I am not a bride-to-be but I thought this idea my save someone from possible embarrassment on their big day. Bring along in your purse/bag, a needle, mini scissors & thread in the color of your dress and your bridesmaid’s dresses. When I got married 8 1/2 years ago I did this and was so happy I did. One of my bridesmaids had been dancing when the stitching on her zipper gave away. She and I scrambled to the bathroom and did a “quick fix” on her dress so she could enjoy the rest of the evening. Hope this helps someone.

Kim H.
Wedding Ideas …
Most veils that I’ve looked at were in the price range of $175.00 to $200.00, and the thought of spending that much money on a headband and tulle was painful. So I went to a craft store and bought the supplies accessories to have a veil made for just $21.00. Then I took it to a seamstress to have it assembled the way I wanted it. She was able to create the veil I wanted for an additional $10.00, allowing me to save money, and spend it somewhere else within the wedding.

Anonymous

Wedding Ideas …
When choosing your bridal party make sure that everyone gets along. Even though it’s your day, there is nothing worse than a bridal party that doesn’t get along. If they are uncomfortable standing next to one another it will end up affecting how comfortable you feel. I was recently asked to be in my brothers wedding and was looking forward to it until I found out that my fiancés ex-girlfriend is also a bridesmaid. To top it off they also asked one of my ex-boyfriends! My fiancé (the best man) and I joke that they should have them walk down the isle together, but I know that secretly it bothers him as well.

Anonymous
San Diego, CA
Wedding Ideas …
I work at a Print Shop. We get a lot of brides coming in to buy napkins and accessories, and you wouldn’t believe how happy they are. Our invitations are cheaper than the ones they bought in the Bridal Shops, and we get them faster – often in a week or less. Go to your local printer and save!

Also, rent your dress. You’ll save a bundle. I don’t know anyone who ever wore her wedding dress again!

I got taken for a ride by a bridal shop on a bridesmaid dress when I was in a friend’s wedding. I paid $200 for a dress that I never got to try on (it had to be special ordered), couldn’t take back, and it wasn’t sewn right. Some of the seams weren’t sewn, or threads were hanging out. They wanted to charge me $50 to fix it! Now that I am engaged, I plan on just ordering dresses for the bridesmaids out of regular mail order catalogs like Sears. That way, the bridesmaids will only have to spend $30 – $90 on a dress and they’ll look great!

Sandra Barkalow
Wedding Ideas …
Figure out a general budget early on in the planning. If family offers to help financially, ask them what limitations and expectations they have before you accept any money. If parents expect to assist in the planning, find out to what extent. For example, if the parents are wanting to host the reception, ask them beforehand if YOU will be the decision maker. Many brides accept financial help from family, then realize the parents feel they have the right to choose the dinner, band, etc., despite what the couple wants. It’s your wedding, go for what YOU want. Don’t get stuck having a wedding the person paying for it wants. Find out before!! If they do feel they will make the decisions, consider paying for the entire wedding yourselves.

Melissa & Derek
Westfield, MA

 

Wedding Ideas …

Ladies, check eBay for bridal gowns. Some are new, some have only been worn once. I purchased a beautiful, stunning raw silk gown for less than $100.00. You can’t go wrong. It’s worth a glance.

Anonymous
Wedding Ideas …
If your engagement is over 8 months, wait a little while to choose your attendants. Weddings seem to bring out the best and worst in people. Over time, many things can happen in a friendship and in people’s personalities. Some for the better, some for the worse. You don’t want someone standing with you that is not really there for you.
If you sense a person is just there to play the role, either don’t ask them, or kindly suggest they step down after discussing any “problems”. If not, you may regret it later on.

Melissa & Derek
Westfield, MA
Wedding Ideas …
Regardless of whether you are planning on buying your wedding gown or having one made, go to the boutiques and try on TONS!! Try styles and colors you wouldn’t normally lean towards; you never know. Even if you have one made for you, this will give you a big head start.

Until you actually start trying them on, you’ll never know what really looks right. Doing this saved me from making a MAJOR mistake with color. I am making my gown as was dead set against white; I fell in love with a champagne beige/pink I saw in a fabric store and planned to combine it with off white. I took a swatch to the local salon, found a bridesmaid dress in that color, (no bridal gowns in that shade) and tried it on. I all but vanished…the color was horrible and totally washed me out! After trying various shades, pure white was by far the best and I love it now. Thank goodness I thought to try it out before sewing up my whole gown!! So march over to the salon and try, try, TRY! Good luck and have fun!

Janell and Mike
Los Angeles, California

 
Wedding Ideas …
We have lots of little ones in my family, under five years of age. I plan on having a small trailer next to banquet room for naps/changing/feeding/etc. I’m checking into hire a baby-sitter for the afternoon, will try to use one of the regular sitters that the kids are familiar with. Also going to try to make little gift packs for the toddlers to keep them busy and entertained and set up a play area. We’ll see if all of this works so the parents can enjoy the day also!

Crystal

 

Wedding Ideas …
I find a lot of these ideas entertaining, and I wish I would have found this site when I was getting married! I married in just 6 short weeks from the time I got engaged. Everything went off without a problem. Don’t get me wrong – this wasn’t a little wedding. It was a full blown church wedding and reception. I regret nothing. I didn’t have a lot of extra time to think about ways to spend more money. Your wedding day is supposed to be the best day of your life, and what could be better then standing beside and being united to the man that you love? Nothing could be better than that. What I’m getting at is that if you forget something, or if something doesn’t go quite right, take a minute and remember why you are doing this in the first place. And as long as you and your husband are happy (and stress-free) nothing else should matter.

Terry