Real Life Wedding Planning

Maybe you’ve been good about your wedding planning, hired vendors, signed contracts, all in plenty of time.  But now you think you want to make changes in your bouquet, add extra touches to your cake, or have the caterer change your salad choice. Can you do it?

Maybe…

Here are some things that could happen when you make last minute changes:

• You will be charged extra just for making the change and, if the vendor needs to rush order anything to make the change, you will also be paying that charge

• The vendor may not be able to accommodate you if they have to order particular items, for instance a type of flower, and their supplier cannot accommodate them

• If it is a major change, there may not be the time to do it

Good vendors will do everything they can to give you what you want or offer alternative suggestions if they cannot do it.

Check your contract to see how the vendor handles changes and ask how much it will cost.  Then check you budget and make sure you feel the change is worth the extra expense before proceeding

Wedding planing on a budget does not mean you’re forced to have a plain, boring wedding.  Vogue magazine talked to three fashionable brides and got 17 chic wedding planning ideas.  Here are a few of them:

• Document all your ideas and resources in a journal or scrapbook, this keeps everything in one place.

• Use letterpress or flat printing instead of engraving on invitations.

• Asked talented friends and family members to help with things like calligraphy or music.

• Instead of hiring a DJ or band for your rehearsal dinner or pre-reception cocktail party, use an iPod with external speakers.

• Your “something borrowed” can be your wedding dress, wedding jewelry, or vases for your floral arrangements.

Pick up the June issue of Vogue to get the rest of the ideas and don’t miss the photo of tennis star RogerFederer’s bride, Mirka Vavrinec, in a beautiful wedding dress from Oscar de la Renta’s spring collection and the fashion photos of model Sasha Pivovarova’s “reenacted” wedding.

To help you prepare your wedding budget, I’ve added two calculators to this blog, the Wedding Cost Search, which you will find on the right, and the Wedding Cost Estimator, which you can find by clicking on the tab at the top of the page. Both will give you an idea of the amount of money couples in your zip code are spending on their weddings for typical wedding products and services.  Spending and prices vary so the amount you spend may be higher or lower according to the vendors, products, and services you choose.