All we’re hearing nowadays whenever you turn on the TV is some news or commercial about John McCain or Barack Obama but I never thought I’d hear about them in a wedding promotion.  The Brooks Hill Historic Church in Portland Oregon is having a special wedding promotion in October in support of Barack Obama. 

      Brooks HIll Historic Church, Portland, OR

The promotion is called Elope for Obama and it basically gives a couple who decides to get married in their chapel in October, the option of donating 100% of their chapel rental to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.  If you’re an Obama fan and getting married anyway, perhaps a Brooks Hill Historic wedding is just the thing for you.  You’re still paying the same amount of money for the wedding package just to someone other than the vendor.  This is really a great way to support a cause you believe in and it can be applied to any number of charities if vendors feel so inclined to donate their fees.  If just one of your wedding vendors donated their proceeds to a charity for a set period of time, think of the amount of money so many charities could make. 

For more information on the Elope for Obama promotion, visit: http://www.brookshill.com/obama.cfm

Nationally and locally, we’re hearing a lot of talk about the country’s economic crisis.  If you’re in the middle of planning your wedding, it may have you concerned and it may determine what type of wedding you have.  Even if you are able to splurge on some luxury items, you may want to scale back your plans a little and hold onto your money.

Boston.com offers 10 Ways to Keep Your Wedding Cheap.  Many of the suggestions are great and would save a bunch of money like booking a weekday wedding on a Friday night or serving the same dish at dinner but other suggestions like using an outdoor location would totally depend on what time of year you hold your wedding.

I think some of the other money saving suggestions would really depend on you and your guests too.  You know what would fly with them or not.  I wouldn’t ask guests to pay for their own drinks, I’d never hear the end of that, but instead I would maybe offer just beer and wine to cut costs.

Don’t feel pressured to have the most and best of everything at your wedding.  Even on a budget, you can still have a beautiful wedding that’s fun for everybody.

To see the complete list of 10 Ways to Keep Your Wedding Cheap, visit
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/weddings/gallery/cheap_wedding/

What are your money saving wedding tips?  Let us know!

Some of you may be wearing your mother’s gown for your wedding but would you wear antique or second-hand jewelry?  Maybe you would if the jewelry once belonged to a famous supermodel.  The Style Watch OFF THE RACK section of People Magazine reports that Gisele Bundchen is putting some of her diamonds up for auction. 

On October 15th, Christie’s Jewels:  The New York Sale auction will have some of Gisele’s jewels for sale along with a large collection of designer rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets.  So if you can get your guy to fork over $20,000 for a 3 carat ring or $100,000 for a diamond necklace, you go girl! 

Here’s a few pieces that are up for auction:

And if those prices are over your budget, it’s still fun to check out all the luxury jewelry that will be up for auction at Christies.com. 
 

We’ll be at the Sturbridge, MA Bridal Show this weekend.  This show has always been a popular show and should be lots of fun.  There will be lots of wedding professionals, a bridal fashion show plus lots of free giveaways and prizes.  The bridal show is being produced by Original Wedding Expo and goes from 11am to 4pm.

If you go to the show, be sure to stop by our booth and enter our drawing for a $150 gift certificate to The Wedding Outlet.

If you read Deb’s blog a few weeks back about Packing for your Honeymoon, then you
should have your honeymoon checklist all checked off.  I’m gonna give you another thing to add to the list – vaccines.

Some of the world’s best honeymoon destinations include some exotic places like Tahiti, Bali, South Africa and Mexico.  Did you know that it’s wise to be vaccinated for certain diseases before traveling overseas?  You should really check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, cdc.gov, to get the latest information and list of vaccinations needed for your honeymoon destination.  Some vaccines may require a series of several shots or a certain period of time to work, so once you book your trip, it’s a good idea to check on what shots you may need so you can plan accordingly. 

With the current boom in the exotic travel/adventure travel industries, there are travel health & immunization clinics popping up nationwide that can get you the shots you need.  You’ve spent so much time and money planning for the perfect dream honeymoon; don’t let illness turn it into a nightmare.

To find a travel clinic near you, use The Travel Clinic Locator, located at travelersvaccines.com. 

The Anchors Away collection is new from Hortense B. Hewitt.  The navy and white details combined with a silver-plated anchor charm make this perfect for a beach theme wedding or even a Navy military wedding. 

The collection featues a ringbearer pillow, guest book, wedding garter and anchor charm.  The anchor charm is perfect for decorating favors for your guests or wedding party.

 
         Anchors Away Ring Pillow                       Anchors Away Guest Book

 
        Anchors Away Bridal Garter                     Anchors Away Charm

Click here for more beach wedding accessories, or military wedding accessories.

It seems as though I may have missed a good episode of one of my favorite shows, Food Network Challenge.  I came across an article about Executive Chef Elizabeth Todd Goel of Bite Catering Couture.  She led one of four teams on Food Network Challenge: Big Bash Caterers, which premiered Sunday, August 24th.  I’m not sure what she made on the show or if she cooked for a wedding or not, but I checked out her website and she makes the most awesome looking miniature size catered foods for weddings.

     
These tasty treats are from Bite Catering Couture.

Called a tasting menu, I thought this type of party with all kinds of mini foods would be great not only for a wedding but for a rehearsal dinner, bridesmaid’s brunch, or engagement party.  Miniature foods have been a trend for parties for the past few years.  When grouped together on a serving platter, the tasty tidbits make a cool looking display.  I’ve seen mini cheeseburgers, soup served in shot glasses, crab cakes, salad skewers, cheesecake lollipops and mini root beer floats.  These mini treats can be served as a first course appetizer or served throughout an entire party so people can get a small taste of a variety of foods.

For More Info:
Martha Stewart’s website has a collection of pint size food recipes for those interested in preparing a tasting menu.

Learn more about Chef Elizabeth Todd Goel, owner of Bite Catering Couture.

Food Network Challenge - learn more about one of my favorite shows!

We’ll be at the Marlboro bridal show this Sunday - September 7th.  This is a great show, so if you’re planning a metro west wedding you won’t want to miss it. 

Click here for details on the show.

If you go to the show be sure to stop by our booth and say hi.

As if the whole idea of getting married and planning a wedding isn’t an adventure in itself, I was recently surprised to come across a bunch of websites featuring adventure weddings.  Just a few weeks ago, the Today Show had a segment about a British couple who exchanged vows while strapped to the outside of biplanes 1,000 feet above ground.  Talk about love being in the air! 

I decided to search the web to see what other adventure or extreme weddings I could find.  Not surprisingly, I came across several underwater weddings. I had heard of scuba diving couples tying the knot that way but I was surprised to find several businesses offering those types of weddings all over the world from the hotel in Malaysia that offers underwater wedding packages or scuba dive weddings in Hawaii or St. Croix.  I also came across mountain top weddings, ballpark weddings, ranch weddings, sky dive weddings, even weddings from a helicopter flying over the Vegas strip.  But the most unusual wedding that I came across was a clip from TLC’s Wild Weddings featuring a naked wedding for a nudist couple.  A naked wedding, now that’s what I call extreme!

Extreme Wedding Videos
Just click on an image to view these extreme wedding videos.

 
High Flying Ceremony

Skydiving Ceremony

 
Scuba Diving Ceremony

Scuba Diving Ceremony in Hotel Pool

I found most of these videos on YouTube, so please let me know if you find another ‘extreme’ wedding video.
 

I just found this great blog - Offbeat Wedddings from the author of the similarly titled book ‘Offbeat Bride’.  The web site features all sorts of offbeat and unique weddings from real brides.

So put down those wedding handbooks and take a peek at how some couples bucked tradition and hosted a wedding that truly reflected their individual style.

You can buy the ‘Offbeat Bride’ on Amazon.com.