Rentals May Help Cut Costs

You’re planning the wedding of your dreams and the budget just went over the top. Some areas are going to have to be cut, but you can’t bear to do without any of your selections! What to do? Carefully review your plans – just to see if maybe, just maybe you can live without something. If the answer is no way! Then you could consider renting some of the items that are necessary to make your dream day come true.

There are many rental companies around. I would recommend comparing prices as some of them offer better bargains than others. Some offer delivery and pick up services for a fee. You may be able to negotiate the fees if you rent many items. You could ask if you will be allowed to pick the items up yourself and return them. This may be an option, if you have a large number of people to help you. You will need to appoint a reliable person to be in charge of this. You should not try to do this yourself, as you and the groom will not have time to deal with this.

Now to some of the items offered by rental companies:

Tents – There are a large variety of tents available in many sizes and styles. Tents for small gatherings to tents for a hundred or more, tents with sides and climate control, open-sided tents – there is a tent available for every need. If you are planning an outdoor event, a tent may be valuable to you as you will not have to worry about the weather ruining your perfect day. A tent is like a giant blank backdrop just waiting to be brought to life with your decorations, ideas and style. Imagine theatrical lighting, stages, dance floors, tables, chairs, linens and china – your personal touch will create a masterpiece. Tents can be transformed into the most elegant of affairs to a western hoedown with hay, denim table clothes and chairs with bandana sashes. Choose a rental place that visits the venue to help you determine which is best for you. If you have the funds in your budget, many of them offer the service of setting up the tent and decorating it for you.

Tables, chairs, linens and china are all available at most of the rental places. Unless you have access to a large number of these items, I would highly recommend renting them. It is much more cost effective to rent than to purchase them and never use them again.

Dance floors and stages are available in a variety of sizes and designs. If you are hiring a disc jockey you may want to check with that company as they also offer dance floors. I would definitely do a price comparison. With some DJ services, they pass a savings to you for purchasing more services. They may be willing to add a dance floor, a frozen drink machine or a karaoke machine – or perhaps offer you a good discount if you purchase these services from them. The best part of getting these items from the DJ service is – they bring the items with them, set them up, take them down and you don’t have to mess with it. But, I would check with the particular service to make sure they offer this as DJ services have different conditions.

Beverage Services – There are a wide array of beverage items available in different sizes and styles. Urns, coffeemakers, cream pitchers, sugar bowls, punch bowls, ladles, water pitchers, wine carafes, tea service sets, 5 gallon hot/cold dispensers and tabletop or floor standing wine coolers may all be found at rental stores. If you need a cocktail bar or cart for your special event, check the rental companies as there are different styles and sizes available. These bars and carts do not include the liquor, setups or bartender.

Reception - Some other items that you may want to consider renting rather than purchasing: champagne fountains, chocolate fountains, ice carving & display bars, cake plateaus, cocktail bars & carts, outdoor lighting, air conditioners or heaters for tents, china, flatware, glassware, serving utensils, serving trays and bowls. Frozen drink machines, dance floors, stages, karaoke machines are available at rental companies and at most DJ services.

Decorations - Arches, chuppahs, candelabras, columns, and votive candles are available as rentals. You may want to comparison shop at your florist for some of these items. Many times people do not think about a florist having rental items, but many of them do and this may be your best bet for some of the items you need.

Cooking - If you need large grills that will hold 40 steaks or 30 chicken halves, look to the rental companies. Many sizes and styles are available from rotisseries, propane grills - to smokers on trailers. You may have to do a bit of calling to find what you need but better than ending up purchasing something you don’t need all the time. Ask about chafing dishes, propane burners/fish cookers and pots, griddles, heat lamps, hot plates and electric roasters.

I know that I haven’t covered all items that are available from rental companies. Check with your local rental companies, florists, and dj's - seek reputable companies - compare prices. There are many ways to shave a bit off of your budget. If you are planning a DIY wedding or looking for a way to cut some expense from your budget this may be an option for you.

Free Wedding Photography Contest

We are always looking for contests to pass along to our couples. This one is being offered by Misha Nikole Photography of Grand Praire, TX.

Misha Nikole Photography is looking for deserving couples to award their prize of free photography for your wedding. They are looking for couples with a great love story and incredible style.

To enter this contest follow this link: Misha Nikole Photography or go to www.mishanikole.com, click on "The Wedding" and enter your information in the check availbility spaces.

The wedding ceremony must be before April 25, 2009.

You must submit to Misha Nikole:

picture of bride & groom
reason why you should be selected
your wedding details

Misha Nickole Photography
Grand Prairie, TX
info@mishanikole.com
817-966-2690

We are not affiliated with Misha Nikole nor or we endorsing them. We are simply passing along an availble contest to you. It is up to you to decide if it is legit and if you want to enter. Be sure to carefully check their website for the official rules and regulations.

We will be looking for more contests, discounts and savings for you in the future.

Dreaming of the Day

Dreams and visions dancing in my head,
As I lay reclined in my bed.
My honey popped the magical question
Without my prodding suggestion.

He dropped on bended knee,
Right before me.
Looking deep into my eyes
He asked will you be my bride.

The answer, of course, was Yes, oh Yes!
There was no room for guessing.
I wanted him to be sure that I was his,
I worked myself up into quite a tiz.
This was the moment I had dreamt many a night,
Wondering when the time would be right.

It seems so surreal…. time is standing still,
I’m out of breath as if I’ve been running up hill.
My heart skipping a beat…
This man of mine is one to keep.
He’s thoughtful, kind and romantic, too
No other man will do.

I would tie the knot…right on the spot,
But we cannot.
We must plan…invite the family and friends,
To see our two lives blend.

This cowboy and I will pick a theme,
To showcase our wedding dream.
It’s western…of course,
We will arrive riding our horse.
Ropes, hay bales, sunflowers and tubs,
Barbequed meat with just the right rub.

What a celebration this day will bring,
When we exchange our vows and rings.
Our true love we will declare,
And throw our hats into the air.

In my dream I can see it all very clearly,
As we share our lives with those we hold dearly.
The most perfect start to our new life,
I promise to be the very best wife.
As I drift off to sleep all snuggled in my bed,
Visions of our new life floating though my head.

DIY Wedding - It is Possible

In these tough economic times, many brides are opting for a DIY (do-it-yourself) wedding. This is certainly a money-saving option for many brides. A wedding planner is wonderful, if you have the available funds. Many people do not or opt to spend the funds on a different area of the weeding or on a honeymoon. If you decide to go with a DIY wedding, you need to get organized. Organization is the key to having a wedding flow smoothly. To get organized, buy yourself a wedding planner book or make one yourself. If you need guidelines, research on the internet or check out a book from your local library. Use all of the free resources available in order to trim your budget.

Decisions, decisions….now is the time to decide exactly what you want your wedding to be and make choices. Decide what type of wedding you prefer: traditional, contemporary, destination, or themed. Do you have your heart set on getting married at a certain venue? Is it within your budget or do you need to find another place that will work. You may want to consider getting married on a day other than Saturday as many venues have lower prices for other days of the week. Or you may change the time of your wedding from evening to afternoon or perhaps late morning. If you are considering a destination wedding, you may want to check on the prices and consider having your wedding in the off-season. For example, a summer beach wedding will cost more than a fall or winter beach wedding. If you are planning a destination wedding, you will need to work with someone from the area to help you make arrangements for your wedding. You probably cannot take care of all of the details of a destination wedding from home; however you can take care of a lot of them.

If you are not having a wedding coordinator then you need to appoint a close friend or family member to be in charge of coordinating your wedding. As the bride, you will not have time to be overseeing last minute details the day of the wedding. You will need someone to make sure everyone is where they should be, the appropriate music is playing, the flowers are in the correct spot, oversee the delivery of the cake, etc. You need help, as the bride should have time to enjoy and savor being a bride on her wedding day.

You should write down all of your wants, wishes and desires along with the costs of each. This will help you to decide where you can trim your budget, what is most important to you and if you can eliminate something all together.

Make the following categories in your wedding planner booklet:

Budget – in this section write down the allotted funds for each of your categories. Decide which is most important to you. If you love real flowers and cannot live without them, then this is one of the most important areas of your wedding and you should allot enough funds to cover it. Maybe the venue is the most important to you or having a DJ or band at the reception.

Guest List – Write out your total guests list then see if you can trim it. The more people you invite the most it costs. So, eliminate people you haven’t seen in several years or people you don’t maintain close contact.
Invitations – Buying invitations online or at your local discount store and print them yourself will save quite a bit. Maybe you don’t have a printer that will do the task or don’t feel comfortable doing it – chances are I’ll bet you know someone who will be willing to help you.

Venue – There are so many venues to choose from and there are many variances in prices. Now is the time to decide – inside or outside; or maybe you want the ceremony inside and the reception inside. Do you want both at the same location? Venue options: Your church, a college chapel, lodge, state park, pavilion on the lake, field, barn, park, beach, a friend or family member’s yard, country club, hotel or convention center ballroom, garden, river pavilion, ranch, arena, mountain overlook or top, castle, plantation, farm…Your imagination is the limit, there are many places to get married. Pick one that holds a special meaning for you and your fiancée or some place that will accommodate the type of wedding you want.

Dress – Looking for a dress can be a daunting task. Look through some magazine to find a style that appeals to you. There are many places that offer discounts on wedding dresses. One national chain bridal store offers $99.00 dresses. Another option is looking online. If you go to some bridal stores, find a dress you like and determine the size – then go online to seek it at a lower price. There are several auction sites that sell wedding accessories, dresses, supplies, etc. online.

Attendants – How many attendants do you want? The more you choose, the more flowers you will need, etc. Bridesmaid and Maid of Honor dresses can be found many places. You can look at that national chain store I was talking about. They have many reasonable dresses but you can look at some department stores. Depends on what type of dress you have in mind. If you are looking for tea-length dresses, you will have a good selection at many department stores. Again, you can look at the stores – determine the style and size then shop online. Allow ample time for shipping – don’t wait until the last minute. I would choose a reputable person and if I chose to deal with someone from an auction site, I would make sure they have excellent feedback.

If the men in the wedding party are wearing tux's I would recommend renting them locally.

Are you planning on Jr. bridesmaids, ring bearer, flower girl, candlelighters, ushers, etc. This is the place to list them and any costs that you will incur connect with them.

Flowers – Buy flowers wholesale and enlist family and friends to make the bouquets, boutonnieres and arrangements. If you want fresh, be prepared to pay more. Use fresh flowers that are in-season and readily available in your area. If you can live with artificial flowers and don’t want to make the bouquets & arrangements– shop around on the internet. There are lots of bargains out there for the savvy shopper. Get your family and friends to help you search online for places that have the type of flowers you want. You may be able to use some of the arrangements from the ceremony at the reception.

Officiant – Your local minister may marry you for a small fee. Maybe a family member is a minister or wedding officiant. Find someone that you and your fiancée can agree upon. If you are having a destination wedding you will have to work with someone from that area to arrange the details of your wedding for you.

Reception – Do you want to serve a meal, finger foods, or cake and punch, only? If you plan to serve a meal, do you want it catered or do you have a friend or family member that can be in charge of the food? Do you have tables and chairs or do you need to rent them? Many places rent chairs for $2-$3 each and charge a setup fee and a pickup fee. You can rent tables, chairs, tents, etc. If you hire a caterer, are they bringing the tableware or are you responsible? If you opt for finger foods, you or a family member may prepare them ahead and freeze them. Sam’s Club, Costco, etc. have many appetizers available. If you decide to take care of the food yourselves instead of hiring a caterer or using venue with a food service, someone will need to be assigned to oversee the details. If you go this option, I would rent rather than buy any items that I could.

Cake – Do you want a small, medium or large cake? Do you plan to hire someone to bake the cake, contact a bakery, or do you have a friend or family member that bakes cakes. Are you planning to have a groom’s cake? Some people opt to not have a large cake. They have small 2-tiered cakes on each table, using them as centerpieces and eliminating the cost of flowers for each table. If you decide to go with a larger wedding cake, shop around. The style and size of cake will determine the cost. When you receive your RSVP’s then you can decide the size of the cake. If you are having a meal, snack foods, appetizers, finger foods and serving liquor then you will not need as much cake as you would if you are serving cake and punch only.

Liquor – Do you plan to serve liquor at your wedding? This can be a budget eater but many people want to server liquor. You need to determine if the venue you have chosen will allow liquor. If so, do they provide the liquor, are you allowed to bring your own in, can you have a margarita machine, etc. Who is responsible for the set-ups – glasses, ice, sodas, etc. Do the provide a bartender or do you need to make arrangements for someone to tend the bar? If you need to reduce costs, choose a venue that you can bring your own liquor, set-ups and your own bartender. This is the most cost effective way. Limit the alcoholic selections to what you think most of your guests will prefer. These are your friends and family members so you should be able to determine what will most likely be in the highest demand.

Now, for entertainment at the reception – do you want music? If you decide on a DJ, check around, the prices vary drastically. The best deal on DJ services I have found is at DJ Connection in Tulsa, OK. They have many DJ’s and travel to many states. I know they serve the AR, TX, OK area and may have other locations as well. You are not limited to 2 hours, they will play the music for the wedding ceremony and the reception, have margarita machines and karaoke machine for rent. They are professional and willing to work with you on making your music selections. Look for them at http://www.djconnectiontulsa.com/. If you don’t want to allocate funds for a DJ, maybe a family member or friend will be able be in charge of music for your reception.

If you are having a western-themed wedding with an outside venue you could have a couple of places set up for the guests to play horseshoes, a steer head anchored in a hay bale for roping, stick horses for the kiddies, etc.

Favors – If you want favors, there are many that you can make yourself. If you don’t want to or don’t have the time – search around the internet or drop by our website. Buy your favors bulk, then have a party with your friends to assemble them. There are many affordable favors and you can find some for any budget.

Miscellaneous - This section is for items that don't fit any other place. Anything that costs you needs to be listed, along with the price.

You may want a unity candle, a sand ceremony, special glasses for the toast, garter, pillow for the ring bearer, flower girl baskets, rice bags, guest book, etc.

These are a few of the areas I wanted to cover today. I’ll be posting other thoughts along the way. Feel free to add your comments or suggestions to this post.

The Muse’s 100th Blog Post Giveaway

Please go by a certain Muse’s page and help her reach her goal of 200 comments. If she reaches 200 by Tues. (tomorrow), she will donate $1000 to the American Cancer Society. This is an organization that I am deeply supportive of as many members of my family have had cancer. My Dad and my father-in-law are cancer survivors. You never know when this dreaded disease may rear its ugly head and change your family member’s life. I think this is a wonderful way for the Muse to celebrate her 100th post – all we have to do is help her celebrate by posting our comments.

I believe she is giving away other prizes, as well. Be sure to visit her blog at www.adivashammer.blogspot.com and help her out. At the present time the blog you should comment on is the 2nd one down the page and is titled “The Muse 100th Post Reaches For The Stars”.

I Said Yes....Now the Quest

Down upon bended knee,
My sweetie came to me.
Will you please be my bride,
Yes, I answered with great pride.
He pulled the ring from his pocket,
Shining, shimmering – a token of his love,
The diamond was my favorite,
The one I had dreamt of.
My mind overflowing with happiness,
My energy level is boundless.
We must get busy…make plans,
Where do we begin?
Let’s pick a date, a venue, a dress,
Oh my, I cannot rest!
Should we have a theme,
Or just follow our dream.
Full of ideas my mind is racing,
Around the room I was pacing.
Exhausted I fell into bed,
Tomorrow I’ll search at Delightfully Wed.

Debbie L Wahl

Choices

Fresh as the new fallen snow,
New beginnings offer many places to go.
Should I choose the path already blazed,
or the one twisted as a maze?
The passage lies before me beckoning come,
Luring with a taste of new found freedom.
Unknown territory, ventures galore,
knocking upon my door.
Be brave, be bold...
Who knows what the future holds.
Beginnings, endings, or somewhere in between,
All things are not meant to be seen.
Take a chance with the uncharted way,
This could be your very best day.
Embrace each moment as your last,
Regrets will never cloud the past.