10 Cost Saving Tips for Your Wedding Videography

Many brides have been asked, "What would they do over if they could redo their wedding day". By far majority, brides would have loved a video of their wedding day. Only video can bring back they very special day. The video brings back what they special day was really like, it brings back the voices, the memories of very special people, the laughter, the tears of joy, the mood, and the music. The event can be relived with future generations, their children and grandchildren.

For your wedding day, you should try your best to hire a wedding videographer. A videographer will create you a keepsake of your special day. You get only married once, to keep a memory of that special day you best to hire a professional to capture the event. You want a videographer that gets the angles of the shoots right, the voice heard distinctly, the videos captured in focus, the light just right, with a beautiful background, the video centered properly and the lens capturing close range and far distance shots just right. The wedding videographer should be able to put your wedding story together and capture all your bridal party and wedding guests of your very special day.

A good wedding videographer spends many hours creating a good wedding video, they spend 2 to 3 hours learning about the wedding couple and their family and learning about how the video should be shot, another hour or two learning about the video shoot locations, spend 8 to 12 hours filming the wedding, and then another 30 to 70 hours editing the event. For every minute of video shooting there is about an hour's worth of work. They also have to account for traveling to and from the wedding.

Before deciding what wedding videographer to choose, you want to review their style of shooting, understand what packages they offer, and it is important that you can communicate and each of you to share thoughts with each other and you can afford the wedding video. Attached are 10 cost savings tips for your wedding videography.

Tip 1 - View Copies of the Wedding Videographer's Work

Video taping a wedding is an art, many wedding videographer's aren't exceptional in their videotaping. Try to get at least 3 videos or DVD's of some of the videographer's prior work and it should be prior weddings. Watch the videos in it's entirety evaluating the videos. Look for through the whole video coming out good, is the focus always good in the videos, is the panning in and out good, the transitioning of one shoot to another good, are the voices distinct, is the lighting good, and is the background good. A good videographer do his entire video well. You want the entire package done well, not just bits and pieces. For some videographers, they will video parts of the video well, but the very good videographers will do the entire video well.

Tip 2 - Layout Exactly What You Want in your Wedding Video

It's your wedding, layout exactly how you want your video to go. When you meet with the wedding videographer you want your video to go a certain way and you don't want extra services that you really don't want, can they do it your way take it or leave it, if your way is one of their packages great, if not there are many other videographers around, the odds are you will find another, just be sure to find one that is very professional and create the video and all the services that go with it you want. 

Tip 3 - Find A Top Videographer From a Local University 

Go to a local university, college, or community college, find a professor that teaches photography. Ask the professor for three of their best students to interview to create a wedding video. The odds you can get a great wedding video made and usually the video should cost a lot less than a professional, usually students are on top of the latest technology and the odds are you will get a great wedding video and you will have given a wedding videography their very first start. Just remember to interview the videographer and be sure you are comfortable with any students before hiring them. maybe hire two so they can work the wedding together. Make sure the student is in or near their final semester.

Tip 4 - Choose The Package You Can Afford

Many videographers offer a number of different packages, if you interview a dozen different photographers, they may all handle their videography in many different ways. If you don't have much money, go with a package that you can afford, maybe the package is two hours and limited editing. Listen to all the options, go with the option that you most have a budget for. If you really want more, the video takes awhile to create, pay for some upfront, and pay the rest in 3 or 4 months when the wedding video is ready. Remember there are many videographers to shoot your wedding. Find one that has a package that you can afford, a style that you like, and will work with your budget.

Tip 5 - Oversee the Video Lighting

Sometimes the bride and groom has to be the go between between the officant and the wedding ceremony sight and also the wedding reception facility. Ask the videographer what's their lighting needs for a good wedding shoot. The videographer may have their own lighting for a video shoot. Sometimes the lighting is needed from the venue. Some officiants are very strict on lighting and the church may have dim lighting. Some reception venues have certain type of lighting. Work with the venues and the officiant on their lighting needs for the wedding. See if you can come up with an arrangement that all parties would like. You want a beautiful video and a beautiful wedding both. Sometimes you even need even help from disc jockeys and wedding musicians. They may control lighting for the wedding dance. Come to an agreement between all parties on lighting. What happens at some weddings, the lighting is not addressed and either there is upset at the venue or you get a wedding video in which the lighting does not come out very good.

Tip 6 - Check With Videographers from Very Large Churches 

A number of your large churches have an in-house video group, some even broadcast church services for television. Many of these videographers have videographed numerous weddings. They are often found to be good and videoing weddings, since they don't advertise their services, they can be contracted to shoot a wedding video for a lot lower price. It doesn't hurt to check your area if you can find a videographer that has experience shooting church weddings. You may very well find a videographer that can shoot your wedding and more can handle your budget a lot cheaper than a professional wedding videographer would charge.

Tip 7 - Use a Professional Wedding Videographer for the Formal Part of the Wedding

Use a professional wedding videographer for your wedding ceremony, and then at the reception leave a number of camcorders laying around and get your wedding guests and bridal party take videos of the wedding reception. Try to encourage individuals that are good at recording to video the reception from camcorders left on a few strategic reception tables left on their assigned seats. Maybe assign an individual to give advice on how to record. Make sure the camcorder is held steady and the lighting at the time of the recording is appropriate. Later on when you get the wedding video, you can arrange to have someone to go through the video and add video from the reception to the video from the ceremony. You may even have videos from a photo shoot of the bridal party from a remote location.

Tip 8 - Edit Your Own Wedding Video

Videography has come along way in the last few years. It use to be difficult to edit videos and today it is much easier. You might have a professional shoot the video for your wedding. You then arrange to get the video or you might have a friend or friends shoot the video at the wedding. You then find a good video editing package and you create the video yourself. There are a number of websites that are great on handling editing for videos. Some of the reputable companies that can create your wedding videos are http://www.avs4you.com/ , http://www.videomake.com/ , http://www.wondershare.com/ , and http://www.steves-digicams.com/ .

Don't be shy, learn something new that will be a life long skill, edit your wedding video and in the coming years you will be a master of creating videos for reunions and your future kids.

Tip 9 - Review the Amount of Cameras and Equipment to Shoot your Wedding

Whomever is taking videos of your wedding, take note of where and the amount of videos that are being used and the type of equipment being used. Be sure the cameras are set up for repositioning points of the wedding and the video equipment being used is state of the art. Always ask what equipment will be used and where will the video cameras be located at each venue and take note of the equipment and look up the equipment and ask about it at a professional camera store or check it out off the internet. You want to be sure high quality equipment is being used for your wedding. Also be sure there is back up equipment and a backup plan in the event of inclement weather.

Tip 10 - Don't Rush the Final Wedding Video Product

Many wedding couples think their wedding video will be waiting for them as soon as they return from the honeymoon. If you want a great wedding video, you must be patient, a great wedding video often isn't ready until 4 to 6 months after the wedding. After the wedding, a videographer's job has just begun. For a minute of taping it generally takes an hours worth of editing. If you want a magical wedding video, don't rush the videographer. The videographer goes through many steps to create your wedding story, they may crop, and pan one scene to the next and add music and they have to get timing right. They apply many steps. Don't apply too much pressure for the finished product, give the videographer plenty of time to create the final product. And at the end you will have a keepsake. And at the end you should your wedding video at every anniversary, on your anniversary watch your wedding again, then exchange an anniversary present, go out to dinner and exchange an anniversary toast.

In the end, make sure all that is agreed to of services you want from your videographer is laid out in a contract. Make sure all that is agreed to is written down on a contract, don't leave anything just verbal. Check with your videographer if he needs any help, especially for lighting. Your videographer should be meeting with you for about 2 to 3 hours to go over all your video wants and to become familiar with family members. You may need to share pictures of important family members. If you can fit it in your budget, don't forget to hire a wedding videographer, and you will have a special keepsake of your wedding and you can always relive that special day with your honey.

10 Cost Saving Tips for Wedding Photography

It's your wedding, there are no do-overs, this is the biggest day of your life, you only get one shot, you must hire a professional wedding photographer. There are thousands of wedding photographers to choose from every city. Many photographers would love to shoot your wedding. Find a wedding photographer that will fit your needs.

The interview process is very important when you are searching for a wedding photographer. You should look at their photos from previous weddings to see if you like their style for taking photos. A good photographer has top notch state of the art photography equipment, has plenty of experience of taking wedding photography. You want a photographer in which you like their artistic style of photography, the photographs should be bright, lively, have good lighting with a beautiful background. You want a photographer that gets along well with all your wedding guests, is very personable but becomes assertive at the photo shoots. You want a wedding photographer that acts professional at all times, someone who dresses well, someone who is a perfectionist , is always on time, and who is thorough and a good listener.

Here are 10 cost saving tips for wedding photography.

Tip 1 - Always Hire an Experienced Wedding Photographer for Your Wedding
Choose a wedding photo package that suits your budget, but you want to be sure to hire an experienced wedding photographer for your wedding. Should you have 12 photos taken, 40 photos taken or hundreds of photos taken. If your budget is very tight, have the professional photographer take the important shots, and then you can have a family relative or friend take the rest. If the budget is not too tight get more photos taken and someone take the less important shots. Make sure they have a high quality camera and if the photos are taken using a digital camera, make sure the photos are printed using real high quality photo paper. If it fits your budget, have a professional wedding photographer take all the wedding photos.

Tip 2 - The Wedding Couple Could Create the Wedding Album Themselves
Often the wedding photographer as part of their wedding package, they can create a wedding album for the wedding couple. The wedding couple could opt to only get the pictures from the wedding photographer. The evolution of the internet has given birth to online wedding albums, also many couples put pictures on their wedding website. It is still important to create a wedding album. What would you do if your computer got hit by a computer virus or what would happen if your computer crashes and all is lost?

Whether a photographer or the couple creates a wedding album it's an important keepsake. It becomes special. It's fun and challenging. Create a wedding album from your wedding using scrap booking supplies, use high quality pens, put names to faces, use color, depth, put in captions, add glitter, and laminate for protection and make sure you start with a high quality wedding album book. If either of you don't have good penmanship find a friend that has good handwriting. Remember in 20, 30, or 40 years names may be forgotten, so mark who is in each photo. The wedding album is great to share at reunions, show your children and grandchildren and adds to the anniversary ritual, part of the routine, look at wedding pictures once again, share an anniversary present, and then go out for a special meal and toast.

Tip 3 - Review in Depth the Photos You Want from Your Wedding
Before your wedding day, you should meet with the wedding photographer and review exactly the photos you want for your wedding. In your meeting, you should review the names of all the people in your two families that are part of the photo shoot. Below is a general wedding photo shoot list. Identify what pictures you want the wedding photographer to shoot at the wedding.


Wedding Photography Checklist

At the Bride's Home

Mother/Maid of Honor adjusting veil
Bride putting on garter with bridesmaid looking on
Bride in bedroon mirror getting ready
Corsage being pinned on mother
Corsage being pinned on father
Portrait of mother and bride
Portrait of father and bride
Brothers and/or sisters with the bride
Group shot of whole family one last time
Bride with all bridesmaids
Bride with each bridesmaid
Bride leaving house with parents and bridemaids
Father helping bride into car
Shot of bride in back of car from the front seat looking back

At the Church Prior to Service

Groom waiting
Groom and best man
Groom, best man and page boys
Best man adjusting groom's tie
Groom with father
Groom with mother
Groom and best man waiting at front of church
Guests arriving at church
Bride arriving in car
Bride exiting car with father helping
Bride kissing father on the cheek
Bride with mother and father looking on
Bride and bridesmaid's group shot in church garden or vestibule

During the Service

Bridal party coming down the aisle
Bridemaids, flower girls coming down the aisle
Father giving the bride away
From the rear of church looking down the aisle at couple
Soloists
Readers
Musicians
Above from organ area or balconies
Ring Ceremony
Kissing
Exchanging of vows


After the Service Inside the Church

Bride signing the register
Groom signing the register
Bride and Groom signing the register
Best man signing the register
Maid of honor signing the register
Bride and groom coming back down the aisle as husband and wife

After the Service Outside the Church

Groom kissing bride full length
Groom kissing bride 3/4ths length
Groom kissing bride close up head shot
Bride and groom looking at ring
Bride and groom with rings and bouquet/flowers
Bride and groom with officiant
Bride and groom with wedding party
Bride with bridesmaid's and flowers
Groom with best man and groomsmen
Bride and groom with bridesmaids
Bride and groom with groomsmen
Bride and groom at church door
Bride and groom leaving church
Bridal party outside of church
Bride and groom with bride's parents
Bride and groom with groom's parents
Bride and groom with bride's immediate family
Bride and groom with groom's immediate family
Bride with her mother
Bride with her father
Bride with both parents
Groom with his mother
Groom with his father
Groom with both parents
Bride and Groom with both sets of parents
Couple getting into limousine
Shot of couple from front seat or sunroof
Shot of couple leaving in limo with church in background

Special Shots

Action shots with entire wedding party in pretty location (jumping for joy etc.)
Couple sitting with dress train spread out
Couple on bridge looking at water/looking at sunset
Couple talking next to tree
Couple walking on beach
Couple in ruins of unique building, etc.


At the Wedding Reception

Reception facility decorated but empty before reception begins
Closeup photo of seating chart
Photo of the wedding cake
Bride and groom arriving at the reception
Couple greeting guests in receiving line
Photo of bride and groom with bridal party table
Close up of best man/father offering a toast
Photo of bride's father speech
Photo of groom's speech
Photo of best man's speech
Photo of bride and groom's first dance together
Photo of bride and father dancing
Photo of groom and mother dancing
Photo of couple cutting the wedding cake
Photo of bride feeding the groom the wedding cake
Photo of groom feeding the bride the wedding cake
Photo of bride throwing the bouquet to single ladies
Photo of bride throwing the garter to single men
Photo of single man catching garter put garter on single lady who caught bouquet
Photo of bride and groom with grandparent's on bride's side
Photo of bride and groom with grandparent's on groom's side
Photo of musician's performing/(or dj)
Photo of wedding gifts on table
Group photo of everyone at the wedding
Bride and groom with everyone on the bride's side
Bride and groom with everyone on the groom's side
Bride and groom with each and every reception table
Bride and groom leaving the reception
Shot of "just married" decorated car with bride and groom
Shot of car leaving reception
Candid shots at the reception

Tip 4 - Leave Disposable Cameras and Camera Phones Scattered on Reception Tables
If you are looking for some candid shots at your wedding reception, you could leave disposal cameras and camera phones at each wedding reception table and advertise to your wedding guests to take some candid shots and gathering all the cameras and pull together some of the best shots in which you can add to your online photo album, your wedding website, or your wedding photo album. Make sure you advertise and let your wedding guests know the cameras are for them to take candid shots or are the cameras to use as a wedding favor and for your guests to take home with them.

Tip 5 - Find a Photographer that will Provide you with High Resolution Files
There are many wedding photographers in your city. Almost every photographer has their own way of handling their photographic pictures. If the money is tight, maybe you could find a photographer that will provide you all the important photos right after the wedding, and maybe some months or some years later you can arrange for the less important pictures. Many wedding photographers have copyright marks on the photographs taken for your wedding and if they have not handed over the copyrights to the wedding couple would have an imprint called a watermark on the photo. Some photographers will keep control of the copyrights for about 3 years before discarding and the photographs could be provided to anyone you agree to for a fee. You should touch base with the photographer how long they will keep photos before discarding and you can request high resolution files from them and how much the fee would be and how should the files be obtained by photos, CD, email, or album downloads.

Tip 6 - Arrange a Meeting between Your Wedding Officiant and Wedding Photographer
Some wedding officiants have problems with wedding photographers, they feel the wedding photographer interrupts the wedding service. It is important to have the wedding photographer and wedding officiant to meet to discuss the photos for the wedding ceremony. Sometimes they work together fine and sometimes the photography is an issue. The wedding couple should allow them to meet and find out the arrangements that were made for each wedding shot. The couple should get feedback from both the officiant and photographer to be sure there are no issues that arise. If an issue should arise, then the wedding couple has a chance to intercede and address the issue. Sometimes a little arm twisting can be used such as photos of the bride and wedding party coming down the aisle or a first wedding kiss, signing a bridal registry, or stating wedding vows, for you only get one chance at wedding pictures and you want to be sure the wedding photographer can do their best job at taking wedding day pictures.

Tip 7 - Assign a Relative of Friend to Assist the Wedding Photographer
At the photo shoot, you could assign a relative or friend who knows most of the people at the wedding. This person could be given a checklist of the wedding day photos wanted and it's their job to make sure the right relatives or members of the bridal party are in proper position for each photo shoot and to help the photographer keep note of all the names and how they are related to the bride and the groom. Also it's a good idea for the assistant to be aware if there is bridal emergency kit, for touch ups for bridal hair, bridal makeup, and dress. A bridal emergency kit should be loaded with touch up products such as lip stick, tissues, wet wipes, powder, mascara, hair brush, sewing needle and thread, mirror, a bottle of water, and every emergency that might be needed for a photo shoot.

Tip 8 - Go With Packages with One Camera or Simple Coverage
When it comes to weddings, many wedding photographers will try to go with the up-sell, offering you anything and everything. If your budget is an issue, don't let the photographer control what you want. Only choose the photos you really want and you can get by with one camera coverage. Go through the list of photos you really want with the wedding photographer. You can listen to what each of the packages are, you don't need all the upgrades that the photographer is pushing. Just get the simple basic package that fits your budget. Remember, if the wedding photographer should be pushy, there are thousands of wedding photographers that can shoot your wedding day pictures.

Tip 9 - Arrange a Compromise with the Wedding Photographer and Wedding Guests
Many wedding photographers don't like wedding guests taking pictures the same time that they do. Often the wedding photographer is looking to take great pictures. If a wedding guest is taking pictures at the same time as the wedding photographer, some of the wedding guests are looking in different directions in the photo shoot or seeing someone else's flash in the photo. Some photographers are really strict insisting no wedding guest photos. Be aware that this has been an issue at many weddings. Try to work it out with the photographer, he gets attention of the subjects getting their picture done first and after his picture is done other wedding guests can then take their photos. Just be sure wedding guests are not taking valuable time from the professional wedding photographer.

Tip 10 - Arrange for a Photo Booth at Your Wedding Reception
Photo booths have become big at weddings in recent years. Photo booths offer two or four pictures. Make sure you have a prop table outside the photo booth for zany pictures. Props can be many different things like different style hats such as a cowboy hat, a Mexican fat, a magician's hat, a straw hat. Other props can be over sized glasses, Hawaiian leis, jug band instruments, a chalk board with something written on it, or a picture frame, use your imagination.

Make sure the photo booth is advertised at the wedding reception and make sure the bride and groom get their pictures taken too. Usually with two copies made, one can be taken home as a wedding favor, the other is kept for the bride and groom and someday after the honeymoon, the bride and groom can select the best photos that can be added to the back of their photo album. The style of pictures could be formal or collage style. Photo booths create a lot of zany memorable pictures of wedding guests out of their character and a great way to remember people that have come to your wedding.

It is important for the bride and groom to look their best for their wedding photography. The couple should get a good night's sleep before their wedding and well rested before their photo shoot. The photos should not be rushed, their worries should be left far behind, for each photo take a deep breath and smile. You want the wedding day photos to be perfect. Also be sure the contract is thorough, everything that has been agreed to is laid out and the contract should have a "failure to perform" clause that insures you get all your money back. Keep a receipt of all payments made including the deposit.

Remember, photo shoots are vital for your wedding, they are a memory of what transpired for the biggest day of your life. You don't want an amateur for your most important day, you need the lighting, cropping, editing, setting and the angles to all be perfect. Your wedding day pictures are an important keepsake and if they are done right they will always have special meaning.

See you on the other side!

10 Cost Saving Tips for Buying Wedding Jewelry

You want to take your time and get yourself educated when you search for wedding jewelry. It's a major investment and you want jewelry that will be super special for a super special person. After you  purchase wedding jewelry whether it be a diamond engagement ring, wedding bands, loose gemstones, hair pieces, brooches, necklace, bracelets, earrings, or even a tiara, it's always a good idea to take a photograph of the jewelry and get it evaluated and get it appraised. You should get insurance for the jewelry in the event it should ever get lost or stolen.

When it comes to your wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses you want a look of chemistry. All your jewelry should harmonize with the type of wedding dress such as a pearl or rhinestone choker would look stunning with a strapless bodice. From your head to your toes all jewelry should be made using matching metals and gemstones. The following are 10 tips for buying wedding jewelry.

Tip 1 - Learn the 4 C's of Diamond Buying
The first thing you need to do is learn the 4 C's of buying diamonds. You are shelling out a lot of money for a very special gift. There are many unscrupulous jewelers out there, you need to do your homework before you begin your search for a jeweler. By understanding the 4 C's of jewelry which are "cut", "carat", "color, and "clarity" you increase your chances tremendously of getting a beautiful diamond at a fair price and not be ripped off.

The first important factor is the "cut". The cut is the shape of the diamond, different cuts have different costs, a round cut tends to be more expensive than the other cuts. The second important factor is "carat". The carat tells about the weight of the diamond. A carat equals 200 milligrams. The pricing to weight on diamonds are not one to one. The pricing of diamonds tends to be tiered and bumps to a higher price once the carat weight reaches a specified threshold.

The third important factor of diamonds is "color" of the diamond. The clearer the diamond the more expensive. White is a little less expensive and the cheapest diamonds are yellow. Usually top notch jewelers have a special device that you can match up with the diamond to match what color it's graded at. This chart looks similar to a color chart dentist's use for matching with teeth color. There are exceptions to the rule of finding a clear diamond, for instance a blue diamond is a very valuable and very rare. The fourth important characteristic of diamonds is "clarity". Clarity is concerned with the absence or presence of flaws inside or outside the diamond. Typically the diamond should be viewed through a jeweler's loupe or jeweler's binocular microscope to analyze the flaws.

Tip 2 - Use an Independent Appraiser and Don't Buy a Diamond Without a GIA
It's all apart of buying diamonds. With most good jewelers, they will allow you to bring an independent appraiser to evaluate the diamond to get an independent opinion of the value of your diamond. It's best to not to use the jeweler's appraiser, they may be a little biased on evaluating the diamond. Look for an appraiser from another jewelry store and find one with a lot of experience, it takes lots of knowledge and find someone who has evaluated hundred of diamonds. Also be sure the diamond has a GIA certificate, GIA is an abbreviation of the Gemological Institute of America. The GIA certificate should go with each each diamond and maps out the characteristics of the diamond and includes information regarding the 4 C's of diamond buying. Always keep the certificate with the diamond or in a safe secure spot. Also when you buy a diamond make sure there is a guarantee, a good return policy, and the willingness of the jeweler to buy the diamond back for a specified period.

Tip 3 - Check Your Jeweler Out
Most jewelers are honest and will give you a fair deal but beware there are unscrupulous jewelers that may take you for a ride and rip you off. Check out the jeweler, check with the better business bureau to see if there are any complaints against a company or individual, good jewelers tend to have a nice website and they tend to keep their place of business immaculate, they tend to have an assortment of diamonds. You want a jeweler who is a licensed gemologist in appraising jewelry. Watch and see how the jeweler handles customers, does the business stay kind of busy and is the sales person informative, friendly, helpful, or are they pushy and manipulative. Be sure to meet with a number of jewelers before buying wedding jewelry so you have jewelry to compare with and get wedding jewelry at a fair price.

Tip 4 - Purchase a Setting Featuring Smaller Stones
If the budget is an issue, the size of the diamond is exponential in price. You can either buy a big diamond and pay a lot or you can buy much smaller diamonds that would be a lot less in price. You can save a lot of money if you buy smaller diamonds and you make intricate designs in your wedding ring. If the budget is an issue, create a wedding ring with smaller diamonds or have the wedding ring made of other gemstones that the bride also adores.

Tip 5 - Buy the Ring Together 
Many brides are picky, if you get a ring she does not adore, she may be very disappointed and always have that disappointment in the back of her head. Many brides are happy with almost any choice of a wedding ring but with some if you don't buy a ring she adores, your wedding might not get off to the start you were seeking. You have two choices, look at jewelry together, notice the gemstones, metal, styles of other jewelry she wears or spend some time letting her look at jewelry herself and take note of jewelry that she likes. The other choice is using a temporary engagement ring and go looking for an engagement ring or wedding ring together. When she chooses a wedding ring herself, you can be sure she is getting a diamond ring she really likes. Does she choose a round diamond, pear-shaped diamond, emerald cut or does she like the diamond into the shape of a heart? What type metal is the wedding band she likes? What type of mounting does she like, a lower mounting or a higher mounting? And what should be the engraving on the ring? Many grooms like to surprise the bride on their engagement or wedding ring. Sometimes it works out, but to be safe you are much better off buying rings together to be sure you are getting a ring she adores.

Tip 6 - Avoid Brand Name Jewelers
The brand name jewelers tend to have huge markups on their jewelry. Big name jewelers include Kay, Jared, Zales, and Tiffany. Often you will see brand name jewelers appear on television commercials. Yes they have beautiful jewelry and they have very experienced staff. The thing you are overpaying on the jewelry they are offering. When you buy their jewelry you are helping to pay for all their advertising, you are paying for all their overhead in their beautiful store, and you are paying for corporate overhead. Most cities have a jewelry part of town in which there are numerous jewelry businesses. You should find good jewelers there and you can buy your wedding jewelry that are a lot less expensive. Find a jeweler that has been in the business for a significant amount of time, runs an organized store, are certified, and is in good standing.

Tip 7 - Buy a Wedding Band to your Affordability
You have a number of choices when it comes to wedding bands. Remember you are buying a wedding band that you expect to be worn for the rest of your lives. You should try to find a wedding band that fits comfortably on each of your fingers. You want a wedding band that is fashionable, will fit in with the type of lifestyle you lead, such as an adventurous type, or someone that enjoys the beach or scuba dives. The wedding band should be able to withstand the environment a person is exposed to a lot.

As with the material of the wedding band, the most expensive is platinum. There also is yellow gold and a little expensive than that is white gold. Generally these metals are available in 9k, 10k, 14k, and 18k. Wedding bands are also made with sterling silver, titanium, tungsten, and stainless steel. To get a good deal you might consider buying wedding bands online from a reputable company and buy your diamonds and gemstones separately and then find a jeweler who will mount the stone on a wedding band for you. Some reputable companies that sell wedding bands are www.weddingbandswholesale.com , http://www.iweddingband.com/ , and weddingbandsuperstore.com .

Tip 8 - Look for Jewelry from Estate Sales and Pawn Shops
Buying jewelry from estate sales has many advantages. Often you can find extraordinary rare or antique jewelry or antique jewelry at wholesale rates or at heavily discounted prices. Estate sales are usually advertised in newspapers and invetsment buyers flock to the event in the hopes of finding exceptional pieces. Often estate sales happen when the owner of a house dies and the assets of the home are sold and the pieces are liquidated for inheritance of family members. Also estate sales happen with owners who are down sizing and moving to a small property or find themselves in a financial crisis, needing money quickly and to need to sell items such as jewelry quickly, and sometimes pieces of jewelry might be sold at unbelievably low prices.

Buying jewelry from a pawn shop, you can find jewelry that is often inexpensive, but you need to learn the fine art of haggling, one must learn the basics of what jewelry is worth and what the market rates are. Certain pieces of jewelry you can analyze online and look at comparable pieces from other jewelry stores. Many times you can bargain back and forth on the price of a jewelry piece. Pawn shops sometimes have discount sales, ask the store if they have discount sales coming up. Pawn shops and the police have teamed up in recent years to team up to share information of pieces purchased by the pawn shop in order for the store to be protected from thievery and bringing in hot items. Pawn shops put much of their pieces in good storage to protect their valuables to retain the value of their assets.

Tip 9 - Use a Jeweler's Loupe or Jeweler's Binoculars to Evaluate Jewelry
A jeweler's loupe is simply a specific type of magnifer used in the jewelry industry. It is an invaluable tool to check for diamonds and gemstones for scratches and chips to examine inclsions on these stones more closely. The loupe becomes more valuable as you learn how to use it. The gemologists recommend using the "triplet" 10x which magnifies the stone 10 times. You can find loupes at many optical supply stores, many loupes can be purchased between $5 and $40 cost. When using the jeweler's loupe it is recommended to keep the loupe about one inch from the eye and one inch from the object and to examine the object at various angles and turning the object slowly. A good jeweler would be more than happy to teach you how to use the jeweler's loupe. If you are in the search for a beautiful diamond it's a wise investment to pick up a jeweler's loupe in the search for your perfect diamond for your honey. A jewelers binoculars is very similiar to use such as a microscope.

Tip 10 - Create your Own Wedding Jewelry
If you want your wedding jewelry unique, why not create your own wedding jewelry. First you need a concept of what you want your jewelry to look like. You next want pictures or sketches of the jewelry you want to create. You then want to find a jewelry designer to create the jewelry, next you want a wax model of the wedding jewelry and finally from a cad image create the jewelry using the metals and gemstones you have decided to go with. There is a recommended website called http://www.jamesallen.com/ that can help you out a lot creating your own wedding jewelry.

When you are buying wedding jewelry, it's similar to buying a car, you most often can bargain down the price, sometimes it's not buying wedding jewelry the first day you go to a jewelry store, sleep on it. Make sure you find a good dealer and then find a good appraiser to evaluate the jewelry you are interested in. When you buy good wedding jewelry, remember you are also buying an investment. If you learn all about wedding jewelry and learn the 4 C's of diamond buying, you aren't throwing away money, you are buying an investment and investing in a happy marriage.

See you on the other side!

10 Cost Savings Tips for Wedding Day Outfits

The number 1 item looked at and talked about at weddings is the bride and her wedding dress. For most brides since they were very young they also dreamed of looking the beautiful bride and for many when the wedding day draws near, many brides need to scrimp to save on wedding day costs. Attached are some tips on ways a bride can save on wedding clothing.

Tip 1 - Keep the Trim on your Wedding Dress Simple
Many wedding boutiques will try to glam you up with accessories but accessories aren't really needed. Avoid complex embroidery or embellishments, many are hand-sewn onto the dress, adding a lot of additional cost. Often you will see sequins, crystals, fabric flowers, and all sorts of things added to the wedding dress and adds a lot onto the finished price. If your budget is an issue, don't go for a lot of trim on your wedding dress. If there is a lot of trim that are hand sewn, it may be possible to negotiate the price down and make the dress more simple when you order and maybe you can convince your mother, grandma. or aunt to pick up some embellishments for your wedding day dress and get someone good at sewing to sew it on and when someone asks you about the dress you can homage to family members that helped you with enhancements to your wedding day dress.

Tip 2 - Find When the Wedding Boutique Has Their Super Sale
When you begin your search for your wedding dress, when you stop by any wedding boutiques, ask the sales manager of the store whether the store has any plans for any super sales, mark the dates down, give them an email dress to keep you informed of sales or events and ask them where you might find coupons or coupon codes. Also occasionally check out the store's website and check out other bridal websites. Also check wedding stores right after the wedding season which is typically in June or right after the New Year's Holiday, wedding stores often will offer discounts and sales after this time to make room to ready for the next season's inventory.

Tip 3 - Buy Your Wedding Dress Online or from a Bridal Chain Store
Before considering to buy a dress online, you need to educate yourself all about wedding dresses. Every woman has a different size and body type. A bride also needs a little understanding of styles of wedding dresses. It is a good idea to do some research first and get an understanding of what type of wedding dresses would look best on yourself. Travel to some local boutiques, get your measurements, and learn the basics, of what to look for such as neck lines, sleeve lengths, train lengths, and color dresses. Also note from magazines, websites, and catalogs of what type of wedding dresses you like, and when you are ready look at bridal online stores. Reputable online stores include www.bestbridalprices.com , www.buyweddingddressesonline.com , www.houseofbrides.com , and www.weddingretailer.com .

You also might try bridal chain stores with the more common ones are David's Bridal, also there is Vinci Bridal, and Jon's Bridal. David's Bridal sells by far more wedding dresses than any other company. They buy a lot of dresses in bulk and get the dresses at a significant discount. The bridal chain though doesn't sell a lot of today's top wedding designer dresses, but they do sell beautiful popular wedding dresses. If you want to buy a famous designer dress you will have to find a wedding boutique that's been authorized to sell a designer's dresses.

Regardless whether you buy a dress online or from a bridal chain store, you should find a wedding seamstress or find someone to altar the dress while you are wearing it so to be sure it fits you perfectly.

Tip 4 - Have a Seamstress Make Your Wedding Dress
There are times that brides fall in love with a wedding dress but the dress is out of their price league, they simply can't afford it, or can they. The secret, is get some pictures of the dress you want, make sure you get permission to take pictures or get a picture of the dress from a brochure. Bring the picture to a local good seamstress and ask if she can recreate the dress and let her know your budget. Very often the seamstress can recreate the look using a lot less expensive fabric. Just be sure the seamstress shows their past work and make sure you get references from their prior clients and find out how happy other brides are with previous dresses created.

Tip 5 - Sell Your Dress After The Wedding
So many brides keep their wedding dresses after their wedding. There are millions of wedding dresses laying around never to be worn again after the wedding. The wedding dresses are often sentimental and brides maybe want to keep the dress for a future daughter or show future generations their wedding dress. The odds are, the wedding dress may never be seen again. If a bride is smart she will get many pictures of her wedding dress and be able to show anyone her wedding dress from her wedding album or scrapbook.

Right after the wedding, it's a good idea to get the wedding dress dry cleaned, take the wedding dress to a professional cleaners that handles wedding dresses. Make sure the dress is free from stains, rips, tears, or loose strings, and the dress is bagged in a wedding dress bag and if possible stored hanging up in a secure place. If a wedding dress is boxed and is folded it may very well end up with creases which may be hard to get out. Right before selling, find a comparable price and discount it a little from the stated price in order for it to sell. Make sure you show a picture of the wedding dress, many brides will try to sell their wedding dresses through an action on EBay or sell on craigslist. If not online, you can take the wedding dress to be sold at a thrift shop, which after the dress is sold, will take a commission and pay you based on a contract with them.

Tip 6 - Buy a Used Dress For Your Wedding
It's psychological, many brides want a new dress for their wedding. The thing to remember, in all likelihood, most brides will wear their wedding dress one day in their life. If the bride can't afford to buy a new wedding dress, why not buy a used wedding dress. Either the wedding dress was worn once at a wedding or was a wedding dress on a show piece rack, very often brides will be pleasantly surprised by the value one can find by purchasing a used dress on the internet or from a thrift shop. Looking online often one can found thousands of wedding dresses for sale or from auction. Before deciding, understand exactly the type of wedding dress you want so you can find a similar dress. Have an idea on dress size before ordering, remember sizes might be slightly different based on the designer. Check out the dress right after receiving one for stains or rips and try the dress on with a similar style of shoe you plan to wear for the wedding. Check on the cost of similar dresses to be sure you are getting a good deal. Be wary of scammers when ordering online, it's better to use a reputable online company when ordering a wedding dress and use a company like Paypal to pay for the dress.

Tip 7 - Sales People Upsell, Negotiate Down The Price
Many young people get taken when buying a car, a house or wedding dress. In many wedding boutiques the wedding dress is negotiable, many young people are unaware the wedding dress is negotiable. When you are  thinking about a wedding dress and the sales person adds many extras, inform the sales person that you only can afford buying a wedding dress that fits your budget. Bring up, when does the store have a sale in which I might be able to get the wedding dress at a discounted price. The number of brides that stick to their budget for their wedding dress is very few. Make sure you tell the sales assistant your top price and insist they only  show you wedding dresses not too much over your price range and if the wedding dress is over your budget, you could only consider the wedding dress offered at a discount. If you don't get the dress at a price you like, come back another day and negotiate some more and very often the sales person will end up making a deal with you.

Tip 8 - Look For a Group Discount Tuxedo Shop
One little tip before you begin looking for tuxedos. Before you go looking for tuxedos it is very helpful to have at least a picture of what the bride and bridesmaids will be wearing for the wedding. Also inform the tuxedo shop the wedding theme or color scheme of the wedding. A couple of people are at first, searching for the tuxedos for the wedding. Very often this may be the bride who chooses the style of tuxedos, but sometimes she will revert the decision to someone else other such as the groom or her father or sometimes she may choose to do it together with the groom. When searching for tuxedos you should try at least 3 different tuxedos and try to match it with the bride and bridesmaids. After a decision is made on the tuxedos, let the salesperson know how many tuxedos you expect to lease and ask how much of a discount you can get. Many times you can play one tuxedo shop against another and go with the one that can get you the best deal. Also look for coupons and coupon codes for tuxedos on wedding websites and brochures for significant discounts.

Tip 9 - Check Out a Prom Shop
If the bride's budget is really tight for a wedding dress, many prom shops have white prom gowns and often the white prom dresses look very much like a wedding dress. It would not take too much effort to make it look like a wedding dress, add some embellishments, ribbons, flowers, rhinestones, pearls, embroidery, and the dress will look very much the wedding dress. Also instead of using a bridal shop for your bridesmaids, use a prom shop or department store instead and this can save you a lot of money. Also try to shop at prom stores and department stores right after the prom season is over which is after May or another good time to buy these dresses is after the first of the year right after the Christmas/New Year's Holiday. It is safer to get bridesmaid gowns at a store but if you decide to get them online, a couple of good reputable sites are www.bridesmaids.com and www.impressionbridal.com . Make sure the bridesmaid dresses get altered by a good seamstress.

Tip 10 - Borrow a Wedding Dress from a Close Relative or Friend
You may be totally surprised, you just have to keep it a little secret and this may save you quite a lot of money. Many brides keep their wedding dresses long after the wedding, they have only been used once. If you check out your mother's, sister's, aunt's, recently married friend's wedding dress that's been put away in storage you may find a beautiful wedding dress and if they accept you can have a wedding dress that's really cheap, it may only cost for alterations and possibly dry cleaning. The person you borrowed the dress from will be very happy someone else is making use of the dress. You have to be sure you can fit into the dress, the dress can't be smaller than your size and the person you are borrowing the dress from has to be comfortable with alterations being done to the dress, this is usually no problem with the dresses owner but you have to be sure.

Make sure you consider the time of year that you wear your wedding dress and whether you have an inside or outside wedding. If the weather is hot, you don't want a sweaty wedding dress, or if the weather is cold, you might need a dress to protect you from the elements or you might need a jacket that will fit over the dress when you are switching to different venues. So buy a wedding dress according to your budget and if the budget is very tight think about using a genius solution.

See you on the other side!