Thursday, January 29, 2009

Wedding Gown Savings Option #1


Be on the lookout for off-the-rack or sample gown sales. These special events sell the sample gowns at deep discounts. Since these are the gowns that are tried on by brides, there may be slight defects such as a make-up stain or missing embellishments. If you can hide or fix the problem, then this is a great way to get a designer dress or a designer look without paying the designer price--usually getting these dresses at a third of the cost than if you buy it brand new.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Who does etiquette say should host the engagement party?


Traditionally, the engaged couple or the parents of the bride or groom host the engagement party.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Is the economy putting a dent in your wedding budget?

Cutting back on expenses is a way of life when the economy is in a recession. Is this causing brides to downscale their wedding spending or is the wedding business chugging along like normal?

Calling all brides:

Send me an email and tell me if your wedding budget has stayed the same or got the ax because of the recession.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Let Them Eat Cake

By Danielle L. Green, Collective Elements http://www.collectiveelements.com/

Choosing a wedding cake is a given when planning one’s nuptials but in these modern times, some wonder if it’s necessary. The wedding cake can be more than just the central piece of the reception’s décor. It can also serve as a way to honor one’s traditions and culture.

In China, many couples serve a massive layer cake called lapis rurabaya. Each layer represents a ladder of success for the couple. Couples cut the cake from the bottom up, serving pieces to their parents and grandparents.

In medieval England, guests would bring small, home-baked cakes as gifts for the marrying couple. The cakes would be stacked as high as possible and the bride and groom would be challenged to kiss over the top cake. It was considered a symbol of prosperity. This tradition is said to be where the idea of cake toppers was born. During the reign of King Charles II, frosting was added to the stack of cakes. It is also tradition for British couples to save the entire top tier of the cake until the birth of their first child. This tier is called the christening cake.

Rum cake is a traditional wedding cake on many Caribbean islands. It is a fruitcake macerated with sherry, wine, or rum. People from Bermuda may also have a small sapling on the top of the cake. The sapling symbolizes the bride and groom’s growing love.

The Danish prefer cornucopia cake. This ring shaped almond cake is decorated with marzipan and pastilage and filled in the center with candy, almond cakes, fresh fruit, or sorbet. To avoid bad luck, the bride and groom cut the cake together and all guests must eat a slice. Greeks prefer a flourless almond cake, filled with vanilla custard and fruit. The cake is then covered in almonds. Another traditional Greek wedding cake is made of honey, sesame seed, and quince. Most Italian weddings include zuppa inglese. This delightful tiered pound cake is filled with chocolate custard, vanilla custard, rum cream, and fruit, and then trimmed with flower blooms of royal icing.

Some cultures don’t serve cake at all. Besides, zuppa inglese, in some regions of Italy, mille-foglie is served. Mille-foglie is made from layered filo pastry, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberries. Lithuanians serve sakotis, a cookie-like pastry shaped like a Christmas tree. Couples from Iceland serve kransakaka. Kransakaka is created from ring-shaped almond pastries formed into a pyramid shade. The center is filled with chocolates or candies. The French traditionally serve a croquembouche. Cream-filled pastries are coated in caramel and stacked into a tall pyramid shape. Yummy!

Couples in the Ukraine share Korovai. Korovai is wedding bread decorated with symbols for eternity and the joining of two families. The bread is considered to be sacred. In Norway, different wedding bread is served called brudlaupskling. This bread is topped with cheese, cream, and syrup before being folded and cut into small squares for well wishers. Greek couples may also choose sourdough wedding bread over cake. This bread is decorated with beads and blossoms.

The wedding cake is more than just a visual focal point of a wedding. It can be an excellent way to pay homage to your ancestry and continue traditions as you build your life together.

Friday, January 9, 2009

What to Do with Your Wedding Dress After the Wedding is Over


It's not likely that your daughter will want to wear your wedding dress 20 or 30 years from now. Most brides prefer to buy and wear their own gown. The newish trend of trashing your wedding dress after the wedding by rolling around in mud or running through mud puddles while the photographer catches it all on film is not the demise I would suggest for an expensive gown.

3 ways to recycle your wedding dress

1. Turn it into a christening gown. If you're going to have children you may want to consider having a seamstress use pieces of your gown to create a christening gown that all of your children can wear.

2. Make a new dress. A professional dressmaker or seamstress--even someone who is handy with the sewing machine--can turn your wedding dress into a whole new creation. You can dye it a different color or use portions of the dress to create a whole new look. You can wear the new dress to parties and special events--maybe even for years to come.

3. Create a table runner or cover. Again, pieces of the gown can be used to create a beautiful table runner or cover for special occasions. Every year for Christmas or Thanksgiving, you can pull out your dress turned table runner, decorate your table, and relive your wedding day all over again.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Elope or Hometown Wedding?


With the economy in the toilet, many brides and grooms are opting to forgo the huge expense of a wedding and get hitched in destinations like Vegas. If that is what you want to do, then I say cheers to you. Vegas weddings can be as beautiful as a huge hometown wedding (not all Vegas weddings are cheesy drive-thru chapels or officiated by Elvis impersonators).

If you choose to stay at home, there are still ways you can have the wedding of your dreams and not go broke while doing it.

5 ways you can save money on your wedding
1. Minimize your guest list. Contrary to belief, you don't need to invite everyone you've ever come into contact with to your wedding. Invite the people that mean the most to you and leave it at that.

2. Cut out the favors. Wedding favors are nice little trinkets, but aren't really necessary. Think about it. Is cousin Jimmy going to save your little silver bell with colored M&Ms and a personalized ribbon with your names and wedding date on it? No. Like the wedding cake, most favors wind up in the trash. Why throw your money away?

3. Be on the lookout for bargains. No matter where you are or what you're shopping for, always be on the lookout for items and services that you may be able to use for your wedding. You may be at the local hardware store and find potted trees on sale that you can use to decorate the reception room. After Christmas white light sale at Target (50%) off--these savings are for you.

4. Remove the word wedding from your vocabulary. I'm not kidding. As soon as a vendor hears the word wedding, the cost of the item goes up. Instead of walking into the bakery and saying, "I'm looking for a wedding cake," say something like, "I'm interested in pricing a cake."

5. Use your skills and the skills of people you know. Chances are good that you or someone you know is crafty. Use these skills to your advantage. I once tied 100 tiny little chiffon ribbons around 100 tiny little wedding thank you scrolls for a friend. I also made hundreds of tuxedo strawberries for another friend's wedding. Cost to them: totally free. The bride and her bridesmaids (me included) hung out, drank some wine or beer, and put our skills to good use.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Wedding Cake: Good Investment or Waste of Money?

My favorite part of the wedding is always the wedding cake--not necessarily watching the bride and groom struggle to cut it (because they never now how to do it), but the eating part of it. I'm the exception to the rule though because when I was a wedding planner, I saw most of the cake slices end up in the trash rather than the bellies of the guests.

Why?

Believe it or not, many people do not like cake. Even if they like cake, they may not like the flavor of the cake you've chosen. So why spend hundreds of dollars on a sugary delight that is only going to be delighting the trash can?

Two ways to save the wedding cake (and your money)

1. Have the bakery or cake designer create a beautiful cake--making only the bottom layer real, making the other layers fake. You only cut into the bottom part anyway. Since your cake is taken into the kitchen to be cut and put on plates for guests, nobody will be the wiser.

Buy sheet cakes to be sliced and served to the guests. With a sheet cake costing in the neighborhood of $20, you can literally save hundreds of dollars that can be put toward covering the cost of some other wedding aspect.

2. Forget the cake and choose a dessert bar. Again, many guests do not like cake, so why not give them the option of choosing their own dessert. You can buy a variety of cakes, pies, and pastries from your local bakery, and simply by removing the word wedding from your vocabulary, you'll spend a lot less than if you opt for the wedding cake.

Friday, January 2, 2009

I Have the Best Proposal Story Contest


In honor of the new year--welcome 2009--I'm running a contest. This is a shout out to all you newly engaged or old married couples who have fabulous proposal stories. Whether they are romantic, funny or catastrophic, we want to hear from you!

And what will you win?
1st Prize Set of champagne flutes
2nd Prize A wedding, anniversary, or personal website
3rd Prize $25 gift certificate to Card Goddess

How to enter:
Post your story in the comments section below. Please note, comments may be edited or altered to make them easier to read, or to remove profanity, etc. You can only enter once. Please be sure to provide an email address so I can contact you if you win!

Contest dates:
January 2 - January 30

Contest winners:
The winners will be chosen by readers of this blog. I'll put up a poll for visitors and readers to vote. Entrants can send family and friends to the blog to vote on their story. The three stories with the most votes, win! Winners will be announced on February 14th in honor of the day of love--Valentine's Day!

So start posting your stories today.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Enter your marriage proposal story in a contest http://ping.fm/qMzpj

Happy New Year

Wrapping up my pondering on business resolutions for 2009! I'll post the link when it's moved from mind to paper.

Be Twitterly successful http://ping.fm/w6Fk7