Mr. soon-t0-be-Heather and I decided to host our wedding at a hotel where all vendor contracts were coordinated through a wedding package.  This process is really helpful for us because we’re planning the wedding a 10 hour drive from where we will actually be getting married.  Our only contract therefore is with our hotel.  Through work I am constantly hosting meetings and sessions through hotels, so I’m comfortable with our hotel contract.  For those of you who are working on contracts with multiple vendors, I thought this article from the DIY Bride and this article from Martha Stewart Weddings might be helpful.

Let’s face it, weddings are an “industry”.  If you add the word wedding to anything the price jacks right up, like wedding cake versus just cake.  The only way to really fight the “industry” is to do things yourself, and the queen of do it yourself is Martha Stewart.  Yes, I know you’ve probably seen her weddings magazine and everything looks very lavish and expensive; however, she also has a really great do it yourself center.  Now, I must caution you from my own experience, do it yourself does not always mean cheaper!  Budget and shop around for your supplies and don’t go over the top.   Take invitations for example, by the time you have your envelopes and paper, rubber stamp, ink and embellishment set you might have spent more money than if you had just ordered your own invitations off of Etsy.  And, don’t attempt anything out of your league- it will be twice as expensive to have to re-buy or re-make things because your first run through was a disaster.  Always ask yourself “what would Martha do” not “what could Martha do”.