Key West Beach Weddings

(ARA) - When hosting a bridal shower, it can be easy to get carried away. Hosts, typically a close friend or relative of the bride, often feel obligated to give the bride the "perfect" party -- a concept as elusive as it is expensive.

However, if you find yourself planning an upcoming bridal shower on a budget, have no fear: It's entirely possible to plan a tasteful, fun and sentimental gathering without breaking the bank. Here are five time-saving and cost-cutting ways to throw a beautiful bridal shower:

Invitations
It can be tempting to blow your entire budget for the party on the invitations, but consider saving money (and time) by sending them electronically. Web sites like Pingg.com make sending invitations and tracking responses electronically a breeze. And with an enormous online image database, it's almost guaranteed that even the pickiest planner will find the perfect invitation design.

Food
Skip hours of baking and frosting and provide your guests with a creative and low-fat ice cream cake. Ice cream sandwiches from The Skinny Cow look sweet when stacked in a pyramid and topped with creative garnishes. Your guests will be thankful for a low-fat snack option, and you will have time to actually enjoy the party. Sandwiches come in strawberry shortcake, chocolate, vanilla, vanilla/chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, mint and cookies n' cream flavors. Use one flavor for a consistent look or mix and match flavors for extra guest options.

Drink
Sangria is an unexpected and delicious drink to serve at your shower. Added bonus: the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to find. You can even substitute grape juice and seltzer water for wine for a tasty non-alcoholic version. The only other ingredients required are slices of fresh fruits such as oranges, pears and peaches, and about 1/4 cup of sugar. For variations on the classic recipe, check out Cooks.com or AllRecipes.com

Games
Rework an old classic by playing a game of Bridal Shower Bingo. First, create copies of a blank grid resembling a bingo card. As the guests arrive, have them fill out the grid with gifts that they think the bride will receive. (The free space is in the middle and players can write their own gift in this space.) As the bride opens a gift, players cross it off their bingo card. Award a prize to the first person to fill five spaces in a row, across or diagonally.

Favors
Pamper your guests with homemade body scrubs in simple, elegant glass mason jars. You can even customize the recipe below to include your favorite scents and colors.

Homemade Body Scrub

You will need:
3 cups Epsom salt (or coarse sea salt)
1 cup oil (almond, canola or olive oil usually works best)
Essential oils for fragrance
Mason jars

Instructions:
First, measure out your salt and pour into a large container. Measure out the oil and slowly pour into the salt while stirring. Finally, add the essential oil to the desired strength. Attach any desired ribbons, hang tags or other decorations to the outside of the jar.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Wedding planners are becoming an increasingly popular choice for all types of weddings, and it
may make a lot of sense to hire one to coordinate your beach wedding.
Here are some pros and cons to consider:

PROS: Weddings are a lot of work, and chances are, you already have plenty of things to do! Wedding planners are professional people with often great connections to local vendors, and they might be more able to negotiate with the vendors than you would be. If you are planning a wedding out of your geographical area, it might make the most sense to hire someone at your destination to plan the wedding. Many times, hotels and resorts have their own event and wedding planners on staff and they offer their services for "free" as part of the wedding package, so this can work well for couples desiring package deals. Planners at these establishments often have several "themes" they do routinely, so chances are you'll be able to see photographs of other weddings and be better able to visualize how yours will look. They may or may not be flexible within those themes, while others will work with just about anything you request.

CONS: There is very little that a wedding planner will do for you that you can't do for yourself - for free. Some planners charge a flat fee, while others ask for a percentage of whatever the wedding costs. You also have to give up some control when you hire a planner. Hopefully, you will work with someone you trust, who won't impose his/her ideas and opinions on you, so make sure to interview more than one candidate for the job to make sure this is someone you can work easily with.

Key West Beach Wedding?

Present package deal options from the local hotels. If s/he works for a local hotel, then it's probably that the only options will be through that one establishment.

Present ideas and photographs of locations, including pertinent information on each site.

Recommend and assist in interviewing and selecting, then ultimately hiring all the vendors who will participate in your wedding. It is also crucial that they follow up and be in regular contact with each vendor in the months, weeks, and days before the wedding. S/He should be expected to get you the best possible price for each of these services:
florist
bakery
photographer
caterer
DJ or musicians
linens and equipment rental (tents, tables, etc)

Planners often have an eye for detail and design. S/He should make sure that the theme of the wedding is carried throughout, from the invitations to the napkins to the centerpieces.

Recommend items for and assemble Out of Town baskets for guests, as well as gifts for the wedding party, and/or party favors.

The planner is responsible for keeping the wedding on budget.

Lastly, it is reasonable to expect your beach wedding planner to be an excellent communicator and to be very timely and responsive to your requests and questions. You may have to allow for time differences, but ideally, both parties will be committed to creating a dream beach wedding, and that can only happen if both parties communicate well by email and phone.

Key West Beach Wedding?

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