Wednesday Wedding Wisdom - Dollars and Sense

If there is one word of wisdom I can impart on brides-to-be, it is: BUDGET! Without a budget, you can easily be overwhelmed by all of the services and products available and, before you know it, you have spent (or committed to spend) much more money than you have -- you don't want to start your marriage with the stress of bills you can't pay!

Once you have a budget figure, the next step is to decide what is most important to you and start allocating money to each category. If you have a modest budget and your heart is set on a Vera Wang gown, you may need to either scale down the size of your wedding or research alternatives like consignment stores to find the perfect gown.

Bridal magazines and many online resources have great budgeting tools. Need help locating a budgeting form that works for you? Visit the professionals at Brides a la mode and we'll get you started in the right direction!

Wednesday Wedding Wisdom - Do yourself a favor

This week's wisdom is from Nina Calloway at about.com:

Wedding favors can be a thoughtful way of saying thank you to your guests. But far too often they're a meaningless knickknack. Your guests don't need a candy dish, or a little silver bell.

Don't think their cute place card holder doubles as a favor; what are they going to do with one place card? And do you really want a plastic Frisbee with your friends' wedding date on it?

You're going to spend a lot of money on things that will just collect dust, or end up in the trash. I think it's far better to not give favors, or to make a donation to a charity. But cute favors include ones that are personal to the bride and groom. You might give food favors from the city you live in, or a box of your very favorite chocolates.

One of my favorite ideas is a breakfast bag. Send guests home with some beautiful muffins, a couple of good quality tea bags, and perhaps a little pot of jam or honey. The next morning they'll be sure to enjoy your treat as they reminisce about everything that happened.

So, do yourself, your pocketbook and your guests a "favor" when choosing your favors!

If you need some help with ideas, drop us a note at info@bridesalamode.com or stop in to see us and we'll share some of our "Favor"ites!