Making Up Again!

Depending on the size of your wedding the budget for your wedding favors can be very important. The larger the wedding will be the more likely you will be inclined to look for a cheap wedding favors option. However, if you are having a large number of guests on a limited budget you should consider searching for cheap wedding favor ideas.

One of the simplest of ideas for cheap wedding favors is candles. Wedding favor candles are a great gift. You might even consider purchasing personalized ribbons to tie pretty bows around the candles. Arranging this is not as difficult or as expensive as you might think and there are many companies that specialize in this type of work that could provide the ribbon on a reel with all the wedding details so each piece can be cut to length. A simple taper candle tied with your personalized ribbon can be placed at each place setting to create a really inexpensive wedding favor.

Using candy is an alternative that while inexpensive can really make an impression and does not look like a cheap wedding favor. A way to use candy as a wedding favor is to purchase small tins and fill them with the candy of your choice and if you purchase the candy in bulk to keep the price down you can separate the candy into small portions for each guest. You could also use candy bars with personalized packaging which could be supplied at a reasonable cost. You can easily expand upon this idea, without costing too much more by adding special wrappers especially for the wedding. The wrappers can include your name and wedding date and even a picture of the two of you. This can be very affordable especially if you are ordering in bulk and are only using one design for the wrappers.

Some cheap wedding favors can be seeds of flowers or vegetables as these can be mixed together and presented with a ribbon tied around them. There is no reason why you cannot expand upon this and buy some small pots to put the seeds in. You don’t even need to buy large pots as they are not to be used for planting the seeds, just to hold them in temporarily. Not only does this look better, it will also cost less as small pots are, obviously, less expensive.

I always like the practical ideas that also look personal and a pen fits the bill exactly especially as you can have your details on them. Pens do not cost a great deal and can also be paired with personalized stationery for a really practical but cheap wedding favors and gifts. The stationery can be used for the guests to stay in touch with the bride and groom and to let them know what type of day hey had. If you really want to show them you are serious, why not also leave a stamped addressed envelope just to show the guests how serious you are about hearing their thoughts about your happy day.

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Wedding planners have many duties.They order, they locate, they test taste, they supervise—they even console.  One of their biggest jobs is to help the engaged couple to decide on a budget, and stick to it.  Most wedding planners have a basic budgte that they suggest for all couples that they are employed by.  This by no means set in stone—most couples customize their budget to fit their own wedding.  However, having input from a professional is the best way to budget.

Categorizing Your Expense

The average amount of money spent on a wedding is $19,000.  Though the actual expense may vary, wedding planners typically recommend that a certain percentage of this budget is spent in different categories.  All in all, the general recommendation is that 52% of the budget is spent on the wedding itself, and that 48% of the budget is spent on the reception.

Photography and videography is how you will remember your wedding; thus, it makes sense that this is where the largest portion of your budget will be spent.  Approximately 12% of your budget should be devoted to hiring an amazing photographer an dpurchasing the wedding photos. 

The next largest portion of the wedding budget should be devoted to the attire.  For most wedding planners, the reccomended portion of the budget for this purpose is 10%.  This money will be spent on the attire of both the bride and the groom—that means it will have to cover the dress, shoes, jewelry, accessories, undergarments, hair, make up, suspenders, suit or tux, bow tie, cuff links, and shoes.

Most wedding planners suggest that about 8% of the budget is spent on flowers.This may seem like a lot; however, when you take into consideration all of th ebouqets, corsages, floral baskets, and centerpieces that need to be purchased, 8% is not too much at all.  Another 8% of the budget is devoted to the music—whether that be a band or a DJ.

The remainder of the budget is split into small percentages, ach of which is devoted toward a specific category.  Three percent of the budget is allotted by the wedding planner for the ceremony, rings, gifts, and stationary.Two percent typically goes toward the transportation, and a certain percentage will go toward the cost of the wedding planner themselves.

Good Guidelines

Without budget guidelines such as those provided by a wedding planner, it would be easy to go over budget.  By working with your wedding planner, you will be guarunteed that your wedding will go exactly as planned—and as paid for.

Go here for more about Wedding Planners and Wedding Favors

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An excellent way to share the joyous news of your upcoming wedding date is to mail out save the date cards to family and friends.  Since this is going to be one of the happiest days of your life, have some fun spreading the news.   Save the dates come in many light-hearted designs to reflect the excitement you feel about your engagement.

With so many save the date designs to choose from, you could easily select one that reflects your personalities whether you choose a magnet or a card style.

You can create a keepsake for your guests by including your favorite photo or photos on save the date magnets which they can conveniently display on their refrigerator. 

Another unique design is a save the date card that includes a sticker for guests to place on their calendar as a reminder of your wedding date.

Other save the date cards can come in specific themes or even creative shapes to set the tone for your wedding.  There are many distinctive save the date designs that are specific to beach or tropical themed weddings.  There are also specific designs for Vegas weddings.

Sending a scratch off save the date card will put a smile on your guests’ faces as they reveal your wedding date much like a lottery ticket.

How about including a magnet that is printed with your wedding month and has your wedding date circled.  Again, the magnet can easily be displayed as a reminder.

Invite your guests to save the date of your special event by sending them admission tickets.

Save the dates also come in a wide variety of colors in case you are trying to match the colors of your wedding.

Hopefully the above suggestions have given you some good ideas to consider for your save the dates.  Since you are announcing one of the most joyous days of your life, why not have some fun with your save the date cards.  Your wedding invitations can play a more formal role later in your wedding planning. 

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Wedding Speeches

Regardless of just what sort of reception you are planning, chances are there more than likely be numerous wedding speeches. These are conventionally part of every wedding reception and are supposed to celebrate the bride and groom. As a general rule, if you expect to have people talk at your reception, make a list of who you expect to to talk and what order they will talk in. You can employ the conventional manner of best man, bridegroom, and then father of the groom, which for a good many years has been the measure. Alternatively, you can choose to pick and choose who you want to speak and don’t forget, whoever you choose to speak, make certain that person can be depended on to be trustworthy and give a good address that is proper.

The importance of the wedding speeches changes but they are anticipated to offer thanks, short amusing accounts, or heartfelt toasts to the bride and bridegroom. If you do opt to have the best man speak, which is traditional, he should be first and toast both the bride and bridegroom and all the wedding attendees. He should know his audience as if there are more often than not older wedding guests, talking about things that may go over their heads is not a good thing. He should not be vulgar or disrespectful but simply talk about the pleased couple, how they met, and wish them genuine fortune for the future.

Father of the Bride Wedding Speech
The father of the bride also usually talk, and now we have large families, both the father of the bride and the stepfather may desire to say some tidings. They are there not just to thank everyone but also praise their daughter and give thanks to the bridegroom for his love for her. If the bridegrooms father or mother wishes to speak, they ought to be addresses about their son and why wedding his bride will make him a better person. A maid or matron of honor speech can contain matters like for instance, how well she knows the groom, a funny or amusing tale about the couple and general thanks to the bridal party.
Mother of the Bride Wedding Speech
The majority of mothers of the bride and the groom of convention don’t have to speak, but if they want to, their speeches ought to speak about their son or girl and provide a tender and genuine speech that may bring some tears to the party. Essential suggestions to recall: regardless who is speaking, try and keep your wedding speech short if you are aware there are other individuals who want to speak. The bride and bridegroom, or wedding planner ought to list the names and order of the people talking and their role or title in the wedding reception program so everyone knows who is who. Finally, it is always a good idea if you are expected to talk, not to drink too much alcohol before your address. This will humiliate you as the speaker, but will take away attention from the bride and bridegroom and their wedding day. Utilizing these general tips will ensure your wedding speeches will go smoothly and will be special during your wedding celebrations.

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Wedding Ideas

While we often believe that many of the wedding traditions we practice today are relatively new, most are very ancient and practiced around the world but that does not mean that new wedding ideas cannot be created as well. One of the most famous wedding traditions is still seen in many cultures; that of placing a tiara upon the head of the bride, something that dates back many centuries. However, the tiara or bridal diadem has become a symbol of femininity for a bride as down through the ages the wedding tiara became a half moon shaped band, which displays such finery as ribbons, flowers or gemstones. The bridesmaids can also wear a tiara but they must not be as elaborate as the bride’s which usually sits on top of the veil to hold it in place. The tiara is the finishing touch to the wedding dress and many women will keep this beautiful item for the rest of their lives, such is the importance of it. For those who attend the bride on her wedding day it is often thought that providing them with tiara style rings as wedding favors is a good way to thank them for helping on the bride’s special day.

At one time in the past it was quite normal for the newly married couple to be taken to their honeymoon location by all the people attending the wedding. The men would then try to retrieve the garter worn by the bride with the aim to either wear it on the hat they were wearing like a trophy or to present to their betrothed. However, this particular wedding idea tradition seemed to lead to disorderly ways of unclothing the poor bride, so the bride took to tossing her garter to the male guests of her wedding party as soon as the wedding ceremony was over.

Tradition said that the man to catch the thrown garter would be the next to be wed but unfortunately many men that had consumed too much alcohol would attempt to take the garter by force. In an attempt to maintain good taste at a dignified occasion the bride then started throwing her bouquet instead. Most brides have taken to wearing the garter again even though they are rarely ever used to keep stockings up anymore; nevertheless they have become very popular.

The garter should really be blue as a sign of good luck although this tradition has not really stuck as women often favor red garters nowadays. Nowadays when the garter is used the tradition is for the groom to remove it and either snap it through his fingers at the male’s guests or throw it over his shoulder and this way the bride is not likely to be embarrassed. Although tradition says that the man who catches the garter will wed within the year, this fact is probably lost on many.

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