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Creative Bridal Bouquets that Don’t Cost a Fortune
The wedding gown is usually the main event of any wedding. But the perfect gown needs the perfect accessory – just the right bridal bouquet. It completes the image of the bride and will be admired forever in the wedding photographs.
Some bridal bouquets can be very expensive. Even if your bouquet does double-duty as a centerpiece during the reception, it’s just not worth spending a lot of money on when you consider all your other wedding expenses. Here are some suggestions for creative bridal bouquets that don’t cost the earth.
Shop for Discounts. Your local flower shops aren’t the only place to look for bridal bouquets. Think creatively and look online for a floral supplier that will deliver your bouquet to you. You can also shop for flowers at Costco or at a farmer’s market. These places sell beautiful arrangements of flowers that you can put together into a bouquet.
Fresh Flowers. Instead of going to a floral store and paying them create a bouquet for you, consider creating your own hand-tied bouquet with flowers from the garden. To turn fresh cut flowers into a bouquet, wrap the stems together with an elastic band and then cover them with a broad ribbon and bow. You can even grow your own bridal bouquet by planting your favorite flowers well ahead of time and then cutting them for the big day.
Faux-flower Bouquet. Fresh flowers can be pretty pricey. You can keep the cost of your bouquet down by taking another creative approach and using faux flowers instead. Silk flowers are one way you could go, and are easy to find at a hobby or craft store. You could also consider another type of floral bouquet. How about a bouquet made of ribbon flowers, cookies or candy?
Non-floral Bouquet. Perhaps you don’t need to carry flowers at all. Some unique plants and greenery can be put together to make a creative and attractive bridal bouquet. Some examples of plants that would work well are ferns, pussy willows and ivy. For a fall wedding, you could carry a bouquet of colourful fall leaves.
No Bouquet. It may be that you would prefer to not carry a bridal bouquet at all. Instead of flowers, you might choose to carry a meaningful object down the aisle with you. A precious family heirloom might be the perfect accessory for your gown. For an evening wedding, a lit candle; for a Catholic wedding, a jewelled rosary; or at a beach wedding, you could carry a beautiful shell. Some brides may even elect to carry nothing at all and wear a pair of beautiful gloves or a muff instead.
The bridal bouquet is an important part of your day, but you don’t need to spend a lot of money to create the look you want.
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Setting a Realistic Wedding Budget
You have dreamed about your wedding day since you were a child. You might have envisioned fairy tale dresses, plush limousines, hundreds of your closest friends and family members, and dancing until dawn. After all, this is your special day and you want to give your new life the best start you can.
Now that it’s approaching, reality is setting in. You know you deserve all of your dreams, but perhaps you’re not sure just how you’ll pay for them. You could max out your credit cards, but starting your married life deeply in debt doesn’t sound so romantic. You need to set a budget.
Setting a realistic wedding budget doesn’t mean you need to forget the fairy tale. It simply means you need to prioritize and plan how you will spend your money. That way you will be able to afford the things that are most important to you. And you will be able to start your married life without unnecessary, burdensome debt.
Begin setting your budget by setting your priorities. You have a vision of what you want your wedding to look like. But it’s time to take a more realistic approach. Decide which of the items you want to include are must haves, which are optional, and which would just be nice to have, but you could do without if you needed to.
Determine how much you can spend. How much money do you have saved for your wedding? How much will you be able to save before the big day? It’s important to be honest about how much you really can afford. That will help you avoid a lot of problems and conflicts as you plan your wedding, and ensure that you don’t create additional stress by running out of money too soon.
Decide how much you will spend on each area. Now that you know your priorities, and you know how much you have to spend, you can decide how much money you will spend on each area of your wedding. One way to organize this is to create a notebook sheet for each expense, such as dress, flowers, invitations, and write down your budget for that area.
Budget for the unexpected. As carefully as you plan, you may still have some unexpected expenses. If you overspend in one area, remember you’ll have to make up for it by spending less on something else.
Be creative. There are many ways you can cut down on the high cost of a beautiful wedding. Perhaps you can make your invitations so you can spend more money on your wedding dress. Do you have a friend who loves to cook for a crowd? Maybe she would like to help prepare the wedding feast. You can even rent your wedding dress, if you need to cut down in that area and spend more on others.
Setting a realistic wedding budget doesn’t mean you can’t have the wedding you always dreamed of. It is only a means of making it affordable so you can enjoy your day, without worrying about how much it cost.
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Great Wedding Favors on a Budget
When you’re planning your wedding, one of the things you’ll want to remember to budget for are the wedding favors. These are the souvenirs that your guests will take home from your wedding as a thank you for participating in your special day. So, this is not an area where you want to scrimp. You hope that your guests will enjoy your gift to them, and see it as a token of your appreciation. However, you don’t want to blow your budget on buying wedding favors either. Here are some ideas for great wedding favors on a budget.
Bulk gifts. Items like candy and potpourri can make lovely wedding favors. You can buy them pre-packaged from bridal shops, but it is smarter to buy them in bulk and package them yourself. Instead of shopping at an expensive wedding store, visit a grocery or hobby shop for discount pricing. To create your own gift wrapped packages, wrap bundles of the bulk item in tulle and tie with a ribbon.
Make homemade treats. For a personal touch, make homemade treats to give to your guests. Special cookies are always welcome. If you make homemade candy, that can also be a nice gift. When you wrap them up, add a handwritten note thanking your guests for sharing your day with you. It will be an extra special touch that will make your favour all the more meaningful.
Candles and votives. Candles and votives can be beautiful reminders of your wedding day. Look for candles in the same colors as your wedding decorations. Almost everyone enjoys candles so it is a practical gift as well. These are also very affordable when purchased at discount or bulk stores.
Bubbles. For a fun twist and lots of laughs, give each guest a small bottle of bubbles as a thank you. Tie a note with the date of your wedding around the neck of the bottle. These will provide entertainment during the reception too, as most guests won’t wait until they get home to blow their bubbles.
Make Music. Another idea is to burn a CD of music to commemorate your special day and give a copy to each guest. Be sure to follow copyright laws. Whenever they play your CD, your guests will think of you.
Flowers and Plants. If you’re having a spring or summer wedding, consider giving out packets of seeds as a wedding favor. These will be a long-lasting fragrant reminder of your nuptials. Alternatively, you can give out tiny potted plants for a spring garden. These are very inexpensive, and if you buy in bulk, you may be able to get further discounts.
Scented soaps. These are another item you might want to consider giving out as a favor. They have an attractive scent, and often come in pretty shapes and wrappings. They are another practical gift that is pretty to look at as well.
There are many options for buying great wedding favors on a budget. When you use your creativity for buying thoughtful gifts for your guests, they will be appreciated all the more.
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Frugal Special – Hurry!
Frugal Tips to Shrink Your Grocery Bill (Plus Recipes!) Plus a Freebie!!
Frugal Tips to Shrink Your Grocery Bill (Plus Recipes!) offers helpful money saving tips that will cut your grocery bill. Who doesn’t want to and need to save money in these hard financial times? Find out how to save money on groceries with this frugal tips ebook. Also included are some delicious frugal recipes.
Our 3 day special freebie offer: Order Frugal Tips to Shrink Your Grocery Bill (Plus Recipes!) and get Frugal Activities for the Whole Family FREE. This freebie offer is good until the end of May 12 only, so act fast! Your freebie will be emailed to you via email as an attachment after payment.
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Chicken Coop Guide- Learn to Build Cheap Chicken Coops
For a long time, people who wanted to start a chicken coop had to renovate an old shed or buy a pre-built one. A pre-built coop costs $500 upwards and this does not include the cost of installation. The cost of a pre- built chicken coop with installation is usually over $1000. According to Jim and Ann, who have put together ‘The DIY Chicken Coop Guide’, you can build your own chicken coop for just $100 if you do a little extra work of collecting materials.
The process of making the shed is explained in a manner that it will be easy for anyone to follow. People who don’t necessarily consider themselves the do it yourself type can also follow the step-by-step instructions and if you need support with the process, that is also available.
With the help of the diagrams and schematics you will be able to see how the coop is built. Video library provides you with videos related to chicken coops. You will also be able to pre cut and pre label your wood with the help of the wood cutting diagram shown in the guide.
The material used in the building of these coops is also important because you want to save as much money as possible. The guide shows you how to build the coop from inexpensive materials that can be easily bought from your local hardware store. Also, special consideration has been given to keep the chickens safe from predators. The shed is raised from the ground level to provide protection and another benefit of this is that they will not be affected by the cold damp soil.
You can also give the shed your own touch by customizing and you can also scale the plans to accommodate more chicken if required.
The products that you will be able to get in this package are: ‘The DIY Chicken Coop Guide’: this guide shows you how to build small, medium and large sized coops. Special Reports) Chicken City Ordinances Guide: From this guide you can learn what the rules and regulations are in your area for building coops.) 6 Things You Must Do Before Building a Chicken Coop: This book explains all the things that you need to do before starting your DIY project.
There is also bonus material available for you which includes a Video Library and books that help you learn to talk chicken (A-Z), learn which chicken breed is best for your Lifestyle and Climate, how to build an Incubator and incubate your Chicks and how to build a Chicken Brooder and requirements of Brooding Chicks. The price of the whole package is $39.97. In case you don’t find the plans useful you can return the package within 60 days and get a full refund.
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