Be Your Own Wedding Consultant
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~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§ T H E C O S T E F F E C T I V E B R I D E Vol 2, No. 4 June 4, 2001 ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§: Kelly Kons, Editor, kelly@bwedd.com This newsletter is distributed by subscription only. If you wish to unsubscribe, you can find instructions at the end of this E-mail newsletter. ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§ CREATE YOUR PERSONAL WEDDING WEB SITE AT BRILLIANT WEDDING PAGES http://Bwedd.com/ ** Whatever Your Heart Designs ** * Choose from Multiple High-Quality Designs * Share Your Stories and Photos with Your Family and Friends * Unique URL of your choice i.e. http://www.bwedd.com/lorianddave/default.asp?p=ceb11 * Featuring a 1-Day FREE trial * Enhanced Features, including a Personalized Wedding Quiz * Check out our Spring Sale: http://www.Bwedd.com/Couples/default.asp?p=ceb11 ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§: The Cost-Effective Bride \ Kós-t?-'fek-tiv Brid \ n. (2001): The about-to-be-married woman that desires the tangible, emotional, and memorable benefits of her wedding to outweigh the money and time spent on producing those benefits. She is both elegant and fun, emotional and sensible. She understands that more expensive does not necessarily equal better. She is you. ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§: FEATURED ARTICLE BE YOUR OWN CONSULTANT While doing research for another article, I came across a wedding planning website that had an online budget- maker for the bride and groom-to-be. I thought to myself, "Why not? Let's give it a whirl." So, I entered the amount that I spent on my wedding and took a look at what the figures it spit out were. To my dismay, I did not agree with what I saw - at all. Probably what I disliked the most was that it had 5-10% of my budget going to a wedding consultant. Sheesh! What does a consultant do that can't be done by you or me? So, here's a way to save a quick $1500 on your wedding - don't hire a wedding consultant. Be a do-it- yourself-bride. I think you will be glad you did. I know that most women are extremely busy these days, but it personally brought me a lot of joy and a sense of accomplishment to plan our wedding. (And it wasn't that difficult - a bit stressful, maybe, but not so hard.) So, buck up and let me help you begin consulting for your own wedding. First, we need to begin with your attitude and expectations. Your attitude should be this - a wedding is a day, a marriage is a lifetime. Your expectations should be this - there is no such thing as a fairy tale wedding. You make it perfect because of the personality that you add to it. Things go wrong everyday, why wouldn't they on your wedding day? Once you have adjusted your attitude and expectations to be those of the above, you will find it a lot easier and less stressful to plan for your wedding. If you are an absolute perfectionist then, believe it or not, I still think you should plan your own wedding - it's the only way to guarantee that you will plan it the way that you want it, and if anything does go wrong, you will have no one to blame or be mad at. ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§: Have you heard? Our Spring Sale will save you a lot of green! If you sign up for a wedding website right now, you will get your subscription FREE for a whole year! Plus, you can get your welcome message for FREE for the whole year, too. Sign up now! http://www.Bwedd.com/PageBuilder/SignUp.asp?p=ceb11 ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§: Next, sit down with a blank calendar, your PDA, or an organizer, and begin to map out the months between today and your wedding. You might want to start by writing a list of the things that you will need to do. If you need a little help with this, go to a local wedding vendor (of any kind) and I can almost guarantee that they will have a wedding guide or planner booklet free of charge. But don't forget, these booklets want to sell you their services, so they often tell you that you are going to need everything under the sun - just remember your budget - be creative and come up with your own ideas. If the booklet says make appointment for wedding cake and you are inviting 75 people, instead write in your organizer, "Contact Aunt Jane to see if she will make her famous chocolate chip cookie bars," etc. Checklists are very handy and will help you out with your planning. In the coming months, make sure to bring your organizer with you everywhere - or at least a pen and paper. That way, when you have a great idea you can write it down right away. And, if you accomplish something you can cross it off your list. Planning your wedding is going to be a lot of work, but I think that you will find that it is not as difficult as you might think. Most wedding vendors are open late in the evening to accommodate your busy schedule - just be sure to make appointments early on, so you can get the time that you want and the attention you deserve. And, you will probably find that there are a couple friends or family members who will stick by you and help you out with anything you need. Just keep the right attitude, stick with your budget, keep a pen and paper with you at all times, and plan, plan, plan. Most importantly, have fun! Hopefully, this is the only time in your life that you will get to plan your wedding, so enjoy it! And, if you need any advice, I am here to help. Until next time, good luck and happy planning! Sincerely, Kelly Kons, Editor http://www.Bwedd.com/TrueCompanions/default.asp?p=ceb11 ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§ ** Do you have questions about this or past articles? Please drop me a line. I would love to hear from you and help you out in any way I can! ** - Kelly Kons, Editor kelly@bwedd.com ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§ Copyright (c) 2001 Brilliance Web Design, Inc. If you enjoy this newsletter, we would be honored to have you forward it to your friends, however, we ask that you only reproduce it in its entirety. Subscriptions to this newsletter are free. The Cost Effective Bride is published bi-weekly. TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Visit http://www.bwedd.com/couples/cebnewsletter.asp, enter your e-mail address and press "Remove Me" To subscribe: Visit http://www.bwedd.com/couples/cebnewsletter.asp, enter your e-mail address and press "Add Me" ~:§:~~:§:~~:§:THE COST EFFECTIVE BRIDE ~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~ http://www.bwedd.com/ Brilliant Wedding Pages Kelly Kons, Editor kelly@bwedd.com P.O. Box 667 Hales Corners, WI 53130 ~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§:~~:§: