at a couple examples: A bride-to-be named Michelle emailed AAWP and said that she hosted a dessert reception. She featured a make-your-own sundaes buffet, and served cookies and pastries, topped off by wedding cake. Then she said, "My dessert reception ended in dessert disaster. Everyone left early and went to a near-by Denny's. They said they were starving." As we told Michelle, we live in a low-fat, low-calorie society and while it may sound like a fun and novel way to host a reception, it's not what your guests thought- and it proved to be a disaster. It's just a case of a bride-to-be putting her wants and desires over the needs and comfort of her guests. In another example, a bride wrote to say that she had gone so far over budget on her wedding photography that she had no choice but to have a "cash bar" (guests pay for their own drinks) at her reception. She wrote to say that her guests exited early and she was heart-broken. (If you were invited to a friend's home for dinner and then asked to pay for your drinks, how would you feel? A wedding reception is no different.) NOTE: AAWP has had much email about cash bars and their effect on reception times. Guests tend to exit early-the last thing you want on your wedding day. As a bride- and groom-to-be, your guests and their comfort must be your first priority. They are the ones, who when they exit your reception, will say, "Wow, what a wonderful, warm, fun party. Everything was terrific. Sue and Joe really put a lot of time and effort into their wedding." Just remember that as bride and groom, you are the hostess and host of your first party as husband and wife. It's your guests and their opinion of your wedding that will make or break the affair. Don't let The Queen For a Day Syndrome catch you! Happy Wedding Planning! AAWP