Thoughtful Bridesmaids’ Gifts That Don’t Break the Bank!

Let’s face it: planning a wedding is tough. Many brides admit that planning their wedding would be much harder if it wasn’t for their bridesmaids. Often your bridesmaids help with logistics and things that just can’t be handled by a single person. So when it comes time to say, “Thank you!” to these lovely ladies – we know you want to pick out special bridesmaids’ gifts. But after the expense of a wedding, adding any other expenses can be a challenge. Here are some of our favorite bridesmaids’ “Thank you” gifts that are thoughtful and won’t have you reaching the top limit on any credit card.

Personalized Makeup Mirror. Many women like to touch up their makeup during the day, and what could be better than a personalized makeup mirror as their bridesmaid’s “Thank you” gift? This is an ideal gift, as they will think of you each time they use it and it is reasonably priced. Best of all, it is personalized with their first name or monogram for a sophisticated and elegant look. Any bridesmaid will appreciate this gift ideal for daytime and evening use.

Birthstone Jewelry. This is a thoughtful gift for your bridesmaids and you’ll find a wide selection of birthstone jewelry to choose from. There is personalized birthstone jewelry and simply birthstone jewelry that features the lovely gemstones on their own. One of the best things about this choice is that each woman will feel special and remembered as “their” birthstone month is uniquely their own. While they are there to share your Big Day, their “Thank you” gift is something that remembers them as unique individuals. You’ll find birthstone jewelry for every budget price and both daytime to evening looks.

Handmade Gift. Now this can be a very special and thoughtful gift if done with care. A handmade gift is best when it is created specifically for the recipient. So you are using their favorite color, their name or initials and including themes or topics that they enjoy. Any ways you can make this special for them or about your friendship/relationship will make this a grand-slam gift. Let’s say you are known for making delicious chocolate pretzels. So you choose to make this as your bridesmaids’ “Thank you” gift. Make this even more special by dipping each bridesmaid’s set of pretzels in their favorite color of sprinkles. And then put them in a pretty re-useable tin or jar. Include a thoughtful note saying how “sweet” they are. You see? Your handmade gift suddenly becomes something uniquely about them.

Plan a Fun/Girly Activity for After Your Honeymoon. This is a great choice especially if your bridesmaids are conveniently located and can all come back together. Treat them to a “Thank you” barbeque, fancy picnic or day at an amusement park. Or go be girly together and take them for manicures and pedicures. The key is to choose activities and themes that they will especially enjoy. Simply remember that this day is not about you as a bride or your getting married but about your friendships and celebrating them.

The Benefits of Being a Recession Bride

Let’s face it: trying to do anything big and splashy like a wedding is tough, no matter the time you try to do it. But getting married during one of the worst recessions the International economy has ever seen – has been tough on a lot of brides. But do you realize there are actually some benefits to being a recession era bride? Let’s talk about some of the “good” reasons that getting married during the recession isn’t quite so bad after all.

A tighter wedding budget forces you to focus on what’s important. Do you really need calla lilies flown in from an exotic location at every table – or would you rather have delicious food at the reception? Do you really need an open bar all night long – or will a single signature cocktail do the trick? Do you really have to invite your very best friend from summer camp you haven’t seen for ten years – simply because you always wanted to do so? The recession era bride has an easier time of focusing on what is really necessary and needed at her wedding and what can be tossed by the wayside.

Today’s bride is a savvy shopper. Gone are the days when a bride would pick the very first wedding dress that gave her tingles up the back of her neck. The recession era bride knows to go to a variety of wedding dress shops and to take digital photos of the dresses she likes. To do more comparison shopping. Also not to be afraid to ask for a better deal – when a competitor’s shop is offering a coupon the shop you are in just might honor it as well – you never know!

A wedding truly isn’t about what you buy – it’s about what you are doing. Getting a beautiful dress and going on an exotic honeymoon is certainly fun. But the recession era bride realizes more than ever what matters is the special moment she’ll be saying her wedding vows with her husband-to-be. That moment when they’ll kiss for the first time as husband and wife. The treasured father and daughter dance or having her father walk her down the aisle. These special moments can’t be bought in a shop or charged to your credit card.

A recession era bride isn’t afraid to get a little creative. If that banquet hall is just too far out of your budget – or you can’t afford flowers or something else you’ve been dreaming of – the recession era bride doesn’t pout – she gets to thinking! Could she get married in the big backyard of a family friend or at her college or university chapel? Could she visit a flower market on an early morning and buy flowers at a discount or get flowers from the grocery store? Or would small potted plants from a nursery make great centerpieces (sure…why not?) that you just wouldn’t see anywhere else? In another economy that bride might not get as creative – but the recession era bride learns to stretch and expand her thinking like never before.

So if you’re a recession era bride – enjoy the special and treasured moments your wedding day brings. Enjoy being with family and friends and your first day of married life!

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Creating a Comprehensive Wedding Planner List

Important Items for a Wedding Planner List

For a bride and groom who wish to plan their wedding, a complete wedding planner list can be helpful in ensuring everything is coordinated for the big day. Great tools to help make this wedding planner list are websites especially designed to account for all the details of the wedding. There are even some free sites that offer this service at no charge.Other items to consider for a list are marriage laws, reception needs, ceremony needs, guest lists, bridal party events, and the all important budget.

Marriage Laws

Marriage laws are different in every state, and should be researched on a local level. All states require a marriage license for a marriage to be considered legally binding, and some states still require blood testing prior to being issued a marriage license.Also the bride’s name change usually cannot be completed until after the marriage license has been signed by the person performing the wedding.

Then she will usually have to go in person to the social security office and department of motor vehicles (or local driver’s license office) with the completed and signed marriage license to have all of her legal documents changed to her married name. These are important steps for any wedding planning list; they should be kept on hand for after the ceremony and honeymoon.

Reception Needs

A bride and grooms wedding planning list will likely have a large reception section; as this is where the party happens.All of the guests, food, decorations, and entertainment all need to end up at the same place at the same time. Coordinating this alone can seem intimidating, however planning ahead and checking items off of the wedding planning list as they’re completed is a way to simplify the process and stay organized.

Ceremony Needs

This part of a wedding planning list is likely to be the largest as this is the section where flowers, guests, and bridal part merge for the main event.The ceremony itself often lasts less than an hour, but the preparation often takes months. This wedding planning list can go on to include every aspect of an individual wedding to keep everyone organized.A wedding planning list can include: the guest list, floral arrangements, booking the church and reception area, finding a band or DJ, organizing the fittings and pick-ups of the wedding party’s attire, the rehearsal and dinner.

The Budget

The most important function a wedding planning list can serve is to keep a bride and groom with in their budgets as it is so easy to get overwhelmed by the variety available and lose track of what is really needed and wanted for the wedding.A wedding planning list can help keep the couple not only on the dollar but also from forgetting something important that is needed for the ceremony, reception, or honeymoon.

It can also ease a budget to discuss ahead of time exactly who will be paying for what.While traditionally, the bride’s family pays for the wedding – that need not be the case any more. Nevertheless, here are a few examples of what is traditionally divided and by whom.  Bride’s family traditionally pays for the reception, flowers, decorations, music, photographer, and bridesmaids’ gifts.

The groom’s family will traditionally provide for the marriage license, ties and gloves for the wedding groomsmen, rehearsal dinner, and the honeymoon.Keeping track of who is doing what on a wedding planner checklist will make the entire wedding process more enjoyable. The bride and groom should be able to relax and enjoy the first day of the rest of their lives together.

Do I Need Wedding Insurance?

Most weddings cost far more than you would spend on a decent saloon car. It’s unthinkable that you would drive your brand new car without insurance cover, yet so many couples take a bigger financial risk by not insuring their wedding costs against the risk of total loss. By comparison to cars, house content, possessions, valuables, etc., wedding insurance costs very little for comprehensive cover. The relatively small premium for wedding insurance will give you peace of mind as you plan for your wedding.

Wedding insurance policies give a wide range of cover for many eventualities that could affect your wedding day. However, it is unlikely that small, irritating events would be included in the cover, such as rainfall, cloud, etc. but stronger weather forces that affect the wedding day almost certainly would, such as floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc. If adverse weather or other unpredicted events were to cause your wedding or reception venue to close or become inaccessible then your wedding insurance policy would provide a suitable level of cover. The same policy would cover unpredictable events with the wedding car supplier or the caterer or even if the bride or groom should sustain an accident which caused the wedding to be canceled for the planned date. A low premium insurance policy to cover all of the wedding day suppliers and events will compensate for those unexpected situations that can leave you seriously out of pocket.

Don’t Forget to Plan for Wedding Insurance Early

When you start to plan the wedding arrangements most couples wouldn’t consider including insurance as a part of their list – but you should! When you have set your wedding date and you start to book the suppliers for your wedding you are starting to make financial obligations for the big day – at that stage you should have your wedding insurance in places as well. This will give you a maximum period of cover for your insurance fee as well as adequate cover should anything go wrong in the period leading up to your wedding day that may leave you financially disadvantaged.

Wedding Insurance Policies

Most wedding insurance policies are similar, both in price and in the level of cover that they offer, but it’s still worth shopping around to find the cover that best suits you. The internet and insurance brokers are a great source of information for the levels of cover offered by different companies. A good policy will include cancellation (but unlikely that this would include a change of mind!), the wedding rings and other wedding jewelery, wedding dress, the Groom, Best man and bridesmaid’s outfits (if you are hiring formal attire, then check the insurance requirements), venue(s), caterer, transportation, florist, personal accident for the Bride and Groom if this affects your wedding plans, personal liability, wedding cake damage, photographer (including destruction of the wedding photographs), wedding gifts (ensure that cash and vouchers are included).

The insurance cover for your honeymoon should be arranged separately from the wedding insurance. Your honeymoon would normally be covered by travel insurance, generally arranged at the same time as making your travel arrangements. However, you may wish to consider that the travel insurance would not normally cover cancellation as a result of your wedding plans having been disrupted, so you may want to include cover for this with your wedding insurance policy or take out separate cover for this specific risk.

Peace of Mind for Your Wedding Day

Planning and organizing your wedding can be a very enjoyable experience, leading up to one of the most exciting and important days of your life. No one expects things to go wrong, and they rarely do, but you should have the reassurance of wedding insurance to give yourself peace of mind over any unexpected or unpredictable events that could disrupt your wedding day. When you start to plan your wedding day and book the suppliers, take out your wedding insurance policy at the same time. This gives the maximum period of cover and means you can concentrate on your wedding whilst you have the reassurance that the whole event is covered by your wedding insurance policy. Enjoy planning for the big day and your wedding day itself – congratulations, it’s one of the most enjoyable days of your life.

Article by Steve Shaw, of wedding services and information. The website offers advice and information on organizing and arranging your wedding.

Photo by lemonjenny

Registering is Good

I know I was nervous about putting together a list of gifts for people to buy. It can be awkward to think about but the truth is most people love being told what gift to buy. It makes it so much easier. If they don’t want to buy something from the register then they don’t have to. It is best to register or else you may end up with 4 sets of candle holders. True Story.

In addition to saving the wedding guests time and possibly money, you won’t have to use your free time returning gifts you don’t need (or want) or gifts that you got two of (or four). No bad gifts and no returns, sound like a nice gift for yourself. And after the honeymoon is over, you’ll appreciate the extra time you will have saved.