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Before you can start planning for your wedding, you must have a budget
to work to. This is very important, as you need to know what funds will
be available to you before you put down any deposits or sign contracts
for any services for the wedding.
Who Pays?
Traditionally, the bride’s family bear most of the wedding costs
but in these modern times, this is not always the case.
With most couples working and living together, they contribute to the
costs along with the groom’s family in order to ease the burden
for the bride’s family. You probably already have an idea as to whether or not your parents will... MORE
Who
to Invite?
In order to establish how many guests you can invite to your wedding,
you will need to have a budget in place. A budget will determine how many
guests you can afford to invite and make it easier to put a limit on the
number of guests. The guest list need not be a major issue as long as all parties involved,
the bride, groom, and both parents, are able to discuss it as soon as
practicable. If all parties are contributing to the financing of the wedding
then the best way is to establish how many guests you can have in total
and divide it three ways. If one party has more guests than the others,
it may create tension between families. You may have to look at inviting
only the immediate families and not the extended families in order to
be able to invite everyone else. If only one party is financing the wedding,
then there should be a decision made as to how the guest list is divided. MORE
With so many couples living together or living away from home before
they are married, it is often difficult to know what they will need
to start their new life together. For this reason, a gift register
at a major department or specialty store will ensure that the bride
and groom receive gifts that they would prefer and avoid any duplications.
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Most department stores and larger specialty shops have a bridal register
service available, with no charge to the bride and groom. To register,
speak to a consultant at the store and they will take you around the store
and ask you to select what products you would like to receive as gifts.
It is a good idea to select small and large gifts as you will probably
have a group of guests that will all contribute to get one large gift
and other guests who prefer to give an individual gift. The store will
give you pre-printed cards to send with your invitations to let guests
know where you are registered. Your guests can then either visit or phone
the store and select their own gift – this is particularly handy
for out of town guests. Once a gift has been purchased, it will be taken
off the register so there will be no duplications.
Guests can either take the gift to the parents home prior to the wedding,
to the reception, or alternately the store will deliver gifts to you on
a nominated date (usually after the honeymoon). The store will also provide
a list of what gifts were given by which guests. This is very convenient
when doing your thank you notes.
Even though you have advised your guests of your gift registry, some guests
will prefer to get your gift the traditional way – that is, selecting
the gift themselves. If you end up with some duplicated gifts, don’t
despair! Some extra glasses, cutlery, towels, etc can always come in handy.
If you receive gifts that are not from your bridal registry, be sure to
make sure that you write the gift on the back of the accompanying card.
Click
here for a list of gift registries
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If
you receive any gifts prior to your wedding, open them straight away
and record the gift on the card. If you have time, you can write and
send the thank you note.
It is a good idea to leave the opening of any gifts that are taken
to the reception until the next day. Usually, they are taken from
the reception by your parents or members of the bridal party so if
time permits, open them before you leave for your honeymoon so they
can be recorded correctly in readiness for the thank you notes upon
your return. |
While the thought of writing quite a lot of thank you notes for all your
gifts may seem daunting and time consuming, it must be done. Most gift
givers will be quite generous in what they spend on a wedding gift so
it is only good manners to acknowledge receipt of the gift.
Notes that have been hand written by the bride or groom, or both, will
be far more personal than a printed card that says “Thank you for
your gift, from the bride and groom”. A hand written card tells
the gift giver that you actually know what they gave you and that you
appreciate it. In the event that you are able to return or exchange a
gift that is not suitable, you should never tell your guests as they may
be highly offended.
Thank you notes should be done as soon as practical after the honeymoon
but no later than two months after the wedding.
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Gifts
for the Bridal Party
It is customary to give each member of the bridal party a small gift in
appreciation of their help and participation in the wedding and so they
have a special memory of the day. The bride usually gives gifts to her
attendants and the groom gives gifts to his groomsmen.
Traditional gifts for the bridesmaids are bracelets, small jewellery boxes,
beauty travel cases or the like and for the groomsmen a pewter mug, money
clip or pen. To make it more personal, you can have the gift engraved
with the wedding date and the name of the bride and groom.
Gifts
for the Parents
Most parents of the bride and groom play an important role in their wedding
day, whether it be financing the wedding or just helping from start to
finish with all of the details. Traditionally, a small gift of appreciation
is given to both parents by the bride and groom.
Gifts for Each Other
It is traditional for the bride and groom to exchange gifts with each
other for their wedding. Most couples feel it unnecessary as the wedding
rings they give each other are sufficient but if you would like to follow
this tradition, choose something very personal that can be treasured for
a lifetime like jewellery or a framed poem that you have written for the
occasion.
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Most brides already have a favourite type and/or colour of flower
that they would like to have for their wedding day.
Depending on the season that your wedding falls within, some flowers
are not available all year round. For this reason, you will need to
have other choices ready. If you are unsure about what flowers will
be in season, your local florist will be able to help. The flowers
you finally settle on can have a huge impact on the theme and mood
of your wedding, so take some extra time to shop around to make sure
you get exactly what you want. When choosing your florist be sure to.... MORE |
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