Average Wedding Costs

Happy July!

Are you planning a wedding for 2009 or 2010? I personally know several engaged couples who are either getting married this year, or are gearing up for a 2010 wedding.

We just got word from one wedding statistics source that average wedding costs are still on the downward spiral. This is probably due to 2 possible, main causes:

1. Couples are cutting out extras & taking other cost-saving measures.

2. Vendors are lowering prices & offering more deals.

Chances are, that number 1 accounts for the bulk of the plummeting average wedding costs. If you are an engaged couple planning an upcoming wedding, how are you saving? Are you cutting out extra services, opting for cheaper outdoor venues, reducing the size of your wedding, etc? We'd be interested in hearing your plans and stories. Share them as comments to this post!

For more wedding saving ideas, visit our Cheap Wedding Tips blog. Brought to you by http://www.nwweddingplace.com/.

Featured Wedding Story

Hello Readers!

I'd like to tell you about an upcoming wedding's plans, so you can potentially get some ideas.

Wedding Theme - Rustic

Colors - Sailor Blue

Location - Farm, outdoors, evening

Flowers - Bride's professionally created bouquet will be deep red roses, with bridesmaid and reception tables featuring a variety of wildflowers. The wedding cake will also be adorned with flowers.

Features - Short, outdoor ceremony with reception on the same property. On-location, country-style dinner served to guests. Bride will wear a strapless, oyster-shell top gown and flip-flops. Professionally printed invitations. Rented glassware (to avoid wind-tipping outdoors) and chairs.

Hopefully this information will be helpful in your wedding planning process!

http://www.nwweddingplace.com/

On Location Wedding Report

Hello readers,

The 3-day Labor Day weekend was a busy one for weddings. People love to take advantage of the extra day off to extend their honeymoons and make it easy for traveling out-of-town guests to attend.

I was the matron of honor this weekend at a local wedding! Here's how it went... Saturday afternoon, all the bridal party converged on a local hotel room to get ready. The bride, all the bridesmaids, flower girls, ring bearers, photographers, and helpers were packed into a room for 2 hours getting ready. It was crazy, but fun!

The bride wore a beaded A-line gown, a long one-layer veil, a gorgeous tiara, and matching jewelry. The bridesmaids wore flame red dresses, all in different styles (all available from www.NWweddingplace.com of course :-). After we all put our wedding dresses on, touched up our makeup, grabbed our bouquets, etc., we headed out towards the wedding ceremony venue. It was at a local park approximately 6 minutes away. The park has a lovely rose garden area, which is a perfect setting for outdoor weddings... Except when it's raining :-(

As we drove down the street closer to the park, the rain started. Outdoor weddings in Washington State are always a gamble - no matter what month it is! The groom and groomsmen were already at the park and had to take shelter in one of the park's shelter areas. We ended up having the ceremony in the park shelter instead of in the garden itself, but the couple seemed unfazed by that hiccup!

The reception followed directly after the ceremony, with the bridal party entering last because of the post-ceremony photo session. The reception was at a local banquet hall, complete with buffet-style catering, a DJ, dance floor, fabric linens, 3-tiered wedding cake, no-host bar, simple red and white table decor, etc. Lovely, and fun!

Wedding Sand Ceremony vs. Unity Candles

For an upcoming wedding, a bride and groom are ordering a sand ceremony set from us instead of using a traditional unity candle set. So what should people know?

• Do either a sand ceremony or a unity candle, but not both.
• A sand ceremony uses a larger vase or container to pour into and hold the sand. The bride & groom each have a small vase with colored sand (each a different color) that they use to pour into the main container. Children can also participate by having their own sand and adding it into the mix.
• Unity candles use two, smaller taper candles which are lit first (one taper for each person). Then, the bride and groom jointly light a larger, center candle that usually is personalized or has a saying imprinted on it.
• Both of these 'ceremonies' signify the blending of, or the joining of two people into one.
• Both of them also make great keepsakes for years to come.

Need to buy a unity candle set or sand ceremony set?

Click on this affiliate site link to shop now

Things to remember:

• Unity candles can be difficult to use during outdoor ceremonies... wind... !!
• Sand ceremonies can be difficult to transport afterward, so make sure your container has a lid of some kind or is very secure in a vehicle!
• Some wedding venues do not allow open flame.
• Don't collect and use wet sand from a beach for your sand ceremony. It is not clean and you may end up with mold!

Enjoy! Visit www.NWweddingplace.com for more wedding planning help & info.

08-08-08 Wedding Frenzy

Hello!

I just got back from a wedding - One of the thousands of weddings happening today - 08-08-08. Today's date is the most popular wedding date of the year! The date itself is a novelty for couples.

On location wedding report:

Tonight's wedding was an outdoor wedding, and thankfully our Pacific Northwest weather was cooperating nicely! Although, there were a couple of mishaps with trying to light the unity candle in the wind... and some of the table decorations (colored napkins with picture holders, vases & wildflowers and glass beads) were having some wind issues as well. The venue was an old, historic estate in the Olympia/Tumwater area. It is a perfect wedding location, with a mix of beautiful grounds, parking and a historic mansion interior.

The colors were purple and white, with all the bridesmaids wearing a dark plum color. The bride's gown had a black sash and she wore a slim tiara with an up-do hairstyle. The ceremony was short, but sweet with one of the most beautiful marriage prayers I've ever heard. A small group of live musicians sang a song as the bride and her father made their way outside and down the aisle. A DJ then took over afterward as guests mingled and got ready for a nice catered meal.

The wedding catering consisted of meatballs, marinated chicken, 5 types of fresh fruit, 5 types of fresh veggies, and 5 types of crackers, bread and rolls. Very tasty and simple! They also had an easy rainbow sherbet punch and an open bar with beer and wine.

The cake was made by the bride's Aunt, and was 4-tiers with fresh, purple hydrangea flowers on it. The whole feel of the wedding was very relaxed with an emphasis on the new couple's love for each other and their families. Wonderful!

It's Wedding Time in the Pacific Northwest

It's official... wedding season has begun! Traditionally, June through Sept are the 4 busiest wedding months across the country, and especially in the Pacific Northwest. Here, we count on some warmer temps and less rain during that 4 month span. However, for all those hopeful brides and grooms wanting a June outdoor wedding in the Pacific NW, our weather has not been cooperating yet! I guess it could be worse. The rain hasn't been excessive, just cold temperatures for this time of year. In fact, the coldest June on record since 1917...

Honestly, that's how outdoor weddings go though in the NW. No month is completely "safe"! Thinking about which month to have your NW wedding in? We offer an extensive article on our main site called "Choosing Your Wedding Month in the Northwest". Each month has it's quirks, benefits and things to consider.

Do you have any outdoor wedding backup plans you'd like to share with our community? What are your creative "Plan B's"? Let us know!

Spring Weddings in the Pacific Northwest!

Welcome readers,
Today is a typical Spring day in the Northwest - rain, sun, windy gusts every now and then, and about 55 degrees. It's a rare Spring wedding in the Pacific Northwest that can survive rain-free outdoors! Our outdoor wedding season is typically June - Sept, but you still can not count the possibility of rain out. Even the weather reports can be unreliable here! Despite all that... the Pacific Northwest is still a great place to live and a great place to have a wedding.
So are you having a Spring wedding? Indoor or outdoor? Are you planning a summer wedding? Indoor or outdoor?
Give us your feedback, and join in our community discussions. This blog will be used for our community of brides and grooms to share ideas and respond to our posts. Thanks! We look forward to hearing from you :-)