The Royal Wedding: The recap + THE DRESS

In case you missed The Royal Wedding or only have 60 seconds to spare, check out the video below!

Channeling Grace Kelly! Kate Middleton looks absolutely gorgeous in her wedding gown designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.  She looked so elegant and timeless.  Her evening reception gown was also designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Another beautiful dress!  Congrats to the Duke + Duchess of Cambridge!

Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: AFP

Photo Credit: Getty

The Royal Wedding: Prince William + Catherine Middleton

Check out The Royal Wedding live stream courtesy of The Royal Channel.  Friday, April 29th @ 2 am PST/5 am EST.

Wedding tips: Broke Girl’s Guide to a Fabulous Wedding {part 2}

Michelle + Erin of Broke Girl’s Guide (BGG) are back with Part 2 of their wedding tips series for the everyday bride + groom.  Happy reading!

Ordain Your BFF
Rabbis and priests may be messengers of God, but their services don’t come cheap (and um not to be tacky, but they also generally come to the reception, which means another person to add to the food and drink bill).

If you’re not religious, why bother?  We think it’s actually very charming when the officiant is someone who personally knows the bride and groom.  These ceremonies are almost always more interesting and intimate.  Anyone can be ordained on websites like OpenOrdination.org for about $30.

Photo Credit: Derin Thorpe

Make Your Wedding BYOB
Just kidding.  But seriously, alcohol is a huge expense, and it’s not something you want to cut back on unless you want to have the least-fun wedding ever. It is beyond uncool to have a cash bar at your wedding, so don’t even think about it, but there are other options.  You could just serve beer and wine, or you could limit the bar to just one or two drink really cute drink specials, such as pear-ginger martinis for a spring wedding. Work with your vendors to see what they can do to help cut costs.  Believe us, the first option they give you will not be the cheapest, so make sure to find out the best they can do for you.

Photo Credit: Derin Thorpe

Channel Your Inner Martha Stewart (or Better Yet, Your Maid of Honor’s…)
We have zero artistic ability, so we are super jealous of brides who can make their own invitations, party favors, place cards, centerpieces, etc.  It’s so charming and meaningful when the bride and her friends and family have put a personal touch on the wedding, there’s none of that canned, wedding-factory feel that sometimes comes with mass-produced weddings.

Photo Credit: Jessica Feely

Especially if your wedding style has a whimsical, homespun feel to it – mason jars with candles on the tables, comfort food for dinner followed by delicious homemade cake – you can take advantage of the romantic, casual vibe while also saving buckets of money.  Great sites to go for inspiration include TheKnot.com, ProjectWedding.com, MarthaStewartWeddings.com, and WeddingBee.com, but really you can find great ideas on all sorts of wedding blogs.

Photo Credit: Derin Thorpe

Tell your creative Aunt Ileen that she doesn’t need to buy you ANYTHING….but if she could help bake wedding favor treats, you’d be ecstatic.  She will probably love it.  You can also throw a little wine-and-cheese “party” for your bridesmaids that includes noteworthy guests such as…calligraphy pens and hot glue guns.  As long as everyone is having fun sitting around gossiping or watching a movie, it’s most likely they’ll have a good time – and before you know it, another project is complete.

Photo Credit: Kristi Klemens of KLK Photography

Wedding tips: Broke Girl’s Guide to a Fabulous Wedding {part 1}

The fabulous savvy ladies of Broke Girl’s Guide (BGG) have outdone themselves with a 3 part series of wedding tips for the everyday bride + groom.

Everyone wants to have a fabulous wedding, naturally, but very few of us have a fabulous budget. Fret not, lovely brides – there are plenty of ways to fudge the bottom line, and we at Broke Girl’s Guide are here to help you do exactly that. Below are some of our suggestions for how to make your fairytale come true, without having to take a permanent “honeymoon” to escape bill collectors…

Proceed Cautiously with Destination Weddings
Destination weddings can be good for the budget if you shoot for a low-cost area. For instance, if you live in NY, you might actually find an amazing deal somewhere in Mexico, where prices tend to be a lot lower. Other options could include getting married in a charming small town (assuming they have enough resources so that you don’t have to fly everything in). Another good thing about destination weddings is that fewer people will be able to attend, and God knows that a smaller guest list is one of the best things you can do to control costs.

However… Proceed with caution!  If you can’t easily drive to your wedding location, expect there to be hassles and expenses.  Be aware that you will need to fly to the location at least once or twice and probably rent a hotel and/or car while you’re there. You will find it harder to get good deals if you don’t know the area as well, don’t have as many connections there, and don’t have the time to meet with lots of vendors face-to-face to compare prices and bargain with them.

Even if you have friends or family who live in the location, you will be surprised at how unhelpful they can be if they aren’t super responsible or if they don’t share your taste.  If your brother lives in the location but cannot tell the difference between an orchid and a weed, and his idea of a gourmet meal is a hot dog with Dijon mustard, it won’t really matter that he lives down the street from your chosen venue.  And Aunt Zelda’s offer to help may be really sweet, but if her house is decorated with thousands of Faberge eggs and ceramic pig statues, maybe her idea of a beautiful centerpiece will not exactly jive with what you have in mind.

Speaking of the Guest List…
One of the easiest ways to have an expensive wedding is to invite everyone you know.  Each guest, besides obviously need to be wined and dined, will also lead to more expenses such as extra tables, chairs, centerpieces, stationery, etc.  These expenses will also be incurred if you’re having an afterparty, a brunch, or a welcome party.

photo credit: Amelia Lyon

You can also draw the line along very specific boundaries, like “no out of town guests” or “only immediate family members” or “no one with a long name that will be difficult to spell.”  Tell your family that it’s always been your dream to have a small wedding (even if “small” is a relative term) so they won’t invite all their random golf buddies.

If annoying people start sniffing around trying to get added to the guest list, just keep emphasizing how small your wedding is and how much you’re looking forward to the intimate celebration.  Another good excuse (whether it’s true or not) is to say you’ve chosen a venue that – darn! – will only hold 70 people.

xoxo,
Michelle + Erin
The Broke Girls