One great wedding favor idea which works well with a beach related theme is a gift of a votive candle in a holder designed to look like a beach pail. This really helps to convey the theme of the wedding and your guests are sure to remember your wedding fondly whenever they see the favor from your wedding. These types of favors can be very inexpensive but they are something your guests can really use and will serve as a great reminder of your wedding.

Giving out seashells as wedding favors is another great idea for a beach themed wedding. You can find authentic shells at party supply stores craft supply stores. To further carry the theme in the favor you can purchase decorative fishing nets and cut the net into small squares. Once you do this you can place the shells in the center of the square and use twine to tie the corners of the square together. This creates a very appealing presentation which is really representative of the theme of the wedding because both the favor itself and the wrapping material are indicative of the theme.

Magnets which are related to the beach can also make great wedding favors for a wedding with a beach theme. You can choose magnets in the shape of flip flops, starfishes, seashells or any other shape which accurately reflects the theme. This is such a great idea for a favor because it is not only a favor which will always remind your guests of the wedding but it is also a favor which is very practical. Your guests will likely keep your favor displayed prominently on their refrigerators where they will see it every day and be reminded of you and your wedding. Hopefully will it will serve as an enjoyable reminder of your wedding.

You can also combine your place card holders and your favor to contribute to the atmosphere at your wedding and also give your guests a favor which will be a keepsake which will remind your guest of your wedding. An example of this might be place card holders in the shape of sailboats, starfishes, seashell or even dolphins. These can be used at your wedding to hold cards with your guests name and table number but your guests can also take them home as a favor. Once at home your guests can insert a picture and use the place card holders as a modern and elegant picture frame instead. This allows your guests to get additional use out of your favor and also gives them a favor which will serve as a reminder of your wedding.

Bookmarks which relate to the beach are also appropriate favors for a wedding with a beach theme. This can also be a favor which is both practical and inexpensive. Simple paper bookmarks may not be appropriate as favors but you can purchase more elegant sterling silver bookmarks which are more appropriate are favors. These favors are not only attractive but they give the impression that you really were looking for a favor which your guests will appreciate. You can even combine a beach themed bookmark with a short book of love poems as a favor for your wedding so the theme of the wedding is combined with the overall theme of love.

Unlike what it used to be in the good old days, the modern day parents have learnt to ease their way out of bearing the financial burden of their son’s or daughter’s wedding. The logic used in this case is quite infallible really, most of us wait to tie the knot long enough to bear children, teach them how to walk and start helping them with their math homework. So, since we don’t do our share therefore the potential grandparents don’t do theirs. So finally when it comes to our wedding we are left out in the cold, joining bits and pieces of our earnings to build up the most important day of our lives.

For all of us who are bogged down by this sudden astounding realization, or the ones who will get similarly bogged down in a not so distant future date, here is a list of the average costs that you will have to incur in order to get married. Once you have the groom (or the Bride, as the case maybe), which tends to be the most expensive of the purchases, you are sure to save up enough to have a glorious wedding ceremony.

First up, flowers. Believe it or not, at any average wedding ceremony flowers can cost anything around or even above $800! Yes yes I know what you are thinking, you are probably itching to remind me how they finally add to the grandeur and emotion of the whole ceremony, but cap your outburst because ultimately this will probably be the one area you can cut your expenditure down in. If your budget is tight try something creative, scan issues of bridal magazines or the net for ideas.

Photography/Videography also takes up a large amount of your budget. Based on the kind of mementos you would want to keep from your wedding day you can end up spending anywhere between $900- $2500. Even though you probably think it’s a good idea it is best to not try and cut down your costs here, cause these will after all be one of the only things you will have to really re-live your wedding at a later date, and if saving a few dollars means you will end up looking like a fat hag or be ill-lit in your own wedding photographs then there is no point being a complete Scrooge about it.

Now if you are having a wedding ceremony, you will have to send out those few essential invitations, announcements and then the thank you notes, so there is no getting around the few hundred dollars it will set you back by, but you might try. Coax a friend with neat handwriting to take this load of your shoulders, get her to write your invitations for you, and keep it simple, so as to trim down the overall costs.

Finally of course there is the music. No wedding is complete without good music setting the right mood for the celebrations. Set apart about $1500 to fulfill your musical requirements.
Further costs include the price for the site of the ceremony. This you may safely estimate at around $400. of course you will also have to arrange for means to get to the site itself, this should cost around $450, all together. If you want to show your appreciation for the attendants with a little token of love, set apart another 400 bucks. The rehearsal dinner, which you must have, will be around $1000, the reception anywhere between $5000-$8000.

Expect your super special wedding dress to cost at least 1000 bucks and even if the groom settles for a rented tuxedo there is no getting away from the neat $500 you will have to flash out for it. So all in all, everything put together, added and multiplied, you have a whopping $25,000 bill tagged clean with your plan to get married. If marriages are really made in heaven then the God’s sure have expensive taste! However this isn’t by any means the final word in planning your wedding cheap, there are of course thousands of other ways of cutting your expenditure as per your personal means and fancies, this is just one of the very many ways of going about it. Figure out what suits you, and have a great wedding.

Here is the thing. Every occasion has a get up, weddings have their dresses. You know all about the dress right, you have swooned over them every now and then when you walked past gown shops, and you have made time to envy the bride’s dress between dabbing your tears at every wedding ceremony you have been to. Well, here comes your chance to wear one at last! But let’s not panic; settle down, there is no place for impulsive behavior when it comes to buying wedding dresses. Get yourself a paper and a pen because here’s a list of everything you ought to do to get yourself the perfect Wedding Gown,

1) Step 1. Do your research. Spend time scanning all the wedding magazines you can possibly get your hands on. Use the net. Copy ideas which you like. Also make sure to note down the shops selling the designs, get their address and phone number.

2) Once you do that decide which shops you are actually going to visit. It’s always wiser to stick to shops which are in your neighborhood or are easily accessible. Before starting off to have a look however pen down how much you want to spend on the dress. Be practical, remember, special though it is, your wedding dress is only going to be worn once so there isn’t really any point in pushing your parents or yourself to the edge of bankruptcy in the process of buying it.

3) While selecting your outfit take into consideration the location and time of the wedding. If you mean to have an outdoor ceremony long heavy gowns might be a problem since they will get dirty easily. If the ceremony is indoors during say summer heavy georgettes or silk might turn out to feel like a furnace.

4) While trying out gowns be realistic about what looks good on you. You might have loved what Britney wore to her wedding ceremony and could have wanted a wedding dress exactly like hers, but guess what your bums might be just a teeny weenie bit bigger than the Pop star and may therefore not be the perfect sight in a gown like that. If you are a little on the plump side, face it, there’s no shame really, buy yourself a dress which doesn’t hug your body like a Scuba Diving suit. If you are stick thin pile on the layers to make yourself look fuller.

5) Make sure to check yourself out from all angles while trying on the gown. You don’t want to your back to look unflattering because that’s what the guests are going to look at for the majority of the time.

Finally of course buy a dress you feel comfortable and, of course, beautiful in. Your wedding is your day. So go knock them out girl.

Theme and Style of Event -

Other than the usual banquet hall, a vast selection of reception location choices exists. Right from country clubs to manors to museums, each lay down the stage for a particular manner of the occasion. Before making your mind up, settle on the kind of reception you would like to host.

I cannot go over the top about today’s wedding receptions that are about traits and creativeness. It is your wedding and not your grandmother’s or your mother’s. It is not your best friend’s wedding also. This is your once in a life span occasion, and an expensive one at that. Take a bit of benefit of your time in the limelight to put together an occasion that really stands out.

Reflect on your individual style. Do you want your wedding to be a mirror image or an exodus from that? Just for the reason that you are inclined to be more city groomed does not mean you can not throw a country style foot stamping hoe down of a wedding.

Give a little attention to this, and imagine your perfect wedding reception. The subject matter and fashion you desire to reproduce will help state the type of reception site you select. Keep in mind that there are a lot of choices other than country clubs, banquet halls and hotel ballrooms. In addition you can think about mansions and historic sites, museums or parks.

Geographic Location -

Where do you want to get wedded? In your native place or in your fiancé’s home town? In the town where you at present live or even on a Caribbean island? With the jet set couples of today, the choices in fact are never ending. Do not be scared to think about a bit diverse or out of the blue. Maybe the manner or subject matter of your occasion will state the location—a tiki style hut by the beach, a pastoral farmhouse in the country, or a classy ballroom with a metropolitan cityscape view.

Size -

Okay, finally you have chosen to get wedded in an historic manor near the land of your birth. Perfect, you are more or less there! But prior to you get in your car and start doing a tour for reception locations, there is one main aspect to think about. Capacity, which is one of the most essential decisive factors in looking for the right wedding site. Regardless of how striking a place may be, if you look forward to a guest list of 300, shoving them into a capacity that seats 150 will soon turn a graceful event into a crowd of annoyed guests.

Most reception locations make seating facility information easily obtainable. If not, give a quick call to the common phone number and find out. Be sure to make a distinction between the facilities for the particular manner of reception you visualize such as cocktail reception, buffet, seated dinner, etc. There may also be different facility depending on the locale with or without a dance floor.

Given the expectations therefore, wedding favors are a must for every ceremony. Too many hearts stand a chance to be crushed if your wedding doesn’t end with one. So be rigorous while choosing your favors in order to make sure that they are just right. Here are a few pointers for you to consider;

1. Innovation – remember your wedding will probably turn up only once…or well twice….in your entire life time (that is, if you aren’t Elizabeth Taylor of course, but I give you the benefit of the doubt), so you wouldn’t want your guests to go back home with a gift which they will stack up with 20 others just like it somewhere on the floor of their closet. Make sure your favors are unique and in some way reflect you, your spouse, and especially your special day. Keep it connected to the theme of your wedding party or make it personal and give a compilation of your favorite songs. A number of people also gift their guests napkins embroidered with the bride and groom’s names. So take your pick.

2. Expenses – weddings are expensive, so you wouldn’t want to add an extra expense in the form of wedding favors. Choose gifts which you can make yourself to save money. A candle for instance is an easy and inexpensive gift which can be made right at your home, personalize it with ribbons and sparkles to give it a unique look and see how it is appreciated by all.

3. Planning – no matter what you choose to send your guests off with make sure you choose it early on. Like everything else in your wedding favors need to be planned for before making purchases. Take your spouse’s opinion regarding the gift you have chosen. Remember it’s their special day too and in case you end up gifting people something he/she doesn’t like it might become a sore subject in the years to come. Consult your friends in case they are helping you out with the wedding. Make sure to have purchased or made your gifts at least two weeks before your wedding. Keep them packed and store them in a safe place to avoid any breakage or spoiling.

Your wedding is a special day for you so make sure your wedding favor reflects that. Remember to keep it simple, stylish and unique and ensure that they are packed beautifully. A great wedding favor will make your wedding a memorable affair for all, but especially for those little guys and the oldies who come to weddings just to know what the favors are….