Written on February 17, 2012
(Photo credit: Alante Photography, Seattle)
Welcome to our last week of how to plan a wedding on a budget! I can’t believe we made it to the end! Thanks for sticking with me, and I sincerely hope it has been as fun and educational for you to read as it has been for me to write.
Here’s what we have covered so far:
This week, we’ll be tackling wedding photography -
Photography is often one of the most important vendors for your wedding day. Besides your wedding planner and videographer (if having one), your photographer is the only other vendor that will be with you from start to finish on your wedding day. It is imperative that you both get along with him or her. If either one of you is not comfortable with you wedding photographer, it will show through in your photos.
Negotiate - but be respectful! While most couples find the cost of wedding photographers outrageous, do keep in mind that what you are not seeing is countless hours of behind the scenes work. Photographers spend an untold amount of time on sifting through the just plain bad photos, editing and doing touch-ups to the good photos, then compiling them into a format that is easy for you to look through and choose your favorites. So when you are negotiating price, remember to be respectful that a lot of time and energy past the wedding day goes into your photos and that these are memories you will have forever.
That being said, there are a lot of ways to negotiate what you’re getting in your package. As with the theme with everything else we’ve talked about, have a budget in mind as to what you want to spend. Here is a great example of where you should actually share that number in your first meeting with your potential photographer. This will help them guide you to the packages and products that are right for you and will fit within your budget. If you’re budget only allows for 6 hours of wedding coverage, don’t be afraid to ask for that 7 hour at no additional charge. Some will say ‘no’, but some will say ‘yes.’
Be sure you’re comparing apples to apples
If you are interviewing more than one photographer (which you should), be sure that you are comparing like costs. While one photographer may charge less per hour, they may charge more for the album or photos you’d like to order than the other photographer you interviewed. Be sure to get pricing charts from every photographer you interview so you can really see your overall cost, and what will be the best option for you. If you will not be purchasing an album or photos, your best option would be to use the less per hour photographer.
Find a Newbie
Often times, there are extremely talented photographers out there who are just looking at building their portfolios. You can search Craigslist.com or even your local college for wedding photographers. You can find some amazing deals out there using this option! Do be smart however – ask to see the work they’ve already done and you will need to enter into a formal contract with this person. Even if they don’t generally use one, have them draft one up explaining the type of service you’re receiving, how many photographers will be there and for how long, when the photos will be ready, etc. This will protect you if for some reason they fall through on their end.
Another great option is to shop the local, smaller wedding shows. Here, you may find a wedding photographer who can’t afford to get into the larger shows, but is a legitimate business again, just trying to bulk up their portfolio. Use the same tips I talked about in the catering segment to approach a photographer at a wedding show (remember cash talks, go in on the slower day, etc.).
Do keep in mind when using a new wedding photographer, that they might take longer than someone who has been doing this for years. You will need to build in extra time for photos.
Opt for a disc of images rather than an album
One of the biggest trends right now, especially with the growing popularity of Snapfish.com and other similar sites, is to look for a photographer who will just give you the disc of images rather than getting the traditional wedding album. This is a HUGE cost cutting option for you as albums are one of the biggest expenses.
You can generally find a photographer who will do a maximum image edit of 200 images, but give you all the remaining images unedited. This gives you access to getting your favorites all touched up and nice, but still, if you want to send your friend a copy of the photo they were in, you still have access to that.
Be sure that the photographer who does this option gives you a copy of their copyright release. Otherwise you may be up a creek when going to professionally print off your photos.
I’d love to hear how you saved money on finding your wedding photographer or if you have any additional questions. Just pop on over to the New Creations Facebook page, ‘like’ me, and ask away!
Check back next week to enter to win a $75 Pottery Barn gift card from New Creations
Written on February 14, 2012
Are you obsessed with Pottery Barn and a Bride to be? We’ve got the perfect event for you! This Thursday, February 16th, please join me at the Bellevue Square Pottery Barn location for an awesome in-store event you won’t want to miss.
This event goes from 6:30-8:30pm, and we will be featuring some of Seattle’s top wedding professionals who will be speaking about their speciality beginning at 7pm. You will also have time to talk with these vendors in an intimate one-on-one setting while you’re browsing about Pottery Barn’s beautiful products. Attendees will have the opportunity to register with Pottery Barn that evening as well.
Everyone in attendance will also have the opportunity to take advantage of a same-day use 10% off coupon for anything in the store!
Here are the amazing participating vendors:
- Pottery Barn Bellevue Square’s Bridal Registry
- Williams Sonoma Bellevue Square Bridal Registry
- New Creations Wedding Design and Coordination
- Paper Passionista- onsite wedding invitations
- Foodz Catering
- Bugsie Productions- a DJ/Emcee company
- Simply Sonja Photography
- Pinka Bella Cupckes
- Papyrus
We are looking forward to meeting you this Thursday! Shop, talk, and sample your way to wedded bliss!
~Rebecca
New Creations Weddings
Written on February 1, 2012
Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are as excited as I am about week four of our six-week series on getting married on a budget. This week we’ll be wrapping up the two-part segment covering wedding venues (see last week’s part here) and what you can do to cut costs on what can often be one of the largest parts of your wedding budget.
Cash talks
Okay, for those of you who know me, you know that I don’t believe in going into debt for your wedding day. One of the biggest hidden secrets on cost cutting tips for your wedding is to use the green! This is not something most venues generally advertise. You will need to ask for the cash discounts, but they’re out there, so don’t be afraid to go for it. Below are the main things you should ask for when using cash.
Ask for a discount because you’re not using a credit card. Right off the bat, you’ve just saved yourself the 3-4% credit card service fee.
Let them know that you only budgeted X amount of dollars for your venue, and that you can pay them in cash. Generally, they will come down to meet you. (Be realistic here, if the venue is over your budget by $10,000, no, they won’t meet you. But if you’re looking at a Friday or Sunday especially, and the venue is about $3,000-$4,000 out of reach, more than likely you will get it).
Hint: You can use ‘Cash Talks’ with almost any vendor to get a better deal!!
Pros and cons of a private home
Private homes can often be some of the most beautiful and intimate weddings I’ve ever planned or attended, and I’m sure you can say the same. They offer that feeling of home, warmth, and familiarity that is so wonderful at weddings. There are definitely some hidden fees associated with having a wedding at home that should not be overlooked.
Bathrooms - Yup, first and foremost. Does the home have enough restrooms (or does the homeowner even want guests tromping through their home) to support your guest count? If not, you will need to consider bringing in some less than glamorous porta-potties. A really cost-saving company that I’ve used (and they’re nation-wide) is United Site Services. They have been a really great company to work with, and offer many options.
Lighting - If your wedding will be outdoors at the home, you will need some sort of lighting, especially if your party will go well into the evening. Consider using Christmas lights, outdoor lanterns, monkey lights, and candles to give adequate lighting to your event. Remember your guests (and photographer) want to see your first dance and cake cutting, so be sure to plan appropriately for time of day and to have enough light.
Catering - I think a great cost-cutting tip that fits great into an at-home wedding is to do a potluck style. If you don’t want to worry about someone always being available to help restock food, etc. there are some great companies out there that offer day-of services to help with the serving part of your wedding. One here locally is The Invisible Hostess. They will even clean up the guests dishes before the end of the reception, and have them ready to go when the guests are!
Shelter - If your guest count exceeds what you can accommodate inside, and need to move the party outdoors, you will need to be sure you are prepared for inclement weather. Especially here in Seattle our summers are unpredictable weather wise, and you need to have a back-up plan. Tent rentals are surprisingly expensive and need to be thought of as part of your budget. The average 100 person tent runs about $2,000. What you need to know here is that you have up until that tent is loaded onto the truck before you get charged for it. So if you make the decision that a tent will not be needed, call the company ASAP to cancel that order. You should however, pre-order it so it is available in case it’s needed
Public Parks
Using a public park is a HUGE cost saving location for your ceremony. Most parks around the Seattle area do require a park permit. Also, there are some around here that don’t allow professional photography (Bellevue Botanical Gardens for instance), so do your homework. But, finding a less used public park location can often be beautiful, private, and very inexpensive. Parsons Gardens up on Queen Ann is a beautiful little hidden gem tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Kerry Park (the more popular option). Most park rental fees range from $50-$150 depending on the location and time of year.
Use a venue that lets you bring in your own caterer
Finding a location that doesn’t lock you into a food and beverage minimum is a must to finding extra money in your budget. Negotiating with your own caterer on your menu selections, amount of food served, etc. will save you tremendous amounts of money. Remember, cash talks here too! Be sure you are aware of how much staff will be on-site, what the hours of service will be, and if there are any travel fees. Make sure you are aware of all costs up front (including taxes), so you know where to cut if you are over-budget. Many times you can cut extra linens, opt for paper plates, plastic cups, and disposable serve ware to cut significant costs on catering. Also be sure you are watching your food selections. Obviously, steak and salmon will run you more than prime rib and pasta, so choose your menu wisely, and don’t be afraid to ask your caterer for a more cost effective menu selection.
This segments us right into catering – which is our topic for next week! Check back next Wednesday for money-saving tips for catering.
Did you save big on a venue? What was your secret? What are some of your favorite Northwest venues? If you have specific venue questions – leave a comment here or head over to the New Creations Facebook page and ask Rebecca – she’d be happy to help!
Written on January 28, 2012
(Photo credit: Jason Koenig)
We’re almost halfway through our six-week series on getting married on a budget, and this week we’re tackling a biggie – wedding venues. In fact, it’s so big, and there’s so much information to share that we are devoting this week and next week to cover this important topic.
Your venue can often determine the size, style and feel of your wedding day. Whether it’s a hotel, a barn, or anything in-between, there are ways to cut costs when you begin looking for your perfect wedding venue.
Here are some tips and tricks to saving money for your venue on your wedding day:
Chose an off-peak wedding season
Obviously here in Seattle, we are fairly limited to the seasons if you want that full-sunshine, outdoor wedding. However, if you are willing to take a gamble, or look at having your entire wedding and reception indoors, you will get a lot more bang for your buck. Consider having your wedding from mid-September to mid-April. This is a general range where most venues would consider your wedding to beoff-peak. Because you are picking a date that is less popular than the masses, and the venue would rather book that day then lose any potential business, they offer you substantial discounts for booking.
You never know, even if you are looking for that outdoor venue, you could be pleasantly surprised by lucking out and having a beautiful, warm, sunny day in the middle of April. It has happened. 
Pick any day but Saturday!
We are all very well aware that Saturday’s are the most popular days for weddings. So are venues. They significantly mark up the food and beverage minimums along with the room rental fee for Saturday weddings. Picking a nontraditional day such as a Friday or Sunday will save you a significant amount of money for your wedding. Venues tend to drop down their food and beverage minimums by at least 50% when picking an off-peak day. They drop it down even more if you can swing a mid-week wedding. ‘Destination’ wedding in the San Juan Islands anyone? Look at making it a vacation for your friends and family as well by planning a mid-week wedding and having everyone stay in a B&B for the week.
Again, consider what is most popular, and do the opposite. I cannot stress enough how much venues would just rather have the date booked than lose money by not having any event booked.
Consider having a morning wedding
Opting for a morning brunch instead of a formal evening dinner is another great option for keeping money in your pocket for your wedding day. Not only will the venue offer the room at a discounted rate, they will also more than likely not commit you to any food and beverage minimums, as your menu will generally be of lighter fare, therefore you don’t have to provide as much of it. The other great perk for having a morning wedding is you can get onto your honeymoon faster. Generally speaking, morning weddings are much more casual, just have a smaller ceremony and reception with light brunch foods and great conversation. Dancing is generally not done. Allowing for a much shorter timeline allows you and your new husband to scoot out early and have the rest of the afternoon and evening together.
Pick a venue that fits your guest count
One of the common mistakes that many brides make is to fall in love with a venue that is way too large for their guest count. Keep your venue scaled to your head count. Paying for a larger venue than what is needed is a huge waste of money. The venue cannot rent out other parts of the building because technically it is just reserved for you. This creates a tremendous amount of wasted space and wasted money for square footage that was not used.
Choose a non-traditional venue
Take a look around your community and see what it may have to offer. Is there a community center or a park that may be able to accommodate the style and guest count of your wedding? Using a non-traditional venue is a great way to save money for your wedding. Look away from the popular hotel or country club weddings, as well as away from the big city. The outskirts offer some amazing venues on beautiful property at MUCH cheaper rates. Here in Washington, there are hundreds of beautiful venues located up north in Arlington, Snohomish, and down south in Des Moines, Sumner and Puyallup. Getting even 15-20 minutes away from the city will save you significantly in the pocket book.
Shop the wedding shows
One of the largest vendors to attend wedding shows are venues. They are hoping to capture your attention with their beautiful decor and amazing views. If you have your sights set on one of these venues that you know will be at the show, do not hesitate to ask for a same-day booking discount. Do play it smart. Attend on the less-popular day (typically a Sunday if the show goes over the weekend) and wait till the end of the show when minimal people are at this booth so they can’t overhear you negotiating. By this point, venues have seen thousands of brides, they’re tired, and looking to have something to show for their time and money spent at the show. Decide between you and your fiancé who is the better negotiator, and go for it! Be kind and respectful saying something like, “I love your venue, and my fiancé and I have been looking at having our wedding here for awhile, but it’s just a bit too far out of our price range.” Then move into something like, “I would be willing to sign a contract today if you could drop the price by X amount of dollars.” Have two or three venues that you are seriously interested in booking with, so if one says no, you won’t be devastated and give in. Instead you can just move onto the next venue. One is guaranteed to say yes.
Next week we will be covering these venue tips:
- Cash Talks!
- The Pro’s and Con’s of using a private home
- Benefits of bringing in your own caterer
- Cut your menu- Full meal vs Heavy Appetizers
- Saving money on your alcohol
- Looking at public parks
I’d love for you to let me know how you cut costs on your wedding venue or if you have any questions that I did not address here, please feel free to message me on my New Creations Wedding Coordination Facebook page.
-Rebecca
Written on January 18, 2012
It’s week two of our six-week series on getting married on a budget and this week learn tips and tricks for saving money on your wedding flowers! (Last week: Saving Money on Invitations).
Flowers are one of the most integral parts of your wedding day’s overall look and theme. Not only are flowers heavy hitters in the look of your wedding, but they can often bring a heavy hit to your wallet. According to Florist Tiffany Saul from offbeatbride.com, wedding florists generally work on a 3x markup. Over 75% of florists use a 5x markup on wedding flowers – this means your costs can add up quick!
Here are some tips and tricks to save money on flowers for your big day:
Set a budget
If you are trying to plan a wedding on a budget, be sure you know how much money you have allocated for floral, and stick to it! Make your florist work within your budget. Don’t hesitate to ask what is a typical budget they work with before you go in for an in-person interview. If you are looking at a florist online and they do beautiful work, but their average budget they work with is over $5,000, more than likely this is not your florist. Narrow it down to about three florists who you have called and who fit your flower budget and set up in-person appointments. At the appointment, ask to see their portfolios of actualweddings they’ve done, not a FTD floral book- this is not their work and don’t be fooled that it is.
Think local and in-season
Once you’ve found a florist who you get along well with, you’ve seen their work and fits within your budget, the next steps are to discuss your floral design with them. One of the biggest cost saving tips is to use as many locally grown flowers as possible. Ask your florist which blooms will be in season during your wedding month. If it’s a December wedding, you may be limited to using a mixture of berries and greens, which keeps it simple and beautiful! On the other hand, during your summer wedding, using locally grown hydrangeas, or garden roses might be the way to go.
Think big
Larger blooms (heads) will often get you more bang for your buck. Think about it, using tiny flowers, berries, and such is going to take a lot more stems to get a high visual impact. Larger headed flowers such as hydrangea’s, lilly’s, rhodies, sunflowers and peonies are going to give you that striking look of ‘a lot’ of flowers with using significantly less stems – therefore cutting down on your cost. Also, think about using a good amount of ‘filler.’ This can often be found locally as well by using ferns, hydrangea leaves, etc.
Get to know your Farmers’ Market
In Seattle we are blessed in the spring and summer months to have some amazing farmers’ markets, not to mention Pike Place year round (although selection does vary). Often, if you are able to form a relationship with your local flower distributer through these markets, you can let them know you are getting married and would like them to provide your flowers. This will ensure not only getting a great deal on your flowers, but that they will order enough of them to cover your wedding in addition to their normal market business. Going the market route does not allow you much control over your color palette either, so if you are committed to having coral as your only flower color, this option may not be for you.
Do be aware however, that you will need to designate someone to go pick up your flowers for you, often on the same day as your wedding (as most farmers markets and weddings are on Saturdays). This does not leave you much room for error.
Markets are great options for the bride who likes that garden feel and who doesn’t stress over the details.
Use the big box wholesale stores and ask a friend
Did you know Costco and Sam’s Club actually offer wedding florals? They do, and they’re a great deal! I personally have just used Costco’s service, so I’ll speak just to that. Check out the Costco Floral website. Here you’ll find multiple packages that often include bulk stems (for your centerpieces), a bridal bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets and all boutonnieres. The ‘standard’ package didn’t happen to work for my bride who had 4 bridesmaids and groomsmen. She was able to call Costco and ask them if they would be willing to modify a few things to make the package fit her needs and they did at no additional charge!
Costco contracts out the items that need assembly such as the bouquet and the boutonniere’s. The rest are just shipped to you a few days prior to the wedding date. In my experience using them, when the bridal bouquet was delivered on wedding day, it was awful. I mean the white petals had brown all around the tops of them, and the size was very small. We were able to make a quick call to Costco’s emergency hotline, and ended up having the florist remake and deliver the new bouquet on time, and it looked MUCH better!
Because the centerpiece stems come in bulk, obviously you need to have someone arrange them. Ask a friend (who is not part of the wedding party) if they would be willing to help you arrange your wedding centerpieces. What we ended up doing for my bride was using river rocks and roses in a small, simple square vase.
This option is definitely for the bride who wants to keep it simple. The box box stores don’t offer a lot of variety, you’re pretty much limited to roses, lilies or hydrangea’s, but you definitely get a great deal! Most of their packages run about $400-$800. Great price! You can also find clear glass vases at a great rate on their website too!
Find a newbie
Ask around. More than likely someone in your family or circle of friends knows somebody who knows somebody who likes doing flowers, or just starting a new floral design business. This can be to your advantage big time! Not only will this person more than likely have a business license – which allows them access to wholesale houses – but their labor cost will be significantly less. When anyone is new in the industry, you’re just trying to get your portfolio built to have something to show future brides. That’s when you can swoop in and often negotiate pricing much more easily than with an established florist. You will probably have to be much more specific in what you’re looking for as well, as they may not quite yet be ready to ‘take your vision and run with it.’
Fake vs. real
This is a hard one for me to take on as I’ll admit, I am not a fan of fake flowers. However, at times they are an effective way to cut cost, and also allow you to pre-assemble your arrangements way before your wedding date. If you have an eye for design, and the skills and patience to do your own arrangements, this may be a great option for you. Be sure you have decided beforehand who you’d like to give the arrangements to when you’re done, otherwise you’re going to end up with a lot of fake flowers at your house. Use coupons for your local craft stores to save on your flowers.
Do NOT DIY!
Okay, this is one of the very few areas where I will put my foot down and tell you you are not allowed to do your own wedding flowers! Did you hear me? You are not allowed!! Ok, I know I’m probably coming across harsh, but as someone who has been in the biz for over six years now, I know that you will have plenty of things to worry about on your wedding day other then your wedding flowers. Hand it off to someone you trust. You will not have time to get ready, take photos, eat, be putting together your arrangements, delivering them, and set them up on your wedding day.
You are a bride, allow yourself to be a bride. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, so delegate and enjoyit. Let yourself take it all in and be able to have the time to process the emotion that will come on the day your life is going to change.
Let flowers be a gift
One of my favorite parts of begin a wedding planner is that generally I get to take home some leftover flowers. It always freshens up my home, smells amazing and reminds me of that couple well after the wedding. Why not offer that same feeling to your guests? Some great ways to decide who takes home your centerpieces are to pre-designate one person at each table who will be taking them home. Maybe as a thank-you to your parents, or as a ‘in-memory’ to your Grandma who just lost her husband. Another way is to play a game during your reception. There are many wedding games that you can find online.
Again, I’d love for you to let me know your moneysaving tips on how you cut costs on your wedding flowers or if you have any questions that I did not address here, please feel free to message me on my New Creations Wedding Coordination Facebook page.
How have you saved on flowers for a wedding? Check back next week to learn about saving money on wedding venues!
-Rebecca
Written on January 12, 2012
Welcome to the first article of our six week series on getting married on a budget! This week we will be covering the fine art of wedding invitations!
Besides shopping for the wedding dress, deciding on your date, and nailing down your venue(s), invitations are one of the first things within the planning process that should be started. As a general rule of thumb, wedding invitations should be mailed out no later than three (3) months prior to the wedding date. This is especially true if you have many guests traveling in from out of town.
There are many options for invitations – ranging from $1.50 a piece to substantially more. Depending on the size of your guest list this can add up fast. But as with most elements for your wedding – you have choices!
Before you begin, determine your budget + needs
Before you even think about design, consider what you will need within your invitation. What’s important to you and what isn’t – things like directions to your venue(s), local hotels close to your venue, fun activities for your guests to do while they’re in town, your RSVP card, and so on. Keep in mind, the more you add to your invitation, the more it will weigh, therefore driving up the cost of postage. Have a budget in mind and try to make your invitation work within that.
The FREE option – Wedding Websites
A more modern alternative to the traditional wedding invitation (and growing in popularity) are wedding websites. Some popular ones can be found on WeddingWire.com or Mywedding.com. These are very user friendly and allow you to share a lot of information to your guests very quickly, and best of all, they’re FREE! Within these sites you can download photos of you and your fiancé, update guests on where you’re registered, spread the save-the-dates, even down to giving your guests a timeline of the wedding day, and keeping track of RSVPs.
TRADITIONAL INVITATIONS
Now if you’re like me and prefer the traditional mailed invitation (there’s just something about opening up a card in the mail), there are ways to cut costs here. There are great DIY wedding invitation websites and I have personally used Cardsandpockets.com for my own wedding invitations and loved them! They offer live online chat options and are available by phone. There are about seven people in the main office, so if you tend to call in a lot (yours truly), you will more than likely get to know them by name, and they offer amazing one-on-one service. There are countless other invitation sites out there, so just do a Google search, and find the site that fits you best.
Shop around online, watch for coupon codes, FREE shipping
Take some time to shop around – both online and locally. Not only will this give you good ideas for design but it will help you find the best deal. If you’re ordering online sign up for the website e-newsletters so you can watch for free shipping or coupon code offers. You can always call or use online chat to ask for a bigger discount – can’t hurt to ask!
Don’t discount a local company that will make your invitations and let you come pick them up. This will save shipping costs. Ask to see last years invitation designs which might be discounted or check online for clearanced designs.
Your design – keep it simple to save
Once you’ve found the site you’re comfortable working with, the next step is to work on design. Be sure you stay consistent with your overall wedding theme, color palette and style. Working through online invitation sites allows you to search through thousands of pre-set templates. This can often be a bit overwhelming. Narrow down your search by entering a few boundaries. You can often enter in a cap of the price you want to spend, the size/style you want, and narrow it down even more by choosing your colors. From there, search through the templates and more than likely, you will find one that fits your criteria.
- Non-standard shapes such as a square will cost you more in postage than the traditional card size.
- Special die-cuts (special shaped paper) will substantially increase the price.
- Embellishments like bows, tissue, embossing and more will substantially increase in your price.
- Stick to black text if you can – adding additional colors means extra costs. Black is easy to read and always classic.
- Stick to an un-lined envelope, a standard shaped card, a set template, and minimal inserts for the best deal.
RSVP card – or not?
As far as invitation inserts are concerned, less is better. Often times you can get your RSVP cards included with your invitation order. A cost-cutting tip here is to order it in a postcard size. Put the recipients address, your return address and the postcard postage on one side, and the other have your wording for your RSVP. The cost difference between actually having your RSVP in an envelope versus just making it a postcard style is $0.29 cents versus your standard card cost of $0.44 cents – right there a savings of $0.15 cents per invitation!
If it were me, I would opt to communicate all my other information via my wedding website, except for directions to the venue. Often, out-of-towners will just bring the invitation with them while they are driving to your venue, and it it nice to have everything all in one place. This can be an at-home print project on regular paper, and either inserted, or glued to the back of your wedding invitation.
DIY invitations
Don’t discount making your own wedding invitations! These days there are so many different options – you can buy pre-made kits from Michaels or JoAnns (make sure and use your coupons!) – and you can dress them up with homemade embellishments. Or you can start from scratch and pick up supplies from a paper store like PaperZone (which by the way is going out of business and has some great discounts right now!).
Last minute checks:
- Proofread - Save yourself the time and money by making sure to proofread, proofread, proofread. Have at least three people read it over to just make sure. You don’t want to order your invitations and then find a glaring typo that requires you to re-order them.
- Confirm postage amount before mailing - Put an invitation together and bring it to the post office to confirm the necessary postage – before mailing them out – this keeps you from overpaying or ending up with them returned to sender.
- Double-check addresses - Also double-check your guest addresses, invitations that are returned to sender cost extra postage – plus they ruin the outside envelope and require another one.
Whatever you choose to do for your invitations – remember it’s just a small part of your big day.
Check back next Wednesday for money saving tips on flowers!
How did you save on wedding invitations? Do you have questions or suggestions about invitations? You can leave a comment on this post or contact Rebecca through her New Creations Wedding Design & Coordination Facebook page.
-Rebecca
About Rebecca
Rebecca Grant is owner of New Creations Wedding Design & Coordination. She has been in the wedding business over six years now, beginning her career in Honolulu, Hawaii, then moving back home to Seattle and launching my business here in November 2009. She’s now one of Seattle’s premiere wedding planners. Because of her experience in Hawaii, her specialty is working with Asia-Pacific Brides; specifically, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Hawaiian and Samoan weddings, however, she also does work a good portion of the time with traditional Western couples.
Rebecca would love to help you with your invitations – whether it’s design, printing ideas or more. This past year she planned a wedding in 20 days only knowing the bride’s favorite colors were pink and green – and she designed the elegant invites pictured at the top of the page.
Written on January 6, 2012
What inspires you? Inspiration for your wedding can be found all around you. In this case, inspiration came for me from a linen sample. You can apply this same principal with the things that surround you and inspire you throughout your wedding day.
One of the services I offer my full-design and coordination clients is a personal and unique wedding idea board. After listening extensively to my clients visions for their wedding day, I take those visions and create a reality. This keeps not only my couples, but the vendors on track for what the overall theme and vision is. It’s a great way to put your words to life.
This example of a wedding idea board was one I just threw together last night. I’ve had this sample linen sitting in my office for over 2 months now, and just got a bee in my bonnet to do something with it.
Searching for purple, orange and pink wedding inspiration yielded a myriad of results in which I wanted to keep with the whimsical, bright theme of the inspiration fabric.
Your favorite teacup, the duvet cover you love, the pattern in your rug? I’d love to hear what inspires you.
Blessings!
Rebecca
Many thanks to Heather of Creative Coverings Inc- Seattle for the fabric samples, and to TheKnot.com for the great selection of inspiration photos!
Written on January 5, 2012
Ok, finally, as promised, here are the rest of the images from Rida and Jeff’s wedding at The Woodmark Hotel last June! I know, I know, I’m horribly behind on my blogs. As a refresher, Rida and Jeff are a Chinese wedding couple I had the privilege of working with. You will see hints of Chinese wedding traditions scattered throughout the photos. There was everything from a Chinese Tea Ceremony to the double happiness symbol on Rida’s Bridal Suite.We chose a color palette of pinks, yellows, and greens with accents of cream.
This wedding was a bit more unique than the traditional weddings held at The Woodmark Hotel. We moved the ceremony out of the tent, onto the lawn are allowing the beautiful views of Lake Washington to really be front and center here. Keeping the decor elements simple for the ceremony really showcased this beautiful setting that is rarely used.
For the reception, we moved into the tent that was able to be pre-set with beautiful linens, florals, and decor. The couple brought in something special with opting out of using the traditional tea lights, and bringing in beautiful Glassy Babies in the color palette of their wedding. Also keeping with Rida and Jeff’s style of very natural and organic, in place of traditional wedding favors, we used reusable shopping bags made out of recycled materials.
One of the best things about working with The Woodmark is that they really pay attention to the small things on your wedding day from providing a post-ceremony cocktail, to a ride in their wooden boat around the lake. An absolute pleasure to work with this venue and the wonderful vendors.
Blessings!
Rebecca
The amazing vendors that made this day a success are:
Wedding Planner: New Creations Weddings
Venue for ceremony and reception: The Woodmark Hotel
Photographer: Alante Photography
Linens and florals: ARIA Style
Videography: Edit 1 Media
Officiant: Annemarie Juhlian
DJ/Emcee: Brandon Ghorley
Written on January 3, 2012
Brides to be- here it is! The Seattle Wedding Show is back! This is an amazing opportunity to scout out your vendors that you may want to work with. This Seattle Wedding Show is an institution here in Seattle showcasing all the latest wedding trends, wedding vendors, and wedding fashion.
New Creations is proud to announce my exclusive partnership with Pottery Barn’s Bridal Gift Registry. You will be able to meet me in person at their booth on Saturday the 7th. Brides who register exclusively at Pottery Barn Bellevue Square’s location will receive 1-hour of complimentary wedding design service with me, hand delivery of a completed idea board after our consultation, and once you book with me to plan your full wedding, you will receive and additional 10% off any Pottery Barn decor you would like to incorporate into the design of your wedding!! This has never been done before and I am proud to be partnering with such a great, reputable company in offering a full-service experience to couples.
On Sunday I will be out there with you showing around some good friends and visiting some of my favorite vendors booths and meeting some new ones.
Here are my biggest words of advice in pre-planning your strategy for your Seattle Wedding Show 2012 experience. Having been a past Bride who has experienced this show first hand from your perspective, here are my best tips and advice.
1. First and foremost- wear comfortable shoes!! Cannot stress enough how important this is. As you walk up and down the aisles of the Seattle Convention Center, if your feet hurt, you will not be focused, and may even become grumpy. So do yourself and your fellow participants a favor, and wear comfy shoes! :)
2. You will be overwhelmed. Have a game plan of searching out the vendors you are specifically looking for. You will have thousands of wedding vendors shoving their flyers in your face hoping to catch the eye of a perspective bride. Take your time! Politely decline to take the flyers of the vendors you are not looking for, and only take the handouts of those vendors you are looking for- who you have talked with. This will pay off big time after you get home to help distinguish who you may want to follow up with, because you will have remembered talking with them.
3. Bring return address envelope labels with you. Remember all those free mailers that get sent to you? Well sometimes they come in handy. Pull out those return address labels with the picture of the cute puppy or the kids crayon drawing on them, and put them to use! This will save your hand and your time. You will be asked countless times for your name, address, email address and phone number. Having pre-printed labels with this information already printed on it will be invaluable.
4. Arrive late. Yes, this is the instance where being a bit late will pay off big time! Especially if you have not pre-purchased your tickets, this is an imperative tip. Most Brides cannot wait to get to the show, somehow thinking begin the first one in the door is the best. All you’re missing is a mob scene. Relax, go get coffee with your girlfriend or mom, and get to the show about an hour and a half or two hours after the doors open. You will have missed the mobs, allowing you a much more pleasant, leisurely experience. There will still be just as much to see, but without the chaos.
Well, there it is folks. Tips to surviving the gauntlet of what is the Seattle Wedding Show. It is this coming weekend, January 7th & 8th, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Tickets are 17$ and can be purchased at the door. For complete wedding vendor information, Seattle Wedding Show information and all the details, check out their website. I’ve linked it on this post.
Written on January 3, 2012
This is a question I get asked a lot. ’Why should I pay someone to perform my wedding versus just having a friend or family member do it?’ Elaine Way of Seattle Wedding Officiants and I had the pleasure of meeting at the Get Engaged Tour this past winter. Since then, she has featured my work on her blog, and been asking me how she can help couples with officiating their wedding. This was the question that came to the top of my mind.
Some of my most favorite weddings have been performed by family or friends, but you really do have to be sure you are asking the right person. Her answers are of course from the perspective of a professional officiant, but she gives good food for thought before you pick that family member to officiate your wedding.
Here is my guest blog post from her website.
One of my colleagues recently asked me this question:
“Many of my couples ask me how can a wedding officiant who has only met them once make their wedding personal vs. having a family member do the ceremony who has known them their whole lives? What would you say are the pros and cons?”
Let me begin by saying that having a family member officiate your wedding ceremony is a lovely idea. Weddings are all about bringing family members and friends together to enjoy a personal moment in a couple’s life. So it would make sense to invite a family member to tie it all together. Having a family member speak about the couple is something that cannot be duplicated by an officiant. Many of the guests will know this speaker personally and will naturally look forward to hearing him/her share the couple’s story. Those are some of the pros.
Here are some of the cons:
- What if the family member gets cold feet? Public speaking isn’t for everyone. If a family member doesn’t have experience with speaking in front of 150-200 people, chances are they are going to be extremely nervous and might freak out at the last minute. Make sure your family member is really comfortable with public speaking.
- What if the family member has a conflict with the couple’s beliefs? The couple could want a nondenominational ceremony and the family member could have strong religious beliefs and want to incorporate something to that affect. Make sure your family member is in agreement with performing a wedding ceremony that complements your religious beliefs.
- What if the family member has a conflict that day and can’t make it? While this day is one of the most important days in a couple’s life, not everyone feels the same way – unfortunately, this includes family members. This person could be travelling from across the country and decide at the last minute that they cannot afford the trip. Confirm with your family member at least 4 weeks and then again in 2 weeks that they are still on board.
- What if the family member just flakes out? (I don’t mean to sound pessimistic but I have received many calls from brides frantic because their family member changed their mind at the last minute.) Families…what can I say? It happens.
- Last but not least, what about the paperwork? Does your family member understand how to fill out the marriage license, including obtaining witnesses? Do they know little details such as the fact that the courthouse requests that the marriage certificate be filled out in black ink? Make sure to go over the wedding packet prior to the ceremony. Call the courthouse with questions if necessary.
Now let’s take a look at the more commonly used option: hiring a professionally trained, licensed and ordained minister. I cannot speak for other officiants, but here are some of the pros of working with me:
- The first thing you are going to get when you hire me is a prompt reply to your inquiry. I pride myself on responding to inquiries usually within one hour. By the time I have received your contact information that you have filled out via my website, I already have 11 pieces of information about you. This allows me to begin building an outline of what it is you and your fiancé are searching for in an officiant.
- Next I will confirm my availability via e-mail and advise you about how to proceed – a quick phone chat is usually the next step where we set up a free one-hour consultation.
- At the consultation the very first thing I will ask you about is “your story”: how and where you met; how long you have been together; the proposal, etc. Next we will talk about your vision for your ceremony. Do you want a non-denominational ceremony; do you want me to read something from the bible; do you want a short ceremony or a long ceremony? I will then go over all the paperwork involved before, during and after the ceremony: the marriage application; whether you are taking your husband’s last name and the process of obtaining a certified copy so that you can legally change your name; filling out the actual paperwork at the ceremony (witness requirements), etc.
- The other element to my consultations is that I not only cover the ceremony portion of the wedding, but I also have a wealth of information about local vendors. Therefore, if you have any missing links for your wedding, i.e. photographer, caterer, etc. I can refer you to someone I know and trust.
- Lastly, I will make myself available before, during and after the ceremony by phone, e-mail, or Skype. When you hire me you get someone who is committed from beginning to end. There really is no end to our relationship actually. I am still in contact with many of my couples as they have their first anniversary or celebrate the birth of their first child.
I can’t really think of any cons. I guarantee that I will be there and while I do have a caveat in my contract that clearly states that if I get hurt and can’t make it, I have six back-up officiants that I work with all year long. By the way, I have officiated hundreds of weddings and I have never missed one!
In summary, you do not want to – and shouldn’t have to stress out about your officiant. Whether it’s a family member or a professional like me, you want to feel comfortable that you have chosen someone you can count on. You want someone who is knowledgeable about the ceremony process before, during and after the ceremony. So take the time to make the decision of whether you want Uncle Joe or a licensed and ordained minister who has officiated hundreds of weddings and has all the answers you need to have a seamless ceremony experience!
About Seattle Wedding Officiants
Since 2009, Seattle Wedding Officiants has performed nondenominational, civil ceremonies throughout Western Washington. Elaine Way, owner of Seattle Wedding Officiants, works with couples to create ceremonies that reflect their style and personality. In addition, Seattle Wedding Officiants relies on an extensive list of contacts with local wedding vendors and service providers to help couples with vendor referrals, if needed. For more information, visit www.seattleweddingofficiants.com or call 206-406-7919.
