What is The Most Beautiful?

The Most Beautiful is Simply Beautiful’s Exclusive Couture Planning. This is the ultimate in customer satisfaction and service. Our Most Beautiful Brides receive so much more than wedding planning. Some exclusive services include:

• Pre/Post Wedding Event planning – Professional planning and coordination of up to 5 separate events such as Bridal Shower, Bachelor/ette Party, Luncheons, Engagement Party, Birthday Party, even a Holiday party.
• Customized Web Presence to include professional, customized website/blog.
• Planning Sessions at your own remote office. Have vendors come to you in a professional setting.
• Everything is completely customizable based on your needs.

Here’s the official description:

Exclusive Planning. Big Ideas, Big Plans and Big Budgets require our Biggest Package Ever! You will get exclusive, undivided attention for your wedding from our professional staff.

Visit The Most Beautiful page on our website to view all the services included in this Exclusive package.

Here’s your reality check:

Do people actually get this package? Yes, it has been purchased. Here are a few factors that would make purchasing The Most Beautiful Package a good idea:

• You are having more than 1 ceremony, reception, function during the week of your wedding. This most typically arises with couples who incorporate religious and/or cultural traditions along with a traditional western/Christian ceremony and reception.
• You are having more than 350 guests.
• Your budget is over $400,000.00.
• You are having more 200 or more guests travel to a destination wedding.

If you want to find out more about The Most Beautiful Exclusive Package, please visit Simply Beautiful Concepts on the web or give us a call at 240.565.5103.

When the Money Runs Out! Part IV: Postponement

The economy was NOT supposed to affect your wedding and ultimate passage into marital bliss. How could you have planned around something that is completely not under your control? But it has. Now what?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that the “economy” is in bad shape. Simply Beautiful will break it down in a series to give you advice on, When the Money Runs Out.

If you and your fiancé find yourselves in a situation where you must take a timeout from the wedding plans to seriously assess your finances and the question has come up as to whether or not you can still have a wedding, you are not alone.

When cancelling the wedding is too much of a loss/penalty and raising funds is not possible a postponement may fit.

Simply Beautiful has had the experience of ceremony and reception venues willing to work with the couple and change the date of their wedding. Be cautioned when taking this approach that you may not have a say in what date, day or time your wedding will take place. If the venue is willing to do this without penalty, thank you lucky stars. Ask for 3 possible dates from your main venue and work everything else around those 3 initial dates.

Before committing to a new date, contact all of the vendors you’ve already booked to inquire if they will be able to accommodate the new date. If all vendors are a go…you’ve got yourself a postponement. This can give a few months or almost a year to re-group financially.

With any cancellation, postponement or significant change in wedding plans there are items of etiquette that should be handled delicately and tactfully.

1. Inform your guests as soon as possible.

2. Inform your vendors.

3. Discuss the topic of refunds and deposits sympathetically and not confrontationally.

4. Gifts should be returned if the wedding will not take place within a year.

5. Compensate your wedding party for their expenses if the wedding will not be taking place or they are no longer able to be in the wedding due to the change.

6. Consider enlisting the services of a professional wedding planner to help you develop a realistic budget and keep track of spending if you decide to give the planning another go.

One of the very first, most important parts of the wedding planning process is to determine your budget. Your wedding planner will most definitely help you research and create a budget with you for your wedding. There are also tips and tools to help your figure out a working budget.

Check out these Simply Beautiful posts for more budget advice: Wedding Costs, Financial Cold Feet, Realistic Wedding Budgets.

When the Money Runs Out! Part III: Raising Funds

The economy was NOT supposed to affect your wedding and ultimate passage into marital bliss. How could you have planned around something that is completely not under your control? But it has. Now what?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that the “economy” is in bad shape. Simply Beautiful will break it down in a series to give you advice on, When the Money Runs Out.

If you and your fiancé find yourselves in a situation where you must take a timeout from the wedding plans to seriously assess your finances and the question has come up as to whether or not you can still have a wedding, you are not alone.

Raising funds to assist with wedding costs is an option that many couples in today’s society hadn’t thought of. With the growing trend of couples financing their own weddings, re-marriages and blended families, the traditional days of the bride’s parents footing the bill is not always the norm. Yet, some families still have a nostalgic way of thinking of weddings and marriages. They just may be happy to help and feel a big part of your wedding.

Once a close friend or relative has agreed to assist you financially, it’s time to be frank, or Bob or John. Whoever will be upfront and honest about what your needs are and how this generous person can help. Come to the table with your wedding audit from Part I and the ramifications of Part II. Some people would much rather commit to a specific expense than blindly writing a blank check to “help you with your wedding.” After the financial discussions and thank you’s have been had, re-visit your audit and see where you stand.

Raising funds will also, and should most certainly, include additional funds that you and your fiancé are contributing. Based on your wedding audit, you should be able to figure out how much additional money you will need per month to meet your wedding obligations. Once you have this figure, the work of raising funds is up to you. This should be by way of second jobs, yard sales, downgrading, sacrifices and compromises. These are the things that will be involved if you want to have the wedding you’ve planned WHEN you’ve planned it. Cutting out Starbucks and trips to the movie theater every week should be worth it.

So what do you do?

Cancel the Wedding

Raise more Funds

Postpone the Wedding

Check out these Simply Beautiful posts for more budget advice: Wedding Costs, Financial Cold Feet, Realistic Wedding Budgets.

When the Money Runs Out! Part II: Cancel the Wedding

The economy was NOT supposed to affect your wedding and ultimate passage into marital bliss. How could you have planned around something that is completely not under your control? But it has. Now what? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that the “economy” is in bad shape. Simply Beautiful will break it down in a series to give you advice on, When the Money Runs Out.

If you and your fiancé find yourselves in a situation where you must take a timeout from the wedding plans to seriously assess your finances and the question has come up as to whether or not you can still have a wedding, you are not alone.

Cancelling the wedding seems so harsh. It is. Not to mention the shear emotional feelings associated with “cancelling” the wedding, even if it’s the couple’s decision for financial reasons or other reasons.

Yet, if the potential savings is tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands compared to a minimal percentage you will lose. Cancelling the wedding may provide some financial relief, especially when there are other mitigating circumstances that require your full financial resources immediately.

However, cancelling the wedding may not give you the financial holiday you may think.

Deposits, retainers and some purchases are usually non-refundable or returnable. Those items would be a complete loss. Also, many larger contracts, such as ceremony and reception venues have cancellation fees. These fees can range from 25-100% of the balance due depending on how far out you cancel.

After all is said and done, you may end up paying 50-100% of the cost of the wedding that you’ve decided not to have. In these instances, it’s probably best to explore options other than cancelling the wedding.

The best thing to do is to compare the cost of cancelling the wedding to the current cost of continuing with the wedding plans as they are. This will usually help you make the decision if it is advantageous financially to cancel or explore other options

So what do you do?

Cancel the Wedding

Raise more Funds

Postpone the Wedding

Check out these Simply Beautiful posts for more budget advice: Wedding Costs, Financial Cold Feet, Realistic Wedding Budgets.

When The Money Runs Out! Part I: Audit

The economy was NOT supposed to affect your wedding and ultimate passage into marital bliss. How could you have planned around something that is completely not under your control? But it has. Now what?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that the “economy” is in bad shape. Simply Beautiful will break it down in a series to give you advice on, When the Money Runs Out.

If you and your fiancé find yourselves in a situation where you must take a timeout from the wedding plans to seriously assess your finances and the question has come up as to whether or not you can still have a wedding, you are not alone.

Do Not Panic. (If you have to, take some time out, freak out and then pull it together. We’re human.)

First things first, audit your wedding. If you have contracted the services of a Wedding Planner/Consultant, they may be able to create an audit report based on the tracking they have done on your behalf. You may have kept meticulous records of your spending or files of receipts that will also help with the audit. However, if you are in this position, something probably went awry in the financial planning and execution.

For an Audit, the following things should be determined:

1. How much have you already spent on your wedding?

Include only deposits/retainers, payments and actual purchases.

2. What are the balances left on your contracted items/services?

Include items or services that you have signed a contract for and require an actual cancellation.

3. Determine the items or services that are pending purchase, payment or reservation and their respective costs. Use your budget worksheet, quotes and proposals to gather these figures.

Now you have an actual financial picture of how your wedding is shaping up.

So what do you do?

Cancel the Wedding

Raise more Funds

Postpone the Wedding

Check out these Simply Beautiful posts for more budget advice: Wedding Costs, Financial Cold Feet, Realistic Wedding Budgets.

Wedding Costs

I may be late to the game but I found a great new website…it’s great because it’s simple.

This is what it simply said after I input my zip code: 

“On average, couples that live in (Odenton, MD) spend between $28,784 and $47,974 for their wedding. This does not include cost for a honeymoon or engagement ring.”
*Estimate based on spending not vendor prices

I live in Odenton, and although my clients vary from Washington DC – Baltimore and Outlying areas in Maryland…this is a fair estimate. 

Take a look at your own zip code at Cost of Wedding to see the average cost of a wedding.

*Note* This is a perfect tool to determining your budget figure instead of just coming up with a figure out of thin air as I described here.   Vendors love an informed client.

Financial Cold Feet

One of the first steps in planning your wedding is to figure out your budget.  Most planners, such as myself, emphasize this portion of the planning process to their clients and it is included in my services.  Unfortunately, many couples treat this figure as merely a number they can pull out of the air or one that they feel comfortable saying they will spend on their wedding.  In these cases, this figure rarely coincides with the needs and desires the couple has for their wedding. 

After she says yes, and after the initial planning begins, some couples suffer from Financial Cold Feet.  Similar to the Cold Feet that some brides and grooms feel in the days leading to the wedding or on the actual wedding day, Financial Cold Feet usually happens when the couple has to place their first major deposit or retainer (2 completely different things, deposits may be refundable, retainers are not).    Some major service vendors can include the planner, the venue or the caterer, the biggest bites of the budget.  Then the bride, the groom or both may begin to wonder if they are ready, able or willing to commit to the financial responsibility of a Wedding.

So what do you do to get that warm and fuzzy feeling back?  Here are a few ideas to get the blood flowing in your frost bitten toes:

1.        Research costs in your area before settling on a budget:  You can do this research on your own or utilize your wedding planner as a resource and to do the research.  Know what YOUR type of wedding will cost before you commit yourself to a figure.  A square peg just won’t fit in a round hole, no matter how hard you try.

 

2.       Time.  The more time you have to plan for your wedding the more time you have to pay for it.

 

3.       View the costs associated with your wedding in small, manageable pieces and not in lump sums. 

      For example, your wedding is 13 months away.   

      Your reception venue has quoted you $7,500.00 (including catering).

      You have put down a 20% or $1,500.00 deposit.

      This leaves you with $6,000 due in 12 months. 

Don’t think of owing them the whole 6K, think of a monthly payment of $500. 

If you contribute $250.00 per month and your fiancée contributes the same.  Presto!

You can even get a little creative with handling the monthly amounts.  If your venue does not accept monthly payments, put the funds into a high yield savings, such as ING,  account and earn interest!

Pick up a part-time job that will give you the monthly income to cover wedding costs.  A retail part-time job, paying $10/hour, will yield you the $500.00 if you work only 12.5 hours a week. 

Honestly, I hate seeing someone get discouraged from the joy of planning and enjoying their very own special day.  The wedding is more than an elaborate party for the couple to show off.  Weddings are a symbol of family and tradition.  A wedding is one of the key displays of the most important thing in our lives, LOVE.  If you are not going to use your time and energy for LOVE and FAMILY…what are you putting your time, energy into?  For what? 

I may be a little biased…but IT IS WORTH IT.