Not convinced that it’s worth it to try to cut costs for the most important day of your life? Consider this: what if you had a small private affair for your closest friends and relatives and didn’t buy an expensive engagement ring, spending around $13,000 for your wedding instead of the average price tag of $27,000?

What if you invested the $14,000 you saved in the stock market and left it there until you retired (assuming 40 years later), earning an average of 10% a year? What would you end up with? A whopping $634,000!

It’s hard to look so far ahead when you’re just starting out in your life together, but the world is full of people who find themselves quickly approaching retirement age without the financial means to retire. When all is said and done, I’ll bet many of them would have traded a bigger, fancier wedding for the $634,000 nest egg.

For more tips on saving costs, see the full article on About.com

There are formal and informal rules governing gifts of money to help newlyweds buy a house. First, the informal rules: Is it OK to ask one’s wedding guests for money?

Read full story on BankRate.com

For all those in Chicago that are still looking for a wedding dress, Filene’s Basement is having their annual bridal gown/dress blowout event this friday the 27th. This might just be the best way to get a gorgeous dress for a steal of a price since all dresses are either $249,$499 or $699…That’s it! I’ve seen $7000 Vera Wangs for $249. I’m not saying that’s the norm, but you get the idea.

Doors open at 8am, I suggest getting there early.

For a sampling of the fun, here’s video footage from CBS in Baltimore from the Filenes Basement event earlier in the month http://wjz.com/video/?id=29458@wjz.dayport.com

Try it out, it’s free to use.

http://www.bluenile.com/offer.asp?offer=WEDDING17

Just enter the coupon code at checkout and get 10% of his and hers wedding rings!

BWG Two Cents: Make sure to get the free gift card and packaging during the check out process. If you aren’t happy with your order, you can return your rings within 30 days of purchase.

Stores like Michael’s, Pearl Arts & Crafts, and HobbyWorld are great places to start. Here are 8 easy steps to preparing flowers that will impress your guests and your wallet:

1. Find a local craft store that carries silk flowers.
2. Select your flowers, filler greenery, and bouquet holder.
3. Bundle your arrangement and use wire cutter to trim stems.
4. Slide into large size bouquet holder.
5. Wrap stems with floral tape. Wrap stems with tulle or tie with ribbon.
6. Use the same steps above to create attendants bouquets, using a small to medium size bouquet holder.
7. To create boutonnieres and corsages, cut flower stem down, wrap with floral tape and insert pin (optional – tie ribbon in to bow on stem of corsage).

8. To create center pieces tie a few flowers with ribbons and place in vases.

BWG Two Cents: Spend some time picking the style you are going after. Check out floral web sites for great ideas before you head to the store.

1. Make sure that the decoration and design is the right kind to suit your taste, before you agree to give an order to the baker. Go through referrals and see what prices are being quoted. Look through the samples first before deciding on your cake. A supermarket could offer a wide range of cakes at a lesser cost than your bakery.
2. Decide on how you want to decorate your wedding cake, whether you want to keep it simple and cute or splendid and rich. Avoid over-decorating the cake. It is not necessary to have a five-tiered cake. You can have your cake stacked if you want.
3. Remember that bakers who do not specialize in wedding cakes could still bake the best cakes and cost less. Home bakers do not charge much and could make lovely cakes.
4. Consider borrowing the pillars. There are disposable pillars available with your local baker or rental companies which are a better alternative than those crystal pillars if you want to cut down on the cost of the pillars. Let the baker or your local rental company help you with the disposable pillars instead of the crystal ones.
5. Find prices at a cake making or culinary school near your place. Students have baking and decorating cakes as part of their curriculum. You can be assured that you will get a gorgeous cake and have it made at a very low price.
6. Save on your wedding cake topper prices. Often relatives and well-wishers ask what you need as a gift. Ask them for a wedding cake topper.
7. If you buy a multi-tiered cake, see that you decorate it yourself or have the florist do it for you. If you want flowers on your cake but the cost of the artificial flowers isn’t fitting in your budget, let your florist put real flowers on the cake. Just make sure that they are non-toxic. Check the price of the organic edible flowers.
8. Consider a smaller tiered cake for effect, and get a sheet cake to feed the guests, once the cake is cut, no one can tell what shape it was in originally!

BWG Two Cents: Ask the baker to use cardboard for the bottom tiers and real cake only on the top tier; this is the one you’ll be cutting into. Then the cake is taken in the back to be sliced. Sheet cakes decorated the same as your wedding cake are then sliced and served to the guests. No one will ever know!

• Wedding Favors
• Simple Floral and Candle Centerpieces
• Cupcakes (instead of a wedding cake)
• Ring Pillow
• Flower Girl Basket
• Using an Ipod instead of an MP3 player. (Enlist a tech-savvy friend to make sure your first dance song, entrance music, cake cutting music etc. is playing at the right time)
• Bridal Hair and Makeup
• Save the Date Cards, Programs, and Seating Cards
• A decorated guest book, card box, photo album, or other keepsake

Leave it to the Pros: Wedding tasks that are best left to the professionals

• Large Flower Arrangements and Centerpieces
• Bridal and Bridesmaid bouquets
• Your Wedding Dress
• A Wedding Cake
• Catering
• Photography

Save Money on Your Wedding Dress:

• Look in magazines to get ideas from wedding dress designers. Determine the style’s that you like best, and how you would like to look on your big day.

• If you’ve picked a simple wedding dress or a short wedding dress, you can make a tulle apron very inexpensively to wear over the skirt. Do this by gathering tulle and sewing ribbon on for a waistband to tie into a bow. A long tulle apron over a short skirt is very pretty. Ask at the fabric store, what amount of material you need. Tulle is very cheap.

• You don’t even have to hem tulle. You can leave it as is or cut around the bottom with scalloped scissors.

• Sew a two-piece dress by making a top from your choice of fabric or buying a top. The skirt can be made from about five layers of tulle. Gather, add a waistband and wear a slip underneath.

• Check out the mall department stores. You might find (not in the wedding dress department) the perfect dress for you. Also, Filene’s Basement has an amazing sale in many major cities where they sell designer dresses for $249!!

• Then there are new and used as well as vintage bridal gowns on eBay.com You can find some great dresses for very little money here. You do need to check back often, though. You might find a simple dress that you can add to or alter. Or you might find exactly what you’re looking for as long as you are willing to be patient and keep checking back. It is worth the effort.

• Don’t forget wedding dress rentals.

• Wearing your mother’s or grandmother’s wedding dress is a very nice thing to do.
• Compare newlywed reviews and ratings online to ensure you’re getting the most for your money.

Shop Around: Candles are classic ingredients in any romantic setting. It pays to shop around, so check out those downtown discount stores, or look online — you may find candles for half the price.

Couple Up: Why not offer one favor per couple? Your favor budget was just cut in half. This might even free you up to choose something a little more expensive and still save.

Wrap It Up: Ask the bridesmaids to come over and help you tie up each favor with ribbon and tulle. Wrapping your own favors is a big money saver. Pre-wrapped favors can cost more than double the price.

In The Kitchen: Delight them all with homemade preserves or cookies in lovely boxes. Attach the recipe for a tasty treat that won’t break the bank.

Double Duty: How about favors as centerpieces? Arrange your favors creatively at the center of each table. You’ll spotlight your fabulous favors and save centerpiece costs. Lovely potted topiaries work particularly well for this purpose.

A Special Note: Make unique scrolls by printing a meaningful poem or note to your guests on seed paper. This special, relatively inexpensive paper has flower seeds imbedded in each sheet. And here’s the best part: Guests can plant the paper and flowers will grow.

Eye Candy: Recruit your guests to make your favors. Fill glass jars or bowls with a colorful assortment of candy or traditional Jordan almonds purchased in bulk. Place a scoop in each container and provide little pre-cut ribbon bags. Display everything on a table near the reception entrance, along with an invitation for guests to help themselves.

Less Is More: Consider a single chocolate truffle or candy on each plate. It’ll be like a tiny personal, elegant, and simple thought from you to each of your guests. Match the candy to your wedding colors for an eye-catching, economical favor.

Bulbs: Flower bulbs are an ideal favor, filled with hope and potential. Though they may be less than beautiful at first, these bulbs will bring forth gorgeous blooms in no time. Paperwhite or hyacinth bulbs in small glass pots (called bulb forcers) make great favors. Or simply wrap the bulbs of your choice in ribbon-tied tulle bags.