In case you haven’t heard, Gilt Groupe is an members-only website that sells name-brand, highly sought after clothing, home goods and the like for deep discounts.

And lucky you…It’s Wedding Shop Week!!!

Everyday, the site highlights a different of the wedding experience. And the sales are everything you’d hope for.

Take this lovely Vera Wang bridesmaid dress for instance.

List Price: $260

Gilt Price: $149

Crazy right?!

So as I mentioned Gilt Groupe is members-only, but guess who’s got an invitation for you…

Me!

To get your goods and make everyone else wonder how you can afford to be so stylish, click to join Gilt Groupe.

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Technorati Tags: Affordable, Bridesmaid Dresses, gilt groupe, sale, vera wang

Cheap, affordable honeymoons and honeymoon packages are definitely out there. You just have to know where to look for them.

I’ve found that going straight to the website of the hotels will only get you the rack rate, or the regular, non-discounted rate. This will give a good starting point, but don’t just settle for the first rack rate you see.

Travelzoo.com is a site I use that has often come through for me in the clutch. They handle flights, hotels, vacation packages, rental cars and even show tickets.

Sure you can find rates for all-inclusive hotels like Sandals resorts. But they also have special rates for island and beach vacations off the beaten path.

Cheapcaribbean.com is another site that I consulted heavily. Although I think the site leaves a whole lot to be desired in appearance and function, I know people who’ve found grrrrreat vacation deals here. With a little patience and a little compromise, I have no doubt, you could find a great honeymoon package here that you wouldn’t be disappointed with.

I’ll just leave you with these two for now. They should keep you busy for a while.

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Technorati Tags: Affordable, All Inclusive, Beach, Caribbean, Cheap, Cheap Caribbean, Honeymoon, honeymoon package, travel, Travelzoo, vacation

With our economy in such a dismal state, brides aren’t the only ones who need to save money. Don’t forget about your girls/bridesmaids/ladies in waiting. Just like you want an affordable bridal gown, they want affordable bridesmaid dresses.

1. Look for dresses not labeled Bridesmaid Dress. Everything made especially for the wedding industry will always undoubtedly cost more. Cocktail dresses come in different lengths and colors and will work fine for bridesmaid dresses. A lot of designated bridesmaid dresses will look cheaper than a cocktail dress anyway.
2. Shop clearance. JCrew, Ann Taylor, etc. A lot of the major retailers now have wedding/celebration sections and will stock certain dresses in a variety of colors and sizes with the idea that they will be worn as bridesmaid dresses.
3. Resist the urge to match exact colors. Chances are Blue Sky During a Perfect Dawn probably isn’t available in the dress you want. So let it go. I promise it won’t ruin the wedding.
4. Order online and use coupon codes. I’m a sucker for a good coupon code. Sites like retailmenot.com provide codes for percentages off purchase and shipping discounts on lots of online retailers.
5. Buy in bulk for a discount. If you can purchase all your bridesmaid dresses at once, you could work out a discount with the retailer.
6. Let go of the brand/designer name (Bill Levkoff, Hilary Morgan, Jim Hjelm, Alfred Angelo). Even if you like the style of a certain designer, don’t let the name become the determining factor. At the wedding, no one will no what brand your bridesmaid dresses are and that dress will probably sit in the back of the closet with every other brand name bridesmaid dress after the wedding anyway.
7. Let your bridesmaids have some input. If they like it, it softens the financial blow. Plus, if it’s something they feel comfortable wearing again, they really do get their money’s worth.
8. Let them wear what they already have. They can choose colors complimentary to the wedding and you an tie them all together with matching shawls, cardigans, or just their bouquets, depending on your style. This is probably the most inexpensive option. Shoot – it’s pretty much free.
9. Buy at the end of the season. It’s the best time to find a discount. When retailers have new stock to bring in, they’ll slash prices to get the old stock out of there.
10. Choose short dresses. These are less likely to need hem alterations. Although these are usually the cheapest of all alterations, every little bit helps.

To help bring my points home, here we have a lovely little number from JCrew that comes in a few different colors and can definitely be worn again. It was $150, but is now on sale for $69.99. So get out your little checklist and get ready to check another thing off. Following these rules, your girls will be outfitted in no time. I’m sure there are other ways to save, but I’m tapped out at the moment. Share your ideas in the comments. We could all use the help.

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Technorati Tags: Affordable, Ann Taylor, Bridesmaid, Bridesmaid Dresses, Bridesmaids, Cheap, Clearance, coupon, discount, Dress, Dresses, Free, Inexpensive, JCrew

Well, just as I’d figured, the Detroit Science Center, the venue we went to see this morning was too good to be true.

I was all geeked up because it was big enough to hold our guest count, affordable and in the city of Detroit. Silly me!

Apparently, there is no space available to hold 200 guests in one room. Either we could have guests split up in different areas or we could have a strolling reception. Neither of which I want.

I just wish I would have known that before I got all excited traipsed my behind down there for a site visit.

I was even willing to over look the fact that it took the event coordinator 2 months to finally get back to me and she was still 15 minutes late to our appointment today, with no apologies for her tardiness. All of that aside, I was still excited to look at the space. But in the end it didn’t matter, because it just won’t work.

On their website, it says the Detroit Science “has weddings down to a science”. Pffffttttt – I’m not buying it.

Since my deadline is only 3 days away, I’ve got some big, disappointing compromises to make.

Stay tuned.

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Technorati Tags: Affordable, Caterer, Detroit, Inexpensive, science center, Venue