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You can save a great deal of money by hosting your ceremony outside like in a beautiful park, at the beach, on a hilltop or even in your yard.

Of course, having the ceremony in your backyard is the cheapest. Here are some of the formalities that go with having an outdoor ceremony that can save you money all around.

• The best way is to have the service in your backyard
• Choose an open public forum that does not generally have a great deal of people trying to access it, and get the right permits etc. beforehand
• Opting for an ordained minister rather than a priest etc. is often cheaper. Just be sure to check that whoever you choose can legally perform wedding ceremonies in your area.
• You can forego the chairs and have the guests standing as long as you host a short ceremony. A nice white or themed linen on the ground for guests to stand on is an elegant touch
• When going with outdoor ceremony, people often opt for the portable arch because it is easy to transport and just as elegant
• Of course, you can always host your ceremony at city hall and save your money for the reception. Record the ceremony and host a viewing during the reception

Outdoor ceremonies open the door to many themes that can greatly reduce the cost of your wedding and reception. Hawaiian themes and beach themes can help you save money on formal wear, and decorations etc. because people having an outdoor wedding are often casually or island dressed.

It makes the ceremony more comfortable for the guests too because they are also dressed casually.

Outdoor ceremonies can immediately switch from ceremony to reception which saves some extra money on travel fees too, such as limos etc. The Hawaiian theme will be a great way to have a luau or pig roast reception.

You might want to consider a theme that lets you have a picnic for your reception party or a beach party or bonfire.

All of these tips were designed to help you find deals and discounts. It’s a nice way to share your vows with family and friends without spending a fortune on the ceremony.

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Perhaps the most important thing that must be done when you are ready to begin planning your wedding is to first create your budget. Your budget is important because it is almost impossible to know what you can afford for each aspect of the wedding if you don’t give yourself a limit to the overall spending costs. For most people, creating the budget is the hardest job to do because you want to have the nicest and most memorable wedding that you can afford.

The days when the wedding is paid for by the parents of the bride are practically gone now. Parents will often contribute to the wedding cost as a gift to the couple, but it rather rare for parents to cover the whole cost of the wedding these days.

Usually it’s because the parents simply can’t afford it, but couples today often prefer to pay for their own weddings because it ensures that they can do it the way that they want to without interference.

A lot of the time, parents will forego paying for the wedding and pay for the honeymoon instead. Basically this makes creating your own budget very important; especially if you are paying for both the wedding and the honeymoon yourself.

These days, 4 out of 5 couples pay for their own wedding and it helps to know how your budget should be broken down.

When creating your budget, you will first begin with the overall amount that you can afford to spend. The average wedding today costs approximately $19,000. This is not a definite, but this is what the figures currently show.

Now you will need to take that starting amount and apply it to an actual separate dollar amount. If you are not good at percentages, you can always utilize the internet and check with the various websites that offer you free or cheap wedding budget calculators that will do it for you.

With these calculators, all that you have to do is give it the total budget amount and then it will calculate for you how much money in dollars that you will have to spend on each aspect of your wedding.

Once you have figured out the dollar amount that you can spend on each aspect of the wedding, you can then begin to create a chart that will itemize the list for you. I have included a quick table to help you out in this area.

Category(what must be done) Goal (what you want for what must be done)
Reception
Ceremony
Photography/Videography
Catering
Rings
Attire
Music
Flowers
Honeymoon
Miscellaneous
decorations

What this table is meant to show you is what needs to be done, but the blank areas are designed as a means of bringing out the dream of it all into reality. You have to make a list of all of the things that you will need to get in order to fulfill your wedding hopes.

This is necessary in order to know if what you dream of can even be afforded within your set budget. If it can’t, you will have to do any or all of the following:
• Lower the guest list
• Forego some of the services
• Lessen the wedding party
• Forget the extras like limos

It is with the budget that you can set realistic goals for your wedding and determine whether or not your budget is realistic. If it isn’t, you will have to change or get rid of something. It’s that simple.

Once you have decided what you want to include and what you can afford, it is on to the planning stage.

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Short and to the point…

In browsing the web I came across a rather disturbing site regarding Kay Jewelers. You may want to read this before choosing them for your wedding rings as your ring is one of the most important purchases you’ll make.

http://www.rateitall.com/i-22192-kay-jewelers.aspx

You’ll need to use your own judgement here…feel free to comment!

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