5 Ways to Save on your Wedding Budget

Everyone's on a tight budget these days, but skimping in the wrong places could lead to bigger problems in the long run! Take our advice and use these tips to save on 5 areas of your wedding:

1. Choose and use flowers wisely - Peonies may be your absolute favorite, but they're not available all year and very expensive to get at certain times. Consult with your florist on making less costly replacements for flowers that may not be in season. Another great idea to stretch your flower budget that we often suggest to our floral clients is re-using ceremony flowers at the reception. Your pew bows can decorate the buffet table, your alter arrangements can decorate the entrance to the reception or highlight your head table, and your bouquets can double as head table centerpieces or cake table decor. Your florist should even be able to move these for you (there may be a small added expense for the move, but it will still be less than ordering all those extra flowers!)

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 Peacock feather ceremony arrangements used again at the entry way to the reception.

Arrangements, Archway and Photos by Michéll Events

Peacock feather ceremony arrangements used again at the entry way to the reception.

Arrangements, Archway and Photos by Michéll Events

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2. Choose a venue where you can have your ceremony and reception - By having all of your festivities for the day in one location, you can cut down drastically on the cost of transportation for you and your wedding party. No shuttles, no round trips, no waiting in the parking lot....this will add quite a handful back into your budget!

3. Choose a favor that doubles as entertainment or decor - I'm a big fan of killing two birds with one stone, and this is the perfect opportunity. A photo booth with a take home photo for the guests, or a caricature artist to draw the guests are both great options. A candy station (or cookie station, or mini dessert station) with take-home bags for your guests acts as an interactive entertainment feature, plus it gives them a sweet treat they can take home!

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Candy station to "wow" guests at the entrance to the reception.

Candy Station, Linen and Photo by Michéll Events

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4. Choose DIY projects wisely - If you're a crafty type of bride, there are a few things you may be able to DIY to save yourself some money. If you're not, don't try! It can end up costing more and causing more headaches than it's worth! Hand made invitations always add a sweet touch of your own personality, and when done correctly they can cost much less that professionally printed invites with all the required inclusions. Favors are another thing you can DIY. Your guests will love a personal gift from you, like home baked cookies wrapped in pretty fabric and tied with a bow.

5. Cut down on the guest list - This may be the hardest to do, but it will save you the most money in the long run. For every name you cross of the list you're saving a meal, a seat, a favor, a place card. Remove 8-10 names and you cut out an entire table of meals and beverages, a centerpiece, a linen, 8-10 favors, 8-10 escort and/or place cards, plus other items associated with each guest. In short, trimming some names from the guest list will save you in ALL areas of your wedding at once. It may be the most painful cut to make, but it will be the biggest budget saver of all!

5 Unique Alternatives to the Traditional Candy Buffet

Candy stations and dessert buffets have been very popular over the past years at our weddings and events. They act as an interactive element for your guests along with adding a pop of color and décor to your event. They also act as a take home favor for both adults and children. It's a great idea, but put a unique spin on it to make yours different!

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S'mores Station

S'mores are a wonderful treat for summertime weddings! You can pre-package the graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows and display them for your guests with a sign letting them know about the fire pit outside. Or, you can create an indoor s'mores station with candles. Mix up the marshmallow flavors (regular, tropical, strawberry, lime, chocolate, etc...), and offer different varieties of mini-chocolate bars (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate with peanuts, chocolate with sea salt, etc...)

intimateweddings.com

southernweddings.com

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Candy Apple Station

Autumn is the perfect time for a candy or caramel apple station! Start with trays of apples on sticks. You can use all one type of apple, mini apples, or have different varieties and colors to choose from. Offer various dips such as chocolate, caramel, and traditional candy apple, and of course make sure to have nuts, sprinkles and candy to top them off! Provide take-home bags in case they don't want to eat it right away.

vtspiceoflife.com

maddycakesmuse.blogspot.com

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Doughnut Station

What better way to treat your guests later in the evening than a doughnut station? Provide several varieties of doughnuts. You can also include dips or toppings like chocolate sauce, strawberry jam, bavarian cream and lemon curd. You can also include sprinkles, nuts, coconut shavings, candy bits, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Coffee or hot chocolate can also be served with the doughnuts!

Party Frosting

True Photography

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Ice Cream Station

 Perfect for a warm summer wedding and reminiscent of childhood! Offer a variety of ice creams and all the works; bananas for banana splits, hot fudge for hot fudge sundaes, whipped cream and cherries for the top, strawberry sauce, butterscotch topping, chocolate chips, crumbled cookies, M&M's or other chopped candies, chopped nuts, brownie chunks, and even root beer or Coke for floats!

enamoreventsblog.com

stressawaybridalshop.com

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Cookies & Milk Station

What a great send off or "goodnight gift" for your guests! You can use all home made cookies, or a combination of home made and store bought. Pair them with jars or mini cartons of regular milk, strawberry milk and chocolate milk, and you have the perfect sweet treat for the end of the night!

wolfgangpuck.com

intimateweddings.com

detailbydetailevents.blogspot.com

Newly Engaged? First 10 Things You Should Do....

First of all, congratulations on your engagement! Now it's time to start tackling the wedding planning! There's a ton to do....so where do you start? There is a definite order in which you should tackle the details, at least from a professional wedding planner's point of view. Here's my take on the first 10 things you should handle when you begin planning your wedding:

1. Pick a wedding date. All details of your wedding planning will revolve around the date you choose, and that will be the first question any venue, vendor or guest will ask.

2. Hire a wedding planner. Not everyone will decide to do this, but if you're thinking about it then it's best to start with a planner from the beginning. Half of my clients begin the process by themselves and somewhere along the way they decide to enlist some help. At that point we're usually trying to stretch a dime because they are already over budget. A wedding planner can help you with everything on this list to get you started, including help you set a realistic budget....and then continue helping all the way through the wedding day. They will help you to avoid any planning mistakes or over-spending along the way. If you don't choose to have a planner help you with all the planning, at least book a consult with a professional planner to get you started on your way. You wouldn't buy a home or invest in the stock market without consulting a professional first, so make sure you treat your wedding just as importantly as other major life expenditures.

3. Decide on a budget. Once you have a date (and hopefully a planner) then you should decide on your budget. Do the responsible thing and set your budget first. You shouldn't create a guest list, you shouldn't book a venue, you shouldn't buy a dress, you shouldn't do anything until you know how much you can spend on it. Makes sense, right? I've seen too many couples set an unrealistic budget (either too high or too low) and then get stuck halfway through because the things they want cost much more than they anticipated, or they miscalculated their budget and don't have as much as they thought they did. Avoid putting yourself in this situation by figuring out how much you can spend before you start spending it.

Sparrow Creek Ranch

4. Create a preliminary guest list. You'll need to know how many guests you want to invite in order to book a venue. I've seen it too many times.... a bride falls in love with this quaint, beautiful tiny little venue, but her parents want to invite 300 people to the wedding. Can't happen! You should at least have an approximate idea of how many people you'll be inviting before you can look for a venue with the ability to accommodate everyone.

5. Choose your colors, theme, decor ideas.... Once you know how much you can spend, then you can start the fun part of looking thorough all those millions of wedding photos online and gathering your ideas for all those amazing decor ideas. Some start with this right away, and of course that's fine....you're excited to be engaged and you jump right in with the fun stuff! (Tip: check out Pinterest site for tons of amazing decor ideas, and start your own pin boards to save your finds. Click here for our Pinterest boards!)

6. Book your venue and/or caterer. Once you know how much you can spend and how you want your wedding to look, you should book your wedding location before you continue with any other plans or bookings. Some venues can book up to a year in advance, so make sure to put a deposit down for the place you fall in love with before someone else does! The venue and catering are generally the majority of your budget, so it should definitely be decided on first. This way, you know what you have leftover in the budget for filling in the details. Most venues have their own on-site caterer, or a list of preferred caterers who can work in their facility, so choosing your venue and choosing your caterer generally go hand in hand.

Sparrow Creek Ranch

7. Go out and find your dress! This is what we're all waiting for anyway...the DRESS! You can bump this up to #4 or #5 if it's very important to you, because for some weddings it sets the tone for the entire wedding decor and can also be a determining factor in selecting a venue. (For instance, one of our brides dreamed of having a huge ballgown, and the perfect one for a great price. Then, she discovered the aisle at the ceremony location she wanted wasn't quite wide enough for she and her father to walk together. The dress was more important to her in the end, so she chose a different ceremony location).

8. Create an online wedding website. With technology at the forefront in today's culture, having a centralized online location for all your wedding information is extremely convenient. You can introduce your wedding party, share photos of you and your groom-to-be, share directions and maps to your church and/or reception location, and most importantly you can share your gift registry information. It is not proper etiquette to include registry cards in your invitations, so this is the perfect place to share that information with your guests. You can also choose to accept guest's RSVP's online through your wedding website. There are tons of free options for wedding websites out there, as well as some that charge a fee, so take a look around and choose one that fits all the information you want to share with your guests.

9. Interview and book your photographer / Take your engagement photos. Find a photographer you love who is within your budget and put a deposit down. Most only do one wedding per day/weekend (unless they have an entire staff of photographers) and they can book up to a year in advance, so it's important to grab the one you love before someone else does. The everlasting reminder of your wedding day is your photos, so it's very important to make sure you choose someone whose work you love. One of the first things you'll want to do is get your engagement photos, and you'll probably get the best price by booking the same photographer for engagement and wedding. Not to mention, doing an engagement session with your photographer before the wedding will allow you to get to know each other and you'll be more comfortable on wedding day after having already worked with them. Don't forget to use those awesome engagement photos on your wedding website!

10. Decide on and book your entertainment. Entertainment can make your event one-of-a-kind. After your venue/catering and your photographer, entertainment is probably your next most expensive vendor to book, and most important from your guest's stand point. Keep in mind, entertainment can cover a wide range of vendors; you can choose to have a live band for your reception, or the less expensive option of choosing a DJ. You can choose to have ceremony musicians and/or cocktail hour musicians play for part of the event. You can book other entertainment for your guests such as caricature artists, magicians, themed performers, flash mobs, interactive entertainment such as photo booths or candy stations. Whatever entertainment you decide to have, make sure to keep your guests enjoyment at the forefront when you're planning!

Hope these tips are helpful for you! :)

Feathers: A Thing of Beauty!

I have always been partial to feathers. They're one of my favorite décor pieces. They're so elegant and beautiful and they're fitting for so many occasions! You can use them in their natural colors, or use artificially colored feathers if you want that extra pop! I like them so much I used them in my own wedding and everyone oooh'd and aaah'd them all night! If you like feathers, let us show you how versatile they are!

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White Ostrich Feathers

Cake by Wendy Kromer Confections

Décor and Centerpieces by Michéll Events

Photo by Trejo Photography

White Ostrich Feathers

Centerpiece & Table Design by Michéll Events

Purple Ostrich Feathers

Centerpiece & Table Design by Michéll Events

Photo by EM Event Photography

Peacock Feathers & Ostrich Feathers

Centerpiece & Table Design by Michéll Events

Peacock Feather Alter Arrangement

Arrangement by Michéll Events

How To Write Place Cards and Escort Cards

This may be one of the most common mistakes I hear on a regular basis, so I thought I'd dedicate a blog post to explaining the difference between escort cards and place cards and the proper way to address your guests on each card.

While most people just refer to all name cards as "place cards", there is a distinct difference between the two. It's important to know the difference when you're ordering for your wedding, especially if you're ordering online!

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Escort Cards are generally at the entrance to the reception or at cocktail hour. These are very important, as they welcome your guests and tell them where to be seated. If this isn't done in an organized fashion, the guests can become frustrated immediately upon arriving at your reception, and that's the last thing you want!

Guests names on the front of the escort card, assigned table numbers on the inside.

Moulin Rouge themed wedding in Sandusky, OH

(Note: These are informally addressed escort cards that don't include titles.)

Escort cards by Michéll Events

Photo by Trejo Photography

Informally, you can list the name and table number however you'd like. Formally, these cards should say the guests name and what table they are seated at. "Mr. & Mrs. John Smith, Table 12" or "Dr. Tom Jones, Table 2". If small children are attending, they should be included on the card "Mr. & Mrs. John Smith and Family",  and any children over 10 should have their own card with their own name.

It's best to sort and display these alphabetically by last name (not by table). This way, the guests can easily find their names and spend less time in line at the table searching. Names should be addressed formally, same as the invitation. Include titles such as Dr., Mr. & Mrs, and military rankings (Colonel, Captain, Major, etc.. - military titles should never be abbreviated when addressing formally).

Wine Cork Escort Cards for a Vineyard Wedding
Mon Ami Winery in Port Clinton, OH

Escort Cards by Michéll Events

Photo by Terra Sol Studio

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Place Cards are at each place setting at each dining table. The place card at the table can be less formal if you wish, but titles should still be used. Each card has a guest's name, and that designates which seat the guest should sit at. Place cards can also contain a marker of some sort to let the catering staff know which dinner to serve to that guest (vegetarian, chicken, beef, etc...).

Moulin Rouge themed wedding in Sandusky, OH

Hand Folded Eiffel Tower Place Cards by Michéll Events

Photo by Trejo Photography

Standard Tent Cards with Meal Markers 

Tented Tropical Wedding at Catawba Island Club in Port Clinton, OH

(These show markers for the catering staff signifying 

whether the guests meal should be beef, fish or vegetarian.)

Back to what I love!

I am so excited to be creating another blog, and I hope you will follow me on the journey! Not only will I post daily about our own events and what's going on, but I'll share excellent articles, photos and inspiration for brides, grooms and wedding lovers alike! Ahhh.....it feels good to be home!