When planning your guest list, your wedding budget is probably the main consideration. But whether you’re having fifty or five hundred guests, you’ll have some of the same concerns.

Wedding planners say that between 10% and 20% of your invited guests won’t be able to attend. You might not want to invite 120% of the venue’s seating capacity – or your budget – but bear in mind that a large number of your guests may send regrets.

It’s a very thoughtful move to ask your parents, and future parents-in-law, about who they’d like to invite. Your parents may just want to invite a few close friends, or they may want to invite friends who included them in their children’s weddings, to return the favor. They might also have work colleagues to include. Just make sure they’re clear about the guest list numbers, so dad isn’t inviting everyone he’s ever played golf with!

Sending a wedding invitation can be seen as a request for a gift, so it was once considered tacky to invite guests who couldn’t possibly attend the wedding. I couldn’t disagree with this more! When I was living abroad, I got an invitation to a college friend’s wedding, and I was so pleased to be remembered, even if we both knew I couldn’t make it to the celebration. So send invitations, even to far-away friends!

When sending invitations, you must include the husbands and wives of your guests, even if you’ve never met, say, your officemate’s spouse. You should also invite long-term partners of wedding guests, especially if the couple is living together. Depending on space, it’s also nice to include dates for your single guests, but you aren’t obligated to invite them. Try to include a plus-one, if at all possible, for out-of-town guests or other guests who might not know very many other attendees.

It’s not exactly a wedding recessional,  but Jeffrey Sauger had a wonderful photo today on the front page of The New York Times. The story is about how states are looking to trim their costs for prisons. (You can read the story by clicking here.)

As with all the wedding photojographers we represent at The Wedding Bureau, Jeffrey Sauger is a working photojournalist.  Instead of sitting behind a computer 5 days a week and shooting pictures only 2 days a week, Jeffrey hones his art every day.  This keeps his eye sharp and requires him to keep up with his equipment and all the technology available to use the best cameras available.  

We love seeing the wedding photojournalists we represent pictures when we open a national newsmagazine or newspaper.  Once they’ve shot your wedding, you can keep up with their career right on the news stand.

You don’t have to go broke paying for a memorable and romantic honeymoon. Here are some ways to save a little money on your travel expenses, without sacrificing your honeymoon dreams.

If you’re using a credit card to pay for wedding expenses, use those points for your hotel or air tickets. Find out which of your accounts has the best return rate, and pay your wedding-related bills with plastic, knowing that when you book a caterer or wedding musicians, you’re also paying for your honeymoon.

To save money and avoid waiting in long lines, leave at an unusual time. An unusual time can be catching a midweek flight, leaving early in the morning, or arranging your honeymoon at the beginning or end of peak visiting season. Do a little research and book your trip for a time when the weather’s good but the crowds have left.

Unless you’ve had your heart set on a particular resort, think about going somewhere off the beaten path. Why not stay closer to home for a less expensive getaway? I don’t mean booking a hotel in the next town, but a beach in the US can be just as relaxing and beautiful as a trip to the islands, and you can use the money you save on a flight for a more luxurious hotel accommodation. Plus, a shorter distance means less time crammed in an uncomfortable seat, and more time on your honeymoon.

As more couples marry later in life, fewer brides and grooms need the traditional linens, silverware and other household goods. If you’ve already got china and towels, why not ask guests to contribute to a honeymoon instead? You can do this tactfully in the invitations or ask your maid-of-honor to let people know you’d rather have a vacation than a gravy boat.

One other idea that seems to be attracting some attention deals with your honeymoon photos.  If you take pictures and use a digital camera, see if you can ask your wedding photographer to add some of your favorite honeymoon photos to what was posted on your wedding website.  If you are getting a disc of your wedding photos, see if some of your honeymoon favorites can be included in that as well.

Everyone knows about choosing a good menu, but there are a lot of other questions to ask potential caterers. Make sure you know what presentation styles are available, what  menus are available, and what’s included in the cost per person.  Ask a possible caterer to outline anything that isn’t listed in their company brochure.

Will the caterer provide tables, chairs, glasses, plates, and silverware for your guests, or is that up to you and your venue? What about extras, like chair covers and tablecloths? Will they have staff to set out your placecards and centerpieces? Some brides feel more comfortable after seeing what will be provided by the catering company, to make sure they look right and everything is in good condition. Make sure the venue and the caterer are on the same page with set-up and food preparation for your wedding banquet.

Find out if the catering company also provides alcohol and mans the bar. Or will you be providing your own wines and spirits? If so, find out in advance if there is a corkage fee.

Do you want your caterer to provide the wedding cake, or have you planned on having an outside baker do it? Find out if the caterer does wedding cakes, and decide if you’d like to go with your caterer or a baker. Is baking and serving the cake included in the per-head price of dinner, or extra? Can you use a different baker for your wedding cake? Is there a cake-cutting fee?

Check out possible caterers by Googling their names or checking in with the Better Business Bureau. This will let you know what other brides thought of the food, presentation and customer service.

Don’t forget the best part: taste-testing your possible menu options!

And, make sure you tell your wedding photographer to shoot some pictures of the food.  It may seem obvious, but it will help settle that bet you have with your spouse in 10 years when your memory fails you and you can’t remember what you served!  All you have to do is pull out your wedding album and look at your wedding photographs.

Love your wedding flowers? Want to turn them into a lasting keepsake? You can preserve them yourself, or hire a professional. There’s an entire industry dedicated to making sure your bridal bouquet never fades.  The most common method is by preserving your flowers with silica gel. The silica gel – yes, the same stuff you find in packaging sometimes – quickly dries the flowers while preserving their color and shape.

If you’re going to preserve your bouquet this way, you should arrange for a flower preservation method ahead of the wedding, and make sure to get your flowers to your craftsman as soon as possible after the wedding.

For the greatest freshness, put your bouquet in cold water or on ice, and take it as fast as possible. You might want to ask your mother or maid-of-honor to do this for you, if you’ll be leaving immediately for your honeymoon.

These preserved flowers can last a lifetime, but of course, you should keep you flowers out of direct sunlight and humidity.

You can also turn your flowers into art in a low-budget, DIY way, by pressing and preserving your flowers yourself. If you’re artistic, this gives you a greater control over your special bouquet. You can add a few pressed petals to a wedding scrapbook or wedding photo album, or make an arrangement for framing. There are many ways to turn your bridal bouquet into a  keepsake!  But no matter how you choose to preserve your flowers,  you will always have great pictures of them in your collection of wedding photographs.

Finding a band or DJ that fits perfectly with your wedding theme can be tricky, but there are a lot of amazing performers in different styles out there. Once you find your wedding musicians, though, your job isn’t over.

As with all wedding vendors, makes sure to confirm the date, time and address of your event, and make sure everyone is on the same page. Make sure all your vendors know that you mean the reception starts at seven, not that you’d like them to arrive and start setting up at seven.

Work out what equipment you (or your venue) will be supplying, and what the musicians will bring themselves. This is also a good chance to talk about any special attire you’d like, or to find out from band members what they usually wear to performances.

It’s not very fun to think about, but what will happen in the event of a scheduled musician’s illness or family emergency? Do band members have understudies or substitutes they could call in a pinch? Much like you should do with your wedding photographer, as we’ve discussed in the past.

Now that you’ve taken care of the logistics, you and your DJ – or your bandleader – can talk about what songs you’d love to hear on your big day, and which songs you absolutely can’t stand. Then get ready to enjoy the wonderful music you’ve chosen for your wedding celebration. 

And, make sure you ask your wedding photographer to include at least a few shots of the band in your wedding photographs.  The band is a big part of your reception and it would be nice to have something to remember them by when you are celebrating your 25th wedding anniversary and flipping through your wedding pictures.

 How can you let guests know that you’ll be having a formal reception, and black-tie attire would be appreciated?

Some etiquette mavens believe that if the wedding is in the evening, at a formal venue like a country club, then guests should know the reception is formal, and adding the words “black tie” to your invitations is redundant.  Unfortunately, not everyone on your guest list may be an etiquette maven.  If formal dress is important to you, mention it on the invitations.

This is a thoughtful courtesy to your friends from softball league, your college buddies, the cousins you haven’t seen since you were ten, and anyone else who might not be familiar with your formal side. If adding black tie to your tasteful invitations can help save a friend or two from a fashion embarrassment, do it.  It’s even more considerate to phrase your request as black tie encouraged or black tie appreciated, to make it feel like a favor, and not sound like a Bridezilla-ish command.

When the invitation specifies black tie, it’s more than rude for guests to ignore your request. If a guest does arrive underdressed, say nothing. Don’t add to the etiquette gaffe by pointing out his or her mistake, and definitely don’t admonish any fashion-challenged guest.  It was thoughtless of your guest to turn up underdressed, but it’s tacky to draw attention to it. 

We all love the glamor of celebrity weddings. Even though the marriages don’t always last, who can resist the glittery allure of a star-studded wedding or engagement? We can’t help but love the posh venues, the celebs on the guest list, and the dresses and decor that spare no expense! 

Even celebrity engagements are extravagant. A few years ago, Jennifer Lopez famously received a 6-carat pink diamond from Ben Afleck… Imagine the attention you’d get with a rock like that! After they split, though, it was returned to Harry Winston.

When Brad Pitt proposed to Jennifer Aniston, he designed her ring himself, using a total of 18 carats of diamonds in a white gold setting.  After thinking about that 18-carat ring, Kate Hudson’s 5-carat diamond seems small. Musician Chris Robinson gave her the old fashioned Asher-cut diamond when he proposed.  Sadly neither of these couples is still together.

Michael Douglas gave Catherine Zeta-Jones a gorgeous antique engagement ring, with a 10-carat diamond.  Finally, a Hollywood couple who are still married!

You may not be able to emulate the stars’ huge engagement diamonds, but why not copy the Arquettes’ idea and add a romantic inscription to your wedding ring? Rumor has it that still-married Courtney Cox Arquette and David Arquette have “A Deal’s a Deal” engraved inside both of their wedding rings.

Sometimes some of these wedding planning terms can start to sound like another language. Tussy-Mussy? Pomander? 
Here are our simple descriptions of some of the more common terms in wedding bouquets, to help explain to your florist exactly what you want in your wedding flowers.

Nosegays: These are small, usually round, closely packed bouquets. These are perfect for the flower girl or junior bridesmaids in your wedding! Nosegays for girls over include trailing ribbons.

Tussy mussy: A tussy-mussy is a Victorian style of bouquet, carried in a small, hand-held vase. A tussy-mussy can include any type of flower. Sometimes the term refers just to the vase itself.

Composite: This type of bouquet is an individual, handmade creation in which different petals or buds are wired closely together on the same stem to create the illusion of a giant flower.

Pomander:  In the Middle Ages, lords and ladies would carry pomanders made of spices, flowers and herbs to sniff when they were confronted with more unsavory smells. You probably won’t need to carry ambergris on your wedding day, but these ball-shaped bouquets, on a ribbon loop, were inspired by these old-fashioned scented pomanders. 

Cascade: If you were a little girl watching Princess Diana’s fairytale wedding, you might remember her amazing cascade bouquet. This is a flowing collection of flowers and greenery, usually, like Diana’s, including ivy and other trailing greens. Perfect with a classic white gown and an elegant cathedral train!

Pageant bouquet: Just like the name suggests, this is a dozen long-stemmed roses, just like Miss America carries. A pageant bouquet is meant to be carried in one of the bride’s arms, not in front like other bouquets.

It’s cold and gray March day, so let’s look ahead to bright, gorgeous summer weddings!

Start your guests thinking about your summer wedding by sending bold, colorful invitations. Break away from the cream cardstock look, and use the bright colors of your summer wedding in your invitations and save-the-date cards!  If you don’t want to go all-out with aqua or fuchsia invitations, consider a bold border of a bright summer color around your basic black-on-white invitations, use the bold color for the reply cards, or add a bit of bright ribbon.

When you’re looking for cheery summer colors, don’t forget about some of the trendy colors for 2009. Bright hues are popular for summer weddings, especially outdoor ceremonies.  When you’re playing with bold colors, try to stick to two colors (or three, if you have a main color and two accents) to keep it from being overwhelming. Will you use your bright colors for bridesmaid dresses? What about your wedding favors and wedding album?

With a summer wedding, you just can’t have too many flowers! Take advantage of all the lovely flowers at their peak in the summer months! You can also incorporate fresh summer fruit by using a hollowed-out watermelon as a centerpiece container or fill glass vases with lemons or limes.

Wine smoothies, a trend of 2008, look like they’re here to stay. These are a touch more sophisticated and definitely more memorable than a margarita, but they’ve got that appeal of a frosty drink on a hot summer day. Start with a fruity, sweet wine, and blend with ice and fruit. You can add a citrus slice or a strawberry for extra summery look. You can serve wine smoothies at your cocktail hour, after dinner, or create a special recipe as your signature cocktail.