Question for the Marrieds!

[caitri]

How does one go about properly researching wedding stuff? I've bought one Modern Brides magazine and looked at some others and been to brides.com and am mostly baffled and overwhelmed. Anyone have any suggestions on good books, sites, etc?

I want to get some research in cos hey, vacation. Also I really don't have too much idea what's out there or what costs what.

Stuff I DO know:

--NEED inexpensive where possible

--LIKE the idea of a Renaissance theme

--definitely no priest/church involved; possibly have ceremony performed by friend with internet certificate or just a mutual exchange of vows

--REALLY LIKE the idea of outside, either first day of spring or summer solstice.

What say you all?

Comments

[djsolaries.livejournal.com]

well,

You must need a year in advance planning a wedding. Last minute weddings don't do as well as a planned one. You need to have a budget, and you need to have a color theme. If you have friends who know people who are photographers,catering,and DJ'ing.. That will help you out and never ever hesitate to ask for discounts. You really should tell people that you are on a budget and people will be very kind to you... The major fact here is, that the person who sees someone getting married, sees $$ signs, and once you come forth and tell people that you are on a budget it will be helpful to them and yourself. You also need to get in touch with both families and see what type of funds that they can contribute. This is your day and this only comes once in your life. If you feel overwhelmed thats what bridesmades are there for you to help you out.;) Give a list to a close friend who will be there every step of the way, to help you decide what color theme etc..

I have a lot of experience with wedding planning, and event planning and if you need any type of help I'd be glad to help you out..

--Carolynn

[caitri.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Carolynn!! Today I found a magazine called Washington Weddings that had lovely lists of all the stuff in the DC area with price-tags and estimations, so now I have an idea of what I'm dealing with! Do you think it's easier to buy a wedding planner or just make one yourself with a binder etc?

Welcome to the roller coaster!!

[100wordspermin.livejournal.com]

Most bridal sites will probably drive you nuts. I recommend IndieBride as the least nutty/most helpful. You'll need to register, but there're all sorts of folks with all sorts of budgets and lifestyles who post on there and most are way cool. Also, tons of good ideas.

Getting married outside of a major metropolitan area is cheaper. Athens, for example, is saving us oodles compared to Atlanta. Are you planning to do it in Maryland or back in Georgia?

re: magazines. Most of those are nutty, too. However, I highly, HIGHLY recommend Bridal Bargains by Denis and Alan Fields, which is a book. Buy it used and read every section relevant to what you're doing. It's not romantic and starry-eyed, but it will save you moolah.

The reception is usually the majority of the cost, so if you can avoid feeding people a full meal, go for it. Ain't nothin' wrong with cake, punch and nibbles--hell, we're planning an "afternoon tea" sort of thing.

Check your preferred dates--if they're weekdays, you can probably get crazy-good bargains, but most folks won't be able to attend. Weekends, on the other hand, are more expensive, but more people you'd like to be there could probably make it (such is the balancing act of wedding planning). The first day of spring (I assume you're going for Ostara and not Imbloc?) might be a tight schedule, and depending on where you want to have it, sites might be booked already.

Outside weddings can be gorgeous--are there any parks you're thinking of? My cousing got married in a state park, and most are really quite reasonably priced. Private gardens and such can be more expensive, but are also more decorated (balancing act again).

There's a ton of stuff on Renn weddings on the net...just Google, if you haven't already, and you should find a gracious plenty. One of the things I find most helpful is when people post pictures of their weddings--it's one of the best ways to get ideas of what you like and don't like. Print pictures of what you do like (or rip them out of mags, should you happen to find any), and keep them all. Then take a look through them and figure out what the common elements are. That can help you pick out colors, dresses, etc. that really work for you.

Also, S and I did a neato little exercise that's helped a lot: Pick all the things you're going to end up spending money on. Make a list, then rank the lists (by yourselves) in order of most to least important. The compare lists and do whatever negotiating is needed. Helpful for illuminating expectations.

Re: Welcome to the roller coaster!!

[caitri.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendations, I am totally Amazoning that book now!!!

Scott and I think we want to have our wedding during the Cherry Blossom Festival, which will be beautiful and is also meaningful for us since it's where we met. So that means we're aiming for April 2008. I think I'm going to take the next few months to do research and really work out what we want solidly and then we can get things on the go. What do you think?