the best advice i can give...

[Femme la Phoenix]

If you are married recently or for a while what would be the best advice you could give to someone who is about to tie-the-knot?

:: do you have advice on choosing a photographer?
:: how to choose a great reception venue?
:: advice on dressmakers/fabric/designs?

or did something not quiet work out for you but otherwise you kept it together and the day was great??

advice on just about any aspect of getting married...

[Mahjong]

When getting quotes for flowers, caterers etc.. dont mention the "Wedding" word, the quotes triple in price!!

Get several quotes from people, and then if there is a particular person you like for the service but their quote isn't the cheapest, ask them to match it. Wedding's can be hard competition.

FLOWERS! They can be a major rip off by some places.

If you can, have you and your partner take the week before the wedding off, that way if ANYTHING stalls or doesn't turn out, you have a week to sort it ASAP.

Another tip: Ask the person you are dealing with if you can contact their past clients and ask for their feedback. If they balk, steer clear of them.

Good Luck!

[2sweetgirls]

I recently got marrierd in october 07.

My Photographer was FANTASTIC, my photos where the most importnant thing to me that i was willing to spend up big on, our package was $1400. It included two photographers on the day, We got an awsome Coffee table book, 100 x 5'x7' photos printed, I am so happy with Ben's imaginative work, he was relaxed yet very professional. His Wife Justine works along side with candid photos. They are situated at Capalaba QLD. They do travel also. Check out their blog http://infinitystudios.com.au/

I do not suggest buying a brand new expensive dress, Check out the second hand ones on ebay in your area and go try some on.

Most of you will have children, so make sure dad has them with him and his groomsmen until its getting closer to the time to go to the church. chuck their clothes on and into the cars.

I had my reception at my parents house they have a pretty spectacular home and landscaped yard. after our wedding they are thinking of doing it for a job, buying some land and using it for a wedding venue. FABULOUS!

Hmm what else... We bought our flower girl dresses from a little chinese stall at the markets, beutiful white bell dresses perfect and $20 each.

If i think of anything else i will come back

[springbride]

For me, Photography was so important as these were going to be our memories. So look around, ask to look at their previous work.

Umm, My Mum brought my dress, but definetly look around different shops. If you find 'The One' go with it. My bridesmaids kept telling me to try others on, but that would have just confused me and I loved my dress I already picked.

Ebay was great for bargains. I got all my wedding favors off there.

I made my own invitations, thank you cards, placecards etc and although it took a while to put it all together it saved me heaps of money.

We brought the flowergirl dresses from Myer when they had there sales, so they cosy me $20 each instead of $80-90 each.

[Chickadee]

If you only have one bridesmaid you avoid the hassle of finding a dress style that suits everyone :)

[missie_mack]

I found my photographer at a market. She was selling prints of her pictures. So I asked her for her email and sent her what I wanted and asked for her to price it. Really chuffed with the whole package and the photos were beautiful. She couldnt be accomodating enough

I bought my flowergirls dress at Myer on sale and my bridesmaids dress on ebay (cost me $40!!) Cause I had only one bridesmaid I didnt have to find matching dresses.

Pick flowers that are in season. Simple can look brilliant. I had daisies and they looked fresh and original.

[xxSerendipityxx]

My photographer cost $850 because we had a home wedding, but that includes an extra $200 that I paid to have a custom made album with our names and our wedding date on the front.

I bought my dress second hand from a lady on one of the wedding forums that I used to read. It cost me $800 and it was beautiful!! There are also some great dresses on ebay.

In terms of flowers, I used silk bouquets for myself and the girls which I got on ebay. Flowers for decorations I got from local markets and gardens the day before and we just had some very simple vase arrangements on the tables.

Hope this helps you :)

[Oscar's mum]

The best advice I could give is..........



DON'T HAVE BRIDESMAIDS!

[zenifa]

My one tip to people getting married is................

focus on your marriage, not on the wedding. The wedding is just one day in your life (yes a very special one at that), but your marriage is for the rest of your lives. The photos, cake, dresses etc, don't mean much if you don't have a strong marriage to share your life together and the memories of that day.

Given that people can spend so much time and money organising the wedding, it does surprise me that people don't spend as much time preparing themselves for marriage.
I am a firm believer in pre-maritial counselling (doesn't have to be church or religion based), so that you can build a strong foundation in your relationship and face anything together in your marriage. Yes its not as exciting as planning your wedding, but the payoff in years to come is worth it.

[Nex]

When looking for a photographer look for one that you like who will also give you ownership of the negatives.

Many of them will give you the package of prints and then hit you big time over and above the $$$ for any extras/reprints.

[our little treasures]

My wedding ceremony was gorgeous but I had a few family members that did their best to cause a lot of havoc. Being young I tried to sort it out and spent most of my wedding reception with my attention focused on their negative behavior. Trying to make everyone happy for me when clearly they were not.

My advice is... if anyone starts any trouble ignore it get security or the reception staff to deal with it.
Just enjoy yourself.


The best advice I could give is..........



DON'T HAVE BRIDESMAIDS!

:laughing: I know what you mean:p I had problem with my bridesmaids. I was waxing my bridesmaids lip hair instead of her helping me get ready for the day. MMMh maybe I won't get started on her:banghead:

[madcate]

Seeing as my wedding is now all planned, my best advice would be:

* spend as much as you can afford and if you can try not to scrimp on photography, videography and your rings - they're the only things that will still be around after your wedding day;

* go for the photography package that includes copyright or the negatives - it will save you a FORTUNE when it comes time to printing your photographs. Heard so many horror stories about this one - I made sure my photographer will be giving us the negatives after our day.

* cheapest is not always best, just because something is cheap doesn't always mean its worth it. quality doesn't have to cost a fortune, but you might regret choosing something that was cheap and poor quality on your wedding day;

* DON'T be manipulated or pushed into choosing bridesmaids because they're family (this can include even sisters) - IT WON'T WORK - only choose people that you absolutely love and who you know will be there for you;

* don't get too many opinions on what you should do or have - you will know in your heart what you want and too many opinions will confuse you;

* use the internet for your research, don't buy wedding mags, they're nice to look at with lots of pretty pictures, but they're expensive and don't tell you a great deal;

* don't be afraid to use ebay for your wedding bits and pieces - I did and saved literally 1,000's of bucks;

* don't spend a lot of money or even consider scrapping entirely, favours (bomboniere sp?) and the wedding cake - these items are seriously not a priority and they're often forgotten or left behind and if you don't have them, people will barely notice - I promise.

* Call in as many favours as you can - most people don't mind and actually like being involved in your day, even if it is just to drive you around in their very nice white sedan that you've dressed up with ribbons;

* invest in pre-martial counselling - its a 'must do' rather than a 'maybe not' - a fantastic way of discussing those touchy issues like money and kids in a really positive way with someone to mediate or 'referee' if you like;

and lastly two of the most important tips

* remember you aren't getting 'wedding'd' you're getting married, a wedding is only one day but a marriage is supposed to be for life.

* banish stress as much as you can and enjoy your day - many married couples have told me that the day goes by so fast and you forget so much - take a breath, relax and enjoy the moment with your man.

I can give good advice, but I'm really bad taking advice - something for me to work on.

[MissSparkle]

I just got married on Sunday n my main advice is...

- The day will go so quickly so take time to just sit down with ur new hubby and just enjoy the moment.

Also we decided to hire a freelance photographer as opposed to a company and not only did it save us money, we get all the copyrights to photos n a disk containing every image taken on the day. I didnt find any companies willing to do this.

- Wear in ur wedding shoes!!!! I have massive, painful blisters from mine even tho they were only kitten heals...they killed me!

[Reidymac]

The best advice I could give is..........



DON'T HAVE BRIDESMAIDS!


:laughing::laughing::laughing: It's funny because its such good advice

[learo dochais]

I agree with our little treasures - if you have anyone at your wedding in a frump just leave them to it - you can't make everyone happy.

just make sure to step back every now and then and take it all in, it's such a wonderful day..

with bridesmaids, if you really have to have them remember who you ask - I had one sister who hates weddings and another who was just too young to know how to help, so I asked my best friend too - she was awesome, managed the other two perfectly while giving me a hand when i needed without looking like a goody two shoes. I loved having both my sisters as part of the wedding party but when it comes to relying on someone you have to remember everyone has strong and weak points :) Decking the bm's out doesn't have to cost a fortune either, shop around and don't worry about having everyones hair and make up done :)

main thing is to remember it's a marriage you are entering into, so make it as much about the two of you as possible, and remember anything that goes wrong is usually really only the frivolous stuff - not something that will impact the love you have for each other.

[mischief79]

It's already been said, but think about the marriage and what is to come, not just the wedding. It's really only one day. I spoke with my parents who have been married for 34 years about getting married, and my dad said that he only knows that he was there because of the photos (and not because he was drunk, he doesn't drink!). He said that he and my mum only speak to one other couple still who were there (apart from family). They told my now DH and I, "Here is X amount of dollars, do what you want. Wedding, kitchen, car etc." We chose to fly to the South Pacific and get married alone on a tropical beach. To us it was about our vows and our commitment to each other, not some fancy party for everyone we know.
So make sure you do what YOU want, not what all your friends and family want. It's only one day in your whole life, you especially don't want to be paying it off for years to come

Good Luck!

[angelickaren]

im in the early stages of planning my weddings and my friend on msn has told me of this guy on ebay for the dresses and OMG they are so cheap look great i found this dress i really really like i looked as well on other sites for same dress on the wedding site this dress was $1550 on ebay are you ready $59.95 OMG hey the postage is the most to get this dress to me on the cc is $116 so this dress is mine for $175.95 saving omg of are you ready $1374.05 :eek:
and bridesmaid dresses on this ebay site is $49,95 each and really nice heaps of colours also he will make any dress for you

if any one wants this ebay seller details just Pm you will be so shocked i was