How to Have an Eco-Friendly Wedding

'Going green' has become a popular trend lately. More and more wedding vendors have been taking steps to have less of an impact on our earth. Now many couples are implementing these eco-friendly steps into their wedding. Many wedding vendors are familiar with these eco-friendly practices so be sure to ask them how you can contribute. Here are some ways in which you can minimize your impact on Mother Nature.

-Invitations:  Use recycled paper for you invitations. This is, of course, going to cost more than normal invitations. Ask your wedding vendor that is doing your invites for ideas to minimize the impact as well. There may be different printing options to help with this, such as chlorine-free papers. You can also send your invitations out online or through your wedding website. Include in your invitations to your guests that this is an eco-friendly wedding and include options for eco-friendly transportations, hotels, etc.

-Location: Choose a convenient location for most guests, one that is close in distance to make the travel shorter. Hire local wedding vendors to make their travel distance shorter as well. Also, have the ceremony and reception location close together, or in the same area. Pick a site that won't require a lot of decoration. A natural setting, such as a garden or vineyard, is pretty much decorated for you. Make sure the venue recycles and better yet, practices composting.

-Florist: This wedding vendor can really help you with the natural decor. Find a florist that makes it a priority to recycle packaging and uses locally grown flowers. First, ask for the option of choosing organic flowers. Again, this will cost more. Ask your florist, or a family member, to re-use the flowers for the reception and have them transported there. After the wedding, donate the flowers to an organization that can use them.

-Catering:  Ask the wedding vendor at your reception venue if they know of any organic caterers, or organic restaurants that do catering. Have the caterer help you pick out foods that are in season and consider vegetarian selections, or meats from free-range organic farms. It is rare to find a wedding vendor that doesn't know about organic food options.

-Favors/Decor:  Give guests organic chocolates or other organic food items. You can also give out plants, natural soap/candles, a donation to charity in each guests name, or potpourri.

           

Check with every wedding vendor for eco-friendly options. If they don't provide any, have them refer you to another wedding vendor who can help you. The best wedding vendor to ask about green options is a wedding planner, as they cover all aspects of weddings and usually have a lot of experience.

World’s Most Expensive Weddings

We all remember the lavish Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. What about the $100 million weddings you haven't heard about? Weddings including private jets, silver invitations and a stadium built for guests are amongst the most expensive weddings in the world.

First we start off with the wedding of model/actress Priya Sachdev and Vikram Chatwal. Vikram's father owns a chain of luxurious New York hotels. The wedding, which took place in 2006, cost around $20 million. This was a 10 day celebration that flew in guests from all over the world on private jets. Guests were also charted on jets from Mumbai to Udaipur and Delhi during the festivities.

The ever well-known Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is one of the mostpopular weddings, viewed by a TV audience of nearly 23 million in April 2011. The $34 million wedding included $800,000 worth of flowers, a $70,000 Alexander McQueen wedding dress, a $136,000 wedding ring, a $80,000 wedding cake, a $600,000 wedding reception, and of course security. Prince William is the oldest son of Prince Charles and son of Lady Diana

When the wine alone for a wedding reaches $1.5 million there's no doubt the rest of the wedding will be anything but extravagant. Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia's 2004 wedding cost $60 million, which would be about $78 Million today. The bride is the daughter of billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and the groom is an i-banker and owner of Swordfish Investments. The 1,000 guests were mailed 20 page invitations contained in a silver box and were put up for five days in five-star Paris hotels. The women guests received designer bags filled with jewelry. The 45 chefs created over 100 different dishes during the five days of festivities. To top it off, Kylie Minogue performed at the wedding followed by a firework display at the Eiffel Tower.

Perhaps another of the most popular weddings was that of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. In 1981, their wedding came in at $48 million which is around $70 million today. Diana's dress, which cost around $15,000 then, had a 25-foot train made of ivory taffeta and antique lace. The 27 wedding cakes took 14 weeks to prepare.

Princess Salama and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's wedding would cost  about $100 million today. That might have something to do with the 20,000-seat stadium that was built for the wedding guests. The brides gifts were delivered by 20 bejeweled camels. The week long wedding included feeding every town in the emirate by horseback. The crown prince of Abu Dhabi married the princess in 1981.

To get the feeling of a royal wedding inside your spending budget, you can visit http://www.wedding.com/. It provides all of the services you require and support to make your wedding, a pleasant moment. Book your wedding now…

How To Save Money When Planning Your Dream Wedding

One of the biggest concerns for couples planning their weddings today is how to budget one of the most expensive days of their lives without compromising on their vision of a dream wedding.  According to Wikipedia, the average cost of a wedding in the United States in 2011 was $25,630, the majority of which is spent on the wedding reception.  Once you start talking to vendors it’s easy to see the cost of your wedding going up and up, but taking a few simple steps can significantly lower the amount you will spend on your wedding without compromising on your wedding vision.

There are many great websites on the internet that let you review and compare the profiles of different vendors to get a better sense of your options and an average price point for different types of services.  The more vendors you contact, the more informed of a decision you can make when booking a vendor’s services.  By researching a large amount of vendors, you will also have a larger selection of vendors to choose from and will more likely find a vendor that meets both your budget and your wedding vision.

It is very important to be open about your budget with your vendor.  Often, a vendor will work with you to customize the package they are offering you to meet your price point.

Here are a few tips on how to save money on your big day:

• Talk to at least ten companies for each type of vendor you need.Searching through an online wedding directory lets you easily compare and contact vendors whose services you need.  By talking to many vendors, you will have an idea of the average cost you should be paying for each service.  This will give you confidence when negotiating the terms with your vendors that you are getting the best services for your budget.

                                 

• Negotiate the terms of the packages with vendors.  Often the packages offered by a vendor may not be exactly what you need for your wedding, so it’s important to ask vendors if they can substitute certain services to meet your needs.  For example, a catering company may include dessert as part of their package.  But if you are having the wedding cake for desert, ask the catering company to include extra hors d’oeuvre or upgrade your entrée instead.  This will prevent you from spending money on services that you do not need without incurring any additional costs.

• Ask vendors if they offer additional services or can recommend other vendors.Many Wedding Planners double as a Florist, or catering companies have relationships with bakeries and will even pick up the cake for you.  Vendors often give discounts when they are referred and this can result in a significant difference in your price.

• Understand how you are being charged for various services.  Different types of vendors charge their clients in different ways.  For example, a wedding cake bakery may charge based on the number of guests at your reception, while a DJ or videographer may bill you for number of hours they work.  By understanding exactly what you are paying for with each vendor, you can adjust certain factors to minimize the cost.

• Prioritize your wedding wants and needs.  There are always going to be certain aspects of the wedding that you want to splurge on, whether it be an amazing location or an awesome band to keep your guests dancing all night long.  Before you start planning, discuss to which vendors you want to allocate more of your budget and which vendors you are willing to compromise on. 

                            

                  

• Stick to your wedding vision, but be open to ideas.  It is easy to see something you want to copy in a wedding magazine, but is way out of your budget.  Always share any ideas you have with your vendors.  Since they are the weddings pros, they should have a lot of good ideas about how to emulate a similar style or concept that will fit your budget.

• Create a wedding budget tracker.  Online wedding websites often have a budget tracker tool that allows you to enter your total wedding budget and allocate estimated amounts to various categories you will be spending money on.  You can also enter what you actually spend and see the difference between how much you estimated to spend on each aspect of your wedding, and what you are actually spending.  This is a great way to stay on track and organized about your wedding budget.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you start planning your wedding, but doing some research and comparing all your options will keep you on track and on budget without compromising your dream wedding vision.

Find California Wedding Photographers for your Big Day!

California is an extremely popular place to get hitched. The long, scenic coast and busy cities are bustling with California photographers. There are so many different scenes for California photographers to shoot. There are the beach towns of San Diego and Santa Monica, the beautiful vineyards and gardens, and the extravagant Beverly Hills.

When planning your wedding, it is good to book your California photographer far in advance because they will be in high demand. California photographer’s busiest months are during the summer. However, weddings are popular in California all year long, especial Southern California because of the comfortable beach weather. Expect prices for California photographers to be a higher than normal.

Most experienced California photographers will have great recommendations for beaches and vineyards if you are having trouble picking.

The large state can make it hard to find California photographers the traditional way. Which of the many cities should you look search? How do you know how far California photographers are willing to travel? California photographers signed-up on Wedding.com can search for local brides by state or distance. Most will search by distance in California.

There is such a variety of landscape in California. California photographers may shoot in deserts, vineyards, beaches, mountains or national parks. Check to see where they shoot most frequently so you know what their niche is.

Choosing your California photographer may be overwhelming since there is such a large photography market and variety of styles. Take recommendations from friends and family to help you get started. From there, consider their experience, style and location. A California photographer based in Big Bear that is familiar with shooting winter scenery would probably not be the best to hire for a beach wedding, and vice versa.

   
If you want to be more active in the role of finding your California photographer, you can also browse our vendor directory. Add your California photographer into your checklist and wedding budget by using the planning tools that Wedding.com provides. You can share your engagement photos on your personalized free wedding website that is also available to you.

Location will be one of the biggest factors for most California photographers, so make sure to cite where exactly your wedding will be, along with any other important details of course. If you complete all the details in your profile, you should be able to book a California photographer in no time!

Tips for Finding an Arizona Photographer

Arizona can make for a beautiful wedding location, if you avoid the summer. Arizona photographers do not have a very competitive market so booking one shouldn't be too hard. Most Arizona photographers are located in Tucson, Phoenix or Flagstaff, but they will most likely travel within the state. 

The months Arizona photographers are least busy are during the summer. However, unless your wedding is completely indoors, an Arizona summer wedding would be quite unpleasant due to temperatures above 110 degrees.

You can look for Arizona photographers in our vendor directory .Most Arizona photographers will detail what services they provide in their profile as well as samples of their work. The Arizona photographers will also come to you with bids, competing for your hire. This beats the days of making non-stop calls and waiting to hear back. Let the Arizona photographers do the work while you kick back and enjoy your wedding planning.

Arizona is known for is pretty desert sunsets and beautiful resorts. Most Arizona photographers can probably recommend reception locations as well as accommodations. 

When choosing an Arizona photographer, ask where they have the most experience shooting. Maybe one has an eye for the greener Flagstaff, rather than the Phoenix and Tucson deserts. Ask what type of photography they prefer. You may want fish-eye type pictures, a wide lens that creators wider pictures, to capture the beautiful desert horizon. If you're going for a western theme to go along with the desert, ask them to shoot in sepia, which is a brown tone that gives the photo an older feel.

       

                                           

In addition to avoiding the summer because of the extreme heat, summer is also monsoon season in Arizona. This is when unexpected thunderstorms and hail come down on the state. Other than that, it rarely rains in Arizona.

To get paired with the best Arizona photographer, detail exactly what you want in your wedding. Describe the exact location, the type of photos you want, and anything else you expect from your photographer. Consider a few different Arizona photographers to meet with. It is good to keep your options open, but you do not want to consider too many so that you get overwhelmed.

Using Wedding.com to find your Arizona photographer will save you time, stress and money. Your wedding planning process should be enjoyable, not hectic. Create a profile, and let the Arizona photographers come to you!

How to Hire a Wedding Photographer in Florida

Using the traditional way of finding a Florida photographer can be stressful. Flipping through yellow pages, googling different Florida photographers and making dozens of phone calls. You then have to wait for them to call you back. Well, we have made it easier to find your perfect Florida photographer for your wedding.

Whether you're having an exotic wedding in the Florida Keys, an extravagant Miami wedding, or a fun Orlando wedding, you can sit back and let the Florida photographers come to you on Wedding.com. Couples can detail exactly what type of Florida photographer they are looking for and sit back while the local Florida photographers submit you bids. You may also browse Florida photographers in our vendor directory.

You can stay organized with a budget tracker, checklist, personalized wedding website and more. Some Florida photographers stay with in their city while others will travel throughout the whole state, which they will usually include in their profile.

When choosing your Florida wedding photographer you will want to keep in mind what style of photography you want. For a Florida Keys wedding, you probably don't want to order too many black-and-white photos, because you will want to capture all the beautiful colors. For a fun Orlando wedding, ask your Florida photographer to take some candid’s. These will capture guests in the moment. You may want to include a lot of portrait type photos for a Miami wedding, to emphasize the elegance.

There are other resources on the internet you may use to find a Florida photographer for your wedding. Perhaps the most popular is The Knot. The Knot has a very large vendor directory.

It is always a good idea to do a lot of research on a few Florida photographers before meeting with them. Maybe they use a certain style, or are used to shooting in a certain city in Florida. Keep in mind how many photographers you will need.

Florida has a competitive photography market due to the ideal wedding locations. It is one of the top wedding destinations in the United States, mainly for its romantic beaches and sunny weather. This means you should book your Florida wedding photographer well in advance. Also, expect higher than normal prices due to the demand for Florida wedding photographers. Wedding.com will allow you to receive multiple bids from photographers so you can pick the one that best suites your needs.