How to Plan A Green Wedding

Many environmentally conscious wedding couples are choosing to have “green” weddings instead of traditional weddings.  Couples are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, protect the Earth, and still have an unforgettable event.  Having a wedding that is beautiful, traditional, and also eco-friendly is a possibility if couples plan ahead and exchange regular options for green options.

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Groom’s Role in Wedding Planning

Traditionally all wedding responsibilities have fallen on the shoulders of the beaming bride.  Sometimes the bride has a wedding planner that helps her make decisions and insures that all goes smoothly.  Historically the groom’s single responsibility has been to show up at the wedding on time in his tuxedo, as the wedding day is known as the “bride‘s day“.

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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.

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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.

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Is Elopement Right For You?

Planning An Elopement

Choosing to elope is a very personal decision. Eloping means that you and your fiancé decide to get married alone with no traditional wedding ceremony or reception. It is usually done in secret. Deciding to elope is often a very spontaneous decision, and something that a couple doesn’t plan very far ahead of time. Some people also consider a destination wedding to be an elopement, but this is not a true interpretation of the term. Since a destination wedding or even a small at-home wedding still involves guests, invitations, and a reception, these are not “real” elopements in the traditional way.

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