Gay Civil Unions! Equal Rights!

I am very happy about the ruling in California. I believe that ALL members of the LGBT community should have the right to marry/be with whoever they want. At least have the same rights as married straight couples have. Its not fair to discriminate against anyone based on sexual preference. If the officials don't want to call it marriage because of the definition,( I get it a word is a word...i wouldn't call a rose a tulip cus they are not) then don't but give EQUAL rights to all human beings!

The Big Snip!

Its the topic that no one likes to talk about or read about:The Guest list!

Truth is the more people you invite the less money you will have. Wining and dining your guest can easily burn a hole in your pockets. However, it is never fun to tell someone they are not invited to your grand event. So how do you cope, keep your family, friends and significant other happy?

Here are my tips:

1. Remember the Bottom Line: This is YOUR wedding, first and your guest second. Yea sure, your guest are the well wishers who make your party a blast but you only need two witnesses at a ceremony.

2. Only your nearest and dearest should attend your event. The mailman, the nice lady at the grocery store, that friend who never calls or writes, that weird guy your Dad knows but you don't ARE NOT your nearest and dearest. Its true. If they don't know your parents, haven't called you in the past three months ( favors don't count), aren't close family friends who care about you personally, aren't close people you can confine in about everything (best friend level), and or well wisher who You and your mate want there, then they shouldn't be there. You should keep your moola.

3. Make an A list and a B list. A is for the V.I.P. people like your immediate family, bridal party, childhood friends, etc. The B list is for the cool folks who are not close but are still a part of your life. Whatever you do, don't pick up the b list unless some one from the A list cant make it. Its vital that you don't pick it up out of guilt, read tip #1.

4. Keep your wedding plans private...or as private as you can make it. This is one from the Celeb textbook 101. Celebs lie all the time about the info and details of their weddings.With good reason too, cus when they blab they get tons of press at their doorstep.In everyday life, laying low can help avoid awkward questions like "Am I invited?" , "Can I come?", "When/where is it happening?" and the nosy "Whats his/her name, do I know him/her?"

5. Just say NO-GO. If ever presented with any of the awkward questions and the answer is negative...be as graceful as possible. Be honest, its OK as long as you are nice and respectful. Saying that you are having a small wedding due to money issues or that you only wanted close family at your wedding or whatever is okay as long as you are honest and thankful. Say " Thank you I would've loved to invite everyone I know. However we decided that we wanted......" or " We could not invite everyone we wanted to but we are having a house warming on this day...."

6. Forget the negative and focus on the positive. In life, there are people who are not happy.period. During happy times you want to avoid these people. There are things that happen in life that are not always good but you want to try and stay positive because in the end its about your happiness and your life with someone you love.

The Hidden Treasures of Georgetown part 1

If you are ever in the Washington DC area. You should visit the shops at Georgetown Park. Although it has no department stores, it has great deals on one of kind pieces that are next to impossible to replicate. Joy of Beading is one of the gems of Georgetown Park. Need bridesmaid gifts? Wedding jewelry set? Or are you a groom who wants to give a beautiful gift of love? Its here. Iveta and Aga are the dynamic duo who host classes and create beautiful masterpieces out of beads. You can make you own unique necklace or buy completed pieces at affordable prices. A win -win situation! www.joyofbeading.com Tired of haggling with multiple vendors? Just want to have one wedding without the huge headache? Try Phoenix Bridal! This bridal, formal wear, prom and alterations boutique is a great place to complete a number of goals. Inside there is a jeweler (named Elena of elenadesignstudio.com), a dress maker, a make up counter expert, a lingerie section, and much more. Want one vendor for all of your beauty needs this is a great place. The best part is that they can make a dress for $200! Ask for the stores owner Joan Sealey.http://www.phoenixbridal2.com/

I will add more info about all the cool stores I like in Georgetown in Part 2!

I LOVE HAND ME DOWNS!

Looking for sales but cant move pass the deals in your area? Try your sister, a wife who just got married. I'm serious like a heart attack, folks. There are tons of brides who were once like you. Haggling with vendors, staying up late looking for deals online, buying in bulk, Fighting in discount bridal stores nation wide. These soldiers of the white dress need our help and in the spirit of patriotism, sisterhood, cupcakes, wonder bras, great lipstick colors and good comfortable shoes we must help them get rid of their bridal stuff. Its only right, ya know? In return they should give us a fair deal. How can you get in on the action? Try cool sites like Craigslist, bridetobrideboutique.com and local online magazines like The Knot.com. To sisterhood and cupcakes!!

C'mon, Anything BUT a Toaster!

As a budget savvy practical bride person I am always looking for ways to save money. I sometimes find myself thinking out of the box in order to reach my goal.Sometimes when you stick to the tradition way of doing things, you can get seriously screwed by paying for overpriced wedding junk. I think the tradition of Bridal Registries is one of those things.

Registries are great. Really, I mean that. If you need a toaster, by all means get a toaster. There are a lot of great cool registries out there. Target has an really affordable one called Club Wed. However, what if you could get something you really needed, like immediately? No, not a new car! But a honeymoon? The new trend that is sweeping cost conscious couples everywhere. A cool site to look in to is Honeymoon wishes.com! Guest can put money towards your wedding location, you get a FREE website, there are no set up fees and finally you can avoid the etiquette faux pas of asking for money.Awesome!

Veggies, Its whats for Dinner!

I'm a vegan/vegetarian person. I left meat for veggies 10 months ago and never looked back...well maybe a sneak peak but overall had no regrets about my decision. I'm always getting asked funny questions like "what do I eat?" , "do I miss meat?" and "how does my man feel about it?". Well the answers are....Everything but meat...I go to subway and order the veggie delight, burger king and order the veggie burger, McDonald's and eat just french fries, pizza is the only hard part and that's only because of cheese. No I don't miss meat, I can sit with people and watch them eat meat and I wonder "why r you putting that into your body?" and finally my FI is okay with it, he even tried to go veggie himself but he is back eating meat which is mildly annoying but nothing that cant be handled. However what do you do about wedding menus? I'm an African who is vegetarian and everyone else I know with the exception of some of my family and my FI's dad are meat eaters. Needless to say food is complicated. But I have an answer that will help everyone, including the wallet. I think that anyone who wants to add their culture/ and or their food preference into their wedding should consider my advice options:

1. Have food stations set up. One for meat eaters, one for veggies, one for cultural foods and one for sweets.
2. Have a buffet with two vegetarian options and place them far away from the meat because most veggie folks hate the idea of meat touching their food.
3. Have an all vegetarian reception. serve foods that everyone is familiar with. (Most veggie folks love this idea but I don't cus its like someone serving nothing but meat at their wedding which to me is awful)
4. Have an all dessert reception.

I have decided to take 1 or 2 because it seems like the best way to go. However all of my baked goods are vegan, I know cus I'm DIYing!

Couture Cover up

Got a plain white dress? need to give it that extra zing? want to cover jiggly arms? Call Bonzie! this Ireland based fly gal has just the look to summon the queen anne in you. Can't go to Ireland? no worries, your cover up can come to you via Etsy and shipping. Price for this one of a kind gem? No sticker shock here, its starting price for a shoulder wrap is $40 and ends at $200! Sweeeeeeettttt!

Hot wedding pics... cool celeb style!

I love me some dancing Ellen D! Homegal got moves! Anywho despite the fact that this is a site for beautiful budget brides there is no reason not to give major shout outs to the fab and wealthy! here's to ellen d and portia rossi, doing the damn thang, cheers!

Cheers to Jewel and her hubby Ty Murray! She looked stunning. Plus she did it in a cool way. She never told anyone she was engaged. Then Jewel and her hubby went to the Bahamas ( big savings, ladies) with only the officiant and his wife who are friends of the couple. While relaxing they made the family and friends calls. CHEERS!

Also shout outs to the beautiful Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon.

Mariah Carey who also had a Bahamas wedding, looked hot in her tight halter dress. You glow girl!

Finally some other celebs who tied the knot:

1. Joy Bryant & David Pope
2. Ruben Studdard & Surata Zuri McCants
3. Sara Evans & Jay Barker
4. Timbaland & Monique Idlett
5. Jayz And Beyonce
6. Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz
7. Jessica Alba and Cash Warren
8. Charlie Sheen & Brooke Mueller
9. Antonio Pierce & Jocelyn Maldonado
10. Ellen Pompeo and Chris Ivery
11. Giuliana DePandi and Bill Rancic
12. Tia Mowry and Cory Hardrict
13. Usher and Tameka Foster
14. Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell
15. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker

There are more but it would be too long to name all. May they all have a happy married life and much success.!

Pixs Courtesy of Yahoo! and MariahDaily.com!

Just Plain Cool Affordable Stuff!

Just cool AFFORDABLE stuff!

As you guys know I'm always trying to save moola.

With all the wedding junk out there whats a gal to

do if she does not want to go shop happy?

How will she know whats really a value and whats , well, junk?

I'm here to help with my hit list!

Here goes everything:

1. TARGET: Why Tarjay, Darling?

Cus there is a cool guy named Isaac Mizrahi who has wedding dresses for under $200. Not feeling his gear...no worries, Target also has veils for 19.99 (in the wedding world they could be priced $50 to $1500), bridesmaid dresses for $39.99 ( treat your girls right, they will love for it) and finally a really cute flower girl dresses ($39.99) .

2. Coco Myles: Why? Cus I love hot coco...enuff said. Her custom dress are well awesome. Bridesmaids who have nothing in common other than their love for the bride can customize their dresses. A bit busty? Got a whole lot of hips? Not a problem for Coco Myles! Are you just a bride who cant send four hundred on a dress? With a choice of satin or charmeuse, Coco has got you and your gals covered at a very reasonable price.

3. ETSY: Why and whats Etsy? Its only the hottest place to buy handmade ( meaning ORIGINAL) goods on the Net. You can ask one of the MILLIONS of boutique owners to make something personally for you. Some even reserve that item so that you can't be copied. Get your rings, garter, flower baskets, veils, invitations even your dress from etsy. PLUS they got a blog about weddings at ETSY called the storque.

4. Dollaritems.com: Am I cheap or what...a dollar store? Am I joking?

Umm... no I'm not. Before you search for another blog. the dollar store is a great place to find craft stuff to decorate your venue. Tealight candles, flower vases, champagne glasses, etc all at wholesale prices!

5. Craiglist: Its everywhere and its one of the best resources a budget bride has. Here you can see whats out there and compare prices. you can also see who is selling stuff you need locally and find the deals you want without a middle man.

6. Costco, BJs, Sams Club and other Warehouse stores: Thank your God or Luck ( whatever you believe in) for the Warehouse store places! Here you can get the stuff you need to cater your wedding, decorate your venue, get flower packages for you wedding party, etc etc and etc. get your stuff in bulk and handle your business ladies!

7. Giant, Food Lion, Safeway, Super Fresh, Harris Teeter, Windixie...Namely your local Grocery store: While its very hard to compete with your local warehouse., your local grocery store can give you one on one attention. need a bouquet customized for less? here's the place to do it. Specific brands and bargains are available.

8. Snapfish.com: Whats snapfish? its the a cool new site for photography! with snapfish you can send in film,order high quality pics, edit your pics, make a photo album for less then $80! sweeeeetttt!

9. Pingg.com: Why Pingg? Cus When The Today Show wanted to throw a wedding for LaDonna and her man Darnell they used this free online and print invitation/event management site to send the word. With tons of free high quality digital images there is no way you cant get a bang for your buck. Who says invites have to be expensive to be chic? Plus, with online invitations you are saving tree! Double yah!

10. Cache and other high fashion stores: Cus you dont have to get a wedding gown from a wedding boutique store. HELLO, FOLKS! You can get your gowns from Anywhere! But if you are a women of high fashion taste you can go to dress stores that are not usually intended for brides. go when there are huge sales!

11. David's Bridal: Great Prices ...enuff said.

So there you have it... at least for now. I do plan on adding more to the hit list. So stay tuned folks.

HI, welcome to keeping your money!

I made this blog because the price of gas is ridiculous, the housing market is currently insane, food prices send folks into sticker shock but some how brides need to have $27,0000 to have a wedding that is elegant and not "tacky"....Sure. I don't know about you but I don't believe the hype and I refuse to go into debt on one day. Some call it stupid but I call it smart and for other brides who agree with me this ones for you. Welcome to The Under $2000 Wedding.