Wedding Help

Times are tough to be planning a wedding. Everyone seems to be worried about the housing crisis and rising gas prices, which leads to higher costs everywhere else. Now typically the wedding industry has pretty much been immune to any of these kinds of concerns. This is because couples getting married tend to want to splurge a little bit when they’re planning their wedding to make it the fairy tale wedding they’ve always dreamed of having. A wedding is typically a once in a lifetime event that parents, brides and grooms don’t want to skimp on it. But in times like these where the dollar is losing it’s value, you’re actually going to be getting less wedding for your money than you would have if you had gotten married a year ago. The cost of gold is up as well as the cost of food, and with rising travel costs the price tag on an international honeymoon is skyrocketing as well.

So how are couples handling the dollar crisis? By looking for extra ways to save money on their wedding, of course! Many brides and their families are starting to hunt for bargains for their weddings, and are starting to do away with any special but unnecessary extras. Many other couples are trying their hand at do-it-yourself weddings, which of course can be a lot of extra work, but totally worth it for the dollar savings. Many other brides are planning morning and afternoon weddings in an effort to save money on their wedding receptions. A morning or afternoon wedding will save money on not having to provide a large fancy dinner with a caterer. Instead, a morning or early afternoon wedding will allow the bride and groom to host a small snack reception which is less formal, but also a lot less money.

There is nothing wrong with looking for bargains when doing your wedding planning. If done properly, your wedding guests will not be able to tell how much you spent on any particular item, and you’ll be glad of the savings when looking at your finances after the wedding. Your wedding is most certainly a once in a lifetime event, and you should have a beautiful wedding, but you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune on it. When I started this blog, I wanted to help brides find lots of different ways to save money on their weddings. The recession (or “slow down”) wasn’t in place when I was planning my wedding, or even the thought that it could happen in the near future. But I wanted to give brides lots of ideas on how to save money on their weddings, and not forgo a great wedding look. The same thought still remains. There are lots of great about how to save money on your wedding ceremony, wedding flowers, wedding dress, catering, and even your honeymoon so that you can have the wedding of your dreams without breaking the budget. In times like these, it’s certainly worth looking at.

Tags: planning a wedding, Wedding Budget

While many brides planning their wedding just choose flowers and colors that they like and different effects that can be done on a budget, many other brides look at the recent trends from celebrity weddings. Celebrities pay for experts and wedding planners who will transform their wedding into just what they’ve dreamed, and they pay enough to make sure that they are keeping up with the most current trends. So if you are wanting a trendy wedding, but still keep your budget in check, then check out some of the details that have been prevalent in the most recent celebrity weddings for some ideas. The Today show posted an article a few weeks ago about some great celebrity wedding trends we’ll be seeing in the near future. It got me to thinking about how easy it would be to copy those looks for cheap. So, here are some of the top celebrity trends for weddings, and how you can easily copy them for a fraction of the cost.

Landscape Wedding Centerpieces

There have been many different styles for wedding centerpieces in celebrity weddings. At one point the trend was large centerpieces that were only one color, and more recently wedding centerpieces turned into lots of little centerpieces on one table for a more interesting look. But now, according to Today, landscape centerpieces are a great new trend for your wedding centerpieces. What does this mean? Look for some beautiful potted plants or flowers with moss. Today even suggests these helpful components for creating a landscape wedding centerpiece, pretty bowls, moss, mushrooms, or any other large potted plants or flowers. You can visit your local florist for some potted flowers and replant them into decorative bowls that won’t cost near the amount of buying flower arrangements from your florist. Plus, you can use them later on.

Shorter Wedding Veils

In celebrity weddings, don’t expect to see too many long and flowing wedding veils. Many celebrity brides are going for the shorter wedding veils that look a little retro for their wedding ceremonies. A short wedding veil adds an excellent romantic and dramatic appearance to your wedding day look, so it’s something to consider. I purchased my wedding veil from a lady who could make some beautiful veils herself. I only paid about $10 for my veil, and it’s pretty easy to go this route. If you are handy with a needle, then there are several bridal books in craft stores that will show you how to create a wedding veil, and tulle is only about a dollar a yard.

Groom’s Wedding Cake

Now, according to the article written by Today, groom’s cakes are really only a Southern tradition. Living here in the south, I had always assumed that every wedding had a groom’s cake. But I just never thought about it before. Groom’s cakes are great way for the groom to personalize the wedding a little bit. At my sister’s wedding, her groom’s cake had a fire truck on top since she was marrying a fire fighter. The cake should pick up on some special thing about the groom such as a favorite sport or team, home town, occupation, or even a nickname. Since a groom’s cake is less traditional than the white wedding cake, it doesn’t have to be done up as fancy, so you can buy a regular sheet cake and have it decorated to your specifications.

Wedding Favors of the World

Wedding favors are a great way to thank your guests for coming out to support you. Many celebrities are making their wedding favors support some kind of international theme, such as chopsticks, colorful bangles tied with a ribbon, or even a blend of your favorite spice from a particular region. You can find many wedding favors on the Internet with an international theme that really don’t cost very much. Another solution, visit a nearby oriental market and pick up different packs of beautifully decorated chopsticks, and then separate them and tie a set together with a nice ribbon and a note.

With the bleak outlook on our economy and the nervousness that consumers feel, the bridal industry has taken a bit hit. Many experts predict that the average spending for an American wedding will be down this year as brides are looking for ways to save money on their big day. It never hurts to look for deals, as nothing in your wedding will have the price tags for your guests to see. But a little bit of planning ahead and research can help give you the trendy wedding you’ve been wanting at a price that won’t take your breath away.

Tags: celebrity weddings, trendy wedding ideas, Wedding Planning

If you’re purchasing your dress in a bridal boutique, or even purchasing it on the Internet, then most likely you’re looking at having to have some wedding dress alterations done. It seems that some wedding dresses need a major overhaul once they’re purchased to be able to tailor them to a particular person’s body type, which can be a lot of work for a seamstress. Taking in fabric on the top, taking it in at the waist (yea!), and other wedding dress alterations aren’t as easy as they look. Even if what you only need to have done is to take up the dress so it isn’t too long, then you’ll want to pay attention to some of these tried and true tips for making sure you get it done right the first time. Here is some great advice for taking care of your wedding dress alterations.

Watch Your Timing

It’s important to get your wedding dress alterations done at the right time. If you do your alterations too early, and are planning on dieting before the wedding, then your dress may be a bit too big on your wedding day. But, if you start too late, you could run into the danger of not being able to get everything done in time. You’ll want to be sure to factor in times for fittings as well, as wedding dresses having a lot done to them will need many fittings along the way to make sure everything is still fitting all right.

Which Seamstress to Use?

Many of the bridal boutiques will offer wedding dress alterations for their customers, but if you’ve bought your dress online or the bridal shop you used doesn’t offer alterations, then you’re kinda out of luck with that one. Be sure that you go to someone who specializes in bridal gowns, and not just any seamstress will do. Wedding gowns have so many complex details that it’s best to find a professional who has worked on wedding gowns in the past. This will keep you from any nasty surprises later.

What to Bring?

Once you’re ready to start your alterations, you should bring more than just your gown to your seamstress.  Be sure to bring a bag full of what you will be wearing with your dress on your wedding day. This includes your undergarments, shoes and any accessories you’ll be wearing with your dress. When you are trying on everything together, it will be easier to envision what you’ll look like on your wedding day. Having your wedding shoes on hand is important to get the length of your gown right so you won’t be tripping over it on your wedding day. If you don’t have your wedding shoes yet, then bring a pair that are close to the height you are looking for. If you bring your hair accessories or wedding veil with you, it will help to make sure that you have the right balance of frou frou (my families term for fancy stuff). It’s important to create some kind of balance with all of the articles in place.

How to get Out of Wedding Dress Alterations

I was exceptionally blessed during our wedding as I didn’t have to deal with wedding dress alterations. I chose to design my own wedding dress and had a dress that was made exactly to my body type and specifications for what I wanted in a wedding dress. The seamstress was a friend of the family, and a pro at creating beautiful wedding gowns at a fraction of the cost of a bridal boutique. So if you are looking at altering your wedding dress so that it looks like a whole new dress with a new style, then here’s a great way you can save some money. Instead of paying full price for a dress you want to change, then paying a seamstress a lot of money, why not find a wedding dress seamstress who can create the exact dress you want to meet what you want? Sounds like a lot less hassle to me.

Your wedding dress alterations are important to take care of as soon as possible. Be sure to keep in mind that the more things you need to have done to your wedding dress, the more time it is going to take and most likely, the more money it is going to cost. Wedding dress alterations are something you don’t want to rush, or you could wind up with some disappointing results.

Tags: design your own wedding dress, wedding dress, wedding dress alterations

There are some parts of your wedding planning that will be more fun than the others. For many brides doing their wedding planning, choosing the flowers for their wedding and planning their wedding bouquets is very great fun. But the fact remains, you shouldn’t choose a florist randomly out of the phone book. That can be very risky business. Instead, you’ll need to make an informed decision about which florist you trust to handle such a huge aspect of your wedding. You need for your wedding flowers to be done correctly, and not to be swindled by over-inflated costs. So here are some important measures you need to take to ensure that you have a wedding florist that can not only handle your wedding, but that will do you right.

Talk to Your Friends

One important and often overlooked way of finding great wedding vendors in your area is to talk to your friends or family members who have been married recently. They can tell you which florists they loved, and which ones you should probably stay away from. If that doesn’t turn you up with a great wedding florist, then check out your local resources for florists for some companies in your area. Then, check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure they are refutable.

Ask to See Prior Work

Most florists will have some kind of book of their prior work which you can look through. From the pictures, you should be able to tell if they have the talent and expertise that you feel comfortable with for your wedding. Plus you can get some great ideas for decorating your ceremony if that florist has done weddings in that location before.

Stick With Your Budget

You don’t want to get taken on the costs of your wedding flowers, so have your wedding budget firmly in mind when you visit a florist. Instead of simply telling the florists what kind of flowers you like, and how you would like your dream wedding to look in terms of flowers - you’ll want to approach the situation differently. So instead of only talking about flowers, talk about money. Ask the florist how much they can do with X number of dollars. Then the florist will be able to talk to you realistically, and point you in the direction of some beautiful and less costly blooms. If not, then best find another florist.

Don’t Go Too Early!

There are some important factors you need to consider and have decided before you start looking for wedding florists. For example, you need to be able to tell your florist what your wedding colors will be (color swatches are handy), a tentative number of guests for centerpieces, the number of parents, grandparents, groomsmen, bridesmaids, ring bearers and even flower girls. So let me give you a piece of advice before going to your florist, if you don’t have any of the questions decided for your wedding, it will turn into a waste of time.

Your wedding flowers are an important part of your wedding day preparation. Even if you are not having flower wedding centerpieces, you will still need a bridal bouquet and flowers for your bridal party and to decorate your wedding ceremony. The right wedding flowers will add a touch of beauty and elegance to your wedding day, and they are sure to be noticed.

Tags: choosing wedding flowers, wedding florist, Wedding Flowers

If you don’t stay in tune with the current events of a social nature, then you may not be aware that one of President Bush’s daughters was married this weekend at their Ranch in Crawford, Texas. Whether or not you agree with the moves our President has made is not the point of this article. But for some reason, a marriage in the first family is something to celebrate. In fact, Jenna’s marriage was only the 22nd marriage in history for an acting President in the White House. Here in the United States, the first family is the closest to royalty that we have, and many people are really interested in how they live their lives outside of the White House. So how does the leader of the free world throw a wedding bash for his daughter? In an elegant outdoor wedding with the beauty of nature surrounding them, that’s how. While details are scarce about their wedding, the White House has released a few pictures to help us get a peek at how their wedding was done.

A Beautiful Outdoor Altar

President Bush had a giant limestone cross installed at his Crawford ranch for the occasion, along with a beautiful thick limestone altar that looks like a giant table running in front of the cross. On either side of the cross on the altar are some large and very beautiful flower white arrangements in decorative vases. Plus, as a great addition, their outdoor wedding altar overlooks a beautiful view of a body of water. What a beautiful place to take your marriage vows.

The Bride’s Attire

While we can’t all afford a specially designed Oscar de la Renta wedding gown, Jenna looked beautiful on her wedding day. She had simple and yet elegant wedding dress that was sleeveless had a V-neckline. Her bouquet was simple, a hand-tied bouquet of white flowers, and her jewelry was kept simple and light. As for her wedding hairstyle, Jenna opted for a simple hairstyle. She kept her hair down, drawing pieces from the sides and weaving some beautiful white flowers into her hair.

The Bridesmaids

Of course, Jenna had her maid of honor as her twin sister in a beautiful light blue bridesmaid dress. While none of the pictures released from the White House showed her other bridesmaids, we do know that each bridesmaid had a different color dress to represent the different colors of the wildflowers at the Texas ranch.

An Outdoor Wedding Reception

A beautiful end to this wedding was an elegant outdoor wedding reception under a large tent. The tent was lit with beautiful strings of light outside the reception and inside the tent as well. Her wedding centerpieces consisted of a medium-sized flower arrangement in the center of each table with pairs of tea lights in votives around the table as well. The wedding guests enjoyed the music from a band from Louisiana, and spent the evening dancing under the stars.

I’ve always enjoyed looking at different couples wedding pictures, and the pictures from the Presidential wedding this weekend was no exception. They threw a beautiful outdoor wedding and wedding reception that was exactly what Jenna wanted for her wedding. Jenna wanted a private and simple wedding at her other home in Texas. If you’re planning an outdoor wedding, then a great place to look for ideas is in the pictures of weddings done before.  So check out the pictures the White House has released about the wedding, they are really beautiful.

Tags: outdoor wedding ceremony, outdoor wedding reception, Outdoor Weddings