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Bad Things That WILL Happen When You Are Planning Your Wedding

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wedding, weddings, wedding venue, london rowing club, wedding planning

Credit: Vanessa Bailey

 

Weddings. There is a reason so many films and books are set during a wedding. They have it all: family, friends, stress, lots of money at stake. My husband and I got so stressed in the run up to our wedding that we both were not sleeping and felt ill. In fact, stress contributed to my husband being hospitalised on our wedding day! But I learned a lot and we ended up getting married and made it all the way to the reception. I took the experience and knowledge and put it all in my wedding planning book.

Weddings are hard work but like everything that is hard work, it tends to be worth it in the end. So here are some bad things that will happen when you are planning your wedding. Keep an eye out for them.

 

Your relationship with some of the people in your life will be changed forever.

This may seem like a big claim but people have egos. There relationship with you may be different from how you see it. Or you may love them just as much, but they don’t fit the role of being a maid of honour or a best man because they are not organised. Some people will take it personally if they are not in the wedding party. Family members will also have their own opinions when it comes to your wedding. If they do not get their way they may hold a grudge or even hold it over you. Kindly point out to these people that the wedding is about you and your partner committing to each other for life. Your wedding is about no one else so if they don’t like the fact you have not invited someone they wanted, or they are trying to bully you into a specific venue, it might be worth reminding them!

 

You will probably fall out completely with at least one person.

Unless you are having a big wedding there will be people you want to invite that you will not be able to. People who do not get invited, or are not invited into the wedding party, might not talk to you again. Ditto those difficult, self-obsessed people who think your wedding is about them. Or those people who just can’t be happy for you. If it is someone you can remove from your life holding the grudge and being bitchy, cut them out. If it is a family member, try to not let it get to you. Ignore them and don’t let them get to you.

 

There will be at least one person who makes it All About Them.

And there is a special place in hell for these selfish people. Either ignore them, tell them off or smile and nod when they are being demanding and rude.

 

It will be stressful.

But as long as you try and limit the damage as much as possible, that is okay. The logistics will be hard but it will all work out in the end. Every now and then take some time off and do something with your fiancé. And never forget why you getting married in the first place.

 

But the most important thing.

Is that you are married by the end of the day and have good memories. Ever notice that in Don’t Tell The Bride it pretty much always works out? That is because in the end you are just happy you pulled it off and that today is the first day of the rest of your life with your new husband/wife. That feeling cannot be beaten. After my husband and I married and we walked back down the aisle it was the most amazing feeling. Ditto walking into our wedding breakfast.

 

So good luck and don’t let the bastards get you down (because that is what they want).

 

If you are getting married then get your hands on a copy of The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. It has great advice on planning your perfect wedding. It is also available in Ebook format and is a great guide for wedding planning.

 

 

How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget

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Ceremony_Short.Still008When I first started planning my wedding I was daunted. The cost of most weddings is over £20,000. It seemed insane to spend this on one day of our life. The majority of our wedding was paid for by my (now) husband and I so I had to keep things cheap. I decided to stop panicking and start researching instead. This research became my book, The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. I have an excerpt on wedding planning from my wedding book below. I hope this eases the stress and helps a little. You need it when planning a wedding.

Tips For Saving Money On Your Wedding

Cutting the guest list.

This is the best and easiest way to cut the budget. Every single person who comes to your wedding costs you money. So be ruthless and don’t feel you have to give everyone a plus one. Cutting children from your wedding will also save money but if you do this make it a rule across the board. If some guests have gone to the expense of hiring a babysitter and then see other children running around they are probably not going to be happy about it.

Cut the hours

The longer the wedding the more it will cost to feed people and give them drinks. You don’t have to have a long wedding, just do whatever you want. This will be easier if you have to be out of the venue at a set time but don’t feel like you have to use all of your allocated time, or pay to entertain your guests for the full amount of time. As long as you feed people and give them a certain amount of alcohol then they should be grateful and not too bothered if they have to put their hand in their pocket at the end of the night.

Marry off-peak

Getting married during the week will save money not only on the venue, but also with suppliers too. Your guests will have to take a day off work so factor this in. An autumn or winter wedding will also be cheaper.

Go Online

Buy things cheaply online and also check for cheaper deals than you have been offered. Car boot sales and charity shops will also have cheap stuff that could come in handy.

Getting Organised

Being organised and booking things in advance will save lots of money.

Minimoon

This is a mini honeymoon that couples have when they have to delay their honeymoon. You can also extend your first night hotel stay into a mini honeymoon. Staycations are best for minimoons. There are plenty of amazing places in the United Kingdom where you can have a romantic getaway. Cornwall, Brighton, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Devon, London…the possibilities are endless.

Have Your Honeymoon in Europe

If you live in the United Kingdom then not only will having a honeymoon in Europe be easy to get to, it will also be a lot cheaper. There are plenty of beautiful, romantic places to go.

Have Prosecco Instead of Champagne.

It is cheaper but tastes just as good. As long as you buy the right one.

The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity is available in print, ebook and Kindle. The Kindle version is only £2.99.

 

 

Affordable And Amazing Wedding Cakes | The Wedding Diary

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The craziness of the wedding industry really shows up in the price of wedding cakes. When my fiancé and I first started looking, we couldn’t find one for less than £350, and most of them weren’t even nice. If you take away the fact they have the word ‘wedding’ in front of them, would anyone actually pay thousands of pounds for a cake? I think not.

In saying that, there are a lot out there with the craftsmanship and design that makes the price worthwhile. If you want great design at a good price then I recommend going the supermarket route. My fiancé and I got our wedding cake from Waitrose.com. Marks And Spencers also do great, affordable wedding cakes.

Here are some beautiful wedding cakes from Waitrose.com

Fiona Cairns Ivory Rose Petal 3-tier Wedding Cake (mixed filling)

fionacairnweddingcakeFiona Cairn is the Royal wedding cake maker. So if she is good enough for Kate and William….

Fiona Cairns Vintage Fairytale 3-tier Wedding Cake (Sponge)

waitroseweddingcakeChocolate Wedding Cake – Gold – 3 Tier

chocolateweddingcakeIf chocolate is your thing and you don’t want a traditional cake.

And (drum roll) here is our wedding cake. It matches our wedding colours of pale pink, pale green and white. We love it and got it in a mixed filling of vanilla sponge and fruit cake.

wedding cakeWhen buying a wedding cake make sure you check how many people it serves. The website should tell you or ask your baker. Another thing to check is if decoration is included. Some cakes look amazing but the small print says that the decoration is not included. This is also an easier way to get a cheaper cake, if you decorate it yourself, it costs less. Although there is the added stress.

While researching wedding cakes I saw a lot of gorgeous wedding cake toppers on ebay and ribbon is very cheap to buy from a haberdashery. You could also make your own or get a relative to make one. Although I would not do this if you weren’t brilliant at baking. Waitrose.com also have some guides on decorating your wedding cake and the BBC also have a great blog on making your own wedding cake.

Good luck and let us know about your wedding cake choices.

Where will you get your wedding cake?

If you are planning your wedding then get your hands on The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. It has great advice on every aspect of wedding planning and lots of great advice on choosing the perfect wedding cake.