The dress, oh… the dress! How can girls ever stop talking about it?  As much as we love Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, and all the other fascinating designer name gowns, there is a point we have to wake up and do a reality check.  Unless you are all about the dress and have the money to splurge, or else not everyone has a $5000+ budget to put on a dress that is only going to wear once in your lifetime.

So how can you get the dress of your dream in an affordable price?  Here are a few tips that can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars!

1. Be a brilliant bride by shopping for big discounts!  Go to stores that are doing clearance sales or straight to manufacturer factory sales.
2. If you don’t mind second hand, go to a consignment store or 2nd hand online website, such as: weddingdressmarket.com and encorebridal.com
3. Who says only bridal dress boutique carry wedding gowns?  Try some high end department stores and shops that carry prom dresses and evening gowns.  Ask if they can order the color you wanted for you.
4. Shop online! You can get lots of ready made dresses from ebay.com, bluefly.com, etc…
5. Buy a rather plain wedding dress and decorate the way you like it.  Try adding a sash, tulle ribbon, floral applique pin, crystal belt, antique brooch, or faux fur to give your dress a unique twist.
6. Custom made your dress either online or in another country which charge very cheap for labor.
7. Purchase from non-profit charities  such as bridalgarden.org, bridesagainstbreastcancer.org, etc…
8. Borrow your grandma’s dress, modernize it by making minor alterations and turn it into a vintage style dress.
9. Gather your ideas, pictures, and fabric swatches.  Make the gown of your dream through a local seamster.
10. Go to fashion design institutes’ year-end fashion shows.  Hire fresh grad or one of their top students to make the dress for you.

Previously, I talked about knowing your figure and what’s best for your body to wear.  Today, I’ve shared 10 great money saving tips with you gorgeous brides out there.  Here is your chance to go out and shop!  Send me a picture of your dress later on and share all the little details with us.  Now go make us all proud!

We are delighted to announce that Blueprint for Love was being invited to talk about wedding planning at Canada’s largest Chinese radio AM1470 !!!! The very first session is going on air on March 25th (Wed) at Deborah Moore’s show that starts at 10am. 

Picture with Celebrity DJ - Ms. Deborah Moore

As far as we know, Blueprint for Love will have a total of 8 sessions going on air.  Topics will include:

• Our background
• Why hire a wedding planner
• Wedding Etiquette
• Wedding timeframe and to do list from scratch
• How to create a beautiful wedding with limited budget
• How to customize a wedding and make it ultimately yours
• The In wedding trends for 2009

We are so very excited about this!!!  Please spread the word to your friends and family, and stick your ear to www.am1470.com.  Once we know other airing dates, we will definitely post up here!