Are you recently engaged or just starting to plan your wedding? Congrats!
Are you feeling a little bit overwhelmed, unsure of where to start or have a list of questions a mile long & not sure who to ask? Yup. That was me too.
I’m going to admit, prior to starting this whole wedding planning thing, I was a TOTAL WEDDING NEWBIE. Honestly. I don’t think I’ve even been to a wedding in nearly a decade! Truly, I hadn’t even spent much time thinking about a wedding before. I wasn’t the type of girl growing up who spent a lot of time daydreaming about a wedding, so when I started planning, I was completely lost.
But by the great graces of Facebook, I was lead to one of the best decisions I’ve made since getting engaged.
Facebook recommended to me a Brides Buy/Sell/Swap/Help group from my area. I joined and before long, I was immersed in All Things Wedding!
Since joining, I’ve been able to purchase a great deal of decor for our wedding at incredibly low prices from other brides who were selling off items from their weddings! For example, my first wedding purchase was a collection of mirrors (to use for our centre pieces), that I purchased from a newlywed at a fraction of what I would have paid at even the dollar store. Other things I’ve scored are signs, frames, candle holders / vases, light strands and more!
But even more beneficial than the great deals, is the help & support these women are giving each other! I LOVE it!
To be perfectly honest, many of the posts I see aren’t sales posts but rather discussions. Asking opinions on DIY projects (“does this look better here or here?”), advice on venues or where the best place to rent/buy items is, who the most fun DJ is, hints about where great sales are taking place in town, and support when the stresses of seating charts just become to much to handle! In our group, there are also many professional from the wedding industry – photographers, caterers, cake bakers, officiants – that are happy to provide some free expert advice which is invaluable!
Personally, the ladies in my group have already helped me with questions about Out of Town Guests, what happens to the Signing Table after the ceremony (yes, I really did have this question! LOL) and given me some great ideas & helpful hints as well as I’ve been able to pass along some tidbits of information to fellow brides as well!
So if you’re looking to save some money by DIYing some or all of your wedding decor, need advice on caterers, quotes on cakes or just someone to tell you that it’s all going to be ok – I STRONGLY suggest joining a similar group in your area! Start by searching Wedding, Brides, Bridal plus your town name and see what comes up.
If you can’t find a group for your area, maybe consider starting one yourself! You never know who you may be helping out in the future!
As an added bonus, I aim to make some of the money back that I’ve spent on decor by reselling it on the Brides Group after our wedding is over! It’s a win-win!
