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 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

It seems like one of the little things that can sneak up on you while you’re planning your wedding is working out the details with your wedding transportation, I know I didn’t finalize mine until about a week before our wedding. And this doesn’t only apply to elderly family members or people who may need special assistance in getting to your wedding. Typically the parents of the bride and groom help with getting people to the ceremony, hotel and reception without trouble, with the maid of honor and best man on the job as well. But the are of wedding transportation that I’m talking about now has to do with transporting the bride and groom to and from the wedding and reception, and the many different ways that you can handle the situation. So here are some great places to get started for the storybook or romantic wedding transportation that can help transform your wedding day into your dream come true.

Renting a Limo for the Whole Day

There is something about riding in a limo that shouts what a special occasion this is. You can rent a limo for the entire day, though that can get a little pricey. If you hire a hairdresser to come to your house and do everyone’s hair, then you can have a nice brunch with the ladies and all get ready together. Then, once everyone is ready to go, climb into the limo for the ride to the church. Then, once your wedding ceremony is over you can either have the limo for the bride and groom only, or include the bridal party for a fun ride over to your reception. Then once your reception is over, you can ride away in the beautiful limo, back to your car.

Renting a Limo for One Trip

This is what I decided to do for our wedding transportation. I arrived at the church early and had someone there to fix the hair and make-up for all of the bridesmaids. Once the wedding ceremony was over, a stretch hummer pulled up into the parking lot of the church, and took us along with the entire bridal party and their spouses over to the reception hall. It was a great and joyful time for all of us to spend together. Plus it made for some great pictures.

Other Wedding Transportation Options

While most couples tend to choose limousines for their wedding transportation, there are others still who dream of a more ’storybook’ way to do their wedding transportation. For example, my sister and her husband left their wedding reception in a beautiful horse drawn carriage. A good friend of mine in college left her wedding reception in an old restored vintage car that they had borrowed/rented. It was a truly classy way to ride. If you’re having a beach wedding, then an exciting method of transportation could be leaving on a boat. So put some time into it and find the best method of wedding transportation for your pocketbook as well as for the itinerary that you have planned.

There are many different ways that the bride and groom can handle their wedding transportation. Some ‘experts’ advise that the limo after the wedding should only hold the bride and groom so that they can enjoy their first minutes of married life together, and others advise that the parents should join them in the limo as well. It seems few others advise that the entire bridal party ride with you in the limo, but I wouldn’t have done ours any other way. I enjoyed getting to spend time with our bridal party in the exciting moments after our wedding.

Tags: wedding limo, wedding transporation

I got the idea to do this post a few months ago. I’m not exactly sure where it came from, but in all the research and time that I’ve put into weddings, you can’t help but run across some pretty weird weddings. Seeing some of these weird weddings in action kind of makes me think, who are these people and what makes them want their wedding to be so out of the ordinary? I can understand wanting to make your wedding day all your own, but there’s a point when you need to sit back and wonder if it’s actually worth it, or if you’re just doing it to make people talk. Here are some examples of some pretty weird weddings out there that I’ve seen and heard about as well.

Dressing in Character

If you think about it, the bride and groom are already dressing up in character on their wedding day. One with a big beautiful white wedding dress, and the other in a nice suit or tuxedo, to play the part of the bride and groom. But when the bride and groom decide to dress up as something else instead, to me that makes for some pretty weird weddings. For example, having your groom dress up as Elvis is just the start for the making of weird wedding. Or the bride and groom in afro wigs. Don’t laugh, I’ve seen it done. Another odd one to me is the Medieval weddings where not only do the bride and groom dress in character, but ask that all of their guests do the same.  You’ll definitely have some wedding pictures to show the kids.

Being Adventurous

I’ll probably never understand while some couples choose to pair their wedding and bungee jumping together. To me, they just don’t mix, and thus leads into another option when it comes to weird weddings. Do they realize just how risky bungee jumping can be, and that there is a chance that one of you won’t make it? I can understand wanting to be adventurous, and that a wedding is a “till death do us part” thing, but wouldn’t you at least like to make it the whole 24 hours before that’s fulfilled?  In my opinion, bungee jumping weddings and other weddings that include ‘life and death situations’ definitely make for some weird weddings.

Married in the Produce Aisle

Many couples want to go the romantic route for their weddings, and I can totally understand that. Romantic and weddings really go hand in hand. Also romantic is revisiting the place where you both met and remembering when you first saw him/her. But what if you take it farther than that? I’ve read about several weddings where the couple chose to get married in the place where they first met, and it’s a totally romantic idea….depending on where that is. I’ve read about couples getting married in grocery stores, bowling allies and other such crazy locations. To me, that translates into some pretty weird weddings.

Now I’m not trying to put anyone down who wants to plan these kinds of weddings. I understand that not every bride wants to have a traditional wedding in the church, and that they really want to make their wedding stand out and be memorable. But in the case of being adventurous, just be extra careful or you could be planning a funeral on your wedding day.

Tags: Wedding Planning, weird weddings