Monday, May 11, 2009
Those who can't wed, plan....
Bull! Tricia got engaged this weekend in Michigan. Congratulations to Tricia and Danny!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Jackie's Wedding Planning Journey - My Budget Saving Tips
Happy Friday to everyone! Sorry for the lack of post last Friday. Working two jobs, planning a wedding, volunteering...I was just plain exausted!
To make up for it, I'll give you a small update before moving on to this week's blog - I met my wedding hair stylist, Jenny, for the first time last Wednesday. I figured I should start having her cut my hair since she is doing my updo for the wedding. I LOVED her. She gave me really adorable side swept bangs. I never thought I could pull off the bang thing, but I love them. Pictures to follow.
There's no good segue - so let's just move right from my bangs to my budget. To begin, I am AWFUL with money. By "awful" I mean I love to spend it. If it doesn't go directly into my 401k, it gets spent. The first thing I did when Matt proposed was promised myself and my parents that I would do better, especially when it came to spending the thoughtfully-saved money that my parents generously gave me for the wedding.
Since my parents and some of their friends read this blog I won't give out exact numbers. But to give you an idea of the budget that I am working with, so that you take my efforts seriously and don't think I have some bottomless well of money, let's just say that if the average cost of a wedding in Savannah is $12,698 to $21,163 (according to http://www.costofwedding.com/), my budget is within those numbers.
With budget on the brain I started planning by reading magazines, websites, and blogs. There are so many neat, original, exciting ideas out there - except when it comes to strategy for saving money! You see the same tips time and again - get married in the off season, get married on a weekday, DIY everything, use flowers in season, etc. As far as those tips go, I had to get married in the summer so my friends and family all had vacation, many of them are teachers. I don't want to get married on a weekday and I don't have time to do and make everything myself. I will say I am pretty much using flowers that are in-season, but that is just because I happen to like summer flowers. Ok, so that's it? That's all I can do?
Here are some tips that I discovered through experience, and think might be helpful to you:
1. Give yourself a budget for each individual vendor and line-cost before you start setting meetings and spending. Know how much you can spend on each aspect of the wedding instead of just having 1 grand total. If you don't, things will add up VERY quickly, and before you know it you will be over-budget. And if you sign contracts before realizing that, you may be in serious trouble. Being up front with your vendors will also make it easier for them to make suggestions and work with you. For example, if your florist knows you only have $x amount for bouquets, she will know what flowers will work with your vision and price point and which ones to avoid. Use a spreadsheet, or you can use a budget program like the one they have on The Knot - it is free to register and calculates how much you should aim to spend on each vendor based on your total budget and average wedding expenditure. It also gives you the option to customize the categories - so if you know you are not paying for, say, transportation, you can delete that and add something like your bridesmaids' hotel rooms instead.
2. Decide what details are most important to you. For one bride it's amazing photography that she can't live without; for another it is a designer dress. Whatever it is that you must have, figure it out right away. If it involves a splurge, plan on that by choosing where you will cut back on another aspect of the wedding to make it possible. Throughout my planning, I have found myself saying, "oh, this is so important" or "I must have this," about many things - but if I really sit down and think about what I'm talking about, I usually realize I don't need it to enjoy my wedding day. For example, I am sure that whatever bowls AVIA - my reception venue - will provide will be suitable for putting out candy....no need to buy the amazingly cute ones I found at Home Goods! haha!
3. Make the extra effort to search for deals. This works especially well if you have a longer engagement, but still works in a shorter time frame. I had 9 months, so not quite enough time to wait for spring sales on some things, but I still ended up finding great deals. Toward the end of the year I went shopping for my gown. I figured maybe it worked like cars - you know, clear out the 08's and make room for the 09's! I ended up with a gorgeous LaSpose gown that was marked 50% off. Also, it was a discontinued sample, so they knocked off another 10%, making this dress a definite budget-saver purchase for me. Also keep in mind that many craft stores compete and may offer price-matching. Keep an eye out for that. Price matching is an amazing barganing tool.
4. Ok, so this is the most important...Keep in mind that this day is about you publicly announcing your love for another person and telling the world that you want to spend the rest of your life with them. Your guests are there to celebrate your marriage, and love for one another, not the custom-made, pink, sparkly ribbon on the favors....
Do you have a great money saving idea? Let us know at info@triciahuddas.com
P.S. This weekend is my very first wedding shower. My future Mom(in-law) and Grandma are hosting it in Florida and I am so excited! I consider myself very lucky to already have a great relationship with them, and I am so honored that they are taking the time to give me a shower!
To make up for it, I'll give you a small update before moving on to this week's blog - I met my wedding hair stylist, Jenny, for the first time last Wednesday. I figured I should start having her cut my hair since she is doing my updo for the wedding. I LOVED her. She gave me really adorable side swept bangs. I never thought I could pull off the bang thing, but I love them. Pictures to follow.
There's no good segue - so let's just move right from my bangs to my budget. To begin, I am AWFUL with money. By "awful" I mean I love to spend it. If it doesn't go directly into my 401k, it gets spent. The first thing I did when Matt proposed was promised myself and my parents that I would do better, especially when it came to spending the thoughtfully-saved money that my parents generously gave me for the wedding.
Since my parents and some of their friends read this blog I won't give out exact numbers. But to give you an idea of the budget that I am working with, so that you take my efforts seriously and don't think I have some bottomless well of money, let's just say that if the average cost of a wedding in Savannah is $12,698 to $21,163 (according to http://www.costofwedding.com/), my budget is within those numbers.
With budget on the brain I started planning by reading magazines, websites, and blogs. There are so many neat, original, exciting ideas out there - except when it comes to strategy for saving money! You see the same tips time and again - get married in the off season, get married on a weekday, DIY everything, use flowers in season, etc. As far as those tips go, I had to get married in the summer so my friends and family all had vacation, many of them are teachers. I don't want to get married on a weekday and I don't have time to do and make everything myself. I will say I am pretty much using flowers that are in-season, but that is just because I happen to like summer flowers. Ok, so that's it? That's all I can do?
Here are some tips that I discovered through experience, and think might be helpful to you:
1. Give yourself a budget for each individual vendor and line-cost before you start setting meetings and spending. Know how much you can spend on each aspect of the wedding instead of just having 1 grand total. If you don't, things will add up VERY quickly, and before you know it you will be over-budget. And if you sign contracts before realizing that, you may be in serious trouble. Being up front with your vendors will also make it easier for them to make suggestions and work with you. For example, if your florist knows you only have $x amount for bouquets, she will know what flowers will work with your vision and price point and which ones to avoid. Use a spreadsheet, or you can use a budget program like the one they have on The Knot - it is free to register and calculates how much you should aim to spend on each vendor based on your total budget and average wedding expenditure. It also gives you the option to customize the categories - so if you know you are not paying for, say, transportation, you can delete that and add something like your bridesmaids' hotel rooms instead.
2. Decide what details are most important to you. For one bride it's amazing photography that she can't live without; for another it is a designer dress. Whatever it is that you must have, figure it out right away. If it involves a splurge, plan on that by choosing where you will cut back on another aspect of the wedding to make it possible. Throughout my planning, I have found myself saying, "oh, this is so important" or "I must have this," about many things - but if I really sit down and think about what I'm talking about, I usually realize I don't need it to enjoy my wedding day. For example, I am sure that whatever bowls AVIA - my reception venue - will provide will be suitable for putting out candy....no need to buy the amazingly cute ones I found at Home Goods! haha!
3. Make the extra effort to search for deals. This works especially well if you have a longer engagement, but still works in a shorter time frame. I had 9 months, so not quite enough time to wait for spring sales on some things, but I still ended up finding great deals. Toward the end of the year I went shopping for my gown. I figured maybe it worked like cars - you know, clear out the 08's and make room for the 09's! I ended up with a gorgeous LaSpose gown that was marked 50% off. Also, it was a discontinued sample, so they knocked off another 10%, making this dress a definite budget-saver purchase for me. Also keep in mind that many craft stores compete and may offer price-matching. Keep an eye out for that. Price matching is an amazing barganing tool.
4. Ok, so this is the most important...Keep in mind that this day is about you publicly announcing your love for another person and telling the world that you want to spend the rest of your life with them. Your guests are there to celebrate your marriage, and love for one another, not the custom-made, pink, sparkly ribbon on the favors....
Do you have a great money saving idea? Let us know at info@triciahuddas.com
P.S. This weekend is my very first wedding shower. My future Mom(in-law) and Grandma are hosting it in Florida and I am so excited! I consider myself very lucky to already have a great relationship with them, and I am so honored that they are taking the time to give me a shower!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Wedding Q&A Thursday - Guest Room Blocks
Q: I received a room block agreement from the hotel [that I'm recommending for my guests] that asks for my credit card information and says I will be charged for any rooms in the block that are not booked! Is that right? Is that normal?
A: I will start by saying this - You are a smart and savvy bride - you read that room block contract before thoughtlessly handing over your credit card number and signature. You will go far in wedding planning and in life!
As for the room-block arrangements of which you speak...Is it right? I can't judge. This system may not be right for you, but the hotel has a reason for using this system and it's certainly more about protecting them and less about hurting you. Is it normal? It's not abnormal. There is a lot of variation among hotel chains and independently-run properties in how they manage guest room blocks for weddings and group accounts. Here are the basic systems that I've seen and some terms and conditions.
Definitions - "Hard" vs "Soft" Blocks
A: I will start by saying this - You are a smart and savvy bride - you read that room block contract before thoughtlessly handing over your credit card number and signature. You will go far in wedding planning and in life!
As for the room-block arrangements of which you speak...Is it right? I can't judge. This system may not be right for you, but the hotel has a reason for using this system and it's certainly more about protecting them and less about hurting you. Is it normal? It's not abnormal. There is a lot of variation among hotel chains and independently-run properties in how they manage guest room blocks for weddings and group accounts. Here are the basic systems that I've seen and some terms and conditions.
Definitions - "Hard" vs "Soft" Blocks
A "hard" block means that a hotel is actually holding the number of rooms in your block for your guests, which can be reserved for the agreed-upon rate. Scenario - The entire hotel becomes full 3 months before your wedding, but your guests have only blocked 2 of the 20 rooms in your block. The remaining 18 rooms are still available to your guests because the hotel has held them from the public. They will not become available to people outside of your party until the deadline for reservations in your block - generally 1 month prior to the wedding.
A "soft" block is more like a rate agreement. Your guests can reserve the number of rooms in your block (sometimes not specified in a soft block) for the agreed-upon price. However, the hotel is not holding those rooms from the public. In the same scenario I described above, your guests who did not make their reservations yet would be out of luck - the hotel is sold out.
Financial Responsibility and Minimums
To go back to the specific question we are addressing - your commitment to the hotel, in exchange for a room block, differs from hotel to hotel. Some hotels charge you nothing for a room block, and make no limitations on the minimum rooms that need to be reserved to avoid charges. But these no-obligation agreements are quite often soft room blocks, so read the agreement carefully and know the terms of the block so that you can fairly assess the extent to which it fulfills the needs of your guests.
The next step away from no-obligation room blocks is a minimum reservation requirement. Some hotels require that a minimum percentage of the rooms in your block be reserved, or you will be charged for the un-met portion of that minimum. Scenario - You have blocked 20 rooms. The hotel requires 25% of the block be reserved. If at least 5 rooms are booked by your guests, you are clear. If, however, only 4 rooms are blocked, the hotel will charge you for the 5th room to cover the minimum.
Finally, at the other end of the spectrum from a no-obligation block, is full responsibility. Under such an agreement, you are responsible for your entire block being filled with guests. In such an arrangement, there is often an out-clause stating that if the hotel is completely full, you are relieved of your obligation to pay for the remainder of rooms in your block. However, it is still important to be thoughtful in calculating the number of rooms that your guests will need when entering into any room block agreement that leaves you with the financial responsibility for some or all of rooms that go unused by your guests.
Room Block Tips
- Limit the number of hotels at which you create room blocks to 1 or 2 hotels.
- Provide room block information to guests as soon as it becomes available - such as when you send out the save the dates - and keep reminding them as reservation deadlines approach.
- Check on the status of your room block at least once a month. If the hotel doesn't have an online booking page that allows you to check on the reservations in your group on your own, call the sales representative for an updated list of reservations under the block. If your block is filling up quicker than you expected, you may be able to add rooms if you know far enough in advance!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tricia Huddas & Co. Real Wedding - Colleen and Mike, part one
Colleen and Mike were wed last September in Holland, Michigan. This post is a long time coming, but I am just able to get my hands on the pictures. I am home in Michigan this week, and after many requests, I just had to get the images myself...from my family...as it was my little sister’s wedding and who else can I make a comment like that about!
I was not only the maid of honor, but also the wedding planner – a weird, but fun, position. It was different to be “working” the wedding, pulling both duties – I can usually get away with more comfortable shoes, but at this wedding I was running in heels all night. But I also got to enjoy a cocktail or two, not something I partake in when working! I come from a family of four kids – two older brothers and my younger sister, who is the stereotypical “baby of the family," so I picked on her as much as I could growing up and still do – it is my job isn’t it?
For as long as I can remember, she and I have grown up with opposite tastes. We have a similar style, but our color preferences have always been different, so her wedding involved a lot of biting my tongue when she decided on a bold black and red affair – I am much more subdued in my choices. Bold colors and all, the wedding was beautiful and a true success!
My mother is a real DIY person and decorates cakes on the side for friends and family, so most of the items for my sister’s wedding were designed and created by me, my mother and sister - from the invitations, programs and place cards, to the wedding cake! We even put my Aunt and Dad to work on the weekend of her bridal shower to assemble the invitations that I had designed!
Here is a sneak peak of some of the details and keep checking back as I will post all about the wedding day! Don't forget we do travel for wedding planning!
I was not only the maid of honor, but also the wedding planner – a weird, but fun, position. It was different to be “working” the wedding, pulling both duties – I can usually get away with more comfortable shoes, but at this wedding I was running in heels all night. But I also got to enjoy a cocktail or two, not something I partake in when working! I come from a family of four kids – two older brothers and my younger sister, who is the stereotypical “baby of the family," so I picked on her as much as I could growing up and still do – it is my job isn’t it?
For as long as I can remember, she and I have grown up with opposite tastes. We have a similar style, but our color preferences have always been different, so her wedding involved a lot of biting my tongue when she decided on a bold black and red affair – I am much more subdued in my choices. Bold colors and all, the wedding was beautiful and a true success!
My mother is a real DIY person and decorates cakes on the side for friends and family, so most of the items for my sister’s wedding were designed and created by me, my mother and sister - from the invitations, programs and place cards, to the wedding cake! We even put my Aunt and Dad to work on the weekend of her bridal shower to assemble the invitations that I had designed!
Here is a sneak peak of some of the details and keep checking back as I will post all about the wedding day! Don't forget we do travel for wedding planning!
Here is me and my beautiful sister on her wedding day!
Photography by Kelli Wiseman – Clever Creations Photography
Wedding Color Inspiration - Wall of Ribbon
Check out the wall or ribbon at Savannah Florist, Kiwi Fleur - Vicki admits she has a bit of an obsession with ribbon. I would say she just has a well-developed appreciation for color!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Tricia Huddas & Co. Real Weddings - Great Shot of Katie and Wade
Katie and Wade were married on Saturday at The Mansion on Forsyth Park. They were a really special couple. The groomsmen cried during the ceremony which is always a good sign. But I think the warmth and love that this couple share was actually captured perfectly in this shot - captured by Teresa from Memories n' More Photography, and staged by the afternoon breeze. Katie's chapel-length veil was picked up in the gentle cross-current and seemed to hug Wade.
I'd also like to mention that Wade is a musician and he professionally recorded acoustic guitar versions of Canon in D and the Wedding March for use it the ceremony. They were the prettiest versions of the songs I've ever heard. It's so amazing when talented people include their craft in the wedding festivities.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Free Honeymoon!
PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com is running a Honeymoon Giveaway contest beginning today, May 1 and running throught June 30, 2009!
The winner will receive a $2,000 Marriott Honeymoon TravelCard, redeemable at any Marriott hotel, anywhere in the world. And that TravelCard can be used for anything at the hotel including room nights, spa treatments, golf, and even breakfast in bed! Marriott has over 3,000 hotels in amazing spots like Hawaii, the Cayman Islands, London, Paris, and Thailand…just to name a few.
Brides can enter once per email address per day using the contest entry form. 
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