one way your loved ones can leave special messages for you is through a newlywed tip jar. this is a fun way to give and get important tips for newlyweds. guests can write their advice on a slip of paper or a piece of cardstock and place it in the jar for the newlyweds to enjoy after the big day. clever prompts can help guests give advice for a certain topic, while blank slips encourage your friends and family to get creative! newlywed tip jars can also come with a lid for easy opening or have a slot to easily insert the slips of paper.

it not only provides you with a place to get ready in the morning, but it’s also where you’ll prepare mentally for the coming celebration. it’s where you’ll hang out with your bridesmaids, clink glasses of bubbly, and probably take photos to add to your wedding day story. make sure your bridal suite has these items stocked and you and your bride tribe will stay fueled, positive, and pumped for the adventure that is your wedding. even if it’s winter and the last thing you want to think about is an iced glass of water, everyone needs to stay hydrated. stock your suite with bottled water or a large water jug and encourage your bridal party to bring their own reusable bottles to cut down on plastic. you might even take a cue from the japanese and put together bento boxes for each bridal party member. wouldn’t it be awesome if during every big event of your life music played in the background? now’s your chance to put together your very own pre-wedding soundtrack to listen to while getting ready.

having the right experiences before you get married is one of the best ways to position yourself for a long and healthy marriage. when preparing for marriage, it is important to take time out and iron out the details of what kind of wedding you and your partner want. once you have a keen understanding of your psychological liabilities, you’ll be better equipped to discuss them with your partner and discuss ways to manage them. make sure you both have a clear idea of your own individual assets before marriage. it is one of the crucial things you should know before getting married.

???? the number one question we see pop up time and time again is how to properly budget for your wedding. while your wedding budget takes a myriad of things into account, the biggest factor is your guest count. so we are starting our $60k wedding budget breakdown with 250 guests, but be on the lookout later today for more guest count options and how that can affect your budget. to really get you in the planning mood, enjoy these romantic, ethereal images from josh & dana fernandez as you prepare both your budget spreadsheet and your pinterest boards! being in the wedding industry and having photographed over 100 weddings, this is true for so many things concerning a couples’ wedding day. since this is something that we continually see, we wanted to create an editorial to help visualize how much decor can change within the same exact budget but with different guest counts.

introducing the best diy wedding planner for brides on a budget: the budget-savvy wedding planner & organizer. the budget-savvy wedding planner & organizer is a diy wedding planner and workbook that walks couples step-by-step through the wedding planning process. “jessica bishop, the budget savvy bride, breaks down what’s really important in wedding planning with her new planning book. her organizer gives you charts, worksheets, and tons of common-sense advice for brides on a budget. the budget savvy wedding planner and organizer is a must read item for every engaged couple on a budget!” “the budget-savvy wedding planner & organizer delivers smart wedding planning steps and budget-savvy solutions.

read on to discover the typical cost of wedding flowers and some tips to ensure that your wedding venue is beautifully decorated with floral brilliance without emptying your wallet. according to weddingwire, the average flower cost for weddings is $1,500. according to weddingwire, the average cost of a bridal bouquet is $160. so, keep the average cost of flowers for a wedding day in mind as you select your stems.

we here at the plunge love a homemade proposal, one that you come up with yourself. of course, both will be pretty awesome from her point of view, but if you know your way around a kitchen, and put in the time to get some flowers and light some candles, a homemade dinner offers a unique romantic kick. similarly, if you’re truly convinced that you’re going to blow this big moment, you can go to a proposal planner. go from zero to hero in five minutes: at james allen or blue nile, you can adjust price ranges and other characteristics to see how many carats your budget buys. here’s the scenario: you’re making your wife a romantic dinner. if you’re positive that your girl wants something that involves waterfalls, doves, puppies, and a string quartet, it’s time to bring in the pros. the proposal planner business model is pretty consistent across brands, with tiered service levels depending on how much help you need.

she is the founder of megawatt events, a destination wedding content marketing service. start with the venue because it’s the biggest piece of the wedding pie and a major factor in determining guest count. add a line item called extras that equals 15 percent of your total budget to cushion for things you’ll likely forget (invitation postage, parking valets) or won’t anticipate in advance (corkage and plating fees). you might need to pay for a rental van or plane tickets. before you enlist a pro, know what you have to spend and factor in that rate.

while setting up your spreadsheet in an organized manner (more on that in a moment) can do wonders for keeping the wedding stress at bay, the first, and most important, thing to get a handle on is a realistic approach to your wedding budget overall. a couple with an initial target wedding budget of $70,000, for example, should aim to cover their key vendor costs with about $60,000. read on for kuchemba’s tips for creating a wedding budget spreadsheet that’ll keep all the most important numbers right at your fingertips. here are the categories she uses, along with examples of sub-categories in certain instances: how detailed you get is, of course, entirely up to personal preference.

breaking down your wedding budget is one of the trickiest (yet most important) wedding planning tasks. no matter your starting number, think about dividing your budget in terms of “for you” and “for them,” says alicia fritz of a day in may events in traverse city, michigan. alicia fritz is a michigan-based wedding planner and the founder of a day in may event planning & design. she has been recognized as one of the top wedding planners in the country by martha stewart weddings.