FIRST THINGS FIRST

First of all – Congratulations! You're getting married! Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of creating a dream wedding, take a moment to relax and actually enjoy being engaged. Like everything, this special time before your wedding will rush by in a blur and it is so important that even while you are madly planning this perfect day you can appreciate these moments – your last as a non-married person!

Make some time in your engagement period to 'check-in' with your partner. It's too easy to think that spending hours on your wedding is the same as spending hours on your relationship. Make a date, go out and talk about non-wedding related things for a few hours. If you are finding that every conversation you have (both with each other, family and friends) quickly turns to your wedding plans, gently steer the discussions back to another topic. This serves a few purposes;
a) It'll save you (and your partner) from wedding over-load.
b) It will make sure that the special details of your wedding will be sweet surprises for the guests.
c) It will remind you that there is much more to your life than your wedding. Really.

You are not your wedding

I know, you think that's an odd statement but hear me out. All our lives, we see our wedding as our one opportunity to be the princess, to be perfect for a day. Then suddenly, we find ourselves faced with actually planning this magical wedding and wondering how on Earth we are supposed to magically turn ourselves into this Princess and achieve perfection in just a few months! Even with a limitless budget, brides-to-be turn themselves inside out trying to achieve a fairytale ideal. To be perfect. Imagine the stresses that brides on a budget must be feeling! I know you know their pain!

Remember this. Your partner will love you regardless of what you are wearing, how your hair looks and what flowers you are holding. The guests that truly love you and wish you well will still cry tears of joy regardless of where you are married and what you feed them. You will still get misty-eyed in years to come thinking of the day you and your partner became one. Details will fade, while the permanent reminder of your love for each other will not.

That's all well and Good, But...

You really want to be a princess for a day? You really do want people to gush over your flowers, your shoes, your dress and your hair? You're sure that you want people to tell great stories about your wedding reception for years to come?

I get it. I understand. And lucky for you, I know the inside tips and tricks for saving you thousands of dollars in creating a dream wedding on a shoestring budget!

Pay attention as I run through the various sections of this e-book. You'll soon see that research, time and knowing what you want are all vital components of creating a day you will remember for a lifetime, and for all the right reasons!

Next Page - Page 03: Priorities / The Budget.