While your wedding is first and foremost a declaration of your love, you must also look at it logically: it is a really expensive social event. So, before discussing who will and won’t be invited, let’s be clear on the financial implication of each guest. Adding an additional guest won’t just add the cost of a plate to your final budget. Instead, you have to factor in that guest’s invitation, wedding program, favors, chair covers… you get the point. Each additional guest you invite could be $100+ out of your pocket! Do you still want to invite upstairs neighbor, or have you suddenly remembered the time she overflowed her tub and it leaked into your bedroom?

Who to invite:

Deciding who to invite to your wedding doesn’t have to be rocket science. Instead, look at it as a game of Jenga! Stack up all the people you want to invite and then start to remove guests one by one, being careful to avoid a collapse.

Once you and your fiancé have decided upon the number of guests that will be invited, you should both write out a guest list-wish list. This list should have the names of everyone you would invite if money were no object. Next, sort your list into 3 priority groups: A, B, and C. The A Group are guests that must be invited: parents, siblings, etc. The C Group are guests that you would like to invite: distant relatives, college friends. Those in the B Group fall in between.

When it’s time to send out invitations, start with Group A. As Group A guests decline the invitation, begin to invite guests from the B Group. When the B Group has been exhausted, move on to the C Group. This method keeps you sane and your guest list manageable. That is, of course, until someone asks to bring their toddler to the ceremony….

Wedding glasses are used in weddings and any other occasion such as a renewal ceremony and even a wedding ceremony. Wedding glasses are used to not only hold liquid but to make a toast to the celebrant and they come in different forms and sizes such as flutes, goblets, shot glasses and wine glasses. Toasts are a rather compulsory ethic when it comes to these kinds of occasions. There are several different types of toasting procedures and the two most common types are a group toast and a two-person toast.

A group toast is drinking to the people who used to be and still are. This tradition is the same today as it was many years ago in Greece, where the tradition first started and is now observed in many different cultures and events. In a toast, the person performing the toast stands up as a sign of respect with his wedding glass in one hand and everybody else around the toast master stands up too. Common etiquettes observed during a toast are the raising of the wedding glass and if men are wearing hats, it is obligatory to remove them. When the toast is spoken it is very important to look the person you are toasting to in the eyes. To end the toast, a silent bow or a simple little nod of the head will do. Everyone then sips the wine. Sipping the wine or champagne in small amounts is the modern and socially ethical way to doing it. Sometimes, you are required to drink everything in the glass.

When group toasting in a wedding ceremony, normally, the best man does it on behalf of everyone else in the reception hall. Apart from the best man, it has become customary for the maid-of-honor to toast the bride and groom as well. After this, the bride and groom can then make a toast to thank their parents, family and friends and everyone else attending for sharing this special day with them, for the help and support in planning their wedding and for everyone in making their day special. The groom may also make a toast to his new bride. When this happens, she remains seated while the groom and the guests remain standing. If the bride wishes to toast her new husband, the groom remains seated while the bride and all the guests remain standing.

Wedding glasses used for toasting may be given out when the toastmaster initiates the toasting series. He or she may either signal the waitresses to serve the glasses already filled with either champagne or the special wine or give the signal to the servers to serve wine or champagne on the wedding glasses that are already placed on the table for this special event. More often than not, these wedding glasses are engraved with the day and date and time of the wedding as well as the name of the newlyweds together along with a special message. These glasses are taken back home by the guests as remembrance of the special day and as keepsakes.

Kim is the author of Discountmugs.com. If you would like more information aboutWedding glasses, such as Wedding glasses, please visit http://www.discountmugs.com

Where to begin

Before you even start crunching numbers, write down the things that are essential for your wedding. Talk to your fiancé because he might have different ideas from you, and you’ll want to figure out the best way to merge your styles before writing a budget.

Talk to your fiancé about what your perfect wedding would be like, and listen to him talk about his perfect wedding. If you’re coming from opposite ends of the spectrum, figure out how to meet in the middle and agree on a theme or look you’ll both love.

Next, how much can you spend?

This is a pretty important step, of course. The best place to start is usually with your parents. They may want to contribute a lump sum to your wedding plans, or they may have a few particular things in mind that they’ll pay for. Any money your parents contribute plus any wedding money you have saved can be set aside for your wedding budget.

Don’t use credit or loans to up the ante for your wedding budget. Even if you only have a little to work with, adding debt will only stress you and your husband-to-be out, especially at the start of your marriage.

You may want to open a bank account or a credit card specifically for your wedding because it will help you track each payment. Each month leading up to the big day, you can look over an account ledger to find out just how much you’ve spent. (If you decide to go the credit card route, find one with a 0% introductory interest rate, and pay it off every month. You don’t want interest rolled into your wedding budget!)

Use all your resources

If you know people who would make excellent photographers, chauffeurs, invitation-makers, dress makers, or anything else you’ll need on your wedding day, make a list.

Your friends and family members will most likely be elated to help out on your wedding day. Plus, using the talents of people you know will make your wedding day both more special and more affordable.

Make a guest list

Create a rough list of how many guests you’ll invite. It’s really easy for your parents and his parents to add extended family members and out-of-town friends to this list, so be careful here.

You really shouldn’t invite people to your wedding if you don’t want them there or know them well, so here are a few ideas to help you pare down the list
don’t invite people you just work with; only friends
only include relatives up to first cousins
have an adults-only wedding

Paring down the guest list is difficult but necessary, and you’ll need to include your fiancé and his family as well as your family, as they may want to add people you hadn’t thought of.

Total up the big costs

Having an approximate number of guests will help you figure out some of your big costs such as catering, venues, and drinks, and you can include these in your budget plan now.

You can start getting more specific by calling vendors you like. See if they’re available first of all, and then get estimated costs for the number of guests you’ll have. It will be easy to see whether or not the vendors fit into your budget, so you can move on quickly and ask for more specific quotes from the most affordable vendors.

Add up smaller costs too

Start filling up a spreadsheet with the smaller costs of decorations and favours. Keep the sheet updated as you figure out exact costs for everything.

Over budget?

If the rough budget you’ve written out now is much too high, you’ll have to consider your priorities. Maybe you need a smaller cake, or a DJ instead of a live band.

Decide how you and your fiancé want to splurge and how you can afford to save. You could make your own invitations so that you have extra money for a designer dress. It’s really important that you prioritize and stay on budget, as going over budget will be very stressful.

If you simply don’t have enough money saved to create the wedding day you want, you could consider moving your date back a few months giving you time to save that extra cash.

The little things

When it comes to your wedding budget, it won’t be the costly items that throw your budget off but the small ones. It can be simple to save money on big ticket items, but the little things can really start adding to your budget. So watch yourself when it comes to little things, and keep all your receipts so you can update your wedding budget all the time.

Getting ready to get married is a huge, sometimes overwhelming experience, and you may thing that a DIY wedding invitation will simply add stress. However, designing your own wedding invitations can allow you to get exactly what you want without paying a fortune, and it’s not all that hard, either. So follow these simple steps to let loose your creativity and create your own wedding invitations.

1. Gather inspiration. A few online searches will bring up plenty of beautiful invitation designs that you can draw ideas from. Look specifically at invitations by professional designers and letterpress stationery leaders, and use some of their brilliant ideas in your own DIY wedding invitations.

2. Good design is first of all about balance, which is simply how different parts of an invitation are related to one another position-wise. Look through your inspirational pictures for ideas about whether you want all the objects and texts to be spread evenly across the background or to be arranged more loosely on the page. Multiple objects on your wedding invitations will add texture and balance to your invitations.

3. Find your “anchor” object or focal point. Professional wedding invitations, you’ll probably notice, will be centered around a picture, object, or design that acts as the invitation’s focal point. A particularly popular technique is to use a picture of you and your fiancé slightly off of the center of the invitation and to put a frame around the picture. Placing the anchor off-center and using a frame will lend a more polished look to your DIY wedding invitations.

4. Be sure that your colors aren’t too bright or busy and that they are complimentary. Using different shades of the same color can keep your invitations simple and classy, but you can also use just two contrasting colors for extra pizzazz. Before you decide on colored papers, experiment with printing on them, as different colors will look different. Also, when choosing fonts, make sure your text is visible and the style suits your wedding – an elegant font for an upscale wedding, and something simpler for a down-to-earth celebration.

With these steps, you can create beautiful, personalized DIY wedding invitations. Keep it simple, and your invitations will be cherished by you and your guests for a lifetime.