Posts Tagged ‘wedding planning’

Looking for a way to save money on your wedding?

March 5th, 2012 | Rss Feed

Going overboard when planning your wedding and reception is very easy to do nowadays. With all the hype about how lavish weddings are becoming and the wedding industry encouraging you to spend every last penny so your day is “perfect”, it is no wonder that the average cost of a wedding and reception is more than $20,000. Here are a few mistakes that may cost you money in the long run.

Not using the Internet to plan your big day. This includes using a “wedding website” to announce your wedding. In today’s times, the Internet is used for anything and everything. One in five couples use the Internet to send invitations, send save the date announcements, RSVP to the wedding and/or reception, and even for their registry. Even if you prefer old-fashioned paper invitations and save the date reminders, using the Internet to compare prices on other items is sure to save on your wedding budget

Assuming you have to stick with tradition, you are the bride and groom and you get to decide just how you want your wedding day to be. Just because mom and dad had a traditional wedding with a formal dinner and 5-tiered wedding cake doesn’t mean that is what is right for you. Many couples are opting for a less formal dinner. Maybe a buffet, or just a cocktail hour is what you had in mind. Another option besides a huge wedding cake is cupcakes. Traditional wedding cakes can start at about $5.00 per slice whereas cupcakes are about $2.50 – $3.00 each. In addition, ever consider a doughnut wedding cake?

Another area to think about in saving money is an open bar. Wedding guests love it, pocketbooks cringe with it. How about splitting the difference and opt for an open bar to a certain time of the night, or with a limit on how many free drinks each guest is allotted? If you are adamant about having an open bar so everyone is happy (except maybe you), then limit the amount of different varieties of liqours to choose from. For example, you do not have to have 4 different premium Vodka’s. Instead, have one premium and one shelf variety. Survey your guests to get an idea what you need to have available. If no one drinks Crown Royal, then do not have it as an option. Another cost saver is to have a signature cocktail for the evening. This can be one or two different drinks that are inexpensive (but wonderful tasting) to make. Another thing to ask about is if your venue (or whomever you purchase your bar items from) will credit you back for any bottle that is not opened at the end of the evening.

Last but not least, do not be afraid to negotiate for better pricing. When asking for a discount, don’t say “how much is this, this and this”. Rather, say “this is my budget, what can you do for me”, and go from there. Pretty much everything in the wedding industry can be negotiated. It never hurts to ask for a discount. The worse thing they can say is NO.

Think about these tips when planning your wedding.

Social Wedding Ideas – February 2012 in Review

March 2nd, 2012 | Rss Feed

February 2012 included another popular Valentine’s Day season. Please see our best social wedding related posts. You can check us out on Facebook with our link in the right sidebar to follow us!

February 1 - Wedding Saving Tip – Skip expensive centerpieces. Instead, use items around the house like books, glassware with tea lights & family photos.

February 1 - A+ for originality – Custom made wedding bands with waveform of the couple’s own voices. ”I do”. http://bit.ly/zxCQ3r

February 2 - Great article – Top 10 Cooking Blogs - http://bit.ly/zNczUb

February 2 - Drew Barrymore Engaged and Planning Wedding and Dishes on Her ‘Fancy’ Engagement Ring – Style News - http://bit.ly/yPCdMj

February 2 - See 12 stars’ wedding engagement rings with pictures – See the big bling belonging to Hollywood’s leading ladies - http://bit.ly/vZduV8

February 3 - Fashion runway – G-String Wedding Dress – What wil they think of next? http://bit.ly/wYNNH8

February 3 - A bold article by GLAMOUR – 6 Wedding Traditions No One Will Miss - http://bit.ly/wVzXpW

February 4 - Wedding Saving Tip – Not fond of wedding cake? Consider having a dessert buffet. Assorted cookies, candies, pastries and homemade pies.

February 6 - Just in case you missed them, here are the best commercials of the Super Bowl according to Hulu - http://bit.ly/yrsTBO

February 6 - Skip the vase. Think goblets, mason jars, milk jugs, trophy cups, beer growlers, tin cans and ice buckets. http://amzn.to/vVsHbv

February 7 - Sharing a cool product we like – Indigo Album Design’s photo album. Very modern, includes matching box. http://bit.ly/s9URL3

February 8 - New Press Release – WeddingMuseum.com Launches 40+ Song Lists for Wedding and Party Planners - http://bit.ly/x5oL15

February 8 - Wedding Saving Tip – Save money on a guest book. Instead, get pictures of guests as they enter the reception – as couples or groups.

February 9 - Article on MSN – Top 10 Chic Valentine’s Day Wedding Ideas -http://bit.ly/yTYtzR Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday!

February 10 - ?8 months before the wedding – Create a wedding website. Check out our custom free wedding websites: http://bit.ly/sb51Ee

February 11 - Adele’s “Someone Like You” Wins Tenth Annual Musicnotes.com “Song Of The Year” Award - http://bit.ly/yP3kMj

February 11 - Just in time for Valentine’s Day – Check out this cake topper offered from the Paris Las Vegas http://bit.ly/wLliEX

February 13 - Picture posted of wedding cake – includes zombies and spy agents cake topper - http://bit.ly/AuvVNO

February 13 - The Grammys took place last night. In celebration, here’s an article of the 90s where are they now - http://bit.ly/wkYAp1

February 14 - Diets for Women: 7 Plans That Target Ladies - http://bit.ly/yTQLPA - These plans, from Weight Watchers to the Petite Advantage Diet, are geared toward women.

February 14 - Looking for a location for an outdoor wedding? Consider rooftops, local fields and parks, pool decks, golf courses, and ship decks.

February 15 - http://bit.ly/AlQBHu Jenna McCarthy: What you don’t know about marriage. In this funny, casual talk from TEDx, writer Jenna McCarthy shares surprising research on how marriages (especially happy marriages) really work. One tip: Do not try to win an Oscar for best actress.

February 15 - Feel good story – Leukemia Victim Gets Second Shot at Life, Wedding Photos - http://bit.ly/zNrGfP

February 16 - Photo Strip and descriptions – Wedding Dress Options for a Variety of Budgets - http://bit.ly/AwfyeN

February 16 - ?101 Celebrity Wedding Engagement Rings with pictures -http://bit.ly/AFlzzj

February 17 - Friday Question: Would NOT having a facebook login prevent you from registering on a website?

February 17 - Money Saving Tip – Purchase a Cricut and create your own save the date cards and programs and much more! http://bit.ly/x1TinJ

February 17 - Wedding planning article – 5 Costly Wedding Mistakes -http://yhoo.it/yNX1QF

February 18 - Wedding planning article – How to Make a Courthouse Wedding Special With DOs and DON’Ts from David Tutera - http://bit.ly/wgLl8N

February 19 - Purple and teal wedding colors are all the rage. 3 fun wedding colors include tangerine, ice blue and eggplant. http://bit.ly/rXMthQ

February 20 - Wedding article – Honeymoon getaways for less -http://cnnmon.ie/zEVCCH These romantic getaways offer many of the same attractions as some of the world’s most desirable destinations, but they cost a fraction of the price.

February 21 - Beautiful and creative wedding cake – picture http://bit.ly/yPM5Va

February 21 - Great personal wedding day picture – My dog saying Goodluck to me on my wedding day. http://bit.ly/yNEQQw

February 21 - Not Your Average Wedding Frills – 20 Amazing ideas with photos for unusual wedding must-haves. http://bit.ly/yKS89F

February 22 - Having a fall wedding? Think about buying pumpkins and carving out the b&g’s initials, wedding date or other wedding scenes. Don’t forget to spray them with Pam, freeze them and lastly add candles.

February 27 - Pink and Green Wedding Cake with Fresh Flowers - http://bit.ly/AhNc5i

February 28 - The Perfect Gift for the Bride Who Has Everything - http://bit.ly/A0Gxid

February 29 - Natalie Portman’s Wedding Ring to Benjamin Millepied – Style News -http://bit.ly/Aah24F

February 29 - Facebook is changing the layout of all pages to their new design by March 30. We are resizing one of our banners. Once it is complete, we will transform to the new layout – the timeline.

Tags: wedding ideas, wedding planning
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Planning, WeddingMuseum.com | No Comments »

How to save money on your honeymoon

January 12th, 2012 | Rss Feed

Weddings and honeymoons can be very costly, especially if you are paying for everything yourself. Here are some ways that you can save some money on your honeymoon. Just because the wedding is in June does not mean that you have to honeymoon in June also. Think about taking your honeymoon in the off-season. Also, different honeymoon destinations have different off-seasons. So you will need to do some research on this depending on where yo wish to travel to.

Another way to save money on the honeymoon is to sign up for a honeymoon registry. This works particularly well if you are a couple that has most everything for your house. Instead of registering for that toaster or coffee pot, register for a honeymoon. Cruises are a great honeymoon destination with this option. Go to your local travel agency and they can help you set this up. This way, instead of your guests purchasing a wedding gift, they can put money towards your honeymoon.

Cruises are a great money saving idea even if you do not want to put the expense on a honeymoon registry. Cruises are all inclusive vacations that can be very affordable. Your room, food and destination are all included in the fee. There are some extra charges you may occur but you have control of what you want to spend. Usually any type of excursion is an additional charge. Therefore, choose those carefully. Also, any type of liquor, beer, or soda is an additional charge. Water, tea and coffee are typically included. There are other all inclusive destinations which follow many of the same rules. It doesn’t have to be a cruise if that is not your cup of tea. An example would be Sandals resorts.

Booking early can save you tons of money. Most airlines and hotels offer better rates if you book early versus waiting until the last minute. At the very least, this guarantees that all of the inexpensive rooms will not be sold out.

You know all your airline miles/points that are just sitting on your credit card waiting to be used? What better time than this to use them up. Don’t forget that in some cases those credits can be used for more than just airfare. Sometimes they can also be used for hotel or other forms of transportation.

Honeymoons do not need to be exotic destinations. Check into your own neighborhoods and see what kind of deals you can get at home. No matter what you decide on for your honeymoon destination, the best way to make sure it is affordable is to budget, budget, and budget. Do you really need those monogrammed napkins at your reception? The ones that everyone is going to wipe their face on and throw away.

Tags: honeymoon, wedding planning
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Honeymoon | No Comments »

Wedding Colors by Season

January 3rd, 2012 | Rss Feed

Brides and grooms choose their wedding theme for many reasons. Maybe they have favorite colors that they want to incorporate into their theme, like purple and teal. Maybe they have a special time of year they prefer, like Halloween or Christmas. They also may have a special theme in mind, like the roaring 20′s or antiques. There are many way of incorporating these things into your wedding day. You can incorporate them into your flowers, linens, centerpieces, invitations, etc. If you are choosing a color, or colors, into your theme, why not choose colors that are associated with the season you are getting married?

If you are getting married in springtime, you may want to choose pastel colors. Think about pastel pink flowers, accented with yellow, wrapped in a baby blue ribbon. You can choose white chair covers tied with large pastel green ribbons. You can also select to have more than one color or you can stay with a single color within the color range.

Getting married in the summer? We suggest to brighten up your color pallet. Look for vibrant blues, purples, greens, pinks, etc. Think about cream colored invitations with royal blue lettering. Centerpieces are a good place to add color into your wedding also. How about large white mums and deep greenery in a clear vase that is wrapped in a brightly colored ribbon.

Want to have a Halloween/Fall wedding? The best colors for this time of year are deep reds, rust, orange and golden yellow. Although there are plenty of flowers in those colors, don’t forget that fall foliage can be incorporated also. Since the season is fall, which is when the leaves fall off the trees, think about using twigs and leaves. Twigs in a large vase look very nice as a centerpiece. Instead of sprinkling confetti or glitter on the table, try placing different colored leaves around.

Last but not least is a winter wedding. This can be a very beautiful time of year. There are two ways to look at winter weddings; look at it as winter, cold and snowy, or as Christmas themed. If choosing the winter wonderland theme, go with blues, whites, silvers and crystals. You can take bare branches painted white and place them into a vase. Wrap the vase with a white ribbon with silver glitter throughout. Now hang crystals from the branches. You can also do this same option with snowflakes hanging from the twigs. Another idea to incorporate winter wonderland into your wedding is by adding snowflakes to your wedding invitations. If choosing Christmas as your theme, you may want to think of reds, greens and even black. When thinking of flowers, think of poinsettias and holly.

No matter what you choose, use any opportunity you can to add your own touch of personality to your wedding. Keep in mind that if you get plants and flowers in season, it will be less expensive to buy them at that time they are in season.

Tags: wedding decor, wedding planning
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Centerpieces, Decor, Flowers, Invitations, Planning, Reception | No Comments »

Wedding Timeline Countdown

December 21st, 2011 | Rss Feed

There is a timeline tradition for any wedding. This is a suggestion of when you should have particular details of your wedding completed (or at least started) by month. Here is a guideline for your consideration:

12 Months – Announce your engagement, choose a wedding theme, work out a budget, research wedding professionals (caterer, florist, DJ or band, photographer and videographer) and venues. You can also set appointments with the wedding pros at this time.

11 Months – Select a wedding consultant (if you are using one), meet with caterers and arrange tastings, select and book the caterer, select and book the music entertainment (band/DJ), decide on music selections, select and reserve your venue, (ceremony and reception), start thinking about your wedding dress. If you are choosing a destination wedding, now would be the best time to send save the date cards.

10 Months – Choose and purchase your wedding dress and veil. Choose attendants and discuss with them their duties and what you expect of them. If choosing a park or recreational area for the venue, secure the proper permits.

9 Months – Register for your wedding gifts, decide on food for the reception, choose whether you will have an open bar, limited bar or no alcohol at your reception, make a playlist for your music, research places for guests to stay, reserve blocks of rooms at a local hotel for guests.

8 Months – Go to your first gown fitting, order bridesmaid dresses and accessories, look at wedding rings, confirm florist and discuss wedding theme and flower arrangements, start making a decision regarding invitations (style, color, font, etc),

7 Months – Review and finalize your wedding details with your consultant, set fittings for bridesmaids’ dresses, choose tux styles for groomsmen, select a flower girl and ring bearer, choose and purchase wedding rings, finalize invitations.

6 Months – Review invitation proofs and make changes if needed, finalize invitations, discuss honeymoon ideas, meet with travel agent, work on wedding decorations (table decorations, favors, etc).

5 Months – Order place cards and programs, finalize honeymoon arrangements, make reservations for rehearsal dinner and menu.

4 Months – Get groom to try on tuxedos and purchase accessories, work on vow’s, make appoint with stylist regarding hair and makeup, address wedding invitations.

3 Months – Approve anything that is being printed for the wedding (programs, place cards, etc), decide about rehearsal dinner, next day brunch and reserve restaurants, discuss bachelorette party, review registry and make any adjustments.

2 Months – Mail invitations, purchase wedding gifts for wedding party members, go to second (possibly final) gown fitting, have groom make final decision regarding tux and reserve, arrange transportation for bride and groom to reception from ceremony site, purchase ceremony accessories (unity candle, wine glasses, etc).

6 Weeks – Send rehearsal dinner invitations, write thank you notes as you receive gifts, confirm music playlist with music entertainment, purchase any remaining wedding favors or table decorations, purchase a gift for your spouse-to-be, meet with stylist again for a practice run (take veil with you).

4 Weeks – Confirm with florist and arrange delivery times, meet with officiant to discuss details, determine any seating arrangements and reception layout, placement of cake table, placement of DJ or band, schedule an appointment for a mani/pedi just before the wedding, schedule pick up of grooms tux, finalize photographer and videographer.

3 Weeks – Go over RSVP’s and finalize head count with caterer, call anyone who has not responded to get accurate count.

1 Week – Confirm honeymoon arrangements and start packing, pick up wedding dress and tux.

WEDDING DAY – Eat a good breakfast, attend hairstyle appointment and make up appointment. RELAX and ENJOY yourself!!

Tags: wedding planning, wedding timeline
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Attire, Beauty, Bride, Ceremony, Entertainment, Groom, Honeymoon, Invitations, Jewelry, Photography, Planners, Planning, Reception, Venue, Videography, Vows | No Comments »