|
|
Weddings & Sponsors Blog
| Affordable Wedding
|
Posted: June 13, 2008 |
The economy is in a dire state. The original $30,000 wedding budget is now looking pretty uncomfortable if not downright unlikely for a lot of people. It's time to be wise about how you spend your money for a wedding. Having creative thoughts and looking around to get the best deals on wedding items is a must. Everything that has to do with planning and organizing your wedding must be taken into account if you are on a budget. Sit down and make a list of the things that you really want in your wedding and the things that you can do without. Cut back on the costs of certain items that you can get at better prices. How much you spend on each item in your wedding is up to you and what you think you can afford. But if you only have so much money to invest in your wedding you will have to plan ahead and budget very carefully.
Some of the things to take into account when you plan for an affordable wedding are making a list of the items that are most important to you, getting family and friends involved with helping out with your wedding, cutting back on food prices and drinks, limiting the amount of people that you invite, checking for places to get everything for less including wedding gowns and wedding rings, finding inexpensive decorations at wholesale stores such as flowers and other wedding decor. There are many ways that you can have an affordable wedding if you just use your imagination.
When planning an affordable wedding, ask for help from family and friends. They can help you to think of creative ways to save money and still have a beautiful wedding. Your wedding should be special no matter how much money you have invested in it. So getting other people’s opinions can help you get ideas to have the wedding of your dreams. Budget your money as tightly as you can on certain items and than you will have the funds to invest in the really important wedding items that you need. If you save a lot of money on your wedding, you can have more money available to put into a great honeymoon after the wedding. Having an affordable wedding is well within reach; you just have to know where and how to start saving money for this special occasion. |
|
|
|
| Wedding Sponsors
|
Posted: June 10, 2008 |
In the last couple years, wedding sponsors have become very popular (see our Articles section). Getting wedding sponsors can be beneficial to help pay for the cost of your wedding.When a wedding is sponsored, your cost will be much less by letting a business advertise in a tasteful way during the reception and the ceremony. When the business does this, they will greatly benefit by advertising their services and products to a large group of people all at once. It will cost them less if they advertise this way than if they were to advertise the traditional way. This, in turn, reduces the wedding couples expenses and they benefit from the arrangement by saving what can add up to be thousands of dollars.
Some people look at the idea of wedding sponsorship as a strange way to have a wedding. But if everything is done properly, it can turn out to be a beautiful ceremony and your guests will understand why you are doing your wedding this way. You should talk to the wedding sponsors and make sure you let them know what you would consider to be too much advertising during the wedding. The key is to find a balance with this issue and you will have a beautiful wedding.It is understandable that the wedding sponsor will want to advertise their business to get people's attention, but it is best to know beforehand what they have in mind and how they will do it.
The key is to find ways for the sponsors to advertise and still have a wonderful wedding. Getting wedding sponsors can be a smart thing for a couple to do if there are no surprises along the way that will interrupt how the wedding is performed. The way to get wedding sponsors is by going to vendors and asking for possible discounts and sometimes free service in trade for sponsorship....that's where WeddingsandSponsors.com comes in! So when you find vendors to have this arrangement, make sure that it is in writing with all the details figured out. You will find that the money you have saved by getting sponsors for your wedding will have allowed you to afford other important things like a fabulous reception or a great honeymoon. |
|
|
|
| Press Release
|
Posted: May 22, 2008 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Vendors Can Help Couples Have the Wedding of Their Dreams While Promoting Their Own Products or Services With WeddingsandSponsors.com
LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2008 -- It can be difficult for new and emerging businesses to compete with other companies, especially when it comes to the wedding industry. Sometimes marketing and advertising can only do so much. There comes a time when a business needs to step up its marketing in a totally unconventional way -- and the creators of WeddingsandSponsors.com realized this need. WeddingsandSponsors.com makes it possible for businesses big or small and the wedding couple to benefit at the same time.
A business can gain the exposure that it needs by becoming a wedding sponsor. A sponsored wedding is when couples who are looking for an alternate means to pay for their dream wedding visit businesses and ask them to sponsor their wedding. If the business agrees, it will provide its products or services free of charge in exchange for publicity, exposure, and advertisement. In the end, the happy couple gets to have a wedding that they love and if all goes well, the business gets to advertise its services to all that attend the wedding in a tasteful yet effective manner.
This type of sponsorship is a unique way to directly market products and services, whether it is for make-up, hair, catering, cakes, music or any other type of product or service that can be used at a wedding; the possibilities are endless. With WeddingsandSponsors.com, vendors can list their products and services so that couples can browse through the selection and choose vendors that match their needs. If the couple and the vendor come to an agreement, the vendor's services can be displayed on the wedding programs, and business cards and products can be displayed at the wedding.
"One of the best ways for a business to market itself is through word of mouth. If the couple and guests have a great experience the vendors who chose to sponsor the wedding will literally watch as their business booms!" states Angie Kay, CEO.
With the slowing economy, vendors are finding that they need to be more competitive with their offerings in order to generate business.
WeddingsandSponsors.com is the first site where vendors and couples can find each other on one website without having to search all over the Internet.
For more information please visit http://weddingsandsponsors.com or call Angie Kay at (310) 207-8551.
|
|
|
|
| Who Approaches Who?
|
Posted: May 18, 2008 |
If you are a newly engaged couple looking for wedding sponsors, you should definitely take the first step by contacting our vendors. The vendors on our site are all aware and open to the idea of sponsorship. Keep in though it definitely has to be worthwhile to the vendor. For example, most vendors may not be keen on sponsoring a small wedding (less than 25 guests). You have to be honest and straightforward with the vendor, and if there is a genuine marketing opportunity for them, then they will be happy to work with you. Maybe you have several friends who are also engaged and looking for vendors, so make sure to mention that.
The obvious problem for a vendor considering sponsorship is, well, they can’t sponsor your wedding and your friends’ wedding, and your friends’ friend’s wedding, etc. The vendor is ultimately a business and they need to make money. That’s where the honesty and straightforwardness comes in. For example, if you are planning to have your wedding in Hawaii, and your friends are all flying in from California to Hawaii for the wedding, it will be unfair and disadvantageous for you to request sponsors in Hawaii. If you have no intention of utilizing the local vendors’ services again, then what’s in it for them? Please be fair, courteous, and honest in your business dealings with our vendors and everyone can have a win-win situation. |
|
|
|
| Attn: Couples!
|
Posted: May 17, 2008 |
WeddingsandSponsors.com is still undergoing construction, but we’re almost there! In the meantime, we’d like to invite couples to submit their love story, how they got engaged, and why they want to have their wedding sponsored. Every month, the most well-written, thoughtful, humorous story will be featured on our blog. You can email us your story at weddingsandsponsors@gmail.com. |
|
|
|
| Wedding Sponsorship = “Free Sample”
|
Posted: May 12, 2008 |
Small businesses and self-employed professionals want to know, what’s in it for them? Why should they provide something for free, or at a substantial discount, when they can just charge the whole fee and collect?
If your business is doing well and flourishing even in this bad economy, then sponsoring a wedding is probably not for you. If your business is relatively new, or struggling, or looking for new customers or for creative ways of advertising, then you should definitely consider sponsoring a wedding. Through wedding sponsorship, small businesses can reach hundreds of their target demographic in one relaxed event at a nominal cost compared to traditional advertising methods. Ever been to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s where they happily pass out free samples of their food/drinks? If it pleases your palettes, you’ll most likely purchase the item after trying it, right? Ever flip through a magazine and take a whiff of a sample perfume/cologne stuck between the pages? If it smells nice enough, you’d consider getting it the next time you want a new fragrance. Sponsorship is very much the same thing, on a larger scale. Sponsorship is like a “free sample” of yourself or your business to ensure you receive concentrated attention and maximum exposure for a marginal cost.
If you’re a small business owner, you may especially be interested in sponsoring a couple’s wedding that is local to your area. Guests attending the wedding will know that you provided the goods (because it will say so in the wedding program, or your business cards will be out on display, or you’ll be thanked in the couple’s blog, etc.). After you provide a fantastic service or product and the wedding is done and over with, the guests who have attended the wedding will remember you (because of all the couple’s acknowledgements) and seek you out when they need a service, all because they had a “free sample” from the wedding!
In order for a small business to compete with the big guys, it’s absolutely critical to cultivate a trusting relationship with your customers. Big businesses have a competitive edge because they have already cultivated their brand into a national presence from providing a consistent and reliable goods or service. As a small business owner, it’s always a challenge to get people to trust you, to show that you have a quality product, when it’s so much easier for people to go to the big guys. So marketing yourself in a creative fashion, especially at an intimate event like a wedding, can only bring you positive attention and business…. provided you do a great job, which is the stepping stone to a trusting business relationship. |
|
|
|
| Attn: Vendors!
|
Posted: May 6, 2008 |
All Vendors should have a resume and/or sample of their work or product up on our site. No matter how limited your experience, if you are serious about your business and want maximum exposure, it would behoove you to have a polished and professional resume so people can get a good idea of what you can offer. If you have joined our site, we strongly recommend everyone post up a resume. Thanks! |
|
|
|
| Announcing the Private Beta Launch of WeddingsandSponsors.com!
|
Posted: May 5, 2008 |
We’re really excited to announce that the vendors section of WeddingsandSponsors.com is ready for launch! The couples section is almost complete, and we will announce the launch of that when it’s ready. Stay Tuned! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
