WeddingDates.ie

Weddings are a momentous occasion to be cherished for a lifetime. Putting unique touches small or large can help make the most of those memories. One way to personalize your wedding is by creating bespoke place cards that guests can appreciate and take home.  It’s also a great fun task that you can DIY and not have to spend a fortune on. You don’t have to go all out, or use place cards that are ill-fitted to your wedding.  The whole purpose of personalizing your name cards is to make them unique and represent your style, and it’s great to be able to put a bit of your own personality into every aspect of your wedding.

For the full post with practical ideas, you can read it on the Confetti blog

These Top 10 Tips come from UK based online florists - http://flowersguide.co.uk

Flowers take centre stage and play an integral part of your wedding day. They make up your bouquet and that of the bridesmaids, they are scattered by the flower girls, worn as button holes by the grooms men and guests, form centrepiece decorations at the church and venue, can be thrown as confetti and used to create a sense of continuity and style between outfits, event and theme.  Getting your flowers right and getting them within budget will provide you with a great sense of relief.  The task may seem momentous and indeed it is!  However, you may find that these top ten tips on selecting wedding flowers help!

Photo Courtesy of www.bunches.co.uk

• Tip One – Plan in advance. It is never too soon to start looking for a wedding florist, so once you have set the date for the big day, get those Yellow Pages out!  A wedding florist will have to do much of the work on the morning of your wedding, so may only be able to fit in one or two weddings per weekend – book early to avoid disappointment.

• Tip Two - Shop around. To ensure you get the best deal, both financially and in terms of the best florist you can possible have – shop around. Get quotes from various florists and do not be afraid to ask to see pictures. A professional wedding florist should be more than happy for you to pop in when they are doing someone else`s wedding so you can view their work. As you no doubt will tell everyone and anyone you are getting married, take heed of word of mouth recommendations! A great wedding florist is certainly something to cherish, so if your friends can recommend one – all the better!

• Tip Three – Stay within budget! Selecting wedding flowers may come down to cost at the end of the day, but this does not mean you will have to compromise on what you want.  Get a great florist who can work with you and find the perfect arrangements for you.  Be open at the beginning about your budget – remember wedding flowers can cost anything from three hundred to five hundred pounds (and a great deal more or less!).  Remember – if budget is an issue avoid holidays, especially ones which revolve around flowers, such as Valentines day and Mothers Day! Florists will be busier and charge more during these periods!

• Tip Four – Consider the season when choosing the colour. Not all flowers will be in season at the time of your wedding, so consider this when choosing the colour of flower for your wedding theme.  Knowing your colour before you go to the florist will be a great help!

• Tip Five – Remember time is money! Choosing an intricate bouquet will push the cost of your bouquet up.  Also, bouquets can be heavy!  Choose flowers that are in season to cut costs. Lastly, consider a single flower for a dramatic look!

• Tip Six and Tip Seven – Consider combinations and multiple uses! Flowers from the venue (i.e. the church) can be used as flowers for the table settings!  Multiple use can cut costs and provide continuity.

• Tip Eight – Co-ordination is everything! When it comes to the bridesmaids and grooms men`s button holes, flowers are the ideal way to co-ordinate your wedding day.  Remember, wedding photos will be taken of the whole group, so make sure everyone looks good together.

• Tip Nine – When it comes to Confetti, natural is best! Freeze dried petals have recently become the hottest property when it comes to choosing confetti.  Better for the environment, natural flower petal confetti is an ideal way to add glamour and sophistication to your wedding whilst being in touch with nature.  Available in an array of different flower petals (and therefore in a vast array of colours) petal confetti adds a modern twist to an old tradition.

• Tip Ten – Consider buying your wedding flowers online for convenience and budget. You may find that by purchasing your wedding flowers online you save money and find the whole process less stressful.  Remember, if your flowers are delivered in water to ensure you dry the stems before holding up in front of your dress!

Todays post comes from the guys behind www.myweddingworkbook.com a US-based website providing wedding planner software.  They’ve completed a survey on peoples wedding spending.  The results make for some interesting reading…

October 30, 2009 — The lagging economy has caused almost two-thirds of brides to cut back on their wedding budgets – with honeymoons, flowers/décor and reception catering taking the biggest hit. All this according to a recent survey of brides conducted by My Wedding Workbook - http://www.myweddingworkbook.com/ - an online wedding planner for brides.

62.2% of the brides surveyed responded that the recent recession has influenced their wedding planning decisions, with 58.7% stating that they have cut back on their honeymoon budget, 58.2% on their flowers and décor and 54.7% on their reception food and drink.

“Brides are certainly trying to squeeze more value out of every part of their wedding budget,” said Jeff Kear, co-owner of My Wedding Workbook, “And although they are definitely cutting back extensively in those top three areas, our findings show significant cutbacks across the board.”

Brides are also significantly shaving their expenses in many other areas, with 51.2% reporting cutbacks in wedding transportation, 47.3% in photography/videography, 45.8% in the reception venue, 45.3% in number of guests and 39.3% in wedding attire (including wedding gowns).

Of the brides surveyed, almost half (41.3%) stated that their wedding budget was by far the biggest challenge they faced in wedding planning, followed by choosing a venue (13%), family issues (10.9%) and finding the time to plan a wedding (10.9%).

“Even though they are cutting back, brides are getting creative in how they save,” said Kear. “Some of our respondents are moving their wedding to a Friday night or a Sunday so they don’t pay the Saturday premium that many venues charge. Others are planning their ceremony and reception in the same venue. And almost three quarters of the brides we talked to are handmaking at least some of their wedding items to save on costs.”

Some brides are even putting off their big day, with 29.4% saying that they have moved their wedding date further out because of the economy. “That shows how smart and prudent brides are being. If they can’t have the wedding they want sooner, then they will take longer to save up and be more patient.”

But even though brides are paring back in almost all areas, the survey shows that photography/videography and the reception location and catering still remain the biggest priorities for brides.

“Brides want to make a great, lasting impression with their wedding, and they want to hold on to the memories,” said Kear. “Even though the economy may be unpredictable, some things never change.”

My Wedding Workbook provides all the tools engaged couples need to manage their wedding details.  Its Web-based wedding planning tools are completely free, easy-to-use, comprehensive and let brides track their budgets, guest lists, RSVPs, gifts and every detail for every wedding-related event.

Five MORE Thrifty Tips to Save Wodges of Wedding Cash!!

Here’s the second part of my Confetti Blog Series - Top 10 Tips on how to save money on your wedding.  It’s essential reading, ladies.

Last week we covered the first five of our Top 10 Tips to save money on your wedding. Hope you found some good suggestions and tips on saving money on your big day.

Here’s tips five to 10 on our Wedding Budget series:

5. Wedding Favours & Table Centrepieces  ~  If you are creative and have plenty of time on your hands, why not make your favours or centrepieces yourself? You can buy supplies in bulk from hardware stores, garden centres, or even online and save a fortune going the DIY route. You can spend the weeks in the run up to the wedding making them, but just remember – you have to store them somewhere before the day itself!

6. Renting Seat Covers ~ Don’t let the hotel fool you into thinking that you HAVE to use their seat covers. These are often charged at a ridiculous rate and this is only because prospective brides don’t know that they have other options. Seat covers can be rented much cheaper for the day, the only drawback is that someone has to physically go to the hotel or venue and put them on all the chairs themselves. Really think about whether or not you even need chair covers, many hotels have now upgraded their furniture to more neutral colours and so you won’t need them.

For Tips 7 - 10, you can read the full post here

As you know, I am now a guest blogger for Confetti.ie and this last week was installment #1 on my Top 10 Tips on Saving Money on your wedding:

With the country constantly talking about the CEC (Current Economic Climate), we are all thinking about ways to conserve our spending and there are things you can do even on your wedding day to cut-costs or at least be sensible with the budget.  There are going to be certain parts of any couples big day that they won’t want to scrimp on, so decide what your top few priorities are and be prepared to be flexible on the other things.

Here are five of our Top 10 Tips on how to save money on your wedding:

1. Email out invitations ~ Not only will this save you on Stationary costs, it’s also ‘Eco-Friendly’.  Plus you can guests to RSVP by return email or via a webpage, so you can track guest acceptance instantly instead of waiting on snail mail.  On pingg.com you can design really great and colourful invitations that will still make it feel wedding-y and special.
2. The Dress ~ For affordable options in Ireland, consider buying your dress second hand from one of the charity shops.  More and more people are opting to recycle their dresses after their big day and you can get some beautiful gowns second hand nowadays.  Check out Oxfam’s Bridal Department website [www.oxfamireland.org/oxfambridal/about.htm].  If you’re handy with a sewing machine or have a reliable dressmaker you could alter the dress and make it into something very unique.  Alternatively, you could consider heading State-side to buy your dress and get the bridesmaids dresses over there as well. You can choose the dress from bridal catalogues, call the shops in the States in advance and then pop over to collect of the dress of your dreams.  Simple!

Whenever anyone talks about Wedding Insurance, you get the inevitable giggles about the wedding being covered if you get jilted at the alter; however in these tough financial times, wedding insurance is nothing to be sniggered at.  We hear stories every day about companies going out of business, or hotels closing down - for what is probably going to be the most expensive single day of your life you’d be mad not to protect yourself in case the worst happens.

Photo Credit: Peter Sweeney

Wedding Insurance can give you precious peace of mind in the stressful time leading leading up to your big day.  At least with Wedding Insurance you won’t have to worry if your dress shop goes out of business, your reception or wedding venue is double booked or even if you have to cancel or postpone due to illness or accident.  WeddingInsurance.ie provides 4 types of cover, starting from €49.99 for the 2 star, which covers up to €5,000 for cancellation & rearrangement and up to €2,000 for the brides dress.  The 5 star cover starts at €149.00 and covers up to €40,000 for cancellation , up to €7,000 for photography and video, and up to €15,000 for Rings, Flowers and Wedding Cake.

Its something certainly worth considering…why not check out the packages available and what they cover and choose one to suit you.  In the overall expenditure of your wedding, the premiums are very low and for the peace of mind Wedding Insurance would give you in my eyes its definitely highly recommended.

Check out Wedding Insurance Packages here.

Cork’s  Silver Springs Moran Hotel has always been known as a hotel for weddings and now they have launched their newest recession-busting wedding package.  For weddings of 100 guests the Silver Springs have put together an incredible offer - one special day, one hundred guests, one special price, just €5000!

This great wedding offer includes everything the perfect wedding day requires, from the drinks reception, five course meal with selected wines to the Champagne toast, evening reception and bar extension, and even includes a red carpet welcome,  floral centrepieces and bridal suite for the bride and groom! You can’t really beat that for service and price!

The Silver Springs Moran Hotel is just five minutes from Cork City Centre and just seven miles from Cork International Airport.  The 4 star Silver Springs Moran Hotel is set in stylish terraced gardens, ideal for those all-important wedding photos, and combines classic and traditional elegance with striking contemporary design.   Have a date in mind?  Why not check availability for the Silver Springs Moran Hotel here!

Anything that can do two jobs at a wedding is a cost saver. And whilst wedding favours are still an optional extra in Ireland that a lot of couples skip when they’re looking after the pennies, they can actually be a low-cost way to add flair and style to your reception venue.

Beautifully tied boxes like these can be set on dinner plates and used to tie in your colour theme inexpensively (some caterers and hire firms charge more for coloured napkins!) Add tags to each one with each guest’s name and they make a memorable place card. Stack them in a tower on a cake stand in the middle of the table, and you don’t even need flowers.

These favour boxes are from US retailer Beau Coup, but similar boxes can be found at Irish and UK retail sites, in stores or on Ebay. The key to maximising these little darlings is the ribbons - the bigger the bow and tails, the more oomph they have. These are a bit petite to really act as a decorative element, but wired or wide chiffon ribbon can really work well.

As for what goes inside them - they’re so pretty, do you really care? Okay, sure you do, but it needn’t be expensive. Bulk candy, bird or flower seeds, love heart sweets, or a stack of after dinner mints from your local cash and carry are all great treats for tiny packages.

MARRY ME - RTE

RTE have just put out a call for brave proposees to get down on one knee for the national audience of telly watchers.  The call for Audience Participation for the show Marry Me goes a little something like this….

“RTÉ Television and Midas Productions are looking for spontaneous, fun loving and genuine individuals of all ages and from all walks of life to get involved with their exciting new series Marry Me.

Whether it’s a simple picnic in your local park or an exotic helicopter ride over Niagara Falls, we will assist in making this day as romantic and as memorable as can be - giving your unsuspecting partner the surprise of a lifetime.

We’re looking for all types of people from all walks of life. Whether it’s your second time around/you’ve just moved to Ireland/you’re tired of waiting for him to make the first move ladies (leap year next year!) we want to hear from you.

With presenter Pamela Flood and our team of experts on hand, we will help to add the little touches to help make your dream proposal a reality.

So if you feel you could do with help in planning this perfect Marry Me moment, please contact:  marryme@midasproductions.ie or call the Love line on 01 6343722″

So - do you have the guts to go in front of the nation when you pop the question?!  You’d better be pretty sure that he or she is going to say yes!

Thanks to Culch.ie for the original post.