Traditionally, the bride's family paid for the costs of a wedding while the groom would incur the expense of the honeymoon. These days it is not uncommon to find many couples paying for their own wedding from their own funds. However, you don't have to spend a fortune or go into debt to have a beautiful wedding. Determine the amount of your budget and stick to it. Keep track of all your expenses and receipts in a folder or binder so that you can stay organized and accurately keep track of where your money is going. Here are some helpful tips to help you stay within your wedding budget.
Wedding Dress
• Avoid overly elaborate dresses because they will be more expensive.
• Choose a floor sample dress and just have it dry cleaned if necessary.
• Look for your dress during prom and homecoming or consider wearing a bridesmaid dress. You can find a beautiful white or cream colored dress during that would be perfect for a wedding at a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding dress.
• Look at consignment shops and the classified ads. Wedding dresses are generally only worn once so you can get a gently used dress at a huge cost savings.
Reception
• Keep the number of guests down. You and the groom should look at the first draft of the guest list and carefully consider who can be taken off the list.
• Have a cash bar instead of an open bar. Or you can also just provide wine and beer to keep the costs down.
• Hold the ceremony and reception in the same location. You will be able to cut the cost of the location for the ceremony, decorations and transportation to the reception site.
Flowers
• Purchase your flowers wholesale and just pay for the labor of a professional florist to arrange them.
• Arrange the flowers yourself. A bouquet made of all roses with a little eucalyptus filler and tied with ribbon makes a stunning bouquet and you do not need to be a professional to put this together.
Photography
• Find a photographer with reasonable hourly rates and pay only for the time to do your formal poses. You can then designate friends or family to take the candid shots throughout the rest of the reception.
• Put disposable cameras at each table with a note asking guests to take pictures to help you capture memories.
Invitations
• Print your own invitations using your home computer. Visit your local arts and crafts store or search online and purchase a do-it-yourself invitation kit.
Miscellaneous
• Make your own wedding favors. Wrap up jordan almonds or other candies in lace and tie with ribbon pre-printed with your names and wedding date.
• Keep the number of chosen bridesmaids and groomsmen to a minimum or choose not to have them at all. This will keep the rehearsal dinner cost down as well as eliminate the need to buy groomsmen and bridesmaid gifts.
By Gina Brown
She writes articles on a variety of wedding topics. To learn more about wedding planning, Gina recommends you visit: http://www.AWeddingToPlan.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
What Makes A Wedding Invitation Unique?
There are many types of wedding invitations to choose from and it can sometimes be difficult to find something that is unique. A unique invitation stands out while showing your guests what to expect at your ceremony. This information includes the location and how one should expect to dress based on the formality of the event. There are many different styles of wedding invitations out there, but if you want yours to be unique, you should use some creativity as well as the following tips. You can make small changes to popular patterns and styles. In addition, by simply following a few easy steps, you can be on your way to getting some unique wedding invitations.
First of all, think about the colors that you are using. Chances are that you have specific ideas about this important choice and you are most likely planning your wedding based around those colors. Even though many people may choose the same general color, the specific shades of colors, and the ways in which you use them, are likely to be unique to your wedding. Ideally, you want to be sure that you are able to choose a particular color in a special shade that really matches your own ideas about what you want your day to be like. In most cases, this is going to be something that is very simple for you to decide right from the beginning of the planning process, and it can help you make the most out of the colors that are available. Therefore, the first thing that is going to make your wedding invitations unique is the color scheme that you decide to use.
Also, the patterns that you are using should reflect your own particular tastes, but also the theme and formality of your wedding. If you have, some special patterns that you want to use, such as certain shapes or cultural patterns, these help to make your wedding invitations unique to you and to your wedding. In addition, by using carefully chosen patterns and outlines, you may find that the formality of your wedding can be expressed through the invitations. For instance, if you have a very formal wedding, a white invite with black lettering and gold borders definitely reinforces this idea in a much clearer way than a brightly colored invitation would do.
It is important to incorporate the formality of your wedding with not only the colors and design of your invite, but also the font that you use for the lettering. All of these are important in portraying the formality of the wedding to your guests. This is an important reason for sending an invitation. Letting your invitations set the tone for your wedding is the best (and easiest) way of letting your guests know what to expect on the big day.
Once you have found a color scheme and font, as well as shapes and borders, that help you design your wedding invitation, there may be a few other things that you can think about in order to make your wedding invitation unique. Even though you are having a wedding that is probably going to be similar to other wedding celebrations, this wedding is something that will only occur once, and it is uniquely yours. This is simply because this celebration is about you and your soon to be spouse. The unique combination of flowers, music, and events is yours and yours alone, and if your wedding invitation can reflect this, you may find that the invite is even more unique.
There are a few other ways to make your wedding invitation unique, and you can start by thinking of yourselves and what you are each like. Is there a phrase, such a biblical passage or a song lyric, which is going to feature prominently into your wedding? If so, you can use this on your invite, to tie the invitation to the entire wedding day. Alternatively, is there a quote or an idea that you and your spouse want to use for the wedding in order to make it a big part of your special day? If so, you can also use these in your invitation, because these help make it even more unique.
Creating a unique wedding invitation is definitely something important, because it allows you to have a wedding invite that does so much more than invite people to your wedding. It almost tells a short story about your special and unique day; the day that belongs to no one else but the two of you. When planning a wedding be sure to consider these tips because a unique wedding invitation has many advantages over a standard invitation design. These wedding invitations provide important information to your guests including the formality of the event along with the date and location of the ceremony.javascript:void(0)
By: Cynthia Andrews1
is a freelance writer who writes about family and family events such as weddings, often focusing on one specific aspect of a wedding, such as unique wedding invitations.
First of all, think about the colors that you are using. Chances are that you have specific ideas about this important choice and you are most likely planning your wedding based around those colors. Even though many people may choose the same general color, the specific shades of colors, and the ways in which you use them, are likely to be unique to your wedding. Ideally, you want to be sure that you are able to choose a particular color in a special shade that really matches your own ideas about what you want your day to be like. In most cases, this is going to be something that is very simple for you to decide right from the beginning of the planning process, and it can help you make the most out of the colors that are available. Therefore, the first thing that is going to make your wedding invitations unique is the color scheme that you decide to use.
Also, the patterns that you are using should reflect your own particular tastes, but also the theme and formality of your wedding. If you have, some special patterns that you want to use, such as certain shapes or cultural patterns, these help to make your wedding invitations unique to you and to your wedding. In addition, by using carefully chosen patterns and outlines, you may find that the formality of your wedding can be expressed through the invitations. For instance, if you have a very formal wedding, a white invite with black lettering and gold borders definitely reinforces this idea in a much clearer way than a brightly colored invitation would do.
It is important to incorporate the formality of your wedding with not only the colors and design of your invite, but also the font that you use for the lettering. All of these are important in portraying the formality of the wedding to your guests. This is an important reason for sending an invitation. Letting your invitations set the tone for your wedding is the best (and easiest) way of letting your guests know what to expect on the big day.
Once you have found a color scheme and font, as well as shapes and borders, that help you design your wedding invitation, there may be a few other things that you can think about in order to make your wedding invitation unique. Even though you are having a wedding that is probably going to be similar to other wedding celebrations, this wedding is something that will only occur once, and it is uniquely yours. This is simply because this celebration is about you and your soon to be spouse. The unique combination of flowers, music, and events is yours and yours alone, and if your wedding invitation can reflect this, you may find that the invite is even more unique.
There are a few other ways to make your wedding invitation unique, and you can start by thinking of yourselves and what you are each like. Is there a phrase, such a biblical passage or a song lyric, which is going to feature prominently into your wedding? If so, you can use this on your invite, to tie the invitation to the entire wedding day. Alternatively, is there a quote or an idea that you and your spouse want to use for the wedding in order to make it a big part of your special day? If so, you can also use these in your invitation, because these help make it even more unique.
Creating a unique wedding invitation is definitely something important, because it allows you to have a wedding invite that does so much more than invite people to your wedding. It almost tells a short story about your special and unique day; the day that belongs to no one else but the two of you. When planning a wedding be sure to consider these tips because a unique wedding invitation has many advantages over a standard invitation design. These wedding invitations provide important information to your guests including the formality of the event along with the date and location of the ceremony.javascript:void(0)
By: Cynthia Andrews1
is a freelance writer who writes about family and family events such as weddings, often focusing on one specific aspect of a wedding, such as unique wedding invitations.
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