Champagne Taste with a Beer Budget

As silly as it sounds, many brides come to me with grandiose ideas and a budget that frankly just does not support those ideas. It's okay to want the dream wedding and the fairy tale ending, as long as you are realistic about what you budget allows you to do. If you are creative and willing to compromise, you can have a truly elegant wedding for not a lot of money. I planned my own wedding for a total of about $3,000. This included the ceremony at a bed and breakfast, a small reception afterward with finger foods, a cake and a champagne toast. I only had about 30 guests, but it was perfect! I got several compliments on what a great wedding it was! As you plan your special tday try to remember what a wedding is really about. It's not about fancy flowers, elaborate cake decorations and designer dresses. It's about celebrating love and cherishing a moment when friends and family can come together to remember that love is what is makes the world go round.

Trend Report 2009

Getting married in soon? Check out the latest trends for 2009 as reported by January/February issue of Bridal Guide.

Decor- Use lots of eye popping color. Use bold colors and lights and/or candles to create a really colorful and magical ambiance. Also make the bar a focal point, instead of having several small bars, try to have one long bar that stretches along a wall.

Cocktails- Incorporate mint and fresh squeezed lime juice into some of the drinks. They give drinks a refreshing feel. Consider having trays passed around with beverages on them. These concoctions could be placed in smaller glasses, like shot glasses, to give them a more chic look.

Food- Use local ingredients. Regional food is the way to go for 2009. Cannot decide between beef or chicken? Sliced New York Strip is #1.

Flowers- Roses are not the "in" bloom anymore. Use lush romantic bright blooms instead. You can also mix up the height of the centerpieces, have some tall and some short ones. Place these centerpieces in colored vases if possible, color is hot this season!

Cakes- Tall and slender is the way to go in 2009! Use bold colors and glam it up with some pearls or jeweled buckles, whatever will give it a shiny or sparkly flare. Keep your flavors simple so the guests can indulge in the high quality ingredients.

For more ideas and trends for 2009, check out Bridal Guide's January/Frebruary edition or www.bridalguide.com.

Make the Most of your Flowers

Here is a money saving tip that makes the most of the your bouquets.

Use the bride's bouquet for the centerpiece of the sweetheart table, or if the bride and groom are sitting at the head table with the rest of the wedding party, use her bouquet as the center most floral arrangement. Then place the bridesmaids' bouquets in vases on either side of the center. You can also substitute some of your other centerpieces with the bridesmaids' bouquets if you don't want to use them at the head table.

Be creative and make the most of the money you spend on your flowers!