1 @® § | 2 {4 2000 The Dallas Post January 26, 2000 January 26, 2000 The Dallas Post Brides 2000 Can you have your (wedding) cake and eat it too? By KELLY TERRY Copley News Service Is it important for you to arrive atyour wedding by a horse-drawn, gilded carriage, dressed in a $2,000 Galina gown? Would your wedding day be meaningful only if you said your vows on that remote island where you shared your first kiss? And what about the reception - are giant ice sculp- weddings very boring,” explains McCoy. “My favorite weddings are those with 100 people. Everyone enjoys themselves and no one is intimi- dated. If you keep your guest list small, you're gonna be able to do things better,” adds McCoy, who alsoowns a full-service bridal shop in Boca Raton, Fla. ; “You're the hosts of your first party as man and wife. If guests photographer to shoot formal pic- tures at the wedding, then have friends take informal shots at the reception,” she suggests. “So many people don't feel the need to have a video and that’s so wrong,” says McCoy. “Everything that you do will be recorded. The wedding day for the bride and groom goes by so quickly, most say it’s such a blur, they can’t remember everything.” McCoy reports that the couples with a video say, “I'm so glad I got it. I didn’t realize my fiance was crying at the altar,” or, “I didn’t ”» WEDDINGFACTS Unmarried couples more common In 1997, the number of unmarried couples topped 4 million for the first time. A third of these couples had children. No NUMBER OF UNMARRIED COUPLES COHABITATING 1960 439,000 1970 523,000 1980 Have your cake and eat it, too (continued from page 2) bought a $40, three-strand neck- lace made with pearls, crystals and gold, and glued it onto a tiara hat frame, which cost her S1. - Make your own invitations: McCoy says she found beautiful stationery and card stock at Kinko’s and was able to make 100 color invitations on her computer for about $20 (not including post- age). - The gown: “In a bride’s mind, that's the most important item that she shops for when planning ter to buy a $2,000 dress for half price than to buy a full-price dress for $700?” - Rings: The second largest expense of a wedding, according to McCoy. “I advise that you hit your local pawn shops, and study my chapter on diamonds (in “The Elegant Wedding and the Bud- get-Savvy Bride”). I buy all my jewelry in pawn shops. I teach you how the industry is regulated and how it's safe to shop there,” McCoy assures. tures, Godiva chocolate party fa- are walking out saying, Tm so know Aunt Mary was there. 1990 2,856,000 a wedding.” McCoy's advice: Take - The honeymoon: If you plan vors and a 10-piece band really hungry, I'm going to Denny's,’ In her latest book, “The EI- 1997 4.130.000 : Ta i { fl 3 il necessary? you haven't had a successful wed- egant Wedding and the Budget- ? : advantage of sale sacks in tradi onusing fregreni-iygrnyles, pian How you dress, where you have your wedding and how many people you invite are all factors determined by your wedding bud- get. So, where do a bride and groom begin when deciding how much money to spend on that all- important day? Experts offer differing advice on how to determine a wedding budget, but what most agree on is: the fact that a couple must decide on the guest list before they can proceed any further. “It’s sort of a chicken and an egg thing,” says wedding guru Leah Ingram. “Until you know how many people you can invite, you cannot realistically set your budget,” adds Ingram, who is the author of “The Bridal Registry Book™ and “The Portable Wedding Consultant.” Her third book, “Your Wedding Your Way,” comes out in Janu- ary, 2000. Where experts differ in their opinions is (beginital) how (endital) to determine the guest list in the first place. Author and wedding consult- ant Deborah McCoy believes that the quality of the reception is more important than the quantity of guests you invite. “A wedding is really a very inti- mate, family and friends affair. People who are out of the loop find ding reception.” Millie Bratten, editor in chief of (beginital) Bride's (endital) maga- zine, has a different take on the guest list. “It's a very individual ap- proach,” says Bratten, who has worked for Bride's for 20 years. Bratten suggests writing down what is important to you. “That's the time to dream,’ says. “Is it small and intimate in a restaurant? Do we want to go to an island?” are questions that Bratten poses. “From your dream, look at what's most important to you. Is it the nostalgic location? Is it the time of day? Is it the number of guests?” Bratten encourages couples to invite as many people as they want. “If the most important thing is to have all the guests you want, but the dinner is too expensive, then have a brunch, or cocktails,” she advises. So, once you've determined how many to invite, then what? According to a recent survey done by (beginital) Bride's (endital) magazine, the average cost of a wedding is just over $29,000 in New York City; a little more than $16,000 for nuptials in the Mid- west; and, on the West Coast, the 9 she - A beautiful Preserve the wedding day loveliness of your bridal gown for the next generation with our exclusive bridal service. After gentle cleaning, your gown is folded in tissue and placed in a keepsake memory is worth saving Ha gown cleaning and preservation Town & Country Cleaners / i, £5 ES i 3 57 pai. = vl Smart planning can stretch the wedding budget. bill comes to nearly $19,000. McCoy says if you're smart, creative and innovative, you can cut that cost in half. She offers tips on what not to skimp on (“bite the bullet” com- ponents), and what corners to cut (“extraneous extras,” she calls them). Top priorities should be enter- tainment and food at the recep- tion, and photography and videography at the ceremony, she says. When a bride mentions to McCoy that she wants to skip entertainment at the reception or serve appetizers only, McCoy idesmaid collection cringes. “Some of these brides want their weddings to turn into coffee klatches. They say, ‘Idon’t dance, so we've decided not to have danc- ing. ... We figure our guests should just sit there and talk.’ “My answer to that,” says McCoy, is: “Your wedding is (beginital) not (endital) a coffee klatch. Dancing is integral. There are great DJs out there, and for only a few hundred dollars.” When it comes to photography and videography, McCoy doesn’t believe in pinching pennies there either. “You can hire a professional ” Savvy Bride,” McCoy covers all the bases when it comes to plan- ning a wedding. Here are several of her money- saving tips: - Have an off-season wedding (summertime in a warm climate; or a Friday evening or Sunday afternoon ceremony, for example). - Avoid the “extraneous extras” like matchbooks, imprinted cock- tail napkins, swizzle sticks, “ba- sically, all those expensive favors from the back of wedding cata- logs,” she says. “Weddings are so expensive that, to me, the invita- tion is favor enough.” - Skip the limousine ride: In- stead, she says, “rent a huge, white Lincoln Continental. You can use it all weekend, pick up relatives, run errands, etc. And then have a friend or family mem- ber play chauffeur on the wed- ding day.” - Make your own headpiece and veil: McCoy says you can do it for less than $35. For a head- piece, she says, buy a hat frame and glue on silk flowers, pearls and sequins. Or, fora tiara, McCoy See BUDGET, pg 7 Beautiful Bee-witching, MOTHER OF THE BRIDE BRIDESMAIDS 7 Call 823-3400 Ask for George i Open: Tues.-Sat. 5 A.M.-8 P.M., Sun. 5 A.M.-5 P.M. 290 S. River St., Plains BY THE CROSSVALLEY BRIDGE SlNAS A B About 35 percent of individuals between ages 25 and 34 have never been married. HW About 10 percent of the adult population is divorced. SOURCE: Census Bureau Copley News Service/Dan Clifford Your engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements are welcome at the Post We publish announcements of Back Mountain couples at no charge. Send your photo and announcement to: The Dallas Post 607 Main Rd., Dallas, PA 18612 Gindlall pes TRESTE Enterprises Entertainment ® Talent Agency Qualtiy e Integrity ® Creativity Windfall Enterprises Is The Entertainment Source for All Types of Live Music & Entertainment!!! 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