Long Distance Wedding Planning

My niece, Jennifer Nalus, is getting married in January, 2010.  I was so excited when she asked me to help her plan her wedding.  The wedding is in the Philippines and I am in California, so that is a bit of a challenge.  All my wedding vendors are in the US and I am not familiar with wedding vendors in the Philippines.  However, with my talented sister-in-law and my other nieces helping their sister, everything is working fine.  Jenny’s wedding planning is coming together.

[Read more]

Prenuptial Agreements – Should You Have One?

Most people view “prenuptial agreements” or “pre-nups” as distasteful or as a sign of distrust between a couple planning to get married. There’s always the connotation that this piece of paper is insurance when the couple’s “happily ever after” take a turn into a battle in the divorce court; and that it is for the truly wealthy and celebrities only.

Will you put car, home, health and life insurance in the same light? I don’t think so. Prenuptial agreements are similar to these insurances – no one anticipates an accident, fire, major sickness, death or divorce. We certainly do not want to talk about it, but it can happen and sometimes it does happen to us when we least expected; and it is best to be prepared.

[Read more]

Wedding Nail Designs for Brides

We all know that brides-to-be have a lot to prepare for their wedding – from their veils down to their shoes; not to mention all the wedding accessories like wedding rings, flowers, reception menu and all the little details that will make their wedding stand out from the rest. One of those details is getting a manicure or acrylic nails that will shine as they hold their bridal bouquet, be on center stage during the traditional ring ceremony, the wedding toast and the wedding cake cutting ceremony.

[Read more]

Vintage Victorian Wedding Theme

What comes  to your mind when you hear the words “vintage weddding”? Does it bring images of you wearing your mother or grandmother’s wedding dress?  Or does it conjure images of even more distant past – like the Victorian era?  Either way, you are thinking of “vintage”.  Having a vintage theme in your wedding means celebrating your memorable day in a simulated era of some 20 years or more ago.

My favorite vintage theme is Victorian.  There are so many Victorian wedding traditions that we still practice today.  Remember the rhyme, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…”? Yes, thats one of the Victorian traditions that we still practice today.  The “old” must be something that belonged to a happily married woman.  It is believed that the happiness and luck of the owner will transfer to the new bride.  The “new” is the bride’s bridal attire from the gown to the shoes.  The “borrowed” is something precious like gold or diamond jewelry to ensure wealth and fortune in the bride’s future.  The “blue” is a symbol of true  love.

White wedding gowns became popular in the late eighteenth century and it is still the favorite gown color today.  However, if you want a non-white wedding gown, you can choice almost any color except black and red, which during the Victorian era supposed to be symbols of devilry or witchcraft.

[Read more]

101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding – Part 1: Planning

101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding – Part 1: Wedding Planning

With the cost of weddings spiraling upwards of $27,000 (depending on where you plan to have your wedding), and the unstable economy, many engaged couples are looking for ways to save money on their wedding.  Over the next few days, We, at Completely Weddings,  will share with you 101 ways to cut your wedding cost and thereby saving you money to use somewhere else such as your honeymoon or savings for your first home.  As we publish each part, we will add a link at the end of this article to enable you to have a complete list of our 101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding.

WEDDING PLANNING

1.    Set a budget.   Before you begin shopping and planning, set a goal for yourself of how much you want to spend.  You would not want to start your married life with debt, so do not over spend.  Use cash, if you can.  But, if you are going to use a credit card, get or use one that charges the lowest interest you can find.  Pay the loan as soon as possible.  To give you an idea of a wedding budget, download our “Wedding Expenses Table“. The percentage are not set in stone.  They are merely suggestions and you can change them depending on our priorities (see #2 below). Once you determined the percentages,  download our “Wedding Expense Record” to keep track of who pays for what and how much does it cost per item.  Make an effort to keep your costs in your budget, and remember that any additional money you save can go towards your honeymoon or your first home together.  Here is a “Planning Calendar Checklist” to keep your wedding planning activities in a timely manner.

2.    Determine your priorities.  Sit down with your fiancé and determine which area are most important to you.  Do you both value traditions or could you do without a lot of them? Is a DJ the most important thing to have at your reception, or is it a full meal?  Chose where you want to cut costs and what things are too important to you to skimp on.

3.    Make your own traditions and ditch the old ones.  If there are certain traditions that you don’t enjoy, such as throwing the garter and the bouquet (especially difficult if you have a very small wedding), don’t feel obligated to include them.  You can create traditions all your own.

4.    Don’t hire a wedding planner.  If you are planning a small event especially, you don’t need a wedding planner.  Invest in an accordion file and a wedding planning book from a bookstore and do it yourself.

5.    Keep your eye out for bridal shows.  Bridal shows are a great place to get freebies, gather information, and enter contests.  The least you’ll walk away with is a better idea of what you want in your wedding, so find your next local bridal show and mark your calendar!

6.    Order online.  For everything from dresses to flowers to favors, you can get some great deals when you shop online.  Do your homework before you make a purchase at any store and see if you can’t find the same thing cheaper on Amazon, EBay, or Overstock.com.

[Read more]

Next Page »