Tracy Leigh - How to Plan Your Own Wedding and Save Thousands: Without Going Crazy

How to Plan Your Own Wedding and Save Thousands

Without Going Crazy

By Tracy Leigh

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How to Plan Your Own Wedding and Save ThousandsWithout Going Crazy

Copyright 2007 by Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1210 SW 23rd Place Ave. Ocala, Florida 34471 800-814-1132 352-622-1875Fax

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SAN Number: 268-1250

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1210 SW 23rd Place, Ocala, Florida 34471.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-007-4 ISBN-10: 1-60138-007-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Leigh, Tracy, 1969

How to plan your own wedding and save thousands : without going crazy / by Tracy Leigh.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-007-4 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-60138-007-0 (alk. paper)

1. Weddings--Planning. I. Title.

HQ745.L435 2008

395.22--dc22

2007028925

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Foreword

By Xaviera Pepe

Congratulations on your engagement!

Planning your wedding can be one of the most enjoyable experiences of your life, but it can also be one of the most stressful. Having anticipated this moment for so long, you may find yourself excited, overjoyed, or perhaps even overwhelmed all of which are perfectly natural. Whatever mixture of emotions you are experiencing, just remember that planning your wedding is a wonderful rite of passage into your new life. Welcome to the wedding planning process; best wishes and, most of all, do not forget to enjoy the ride.

You may have picked up this book because you are planning your wedding on a budget, or perhaps you are interested in finding some creative ways to save money on your big day. As a wedding planner, I have good news for you: With a little ingenuity, you can plan a beautiful wedding on a modest budget. The truth of the matter is that it is not how much money you spend on your wedding; it is how you spend it that counts. This book, How to Plan Your Own Wedding and Save Thousands Without Going Crazy , will show you how to make the most of your money and still create a memorable wedding.

Whether you are on a strict wedding budget or you are one of the lucky few for whom a budget is only a minor consideration, one thing holds true: You will need to dedicate a considerable amount of time to planning all the details of your special day so start getting organized early. When it comes to ideas or decision-making, waiting too long invariably leads to rushed decisions, costly mistakes, and sometimes even regrets.

First things first: Create a financial plan for your entire wedding, regardless of the size of your budget. Construct a budget with everything you consider a must-have at your wedding, and then add in your wish list. Here is where you will decide which items need to be included in your budget and which items do not. For example, if your parents are paying for photography as a gift, you may choose not to include this expense as part of your budget. Some couples do not include their wedding rings or even the wedding dress as part of their budget, but my advice is to include everything for which you will need to take financial responsibility.