You can save money on your wedding cake by
just being a little creative. This cake was a basic
plain white cake purchased at a local bakery for
$99. The bride then added some ribbons and
bows that matched her wedding colors and a
cake topper she purchased at Michaels to make
this a spectacular cake. It is great ideas like this
that will keep you within your wedding budget.
Helpful tips ...
This page is dedicated to providing
links to recommended vendors,
money saving ideas to save you
money, and general information to
help you. In our 28 years of
business we have worked with and
experienced many great weddings,
we have also experienced some not
so great weddings, Hopefully the
articles and snippets on this page
will help organize the dream
wedding you always wished for and
help you avoid mistakes.
links to recommended vendors,
money saving ideas to save you
money, and general information to
help you. In our 28 years of
business we have worked with and
experienced many great weddings,
we have also experienced some not
so great weddings, Hopefully the
articles and snippets on this page
will help organize the dream
wedding you always wished for and
help you avoid mistakes.
Lisa Englert gives us great advice on planning your wedding.
You just got engaged…. CONGRATS!!! The moment you have waited for your entire life is finally here. Your handsome groom to be popped the question (he
was so nervous and cute!), you can’t stop looking at your sparkling ring, and daydreams of drop dead gorgeous dresses have taken over all your thoughts.
And then you realize….you still have a wedding to plan!!! We are here to ease those moments of complete panic and help you plan the wedding of your
dreams.
First things first, set a budget already girl!! We ALL have one and we ALL hate that we have one. Keep in mind this doesn’t need to be an exact to the penny
figure and it doesn’t have to be set in stone. Once you figure out if this is going to be a $5,000 wedding or a $50,000 wedding (can we get an invite???) you
will at least have a starting point to move forward. Hint: Discuss this with your Groom Obvious I know, but trust me, this will save a lot of stress throughout
the process if you just hash it out now. Most people do not realize how much money goes into planning a wedding until you actually have to do it. Talk to your
parents if they are planning to help with the wedding costs. Putting off money matters until the last minute will guarantee a Bridezilla/Groomzilla
appearance…and no one wants that!
Now take a deep breath, and realize that everything you want in a wedding (within reason) is attainable within your budget. You just need to get a little
creative, keep an open mind, don’t panic, and keep reading…….
And so it begins…..
Over the next 6 to 12 months, you are going to have to make more decisions than you ever thought possible, all to plan one big day, YOUR WEDDING!! Let’s
get down to business! First let’s pick a date. You won’t be able to book any vendors until you have a date locked down. Things to keep in mind when picking
a date, Friday weddings are sometimes cheaper. Some people have even started doing Sunday weddings (not recommended for big blowouts… but for
smaller more casual affairs, why not?) Some dates may have a significance to you and your fiancé, maybe an anniversary, your first date, your parents got
married that same weekend 20 years ago (how romantic!) Also keep in mind that some dates will be more popular and vendors will book up quickly such as
Valentine’s Day, 12-12-12, or 10-11-12 (for this year). Winter weddings are considered off season in most places and sometimes significantly cheaper. Fall
weddings can also sometimes offer discounted prices. Once you have your date chosen you can drop all of the other major details into place.
You just got engaged…. CONGRATS!!! The moment you have waited for your entire life is finally here. Your handsome groom to be popped the question (he
was so nervous and cute!), you can’t stop looking at your sparkling ring, and daydreams of drop dead gorgeous dresses have taken over all your thoughts.
And then you realize….you still have a wedding to plan!!! We are here to ease those moments of complete panic and help you plan the wedding of your
dreams.
First things first, set a budget already girl!! We ALL have one and we ALL hate that we have one. Keep in mind this doesn’t need to be an exact to the penny
figure and it doesn’t have to be set in stone. Once you figure out if this is going to be a $5,000 wedding or a $50,000 wedding (can we get an invite???) you
will at least have a starting point to move forward. Hint: Discuss this with your Groom Obvious I know, but trust me, this will save a lot of stress throughout
the process if you just hash it out now. Most people do not realize how much money goes into planning a wedding until you actually have to do it. Talk to your
parents if they are planning to help with the wedding costs. Putting off money matters until the last minute will guarantee a Bridezilla/Groomzilla
appearance…and no one wants that!
Now take a deep breath, and realize that everything you want in a wedding (within reason) is attainable within your budget. You just need to get a little
creative, keep an open mind, don’t panic, and keep reading…….
And so it begins…..
Over the next 6 to 12 months, you are going to have to make more decisions than you ever thought possible, all to plan one big day, YOUR WEDDING!! Let’s
get down to business! First let’s pick a date. You won’t be able to book any vendors until you have a date locked down. Things to keep in mind when picking
a date, Friday weddings are sometimes cheaper. Some people have even started doing Sunday weddings (not recommended for big blowouts… but for
smaller more casual affairs, why not?) Some dates may have a significance to you and your fiancé, maybe an anniversary, your first date, your parents got
married that same weekend 20 years ago (how romantic!) Also keep in mind that some dates will be more popular and vendors will book up quickly such as
Valentine’s Day, 12-12-12, or 10-11-12 (for this year). Winter weddings are considered off season in most places and sometimes significantly cheaper. Fall
weddings can also sometimes offer discounted prices. Once you have your date chosen you can drop all of the other major details into place.
Lisa Englert
How to score the dress of your dreams…..on a budget
Shortly after you get engaged, you are standing in line at the grocery store and the bridal
magazines start to catch your eye. You grab one, take it home, start flipping through the
bevy of gorgeous dresses only to realize that none of them have prices on them! Even after
you google your little heart out, you will still be hard pressed to find a price listed for that
dream dress that you are praying you can afford. Bridal stores want you to come inside, try
things on, and hopefully fall so hopelessly in love with a dress that you won’t be able to
leave without making a purchase.
What they don’t tell you is their prices are marked up, they charge you extra for alterations,
and you’ll have to wait about 6 months for your order to come in. Enter online dress
wholesalers like Netbride.com and Houseofbrides.com. Its sites like this that make it
possible to fall in love with that designer dress and not break the bank.
Find a few dresses that you love, whether it be in a magazine, online, or at a bridal store. I
encourage you to go to the bridal stores, try on that dress if available, or something with a
similar fit and style to see what looks right on you and also look into the pricing while you
are there. Go to the wholesaler websites, send them an email with the designer and style
number and you would be AMAZED at how much cheaper the dress will be. Typically they
can offer you the exact same dress as the bridal stores, but for on average 40% cheaper.
On top of the amazing pricing they are able to give to you, there are also additional perks to
ordering from retailers like these. They also run additional deals such as offering no sales
tax (on a $500 dress in NY State that saved you $45 right there) and free shipping (always a
bonus!). If that’s not enough incentive for you, they also offer promotions on other
merchandise that you will need, such as money towards wedding day accessories like
veils, headpieces, and shoes.
In my case, I ordered designer dress Allure 8752 from Netbride.com and was offered no
tax, free shipping, $100 towards a veil and/or headpiece and $50 towards shoes. The dress
shipped right to my house, I purchased a $20 steamer from Target to make it look picture
perfect, and took it to a seamstress for alterations (I just needed the length shortened).
This was a seven layer dress. Some bridal stores will charge for alterations by the layer.
**This goes for your bridesmaids dresses too.**I highly recommend the Alteration Station
on Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls. They are very affordable and super fast! By super fast
I mean my dress was down in about a week during peak wedding season.
Shortly after you get engaged, you are standing in line at the grocery store and the bridal
magazines start to catch your eye. You grab one, take it home, start flipping through the
bevy of gorgeous dresses only to realize that none of them have prices on them! Even after
you google your little heart out, you will still be hard pressed to find a price listed for that
dream dress that you are praying you can afford. Bridal stores want you to come inside, try
things on, and hopefully fall so hopelessly in love with a dress that you won’t be able to
leave without making a purchase.
What they don’t tell you is their prices are marked up, they charge you extra for alterations,
and you’ll have to wait about 6 months for your order to come in. Enter online dress
wholesalers like Netbride.com and Houseofbrides.com. Its sites like this that make it
possible to fall in love with that designer dress and not break the bank.
Find a few dresses that you love, whether it be in a magazine, online, or at a bridal store. I
encourage you to go to the bridal stores, try on that dress if available, or something with a
similar fit and style to see what looks right on you and also look into the pricing while you
are there. Go to the wholesaler websites, send them an email with the designer and style
number and you would be AMAZED at how much cheaper the dress will be. Typically they
can offer you the exact same dress as the bridal stores, but for on average 40% cheaper.
On top of the amazing pricing they are able to give to you, there are also additional perks to
ordering from retailers like these. They also run additional deals such as offering no sales
tax (on a $500 dress in NY State that saved you $45 right there) and free shipping (always a
bonus!). If that’s not enough incentive for you, they also offer promotions on other
merchandise that you will need, such as money towards wedding day accessories like
veils, headpieces, and shoes.
In my case, I ordered designer dress Allure 8752 from Netbride.com and was offered no
tax, free shipping, $100 towards a veil and/or headpiece and $50 towards shoes. The dress
shipped right to my house, I purchased a $20 steamer from Target to make it look picture
perfect, and took it to a seamstress for alterations (I just needed the length shortened).
This was a seven layer dress. Some bridal stores will charge for alterations by the layer.
**This goes for your bridesmaids dresses too.**I highly recommend the Alteration Station
on Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls. They are very affordable and super fast! By super fast
I mean my dress was down in about a week during peak wedding season.
DIY Cardbox Tutorial:
Cute, simple, cardbox for under $10
What you will need:
3 stackable cardboard boxes (one large, one medium, one small)
clear tape
glue
scissors
pencil
wrapping paper
cardstock or scrapbook paper
ribbon, artificial flowers, other embellishments of your choice
Start by finding 3 cardboard boxes that you can stack on top of eachother to look like a pile of presents. The
large box will be on the bottom, the medium one in the middle, and the smallest one on top.
The largest box will act as the base. Set the medium box on top and trace the outline. Using the outline as a
guide, carefully cut a large opening into the large box approximately one to two inches smaller than the outline.
Wrap the box with wrapping paper to match your wedding colors. Be sure to cut out the opening once again.
Carefully cut a large opening in the bottom of the medium box approximately one to two inches smaller than the
box itself. This will allow cards to drop all the way to the bottom base. You will also need to cut a narrow
opening in the front of the middle box big enough to slide the cards through. Wrap the box with wrapping paper
of your choice and make sure to cut out the openings once again.
Stack the boxes on top of eachother. Be sure to line up the openings. Secure with tape or glue.
Wrap the smallest box with wrapping paper of your choice. Place on top of the two boxes. Secure with tape or
glue.
Make a sign out of cardstock that reads “Cards” so guests will recognize the card box and not mistake it for a
pile of wedding gifts. Attach to the front of the box.
Decorate with cascading ribbons, bows, artificial flowers, sequins, jewels, maybe a monogram, feathers, faux
pearls, lace, whatever will match best with your wedding style. Get creative!
Cute, simple, cardbox for under $10
What you will need:
3 stackable cardboard boxes (one large, one medium, one small)
clear tape
glue
scissors
pencil
wrapping paper
cardstock or scrapbook paper
ribbon, artificial flowers, other embellishments of your choice
Start by finding 3 cardboard boxes that you can stack on top of eachother to look like a pile of presents. The
large box will be on the bottom, the medium one in the middle, and the smallest one on top.
The largest box will act as the base. Set the medium box on top and trace the outline. Using the outline as a
guide, carefully cut a large opening into the large box approximately one to two inches smaller than the outline.
Wrap the box with wrapping paper to match your wedding colors. Be sure to cut out the opening once again.
Carefully cut a large opening in the bottom of the medium box approximately one to two inches smaller than the
box itself. This will allow cards to drop all the way to the bottom base. You will also need to cut a narrow
opening in the front of the middle box big enough to slide the cards through. Wrap the box with wrapping paper
of your choice and make sure to cut out the openings once again.
Stack the boxes on top of eachother. Be sure to line up the openings. Secure with tape or glue.
Wrap the smallest box with wrapping paper of your choice. Place on top of the two boxes. Secure with tape or
glue.
Make a sign out of cardstock that reads “Cards” so guests will recognize the card box and not mistake it for a
pile of wedding gifts. Attach to the front of the box.
Decorate with cascading ribbons, bows, artificial flowers, sequins, jewels, maybe a monogram, feathers, faux
pearls, lace, whatever will match best with your wedding style. Get creative!
We found this site to be great for saving money. Everything you
need for wedding accessories all at very reasonable prices.
Check them out and maybe even get a few inspirations of your
own.
need for wedding accessories all at very reasonable prices.
Check them out and maybe even get a few inspirations of your
own.
Be your own florist…..it’s easier than you think!
Do you dream of fabulous wedding flowers but cringe at the thought of florist prices? Why not take on the task of creating your own wedding flowers? Floral wholesalers can offer flower orders in bulk for much, much
cheaper than your local florist. The key to this is buying in bulk. If you want to go minimal on the flowers, don’t have a lot of bridesmaids, or want a lot of different varieties of flowers in your bouquet than this option may not
be for you.
Flower wholesalers such as http://www.fiftyflowers.com/, give you the opportunity to buy large quantities of flowers and will deliver them right to your home on a date that you pre determine at the time of ordering. They have
a HUGE selection of flowers in every style and color imaginable! And for those of you who may be creatively challenged, they even have DIY wedding flower combo kits, where they send you a mix of flowers that they have
pre selected and pretty much take all of the guesswork out of what type of will flowers look good together. Best of all, delivery on wedding flowers is FREE!
We took the simple, classic approach with our wedding flowers. We ordered 200 medium stemmed Vendela ivory roses. From this we were able to make a bridal bouquet (approximately 40 roses), 3 bridesmaids bouquets
(approximately 25 roses each) 3 mini flower girl bouquets (approximately 15 roses each), 5 boutineers, and in lieu of corsages we gave a single rose to the mothers/stepmothers/grandmothers during the wedding
ceremony….and we had plenty of leftovers. I wanted to order extra so I would have my pick of the biggest and best flowers from my order.
The website recommends to order your flowers 2 days ahead of time. So for a Saturday wedding, we had them delivered on the Thursday before (this worked out great!) Our wedding flowers were delivered by noon. You
want to make sure that you are going to be there, one to sign off on the delivery and two to make sure the flowers get into water right away. After you unpackage the flowers, you will need to cut the stems off and get them
in water right away. This allows the flowers to soak up extra water and stay as fresh as possible. The flowers are also shipped with what is called “guard petals”. This refers to the outer layer of petals. This layer will look
wilted and discolored but don’t panic! You just need to pick off the outer layer and underneath will be your beautiful roses. Let the flowers soak up as much water as possible overnight. You may have to check the water
level and refill several times.
Before assembling your bouquets, you will want to remember one important step….remove the thorns from your roses. You can do this by using a kitchen knife or a rose de thorning tool. Carefully cut the thorns off. I
enlisted my bridesmaids to help.
Do you dream of fabulous wedding flowers but cringe at the thought of florist prices? Why not take on the task of creating your own wedding flowers? Floral wholesalers can offer flower orders in bulk for much, much
cheaper than your local florist. The key to this is buying in bulk. If you want to go minimal on the flowers, don’t have a lot of bridesmaids, or want a lot of different varieties of flowers in your bouquet than this option may not
be for you.
Flower wholesalers such as http://www.fiftyflowers.com/, give you the opportunity to buy large quantities of flowers and will deliver them right to your home on a date that you pre determine at the time of ordering. They have
a HUGE selection of flowers in every style and color imaginable! And for those of you who may be creatively challenged, they even have DIY wedding flower combo kits, where they send you a mix of flowers that they have
pre selected and pretty much take all of the guesswork out of what type of will flowers look good together. Best of all, delivery on wedding flowers is FREE!
We took the simple, classic approach with our wedding flowers. We ordered 200 medium stemmed Vendela ivory roses. From this we were able to make a bridal bouquet (approximately 40 roses), 3 bridesmaids bouquets
(approximately 25 roses each) 3 mini flower girl bouquets (approximately 15 roses each), 5 boutineers, and in lieu of corsages we gave a single rose to the mothers/stepmothers/grandmothers during the wedding
ceremony….and we had plenty of leftovers. I wanted to order extra so I would have my pick of the biggest and best flowers from my order.
The website recommends to order your flowers 2 days ahead of time. So for a Saturday wedding, we had them delivered on the Thursday before (this worked out great!) Our wedding flowers were delivered by noon. You
want to make sure that you are going to be there, one to sign off on the delivery and two to make sure the flowers get into water right away. After you unpackage the flowers, you will need to cut the stems off and get them
in water right away. This allows the flowers to soak up extra water and stay as fresh as possible. The flowers are also shipped with what is called “guard petals”. This refers to the outer layer of petals. This layer will look
wilted and discolored but don’t panic! You just need to pick off the outer layer and underneath will be your beautiful roses. Let the flowers soak up as much water as possible overnight. You may have to check the water
level and refill several times.
Before assembling your bouquets, you will want to remember one important step….remove the thorns from your roses. You can do this by using a kitchen knife or a rose de thorning tool. Carefully cut the thorns off. I
enlisted my bridesmaids to help.
To assemble a bouquet, first pick a base flower. Pick the biggest, prettiest flower and this will serve as your center focal point. This will also be the highest point in your bouquet. Next start to line flowers around the base to
form a tight circle. Be sure that none of these flowers are higher than your base. After you gather about 10 flowers into a circle surrounding the base, secure the stems with floral tape. The floral tape will stick to itself. Wind
the floral tape around the flowers several times until they are tightly secured. Continue placing roses around the outside until you have the desired size and shape for your bouquet. Once you have the desired size and
shape, secure tightly with floral tape once again. Cut the stems to the desired length. The stems should all be the same length. You will need between 20 to 40 roses for a bridal bouquet depending on how big you want it.
We used 40 for mine and it was good and sturdy. Repeat for as many bouquets as you need to make. I did this the day before my wedding with my bridesmaids. Everyone helped out and it went by fast!
After the bouquets are finished, you will need to wrap them. You can use thick satin ribbon, or a swatch of fabric. For my bouquet we used an ivory satin swatch that I got off the clearance rack at Joann fabrics. We simply
folded under the ends (they were frayed a bit) wrapped around the stems and secured with floral pins. Be sure to push the pins in a downward direction along the seam and not straight into the stems or you could poke
right through to the other side. We used ribbon for the bridesmaids bouquets. Start at the top and tightly wind ribbon around the stems and down towards the bottom. Secure with floral pins. Be sure to leave about a half
inch of stems sticking out at the bottom. Fill a glass with half an inch of water and stand your bouquets in them until you are ready to use. We decorated bouquets wraps with bows and criss-crossing ribbons to match the
wedding colors. Every girl had a little bit of her own style in her bouquet.
Our bouquets served double duty and acted as decoration for the wedding reception. Each girl had a vase at the head table to stick her bouquet in. Instead of getting tossed aside, stepped on, or lost, we continued to use
them as a pretty decorative piece.
We also used fiftyflowers.com to order our wedding reception centerpieces. They offer pre made centerpiece arrangements in every color to match any wedding theme. We purchased 24 glass vases from thedollartree.
com (you can buy these in stores or buy them by the case on the website). We filled the bottom of each vase with decorative rocks (also purchased from the dollar tree). We ordered the Pink Sky centerpieces from
fiftyflowers.com. They were already arranged and we just stuck them in the vases and had gorgeous fresh flowers on every table. They really looked spectacular. At the end of the night everyone wanted to take them home
and we received sooo many compliments on them. Everyone couldn’t believe that we had done them ourselves!
Doing our flowers this way was a little bit of extra work but TOTALLY worth it. We ended up with bridal bouquets for the entire wedding party (7 bouquets in total),
form a tight circle. Be sure that none of these flowers are higher than your base. After you gather about 10 flowers into a circle surrounding the base, secure the stems with floral tape. The floral tape will stick to itself. Wind
the floral tape around the flowers several times until they are tightly secured. Continue placing roses around the outside until you have the desired size and shape for your bouquet. Once you have the desired size and
shape, secure tightly with floral tape once again. Cut the stems to the desired length. The stems should all be the same length. You will need between 20 to 40 roses for a bridal bouquet depending on how big you want it.
We used 40 for mine and it was good and sturdy. Repeat for as many bouquets as you need to make. I did this the day before my wedding with my bridesmaids. Everyone helped out and it went by fast!
After the bouquets are finished, you will need to wrap them. You can use thick satin ribbon, or a swatch of fabric. For my bouquet we used an ivory satin swatch that I got off the clearance rack at Joann fabrics. We simply
folded under the ends (they were frayed a bit) wrapped around the stems and secured with floral pins. Be sure to push the pins in a downward direction along the seam and not straight into the stems or you could poke
right through to the other side. We used ribbon for the bridesmaids bouquets. Start at the top and tightly wind ribbon around the stems and down towards the bottom. Secure with floral pins. Be sure to leave about a half
inch of stems sticking out at the bottom. Fill a glass with half an inch of water and stand your bouquets in them until you are ready to use. We decorated bouquets wraps with bows and criss-crossing ribbons to match the
wedding colors. Every girl had a little bit of her own style in her bouquet.
Our bouquets served double duty and acted as decoration for the wedding reception. Each girl had a vase at the head table to stick her bouquet in. Instead of getting tossed aside, stepped on, or lost, we continued to use
them as a pretty decorative piece.
We also used fiftyflowers.com to order our wedding reception centerpieces. They offer pre made centerpiece arrangements in every color to match any wedding theme. We purchased 24 glass vases from thedollartree.
com (you can buy these in stores or buy them by the case on the website). We filled the bottom of each vase with decorative rocks (also purchased from the dollar tree). We ordered the Pink Sky centerpieces from
fiftyflowers.com. They were already arranged and we just stuck them in the vases and had gorgeous fresh flowers on every table. They really looked spectacular. At the end of the night everyone wanted to take them home
and we received sooo many compliments on them. Everyone couldn’t believe that we had done them ourselves!
Doing our flowers this way was a little bit of extra work but TOTALLY worth it. We ended up with bridal bouquets for the entire wedding party (7 bouquets in total),
boutineers for all the guys, single roses for the parents, and 20 centerpieces all for under $500! You really won’t beat that anywhere!! And in this day and age, if you are still nervous about doing this yourself, there are
always youtube videos out there to get you through it.
always youtube videos out there to get you through it.
Turn your Engagement
Pictures into Your Guestbook!
A great way to get double duty out of your engagement
pictures is to transform them into a photo guestbook to
use at your reception. You are going to need a guestbook
anyways and afterwards this will make a great coffee
table photo book and a great conversation piece for your
home. It’s such a nice way to be able to display your
engagement shoot pics because let’s face it…you are
going to want to use any available wall space to
showcase your amazing wedding pictures!!
Talk to your photographer about helping to set this up.
There are also options like Vistaprint and Shutterfly out
there to guide you through the process. Pick colors and
themes that will coordinate with your wedding style. Be
sure to include your names and wedding date on the front
cover. Also be sure to include blank spaces or pages for
your guests to sign and leave their best wishes.
Here is a pic of our guestbook for inspiration. Don’t forget
to bring a pen for guests to sign with. We purchased our
pen at Michaels in the wedding section with a 40%
coupon. We have also included a template for the sign we
made to go with the guestbook. We printed it out on
regular computer printer, cut it down to size, and then
double mounted it with scrapbook paper to match our
wedding colors.
Pictures into Your Guestbook!
A great way to get double duty out of your engagement
pictures is to transform them into a photo guestbook to
use at your reception. You are going to need a guestbook
anyways and afterwards this will make a great coffee
table photo book and a great conversation piece for your
home. It’s such a nice way to be able to display your
engagement shoot pics because let’s face it…you are
going to want to use any available wall space to
showcase your amazing wedding pictures!!
Talk to your photographer about helping to set this up.
There are also options like Vistaprint and Shutterfly out
there to guide you through the process. Pick colors and
themes that will coordinate with your wedding style. Be
sure to include your names and wedding date on the front
cover. Also be sure to include blank spaces or pages for
your guests to sign and leave their best wishes.
Here is a pic of our guestbook for inspiration. Don’t forget
to bring a pen for guests to sign with. We purchased our
pen at Michaels in the wedding section with a 40%
coupon. We have also included a template for the sign we
made to go with the guestbook. We printed it out on
regular computer printer, cut it down to size, and then
double mounted it with scrapbook paper to match our
wedding colors.
Everything Niagara, helpful
information if you are planning a
wedding or visit to the Niagara region.
information if you are planning a
wedding or visit to the Niagara region.
