Show I Wedding Planners Help Brides on a Budget Norma Hendrickson Contributing Writer An oil tycoon recently spent 60 million on his daughters daughter's wedding A 1 million wedding is is available at the Ritz-Carlton Ritz in Osaka Nearer to home and reality Utah brides hope to spend 2000 to on the big event Brides Bodes commonly enlist the free services of friends and family borrow linens and decorations decorations decora decora- and serve simple refreshments to cut c costs Surprisingly hiring a wedding planner might save them even more Most people assoc associate ate wedding planners with elaborate weddings like the one planned by Franck in Father of the Bride Dawn Harward of RS RSVP VP Wedding Planning and Catering says That image does not fit Utah It you want to do weddings here you need to be willing to work within a budget A few upscale planners go after the high-end high weddings but they are the exception Surveys at indicate that the typical typical Utah bride hopes to spend 2000 to Harward believes 50 send 0 is ismore ismore ismore more realistic and not unusual in the Salt Lake area Wedding planners say they can assist brides brideson on ona a ir a budget They claim their services may not cost any more than doing it yourself because of their experience and connections with wedding supply vendors If saving time and sanity is worth anything it may be the best bargain around Jeannene Kendall of Kendalls Kendall's Catering said The bride and her mother can meet with me for one hour After that the weight is off their shoulders and on ours They can just enjoy Kendall claims the biggest advantage is having having having hav hav- ing one person take care of the complete arrangements Using Kendalls Kendall's network network of reliable vendors and services the family usually usually usually ally saves more than the cost of the company's services Kendall offers the biggest discount on complete packages that include decorating photography catering and flowers flowers She prefers to use her partners to avoid miscues miscues like forgotten napkins or late floral deliveries Both planners stressed the importance of consulting a wedding planner early before making any purchases If a bride has even 1500 they will help her find a meeting place for her dreams and her money If she spends 1000 on the dress before she meets with them there is little they can do to help Sheryl Eyre of Taylorsville chose Kendall to i- i v y r 3 r J r P ei i IN r r. r F erf 7 s 1 so o sE 1 s Y 13 E o ou 3 r t 13 u o u. u o l III 4 L. L u r. r i. i d 1 W has a few shopping suggestions to help you find the perfect dress While shopping it is best to bring pictures of your favorite dress styles Before leaving a store get all the clothing information needed such as cost of dress estimated cost of alterations cleaning cost pick up date and return policy plan her daughters daughter's recent wedding Why not She did Eyres Eyre's own wedding over thirty years ago She plans to call her again when her other three daughters tie the knot It was worth every penny it was wonderful wonder wonder- ful she said I didn't have to worry at all I couldn't believe how reasonable the prices were Over guests attended the beautifully decorated church cultural hall and enjoyed homemade chicken salad sandwiches and pumpkin cake roll The brides bride's family didn't even need to set up a folding chair The total cost for the wedding wedding dress dress flowers photography photography photography raphy invitations was invitations was less than She knows a friend that spent at least that much money and did everything herself Harward offers some free tips to your it Look for ways to get double duty from items purchased For example break the line and serve the wedding cake and save the cost of 80 60 plates of refreshments or use the brides bride's bouquet to decorate after pictures are taken Disposable cameras can waste a lot of money if someone does not monitor the picture picture picture pic pic- ture taking You can spend a lot of money for terrible pictures Trim your guest list A wedding weddin is a personal personal personal per per- event designed for close family and friends Be realistic Even if you want to do it yourself spend a little money to get some advice from an expert Harward charges 35 per hour For more information call Catering at or Kendalls Kendall's Catering at Additional resources can be located in the Yellow Pages and online at Note Photos are available at weddings com Disclaimer The author confesses that the bride in this story is her new in daughter |