Culcreuch Castle, Scotland

First off, if you are looking at this just now I am guessing you are engaged. Congratulations, tell me your engagement story below. Now you have told everyone and are just in that engagement bliss you are starting to take stock of what's involved in planning a wedding. I had no idea of what I was getting into but I pulled it off, and the day was fabulous.  So I thought I would share my top 3 wedding tips, to help those brides to be out there.

Budget Honesty.

The budget. The 2nd most important part of a wedding, the first being yourself and the person your marrying. This is an area you have to be 100% transparent about. You and your partner need to be clear, down to the last penny what your willing and capable of spending on your day. It is all well and good saying I want a big blow out wedding, no cost spared but think about the reality of the matter. Here are some things to take into consideration; What your current financial situation is, I mean are you able to make rent e.ct just now or do you have the extra cash for those extravagant items. What your plans for the future are, buying houses raising kids aren't cheap. Do you want to sacrifice your current standers of living?

Another area when it comes to budget is those lovely family members who state they wish to pay for XYZ. Do not count on this money. Family members can be very generous, but the unexpected can happen which means their funds might be needed elsewhere. Always make sure you have some extra cash for those unforeseen events because they do happen.

Get a wedding planner.

I highly recommend using a wedding planner. Not a person but a diary system where you can keep all your notes, budgets and contracts together in one place. I really liked the Happy Planner system. It is an add-on system so you will need a Happy Planner also.  Also, a lot of communication with your vendors will be by email so creating a folder in your emails will help loads when you need to double check details.

You can also set up a secret wedding page on facebook. Most people use facebook nowadays, so why not use it to your advantage. It is a great tool to send out mass messages and keep guest updated. It is also a great way to single out those who have not given you back there RSVPs.

Our wedding table, all put together by myself.

Make your own.

Wedding are expensive but there can be areas you can save cost by making your own. I made a lot of our wedding decorations. From the napkin holders to the seating chart. At the time a lot of what I was looking for was not available in store and if it was it was way overpriced.

For me, the biggest saving her was our wedding stationery. I was astonished by the price of wedding stationery, don't get me wrong I bought our invitations from an Amazon seller called Wishmade. They were extraordinary, the quality was better than what I had seen at most wedding fayres and the price was great.  I also bought our table places from an eBay seller, who I cannot link as I cannot find their store. I did make all our little posters, the menu card, and the seating chart. I would say as long as you have a good printer you can easily save a couple of 100 pounds by doing this.