Sorry I Am Out of the Office..... Well Sort Of

Hey Budget Brides!!

I know the title looks crazy right. Well technically I am out of the office but you can find me over at Bride On A Budget. Ashley is on her honeymoon right now and I am guest blogging for her so take a click over to her blog and read my post titled "Budget Friendly Centerpiece that Doubles as Favors Under $25".

Click the image for post.

Image via Be Imbued

Budget Saving Ideas for Flower Girl and Ring Bearer Attire

Happy Friday Budget Brides!!!

Today I want to introduce you to Julie Lockhart. Julie has been so kind to guest blog for us while we are out in Las Vegas, Nevada. So enjoy Julie and her money saving options for flower girl and ring bearer attire.

The Easter Dress and Suit aren't just for Easter anymore!

Have you been out shopping and seen the cutest Easter dresses in the soft colors of pale pink, lilac, yellow or white and thought these dresses are so beautiful they could be worn in a wedding by a cute little flower girl? Well you are right, and a budget savvy bride should consider this as well, imagine the money she will save her family or friends by suggesting they purchase a dress or suit for the flower girl or ring bearer during the Easter shopping season... Let's just say an "egg" load!

JCPenney and Macy*s are just two of the finer department stores that beautiful Easter dresses can be found, but don't forget to look at your local retailers such as Walmart or Kmart because they offer similar dresses at an even lower cost. When it comes to the flower girl and ring bearer, remember they are going to be adorable just being themselves as they come down your aisle. So really all their outfits are doing is just adding a little dazzle to them , but dazzle doesn't have to mean lots of dollars.

So if your wanting to find areas where you cut costs in in your budget, then consider these ideas for your flower girl or ring bearer. They will be comfortable and their families will thank you as well.

Here are some great finds below:

via Macy*s currently on sale for $43.20

via Macy*s currently on sale for $35.50

via Walmart currently selling for $30.00

via Walmart

Juile Lockhart is the owner of Locked Hearts Wedding and Event Planning located in Princeton, West Virigina. At Locked Hearts, Julie's goal is to give you the wedding that you always dreamed of. A wedding that reflects your unique personality and style.

If you live in the West Virginia area be sure to checkout Julie at Locked Hearts Wedding and Event Planning.

A Guide to Welcome Bags for Brides on A Budget

Happy Thursday Afternoon Budget Brides!!!

I am currently traveling back to New York from my wonderful trip to Las Vegas. Today's guest blogger is Sara from Sara's Gracious Goodies. Sara is going to give you budget brides help with your Welcome Bags.



I often tell my clients who come to Sara's Gracious Goodies for help with their wedding welcome bags that although it is absolutely not necessary it is however a wonderful way to thank your family and friends who literally went the extra mile to share in your special day. Depending on how many guests you expect though it can get costly however I am happy to share a few tips!

Plan Ahead!

Wedding welcome bags are often a final detail usually passed onto someone in the family or bridal party and lets face it, haven't they done enough already?! All the packing and wrapping, researching and purchasing all just days before the big one... Thinking ahead will save you stress and money!

Ask the Hotel!

The hotels see these bags all the time so go right to the source for some inspiration! Make sure you coordinate your plans with the hotel to ensure they are able to provide the bags upon check in or have them waiting in each room. Each hotel has a different policy so be sure to ask in advance.

Be Creative!

If you are going to prepare something on a tight budget be creative and it will go long way. A fun and thoughtful way to welcome a weary traveler and provide a "taste of home" is to have some Milk and Cookies ready and waiting for them! If you have a favorite recipe use it! Bake something that's easy, wrap in a small bag, with ribbon that match the colors of your wedding and include a hand written note. Arrange for the hotel to provide a glass of milk and include a small "ticket" within each package letting the guests know they can have this brought up to their room when ready. This will not cost much however it is a simple way to show just how thoughtful you are! Having a beach wedding? Target often has small sized pails in their dollar bin. Fill with some shred and include a few small treats. Something we often provide for our clients are a box of Popcorn and a Sandal Rice Krispie treat! It's a small snack that coordinates with the theme of the wedding and does not cost much.

Costco...

Many of you will be going to costco to create a goody bag filled with snacks everyone loves! When you go make sure you know how many guests you have coming and pay close attention to how many items come in each package. Case counts are often different and you can leave having too much of one thing and not enough of something else. Make a list in advance to avoid goody overload and keep you focused. Remember to also get lots of water.

Extras

It's nice to provide an itinerary with directions to all of your wedding events as well as cell phone numbers of anyone that can help if necessary. It's helpful to provide the other guests in the hotel in case anyone wants to carpool! Collect a few menu's from local restaurants and even some local postcards. These are a nice addition to a welcome bag. Add a local magazine and playing cards. Try to think local and call your town's chamber of commerce for more ideas.

Whatever you decide your guests are sure to appreciate the effort you put in to provide a warm welcome!



Sara’s Gracious Goodies is a gift package service located in Long Island, NY. The company is the idea of Sara Mendelsohn who spent nearly a decade in business planning and development at some of the most luxurious retail companies in the world (Barneys New York, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Cartier), just to name (drop) a few. As Sara was expecting her first child (a beautiful baby boy) she and her husband travelled across the country for a wedding. Exhausted and hungry from a long ordeal, they were met by a welcome bag that unfortunately added to the misery of a long days travel. It was in that moment that Sara knew that there could be a better, and more fulfilling way to greet a weary and tired loved one. A seed had been planted...

Checkout Sara and her gracious goodies for more information and help here.

Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta... things are about to get steamy

Happy Wednesday Budget Brides!!

Today I introduce to you Rashidah Ferguson of Beyond Black Beauty. Rashidah is a very good friend/media wizard who has been so kind as to update us on some very exciting news in the wedding tv world. Checkout her guest blogger post below and don't for to check her out at Beyond Black Beauty.

via TLC/Say Yes To The Dress

Move over Kleinfield July's edition of SAY YES TO THE DRESS, the signature Friday night show on TLC, will premier in HOT-lanta with a whopping 12 episodes.

Just like we did with NY Kleinfield's, we can fall in love with the staff and brides at Bridals by Lori. Should we order some sweet and southern fried chicken to watch the southern twist of the popular show?

Set in one of the largest and busiest bridal salons in the south - Bridals by Lori - SAY YES TO THE DRESS: ATLANTA takes viewers behind the scenes as each particular and strong-willed bride sets out to find her perfect wedding dress. These southern belles keep the staff on their toes in order to ensure they get exactly what they want for their important day. With high expectations, southern brides are well-informed on their favorite bridal designers and expect each of the consultants to be on top of their game.

But for some of us who can't get enough of the New York version, Kleinfield bridal salon in New York will return with all new episodes on Friday, April 23. From Goth brides and beauty queens, to mother/daugther altercations, Season 5 continues to feature brides with an array of dramatic and entertaining back stories. Consultants even lend a helping hand this season as one bride-to-be gets a surprising proposal in the dressing room. To top it off, there is also a healthy dose of friendly competition between consultants.

Source TLC

Rashidah Ferguson has a strong interest in fashion, beauty, lifestyle and consumer brands. She started her blog, Beyond Black Beauty, as an avenue to merge mass-consumer companies with ethnic women who want to look and feel their best. When she is not researching material for her blog, you can find Rashidah on the phone with top national and local editors, producers and journalists as a media relations specialist. Rashidah received her Bachelors and Master's degree in Communication Studies, specializing in public relations at the college of New Rochelle. She currently resides in New York City.

Checkout Beyond Black Beauty for daily beauty advice, tips and product reviews.

The Joys of a Great Wedding Planner Within Your Budget

Happy Tuesday Budget Brides!!!

Today's guest blogger is Ashley M. and she is going to share with us her journey of finding her wedding planner.

via Zazzle

I can still remember my first wedding I planned in 4th grade to none other than George Clooney and the gorgeous ceremony we had. Unfortunately, it did not last too long because he decided Italy was the place for him and I still had to get through middle school! In all seriousness from the moment I looked through my first wedding magazine, I knew that one-day I was going to make weddings apart of my everyday life.

In December of 2008, my fiance proposed to me on the Southern beaches of Alabama. It was a beautiful proposal, but immediately my mind popped into planning the big day. Since I am in my senior year of college and planning a long distance wedding I decided to hire a wedding planning because I did not want all the extra stress that we all know goes along with planning a wedding. My orginial planner was a very well established event planner and seemed to know exactly what to do: however, as the months passed I was not receiving any contact from her (no phone calls, emails, texts, nothing). I was very stressed and concerned about what was going on. I finally worked up the courage to say "I need to know whether or not you are in this until the end". The good news is that she decided to move on and finally I was able to find a planner that was perfect for what I needed.

My new planner Haley Hooper (Barefoot Productions) is young, active and very creative. She has been everything and more that I imaged my wedding planner to be. When I got engaged the best advice I received was to "enjoy every minute of planning because it goes by so quickly". After my experience with one wedding planner quitting and while searching for Haley some planners were quoting me $5,000. I was shocked. What could they possibly offer me that was worth $5,000?

In all the hunting and getting quoted outraegous amounts I knew I needed to get into business. I started my company AMH Something Borrowed and can work on any aspect of the wedding the bride would like. I am the perfect planner for the bride on a budget because I am that same bride. We should not have to pay 20% of our budget to a wedding planner who may up and leave or continue to try and plan their own wedding.

Fellow brides when searching for your wedding planning find the one that is right for you because on your wedding day your planner is going to be your best friend. She should know you so well at that point that if something does go wrong you will not even know it happen because she would have solved the problem the way you would have.

Find the right planner that is right for you and your wedding. Remember that you are hiring us and we are going to cater to you. Ultimately, we want you, your groom and families to enjoy one of the most special moments in your lives. So here are my tips for finding the wedding planner that is right for you.

Tips:

• Does she live up to your expectations of what you want your wedding to be?
• If your planner has other weddings that day - MOVE ON. You need to be her only focus because the day is all about you.
• Meet at least 3 different planners before picking one. All planners have their own style so, you want to make sure you find one that fits your style and needs.
• Your wedding is very personal, so make sure you connect with your vendors. The better you get to know one another, the better your chances of ending up with a wedding that feels true to who you are.

Ashley M. is in her senior year in college at the Arizona State University majoring in journalism. She is currently planning a budget savvy destination wedding of her dreams. In response to her love for wedding planning, Ashley has launched AMH Something Borrowed to help other budget savvy brides achieved the wedding of their dreams within their budget.

Looking for wedding services in the Alabama/Arizona areas, checkout AMH Something Borrowed.

How to be a Calm Bride

Happy Monday Budget Brides!!!

This is the kick-off to our week of Guest Bloggers. We have some amazing bloggers coming to you this week from the Bride Bloggers to Industry Professionals. Today we will start with Ashley from Bride on a Budget.




How to be a Calm Bride
by Ashley from Bride on a Budget

Trying to stay calm before your wedding is definitely hard. Most brides work or go to school while they're planning their wedding, so that just adds on to the stress. I just recently had my own wedding, so I know how hectic your schedule gets in the past two weeks.

So, how can you stay calm in the weeks leading up to your wedding without spending a ton of money to go to the spa?

1. Go to a yoga class. A lot of studios offer your first class for free or if you're already a member of a gym check out the group classes they offer. This will make you feel centered and connected with your body. Both of which are prefect for right before your big day.

2. Take a walk in the park. If you have a dog, let them join you. This will give you time to connect with nature and clear your head. This time of year is the perfect time to head outside, so go and get some fresh air.

3. Go on a date night with your fiance. Go out to your favorite restaurant and talk about everything but the wedding. You probably haven't gone on many dates since you've been saving for the wedding, so go and enjoy yourself.

4. Have a girl's night. Go out with your girlfriends for drinks. This will loosen you up and you'll forget all about the wedding.

5. Do something you love. You don't have to do anything special to relax. If you love playing tennis, gather up your racket and hit the court. If you love scrapbooking, dedicate a whole day to an album.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure to enjoy yourself and don't focus on the wedding. Getting your mind off the wedding for a few hours will help you be even more dedicated and focused when you get back to the grind.

Ashley is the editor of Bride on a Budget. She is a newly wed who just married the love of her life on last Saturday, March 27, 2010 in Florida. When asked why did she decide to start her wedding blog, she stated, I started this blog because I thought it would be fun to share my wedding planning with other brides. Ashley loves to provide brides with budget wedding tips and great ways to have
their champagne wedding on a beer budget.


Checkout Ashley on her blog, Bride on a Budget. I am sure she will have some great wrap-up posts from her wedding.

Budget Brides on Vacation to Wedding Capital of the United States

Happy Monday Budget Brides!!!

I hope all of you had an enjoyable weekend. First & foremost I want to give a big applause and congratulations to Eboni Monique from Becoming His Mrs. (married 3/4/3010) and Ashley D. from Bride on a Budget (married 3/27/2010).

Secondly, for the next week I will be in the wedding capital of the United States, (Yes Las Vegas Baby), taking in the sites with my youngest aunt. She has been a god send because this is an all expense paid trip that is really needed. So I put a call out to all of The Budget Brides Handbook readers and Facebook followers to see who wanted to be a guest blogger. Well I received many responses back and have chosen the following wonderful bloggers and business owners to post in my absence.

Below the image you can find a schedule of who will be guest blogging.

via Here

Monday Afternoon
Ashley D. from Bride on a Budget
Topic: How to be a Calm Bride

Tuesday
Ashley M. from AMH Something Borrowed
Topic: The Joys of a great Wedding Planning in Your Budget

Wednesday
Rashidah F. from Beyond Black Beauty
Topic: Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta... things are about to get steamy

Thursday
An Announcement From The Budget Brides Handbook

Thursday Afternoon
Sara from
Budget Savvy Ideas for Welcome Bags

Friday
Julie L. from Locked Heart Wedding and Event Planning
Budget Savvy Ideas for Flower Girl and Ring Bearer Attire

We wanted to give a big THANK YOU to all our guest bloggers. You have made it extremely possible for me to make this trip of relaxation.

Now of course, you know I will not leave Vegas without pictures of most things wedding. So check back next week for the recap of my trip.

Looking for Guest Bloggers!!!

Happy Wednesday Budget Brides!!!

Once again the time has come for me to take a mini vacation. This time the destination is Las Vegas. My wonderful aunt is taking me on an all expense paid trip so yes I am so excited. With that being said I am currently looking for guest bloggers to create post for the week of March 29th through April 2nd.

I know that many of you are thinking, why would I want to be a guest blogger?

Well here are some excellent reasons:

• Increase your exposure to new audiences
• Increase traffic to your website
• Increase your ability for SEO (Search Engine Optimatization) & SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
• Ability to link back to your own blog

When it comes to topics I am not picky so you can write about anything that deals with weddings, budgets and the overall planning process.

So if this sounds interesting to you, please send me an email at info@thebudgetbrideshandbook.com with the subject line Guest Blogger.

Guest Blogger: Ashley from Bride on Budget

Happy Monday Budget Brides! Yes, I am still in Cancun relaxing from all of the stress back in New York. I have asked Ashley of Bride on Budget to be a Guest Blogger on The BBH while I am on vacation. Enjoy & Thanks Ashley!

Budgets are the evil of weddings. The average wedding costs $20,000, but not all couples can afford that. My fiance and I are both full-time students and are paying for our entire wedding ourselves. Therefore, we have a very small budget of $5,000.

Photography is a very important element to me in our wedding because it will be the only thing we have to look back on after the day is over. We're going to spend all that money to get our family and friends together and I want it captured on film. I really wanted a photographer for an entire day, but that is really hard to find for under $1000.

I started looking at photographers in my town and they were all overly priced. The only thing you could get for under $1000 was a few hours of photography. I decided then it was time to look in neighboring cities (no more than 2 hours away) and see if there was a cheaper photographer in those areas. I found one photographer in Jacksonville, FL (2 hours away from my wedding) who shoots for an entire day for $1000 and does not charge travel fees anywhere in the Southeast. I was ecstatic. It gets even better though. My fiance is in the National Guard. Our photographer offers a 25% military discount! So, we're getting a full day of photography and nice album for only $750!

If photography is an important element to you, try some of these tips to help get one for cheaper:
1. Don't just stick to photographers in your town. A lot of photographers will travel and will charge no or very little fee to do so.
2. Ask about discounts. Businesses often offer discounts to military, students, AAA, elderly, etc. They are normally 5-10%, but sometimes they range as far up as 25%!
3. Determine how many hours you really need the photographer. Do you have to have pictures of the entire ceremony and reception? If not, only have your photographer shoot the important moments and rely on your friends to take the candid shots.
4. Don't give up! You will find someone who works for you.

I used these tips to find the perfect photographer for me and I can't wait to see the pictures she shoots on my wedding day. I was very lucky and you can be to.

- Ashley, Bride on Budget

Vacation News: Looking for Guest Bloggers

Hello Budget Brides. I am so excited today because it is the countdown until my 5 day trip to no other than Cancun, Mexico. Since this will be my only trip this year because of the depression oh mean recession then I am really excited. I am trying to work the details out for guest bloggers for that time period. So if anyone is interested let me know. You can email me at info@thebudgetbrideshandbook.com.