Fine dining restaurants, golf clubs and hotels have always been the favorite venue choices of all times, but not this year anymore!  Now that we are bringing weddings back to basics, venue can be as close as your parents’ backyard!  Backyard and barn weddings are getting more popular as ever, because it creates a much more personal and intimate atmosphere for your guests.  When the ambiance can put your family and friends at ease, you can also go for a more casual menu selection which will save you a fortune, such as:  bite size finger food, home cook soul food and barbecue dinner.

For dessert, the traditional wedding cake was so outdated!  Go for ideas like cupcakes, candy station, macaroons tower, cream puffs tower, and ice cream sundae station.  Not only does it look pretty, colorful, and bring out the childhood of your guests,  it is a budget saver as well.  Given that each slice of wedding cake costs at least $5.50 and a fancy cupcake is only about $3.00, no wonder it has been such a huge hit in weddings and the trend is still going strong.

During this difficult economy, even though most couples will cut down the wedding budget, but it doesn’t mean you have to cut down the style and class.  It is the perfect time for you to let your creativity shine!  What are your ways of cutting costs in venue & food?

I’m extremely sorry for dropping the blog for a few months, as my husband and I were busy packing and moving to our new home.  I promise you all that in the year of 2010, I will keep my blog going and have regular updates for you beloved people out there!

For you tech savvy brides, I am sure you have figured out what are the wedding trends of 2010 by now.  There are million of posts who wrote the same thing over and over again, i.e take the wedding back home and have an intimate size wedding, create a casual atmosphere for the party, focus on simple and close to heart items as party favors and centerpieces, etc…

I must say and I believe you all know that the recession has impacted the wedding trends significantly. Since most of us can no longer afford grand ballroom banquet hall, fine dining plated dinner, and luscious over-sized tall centerpieces, we are then bringing it back to the basic with style!

So you ask, “How exactly am I going to throw a tasteful wedding in a tight budget?”  In the next several blog posts, I will share lots of budget ideas with you.  For you wedding junkies, if you have any brilliant ideas, please share with our readers as well!

I think everyone can agree with me that wedding is one of the most memorable celebration and milestone in life!  Some are lucky to have limitless budget, those couples can certainly go for 6 star venue, Cartier rings, best caterers, celebrity make-up artist and such.  However, I think what truly interest me as a wedding planner, is to plan a unique personal wedding with tight budget.  When you have all the money in the world, it’s easy to purchase the most beautiful decorations and the limited edition wedding dress.  It’s when you have a tight budget, yet want to throw a fun and high-end looking wedding, that is what makes planning a wedding challenging and very very fun!

There is a lovely couple, Caitlyn and Josh, who is planning their Tuscany theme outdoor wedding for this September.  Unfortunately, her fiance and father have both been laid off during the recession.  Their love is too strong to let anything to get on its way; therefore, this pair of gorgeous couple are determined to keep planning their wedding away.

From the original $35,000 budget cutting down to a $5000 wedding in four months, it is super high stress and no easy task for the bride-to-be.  That’s when Caitlyn turned to me for consultation, and here I am, working on an authentic blueprint just for them!

• From a breathtaking $13,000 vineyard wedding venue, we change to Caitlyn’s parents’ gorgeous backyard. (FREE, of course!)
• From a $5,000 traditional wedding buffet menu selection, we change to a $1,500 wedding theme related menu.  That includes different kinds of olives, parma ham with melon, tomato and boccocini salad, gourmet pizza, and tiramisu! (Can you get more Italian than that?)
• From a $1,200 wedding dress that Caitlyn wants to buy, we settle for a very similar dress half the price by having a local seamstress to make it for her.
• Instead of splurging $1,500 on alcohol, just cut this option out and serve home-made fruit punch.
• Instead of renting a formal evening coat at the price of $300, we buy the $120 tuxedo at a discounted rack.
• Instead of spending $1,600 on a florist/decorator, we spend $250 auctioning flowers at a farm and another $50 for miscellaneous decorations.
• Instead of hiring a wedding photographer that would originally cost Caitlyn $2,000, we put out 25 disposable cameras for guests to take pictures.  It costs less than $150, and guests always love to get involved!
• Instead of paying $300 for a make-up artist and hair stylist, Caitlyn is asking her bridesmaid to do it for her.
• Instead of the $800 phenomenal string quartet, we go for the $20 for 2 Italian opera CDs for background music.
• Skip the fancy letterpress invitations that would cost Caitlyn $1,200, buy some color cardstock and a beautiful looking stamp.  DIY invitation cards in less than $120.

I can’t stress enough that I’m a big fan of personalizing and make all things unique.  Cookie cutter wedding is never for me.  During the financial hard times, another belief is weighing extra heavy in my heart these days.  I believe that style, beauty and ambience are priceless.  Beautiful things are not only for the riches; one should never sacrifice and compromise for style, even for you budget brides out there.  Simply do more research, take the time out to DIY projects, and think of cheaper alternatives!  If you do not have the creative bones in you, do what Caitlyn does, email me at info@blueprintforlove.ca or reach me at (604)773-3631,  I’ll be more than happy to chat with you!