Low Budget Wedding
by Jemma
Filed under Wedding Planning
With the economic turmoil going on right now in the United States, thousands of couples are trying to plan low-budget weddings. Just because your budget has been slashed, doesn't mean you can't have a nice wedding. The Wall Street Journal just published an article titled “Bargain-Bin Weddings”. I suggest reading the entire thing, but if you don't have time here is a quick excerpt.
“My wife Cathy and I were married on an oak-tree hilltop near Stanford University in June 1975,” a reader emailed me. “We played our own music, made a Maypole for fun, hung banners from the oak trees, and Cathy's uncle, a Lutheran minister, performed the ceremony. The reception was held at the home of a Stanford faculty member. We all had a blast, and the total cost was less than $500.”
Click here to read the full article.
2009 Top Honeymoon Destinations
So you're getting ready to book your honeymoon (which should be done at least 6 months in advance). You aren't sure where to go. Take a look at our top five honeymoon destinations that won't hurt your pocket too bad and are very romantic.
1. Los Cabos, Mexico: Beautiful blue water, white sandy beaches, and tons of beautiful resorts to choose from. The temperature averages 70 degress year round. The average rain fall is only about 10 inches. Sounds good already, right? At least you know the weather will be beautiful all year round. If you are on a budget the best time to travel is between May and September.
2. The Bahamas: Beautiful water and tons of snorkeling (you can go in caves too)! Take a boat to an island, have a picnic, and take a nap. Always wanted to swim with dolphins? The Bahamas offers one of the best experiences swimming with dolphins. This I can vouch for; need I say more about the Bahamas? Want to save a buck or two, go between May and November. That's their down time.
3. Paris: Hello??? The most romantic city in the nation, that's why it's on the list. The food is said to be the best, the city very romantic, and the Eiffel Tower. Save a a few dollars and go during these months: April, May, June, September, and October. Don't go in July or August. It's said that is when the town of Paris takes it's own vacation. Going during those months may not be as fun. Many shops, bistros, and other stores could be closed.
4. Lake Tahoe: If you are a couple that enjoy the outdoors, then this is a honeymoon for you. With the beautiful lake sitting on Nevada and California you have much to see. Skiing is said to be one of the best things to do while visiting Lake Tahoe. If you aren't starring at a lake, you have mountains to see! It's a beautiful place to visit any time of the year, however, the summer months and winter months are said to be their most popular times.
5. Hawaii: Any island is a great choice. However, if you are looking for romance I would stear away from the biggest island. There are a lot of skyscrapers and city life there. Head to the smaller islands where there is much to do and volcanoes to see. Like the first two destinations, April through November is the slowest, but not what we call slow. Hawaii is a year round destination for all, so it doesn't slow down a whole lot.
Paper Flower Arrangements
Have a budget crisis? Not sure where to cut costs? Worried about how to pay for your wedding in this economic crunch? I have a solution for you or rather Martha Stewart does. Flower arrangements can be a bit pricey. You can cut costs significantly by creating your own table arrangements. Martha Stewart has some great kits that come in multiple colors as well as several different types of flowers. You can hand make them yourself with step-by-step instructions. If you have ten tables at your weddings and spend approximately $50 for flower arrangements per table, you just saved a whopping $500. With cuts like that you can save quite a bit of money. If you are interested about where and how to make the flowers you can purchase them at Michaels Craft Stores or go online at Martha Stewart Crafts.
What’s Hot This Wedding Season
Do you just have to know what's in this wedding season? Of course you do! I have listed below the new or reoccurring fabs that are in this wedding season.
1. Short wedding dresses are getting more and more popular. They aren't just for last minute brides going down to city hall to be married by the Justice of the Peace.
2. Scheduling your wedding during an off season. Yes there are popular seasons/months for weddings. It is said that June and August are the most popular wedding months. However, May, September, and October were also popular months. The least amount of weddings take place in January and March.
3. Beach Weddings. More and more brides prefer a beach wedding. Many engaged couples are now going to beachy resorts to say their “I Do's.” The best part? You can honeymoon immediately after your ceremony!
4. Vintage accents are in! From vintage style wedding bands to floral arrangements more and more vintage is making it's way into weddings. And why not, it's beautiful and elegant.
5. Flower Free Centerpieces. Whether you are trying to save a few dimes or just want a unique look I have seen quite a bit of candles, food, and themed items being used as centerpieces. Not a bad idea of you ask me.
5 Tips For Finding the Perfect Wedding Dress
Sometimes we can become overwhelmed with our pre-wedding essentials. We can become discouraged and often think we want one thing and then change our mind the next. Well when choosing your wedding gown, you want it to be perfect, no second guessing, and no mistake about it. Most women describe their wedding dress experiences in one simple phrase “I knew it was the one as soon as I put it on.” These five tips will ensure you will have an easier time choosing that perfect dress.
1. Bring a friend on your shopping adventure! A good friend is one who you can trust, they will be honest and tell you the dresses flaws or hidden features you may not have noticed.
2. Bring a camera! Take pictures of the dresses you “really” like. Later on you can look back at them and decide if it was a good or bad choice.
3. Shop around! My best friend found her perfect dress in Miami, Florida. Later on when it was my turn to find my wedding gown, she found her exact gown in her hometown city for $300 less.
4. Set a budget before you go shopping for your gown. You don't want to find a dress, fall madly in love with it, look at the price tag and find it is $3000 over budget.
5. Order your gown at least 6 months in advance. Most of the time it takes a couple months for the dress to be made and shipped (a lot of the better quality gowns are made in Europe). Then you have to leave time for your dress fittings. Most brides have at least 2-3 dress fittings.
Wedding First Dance Surprise
The wedding first dance surprise is a phenomenon that caught on just a few years ago. Pretty much with the revolution of YouTube and online video sharing, couples have been surprising their wedding guests with something a little more then a romantic slow dance. More and more first dance surprises come online everyday. It takes a strong personality and a lot of practice to pull something like this off.
Check out two of my favorites.
Honeymoon Sweepstakes
Honeymoon Sweepstakes
Alright ladies, the time for you to have the perfect honeymoon is here. Brides.com has a chance for you to enter a three night stay at Laluna Resort. You can enter the sweepstakes up until September 1st of this year. The official rules can be downloaded here. You may enter the sweestakes through the mail and over the internet. To enter visit brides.com. I was reading the rules and it did not specify whether you can enter just once or if you can enter multiple times, so try it out. It doesn't hurt to try and enter every day. Five minutes of your time can pay for your honeymoon. Good luck to you!
Drinks Anyone
Candied Cane
Need a specialty drink for the big day? Try this fun and sweet candy drink. It tastes great and looks even better! I've been to a few weddings where the bride and groom offer a few compliment drinks. I kept it simple at my wedding and went with beer and wine, however, many couples choose to have specialty drinks, like this one for instance.
If you're looking for your specialty drink or other simple cocktails for the big day or for your bachelor/bachelorette party, check out the Liquid Muse. The website has some great ideas and drinks as well.
Candied Cane
1 oz. Boca Loca Cachaça
1 oz. crème de mure
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. champagne
Shake ingredients with cracked ice until chilled. Sugar the rim of a chilled champagne coupe or cocktail glass and strain ingredients into glass. Float 2 oz. champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
Top 10 Honeymoon Destinations
AskMen.com recently updated their Top 10 Honeymoon Destinations list. It's great to spy on a list from a men's site so we can find out what they really want. Here's their list:
10. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
9. The Islands of the Bahamas
8. Nice, France
7. The Turks and Caicos Islands
6. Aspen, Colorado
5. Las Vegas, Nevada
4. Tahiti, French Polynesia
3. Africa
2. Costa Rica, Central America
1. Hawaii
Do you agree or disagree with any destinations on their list? I was surprised not to see St. Lucia (where I went) on the list this time. And really, I don't know anyone who has gone to Africa for a honeymoon.
Where did you go, or where are you going?
Worst Best Man Ever
This is a video of the worst Best Man ever. Hard to tell if the video is fake or not, but from what I've read online, it seems to be authentic.
