http://www.eventethos.com/blog Event & Etiquette Weblog Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:42:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en QUESTION: I am getting married in the Dominican Republic. It is my second marriage. It is a private ceremony with just us and my 2 children on the beach. However we want to send announcements that we are getting married, but we do not want to send invitations. Do I send the announcements before ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-elopement-announcement/ QUESTION: For tipping the wait staff, you say 15-20% of the food bill–Do you include the total pricing from the caterer that includes, plates, tablecloths, etc… Or is it just the cost of the food portion? I appreciate your response. -Theresa ANSWER: Good question, Theresa~ Check out this great article from Hudson Valley Weddings (http://www.hudsonvalleyweddings.com/guide/tipping.htm): The ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-tipping-the-caterer/ QUESTION: I'm planning a wedding for May of 09 in Chicago. Was just reading your blog post on Room Blocks. Very helpful information. My fiancé and I are planning to have our reception at a hotel and are doing some "venue shopping" this weekend. I was curious as to the average discount ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-more-on-room-blocks/ QUESTION: I have been searching for weeks as to how to plan a 49th Anniversary Party for our parents. Half of our family lives 4,000 miles away from our parents. It has been 13 years since we will all (all family members) be at home at the same time. And has taken ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-49th-or-50th/ QUESTION: If you receive a formal Wedding Invitation and there is no mention of R.s.v.p or any response card, are you supposed to send a response? -Leigh ANSWER: Hi, Leigh~ You had me stumped on this question, and that doesn't happen very often! I researched the topic, and came up with the most magnificent answer to ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-no-reply-card/ QUESTION: Could you please give me any ideas for the verbiage for no children to a reception? -Debbie ANSWER: Hi, Debbie~ This is actually something I had to deal with at my own wedding, so I understand the difficulty! It can be very hard to tell your friends and family that their children are not invited. ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-no-children-allowed-2/ QUESTION: I am hosting my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary, and doing my own invites. 2 questions, 1) whose name goes first my mom's or my dad's?? I thought my dad's but friends have said that they heard "ladies first". Example, I have Joe and Beryl. 2) ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-%e2%80%93-wedding-anniversary-verbiage-and-etiquette/ QUESTION: Is it proper to have a couple's shower and also invite guests who are not invited to wedding? I don't want to have 2 separate parties. I thought I could send 2 different invites, one for the shower and one for just a party for the couple of guests who ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-invitation-to-the-shower-but-not-the-wedding/ QUESTION: Hi there, I'm wondering, for the wedding invite verbiage, what should my last name be? I've been using my married name from my previous name. Should I be using my maiden name on the invite or can I use my married name that I've used all these years? Any help would be ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-which-last-name-should-i-use/ QUESTION: I'm having a Christmas party at my home-for 50 guests, pretty but plastic plates for stand up appetizers-should I use cloth napkins or nice, paper napkins? -Jody ANSWER: Hi, Jody~ If you are using plastic plates, it would be more typical to use a paper cocktail napkin as its accompaniment. However, this is ... http://www.eventethos.com/blog/q-a-paper-vs-cloth-napkins/