Wedding Etiquette Hell

In need of a little wedding stress relief?

Check out the stories of Bridezillas and Groomonsters at www.EtiquetteHell.com.

You'll be hooked in no time. And you thought your mother-in-law was a demon...

Are you experiencing wedding etiquette hell? Leave me a comment.






(Photo by Mash Down Babylon, Devon Hollahan, used under terms http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en.)

Ipod Wedding: Savings Strategy or Wedding Nightmare?

Ever since the invention of the Ipod, DJs have been sweating it out, fearing their replacement by a tiny machine. If a bride can download all her favorite songs into a tiny Ipod and play whatever she wants at her wedding…does that mean she won’t need ME?

This is a sore spot for a lot of wedding DJs. But not for me! I’ll tell you why…

I encourage all my brides to THINK FOR THEMSELVES. You need to decide what’s important to you and what’s right for you and DO IT, come hell or high water. That’s the attitude you need to plan your Dream Wedding on your terms.

In some situations, an Ipod wedding might be the way to go. But there are some points to consider…

You won’t have a trained professional to do your announcement and guide the flow of events. You and your guests will be all on your own.

You won’t have an expert reading the crowd and taking requests to maximize the dance floor.

If something goes wrong with the equipment, you’re out of luck…your wedding will be nothing but DEAD AIR.

WARNING: DON’T have an Ipod wedding if you want a packed dance floor or if you have special events planned, like a First Dance and Toasts. It will be a Ipod disaster.

If you want your guests to have the best time of their lives, a wedding they’ll be talking about for years…you NEED a skilled professional entertainer. It’s like they say (whoever they is), “Your DJ makes or breaks your party.”

On the other hand, you should consider an Ipod wedding IF:

You don’t have a dance floor. (For instance, you’re renting a restaurant.)

You aren't having any special events.

You’re hosting a cocktail party type reception and you aren't expecting your guests to dance.

Think about it like this: have you ever been to a house party and had a great time? Guests sort of wander in and out of the house, grab food when they want it, chat and listen to background music. Everyone has a great time. But it’s NOT a wedding.

If you try the "house party vibe" in a room with a big, empty dance floor, it’s going to feel really awkward.

So that’s my professional opinion. As in all things, decide for yourself. And if you have any questions (or if you think I’m crazy) shoot me an email.

(Photo by Tim De Backer www.hln.be under terms http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en.)

Online Wedding Savings

Always on the lookout for a bargain, I found some great ways to save on your online purchases, so I'm passing them on to you.

(In case you're new to the idea, using the internet to buy things for your wedding can save you A BUNDLE.)

www.retailmenot.com You can search alphabetically, by category, or by the over 15,000 stores listed. Before you buy an item online, check this site to see if you can find a discount code. They also have a printing coupons section.

www.fatwallet.com This site gives you a rebate for purchases made through their site. It's not as good as a coupon, since the rebate takes up to 3 weeks to process. Just don't forget to submit your rebate!

www.dealcatcher.com You get listings of coupons, rebates, and weekly specials.

www.pricegrabber.com This site lets you search for the best prices online by seller, product, retailer or ratings. Just make sure you sort by price.

Found a great online savings site? Leave me a comment and we'll share the info.

Shop Esty.com To Make Your Wedding Unique

If you're looking for ways to make your wedding unique, you have GOT to check out Etsy.

They have an awesome selection of unique, hand crafted items that make perfect wedding accessories, favors and invitations...especially if you like to think outside the box.

Even if you're not in the market for hand crafted goods, just do a search for the term "wedding" and you'll get thousands of ideas. If you're a crafty gal, you might be able to pull them off yourself.

Or if you're all thumbs, like me, you can leave the craftiness to the experts...

Find any fun, unique touches for your wedding? Leave a comment and share the wealth!

Do You Buy the Wedding Hype?

I just read a great article on The Wedding Dish blog about a wedding "Reality Check" on the cost of wedding gowns.

What we think we're "supposed" to spend for a wedding dress--and many other wedding services--is WAY more than average and WAY more than you have to pay.

What's going on here? It's enough to send a peaceful, excited bride straight to Bridezilla-ville!

DON'T buy the hype.

Wedding magazines and television shows exploit the glitzy, ultra-expensive weddings that are way out of the average budget. Don't let them tell you how much you should spend for an "average" wedding!

With a little research, a dash of creativity, and a lot of determination, you CAN have your Dream Wedding on your budget. Believe it!

What do you think? Does it drive you crazy, too? Leave me a comment.

Stephanie

5 Steps To Stop Wedding Stress

Planning your wedding is supposed to be the best time of your life...and sometimes it is...but it's also one of the most stressful things you will EVER do.

I went through six weeks of HELL before my wedding. I had headaches, stomach aches and wedding nightmares worrying about...

Trying to make everyone happy.

Getting everything done on time.

Sticking to my budget AND getting what I wanted.

Dealing with family "drama."

Sound familiar?

When you feel wedding stress coming on, STOP and follow these 5 Steps to Wedding Stress Relief.

1. Get Clear On What You Want. When overwhelmed with details, other people's loud and obnoxious opinions, and the pressure of planning your Dream Wedding, ask yourself, "What do I want? What is important to ME?"

2. Think About the Big Picture. What is this wedding all about? Why all the fuss? Five, ten or twenty years down the road, what will you remember as important to you?

3. Visualize Your Big Day. Close your eyes, breathe, and imagine yourself coming down the aisle. You are at your most beautiful, inside and out, and you see your beauty reflected in the eyes of your loved ones and your sweetheart as you walk toward him. Get a clear, vivid, emotional picture of what it's really all about. Dwell on the "good stuff."

4. Count Your Blessings. Take out a piece of paper and write down all the things you are thankful for. Don't stop until you've filled that piece of paper front and back with all the blessings--big and little--in your life.

5. Consider Other Perspectives. Ask yourself, "What ELSE could this mean?"

It's okay to feel stressed out. It happened to me, too. Allow yourself to feel it, then choose your focus. You CAN plan your wedding and enjoy it, too.

Your Friend,

Stephanie

P.S. What's stressing you out and how are you dealing with it? Leave me a comment.

Your Dream Wedding Dress...For Less

You CAN find your dream wedding dress...at prices up to 94% off retail!

How do I know? Because brides are doing it. Brides just like you.

But that bargain dress isn't just going to leap off the hanger and into your arms.

The first step is knowing what you want. Like any Dream Wedding Diva, you need an EDUCATION in wedding gowns.

Check out this article for a quick study in the "Anatomy of a Wedding Gown." http://wedding.theknot.com/bridal-fashion/wedding-dress-shopping/articles/wedding-gown-anatomy-lesson.aspx

Then browse The Knot photo gallery at http://weddings.theknot.com/weddingdress/bs_main.aspx?gowntype=1 to find out which designers, styles and cuts give you that "tingly bride feeling."

You can't get what you want until you KNOW what you want. Once you know...anything is possible.

How did YOU find your dress for less? Leave me a comment with your story.

Stephanie

P.S. Learn the 3 easy ways to nab your dream dress for less at www.SimplyYourSpecialDay.com.

(Photo by Lukasz Dunikowski, terms at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en.)

The Search For the Budget Wedding: Wed Without DEBT

It's official. People are freaked out about the economy.

It's only natural that it's going to affect your wedding and the decisions you make.

But DON'T lose heart! You can still have your Dream Wedding, on your terms. In fact, those wedding vendors are even more likely to cut you a deal to get your business. Think advantage!

You've got to get CREATIVE and COMMITTED to making it happen.

Check out this article for some of the ways couples are getting married for less without sacrificing their dreams. http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080928/BUSINESS/809280341 I spill even more insider savings ideas at www.SimplyYourSpecialDay.com.

The key is to do what's right for you. Forget about "traditional" and "supposed to." Make it work for YOU.

How is the economy affecting your wedding plans? Leave me a comment.



(Photo by Dan Simpson http://www.threadless.com/ used under terms at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en.)

Checklist Wedding Wonders

Got tasks to do for your wedding?

You bet you do.

You need a wedding checklist to keep you on track. Without one, you'll end up stressed out and panicked with a wicked case of "Wedding Overwhelm."

Problem is, most of the wedding checklists out there just don't fit every bride. They just don't make one size fits all to-do lists like they used to.

I'm working on a checklist on my website at http://www.simplyyourspecialday.com/wedding/checklist.cfm. Now it's in its infancy stages--so be gentle--but what to you think? What's missing? What would make this more useful for YOU?

Leave me a comment with your thoughts and I'll get my computer geeks to work immediately. (Gotta love those minions!)

(Photo courtesy of www.puckphotos.com used with permission http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en)

How To Make Your Wedding Unique...Without Breaking the Bank

You want--and DESERVE--to have the wedding of your dreams...in a beautiful location surrounded by your closest family and friends...having the time of your lives...a wedding that really represents YOU.

A unique wedding.

But with over 2 million weddings held in the United States each year, how is yours supposed to be unique?



No, you don't have to have your wedding in a bunker like the couple in this photo...



You just need to use your two most powerful assets...



YOU and your CREATIVITY.

What's the one thing that no other wedding in the history of weddings has ever had?

You and your fiance. Only your wedding will have your particular set of interests, quirks, and personality traits.

All you need to do is use your creativity to find ways to express it on your wedding day.

Tell your love story. Incorporate pictures from your past. Highlight your hobbies, obsessions, the things you have in common...or the ways you are completely different.

Your special events are a great place to display your unique personality. A couple ideas involving creative centerpiece give aways from our recent weddings:

• Our groom, Rob, is a Texas Hold Em Poker fanatic. So we're hiding 5 playing cards underneath the centerpiece at each table. Each guest will have 2 cards hidden under their plate. The guest with the best hand takes home the centerpiece. Yee haw!
• Karin and Cooper printed up an index card telling the details of how they met and hid it under the plate of one guest at each table. The guest with the card had to tell the story to the rest of the table, and in return, they got to take home the centerpiece.

Cool, eh? Bet you've never seen THAT at a wedding. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Start using your creativity to show off what makes you unique. It's a sure fire way to a unique wedding your guests will remember forever. Now hop to it!

Your Friend & Wedding Coach,

Stephanie

P.S. I dish on lots more unique reception ideas at www.SimplyYourSpecialDay.com. Check it out and then post a comment on my blog.

(Photo by Puja Parakh http://www.pujaparakh.com. See restrictions on use at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.en.)

Tell Me Your Dream Wedding Savings Story and Win $1,000!

My Dream Wedding Story Contest is going on RIGHT NOW. And the feedback has been great!

Have you downloaded my book yet? It's only FREE until Oct 5th. What are you waiting for?

Are you committed to having your Dream Wedding on budget, or what?

You'll learn how to plan your dream wedding on your budget, create a timeline wedding, and make your wedding unique.

This is your chance to not only learn how to easily save BIG on planning your wedding--the winner gets an EXTRA $1,000 for her Dream Wedding. It's a Win-Win!

Here's what to do:

1. Download my book and get on my mailing list at http://www.simplyyourspecialday.com/.
2. Use what you learn to rack up the savings for your Dream Wedding.
3. Post your savings story right here on my blog.

I'll read through all the stories and pick the winner on December 15th.

It's easy, but you've got to get in action NOW. You've got less than 3 months to save as much as you can.

GUIDELINES TO KEEP IN MIND FOR YOUR SAVINGS STORY

• You must be a bride or groom planning your own actual wedding.
• Your Dream Wedding savings must happen between SEPTEMBER 17th and DECEMBER 15th as a result of the techniques you've learned from my book and newsletter. (It isn't fair to everyone if we count savings before the contest began.)
• Your story should be personal, engaging and well-told. It should demonstrate the specific challenges you faced, what you learned, how you implemented what you learned, and how much money you saved. A true, relatable story and demonstrating that you really learned something are MUCH more important the the $ amount of your savings.
• The winner agrees to a telephone interview with me to discuss your savings story.

That's it! Let the fun begin...

Stephanie

P.S. If you have questions about the contest or have trouble getting your copy of the book, please email me at Stephanie@SimplyYourSpecialDay.com.

My Book Is Done!

My book is finally complete!

My heart felt thanks go out to all my past and future brides who helped by sharing their stories. Your courage and honesty has made it possible for me to put together a book that will help every bride plan her Dream Wedding--on budget and with her sanity intact. Your passion to have the wedding your dreams inspired me every step of the way.

NOW it's time to share the knowledge!

Every bride DESERVES the wedding of her dreams--no matter what her budget--and I am determined to help make it happen.

Thank you so much!

Stephanie

P.S. I'm celebrating the completion of my book with a Dream Wedding Story contest. The winner gets $1,000 toward her Dream Wedding! More info on this coming over the next day or two. Keep your eyes peeled--you are definitely going to want in on this one!

Win $1,000 Toward Your Dream Wedding!

I'm celebrating the completion of How To Plan Your Dream Wedding--On YOUR Budget--In Only 10 Days with a Dream Wedding Story Contest.



The winner gets $1,000 toward her Dream Wedding!



Here's how to enter:

1. Download my eBook.


2. Use what you learn to rack up the savings on your Dream Wedding.


3. Post your savings story right here in my blog.

I'll read through all your stories. The bride with the best savings story WINS $1,000.

It's that simple!

But wait--it gets even BETTER.

Until October 5th, you can download my book for FREE. Not only will you learn how to save $1,000's on your Dream Wedding...you qualify to win and extra $1,000 just by telling your story. And you don't even have to buy the book!

You've got nothing to lose...and $1,000 to gain...along with the wedding of your dreams.

Go to www.SimplyYourSpecialDay.com/free to download your copy TODAY. And let the savings begin.

Good luck!

Stephanie

P.S. The book is only free until October 5th. After that, you'll have to BUY it. So act now!

P.P.S. The winner will be chosen on December 15, 2008. That gives you almost 3 months to save as much as possible on your Dream Wedding. I KNOW you can do it.

Dream Day Wedding

Do you know what your Dream Day Wedding will be like?

Most of us have been dreaming about our wedding for YEARS, ever since we were little girls.

After giving an impressive, vivid description of her dream wedding day, one of my brides told me she that she'd been with her fiance for seven years...and she'd been planning her Dream Wedding day for five of them. She knew exactly what she wanted!

I remember imagining a wedding like Annie in the Father of the Bride movie. (Except it would never snow on my swans!)

But what if you DON'T know what you want for your Dream Day wedding?

You can't get what you want until you know what you want.

The single most important thing you can do to make your wedding a dream day is to KNOW WHAT YOU WANT.

"If you don't know what you want, you end up with a lot you don't." Chuck Palahniuk

Until you know specifically what you want for your dream wedding day, you can't get it.

On the other hand, when you know what you want for your wedding day, it becomes POSSIBLE. It becomes a GOAL. And that's right next door to a done deal.

I want you to become a Dream Wedding Diva. A Dream Wedding Diva knows what she wants for her Dream Wedding. She transforms her dreams into GOALS, because that's the only way they become real.

Once you know what you want, WRITE IT DOWN. Look at it every day. Be determined to make your Dream Day Wedding a reality.

So are you ready to transform your wedding dreams into reality?

It starts with a few simple steps. Here's how to do it:

• Take out your Dream Wedding journal. (If you don't have one, get one. This exercise makes a fantastic first journal entry.)
• Write down your Dream Wedding Day in as much detail as you can muster. Even if all you know is how you want to feel, write that down.
• Shorten your Dream Wedding into a few sentences you can memorize. Look at it every day. Say it out loud. Let it really sink into your unconscious mind so that it guides every decision you make for your wedding.

Pretty simple, right?

It starts with a dream. Then dreams written down become goals. And goals become REALITY.

Believe in yourself. You WILL have your Dream Day Wedding. I know you can do it!

Happy planning,

Stephanie

P.S. Leave me a comment about your Dream Wedding. Or send your specific wedding planning frustrations and challenges to Stephanie@SimplyYourSpecialDay.com so that I can answer them right here. I love hearing from you!

Bride Saves an Easy $400-700 On Her Dress

One of my brides recently emailed me with her wedding savings story:

"Hi Stephanie,

I've been meaning to e-mail you the biggest budget saver I've encountered so far.

I found my dress in a magazine and called all over NY to see who had it so I could try it on. Girls can go to the designers web sites and see who is licensed to carry their product.

Anyway, long story short, I tried on my dress, loved it, called around to all the licensed dealers again to ask how much they could order it for and saved between $400 and $700. It's amazing how much money you can save by making a few phone calls!

Angel"

So what is YOUR biggest budget saving secret so far? Leave me a comment with your savings story.

Stephanie

Wedding On a Budget; You're Not Alone!

The numbers are in and you'll be hearing it everywhere you go:

"The average cost of a wedding in 2008 is $28,700." (as reported by TheWeddingReport.com)

Now before you scream and pull out your hair in frustration, wondering how you will ever have your Dream Wedding with an average or below average budget, take heart. The REAL numbers tell a different story.

If you're like me, when you hear the word "average," you figure that means half the weddings cost more than $28,700 and half cost less. But that's not true!

In fact, 80% of the weddings in 2008 will cost LESS than $28,700.

Here's a breakdown of the REAL story behind the average 2008 wedding budget. You can read the whole article on The Great Wedding Network blog at http://marc-fuller.blogspot.com/2008/05/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics-average.html.

The truth is that most brides spend much less than $28,000 on their weddings. And it IS possible to have your Dream Wedding on a budget that's less than "average."

So don't let the statistics scare you. You CAN have your Dream Wedding on a budget that won't leave you broke or in debt.

I'm sharing the secrets to doing just that in my Dream Wedding newsletter. If you haven't signed up yet, join us at www.SimplyYourSpecialDay.com. More good stuff to come!

Advice From Past Brides

My first blog post. Yippee!

(Can you tell I’m excited?)

This is a GREAT way for you to ask me questions and leave comments about my Dream Wedding newsletter or anything wedding-related that’s on your mind.

Here’s a recent question that came in from a bride:

Question: I’d like to hear from past brides. What would they have done differently?

Answer: I surveyed my brides from the past year after their weddings. Here’s what some of them said about what they would have done differently if they had it to do all over again.

“I would have done the guest list FIRST. I procrastinated about it because I thought it would be such a pain—and it was—but it would have made everything so much easier.”

“I freaked out and realized at the end of the wedding that my photographer never took pictures of our grandmothers—and now we’ll never get that opportunity again. If we had a VERY specific list for him, maybe that could have been avoided.”

“I did wait until a little late to order my dress because I thought that if I did it too early I would wish I got something else…I really waited too long for a lot of the pieces. I guess really you never have too much time. It could have gone smoother if I had made decisions early on.”

“Maybe I would have done more if money was not a concern, but I would have eventually looked back and regretted wasted money on a photobooth, etc. I loved my wedding, but wished I could have been less rushed in the morning and calmer throughout the getting ready and picture part. By the time I calmed down the wedding was flying by.”

“8 months of planning was not enough…I felt rushed by most vendors to book now!”

“I was excited about Do It Yourself projects in the beginning; I made my invitations and centerpieces. I had so much time planning, but then I stressed because I waited until the last minute.”

So now, what are YOUR frustrations in planning your Dream Wedding? What answers are YOU looking for?

I will find the answers for you and post them here. So ask away!