Not Just a One Trick Pony...

That's right, sir-y! Uncommon Weddings has more creativity then it knows what to do with, and thankfully plenty of friends having fun events that need to be planned.

Today, I'd like to share with you an elegant, graceful, backyard rehearsal dinner truly fitting the elegant, graceful hostess and Mother of the Groom. I've know Teresa, her husband Chuck, and their family almost my whole life. I don't remember a time when they were not a part of my life. My dad was one of Chuck's groomsmen when they got married, and yes, my cheesy, camera hogging, chubby face was the flower girl. I was 4. I'll see what I can do about getting you a picture.... or not.

When I started helping Teresa's son and to-be daughter in law with their wedding, I also started talking with Teresa about the rehearsal dinner. I could sense her deep yearning to throw an elegant event, welcoming the bride and her family into their family. But also knew the financial challenges that their family faces, as well as health challenges that Teresa faces. On top of all this, I should probably tell you that Teresa is the Owner and Head Instructor of Manners and More and the authority on all things etiquette. Well if you guys know my style, I'm sure you can anticipate my anxiety. :-) In most cases, I'd rather throw the etiquette out the window then follow it. But Teresa's gentle spirit and encouraging personality are irresistible.

So, are you tired of my ramblings and ready for some pictures????



The event was held at the Grandparents of the Bride's home on a peaceful cove off of Mountain Island Lake. The primary color, sage green, was pulled from the bride's wedding colors and was paired with lots and lots of crisp, clean, simply elegant white and vibrant pops of yellow.



The groom is not a huge cake fan, so we decided that cookies in cookie jars could do double duty as center pieces and dessert! And who doesn't like having their dessert sitting right there in front of them! I mean... you don't even have to GET UP! Hello!!! Additionally, I had just enough glass cookie jars left over from our wedding. So, the only additional things that needed to be bought were some scrapbook paper and some ribbon. Love it!





I made little tags to go on the cookie jars that echoed the scroll pattern on the napkins.

To further dress up the tables, and take this event from a back yard BBQ to an elegant event, we decided to go with one of my old Martha Stewart favorites... tissue poms. These are exceptionally easy, VERY economical, and really add that little bit of pizzazz! I had my partner in crafting crime and her husband over for pizza the night before the rehearsal dinner and we laughed and laughed while making these and watching tv.



So... the event was a success, the hostess was beautiful as always, the bride and groom were beaming, and the night ended with an evening pontoon boat ride captained by the Father of the Bride for the couple and their wedding party. What else can one ask from one evening???

Up this weekend... a Tea Party Birthday Party for one of my best friend’s daughter. Oh how fun!!!

Chad & Alexia's Teaser Pictures by Charlotte Photography

It's official! Chad and Alexia are officially husband and wife! The week leading up was hectic and crazy, but I have a feeling that's just the nature of the biz. We had a few challenges (look for a longer story about the fire alarm going off!), but nothing that couldn't be solved fairly easily.

The wonderful and Amazing Rebekah and TJ Petrino from Charlotte Photography captured the day. I know you don't want to listen to any more of my ramblings; you really just want to see the pretty pictures. So, I'll shut up and get right to it!!

The handsome guys in thier totally cool outfits designed by the groom.



The stunning girls. Loved the use of different dresses and different colors for the bridesmaids' dresses! Alexia had a great vision, and it came out looking so unique and yet purposeful. LOVE the way Rebekah was able to capture the excitement that was literally tangible. This group of girls worked so hard the whole week to make this everything the bride hoped for!



There ceremony was performed by the father of the groom! It was so sweet to watch because you could tell how honored he was to have the opportunity to marry his son.



This couple is so much fun! You can see thier excitement right after the ceremony, and their anticipation to "get the party started!"



But before that could happen, Charlotte Photography worked their magic!







Then it really was time to party! And of course, no wedding reception is complete without a cake cutting!

Uncommon Weddings worked with the bride and groom to translate their wedding logo into cupcake sticks. They came out beautifully and really added a personal touch!



The bride ordered the "flowers" for her bouquet off of Etsy. If you would like more details, feel free to post a comment and I'll find out the exact seller. It was beautiful, and I don't think a single person felt like anything was missing even though there was not a single fresh flower!



Although not as hot as the days and weeks prior, it was still warm the night of the reception. Plus the dance floor was packed! The bride decided to take advantage of the fan, and of course Rebekah and TJ were there to capture it!



But all good things must come to an end, and the bride and groom rode off into the sunset... night surrounded by their loving friends and family!



Congratulations Chad and Alexia! Uncommon Weddings is overwhelmingly honored to have participated in making your day a success. Enjoy your honeymoon, and we'll see you when you get back!

With Whipped Cream and Cherry On Top: Making boring gifts fun

Have you ever struggled to find the right gift for a bridal or couples shower or a wedding present? Registry gifts can be so boring. I mean who gets excited about a set of towels really? And gift cards (although greatly appreciated by the couple) are even worse. That's when the urge to go off registry kicks in, and once it does it's hard to fight. But your practical sides reminds you that sticking with the registry or purchasing a gift card are the most sure fire ways to make sure that the betrothed couple gets something they can actually use.

I'm reminded of a FRIENDS episode where Monica and Chandler receive a particularly hideous punch bowl. Upon Chandler asking if they can return it, Monica states that there is no receipt so where would they return it. Chandler then says, "I was thinking maybe to the street... from the balcony?" :-) You don't want a similar conversation to go on about your gift. So, I encourage you to stick with the registry or gift cards from the registered stores.

So, how then to solve the dilemma spicing up boring gifts? Well, I have two suggestions for you today, and I'd love to hear the creative ways you have solved this problem.

First we have an idea for that old stand by of a set of towels. Well, actually it's two sets of towels but you get the picture. For a while now I've been hearing about the "diaper cakes" that have been making their rounds through the bridal showers lately. It's a simple idea. Cloth or disposable diapers are rolled up and stacked on top of each other to resemble a tiered cake.



(Source)

So I started thinking, why can't I do this with regular sized towels for a shower????

Well, I jumped on my trusty Google and started searching. Come to find out I'm not the first one to have this idea. After obtaining some inspirational images and downloading some instructions, I ordered the double set of towels and crossed my fingers.

When they arrived I immediately sat down and started working. It was amazingly easy to do. Simply fold the large towels into thirds and roll up. Do the same with the hand towels and the wash clothes. Then stack them on top of each other and decorate with silk flowers, ribbon, and anything else you think looks pretty. Having a creative block, then simply flip through a few pages of wedding cake pictures on The Knot and you'll most likely have more inspiration then you've ever wanted! So... what did my towel cake look like? Well, please excuse the crappy picture. After all that work I only got one picture of it and it's not the best, but...



But that's not all! With two showers back to back for two couples, I had another opportunity to get creative. This couple doesn't know quite yet where they are going to be living. On top of that they are both young and therefore really need everything. So, with Charlotte just getting a new IKEA (sound the angles, aaaaaaahhhhhh!) they simply requested IKEA gift cards.

Well, I couldn't just give a gift card, because, well... I'm just OCD and crazy like that! While at IKEA to get the gift card and introduce my mom to the awesomeness that is IKEA, I spotted my favorite type of flower vase. It's short and rectangle and awesome! There is something about the shape of this vase that makes even a flower futz like me into freaking Martha Stewart. So, I decided to pick it up and figure out how to package the gift card in it. That way they got what they really needed, but I was able to pass on some of the wisdom I had gained as a spouse. (Although two whistles, one for each, to blow when they feel that a fight is getting out of hand and becoming unfair would have probably been just as wisdomuss.)

I filled the vase with tissue paper and made a paper rose to fill the vase. (Paper flowers, especially roses, are incredibly easy, just time consuming. So, if you have a wonderful, amazing, selfless husband like mine who is happy to "crinkle" paper petals for you, you are extra blessed!) I then slipped the gift card in the back of the vase. And wrapped some matching paper and a tag to the front. So what did it look like?



Don't ask me why I forgot to get pictures of the towel cake but remembered to take this one outside in order to get awesome artsy pictures! I, myself, don't even understand the inner workings of my brain sometimes.

So what creative, fun ways have you all found to package sorta-kinda-boring gifts? We'd love to hear! Happy Friday everyone! I hope your weekend is full of creativity and joy!

Pretty Maids All in a Row

One of the dreaded wedding tasks for a couple is always choosing the bridesmaid dresses. I mean, really, who decided that putting all of your friends, of different shapes, sizes, and colorings, into the exact same dress (and possibly a floppy straw hat, if you're my mom) was a good idea? Where did this unusual tradition start?

Was it an insecure bride who wanted to insure that none of her friends looked as good as she did?

Was it a vindictive bride who wanted to inact revenge on all her ungrateful friends?

Was it a practical joke loving bride who was tired of hearing her friends gasp in terror, "OMG! We're wearing the exact same dress!!!!!!!!"?

In reality, the tradition goes back significantly farther than any of my guesses. In ancient Anglo-Saxon Brittian, evil spirts and kidnappings of the bride were considered real threats. So, the bridesmaids wore the same thing as the bride in order to confuse anyone who hoped to bring ill will to the couple. Additional note: This is also why the bride stands to the left of the groom, because then he had his stronger right arm free to ward off attackers.

So, since we no longer have to worry about kidnappings and most of us are farily unworried about evil spirits interupting the ceremony, are matching bridesmaid dresses really necessary? The answer is a resounding no! But what other option is there and doesn't it look bad? Not in the least.

For a while now brides have been giving their bridesmaids some choices. One of the first trends to emerge was the same color, same fabric, same length, different dress style look. Like this one from The Knot.



Now brides have started bucking all the traditions. For instance this one broke the cardinal rule of no one wearing white at the wedding.



How sexy and beautiful do those lovely ladies look?!

Some brides are sticking with one dress and allowing their bridesmaids the choice of color.



And some are giving them a color or color scheme (like fall tones of brown, orange, and red), and letting them run with it.



Most of us have been in the situation where we have been asked to spend a LOT of our hard earned money on a dress that, even if beautiful, will most likely sit in the back of our closets for the rest of its life. Thankfully, as you've seen, many brides are becoming more considerate to this delema. But if you want to guarantee that your bridesmaids will end up with something they will wear again and you are having a fairly formal or evening wedding, consider the ever classy little black dress. This is really the only sure fire, I-want-my-bridesmaids-to-wear-their-dress-again, solution. Even if black isn't in your color scheme, accents can always be added to tie everything together, and if the guys are wearing black suits or tuxes then it will all flow regardless. Not convenced that it will look cohesive? Take a look at this picture of Ms. Avacado's (from Weddingbee) girls in their stunning and stylish dresses.



I love this picture for many reasons, but my favorite is that it proves that modest doesn't equal frumppy! As a member of the Church of Laterday Saints (LDS), the bride has a conviction about being modest which includes no bare shoulders. Although I'm not opposed to bare shoulders, I AM pale as can be and hate spending the entire day tugging on a strappless dress. For those girls like me, there is another option!

In striving to be gender neutral, keep in mind that all these tips can be applied to any/all women involved in a wedding party regardless of which side of the couple they stand on or the gender(s) of the couple getting married. I've only used "bride" and "bridesmaid" for simplicity sake. :-)

So what do you all think? What are your favorite trends in wedding party attire? How about any dissaster stories? (Cue picture of my mom's poor bridesmaids in their floppy hats! :-P)

To cover or not to cover. That is the question.

Most people who know me well, know that I'm a tattoo enthusiast. I love them. I love them on me; I love them on other people; and I even love them on brides! I know that some of you are thinking that I have truly gone crazy, but hear me out for a minute.

For us tattoo enthusiasts, our tattoos are more than a decoration or accessory. Every time I walk out of my tattoo shop, I feel more like my true self. I always feel like my artist has revealed something that was always there just unseen. They are truly a part of who I am. And I know that this is how other tattoo enthusiasts feel as well.

Since I am a firm believer in weddings being an expression of the couple, and the individuals who make up that couple, I guess it's no real surprise that I LOVE tattooed brides! Take a look at these gorgeous images and you may come to the same conclusion.





Photographer: Jonathan Canlas Photography



Photographer: Frank Amodo



Photographer: Closed Circle Photography



Photographer: Allebach Photography

If you are a fan off tattooed brides (or off beat weddings), then you may already be familiar with this next image as she seems to be one of the most famous tattoed brides on the web!



Bride's Website

If you have now become a fan of tattooed brides, consider heading over to Offbeat Bride, my go to blog for everything off beat. Just like other wedding sites, I like some weddings and ideas better than others, but the one thing I love about the weddings featured on Offbeat Bride is that each couple is unique. They don't pretend to be someone they are not, they are just honest and true to themselves.

Rock on tattooed brides and grooms! Rock on!

So, what do you think of the images? What do you think about showing tattoos at a wedding?

The Perfect Match

Wedding favors can be a fun, yet tricky, detail. They can be a supper fun element that helps tie your over all vision together. On the other hand, most people either leave them there, take them home and throw them away, or take them home and put them in a drawer or memory box. I encourage couples to seriously consider what they want to do when it comes to favors. For some, ditching the entire thing is the way to go. For some, making a donation to a beloved charity is the way to go. For others who really feel that having something for guests to take come is an important part of a wedding, there are some great ideas for things that will be worth the money spent.

I was at a wedding a couple of years ago where the bride and groom had a coffee bar and gave guests a glass coffee mug as the favor. It worked wonderfully. We had a nice, large coffee mug to use for the reception and then to take home. I'm actually drinking out of it right now as I write this blog.

For Jeff and Bethany, we had already decided that since they were having an evening reception, having sparklers for their exit would be a beautiful and inexpensive idea. So when they mentioned that they really wanted something tangible for their guests to take home with them, I knew exactly what they could do.



Personalized match boxes make a wonderful wedding favor. They are inexpensive. Well very inexpensive. They are an easy DIY project, and they are something useful that guests just might use after they leave. I'll leave you with just a little more inspiration. All images from www.theknot.com



And finally a template for making DIY personalized matchboxes, Here

May I Introduce...

I am tragically behind on my blogging. Unfortunately, I have managed to acquire a cold in the middle of the summer. (What???) Yes. I have no idea how it happened, except that I've been running like a mad woman for weeks, and I work in an office that is probably 60 degrees while it's close to 100 outside. But anyway. Beginning to finally feel human again today! Woohoo!

I have a few blogs in the works, but today I would like to introduce you to Uncommon Weddings founding clients:

Bethany and Jeff

Bethany is a friend of a friend, and she and Jeff have graciously allowed me to blog about the planning of their wedding. There's so much that goes into planning a wedding, that many couples don't even realize what they are getting themselves into. That is why it is not uncommon for a couple to call a wedding planner in halfway (or less) through the process. Hopefully by blogging the process of their wedding over the next 11 months, people will be able to see what really goes into planning a wedding.

Bethany, Jeff, and I just had our second monthly wedding planning meeting, and we are all so excited about some of the elements of the wedding that are coming together.

First of all: Theme

Jeff and Beth are both very casual, down to earth kind of people, so we agreed that "casual rustic elegance" was probably the best way to describe the feel they were going for. Something like this.



Sources: 1 and 5, 2 and 4, 3

These two are an awesome couple and totally looking to shake things up when it comes to their wedding. One of the first ideas they were sold in was having a s'mores bar. Candy bars are one of the big trends in the wedding industry right now, but unfortunately are becoming a little over done.



So we decided that since they were having a back yard cookout and would have access to a large grill, that a s'mores bar would be even better! I started pulling images so that they could get a feel for what I was envisioning. Something kind of like this.



Sources: 1, 2, 3

And here's a wonderful one by Lindsey Nartker Designs



I'm thinking of including on the bar: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, mint chocolate, raspberry chocolate, regular marshmallows, coconut marshmallows, regular graham crackers, chocolate graham crackers, cinnamon graham crackers, nutella, peanut butter, and any other great ideas we come across between now and then.

When it comes to presentation, I'm thinking orange crates, wooden boxes, antique-y jars, and possibly these berry pint crates.



And at only fifty cents each, they are a wonderful, budget friendly option for presenting items at a rustic chic event. So, what do you think?

Why I Love Being a Wedding Planner...

Every time I considered becoming a wedding coordinator, the thought always seemed too good to be true... like it would be getting paid to eat cake (as my mama always said). And then today I found myself sitting in front of this!



OH YEAH BABY!!! That's a wedding cake tasting from the awesomest (another Bonnie word) Edible Art. I emailed them the other day asking if I could come by to introduce myself and see their work. Nancy emailed me back and encouraged me to stop by. She was so sweet and beyond showing me some of their designs and giving me pricing information, she also asked me if I would like to try some samples. [Insert favorite joke here.] They were SOOO good. I got to try the standard flavors, yellow, vanilla, chocolate, and almond. They were all so wonderful it was hard to pick a favorite, but the almond was excellent and surprising since I don't usually like almond stuff. And the chocolate tasted more like my grandmother's chocolate cakes then I've had before! It was wonderful, and they will certainly be included in the Uncommon Wedding's Little Black Book. (Any Style Me Pretty fans out there?) Anyway, so besides getting paid to eat cake, I also visited an absolutely breathtaking facility this afternoon, and had a wonderful time getting to know the facility coordinator out there. Expect a blog about that in the next few days! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Check out Edible Art if you get a chance! The do wonderful cupcakes and birthday cakes as well.

Tip: No matter how super fabulous the wedding cake is, eating it at 11am on an empty stomach is never a good idea! Always eat something before going wedding cake tasting so that the cake doesn't hit your stomach like a sugar brick. :)

And the Bride Wore... Colored Shoes

One of the biggest trends in the wedding world, and one that I'm absolutely in LOVE with, is for the bride to wear colored shoes to match her color scheme. Now I know that your great aunt Edna is rolling over in her grave as we speak, but really, who made the rule that dictated the bride must be in white from head to toe? Actually, I do more or less know the answer to that, and maybe I'll post a blog about it sometime. But anyway, first brides started carrying colored flowers which I LOVE as well. There is something about the contrast of the pure white dress and the colorful flowers that just pops for me. And now whenever the bride lifts her dress up a little, which trust me she'll be doing ALL DAY LONG, there is a surprise pop of color! Don't believe me, judge for yourself!







Images from Style Me Pretty





Southern Weddings Magazine

Besides the unexpected pop of color and the sense of attention to every last detail, wearing colored shoes has the added advantage of actually being wearable again! Wow! What a concept!!! Because really, even those of us who get more practical shoes and convinced our finances that they were worth the price because, and I quote, we'll "totally wear them all the time!!!"... who actually wears pure white shoes anymore? My pure white ones are still in the closet, right were I put them when we came home the day after the wedding.

So... what do you think? Are you as in love as I am?

Gender-Blind Wedding Parties

Editor's Note: Please excuse the gendered language in the following post. I usually try to be inclusive and gender neutral with my language but this particular issue only really applies to heterosexual couples because same-sex couples are already bending the gender norms to start with. :-)

Have you never really gotten along with those of your same gender... always been more of a "tomboy" or "just one of the girls"... are you a bride who's closer to her brothers then anyone else in the world... are you a groom who's best friend is a girl... or are you one to think that having a gender segregated wedding party just cramps your style? Then having a gender-blind wedding party may be for you.

I have no idea how this trend (for lack of a better, more permanent word) got started, but in my mind the path was forged by a forward thinking bride who dared to ask, "Why do MY brothers have to stand on HIS side?" And from there was born a new frontier; one that has now brought us the terms "Man of Honor", "Best Lady", "Bridesmen", and "Groomsladies".

Now I know that your dear old 90 year old aunt is silently having a coronary even as I type this, but now more than every the only rule in weddings is... don't talk about weddings... oops, no wait, that's don't talk about Fight Club... oh yes, here it is... there are no rules! Couples today are bending tradition to suite them, picking and choosing the traditions that are meaningful to them, and even creating new and wonderfully fresh traditions of their own, and this flexibility in the genders of the wedding party is definitely one of my favorites.

I wish I had been exposed to this idea earlier in my wedding planning journey. I would most certainly of had my brothers up there with me. In defense of my untraditionality (yes it's a word. I just said it therefore it's a word), my mother was my maid of honor.

I know what you are all thinking... " But what about the pictures????" Well, first of all, while balancing the fact that the pictures are the only lasting thing about your wedding, I always remind brides that the pictures should not dictate your wedding. The people in the pictures are far more important then the pictures themselves; however, how awesome does this wedding party look????




This is Ms. Hummingbird from wedding bee, and is one of my all time favorite brides. At some point I'll share with you the hilarious blog that her husband wrote about his groomzilla break down and his insistence that his brother and father come shopvac up the puddled water in the back yard after it rained.

Afraid that your wedding party won't be as awesomely symmetrical as this one. Have no fear! Check out this GQ worthy groom with his groomsmen and groomslady.

source

So, if the only thing holding you back from having your dream wedding is the tradition of gender segregated wedding parties... then worry no more because gender-blind wedding parties are coming to a wedding near you!

Well, I’m a little later getting this written then I hoped, but my morning was a little busier than I expected.

Day of the wedding transportation…it’s probably not on the top of your list of glamorous wedding details to think of, but it is oh so important. I’ll start out with a cautionary tale. My husband was the best man in his good friend’s wedding a couple of years ago. They thought they had all their transportation details worked out. Until, that is, they woke up in their honeymoon suite the morning after the wedding, only to realize that had no way to get to their morning after brunch.

Thankfully, they are a very laid back couple and they simply called my husband who was more than happy to perform one last best man duty and deliver the newly married couple to the brunch. But how easily this could have been avoided.

Transportation is not one of those details that needs to be hashed out as soon as you are engaged, but putting it off until the day before the wedding will most certainly cause undue stress. Regardless of whether you are hiring a limo or asking a friend to play chauffer, you will need to work these details out so be prepared. The keys to coordinating successful transportation will be: good planning and clear communication. Usually about 4 weeks or so before the wedding, you should have a good idea of the plans for the day. Then it’s time to put the puzzle together. Depending on if you are a visual person or a word oriented person, sketch out a basic timeline or a flow chart for the day. Your goal is to make sure that everyone is where they need to be when they need to be there with the least amount of complications…ie stranded and or lost participants.

First, think about who needs to be transported. Are you going to getting married in a remote area with little parking, then maybe hiring busses or trolleys to carry all the guests is your best idea. Maybe just the couple needs to be transported. If you are hiring transportation, keep in mind that chaufferred town cars are often less expensive than full sized limos, pick up and drop off service is much cheaper then having the chauffer wait around during the ceremony and reception, and a friend or family member with a nice car might shuttle you around for even less…free!

Let’s look at an example. We have a bride and a groom with single gender wedding parties. Our couple is getting married at a church and then having the reception in a hotel ballroom. One way to coordinate this day would be to have the wedding party meet at the hotel to get ready. The groom drives himself, and someone gives the bride a ride. A limo is hired to transport the bride and bridesmaids to the reception. This is not to be sexiest (exactly) but dresses wrinkle more easily and will insure a less wrinkly wedding party. The men drive themselves and the best man gives the groom a ride.

After the ceremony, the couple is transported to the reception in the limo (which offers some precious moments of alone time) and the groomsmen give the bridesmaids rides to the reception. Now everyone has their own vehicles and can transport themselves. Since the groom drive himself the couple have their car at the hotel for them to use the next day.

This is by far not the only way to do it, but you see how it works. The key however, is that everyone knows what they need to do. For instance our scenario is going to break down if the groomsmen don’t know to wait for the bridesmaids or visa versa. As in marriage and life in general good planning and clear communication is a must!

For a DIY wedding, it might be a little more complicated. In our situation, we were not allowed into the facility until 1 hour before start time. That meant that all of the decorations had to be transported that day. We decided that the easiest way to do this was to enlist my bridesmaids to help transport. So, everyone met at my house, fully dressed, we loaded up the cars (well, they did because my friends ROCK!) and we caravanned to the facility. This worked out beautifully, and I highly recommend the caravanning because it cuts down on people getting lost. Because if the person with the table clothes gets lost, there’s not much setting up you can do until they get there!

So, bottom line….

1. Think it though…all the way through to the next day.

2. Make sure everyone is clear on how they are getting from one place to the next and if they are giving anyone a ride. This can easily be included in the wedding day timeline that is distributed to people at the rehearsal or earlier. Also note that this may be something that your planner will do, but again clearly communicate so that there are no surprises.

3. If a big poofy dress is involved, make sure that the bride is transported in a vehicle large enough to accommodate.

I’ll leave you with a funny thought. When planning our transportation, I first thought of my brother driving me to the facility since he was walking me down the isle and designated as the bridal escort. But then I remembered that he has five point racing seats and that probably wasn’t going to work with my dress and veil! Thankfully I remembered in time to make other arrangements. It would have been pretty funny to see me arrive in this!



Have a lovely day everyone! And remember… when planning the transportation, as in life and marriage, good planning and clear communication are key!

Envisioning a Budget Wedding

Is it even possible to have a wedding on a budget these days? Sometimes it feels like a daunting task! According to the Bridal Association of America, the estimated average cost of a wedding in 2009 is going to be over $30K! Whether you are the parent of a bride or groom or a couple paying for the shindig yourself, that can be a daunting number, in this economy or any other!

So, do limited finances mean a bride and groom have to pout, morning the loss of their dream wedding? Well it depends on what your idea of a wedding is. If you are insistant on a white stretch hummer limo and a five course plated dinner, then you might be disappointed. But if you understand that a wedding is a celebration of the bride and groom and the love that they will share for the rest of their lives, and a time for their community to come together and celebrate with them, then it really helps you put things in perspective.

Ok, so you've just gotten engaged... congratulations! Now what?????? For most people the task seems nothing short of overwhelming. Even if you've had a subscription to Brides or Martha Stewart Wedding since you were five, pulling together the biggest party you will ever throw while trying to keep in mind that it's supposed to be about more than just a party can make you want to rethink your fiance's suggestion of being married by an Elvis impersonator in Vegas!

But don't worry, there are some things that you can do at the beginning and through the process that will really help you along the way!

First though, a tip: DO NOT buy anything until you have a clear idea of what you want the tone, style, and theme of the wedding to be! You will most likely only be wasting your money on random things that you won't be able to use in the end!

1) Make yourself a cup of tea, grab a blanket, sit back in a cumfy chair, close your eyes, and envision what you want your event to look and feel like. What words come to mind when you think of the wedding? casual, modern, elegant, rustic, glamorous? On a scale of 1 to 10, how formal do you want it to be? Does a theme come to mind? And when I say "theme" I don't mean cowboys and indians or luau! But have you always loved the look of an elegant monogram, what about a cool line drawing of a cool sea shell for a beach wedding. Before settling on anything though, seriously consider putting together what is called an inspiration board. This is basically a collage of different things that, when you look at it, gives you the same feeling that you want your wedding to have.






*click to see sources*

And while we're on sources, you might as well just go ahead and bookmark Snippet & Ink and Style Me Pretty's websites because trust me, you will want to check them out every day if not every few days! In addition, when putting together you board, try to keep track of where your images came from (wish I'd known this when I was putting mine together). It's just good web ettiquet that if you are going to borrow an image that you acknowledge were you got it from so that if another bride likes it she can go to the original source.

Don't feel like you can only make one inspiration board. I've known girls who made one for every element of their wedding, who made one at each major development, and anything else. The first one or two you make might not follow a certain color scheme. Just pull pictures that give you the feel without worrying about it all matching color wise. I suspect though that a color scheme will emerge as you look over your board(s).