The Style Savvy Bride: Budget Savvy

Not So Big Wedding Show - Team Williams

This past Sunday I participated in a brand new kind of bridal show. The Not So Big Wedding $5,000.00 budget challenge at Rockwood Manor in Potomac, MD. It was a great turnout - my team consisted of Mixology Bartending, Bennett Catering, DJ Shelton and myself Urban Engagements for planing and design. The Peach Martinis were crowd favorite and the peach cobbler was to die for!

Here is how is works:

NSBW Challenge Teams Present: Elegant Weddings for $15K or Less FOR 65 guests!
Here is the tab for Team Williams:

Bennett Catering

Martini bar by Mixology

Venue rental – Seneca Lodge

Photography by Footprint Fotos

3 tier butter cream wedding cake

Flowers and reception rentals

Day of wedding Coordination by

Urban Engagements

DJ Shelton for 4 hours

Reception Stationery

GRAND TOTAL 14,917.00

Pricing is available for a limited time, contact me for details.

Many many thanks to my team of fantastic professionals that made the show so worth while!

More photos on Facebook

Nov 10, 2010 5:30:00 AM | Budget Savvy, Catering, Social Savvy (Events)

Dash to the alter: the 8 week engagement plan, Part 3

The budget

Ok so we have covered hiring a planner, the guest list and now we will tackle the budget. Here at Style Savvy Bride we like to make things easy for our readers.

Allotted time: One week

Great expectations

Here is the breakdown of an $18,000.00 budget:

Apparel	1080	0.06
Flowers	720	0.04
Photography	1440	0.08
Stationary	540	0.03
Rings	900	0.05
Misc	360	0.02
Ceremony	540	0.03
Rehearsal dinner	1440	0.08
Honeymoon	1800	0.1
Reception	8460	0.47
Favors & Gifts	720	0.04
Sum	$18,000	1

Sounded like a lot of money until you break up the areas as to where the money is spent. So lets get to business; the who and the what of the budget.

Who: Who pays what?

Awkward! This can make for difficult conversation, but it is really important to know how much you have to work with up front. These days both the bride's and the groom's families to help pay for the wedding, as well as the couple themselves. Have this conversation early to make planning easier on everyone.

What: Do I need to do to prepare to spend this amount of money?

Do your research, attend some bridal shows to meet vendors face to face or rely on your planner recommend great vendors. Find out what services cost. Then decide which areas you are going to spend more money on and which areas you are willing to economize. Tip: If you must splurge on one thing I recommend photography or a videographer.

This will probably be the least fun part of wedding planning, and perhaps the most stressful, but it is the most important. You may dream of orchid and lilies but carnations and roses may be your best bet and can just as fabulous. Not all things have to be expensive to results in a beautiful wedding. I have seen and planned weddings that were below average in budget but were beautiful and memorable for all involved. Get creative and don’t concern yourself with what’s in the wedding mags and “real weddings”.

There is more that can be said about budgeting and wedding finances - way too much to put here in just one post. Please share in the comments below, don’t be shy!

Find part one here and part two here

Hire savvy!

Oct 1, 2010 5:53:00 AM | Budget Savvy, Plan Savvy

Dash to the alter: the 8 week engagement plan, Part 2

Ok ladies, so you have your planner and you set your date. Now is the time to get to the guest. You have a mere 60 days to plan this wonderful day. Meet up with your fiancé and parents to hash out the invitees. Pene and Will want to invite a max of 85 guest to their wedding and have set a budget of $18,000.00. The wedding day is set for November 13^th 2010, here is the bride and groom’s budget, calendar and to do list

Guest lists can be tricky - Here are some tips to help you navigate this sometime tricky part of wedding planning.

1) Use your budget to help determine how many people you can realistically feed and entertain. $18,000.00 / 85 people = $211.76 per guest

2) Once you've established your budget and how far it can stretch, sit down with your fiance and compile a list of the people who you want to celebrate with on your wedding day. Need some perspective? Try this, what 85 people would be/have been there for you no matter what. Who are the people who have supported your relationship thru thick and thin? If you were on Survivor, who would you pick for your tribe? Just kidding, you know who means the most to you, name them and give equal opportunity to both the grooms side and brides side.

3) Involve your parents. You may be footing the bill but they may have friends who played a role in your childhood making them worthy of an invite. The parents' list comes second to the couple’s list, but it certainly should be considered.

4) After combining everyone's must haves, this is where it gets sticky. Remember you have 60 days total to plan this out and your invites must be mailed out by October 13^th. Try your best to keep you individual list down. Try to keep in mind that you parents may want to invite there neighbor and friend of 30 years that watched you grow up. If you want 85 guest invited that’s about 42 people and one wild card for either side.

5) Decide whether or not you will be including children. It is not okay to write "no children please" or "adult reception" on the invitations. Here is how to address this issue on your invitations:

Q: How do we say that no children are allowed at weddings?

A: This is a very touchy subject for some people. It is never appropriate to put "no children" on the invitation. The name(s) on the envelope indicate the people that are invited. If a child or children are not on the envelope, they are not invited. In our experience, a few phone calls can be made to spread the word if you feel that it is necessary.

7) If someone is invited to your shower, they should receive an invitation to your wedding.

In short, yes! If your coworkers throw you an informal bash at the office your not required to send an invite but do send a thank you note.

Missed part one? Click here. How have you managed your guest list, share your story in the comments below.

Hire savvy!

Sep 21, 2010 5:43:00 AM | Budget Savvy, Plan Savvy

Dash to the alter: the 8 week engagement plan

Sometime we just don’t want to wait a year to tie the knot, maybe you want to start a family or get married before you go back graduate school or maybe it’s been five years and WE’RE READY! Either way, I am about to create a wedding planning scenario for you. Our couple wanta breif engagement, only 8 weeks! I have set the wedding date to Saturday, November 13^th 2010. The bride, lets call her Penelope and the Groom lets call him William. They want a chapel ceremony and an intimate family celebration full of comfort foods and good wine. Today is the day we kick off their 60 day dash to the alter.

A professional wedding consultant is invaluable during the planning process. Obviously I'm a bit biased, but one of the biggest regrets in their wedding planning that married women have was not hiring a planner to help them pull their vision together.

Hire a planner, Day one! Yes I am a little biased but the truth is chances are you need a professional planner and planners need you right back.

Often when you are looking for wedding vendors who suit your needs, you will run across a vendor that advertises that they also will coordinate your wedding too. Generally they include this as more of an add on rather than their specialty. They typically don’t have any consultant training and are limited in assistance and expertise. Here are some of the vendors that will sometime offer planning services, be aware of the difference so you know what you’re getting and if you really need it. According toSasha Souza, wedding and Event Designer extraordinare, here are the details and difference.

Ceremony Site Coordinator

Often hired by the church/ synagogue /wedding site to make sure that their rules are followed — such as no lights on the video camera, no throwing of rice or birdseed, who can and cannot stand on the altar. Professional wedding coordinators always work with these people to ensure that your ceremony is as individual as you are, while still following the guidelines set up by the church/synagogue/site.

Reception Site Coordinator

This person is usually a salesperson who works in the catering or sales office of the site. Typically, they are NOT trained wedding coordinators. It is their job to make sure that the right linens are on the table and that everything seems to be running smoothly. If you ask for vendor referrals, you will usually get a list of companies who have done weddings at their site before. They do not check references of these companies and may have only worked with them once or twice.

Caterer

Caterers are a wonderful addition to your wedding. They create imaginative menus best suited to your wedding style and budget. However, caterers are not wedding coordinators. Situations have come up where a caterer has told a bride not to waste her money on a wedding designer. When the day came, details were not complete and one of the suggested vendors did not show up. They also do not help you with complicated questions on wedding etiquette and they aren’t at the church to make sure that all the details are completed.

Let your vendors do what they are best at. A wedding planner is able to cover all of the above; ceremony, reception and working with the caterer. Wedding planners/coordinators can pull all the peices of your wedding day puzzle together and make a masterpeice of it all.

What do you think so far? Is it possible to plan a wedding in 60 days? Let us know in the comments section and sign up for the RSS feed to keep up!

Hire savvy!

Photo couresy of Pacific Weddings

Sep 13, 2010 3:37:00 AM | Budget Savvy, Plan Savvy