When I asked my girlfriend to marry me, there were understandably a few things going through my mind:

• Would she say yes?
• Would she like the ring?
• What is going to change?

Engaged!!

My girlfriend, then fiancée, now wife, said yes, loved the ring and set about on a 10-month planning journey to create our perfect day. So what changed? A lot of things actually.  We were still the same; but there were these exciting and sometimes tough questions to answer!

• When should we get married?
• Who will be in our wedding party?
• How much will your parents chip in?
• Will we combine our finances? And…
• Are you going to change your name?

My answer to the last question was yes, please do! From my perspective giving my name in marriage to the woman I want to spend my life with, raise a family with, and sit on the porch swing with, well into my grey old age was a gift! Here, with this ring accept my love, fidelity and my name!

To me, having Heather accept my name created a sense of bond – both legally and familial. I don’t think she would feel less married to me by keeping her own name, but you know how little girls grow up writing Mrs. Someone all over their pink notebooks? I wanted her to be able to do the same and for a long, long time.

Therefore, brides, ask your fiancé what they think about the name change question.  You may be surprised what you hear.  And if you need help with the name changing process, were here to help!

“This one is the best because it’s the most expensive right?”

I remember speaking to a fellow bride friend of mine as we discussed our pending nuptials. My wedding was more accurately described as poor bride chic whereas hers was more platinum wedding.  Both of our weddings were amazing, each with its own sense of unique bride style with the primary difference being budget. It recently occurred to me that given the current state of economy, that if I were to plan a wedding now I would be even more frugal with my wedding cash. How so?

I recently discovered a couple of great sites through http://www.thebrokeassbride.com/ which lead me to find http://recycledbride.com/ and http://brideshare.net/. It is now easier than ever to have an unforgettable day without breaking the bank and these ladies are the experts!

The Broke Ass Bride

Bride$hare

Recycled Bride

All of these sites allow and encourage Brides-to-be to save money, share tips, or swap and sell their gently used wedding fare – which is great for those on a budget and even better for those who want to go green for their wedding day! Bride$hare is also a social networking site designed to help brides save money by sharing wedding-related resources and goods. Decor, apparel, rentals, and even vendors can be shared, swapped, or sold through Bride$hare connections which means that you get the skinny on the best wedding deals out there while your wallet stays delightfully plump.

Just because something is expensive does not make it the best, but you can do the best with what you have.

Check out the sites above for great deals, tips and tools for planning your wedding and managing your budget all in one place!

Calling all brides, newlywed ladies and wedding planners!

We’re Name Change Express, a new premiere service to help you change your name and we’d like to give away some free Name Change kits valued up to $30! What does that mean for you? Spread the word to fellow brides to be, planners and newlywed ladies to help us get our name out and for every 100 Twitter followers and Facebook fans we’ll give away a Name Change kit valued at $30! None of the above? We’ll give you a gift card to giveaway to a friend, as a shower gift or wedding gift!!

Here’s the small print:

• Follow us on twitter (www.twitter/name_change) or Fan us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/name.change) and for every 100 followers, we’ll raffle off a winner!
• Contest starts Friday, 1/15/10 and goes for up to 300 followers! We’d love to spotlight a winner on our blog, so spread the word and maybe we’ll pick you!

To learn more about Name Change Express, check out our site or contact us! Good luck!

My fiance and I were engaged in early December leaving me to flash my newly acquired bling at holiday parties, family gatherings and under the sparkling lights of holiday decorations. It was bliss for a newly engaged woman. What a fun time to get engaged!

But it posed one slight challenge for me: I was instantly in wedding planning mode and my fiance felt like this, “Its the holiday! Let’s wait til the New Year!”.  Knowing I didn’t want an exceptionally long engagement, this was precious time wasted!

My fiance was really excited about getting married-but getting him to help set the date was nearly impossible. I share with you now some set the date strategies that worked for us! 

• Ask your fiance if he has a time of year that he does NOT want to get married. If you can immediately rule out certain times of year like football, baseball and basketball season you may now have his full attention!
• Find out his parents, and if applicable, siblings and friends wedding anniversaries. He’s not likely to want to overlap with them.  Then again, he may want to so its easier to remember the date. 
• Realistically plan out the next year to two years. Are there any major events coming up? Graduations, other weddings, travel, etc. If you and your fiance are a low key couple, you may need less than a year to plan, but if not, book it at least 1.5 years out to allow plenty of time to get it on your calendars to maximize optimal guest attendance.
• Find out how involved he wants to be involved with the planning. This is KEY. My guy wanted to help with ring, food, cake, music and tuxes. Beyond that it was my show to run. If your guy wants to be told what day, what time and where to stand, the ball is in your court.

So what are you waiting for? Get started! How did you determine your wedding date?

There’s so much more to do after you set the date. But never fear! Check back here for some more helpful wedding planning tips and let us know any questions!

Engaged!

It’s the best time of year for many people-the holidays-when life is all a glisten with lights and gifts, the clinking of glasses filled with bubbly toasts of good cheer and often, the sparkle of a beautifully cut diamond engagement ring! Congratulations, newly engaged couples! A fantastic time awaits you!

While many are conjuring up New Year’s resolutions and recounting the year, you may be conjuring up visions of white dresses, spools of tulle and sparkly bands for your shiny new bling!

Getting engaged around the holidays is quite common and starting those to do lists for wedding planning is the perfect way to kick off the New Year!

So-what’s the first thing you should do as a newly engaged couple? Celebrate!!! Everyone loves a happy new couple pink cheeked and blissfully dreaming of their new lives together.  Let friends and family and co-workers alike congratulate you! Let people in the grocery store compliment your new piece of jewelry and practice referring to your boyfriend as “my fiancé”.

Happy New Year brides to be! Congratulations on your new engagements and enjoy this time together. The tough stuff like choosing venues, linen colors, and place settings are yet to come.

We’ll be here to help share feedback, suggestions, and lessons learned along the way! Let us know how we can help!