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Centerpieces

Centerpieces

Save Some Money

4 Ways to Keep Your Budget on Track




By now you know how pricey a wedding can be -- and how easy it is to lose track of expenses! Stick with a budget you can afford and keep up with all those payments.


1. Get organized. Create a budget spreadsheet with a set dollar limit for each part of your budget (attire, reception, flowers, etc.).


2. Tell your vendors. Work with your vendors to come up with a budget-conscious plan. Be clear about your price-range so that there are no surprises when it's time to sign the contract.


3. Take your budget with you. Create a pocket-sized version of your budget for when you're out and about.


4. Make a list of no-nos. Whether your weakness is mochas or Manolos, be honest with yourself about where you can cut costs.



Read more: Wedding Budget 101 - TheKnot.com http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-budget/articles/wedding-budget-ways-to-save-money.aspx#ixzz1MGtWYnmm



Reception

1. Cut the guest list. This will slash your catering costs and save on invitations and even the number of centerpieces.




2. Think off-peak season and save thousands!




3. Hold your ceremony and reception in one spot -- it will cut travel time for vendors you pay by the hour.




4. Skip the Saturday wedding.




5. Have bigger tables so you need fewer centerpieces and tablecloths.




6. Shop the off-season for extra decor -- get modern black vases on sale after Halloween and pretty pink ones after Valentine's Day.

Flowers

7. Use more greenery than flowers.




8. Swap out costly flowers -- did you know peonies can be five times more expensive than roses?




9. Stick to just one or two kinds of flowers.




10. Buy flowers that are in season.




11. Include non-florals, like lanterns.



Food & Drink

12. Serve entree duets.




13. Skip the main course -- apps and drinks are fine too.




14. Offer beer, wine, and a signature cocktail instead of a full bar.




15. Serve comfort foods like barbecue chicken, mac and cheese, and corn. It's fun and often cheaper.




16. Skip the champagne toast.





Cakes

17. Order a small one or two-tiered cake and then supplement cake with a larger sheet cake (hidden back in the kitchen).




18. Keep the add-ons simple.




19. Use fresh flowers, not sugar ones.




20. Reuse ceremony flowers for the cake table.




21. Skip exotic fillings like guava and mango.



Stationery & Favors

22. Get single-page invites to save on postage.




23. Give out one favor per couple.




24. Make your cake the favors.




25. Have favors double as escort cards.




26. Email your save-the-dates.




27. Make your own menu cards, escort cards, and wedding favor packaging.



Photo, Video & Music

28. Have a photographer you love but can't afford the prices? Ask them if they have an associate shooter who will do your wedding for less.




29. Opt for a smaller band.




30. Hire a band or DJ who can do both the ceremony and the reception.

Read more: Wedding Budget: 30 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Wedding Planning - Wedding Budget - TheKnot.com http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-budget/articles/30-ways-to-save-money-on-wedding.aspx#ixzz1MGtp6SWu


1. Decide What's Most Important


Pick your top three priorities and allocate a little extra money for them (i.e., gown, catering, and band). Next, pick the three things that come lowest on your priority list (maybe style, flowers, cake, invitations), and budget accordingly.
2. Cut the Guest List


We know it's tough, but one of the fastest and most effective ways to lower your wedding cost is to pare down the invitees. Get out that red pen! At $100 a head, taking 10 guests off the guest list saves $1,000! Also consider the size of your wedding party: Gifts, hair, and makeup are cheaper for two than for ten.


Knot Note: Having trouble figuring out which guests to cut? Make a rule and whittle away. Rule #1: If you have never spoken to, met, or heard the name of a particular guest, they get cut. Rule #2: Anyone whose bedtime occurs before 9 p.m. will miss the cake cutting anyway, and probably won't have the best time. (All under-12 year-olds get a no) Rule #3: Significant others? Consider someone worthy of an invite if he or she is currently living with or has been in a relationship for more than one year with the friend you want to invite.
3. Pass on Pricey Details


Glamorous details on items that you're indifferent about spike costs without adding any fun to your day. Free yourself of the pressure to upgrade and instead make honest choices based on what you want. As a general rule, before you sign a contract, look through the itemized list of what you're buying and, ask yourself, "Will anyone notice if we don't do this?"
4. Consider Printing Costs


Having two shades of ink on your invitation might match your color scheme, but it can also add massive printing costs; square invites require extra postage.
5. Get a Smaller Car


Town Cars will shuttle your wedding party to the reception just as effectively as a Hummer stretch limo.
6. Skip the Special Effects


If you're happy with simple wedding pictures, pass on options like sepia tones, multiple exposures, and split frames.
7. Substitute Less Expensive Flowers


Choose flowers that are in season, and pick locally grown flowers rather than blooms that need to be flown in from afar to reduce costs. For example, if you exchange Black Magic roses for more reasonably priced, deeply colored dahlias in all your bouquets and table arrangements, you'll save about $4 a stem. If you were planning on having five roses per bouquet and 10 per centerpiece and have a wedding party of five gals and guest list of 150 people, you could save $700.
8. Simplify Your Menu


Reduce the number of overall dinner courses (making three courses fabulous costs less than serving five individual courses) and keep your menu simple. Stick with the specialties of the season and region.
9. Save the Good Stuff for Later


Have the caterers bring out the fancy Dom Perignon for the toast, but then switch to a less expensive champagne for the rest of the night -- no one will ever see the bottle or know the difference.
10. Pare Down the Cake Extras


Order a small, fabulous cake that's exactly what you want and, in the kitchen, have several sheet cakes of the same flavor cut for your guests. And stay away from tiers and (time-consuming) handmade sugar flowers or special molded shapes. Have your caterer decorate each plate with a flavored sauce instead. Forgo fondant: Buttercream frosting is tastier and less expensive


Read more: Wedding Budget 101 - TheKnot.com http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-budget/articles/wedding-budget-ways-to-save-money.aspx#ixzz1MGtNY000

Quotes

i want to put lyrics or quotes on candles

 "So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday."
nicholas sparks-the notebook


"When he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun."
— William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet)

"The course of true love never did run smooth."
— William Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."
— Emily Brontë (Wuthering Heights)

"This story is about truth, beauty, freedom; but above all things, this story is about love." - Moulin Rouge

Still sometimes, when the air is warm or the crickets sing, I dream of a love that even time would lie down and be still for.-practical magic

This thing that we call a wedding ceremony is really the final scene of the fairy tale. They never tell you what happens after. They never tell you that Cinderella drove the Prince crazy with her obsessive need to clean the castle, cause she missed her day job, right?
(The Mirror Has Two Faces)