What is the average budget for a wedding?

Sticking to a budget for your wedding is a great way to make sure you do not spend too much money. Your wedding is supposed to be a dream come true, but that doesn’t mean you need to go into debt to make your dream a reality. 

Establishing a budget from the beginning is not only a great way to make sure you don’t spend too much money, it’s also the perfect way to breakdown where you, as a couple, want to invest the most money in. 

According to a study by The Budget Savvy Bride, the average cost for a wedding is approximately $27,000. Some of the most expensive aspects of a wedding include the reception venue, reception band or entertainment, the engagement ring and the wedding photography. 

Although we may be biased, when planning a wedding, it’s important to set aside a good amount of your budget to spend on a photographer. What are the areas you spend the most money for your wedding? 

For a closer look at what brides and grooms spent their budget on, check out the infographic below. 

(Source: http://thebudgetsavvybride.com/2011-real-weddings-study-results-from-theknot-com-and-weddingchannel-com/)

Memorable Proposal Ideas

There is nothing more exciting to a woman than a unique proposal. As we all know, newly engaged women will tell the tale of the proposal to anyone who will listen.

While there are many ways to propose to the woman of your dreams, it can be difficult to come up with an original idea. For you men who are planning a proposal in the coming months, with help from The Knot, we have compiled a list of the best, wedding proposal ideas.

1. Proposal aboard a private sailing yacht: Whether you choose an afternoon or evening sail, take your significant other out for a cruise around the NYC harbor and propose on the water, complete with champagne to celebrate!

2. Newspaper Ad: Take out a full-page advertisement in a newspaper your girlfriend reads daily.

3. Love Note: Write a love note with the proposal at the end, and place it in the book your girlfriend is currently reading, or somewhere she will find it. When she finds the note, surprise her with the ring.

4. Magnetic: Spell out your marriage proposal in refrigerator magnets, for a playful, sweet proposal.

5. Treasure Hunt: Send your girlfriend on a treasure hunt around the city to all of your favorite spots. The last stop should be you down on one knee!

6. Write it in the Sky: Hire a skywriter to write the proposal in the sky.

7. YouTube: Make her a YouTube video with the proposal and tell her you have a video you want her to see; you’ll know when to get down on one knee.

8. Fortune Cookie: Make a personalized fortune cookie with your proposal as the message.

9. Candles and Roses: Have a trail of candles and roses leading to the ring.

10. Family Affair: Have both your families around for the proposal, ready to celebrate with you when she says yes!

While we think these are great proposal ideas, we recommend taking them and making them your own. Think of these as a jumping off point!

How to Choose The Perfect Bridesmaid Dresses

The job of searching for the perfect dress is not only for the bride, but for the bridesmaids as well. Bridesmaids are responsible for paying for their own wedding day dress and shoes, but ultimately, it's up to the bride to pick the style and color.

This job of choosing the perfect dress for the bridesmaids is no easy feat for a bride, especially when clashing, unflattering, and costly dresses are often proposed to the female bridal party.

There are steps that the future Mrs. can take to ensure her bridesmaids feel great and look beautiful in their dress. 

Step 1. Consider the body types of your bridal party. Not all girls will look the same in the same dress. Before you start the search, keep an open mind about body flattering dresses.

Step 2. Choose styles that compliment your wedding dress rather than compete. A bridesmaid dress should undoubtedly be beautiful, but should not look similar to the wedding gown.

Step 3. If you have a color or fabric in mind, it's a good choice to let your bridesmaids choose which style dress that would suit their body type.

Step 4. Be wise when choosing the color because pastel hues can drown out a lighter complexion while making darker skin appear too dark. Brighter colors tend to work well on all skin tones.

Step 5. It's considerate to choose a dress that the girls will be able to and want to wear again.

Step 6. A good rule of financial thumb is to choose a bridesmaid dress in the $100.00 to $200.00 dollar range.

Step 7. Get feedback from your bridesmaids. After all, your girls have to spend an entire day in a dress that someone else picked, so give them options first.

Step 8. Choose a bridesmaid or the maid of honor to coordinate purchasing the dresses as well as any alteration appointments that need to be made.

Most importantly, be thoughtful of your ladies in the bridal party. Bridesmaids spend a lot of money on a wedding as well as investing much time to be there for the bride.

Source -

http://wedding.theknot.com/bridal-fashion/bridesmaid-dresses/articles/12-tips-for-choosing-the-right-bridesmaid-dresses.aspx?MsdVisit=1

Killer Gift Ideas for Your Wedding Party:

By now, you’ve selected the leading ladies of your life as bridesmaids and your husband has chosen his groomsmen – at least we hope! Now part of the journey to your big day is finding the perfect gift for your wedding party! Hopefully they have earned it. Show them how much you love and appreciate having them part of your special day and life by presenting them with something memorable. 

I recommend:

Personalized wristlet – Ladies love their purses! You can customize a wristlet with a photo of you and your girls and they can use it for years to come.  The wristlet can easily be thrown in their bag and be used as a wallet or coin purse as well!

Jewelry – Jewelry is a classic gift for your bridesmaids and makes a great keepsake. A common criticism of receiving a piece of jewelry from the bride is that it has too many details about the wedding and is hard to wear from there on out. This can be avoided by purchasing a “locket” or a necklace that contains a piece that opens. This allows you to place a photo from the big day inside along with the date of the wedding. Simple.

Engraved Photo Vases – A vase that doubles as a photo frame is a wonderful gift to give the women in your wedding party. You can engrave a small note of thanks or details of the wedding day along with a photo from the bachelorette party! This is also the perfect spot to host their wedding bouquet.

How to Choose Your Wedding Theme or Colors

You’ve been waiting for your special day for a long time now, planning every little feature from the shoes to the color and theme of your wedding. With infinite options from which to choose, you can explore the idea of a barefoot beach ceremony, an English romance theme, or maybe even a winter wonderland theme. With so many options, how do you know which is right for your wedding?

Use Your Favorite Color: You should always start with what you love. For example, if you’ve always loved Barbie pink then start there. You can incorporate different hues into the decorations to enhance the theme. Head over to theperfectpallet.com for help selecting complementary colors. 

Consider the Setting: However, when it comes to the setting, you might want to take the décor of the location into consideration before settling on a permanent color or theme. Venues with bold patterned carpet or wallpaper may clash with that pink you originally had your heart set on. If this is the case, you may need to choose a different theme or explore other venue or color options. Decide which you can’t live without and move from there. 

Consult the Season:  Now this doesn’t mean that if you are getting married in October that you should only stick to rich, dark colors or neutrals BUT you should take into consideration the foliage that is available during that time of year. You want to compliment the season, not clash.

The Bridal Party: Some brides envision their bridesmaids matching head to toe in one bold color, which is perfectly fine as long as it is flattering on everyone. Style variations of the same color might even look better than you first imagined and will keep some self-conscious bridesmaids happy – which is always a win-win. Also, don’t forget the groomsmen. Keep the theme flowing, even with the gentlemen! Tie colored accents into buttonholes and cummerbunds.