| |
| |
|
Marriage & Wedding Information |
|
|
|
Save This Page Links 
allspectrum.info Wedding Tips for Saving Your Sanity and Your Bank Account
Overwhelmed is a common feeling a bride-to-be experiences as she begins to delve into the $45 billion a year world of planning a wedding. However there are several ways to deal with the incessant head spinning that can ensue as you begin to contemplate who to invite, what to feed everyone, where to have it, and how in the world you can stay within your budget without requiring a stylish white straight jacket to wear with your Badgley Mischka gown. After you have gotten use to the idea of being engaged and you have begun to refer to your newly engaged beau as your fiancé, you may find yourself starting to imagine or daydream about what the big day might be like, thus beginning the dreaded planning process. Planning is really an inaccurate description of what this process is all about. Juggling expectations, both yours, your finance's, as well as your family's and friend's is a more accurate description of what the next 6 to 12 months of your life will entail. The best way to maintain a loose sense of control during this maddening process is reducing the amount of input that every parent, sister, childhood friend, and co-worker has on what you and your groom HAVE to do. Of course this process is considerably easier when the commentary is not accompanied by much needed checks with their signatures. In a perfect world you and your partner would determine what best suits you and your budget, and then select the best florist and DJ based on your common love of tulips and salsa dance! However, when your mother-in-law-to-be gushes about how lovely her so-and-so's wedding was and she is significantly contributing to your wedding fund, it becomes difficult to reasonably suggest that what worked for her niece doesn't suit you. I already have a call into Martha Stewart's people to suggest that she consider developing extremely stylish earplugs designed to reduce the number of helpful suggestions that actually reach your ears! However, until such a gem exists, a "Really, I am sure that looked lovely" response can do the trick as you quickly back pedal and change the subject. And as hard as it can be to disappoint the masses, maintaining your sanity requires you and your partner to frequently touch base, determine what you want, and decide what you are prepared to deal with from your loved ones. In the grand scheme of things, your family and friends think that they are being helpful offering suggestions; they are not trying to make this process harder on you. After you have dodged and weaved your way around the mountains of suggestions, you might have time to think about what you actually want. Perhaps you have already planned out every last detail of your wedding, as a matter of fact those details were set in stone at age 14, however there's another group of ladies out there who don't have a clue! Regardless which group you fall into, research is key! In response to the booming multi-billion dollar business, several savvy groups have created Web sites that are extremely helpful for the wedding challenged. Quite frankly, I do not know how on earth anyone planned a wedding pre-Internet! Some sites, including theknot.com and theweddingchannel.com, offer users helpful budget tools, ridiculously detailed to-do lists (which allow the less formal brides to junk half of the to-dos), guest lists, and registry tools. These tools are free and highly recommended! Now don't get me wrong, they are by no means miracle workers, in that you still have tough decisions to make, including choosing only five appetizers versus eight so you can add a few extra days to your honeymoon, but these sites at least give you a good starting point. Which brings me to the concept of trade-offs and what an important role they can play so you don't completely blow your budget. For some lucky brides, the sky is the limit. I have a good friend whose sister is getting married this summer and we were recently discussing wedding plans. I literally choked when she said that her sister had 700 guests on her invite list, none of which would be slid to the B list. This was not including her fiancé's family or friends. I was shocked! Why in the world would anyone do that to themselves? I learned that most weddings in South Carolina are extravagant and it is not odd to plunk down six figures in an effort to make the day special. So if brides in South Carolina are far exceeding the average that means some lucky ladies are doing it for much less! Another pal of mine is working with a $10,000 budget and is easily making trade-offs, which will go unnoticed by her guests. Instead of using a fancy-schmancy cake designer, she is using a local grocery store to create her wedding cake for a fraction of the price! You can also save a lot of money with flowers. Being selective about where you use flowers is key. For example, I have been to more weddings than I can count, and I couldn't tell you what type of flowers were used to decorate the end of each pew. Use flowers sparingly and in obvious places where they will be missed like bouquets and center pieces and make every attempt to use flowers that are local and seasonal, which should cut down on your floral costs. Although you have to feed your guests something, trade-offs can be made with regard to the type of food and the time of your reception. Avoiding the dinner hour can save you big bucks! If you have wiggle room with the time of day you want to get married, a reception can be more affordable by foregoing a sit down meal and opting instead for a cocktail reception with hor d'oeuvres, a late reception with champagne and dessert, or a brunch-style reception. Another huge dough saver is your approach to the open bar. I truly believe that every reception should have an open bar of some sort, however if you are looking to pinch a few pennies, sticking to beer and wine is another good way to save. If you are one of the lucky brides who doesn't need to worry about having the wedding of her dreams or maintaining some semblance of a budget, you may need trade-offs for different reason, be it satisfying your parents, compromising with your soon-to-be husband, or meeting an older siblings expectations. Remember, that whatever you determine is a trade-off to meet you budget or a family member's or friend's belief of what your big day should be, make sure you don't trade your sanity in trying to find all of the money saving loop holes. At the end of the day, you and your partner want to have a day that expresses your personal styles and leaves your guest with fond memories. Happy planning! Lisa Demmel
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Before You Begin Marriage Counseling, Ask This Question There's an important question that you need to ask the marriage counselor you and your spouse are considering using. The question itself may surprise you, as well as the answer your potential counselor gives. Do We Still Need Wedding Traditions? Traditionally at weddings the speechs are made after the wedding dinner but do the speech makers really enjoy their meal? I have been to weddings where the best man could not eat his dinner because of nerves!!Traditions come into being when many people do the same thing over and over again so by definition we can start our own traditions to suit the times in which we live. So when it comes to speaking and eating at a wedding then why not reverse the order and let everyone enjoy their meal!!Now more than ever before we stand up for the right to express our individuality so why on one of our most precious of days do we feel bound by the past and what is traditional? Our wedding day should be an expression of who we are, of who these two people are and how they are going to mix. How You Answer This Question Can Change Your Marriage Imagine the following scenario. Your spouse has given you an important letter to mail and is counting on you to mail it on your way to work. Celtic Wedding Rituals -- Tying the knot One of the most elegant rituals you can choose for a wedding is the traditional Celtic hand fasting. After the vows, the bride and groom's wrists are bound together with five colored ribbons, each symbolizing an aspect of marriage and their shared commitment. Italian Honeymoon Vacations Going to Italy on a honeymoon vacation could be the best turning point in your romance as you venture in this place full of romantic pursuits and mesmerizing love. The places worth visiting in this popular land of exotic Mediterranean culture are the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, the canals of Venice and the cathedrals. The High Cost of Resentment and Anger in Marriage Many spouses carry heavy suitcases filled with a collection of anger and resentment from their marriage. Periodically, they unpack these suitcases and review every situation in which they feel they were treated unfairly. How To Choose The Right Wedding Bouquet Style Basically, there are three wedding bouquet styles. The cascade, round or posy, and hand-tied. You're Making Your Wedding List and Checking It Twice-What Have You Forgotten? Preparing for a wedding, large or small, is overwhelming! A way to combat that feeling is to break down the required tasks, divide the responsibilities and assign deadlines. Ok, all that is fine-but what have you forgotten?A wedding is a public affair, and it's everyone's fear that somewhere, somehow, despite all the planning, arrangements, expense, and hard work, something will happen to make one or more of the principles appear foolish in public. Twelve Ways to Make Your Spouse Dislike Sex It's really not difficult to ruin what could have been great sex. If that's your goal, following these twelve suggestions will ensure that, over time, your spouse will become very creative in finding ways to avoid having sex with you. To Stay Married, Keep Dating One of my favorite memories from last year was not watching my young daughters rip into their Christmas presents, or seeing them perform in the school talent show. No, my happiest recollection was the date my husband and I went out on one stormy Tuesday night in November. Cheap Wedding Invitations Your wedding invitations are your announcement to family and friends of your wedding date. A special day you want them to remember as the best wedding they've ever been to. Chicago Wedding Receptions There are two major events that you have to plan on your wedding day: an unforgettable wedding ceremony and a fun-filled wedding reception. No matter how important the wedding ceremony is, there is also a need to provide full attention to your wedding reception in order for a perfect wedding memory. Caricature Entertainment: A Surefire Way to Liven Up Your Wedding Celebration Caricature entertainment will make your wedding celebration stand out and be remembered.If you've never seen caricatures drawn at an event, you'll be amazed when you see how popular they are with guests. Mens Diamond Rings - The Ultimate Wedding Ring For The Modern Man Mens diamond rings are becoming more and more popular with the modern man. As more men celebrate their marriage by the wearing of a wedding ring, mens diamond rings are fast becoming the new mens fashion. Choosing the Perfect Wedding Ring Traditionally, a wedding band was worn on the ring finger of the left hand because it was believed that the vein in that finger went straight to the heart. A wedding ring is a piece of jewelry which will be worn everyday of your life to signify your love and fidelity to your significant other. Invitation Anatomy 101 - Typical Components - Part 1 of 3 "What am I supposed to have in my invitation?" This is one of the most common questions I get asked. The answer is quite simple: Anything! It's true that convention doesn't quite apply anymore with respect to what 'goes' for an invitation these days. How to Choose Your Wedding Shoes Wedding day is known as the most unforgettable day in human life. Most women wish that day could be perfect and hoping nothing would go wrong. Wedding Extravaganza The extravagance of weddings is a popular topic. We blame it on modern commercialism. Choosing Your Groomsmen: No Matter What They Say, Nobody Must Be In the Wedding Party Your lovely fiancée has chosen her 'maids, and now you're stuck with the task of finding just the right number of family and friends to pair them with. How do you decide who makes the cut? The Usual Suspects Remember: No matter what your family or friends say, there aren't people who "must" be in the wedding party. Write An Apology To Your Spouse: How to Apologize In a Way That Really Works For You Being apologetic doesn't come easily for me. Unfortunately, being inconsiderate and self-centered does.
|
