On-Line Wedding Planner Websites?

I found a book at a half price bookstore called "1001 ways to save money and still have a fabulous wedding". Google money saving ideas. Possibly google "online wedding planner reviews" to see what comes up. Pintrest might be helpful re. ideas. IM me if you like :)

The best ways to save money for a wedding are-
1. have a small wedding. fewer guests means fewer cost.
2. weigh the cost of a wedding at a wedding venue v. an alternative venue. are you actually going to save money by having it at a barn, if you need to get a permit, insurance, bring tables and chairs, linens, place settings, a caterer, lights, music, a dj etc, flowers decorations, a cake etc.
3. you might save money if you forgo two venues, i.e. don't have a church wedding and reception, just have an officiant at the reception (no church fees).
4. be budget minded about the dress, and the grooms attire. keep the bridal party small (one maid/matron of honor, one best man).
5. forgo party favors (just do a donation in lieu of favors). No one really needs that clutter.
6. consider alternative time slots, a friday night reception, a sunday brunch reception, saturdays are popular therefore costly.
7. think really hard whether you are saving money with some of the cost cutting measures recommended. we decided to do all of our own save the dates, invites, and thank you cards. we did our own ceremony booklets, and place cards. The cost in ink and paper alone, together with our time and effort, meant that at the end of the day, in my mind, it would have been cheaper and easier to have them outsourced.
8. seasonal flowers.
9. a small cake.

Good luck to you and yours.
BTW, you are a great aunt.
F. B.

Where in MD? That could make a HUGE difference. My sister is getting married in Pasadena, but all of the events are being held in Southern Maryland. I do have the name of an awesome officiant, and I'm sure she could help get her in touch with planners. There are some people who are just starting out and don't charge much at all...but let me know where in MD and I'll let you know if I can help at all.

The first thing to do is to determine the location of the ceremony and the officiant. In MD, the Clerk of the Court can perform a ceremony for at little as $25. I don't know if they perform ceremonies outside of the courthouse or not.

When my BIL was married, we found that the clerk in VA would travel within 10 miles of the town limits at the same cost. So for $50 he came to the church and performed a religious ceremony.

MD also has a 48 hr. waiting period.

My favorite wedding planning site is The Knot. There are tons of wonderful ideas.

You've received some awesome advice so far. My advice comes from my own wedding experience. We learned quickly that letting any of the vendor's know they were serving our wedding tripled the price of their services. So for places like the bakery, reception venue, and extra chairs ordered for the venue, we choose to make no mention that it was for a wedding and we received a much better price. We just said we were planning a party, which a reception is a party.

I would also say know your budget first and then work backwards from there. If you know you are only going to spend $5,000.00 all together, then you probably shouldn't plan on spending $3,000.00 on the gown/accessories and bouquets.

For our wedding, hubby and I determined that the REAL wedding only needed the following items which were non-negotiable: 1. the bride 2. The groom 3. the officiant 4. two witnesses and 5. the license. EVERYTHING ELSE IS EXTRA. We determined to not be upset by anything else and let these 5 main things be the main things. This worked out perfect for us because some major troubling things happened along the way that would have anyone else shaken to their knees. LOL.

Congrats and enjoy the site. I still enjoy checking them out. It is simply beautiful with great ideas.

I am mid-wedding planning right now. Go to www.theknot.com and also david's bridal has a new "events" section and both are good for budget and planning. You input your budget total and it automatically puts dollars to each category and you can add/subtract, etc. from there.
There are pictures with ideas for everything from hairstyles, dresses, flowers, cakes and pretty much anything else you can think of. You can "favorite" the things that you like to go back to for reference. You/your neice can assign things to each other, her fiance and others and then check off as you go. Also, it has built in timelines for when to complete things.
Good luck and have fun!

hmm i think the biggest costs to a wedding are

photgrapher- get a local one that she may know from highschool or college. sometimes they are so much better and cheaper

video-not needed

flowers- as soon as you say wedding flowers the price doubles so if she gets a place where she and you can make the center pieces do that! you could get whichever color she chooses and then put a small vase on each table and then do a game at the end as to who keeps the vase. thats what my family ussually does and candles and glass or mirrors are cheap
we also got wine glasses form the dollar store and filled them with lindt chocolate balls and put a few on each table

venue and food- are the most expensive part

if she chooses somewhere like an outdoor setting that she has to hire a caterer there are several cheap options for food and desert

for desert we did a smore bar for my daughters birthday- you can google them, they are apparently the new thing for weddings and you can make it on your own for super cheap and it looks elegant with teh rocks and fire
for food you can find a local caterer and shop around

**Arriving a week before the wedding to help her:
meaning, to organize her wedding??? and the reception???
That is too late, to order/plan everything.
Everything, needs to be ordered/organized way before then.
AND finding a venue to have the wedding and reception and what that costs etc.
She also needs to find someone to do her hair and make up etc.
And- they need to "reserve" the Pastor/Reverend or whomever, who is officiating their wedding.
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1) Costs, depend on the SIZE of the wedding and reception.
The more guests you have, the more expensive it will be.
AND the costs also depends on... what time the wedding/reception is. Meaning, if it is for a "meal time" type thing, then they would have to also feed the guests... lunch or dinner etc. And this is more expensive. For me/my Husband, we had a "high tea" type wedding timing and reception. So, things like finger foods and tea/coffee and great h''orderves were served. Not, "meals." This keeps costs, down.

2) She and her Fiance, must have a budget. Then, based on that budget, go from there.

3) I had a small intimate wedding. That was my and my Husband's choice and what we wanted.
We also kept costs down, to within OUR budget. How?
Every vendor/store I went to, I told them openly I have a budget. Most people do, of course. So this was not a far out idea, to tell the vendors/stores. They were VERY good, about helping me/us and showing up ideas and whatnot, per our, budget.
And it all worked out.

4) Even with the caterers, I told them I had a budget. They asked me what it was and I told them. From there, they told me they would come up with a menu... per what my preferences are. And they DID come up with a wonderful menu! ALL within our budget. And it was a very nice buffet. And we had champagne etc.

5) then, for photography and video and flowers... I got it from word of mouth from friends, who knew people in this business. Thus, they gave us a GOOD price. And it was what we wanted.

6) For my wedding dress, I shopped the sales rack. And I found a VERY nice gown, which I Ioved. It was under $200.

7) And also wedding rings: this can either put the couple into debt, or not. For me and my Husband, we BOTH wanted bands. Which we got. And it was all within our budget too. I am not one to get fancy diamond glittery blingy, rings. I wanted a nice, gold band.

I've seen lots of posts on this lately on Pinterest. If you're not on it already, you'll get more info than you could ever use. Happy Wedding!