GregoryGoodman

My Big Fat Greek Wedding part II: My Kid Sister’s Tiny Budget Greek Wedding

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Get Me To The Church On Time - Athens-Style
A couple on their way to a wedding in Athens. Courtesy of Flickr

As we hear all over the news, things are a little precarious in Greece at the moment.  So what does that have to do with us in the United States?  And why should it matter to brides planning a wedding?

As a drive down any formerly bustling Main Street will tell you, things are precarious for a great many people and businesses here too.  But for engaged folks, the desire to have a beautiful wedding lives on.  And while our celebrities mindlessly plan expensive celebrations that set the ‘ dream wedding ‘ bar abnormally high, couples create  detailed wedding budget spreadsheets to see if they can afford to have a wedding at all.

Here’s our message to any brides worried about the high costs of a wedding. More often than not, (and for sure in our case) vendors want to help you have your celebration.  We believe in weddings, and beauty and love, or we wouldn’t be involved in this crazy/wonderful business.  And without you – wedding vendors would, in fact, be out of business.  So bring us your budget; big, small or anywhere in between and we’ll let you know what your best bet is – even if we end up referring you on to a colleague.

I read this review recently of a stationery store that sneered at a young woman, assuming she wasn’t their type of client.  As I wrote a few weeks ago, we can’t assume anything – vendors about brides or vice versa – if we’re going to celebrate together. So, to quote Kool and the Gang, Celebrate, Come on!

-Dinah

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Everything You Need To Know about Planning Your Wedding, You Learned at Costco

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Entrance of a typical Costco warehouse club.
Wedding Planning Lessons - In Bulk!

Wedding planning tips can be found everywhere – including our favorite Bulk Shopping paradise.

  • Going to Costco at the right time of day can make all the difference in the world.  We all prefer fully stocked shelves and manageable aisles free of screaming tots. Wedding planning lesson – schedule carefully.  Whether you’re deciding when to visit a bridal salon, or what month to get married, timing is everything.
  • Costco is a minefield of budget busting items.  You go in for soup chickens, and come out with a SodaStream machine, 3 new sweaters and a Burt’s Bees gift pak.  The solution (and wedding planning tip) is to have a plan.  Shop with a list, and a clear idea of what you’re looking for. Oh – and don’t go anywhere hungry.  Bad decisions come on empty stomachs.
  • Just because it’s at Costco, doesn’t mean it’s a good deal.  Oh yes – there are plenty of bargains, but you have to watch the numbers.  The same goes for wedding “bargains.”  Is that discounted dress worth it if the alterations cost more? Is the open bar package cheaper because it’s bottom shelf liquor?  Make sure you’re getting what you pay for, even at a discount.

Keep your eyes open for a deal, but don’t just pile everything in your cart.  And it never hurts to bring your own bags.

 

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Once Upon a Time, at the Dining Room Table…

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Photo of a dining room table piled with objects
Don't let clutter kill your fairy tale romance!

We dined, once, at our dining room table.  Then we got engaged. Suddenly piles of bridal magazines, boxes of invitations, and a flower girl basket took up residence.  Don’t let it happen to you.

“Why?” you may ask. “All that lovely flat space for storage.  Certainly a few months of dinner elsewhere won’t kill us.”  And you’re right – but it does, eventually, kill the romance in a relationship.  Normally romance doesn’t come easy, or cheap, but there is nothing so simple and special as to sit across from each other, light a few candles, and have a meal.  It doesn’t matter if you are eating frozen waffles on paper plates.  There’s something in the quality of the light that makes you both remember why you got engaged, married, pinned, whatever.

So watch one of those HGTV clutter busting shows, and keep that dining room table clear for some romance.  Sunday nights are perfect for a lovely dinner, but at the table – not in front of ABC’s promising new show…Once Upon a Time.

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