tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954916526494667602012-01-24T20:25:41.318-05:00Wedding tips, tricks, and ideas from a Raleigh-based wedding planner.Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-19085737988406018932009-04-01T10:21:00.005-04:002009-04-01T10:21:00.436-04:00

Is your wedding budget starting to look a bit tight? A good place to cut costs is your bar. If you do it right, you can save a lot of money without feeling the pinch.Above all, remember that while some consider a cash bar poor etiquette, it is not at all rude to have a completely dry wedding, and is not uncommon here in North Carolina. If you can't afford alcohol or don't wish to have it at your

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-20943547845748787812009-03-25T18:45:00.000-04:002009-03-25T18:45:00.180-04:00

I had such a good time finding pictures of ugly chairs for that last article! I didn't end up using any of these in my post, but here's a site with a whole lot of ugly chairs!

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-73765645839976072472009-03-25T11:33:00.002-04:002009-03-25T11:33:01.110-04:00

Let me describe a scene that plays out at least three times per season. A bride comes to me midway through her planning, about six months before her wedding. She has already placed a substantial, non-refundable deposit on a banquet hall. The hall is great, the only problem? The chairs that come with the hall are hideous. She comes to me because she wants to make her wedding look good in spite of

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-37958313234914234072009-03-18T16:14:00.005-04:002009-03-18T16:14:00.887-04:00

Last week I talked about the advantages and disadvantages of renting a bare-bones venue for your wedding reception. This week, let's talk about the other end of the spectrum: all-inclusive venues. All-inclusive venues include every thing you need (and some things you don't): everything from your tables, chairs, place settings, catering, servers, the bar, and sometimes even the photographer, DJ,

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-11824440178068748732009-03-11T10:05:00.005-04:002009-03-11T10:05:00.263-04:00

When you're scouting out banquet facilities in your chosen area for your wedding reception, one of the most important things to remember if you want to save money is to compare apples with apples. What is included along with the room and what must you provide yourself? A hall that seems like a good deal might not be so great once you factor in the cost of outside rentals and

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-715847251487115772009-03-04T09:40:00.002-05:002009-03-04T09:40:00.976-05:00

Or, Save on Stationary Costs without Violating the Rules of Etiquette.One of the best ways to save serious money on your wedding is to limit your guest list to close family and friends only. This will lower your catering costs, your venue costs since you can rent a smaller venue (compare the price of this banquet hall for 100 versus this banquet hall for 50) , the cost of your decorations since

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-11571222013333157052009-02-25T14:23:00.000-05:002009-02-25T14:23:01.860-05:00

The most difficult weddings to plan aren't the $300 per head, no expense spared, all weekend long extravaganzas. While those do present interesting challenges, through the years I have found that the greatest challenge is planning a wedding on a budget.The easiest way to keep costs down is to cut out the parts of your wedding you don't need. If you find yourself skimping on your invitations, your

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-331794592489350782009-02-23T12:35:00.000-05:002009-02-23T12:35:00.747-05:00

If you already got married, just answer based on what you did at your wedding.

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-24866004938840375672009-02-18T08:09:00.002-05:002009-02-18T08:09:00.999-05:00

I was hesitant to do a "recession-themed" post since it seems everybody else is doing enough talking about it. But after I had two of my brides try to cancel their weddings on me in the last 24 hours, I thought I'd share my perspective.Think carefully before you cancel your whole wedding. I am not a financial advisor, and I have seen sad situations where it's better for the couple to cut their

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-27208436468321410472009-02-18T07:20:00.002-05:002009-02-18T07:20:00.833-05:00

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-57726228343004141102009-02-11T13:11:00.002-05:002009-02-11T13:11:01.118-05:00

This is Part Three of my series on holiday weddings.I thought I was being thorough in my holiday coverage, but Elegala has a whole list of minor holidays to avoid in 2009 and 2010, including Christian holidays that change every year (eg, Palm Sunday, Easter), Postal Holidays (MLK, Columbus Day), Mother's Day, Labor Day Weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, and even Superbowl Sunday (unless you want a

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-53819973702472481832009-02-04T11:10:00.000-05:002009-02-04T11:10:00.255-05:00

We dealt with the logistics of a holiday wedding in my last post. Now let's talk about aesthetics.So you're getting married on Valentines day. You've got your venue, your caterer, your wedding planner--everything.Holiday weddings can be fun, but they can also be cheesy, even tacky and obnoxious, if you go too overboard with the theme. This can be a fine line. There's a reason you chose the

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-10384226821985638922009-01-28T15:30:00.002-05:002009-02-04T10:59:23.323-05:00

Every wedding date has its advantages and disadvantages. May weddings are pretty, but always more expensive than January weddings, plus there's the May rains to contend with. You'll save 20-30% by marrying on Friday, but don't expect all your guests to show.A holiday wedding can be fun, but think carefully about your reasons for choosing that date, or you may regret it.Can you get what you want?

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-72975846704225910732009-01-26T13:34:00.000-05:002009-01-26T13:34:00.254-05:00

Don't use your nicest table cloth for the cake table! When my parents married, my mother had the brilliant idea to use Great Grandma Ann's hand-made lace tablecloth for the cake table. Guess what happened. Needless to say, that heirloom is not in my family anymore.Anything you put on the cake table will get cake all over it. The table still needs to look nice, since it will be in a lot of your

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-74625676911075656682009-01-21T21:09:00.000-05:002009-01-21T21:09:00.748-05:00

I just found the funniest site. Cake Wrecks has oodles of real pictures of these horrible, horrible cakes--all professionally made--bad enough to ruin your wedding unless you have a really good sense of humor. And people wonder why many women turn into bridezillas?I use a handful of good local bakers for all my weddings, so I've never had a cake turn out horribly. The only way to avoid a cake

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-20462211420046917362009-01-19T08:52:00.005-05:002009-01-19T10:58:56.828-05:00

...I don't know, maybe have enough chairs for everybody?Since I work Saturdays and get booked sometimes more than two years in advance, I don't get a chance to attend a lot of wedding as a guest. Of course I want to attend my friends' and family's weddings but what am I supposed to do, tell the bride who already gave me half down "sorry, I'm not coming"? This is why scientists need to get moving

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1995491652649466760.post-71971778721019084852009-01-14T09:03:00.002-05:002009-01-14T11:46:49.178-05:00

Chair covers are my number one way to dress up a wedding. They're far from necessary, but then, neither are foil-embossed invitations but I don't think those are going away any time soon.Chair covers, when done right, really add to the atmosphere of your ceremony or reception. Photographers always tell me they get better pictures when the venue has chair covers. When done wrong, you might as well

Kristen C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08137273207077628167noreply@blogger.com1