Planning a wedding is a very expensive thing to do. On average it costs 000  or more. That's more then what most couples can afford to spend on their wedding. This is why many are choosing to have weddings on a budget. These are usually small, intimate affairs. Despite the fact that they are small, they can still be very romantic and memorable.

Here are some small wedding planning tips to help you get started.

Purchase A Simple Wedding Dress

A simple wedding dress is all you really need for this type of wedding. Expensive designer dresses would almost be overdoing it. It's very common to see brides wear dresses such as prom dresses, cocktail dresses, and evening gowns. This doesn't just save money. Dresses such as these are ideal for weddings that are small.

The Location

There is no reason to spend a great deal of money on the location for a small wedding. The mood and the atmosphere is what a small wedding is really about. So your looking for something that captures the intimacy romance of getting married. A hotel would be ideal, but you don’t have to limit yourself to just a hotel. A few great places are banquet halls, parks, beaches, back yards, golf courses, and gradens.

A Small Guest List

One of the more difficult aspects of planning a small wedding is coming up with your guest list. Not matter what you will have to decide who you will cut off your guest list. You should come up with a big list of some of your best friends and closest family members. Go through that list and decide who you want there the most.

Purchase Products At Wholesale Prices

A great way to save lots of money is to buy much of your products at wholesale prices. The best ways to do that is to get yourself a membership at Costco. You can get almost anything you need. It's an excellent way to buy cheap food. All sorts of great foods and decorations can be purchase at really low prices. The only downside of this is the work you have to put in afterwards. This makes it ideal for the do-it-yourself bride.

Now you have some tips to help you get started with your small and affordable wedding. Get to it and have yourself some fun while planning your wedding.

Whether you have been invited to a traditional Japanese wedding or you are just interested in wedding customs in general, you will discover that there are some fascinating aspects about a Japanese wedding ceremony that make it special from other similar events. A Japanese wedding is usually Buddhist, Shinto, or Christian in form, or it may not even be religious at all. A Japanese wedding can take on many different styles depending on taste and preference.

The most traditional sort of Japanese wedding that you are likely to see is the Shinto style wedding, which are private events taking place at shrines. Only intimate family members participate in this service, though there will usually be an older couple there as well, to act in the matchmaker role. The ceremony consists of customs that include drinking sake, and in more modern context, the exchange of wedding bands. The families of the bride and the groom will also exchange glasses of sake to show that the two families are now tied together. Japanese brides wear a shiromuku, a white kimono, for wedding dresses, while the grooms will wear montsuki, a formal black kimono, and the wide legged trousers known as hakama.

When the service is over at the Shinto shrine, there is often a reception celebration, where the extended family, friends, and colleagues will attend to celebrate the wedding. The dress is usually very formal and it is not uncommon to see women in suits as well as kimono in attendance.

A Japanese wedding invitation should be answered ASAP and it is important to remember that a gift of cash is essential. There may be a specific amount on the invitation, but if not, you can decide how much to give based on how close you are to the happy couple; the closer you are to them, the more you would give. It is standard to give the cash in crisp new bills, which are put into an envelope, named shugi-bukuro, and your name is nicely printed on the front of it. The guests even get a gift at a Japanese wedding, usually a memento known as hikidemono is given, and nowadays guests would be allowed to select their gift from a catalogue.

The wedding reception itself is usually a very entertaining event, with the bride and groom seated on a stage and many participants singing celebratory or congratulatory songs for them. There is usually a Western style wedding cake and in many cases the couple will stroll all over the room to light candles and to talk to the guests. Rather than staying in their formal wedding dress, the bride will likely change into a less formal kimono.

A Japanese wedding can take styles from various different cultures and traditions, and it is just as likely to see Japanese brides wearing elegant Western wedding dresses as it is to see them in a formal white kimono and elaborate headdress. If you have received an invitation to a Japanese wedding, it would be wise to ask what is proper and what the couple is wanting from their guests. No matter what part of the world you may come from, you will find that a wedding is a means to celebrate with a loving couple their happiness and joy.

Savvy couples are looking for any way to cut wedding costs – and rightfully so. Shelling out nearly $30,000 to host a party in these tough economic times just feels frivolous and wasteful. But sorry brides and grooms, a cash bar is never an acceptable money-saving solution. Think about it this way: would you ever charge your pals three dollars every time they grabbed another beer at your Superbowl party? People at your wedding reception are still your guests, even if the event is not held in your house (like said Superbowl party), so they shouldn’t be asked to pay for anything while there. Also keep in mind that, unlike the Superbowl party, many guests will have likely traveled and paid for a hotel room – not to mention a wedding gift – in order to attend your wedding. While the wedding ceremony is all about you, the wedding reception is about thanking your guests for celebrating in your nuptials.

Some couples think providing non-alcoholic beverages gratis while charging guests who wish to upgrade to an alcoholic beverage is perfectly acceptable, but here’s another analogy: Imagine serving all of your wedding guests free soup for dinner at your reception. Now imagine offering optional lobster tail, but forcing those who wish to eat lobster instead of soup to shell out $30 for their meal. Surely you can see why this shouldn’t be done. You should never offer anything that you can’t afford at a party you’re hosting – and then expect your guest to purchase it.

If a four or five-hour open bar is not within your budget, there are plenty of less-costly alternatives that won’t offend your guests:

• Offer beer, wine, and soft drinks only.
• Offer a full bar for cocktail hour, then switch to beer and wine.
• Decide on one type of drink to serve – either a specialty cocktail, champagne, or one type of beer or wine. Most venues will charge significantly less to serve only one type of alcoholic beverage.
• Choose a wedding venue that allows you to bring in your own alcohol. Believe it or not – there are plenty of venues that do not have liquor licenses and will allow couples to bring in their own. Anything unopened can be returned for a full refund after the wedding. You may need to get a little more creative with your venue with this option and choose a mansion, museum, or a facility who’s main business is not generated from weddings and special events.
• Cut back on other wedding expenses. Lose the expensive designer wedding dress and shoes, do your own hair and makeup, consider less costly alternatives to floral arrangements, drive your own car rather than renting a limo, spin your own tunes instead of hiring a band or DJ… Cutting some of these expenses will free up enough of your budget to serve your guests properly. We’ve seen too many brides waltzing down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown carrying a bouquet of imported orchids with newly manicured nails – all while her guests are hitting up the ATM in the back so they can enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.
• Invite less people to your wedding. This is the most effective way to cut wedding costs across the board. The significant savings you’ll experience with a smaller guest list will allow you to treat those who you do invite with courtesy and respect.

Read more about cash bars at weddings in the wedding etiquette guide at Elegala.com – Elegant Galas Made Simple

Swarovski Crystal Wedding Jewelry

If you talk to just about any bride she will tell you that her wedding dress was beautiful the first time she tried it on, but when she tried it on with her wedding jewelry it was breathtaking.A stunning combination is the tieing together of the perfect wedding gown with matching jewelry that makes everything come together so that the bride sees the picture she has thought about all her life.  Many brides-to-be know that jewelry is important but they downplay it because they don’t have the funds to buy the items that they want, or at least that is what they think.
Many brides and grooms plan their wedding and they lose sight of one thing and that is the fact that their wedding day is just that, one day.If you will remember this as you go to seach for your wedding jewelry you will be confident that you can economically purchase wedding jewelry.  Instead, you can shop for affordable pieces, which if they were worn every day wouldn’t look good but would look beautiful just once. Lacking special pieces of jewelry that you can borrow from friends or members of your family, and lacking a veryy large amount of money to spend on jewelry just for the wedding, you should not get hysterical;instead, just take the time to look at a variety of stores.
If you are really stretched with the finances and it is not possible to borrow jewelry from close friends or family you will will be able to find enough jewelry to meet your needs for less than $75.While sounding cheap, you may want to spend time looking at super stores that are local to see what bridal jewelry they offer being confident that no one will will really know.just take time to look for the kinds of jewelry that you think is great and that will also look great with your gown and nothing else matters.  You don’t need to spend thousands.  If you find a pair of inexpensive Swarovski crystal wedding earrings that you love and you think will look great, then go for it! When you are buying your wedding jewelry it shouldn’t be about cost but about what you are comfortable with both where price and style are concerned.It is eye opening how much you can get with only a few dollars if you just look these days.   
You do not have to let a frugal budget prevent you from having the wedding jewelry you would like to have on your wedding day.The man made crystals from Swarovski and others are as stunning as the ones found in nature and unless you let your friends know they would not know the difference!

The bridal bouquet is one of the more important flower arrangements in a wedding. The wedding flower bouquet design should complement the bride’s dress and not clash with it. Many people believe that a simple wedding dress warrants a lavish wedding flower bouquet while an ornate wedding dress should have a simple bouquet. Most people want perfect match of both ornate and lavish designs of the dress and the wedding flower bouquet so the bride attracts one and all. Contemporary wedding flower bouquets are the most recent addition to bouquets and these are random designs that can be of any shape and flower.

Cascade Wedding Flower Bouquet

This wedding flower bouquet design has been around for centuries. It is actually not so popular these days and may be considered quite old fashioned. This design consists of a rounded bunch of flowers at the hand of the bride with a cascade of similar flowers and leaves falling off the main bunch. The trail that falls off the main bouquet of blooms may be made up of trailing ribbons, smaller blooms of the original flowers at the top and other foliage that are similar to ivy. This kind of wedding flower bouquet design can actually help to make a bride look slimmer and taller. This design is suitable for a formal wedding which is usually held indoors or in a church.

Round Bouquet

This wedding flower bouquet design consists of a bunch of flower created to look like a ball. A wedding bouquet consists of a similar flowers that are tightly packed. Roses and tulips are great for this wedding flower bouquet design. There may be additions of complementing flowers but these are usually kept to a minimum as well as foliage which are used to fill out the bouquet. This kind of wedding flower bouquet may not be so complimentary on brides with rounded body features since the roundness of the bouquet may also emphasize the rounded hips of the bride as well as her other rounded features.

The Posy

The posy wedding flower bouquet design is probably the closest to informal that a wedding bouquet can get. This is a hand tied bouquet that has the look of the flowers being just picked from the garden and then put together. The wedding flower bouquet may look disorganized and random but florists who make these are sure to have a certain style in mind when making them. Different types of flowers can be used for this bouquet and fillers and foliage an also be abundant.

Choosing your wedding dress does not have to be a daunting experience. If you approach it with the right attitude it can be a fun experience. Remember every bride is beautiful on her wedding day so don’t make yourself and loved ones crazy choosing the right dress.

Get : Wedding Dress Advice

First, set yourself a budget of what you want to spend for your dress. What you want to spend will dictate where you will shop. If you are on a small budget you may want to shop at one of the large bridal discount stores. If money is not as much an issue there are many small bridal boutiques that offer a wide variety of lovely dresses.

Free : Great Wedding Advice

Secondly, make sure you have yourself properly fitted by a person who knows what they are doing so when you start your shopping you will know what size you need and what dress would have the proper fit for you. Make sure that you check out several styles and fits so you can narrow your search to make iot easier to decide.

Lastly, it is always a good idea to take a camera with you and an objective person when shopping. You will want to share how your final choice with folks at home and at the same time it is good to have someone there to help with your decision. Try to have only a few people helping you make the final decisions because too many opinions can make it harder for you. Only have your closes friends and family at the final decision session.

Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Weddings. For more information go to: http://www.planthewedding.net/dress.html

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/learn-how-to-choose-a-wedding-dress-1068789.html

As many brides already know, one of the most important aspects of a wedding is the carefully selected wedding gown. While many brides agree that it is important to choose a wedding dress that will impress their guests, it is more important that the bride is satisfied and excited about the dress she has chosen. With so many different styles of designer wedding dresses available, it is possible for any bride, regardless of their personal style and preference, to find a picture-perfect wedding gown. The best way to find a wedding dress that will impress everyone is to factor in the formality of your event, as well as the location and time of year it is occurring, your body type, and your personal preferences.

Formality

The style of your wedding gown, and how it will coordinate with the formality of your event, is the first aspect to consider when choosing a wedding dress that will leave your guests in complete awe. Each wedding has its own degree of formality, and this should be evident throughout the entire wedding from the invitations, to the dresses, to the cake.  Once you have decided how formal you want your wedding to be, you will be able to match that formality to your wedding gown.

For more formal events, a longer and thicker dress style is often going to be the most suitable. Brides who are opting for a more formal style will also want to consider wedding gowns with sleeves and higher necklines. Many of the high waist dresses, such the empire waist style, work well for formal weddings because they refer back to a more traditional, princess-styled gown.

If you choose to have a less formal event, you can have more freedom over the type of dress that you can select. Many brides prefer to have less formal weddings so that they can pick their dress from a wider selection of flowing and lighter gowns. For less formal weddings, try on a shorter wedding dress, or one that does not fall so severely.

Location and Time of Year

When searching for the perfect and most appropriate wedding gown, you also want think about the location of your wedding, as well as the time of year in which it will be held. These important pieces of information can help you figure out which type of wedding dress or designer wedding dress is going to be best for you and your event. If you are having an outdoor wedding in the summer, for example, you will probably want to choose a wedding gown that is made from a lighter fabric. Winter or colder weather weddings, on the other hand, can be great for dresses that are thicker, longer, and more formal.

If you are hosting an outdoor ceremony and reception, you might also want to consider purchasing a dress that is slightly shorter than the traditional gown, or dresses that will more easily catch the breeze and flow beautifully. The location of your event is very important in choosing a proper wedding gown considering that the dress that you choose for an outdoor wedding will not usually be suitable for an indoor ceremony.

Body Type

Your body type, and how you look in different styled dresses, is another aspect to consider when searching for that perfect, awe-inspiring wedding gown. While petite women may look fabulous in tighter, more form fitting dresses, a woman who is curvier, or has slightly wider hips, may look stunning in a loosely fitting dress such as the empire waist gown.

Personal Preference

The most important aspect to consider when searching for your one-of-a-kind wedding gown is your personal preference. As stated above, trying on multiple dresses that incorporate different styles, necklines, colors, and fits, is very important in helping you figure out which dress is perfect for you. By trying on different styles, you can get a clear idea of the type of dress that you like, and what it is going to look like on your body on your wedding day. It is very important for you to be able to get the designer wedding dress that you dream of, so that you have no regrets and nothing to worry about on your big day. The dresses that will impress your guests the most will be a dress that you feel completely confident and beautiful wearing.

Lisa Parker is a freelance writer who writes about weddings and family events, often focusing on one item such as designer wedding dresses.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/wedding-dresses-that-are-sure-to-impress-1064808.html

This just in: Gray can make each and every wedding dazzle.  It’s true!  While it may seem a bit funny to have a color typically associated with stormy nights be a part of a day where people only want rainbows, its growing popularity is undeniable.  Gray is no longer the shunned crayon inside the Crayola box.  In fact, its star power is shining brighter than ever.

Last year in 2008, bridal consultants first began reporting that gray had started making headway on the wedding day forefront, but it wasn’t until 2009 that people really started to revel in it.  Instead of thinking about it as “doom and gloom,” think of gray as a silvery jewel or even a color fit for a pewter princess. 

Everything from décor accents to even wedding dresses have caught the fever, proving that gray is here to stay for a while.  Because of its neutral qualities, this once ignored color works perfectly with warm and cool colors alike.  When paired with pink or yellow, gray can make an unmistakable vintage look, and when a bride puts it with mint greens and blues, the effects are nothing short of fairy tale.  

When people connotate gray with Renaissance etchings and engraved silver details, instead of rainy days, the options become limitless!  Gray is trendy, romantic, whimsical and fun, and it’s everywhere!  Everyone from decorating wizard, Martha Stewart to dress designer, Maggie Sottero are going gray and loving it!  Simply put, gray is no longer “blah-zay,” bit it’s a big dose of “hooray!”

Mary works for one of the leading wedding accessories company, Marilyn’s Keepsakes. http://www.marilynskeepsakes.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/gray-is-gold-for-todays-wedding-planning-1063409.html

Weddings can be one of the most memorable things you will have forever. Designing and making your very own wedding dress can be challenging but you will be happy that you put the effort into it when it is done. You can find many patterns and styles online.

Get : Wedding Dress Advice

The first thing that you want to do is to decide what style of weeding dress you want. You can choose from the classic style to the very sexy and everything in between. You also want to pick to color scheme your dress and overall wedding is going to have.

Free : Trendy Wedding Advice

Next you want to choose the fabric you want to use for your wedding dress. There are so many kinds of fabric and trims that you can use it is going to take some time to narrow your search down to a few. Visit many fabric stores so you can get a great idea of what is available.

You should always talk to someone who has done this before so you know exactly what to expect. It is always good to get advice whether it is good or bad so you make a decision based on experience as well.

Finally is it important that when you are choosing a dress shape that it complements your body type. Too often bride’s will find a style that is not flattering to the way they are built. It is always a good idea to try on some dresses to get an idea of what looks best on you.

Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Weddings. For more information go to: http://www.planthewedding.net/dress.html

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/learn-how-to-design-your-own-wedding-dress-1060356.html

Through every couple’s life, the wedding party is one of the events wherein you spend the most expenses. These days, it’s best to be practical especially with the whole world recession going full swing. But then, just because such a memorable occasion may only come once in a lifetime, people regularly spend too much just to come up with the best wedding they can ever have. However, with the beginning of eco weddings, folks have found the perfect alternative in going for the most romantic wedding that doesn’t require the couple to spend so much cash.

Eco weddings were simply generated from the idea of doing everyone’s part in saving Earth. From wedding venues down to invitations, eco weddings use things that are thought to be natural and not dangerous to the environment. Beginning from the venue, this is one single factor that makes up virtually half the total wedding expenses. But with an eco wedding, you can spend less with an outdoor location like a garden where there are less decors and less electricity use. There is no doubt that such a venue is indeed much more romantic with all the fresh flowers, cool breeze, sparkling water maybe, and singing birds than with a confined church or hotel wedding. Extra decorations are also virtually needless as mother nature herself can simply give you all the amazing embellishments you need.

And when it comes to the wedding dress, you do not spend too much on a gown that you only wear once. For an eco wedding, brides are encouraged to wear wedding dresses that are sometimes passed down from their great great grandmas. These are called vintage wedding gowns or heirloom wedding gowns. If mom’s style does not work for the child, a seamstress is all that it takes to make it all to fall into place. Another good alternative for selecting a wedding dress for an eco wedding is by simply going thru vintage clothing shops for pre-worn dresses. In this way, you can save half of the amount you are going to spend on a new one. But if you really insist in going for a brand new dress, there are some designers today who are using organic materials like cotton, silk, or hemp.

For favors or parting gifts, it is much better to give away dear and memorable extras that won’t end in landfills. Edible favors like jars of jam or fresh honey is a good idea from which you have also given your visitors reusable glass containers after they have finished what’s within. But the bottom-line here is that it is far cheaper than to order some specially made giveaways that might just end up being disposed of into trash cans the next day. They can also have plant seeds as parting gifts. This will surely be a good souvenir for your wedding as they may be reminded of you with the blooms or the tree perhaps as a result of those seeds. With all of these considered, who says you must spend a life-time worth of savings on your wedding?

Edgar is a green wedding planner and he writes about green weddings in many sites and newsletters. Recently he came up with the green wedding favors which is a recommended reading for a couple who is planning to have their own green wedding.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/how-to-have-a-cheap-ecofriendly-wedding-1052423.html