Okay, so you are still teary-eyed after saying yes to your boyfriend’s proposal to live happily ever after. What next? It’s time to get your feet on the ground and plan your dream wedding.

Somehow, everything comes into focus and you start to panic. “So where do I start?” you ask yourself. For first time brides and grooms, planning a wedding can be quite daunting. You may take into consideration the possibility of eloping.

What better place to elope to than Las Vegas, “The Wedding Capital of the World”? Three hundred and sixty five days of the year couples from all parts of the globe come to Las Vegas to have the wedding of their dreams. The stereotypical “Tacky Vegas Wedding” is a thing of the past. Unless that is what you are looking for and then that is possible as well. This, of course is the beauty of a Las Vegas Wedding. Whatever your wedding dreams, wants and needs it can and will be done for you at a fraction of the cost.

You may consider the possibility of hiring a wedding planner, but do you need one?

Most of the wedding chapels in Las Vegas (both in the casinos and independent chapels) have in house “wedding coordinators”.

These coordinators will work with you to choose a wedding package and plan you reception (if needed). There are also independent coordinators that can put together the most intimate and extraordinary weddings.

If you are looking for a simple intimate wedding with just you, your fiancé, and maybe a few friends and family members you most likely will not need the assistance of an outside coordinator or planner. If your plans include a large wedding party, guest list and reception you may want to enlist the services of a coordinator who will be dedicated to your needs.

The question is what your needs are. Once you agree on what type of wedding you want, you will be able to decide if you really need a wedding planner.

A wedding planner or coordinator can be very useful as they know the ins and outs of the whole Las Vegas Wedding circuit, but what is most important in planning your wedding is arming yourself with information. Weddings are big business in Las Vegas and if you were to do a search on the internet you will see story after story of couples who felt misguided or deceived by wedding chapels, coordinators or venders simply because they didn’t’ understand or ask how things worked.

Research is the best investment you can make for your big day. A guide such as “The Vegas Wedding Book” written by a Las Vegas Wedding Chapel insider, is full of tips, questions to ask and chapel secrets to assist couples with planning their wedding without being taken in by hidden charges. It is advisable to do your own research as is suggested in this guide prior to making any decision or plans for your wedding.

Enlisting the help of a wedding planner may be the route for you in creating a stress-free environment before your wedding date and on the big day itself. However, you have to contend with an additional budget for their services. The payment for wedding planners vary depending on how they charge, whether it is package style or if they ask for a per hour rate. Some wedding planners base their fees on the total budget for your wedding.

Here are some of the reasons why you may opt for a wedding planner:

1. Experience – Wedding planners have years of experience in wedding preparations and you can expect them to know even the smallest details that you need to take care of before your wedding. They also know the best wedding chapels in Las Vegas and they will be able to give you tips in organizing your special day.

2. Contacts – These people have been involved with the Las Vegas wedding scene for years. They are in close contact will suppliers who can give you the best deal for everything you need from documentation, photography, catering, gowns, etc. The best thing is, they also know which suppliers are reliable and which are not.

3. Information and Negotiation Skills – You can be sure that if you want to get the best prices possible for your wedding requirements, your wedding planner can haggle for you. Planners use their inside information to negotiate with suppliers and service providers to get the best deal.

Las Vegas wedding planning can be a thrill but it can also prove challenging for those who are not from Las Vegas. If it’s a big wedding with all the bells and whistles then a wedding planner can be of great service, but ultimately not really necessary.

Abby Winthrop has been working in the wedding industry for over 12 years now. Visit the site www.thevegasweddingbook.com [http://www.thevegasweddingbook.com] to know the secrets of Las Vegas Wedding.

The right wedding decorations can transform any location into a magical place. However, the location itself will influence your choice of wedding decoration. For instance, are you having your wedding indoors or outdoors? Is the wedding ceremony going to be held in church? If not, will the wedding ceremony and the wedding reception be held at the same place or at different places? What time of day will the wedding be held? Also what time of the year will it be? All these factors should be kept in mind while choosing your wedding decorations.

Before you decide on your wedding decorations, it is extremely important to check out the locations and find out if they have any specific rules or regulations regarding wedding decorations. If you are getting married in a church find out what decorations will already be in place on the day of your wedding. After all, you don’t want to spend a lot of time and money getting beautiful wedding decorations and then find out that they look all wrong in the location or that the rules of the place forbid you from using those or that you didn’t need them in the first place. Also keep in mind the style and colors of the wedding and the theme, if any. When thinking about the wedding decorations, keep in mind not just the decorations themselves but also the kind of lighting you need.

For the ceremony itself, focus first on getting your wedding decorations for the altar or the altar equivalent. This is because that is where you will be getting married and that is where the entire focus of the guests will be. The other two important areas requiring wedding decorations are the pews and the doorway through which you will be entering. When it comes to the location of your reception, the areas that deserve top priority for decoration are the head table where you will be sitting and which will be the focus of the celebrations, the centerpieces for the tables, the entrance and the dance floor. In addition to this, there may be some other aspect unique to the locations of your wedding that you may want to highlight or camouflage through the use of wedding decorations.

When it comes to wedding decorations, the most popular tend to be flowers, candles and ribbons. Flowers, both real ones and silk ones, can transform any place. Ideally, pick flowers that come in the wedding colors. Also if you decide to go in for real flowers then keep in mind what flowers will be in season. Candles and candelabras are equally magical and few things are as romantic as a wedding ceremony by candlelight. For added drama, shallow bowls of water with floating candles. Votives are a great idea as well. However, the amount of natural light you get at the wedding location is something that you should check out before you go in for this option. Ribbons are also a popular options especially when combined with flowers or candles. Ribbons are also a great way to enhance a certain theme. The ribbons can be of satin, organza, tulle or even simple netting.

Now that your choose a theme or the wedding decorations, you can decide and select wedding favors. The exact origin of wedding favors is lost in the mists of time. However, clearly the custom of giving guests something to take back with them has been around for sometime in many cultures. Records from Rome at the turn of the first millennium show that nobility frequently handed out gifts to the guests at a wedding banquet. In 16th and 17th century England, it was common for the happy bride and groom to give their guests love knots made of lace and ribbon. Whatever the origins, the custom has stayed on and is today one of the integral parts of the wedding celebration.

These days there are a variety of favors to suit every taste and every budget. However, if you like the simple elegance of the days gone by and are having a traditional wedding ceremony, you may want to take a look at some traditional wedding favors. You may get some ideas that will help you find a wedding favor that fits right in with the traditional theme of your wedding.

The earliest of wedding favor traditions consisted of ribbons and lace knotted together to symbolize the knot of marriage. If you like the idea of ribbons, but are looking for a way to update it a bit, one way of doing so is to tie up your favors in a mass of different colored ribbons. That’s a combination of the old and new that you just can’t beat.

Is there anything that symbolizes love better than flowers? Flowers, especially orange blossoms, are very popular at Spanish weddings. For a traditional wedding favor with a modern twist, consider giving your guests orange blossoms in a bud vase or even seeds or bulbs for flowers that they can go back and plant in their own gardens.

A Dutch traditional wedding favor that fits right in with our times is that of “Bridal Sugar” – five pieces of candy to symbolize the five wedding wishes of love, happiness, prosperity, loyalty and fertility. Candy coated almonds, also known as Jordan almonds, are similarly as rich with symbolism as they are with taste. While the slightly bitter taste of almonds represents the fact that life is not always joyous, the candy represents the hope that marriage will coat the bitterness of life with sweetness. To add a further layer of symbolism, give out an odd number of almonds – odd numbers cannot be divided equally into two and thus symbolize the hope that the married couple won’t be divided ever again. Dried fruits are also a great wedding tradition, symbolizing fertility and the bounty of the harvest. The best part about these favors? They taste delicious! Bon Appetit.

Shirley Tan is currently the owner of http://www.bridalweddingfavors.com that sells unique wedding favors and keepsake gifts online, including beautifully packaged wedding favors. Since 1987, she has been helping brides and grooms, first in her showroom, and then online starting in 1997.

The wedding budget is an essential part of wedding planning. This sets how much to spend on the essential elements of the momentous wedding. As a matter of fact, we must set the budget at the very beginning.

The costs of wedding have increased steadily. We easily get carried away. We all have limits on what we can spend. After we set the budget, we must follow the budget as hard as we can. Otherwise, we became the casualty of over-spending. There are few ways to spend less on wedding.

When we are shopping for something, we must compare the prices. To compare the prices is imperative to spend less on wedding. When we see something great the first time, we go continue to see the rest. Then, we make the ultimate decision. By planning your own wedding, you will spend less on wedding too. Although wedding planner will professionally organize everything for you, the wedding planner will increase your wedding expenses.

Wedding Flowers

Use the wedding flowers that are abundantly available in season and readily available on local. Thus, you spend less on wedding flowers. There are flowers available all year round, but there are many flowers available on a certain season only. For example, the tulips are abundant on spring season. The tulip bulbs need to freeze during the winter months for the tulip to bloom on spring season. However, it is not impossible to find flowers which are not on season. The flowers just cost more.

Making wedding flower arrangements yourselves, you can spend less on the wedding florists. Usually, the florists make flower arrangements on bouquets, centerpieces, corsages, hairclips, button-holes, wedding aisles, and flower girl baskets.

Some floral schools may also arrange the flowers for you. Students who want to get their foot in the door may arrange the flowers at a fraction of the costs.

Wedding Dress

When you add the word wedding in front of dress, the dress will cost a fortune. To buy a wedding dress will cost in the thousands. During September to October, the homecoming or prom dress is a great alternative.

During the off peak wedding season, the wedding dress costs less. From January to March, the designers put the wedding dress for clearance. Thereby, we can own a brand wedding dress at lesser price.

Rent or borrow from friends or relatives. Some moms or grandmother have kept the wedding dress for keepsake. If the wedding dress is on excellent condition, you can borrow the wedding dress.

Department stores stack the wedding dress for sale. The wedding dresses of designer boutique are more expensive than department stores. Even though the wedding dress includes the newest and trendiest on designer boutique, you can find a good quality wedding dress on department stores. Look also for the discontinued rack. Designers make different design for each season and year. There will be a time when the designers will stop making the particular design.

Reception Dinner

If you compare the prices on the menu, the pasta, chicken, and rice cost less than most dishes. Serve pasta, rice, or chicken to spend less on the dinner. It also fills you up more too.

The buffet or plate dinner will costs less than sit down dinner. Best of all, the guests can comeback for the second and third time. That will surely fill them up.

Borrow or rent the large backyard or garden for wedding reception from friends or family. If you already have own a large backyard or garden, you can use the backyard or garden as wedding reception.

The wedding reception on Fridays saves a few dollars for each guest. It all adds up when there are many guests on the wedding reception.

Wedding Cake

The wedding cake can serve as dessert to finish the wonderful meal. After the wedding cake has done its part, you can cut into smaller pieces to serve on plate. Or, the guests cut the piece of cake themselves.

Some bakery schools may also cater the wedding cake to your wedding. The students are always eager for real life experience. At the same time, we spend less on wedding cake and give real life experience to students.

Dennis Estrada owns instructions on making flower girl baskets, planning your own wedding, and wedding advice website.