Published on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 by Fran Hansen Gone are the days of the bride's family paying for the wedding, or the groom's parents getting off of the hook completely! Today's couples are actually picking up a greater portion of the wedding costs themselves rather than going to their parents. The first step in coming up with your wedding budget is to sit down together with a pencil, paper and a calculator. Fi...

Published on Thursday, November 4, 2010 by Ask Fran The Early Bird Gets the Dream Wedding A wedding is one of  life's  most important events, and as such, it is meant to be a memorable, beautiful and poignant affair.  But before the actual ceremony can take place,  you know there is a tremendous amount of planning that needs to be done. A bride has a certain vision of her ideal wedding – where it is...

Published on Friday, December 4, 2009 by Fran Hansen When trying to save money and still have an amazing wedding, seriously think about scheduling your nuptials for the "off season!" During the off-season, reception venues are typically less expensive for obvious reasons. There are not nearly as many brides competing for the space - meaning you have a greater chance for a discount. Of course, off-season depends en...

Published on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 by Fran Hansen Plan your wedding for a Friday or Sunday night and save big bucks!  Saturdays are obviously the most popular day for weddings – but popular comes at a premium price. Unbelievable but true, if you were to decide on a mid-week wedding at your favorite hotel or reception venue you could save as much as 35% off the Saturday evening bid for the exact same services an...

Published on Monday, November 23, 2009 by Ask Fran Planning a wedding is one of the most expensive things most of us ever do, except buying a home or a new car. We all want our event to be the most amazing, most unique, and most memorable but if we’re on a tight budget that might seem pretty challenging. The good news is that with some creative ideas and a little bit of time you can cut your costs without having ...

Published on Friday, October 9, 2009 by Fran Hansen Strictly speaking, most etiquette rules might frown on CD wedding invitations, but they are becoming more popular everyday and guests love them! While you can have them created by a professional, if you have the right equipment and a bit of creativity you can put them together on your own for a fraction of the cost. So to make your own wedding cd, here’s what you...

Published on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Fran Hansen While the wedding cake will normally be on the to-do list of a bride, the stand for the cake is sometimes forgotten. It is also something you don’t want to spend a fortune on or by the time you get to the stand your budget can be stretched to the limit. Fortunately there are many ways around this problem. To begin with, if you have a chosen to have a tradit...

Published on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Ask Fran Little girls all dream about their perfect wedding with lots of guests, an extravagant dress and beautiful flowers. Unfortunately the dream and the costs involved don’t always meet eye to eye. Having a sit-down meal as well as providing the drinks or having an open bar can add up to a massive amount at the end of the day. Removing just a few people from you...

Published on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 by Fran Hansen You may decide that to stay ob budget means no honeymoon for the two of you!  But stop and rethink your options.  What could be more cost friendly than a honeymoon in your own town, or in a nearby city?  It's a place you know, but maybe not as well as you'd like. The travel money you would have spent driving to another destination, or flying to another st...

Published on Friday, January 9, 2009 by Ask Fran Hiring a wedding planner can cost a lot and there is something special about creating your own unique wedding just as you envisioned it all the time. While the centerpieces are important to the overall ambiance and visual enhancement of your wedding it doesn’t have to take a big cut out of your budget. There are lots of unique and easy ideas you can try with ...