Planning Your Own Wedding is Easier Than You Think!

By Katie Harris

Now that you and your fiance are engaged to be married, you have a lot of decisions ahead of you. Don’t worry though…planning your own wedding is no big deal. You just need to take each choice one at a time, make informed decisions, and be careful not to overspend. Doing so will allow you to plan a beautiful wedding with as little stress added as possible. Below we will take a look at some of the decisions you will face, along with the best ways to approach them.

• Date and Time – This is one of the first things you should come to a decision on, as most of the other details will revolve around these two. Knowing when you will get married will allow you to appropriately select the location, colors, food, and attire. The most popular month for weddings in June, which may be because of the nice weather available for outdoor weddings. Another common time is Valentine’s Day, as it is the day of love. Keep in mind that planning your own wedding around these popular times will make it harder to schedule things like venues, photographers, and caterers. Many people select days that have a special meaning, such as their dating anniversary or their birthday or the birthday of their significant other.

• Location – This is another of the first decisions engaged couples make concerning their wedding. The date will allow you to select a place, as it will give you a bit of a hint of what the weather will be like. If you opt for an outdoor venue, you should always have a back up plan in case it rains. Before choosing the location, you may want to sketch out a guest list in order to choose a spot that is sure to accommodate all your guests. You can assume that 90% of the people you invite will attend, so plan accordingly.

• Budget – Before you begin to make purchases, you should sit down and look over your finances. Decide how much you are willing to spend on your wedding, then divide that into sections, such as photography, food, dresses, tuxedos, venue, favors, etc. This breakdown will help prevent overspending. You may want to research local services or decide what you want to do on your own before creating your budget.

• Bridal Shows – This isn’t so much of a decision, though you should decide to attend as many in your area as possible. You will find a wealth of information (mostly free) available to you at these fairs, so you would be silly not to take advantage of it! It’s also likely that you will meet with many business owners in the area with which you can discuss their rates for their services. Bridal shows are a lifesaver for any bride to be, especially if you are a little unsure on how to begin planning your own wedding.

Planning your own wedding is really an easy feat to conquer, so long as you break it down into segments rather than trying to tackle the experience as a whole. Be sure to properly research each decision before you make it, and it may be too late, or costly, to change your mind later. It’s not very necessary to hire a wedding planner, as it will only add to the cost and take away money you could spend on other things.

You don’t need a wedding consultant to create a beautiful wedding! Learning the steps to planning your own wedding can actually save you lots of money…I saved almost $1400 off my wedding budget by doing things myself. Click Here to get more free tips to get started.

Get more FREE budget wedding planning tips in my report.

Click here to get it

————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_Harris
http://EzineArticles.com/?Planning-Your-Own-Wedding-is-Easier-Than-You-Think!&id=1696864

Great Engagement Party Games

Great Engagement Party Games

By: Zoey Scott

Engagement Party Games

Engagement party games is a great opportunity for both families to get together. In some cases, this might be the first meeting between the two families or groups of friends and any icebreaker activity will be a welcome event.

In that light, whoever plans the engagement party (likely the bride’s family, but it can be the engaged couple or anyone else who wants to plan the party) should plan a few games and activities designed to help everyone get to know everyone else .

First up is a trivia game. Create a “Trivial Pursuit” type game with questions about the bride and groom’s lives. You might contain the questions to just facts and events relating to both the bride and groom (such as how long did it take her to say “yes” when he asked, where did he propose, where did they meet, etc), or you can include questions pertaining to their lives outside of each other and before they met each other. Not only can this be fun, but also it’s an entertaining way for people to get to know each other and the engaged couple better.

One popular icebreaker that’s used at corporate functions and company parties can also work really well at engagement parties. Tape a card to each person’s back and encourage him or her to work the room , shuffle with everyone and particularly try to get to know someone they have never met before. Before moving on to someone else, remember to write something about the person on the card or paper on the other person’s back . Partiers write an impression of that person, such as “she seems sweet” or “he knows a lot about the weather”.

Trust me. Once this mingling is complete the ice will definitely be broken . The cards are then read one by one and people not only get to know each other better, but enjoy hearing all the comments people made about them. Try to ensure that comments are complimentary or somehow presented in a positive light. Hurtful comments, obviously, are not appropriate.

If this is truly the first time many of the guests have met, then another fun game involving the wearing of cards might be in order. In this game, each guest wears a card on their front that has their name on the front and a number on the back. They don’t share with anyone what their number is. Guests mingle and chat and get to know each other over the course of the evening.

Toward the end of the evening, the cards are flipped over and the number side is shown. Everyone gets a piece of paper and writes the numbers on the paper, then tries to correspond the name of someone with their number. This fun game can be hard for people who are bad with names, but it’s fun nonetheless.

For an activity that doesn’t put people on the spot quite so much, consider letting the already marrieds help out the to-be marrieds. Place two pieces of poster board on the wall and mark them “advice from women” and “advice from men”. Now is the time to offer advice about wedding planning, not about being married. That advice can come later. Encourage guests to offer their own wedding planning advice. The advice from older people at the party could be decidedly different from the younger couples in the group, making for an enlightening group of comments.

About the Author

Zoey Scott is an ex wedding planner who provides wedding planning tips on her blog. Zoey can save you hundreds on your wedding planning. Check out her wedding planning guide and wedding planning books. She is also a great resource for discounts on wedding items such flutes, shoes, dresses, and more.

(ArticlesBase SC #2774419)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Great Engagement Party Games

Cold Feet? Don’t Just Walk Away

It is fair to say that many people, on their wedding day or in the weeks leading up to it, have occasional periods of doubt over whether they are making the right decision by getting married. This situation is generally described as getting “cold feet”, a strange phrase which seems to have its roots in a time gone past when armies which had limited resources refused to fight on because they had lost or worn out their boots. In modern parlance, it means that due to a failure of daring you do not go ahead with something momentous.

It is understandable that people get this way in the run-up to their wedding day. The occasion of getting married is a pretty momentous one, which has far-reaching implications. While it may not constitute a massive change in the everyday living of your life, it does present something of a conundrum. Beforehand you were not married, and afterwards you will be. Although you would not have considered the idea of being unfaithful while you were merely dating or co-habiting, knowing that you can only be with the one person for the foreseeable future can be troubling for some.

It does not mean that you are not in love with the person you are about to marry, and it does not mean you will be making a mistake by marrying them. Indeed, any sportsman will tell you that nervousness is not necessarily a sign of partial or anticipated regret. It is just a natural reaction to the change in circumstances, but it is not a sign to call things off.

Wedding No No’s

There are some things which should be obvious to anyone but which are, for whatever reason, blind spots to some. This is clear from the occasional situation which has been given light by the rise in reality TV, where some programs have emerged which feature a groom-to-be making the decisions for their wedding day while the bride sits back (usually at the home of a friend) and waits to see what her beloved achieves. As a result of this concept, there have been some horrific decisions made which should be obvious to anyone with half a brain.

Firstly, although a man may have two big loves in his life – his wife and his sports team – combining the two in a wedding scenario is perhaps the worst decision he could possibly make. If both partners are equally big fans of a team, involving their colors in the ceremony as part of one’s outfit may be acceptable. Otherwise, keep them away from the whole endeavor! Do not make the mistake of thinking that your marriage and your sports team are in any way equal.

Secondly, the venue for a marriage matters. You may be offered a deal which allows you to save money on the venue and gives you the chance to spend the money elsewhere. Your bride will, however, not thank you if the photographs from your big day feature the local sewage works.

And finally, don’t ever believe that holding the reception at your favorite bar is fine just because they know you there and will make you welcome. If it is a place with which you both feel a strong affinity, fine. If not, it just looks like a snub to her wishes.