The first question to arise is usually who to invite. Certainly you will want to ask your immediate family and closest friends. Many couples choose to have a destination wedding in part because it does allow for a smaller guest list limited to only those that mean the most to you. However, some brides and grooms would like to invite a more extended group of friends, and the question becomes whether or not you should invite someone to a destination wedding that you believe will not be able to attend.

The answer is yes. If you hope that the guest in question will join you in Hawaii or Italy or wherever your destination wedding is being held, by all means extend the invitation. As the host, it is not up to you to answer the invitation (or to withhold an invitation based on an anticipated response), only to offer it sincerely. Besides, you may be surprised at who decides that a trip to a fabulous spot is well worth the time and expense. When you are inviting a large number of guests who are unlikely to be able to make it to your wedding, you may also want to think about holding a reception for them back in your hometown. It is nice to mention the second reception on the original invitation, so that those who are not able to attend your destination wedding will not feel badly, knowing that they will have another chance to celebrate with you.

A related etiquette question is whether or not the bride and groom are required to cover the airfare and hotel accommodations for their wedding party. As with any other type of wedding, the answer is no. The usual way to thank your bridesmaids for being in your wedding is with gifts, such as bridesmaid jewelry. For a destination wedding, it would be fun to select bridesmaid jewelry gifts with a theme that relates to the locale, such as a beach motif.

However, you should take the cost of participating in a destination wedding into account. Definitely mention the location of your wedding when asking someone to be in your bridal party. This gives them a chance to graciously decline if they know that they will be unable to afford the travel. Although it is not strictly required, many brides and grooms will choose to help out one or more of their attendants with travel costs, if it means the difference between a dear friend attending the wedding or staying home. You can also be considerate by keeping costs as low as possible for your wedding party. Booking blocks of hotel rooms or pairing up bridesmaids in a room can help to keep their expenses more reasonable.

One final and very important piece of etiquette for a destination wedding is to take your guests into consideration when booking the site. For instance, if all of your siblings have young children that they would plan to bring to your wedding, it would be very rude to choose an adults-only resort. Likewise, if you know that most of your guests will be stretching their budget just to cover the airfare for your nuptials, don’t block rooms only at the most expensive hotel in the area. Be sure to reserve rooms in a few price ranges so that everyone has an affordable place to stay.

With these tips in mind, you will find it easier to plan a destination wedding that will not result in any hard feelings. Be keeping your guests’ needs in the forefront of your planning, you will be able to plan a wedding that is as much fun for them as it is for you. Then all that is left to do is relax, have fun, and get married in a fabulous destination.

Look to Bridget for advice on planning your wedding. Check out how we can help with your bridesmaids jewelry at SilverlandJewelry.com. Unique bridesmaid jewelry gifts are a wonderful way to thank your attendants for being in your wedding.

Author: Bridget Mora
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news

The first step is to get organized. This is where a large tabbed file folder comes in especially handy! Begin by making a list of the people you just can’t stand to get married without them there. This will probably be mostly relatives and close friends. Ask your parents and the groom’s parents to provide you with a list of who they would like to invite. Make sure you have accurate addresses for all your invited guests.

One caution here: don’t think you HAVE to invite everyone you know. If you haven’t talked to your high school tennis partner since graduation, he or she probably doesn’t need to be invited. And don’t get all caught up in possibly offending someone by not inviting them to your wedding.

Often, people get sick of attending weddings for people they barely know or don’t keep in touch with. Unless you talk to them every week at least, chances are pretty good that they won’t give it a second thought when your invitation doesn’t arrive. Remember, you’re trying to save some money on your big day. Extra people means extra expense – cut corners here.

Once you have your guest list, you’ll have an idea of how many invitations you’ll need. Next, you’ll need to pick a design.

Wedding invitations shouldn’t be a big expense for you. Yes, when it’s delivered all pretty in its customized envelope and small tissue square inside, it can make an impression – for about a minute! Most people read it once, note the date, take out the RSVP card and throw the invite away. So why spend a lot on them? Remember, we’re trying to save money here!

The obvious thing to do with your invites is to create them yourself on your personal computer using FREE or inexpensive digital stationery. You can use Microsoft Word, OpenOffice or just about any desk top publisher (DTP) to create beautiful custom invitations that are ALL about you!

There are also inexpensive programs and websites out there specifically made for creating stationery, invitations and greeting cards. The best part about buying programs like this is being able to use it again after the wedding is over! These types of programs and websites have saved me time and again when I need to print out a special occasion letter or card (Birthday, Anniversary, Graduation) at the last minute when I’ve lost track of the month or date!

Just do a search on the web for “free-stationery.com” or “free-photo-greeting-cards” and you’ll find an assortment of sites and software.

When creating your own invitations and stationery, you can easily buy heavy card stock at most any office supply or discount store. I would also propose that you consider some pre-designed FREE stationery which is also available all over the Internet.

I don’t recommend pre-printed stationery if you are really trying to save money. You know, the kind you see in the stores in packs of 50 or 100 pages. There just aren’t as many stationery designs to choose from and most of the really nice ones are almost as expensive as those you would have custom printed for your wedding. The digital stationery has taken over and have 1000s more designs to choose from for a real-you kind of feeling.

Most inkjet printers today, especially the best ones with individual color ink tanks, can print on heavy card stock or card template paper at less than 5 cents a page.

Don’t have a good printer or just not really hyped up on using up all your printer’s ink on your wedding invitations? Not a problem… Take your invitations or stationery to a specialized copy shop or office supply store. They can usually copy onto whatever paper you want (heavy card stock, pre-printed, etc.) and in color if you choose and your budget allows.

It’s still a lot less expensive than having custom wedding invitations made.

If you are really on a budget and one of the crafty and artistic types, you could also print out simple text of your invitation then use rubber stamps or embossing powder to decorate them. Keep in mind, though, the number of invitations you’ll need to embellish. If you’re looking at a few hundred, you could be up late nights just decorating all of them!

The traditional practice for wedding invitations is to put the invitation inside an envelope and then place that envelope inside another envelope. The budget conscious say: Why bother? One envelope is plenty and you’ll only need one stamp to mail if you use just the one.

If you’re doing your own invitations, check with some small local print or card shops for leftover envelopes they might have. You can buy these at hugely discounted prices. You may even get them free just to get them out of their store room. Don’t get freaked out if you have several different sizes or styles. How many people are going to compare wedding invitation envelope sizes before, during or even after the wedding? It will be our little secret

If you need to have RSVP’s, consider putting it on a small postal size card. That way you eliminate an envelope and it adds to the convenience for your guests. All they have to do is fill it out and drop it in the mailbox. Of course, you’ll have to provide the stamp for this card.

Consider also printing reception information directly on the invitation itself. For an RSVP, provide a phone number and/or e-mail address for guests to respond to. Not only will this save you on postage, you’ll have all the information right there for your guests to refer to before the big day instead of them having to save a separate reception card.

You can use labels to print out addresses on your computer. We would suggest getting the clear labels as it just looks better. The most prominent label maker is Avery. Their website offers free templates to print out your labels, so you may want to check that out before struggling with a software program.

OpenOffice Suite (free from OpenOffice.org) and MS Word both come with most standard Avery templates built in. Just use the envelope page menus and you are all set.

If you don’t like the impersonal nature of address labels, by all means, address the envelopes personally by hand. You can get information about calligraphy online or just use your best handwriting!

Just remember, computers don’t have to be impersonal either. There are hundreds of calligraphy and hand writing fonts out there. A little searching on the web and you can even have your own handwriting made into a custom font.

Some brides don’t want the hassle of do-it-yourself invitations. We happened to have a friend who sold wedding invitations as a side business at an incredible cheap rate and she offered up a discounted rate as a wedding gift. We ended up with 300 invitations for just $60. Not everyone can be that lucky, however. Search for “home business online greeting cards” for the most savings and best service.

Finally, when it comes to wedding invitations, one of your largest expenses is going to be the postage. You really have no control over that unless you’re the Postmaster General and even then, I doubt it helps! You may want to hand deliver some invitations to save on postage. Especially to those that you see every day at work and in your neighborhood. I know I would prefer to have the bride or groom personally hand me their invitation. It tells me I’m special to them and I know it’s saving them the cost of a stamp!

Wes Waddell owns and operates multiple digital scrapbook membership sites, including: Free-Stationery.com – Free Stationery digital downloads, training and information! and FREEScrapbookTraining.com – Free Photo Greeting Card and FREE Photo Calendar Templates. Wonderful Free stationery and scrapbook resources to get you started and save you money.

Author: Wes Waddell
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing

Thanks!

Plan your wedding as early as possible

The key to a well organized wedding plan is to start your wedding planning as early as possible. You may think that more time may not mean a more organized plan. This is not totally true. If you are doing everything in a hurry, you will not have enough time to think thoroughly and certainly it will be very difficult to get it organized even if you want to.

Make good use of your computer

The second step to make your plan organized is to develop a system of storing the information you will have gathered. In the past experts may suggest you to use a binder to organize and store the information. Thanks to the advance in technology it will probably easier to store the information in your computer.

You do not need any professional computer knowledge in order to organize the information. If you are using Microsoft Windows (and I suppose you are), the key is to create new folders with names of the items for wedding. For example you may create new folders with names photography, invitation, cake, gown and so on. Then you can put related information into these folders so that they can be organized.

What is good about using your computer is that you can create sub-folders. You may probably have a folder with the name wedding theme, you can create sub-folders of names like beach wedding, winter wedding so that you can get an even better organization about your wedding items.

Set up a time frame for all the work

After setting up the folder system, you should set up a time frame or some kind of time table for your wedding. Again, you can use your computer to help you to create a detailed time table. Microsoft Project is an excellent software for creating and checking schedules and even architects will make use of this software to organize the schedules of different building projects. If you find it too difficult for your to use such software, however, you may still use software like Microsoft Excel or Word to create your time table.

Once you have the time table, you will need to try your best to stick to it. A common problem couples will make is that they have a schedule and time frame but they do not really stick to it. However, you will just miss the point of creating a time table if you do not stick to it.

It is not very hard to make your wedding plan well organized. The key point is to stick to your system and time frame. If you can really do that, you have already put one step forward to a real stress free wedding plan.

Jerry Leung is a wedding invitation designer with great interest in Chinese Style Wedding cards. He designs unique Chinese Wedding Invitations in different styles. Besides, he runs A Wedding Blog to share wedding tips. You can also find lists of wedding vendors from his Wedding Directory Websites.

Author: Jerry Leung
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news

If you have decided on a destination wedding, rather than being conventional and getting married in your home town or city, there is a lot that can go wrong and spoil the day. Not only that, but unless you are blessed with unlimited funds, it will be a wedding that is attended by relatively few guests and so a little creativity can go a long way towards making it a memorable occasion for them also.

Not everybody you would like to be there will be there, and creative planning is also necessary to handle that situation. Who do you invite, and not invite. If you invite everybody to that Paris wedding you have always promised yourself, you could be thought of as making invitations in order to receive gifts from as many as possible. If you fail to do so, then those not invited might feel slighted. This situation can be overcome diplomatically, but it takes creativity and good planning.

There are several steps involved in planning a destination wedding starting with that invitation list that is your first hurdle. You should inform everybody that you are planning a wedding outside your home town, whether it is in another county or state, depending on where you live, or even in another country. Popular destinations are the Paris previously mentioned, the Caribbean, several destinations in the USA, UK and Europe and cruise liners are becoming increasingly popular.

Some couples take the approach of asking friends and relatives if they would be able to attend such a wedding were it to be held, as a preliminary to drawing up a guest list. Others simply ask their parents, plus best friends as matron of honor or chief bridesmaid, and best man, and offer to pay their expenses if they are able to. You should never invite your friends to your wedding in an official capacity unless you know that money is not a problem to them, or you are able to offer to pay their costs. Many couples can pick up part of the tab, and provide their guests with a great few days, but for many more that is not possible.

Many couples have their dream wedding in the exotic location of their choice by themselves, and then have a blessing in their home church or chapel, followed by a full reception for their family and friends. That is creative destination wedding planning at its best for the ordinary couple that can afford their dream wedding and honeymoon, but are unable to pay the traveling and accommodation expenses of their guests. You should not deny yourself your dream just to keep others happy. A little imagination can formulate a way for you to have what you want and also provide your family and friends with what they want.

That is how your creativity can resolve one of the most difficult aspects of any destination wedding: how to keep everybody happy, including yourselves. The next planning stage is to get the actual venues booked. It is one thing deciding that you want married in a specific location, but another in organizing that. Creative planning will likely conclude that you need to hire somebody in the actual destination to handle the organizing at that end, although it is possible for you to handle it yourself.

For that you will need good communication with the local authorities of the town or city in which you intend to be married, so that you are aware of any legal restrictions such as whether or not you need a local marriage license, any local readings of Marriage Banns that vary throughout the Western world, any residential qualifications, blood tests and doctor’s certificates that might be required.

You will also need effective communication with the venues of your ceremony and reception, and also the accommodation of any guests. If you are planning to me married by yourselves, without guests until your reception back home, you will have to arrange a minister or judge for the ceremony, and probably the requisite number of witnesses. Many resorts or other destinations offer a complete package, including witnesses, a cake, photographer and champagne for the couple, including accommodation and even honeymoon facilities if needed.

That is why many opt to hire a wedding planner to look after all of this for them, so that you need only tend to your end of things. After all, there is little to plan once the invitations or home reception, destination venues and ceremony legalities, travel details and the honeymoon have been looked after.

Creative destination wedding planning can be used to give you the fabulous unforgettable wedding that you want, and also to keep all of your family and friends happy whether they can be with you or not. Forward planning is the crux, and whether or not you use the services of professionals to help with it is immaterial. It is the end result of your planning that counts. It is your wedding, and if you and your new husband are happy with your planning, then that is all that matters.

If you want to learn more about Destination Weddings, check out Dola’s website here: destination wedding planning where he offers a free special Report on Unplanned Wedding Expenses that could lead to debt, and also offers advice on how to plan an unforgettable romantic wedding abroad. http://www.romanticweddingtips.com/2007/10/creative-destination-wedding-planning.html

Author: Dola Raheem
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Bumper guardian

Save-The-Date Cards, as the name implies, allow a guest to save the date of an upcoming event so that they don’t forget. It’s hard to keep up with all the myriad things to do, and save the date cards allow the guest to make sure to clear that space off their calendars. Vacations, celebrations, and other guest activities can be re-arranged to revolve around your big event. With a wedding, it’s so important that the recipient know the date ahead of time because there’s just no accounting for it if they miss it. All friends, relatives, and chums should be at your wedding. If you’re in doubt, include a save the date magnet in an envelope with the card. This re-enforces the date of the event, and it looks great on the refrigerator. It’s a win-win. Your guests will be thankful for the heads up. Don’t disappoint them with a shoddy little invitation that they could lose or end up throwing away. Don’t let them toss out the important date. Include a magnet with your envelope. There will be no excuses once the big day rolls around.

A lot of Save-The-Date Cards have free shipping and free samples. You’ll be in a heap of trouble if you don’t get them. There’s just no good reason not to. The extra cost is almost nil when you compare it to other kinds of invitations. Save-The-Date Cards don’t have the exorbitant add-ons and fees of regular invitations. They’re not overpriced; they’re just nice.

Don’t be like so many people that host weddings only to have their most important guests, and also obscure, guests miss the wedding. These little magnets and reminders are lifesavers that ensure your wedding goes smoothly with all the guests intact and on time. It’s a great decision to go for Save-The-Date Cards.

Jeff Fain is an author for Dependable Printing. Please visit Dependable Printing for a great selection of wedding invitations, wedding anniversary invitations, bridal shower invitations, party invitations, and much more.

Author: Jeff Fain
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Duty on LCD/Plasma TV

Save the date cards & magnets come with several background design choices like palm trees, pears, fruit bowls, flowers, hearts, a calendar month with a heart-shaped outline around the day of the wedding, a church, a chapel, two people standing on a heart, two people kissing, a wedding cake, and the list goes on and on and on. Sometimes, you can upload your own background images that fit the size of the magnet. Save-the-date cards are different from magnets because they’re one-sided cards that serve the same purpose as a magnet, but they can’t be attached to the refrigerator. Many detractors say that an invitation is sufficient in this case.

Save the date cards & magnets are fun additions to any wedding. They’re like wedding invitations that you don’t throw away. Your friends will get a kick out of it and anxiously count down the days until your wedding arrives. They really stoke the fires of anticipation for the event. Plus, their refrigerators will look a little better!

Jeff Fain is an author for Dependable Printing. Please visit Dependable Printing for a great selection of wedding invitations, save the date cards & magnets, shower invitations, party invitations, and much more.

Author: Jeff Fain
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Pressure Cooker

But is it? Will you save money?
Or will you simply invest in needless aggravation?

Before deciding to make your own invitations ask yourself these five questions

#1 Am I willing to spend entire days putting together invitations?

An invitation made out of three different papers looks gorgeous. But is it worth it? Making even simple invitations takes time. Picture hours of tedium.

This is on top of the time you spend addressing the things.

Remember, whatever time you spend on invitations is time taken away from other parts of your wedding.

#2 Do I hate all the ready made invitations I’ve seen?

Do a lot of research before you answer this. Hundreds of companies make invitations. Check out at least half a dozen before you give up.

If you absolutely hate everything you’ve seen, see the tips under ‘Making your own Wedding Invitations’ below.

#3 Do I have a crew of reliable people who have agreed to help me?

This answer can make or break you. Please don’t try to make 200 wedding invitations alone. It’s a good way to drive yourself nuts.

Or it can add unnecessary stress if you make invitations as a couple.

A reliable crew will turn invitation making into a social occasion instead of a blood bath.

#4 Is my budget so small that this is my only option?

Then that’s just the way it goes. See ‘Making Your Own Wedding Invitations.’

#5 Am I having a small wedding?

If you’re only inviting 10-20 people, go for it. You’ll still be at it for hours if you make complex invitations. But they’ll be beautiful.

30-80: The upper limit of sanity.
Try to have enough invitation makers on your team to keep the ‘invitation to person’ ratio at 15:1.

80+: Frustration here we come.
If you must do this, forget the multiple pieces of paper. Put the ‘please RSPV by’ at the bottom of the invitation. See ‘Making Your Own Wedding Invitations’ below.

Provide liquor and/or chocolate to your invitation-making crew.

Making Your Own Wedding Invitations

–Go to a specialty paper store and finger the samples.

Even if you end up buying online. You need to know what 60-85 pound paper feels like.

Hint: it has to do with the thickness. Printer paper is somewhere around 20-25 pounds. Invitations typically weigh in at 65-85 pounds.

–Keep it simple.

Extra layers mean extra hours. And extra expense.

Invitation ‘kits’ (which include blank invitations, envelopes, reply cards, etc.) will make your life easier.

Be sure to buy paper that’s compatible with your printer. If you have an ink-jet, for example, don’t buy laser-jet paper.

–Automate.

Consider purchasing an invitation making computer program. You’ll get some nice fonts. And customizable templates.

Three Ways To Save Money

–Watch your weight

The post office charges extra for heavy and/or oversized invitations. Check with them before you make your invitations.

–Bulk Up

Buy fancy paper in bulk. Save even more by printing two invitations on one 8 1/2 X 11 sheet. Each invitation will be a long rectangle. Very modern.

–Mooch

Don’t buy specialty equipment to cut those invitations. Go into your local copier store like you own the place and use their equipment. Bring a few sheets of something to photocopy if they give you the hairy eyeball.

These questions and your answers will help you decide if making wedding invitations is right for you. And help you avoid common mistakes if the answer is yes.

Happy planning!

Amy Lee Johnson is a freelance writer who often contributes to Wedding-Vows-4u.com a site that gives useful hints and tips such as buying wedding invitations or writing wedding vows.

Author: Amy Lee Johnson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing