The Perfect Budget-Friendly Honeymoon

My husband and I have both been on cruises in the past and absolutely loved them. So when it came time to plan our honeymoon, there was no question in our mind that we would be choosing a cruise. To me, a cruise is the best choice for a honeymoon and here is why:

$$$

We researched many different destinations despite the fact that we knew we wanted to go on a cruise, and had no idea what we were going to find out. Cruises are CHEAP! Not cheap in a way that they aren't nice, but cheap in a way that they are extremely inexpensive for the value you are getting!

Endless Activities

You can have a drink at the bar, see a comedy show, go dance at the club, gamble, shop, eat, swim...and the list goes on. Besides a resort, what other destinations have that much to do at no additional cost??

All-Inclusive

One of the great things about a cruise is that you are going to know exactly how much you will spend before your ship takes off! Because your meals are included (and they are nice meals!), you don't have to worry about over-spending on anything. Before we left, we planned and paid for our excursions, pre-paid for our almost "unlimited" alcohol (and this is highly recommended if you like to drink!), and the shows, activities, and travel was already paid for.

Except for the gambling and souvenirs, we had everything paid for before we embarked on our journey. This not only relieved the stress of sticking to a budget, but made our trip that much more relaxing!

Many Destinations

One of the most exciting aspects of the cruise for us was that we stopped at five different Caribbean islands and we didn't have to worry about travel. Our ship transported us to each of the islands and we were able to have fun during that time. And the fact that we stopped at five islands in just seven days was amazing - you definitely wouldn't be able to fit that in if you were flying!

And there are so many options for places to go on a cruise - the possibilities are endless. While our port was in Puerto Rico which required a flight, you may be lucky enough to have a port near you and in that case, there is no plan travel involved. 

Travel While You Sleep

How cool is that?? We didn't have to worry about missing our flight, not having enough time to do an excursion before needing to travel again, and re-packing and un-packing our bags. And the best part?? We got full days of fun at each of our destinations and we traveled while enjoying a romantic dinner, enjoying a cocktail in the hot tub, or even while sleeping. It can't get much better than that!

Bridal Shower Games

Next to every Bride is her trusty Maid of Honor, and usually an exchange like the one below occurs...At least it did to me!
    ♥ My best friend just announced her engagement! (YAY!)
    ♥ I’m the Maid of Honor! (Double YAY!)
    ♥ I’m in charge of the Bridal Shower! (Uh…. Yea, about that.)

This is where the reality of “oh yea, there are responsibilities that go along with being a Maid of Honor!” sets in. But, that feeling is totally okay and will be discussed in a post dedicated just to being an awesome Maid of Honor (keep your eye out for that!). As far as the bridal shower is concerned, there are several factors that go into the makeup of a smooth and fun party for the Bride. Funny thing about Bridal Showers, they have nothing to do with showers! (what.) Guests are just encouraged to “shower” the bride with gifts for her new home. (ohhh :)

So, where does one even begin with the planning of the bridal shower??

When I was planning my best friend’s bridal shower, she made it easy by telling me what she wanted or didn’t want. Hopefully you will be so lucky, but if not, don’t worry! That’s why we’re here!

First thing's first... GUESTS: Who all does the Bride want at this shin-dig anyway? Most brides prefer to have the guest list open to close female friends and female family members. Aunts, Cousins, Grandma, Mama, best friends, the lovely babysitter you cherish with all your heart, they’re all welcome! But, keeping the guest list small makes it more intimate and easier to manage so the bridal party and family members are a good place to start. The menfolk aren’t typically involved in the bridal showers only because they get bored, but Couples Showers are growing more popular. This is where both the future Mr. and Mrs. are honored at the Shower and not just the Bride.

Quick Tip: don’t forget to send out invitations at least a month or two in advance. This gives room for the RSVP’s to come rolling in in time to properly plan without rushing around one week before.

Once the guest list is figured out, it’s time to decide on a theme that you or the Bride want for the Bridal Shower. Will it be a tea party at her favorite vintage parlor? Or a wine tasting at her favorite winery? Or simply a fun luncheon in the parent’s backyard? Whatever the theme is, just keep in mind who’s all invited. What does the guest list have to do with the theme you may ask?

Funny story real quick -  I’m kinda speaking from experience here: I planned a “panty party” for my best friend’s bridal shower. MISTAKE. The lovely bride thought it would be fun, the lovely bride’s grandmother did not. So we switched it to a tea party, which the lovely bride’s grandmother liked much better (don’t worry so did the bride, and we incorporated the panty party for the bachelorette party ;). So, just keep in mind that there will be many ages and many different family/friend roles within the guest list so keeping the theme clean and light hearted is key.

Since the theme has been decided, now here comes the fun! Besides an awesome atmosphere, the Brides favorite girlfriends, and tasty food, it seems that we’re missing something… hmm… Games! What are we all going to do at this amazing Bridal Shower? Play some awesome games, of course!

Bridal Musings

Games at a Bridal Shower serve many purposes but mainly they serve as ice breakers and it creates a fun atmosphere for everyone! There are so many different games to choose from, but one thing to keep in mind when selecting what games is the audience. Remember that guest list? Grandma probably doesn’t want to discuss the undergarments that the Bride’s friends have selected to give her :)

Here are a few of my favorite bridal shower games:

    ♥ Bridal Bingo
            o Similar to tradition bingo. Every guest receives a bingo card and a pencil and plays this while the Bride opens her gifts. As each gift is opened, guests cross off the item on their bingo card until they cross out a whole row. Up and down, diagonal, sideways, it doesn’t matter! This is great for keeping guests involved while the Bride is occupied with opening her new treasures!

TIP! Don’t forget to have someone writing down who gave what, though, this will make it easier to organize the Thank You cards.

♥ Marriage Madlibs
            o This is a top contender for all time favorite Bridal Shower Game for me. Each guest is handed a Madlibs card, which is basically a poem or a story about the couple, marriage advice, or suggestions on the wedding vows with a bunch of key words missing. It’s up to the guests to fill their card out with words to complete the story. Then the cards are collected and the Bride reads them all out loud! No two Madlibs are alike and it makes for some hilarious fun. This is a good game to play a little later on into the Bridal Shower when everyone has loosened up a bit.

    ♥ Purse Raid
            o This is a game that is good for a strictly all girls bridal shower because it’s time to get down and dirty with what’s in everyone’s purse! Everyone gathers around and has their purse handy, then one person (this means you of Trusty Maid of Honor ;) ) calls out some items commonly (or not so commonly) found in a purse. Whoever has the most items wins!

Wedding Bee

♥ He said, she said.
            o Does everyone think that they know the bride and groom best? Think again! Everyone is handed a paper with sayings that either the bride or groom say. Guests try to guess who says what and whoever guesses the most wins! There are several variations to this game too. The sayings can be favorite sayings, dirty habits, or quotes from Facebook/Twitter. This is a great game for couple’s showers too.

    ♥ Toilet paper wedding dress designer.
            o This is a fun game that gets everybody up and moving! The guests need to be broken into even teams or how ever it works best with the amount of people but keep the groups around 3 people, I’ve noticed that works best. Then each team is given a roll of toilet paper. One person from each team becomes the “bride” and the other team members create a wedding dress to present to the Bride! Make sure there is a time limit set because this one can take some time. Then, the Bride chooses which dress she likes best and that team wins!

A couple last minute tips:
    ♥ Don’t forget pencils!
    ♥ Bring along some small prizes for the winners and keep in mind that there might be multiple winners for a game or two so bring extra!
    ♥ Print out extra copies of any handouts needed for the games in case there are any unexpected guests.
    ♥ Unless there is going to be only one person in charge of initiating the games and explaining the rules, it’s a good idea to discuss with fellow bridesmaids who is in charge of what ahead of time. This way there are no surprises and it takes all the pressure off one individual. After all, everyone wants to have a good time!

There are so many games to choose from and online there are awesome print outs to make it so easy to plan! These games are actually really fun and get everyone interacting and laughing and that really is the whole point of getting everyone together, to celebrate the Bride!

Vendor Feature: Think about video first, not last

Written with love, by Justin Metcalfe

"Hey! We just saw your wedding videos and we love them! We are getting married in 2 months and don't have much budget left, but we love your videos so much and want to see if you could shoot ours!"

You wouldn't believe how many times I receive this email from brides hoping to hire me to shoot their wedding video. Internally, I have to remind myself that the bride isn't trying to offend me, and that the reality is most brides do not think about having someone film their wedding day until the end of their planning. Now obviously, as a professional wedding videographer, I am confused by this mentality (because videos are awesome), but I can at least sympathize with why a video isn't at the top of the priority list for a bride. But I am here to tell you why your wedding video shouldn't be the last thing you think about while planning. How do I plan on convincing you? Well, by addressing some of the reasons you will give me for not thinking about your wedding video until the last minute.

1: Wedding video's are too expensive! Yes...but, you aren't thinking about this the right way. This is really a matter of value, not initial cost. Sure, what you are paying up front for is relatively expensive, but the lasting value of having your wedding day on video is priceless. What I don't understand is why a bride would spend more money on flowers (something that will die and you will forget about almost immediately) than something that you will have for literally the rest of your life.  

2: Most wedding videos I have seen suck. Yep. You are right. Sort of. Somehow I have managed to make it this far into this blog post without promoting my company, Your Wedding Video Sucks (www.yourweddingvideosucks.com) When I started this company in 2008 it was because I was just about as fed up with lame ol' wedding videos as you are. They were long, boring, and did about as much to capture the beauty and magic of the day as your crazy uncle Sam with his point-and-shoot camera. But here is the thing: the industry is changing! Videographers are starting to make wedding video's into incredible works of art.

3: I am fine with just having great pictures. What I am about to say is not a knock on wedding photographer or pictures. They are awesome and valuable but they cannot capture the feeling and emotion of your wedding in the way that a video can. Don't believe me? Watch this two-minute video I recently put together for a couple:

Now again, this is no knock on photographers, but I guarantee you they could not capture that feeling of a New Years wedding in quite the same way as the video did.

I always tell my brides that they don't want me to document their wedding day. Again, your crazy uncle Sam can set up a camera in the back during the ceremony if that is what you want. What you really want is someone to capture the way you felt, the emotions, and magic of the day. When you watch your wedding video you want to feel transported back to that day and the love you felt for your spouse.

So there you have it. Sure, a wedding video is a substantial expense, but the value of having something that captured the emotion and feeling of the day for the rest of your life (and something your friends won't mind watching) makes it absolutely worth it. So don't wait until the last minute to start thinking about a wedding video!

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Your Wedding Video Sucks