When you’re getting started with your wedding plans, you’re going to feel all kinds of emotions. Mostly excitement, but there’s going to be a degree of fear – what if I make a mistake? Some of the biggest mistakes in wedding planning can cost you lots of money, wreck your big day, or just generally make you miserable throughout the entire process. So since we want you to enjoy this time in your life, we’ve collected the most important Don’ts so that you don’t make the most common mistakes that other brides and grooms have made! Read on and learn what you shouldn’t do, and also what you should do to get it right, right from the start.

   Mistakes made with money are bad enough, and have a lasting impact. But mistakes made with people? These are often the worst category for wedding planning, since people hold a grudge, people gossip, and people remember everything about how you treat them with regard to your wedding. It’s a funny thing about weddings…people use them as a gauge of how important they are. You might not have invited certain cousins to your graduation parties and that was no big deal. But not inviting them to your wedding? Travesty! Parents especially care about ‘what other people think,’ so watch your step in this minefield of potential mistakes.

When you give guests a little something to take home after the wedding, a token of thanks for sharing your day with you, be sure that your choice of favor is something your guests will keep, use and enjoy rather than something that’s going to get thrown out and wind up in a landfill somewhere, never to decompose. Too many wedding couples out there make this choice with only price in mind, thinking that a $1 plastic keepsake is great for their budget, but they don’t think of the bigger picture, which is that guests appreciate something that’s not going to just sit on a shelf and collect dust. They feel bad about tossing wedding favors, and they’re aware that better choices are out there. You don’t want them to think badly of you, and you don’t want the very last element of your gorgeous wedding celebration to be a letdown. So choose a better favor that makes everyone – and the planet – happier.

When a bride and groom face a wedding day without a loved one, such as a parent, grandparent, sibling or friend who has passed away, it’s a lovely tradition to create a floral tribute arrangement in their memory. In the past, brides and grooms have handled the tribute by printing in their programs that all of the floral arrangements are in memory of (departed loved ones), but now they’re taking the time to arrange for a separate, unmistakable floral tribute arrangement.

A veil can cost more than the wedding gown! So many brides have written in complaining about the high cost of veils and headpieces that we just had to come to your rescue with the best budget tips on this subject.

The menu at your reception is one of the most important parts of your day – after the ceremony, of course – and it’s also one of the biggest parts of your budget. But did you know that it can be one of the places where you can help the environment? Here are some tips on how to go green with your wedding menu, creating a delicious lineup that all of your guests will love…and rave about far after the wedding.

Congratulations on your engagement! Right now, you may have hundreds of ideas swirling in your head about what you want for your wedding, and if you’re like most newly engaged couples, that can be a little bit scary! This is a very important task, after all. Your wedding is very important to you, and you may not know where to start. We have the very first steps that you need to take to set your wedding-planning foundation under you, so that you can then jump into the fun tasks of choosing floral décor and picking the items for your menu.

Just try to stop your parents from getting right on the phone or online to share the great news with everyone in the family. The excitement takes over, and Moms and Dads can’t wait to tell everyone they know that you’re getting married. That has been their role for years. But here are the new etiquette smarts to save some of the joy for you.

Without going too far with too many toasts proposed at your reception (you don't want your guests to suffer from arm strain or rotator cuff injuries from lifting their glasses too often!), here is a list of the many special people who can propose a special toast to you or to your family.

You’ve chosen the perfect gown, and now it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll accessorize it. It’s a delicate balance to find the perfect accents that don’t overpower the dress itself, the pieces that show you off. So take notes and see which options appeal to you now, before you hit the stores to shop for the rest of your wedding day ensemble.