SavvySugar

How Much Time Did You Take Off For Your Honeymoon?

SavvySugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:04:59 -0700

One of the most exciting pieces of planning your wedding doesn't have to do with the actual wedding itself, but everything to do with the romantic adventure you get to go on after you've said "I do!" After all, talking about your honeymoon is way more fun for you and your fiancé than discussing seating charts. Your honeymoon is generally one time that your employer is likely to be understanding about you taking time off from work. Even if she's had the tendency to interrupt you during previous vacations, she'll probably feel less inclined to while you're sipping mai tais on the beach with your new husband.

Just because your employer expects that you'll take a honeymoon after your wedding, you shouldn't expect she'll be OK with the amount of time off you're planning on taking. When you start planning your honeymoon, let her know that you're thinking about it and would like to make sure the amount of time you'd like to request off is acceptable. Your boss will appreciate your thoughtfulness, and you'll feel reassured that the weeks you'll be away from the office won't cause any rifts that would threaten your job.

To check out all of our wedding season coverage, check out IDoSugar.

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Bride's Guide to Tipping Wedding Vendors

SavvySugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:59:47 -0700

Just because you're shelling out a small fortune for your wedding and feel like the next dollar you part with is going to make you seriously nauseous, it doesn't mean that tipping etiquette can be thrown out the window. While you're focused on the big-picture price, your vendors are each providing a unique service and you, gracious bride, must be prepared to tip when appropriate. Just as your Friday night dinner bill jumps when tax and tip are added to the total, your vendor costs will also increase when you add these two Ts into the mix. Take them into consideration when building your budget so you don't end up having to dip into your honeymoon fund to tip your vendors. Discover what's good tipping etiquette when you read more.

Some vendors will make it easy for you and include gratuity in the total cost of their services. This is a common practice among caterers but some other vendors have also adopted the practice - be sure to double check all bills to make sure that you haven't double tipped. If you want to tip an individual who works for a larger company, be sure to give all tips in cash and present them just before the vendor leaves. Your wedding coordinator can handle this task for you, and if you're not working with one recruit a member of your wedding party to help you. A tactful approach is to give cash tips in sealed envelopes.

Customary to tip 10-20 percent depending on quality of service: Limousine drivers, waitstaff (if not included in contract), makeup artists, hair stylists, bartenders.
Valet and coatroom attendants: Prearrange an amount of $.50 to $1.00 per car and make sure it's obvious to guests that the tip has been taken care of. The same applies for the coatroom tip, but it's $.50 to $1.00 per guest.
DJ: It's your call on whether or not you want to tip the owner, but you should tip any DJ employees about 15 percent.
Optional, but recommended gratuity: Site's wedding coordinator and your wedding planner.
Gratuity No-no: Don't tip your religious officiant as it's actually considered bad etiquette. You may make a charitable contribution if you choose, but otherwise just pay the set fee. If you're married by a judge, tipping is expected as it usually takes the place of a fee. Justices of Peace can only accept tips if the marriage is performed after office/court hours.
Gray areas: Your florist doesn't expect to be tipped, but it's optional to tip those employees who set up and deliver your arrangements. Similarly, your cake baker doesn't expect a tip but you may tip them upon delivery if you feel it's appropriate.

To see all of our wedding season coverage, check out IDoSugar.

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Should Your Guest List Include Your Boss and Co-Workers?

SavvySugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:33:20 -0700

Ah, the guest list - something that should be so simple in theory that can often turn into a nightmare of political distress, and is the cause of so many lamenting brides-to-be wishing they could just elope. While the average guest list has 153 names on it, that number doesn't seem so forgiving when you take in to account all of the family and friends whom without your event would feel incomplete. The question of inviting your boss and your co-workers is one that can be tougher to solve than the kid question because of the possible repercussions, and the last thing you want to face when you get back from your honeymoon is to be met with awkwardness at work. To see my take on whether or not office folks should receive a coveted place on your guest list, just read more.

It's obvious that you'll invite the friends you've made at work who also serve as friends outside of the office. They know your fiancé's last name, and not just from asking what your new last name will be and if you're going to take it. But just as you have friendly acquaintances that fall into a gray zone in your personal life, there are usually co-workers who also fit this bill of uncertainty. You don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but your wedding is expensive and the guest list isn't superelastic.

Some jobs are much more political in nature than others, and the higher up you get on the office food chain the more sensitive you'd be to inviting your colleagues. Unless you have these obvious obligations to inviting certain people out of respect for their position and yours, it's OK to only invite those co-workers who you call your friends. This can be trickier if you work in a very small office, but aside from making the effort not to single anyone out as the only person not invited, the general rule still applies. Be aware of those around you once your invitations have been sealed and delivered - you may even want to ask the few invited to keep their invitee status to themselves at work and hold the wedding chatter to a minimum.

Just because someone tells you they're happy for you, it doesn't mean they expect a wedding invitation. It's your (expensive) wedding, and it's a personal affair - remember that while being sensitive to others is a great quality, it doesn't mean you should feel pressured to expand your intimate wedding of close friends and family.

To see all of our wedding season coverage, check out IDoSugar.

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How Much Do You Know About the Average Wedding?

SavvySugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:34:19 -0700

Most brides-to-be are familiar with the wedding websites owned by The Knot Inc., and the company just released the results of their 2007 survey that questioned over 20,000 newly-wed couples nationwide. While the results aren't meant to serve as a guideline for how you should handle your own wedding, it's interesting to see where you fall in terms of spending and planning among other couples around the country. Find out how much you know about the average wedding when you take this quiz!

To see all of our wedding season coverage, check out IDoSugar.

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Cooling the Wedding Chitchat at Work

SavvySugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:20:09 -0700

Unless they're your work friends, approach personal wedding conversations at work with the mentality that not everyone wants to be filled in on the details. Because your wedding is such a big event for you it's only natural that your co-workers will know this fact about your personal life, even if they don't really know you personally. Weddings have that strange way of being common knowledge in the workplace, it's probably the one thing your co-workers (not to be confused with your work friends) will constantly ask about when you're in a small-talk situation. Find out how to handle these situations when you read more.

Some of your co-workers are genuinely interested in the progress of your wedding, maybe they love weddings or want to become more friendly with you, but others may simply be searching for something to fill the air. In order to avoid sounding like a broken, wedding-obsessed record, make an effort to change the subject or spin the conversation topic so you're not delivering a monologue about your upcoming nuptials.

For example, when they ask about your honeymoon, let them know where you're headed and then ask where they spent their honeymoon. And if it's a single gal ask if she has any vacations planned in the near future or if she has any fun weddings to attend this wedding season. And most of all -try your best not to give uninvited wedding updates if you won't be including that person on your guest list. Use your sharp common sense to know when to cut the wedding talk with co-workers, not only to ensure you won't get on their nerves, but also to prevent any awkward interactions once the invitations have been sent.

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Working Girl's Guide to Wedding Planning, Part II

SavvySugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:29:51 -0700

The number one thing to keep in mind as a working girl in the midst of planning her wedding: delegate. Believe me, I know it's hard to release your death grip from the reigns of planning, but assigning a few responsibilities to willing family members and your fiancé will do the opposite of what you think. Disaster won't ensue - in fact, you'll probably enjoy the lightened load and will be able to focus more on getting ahead at the office. And if you're a little Type A about your flawless wedding, just reassure yourself by noting that the parts you're responsible for planning will be just so. To see my other tips about juggling your work and wedding planning just read more

Ideally you should schedule your wedding related appointments for the weekend, but if a particular vendor is unavailable on weekends schedule them for before or after work, or during lunch if you have a long break. Depending on your profession, it may be an obvious choice as to what time of day would be best, but if it's not a given then mix it up a bit. You don't want to always be coming in late or always leaving early.
If you're planning a last minute wedding and don't have the leisure of time on your side, you'll probably be met with more constraints in terms of vendor availability. If that's the case and you have to set up meetings during the work day, sit down with your boss and figure out when are the best times for you to be out of the office. Avoid any important meetings and deadlines, and be courteous by letting your boss know the exact times you'll be unreachable. They'll appreciate the open communication and the concern you've shown for your work.
Get organized by detailing all of your appointments in your calendar along with automatic reminders on your phone or computer. There will undoubtedly be some last minute, unexpected items to take care of, but these will be limited if you never miss an appointment or have reminders popping up and urging you to handle specific tasks.

To see all of our wedding coverage, check out IDoSugar.

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Working Girl's Guide to Wedding Planning, Part I

SavvySugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:23:42 -0700

Everyone always says the time between your engagement and wedding will fly by - between work, wedding planning, and everything in between there's barely time to come up for air. It's important to keep your priorities in order and recognize that while your wedding represents one of the biggest days in your life, you need your job for your everyday livelihood and can't let those responsibilities take a backseat. While wedding planning can be stressful at times, think of it as an extracurricular activity that you should try your best to leave out of the office.

It can be tempting to use your company's resources to help you achieve ultimate wedding planning efficiency. There's a fax machine 20 feet away from you and empty conference rooms just waiting for you to call your florist with an idea that just hit you. It may all seem pretty harmless, taking 15 minutes out of your work day to accomplish some wedding business, but put yourself in your employer's shoes before you start reserving the conference room for you and your cell every day at the same time. To see why I think this is important just read more.

In your mind, those handful of minutes represent time you'd be taking a break looking up recipes or getting your hourly dose of Sugar, but it's doubtful that your employer shares your rationale. Picture this scenario: You've given out the company's fax number to all of your vendors, and without warning your band faxes over a set list for you to sort through. Your boss is expecting an important fax and intercepts the fax meant for you, that's blatantly not work related. While some bosses are understanding about the demands of wedding planning, most would prefer the only multitasking done at the office makes you a more productive worker, not a more efficient wedding planner.

Bottom line: You need to care about your job. You also need to stay on your employer's good side during wedding planning because you may need to squeeze in some last-minute appointments as the wedding date comes closer. They'll be more likely to oblige to any emergency requests if you maintained a high work ethic throughout the planning process.

To see all of our wedding season coverage, check out IDoSugar.

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Your Two Cents: Would You Want to Be a Wedding Planner?

SavvySugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:06:02 -0700

In her role as a super successful wedding planner Jennifer Lopez's character jokingly says, "Those who can't wed, plan." That's obviously not the case, and pursuing a career in wedding planning surely takes a real love for weddings, an eye for design, and a desire to help others. As with any job, wedding planning has its advantages - like the feeling of accomplishment when your vision comes to life, connecting with a couple, and feeling like you've made a difference in their special day, and its disadvantages - like a hectic work schedule with irregular hours, having to compromise your opinions often, and going through slow business periods. Based on your experience with wedding planners and planning your own wedding, do you think it could be a career for you?

To see all of our wedding season coverage check out IDoSugar.

Do You Need Wedding Insurance?

SavvySugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:32:13 -0700

Sometimes extra insurance is just a scam to get you to pay more money, but sometimes it can be a helpful tool in easing your mind about the possibility of disaster. Like opting for insurance on your rental car for a few extra bucks a day that could save you thousands, wedding insurance is a policy that covers your wedding financially should something go downhill.

It usually costs between $125 and $500 to protect yourselves against losing a whole lot more. Not all wedding insurance policies cover the same things, so be sure to read the fine print of all the policies you're considering. Wedding insurance should cover the things you don't have control over and could make the little bridezilla in you rear her furious head. Find out what those things are when you read more.

Your policy should cover anything that might cause you to reschedule your wedding: Postponing your wedding because of torrential rains on the day of your outside wedding; any expenses for postponement if someone important to your wedding becomes sick or injured; costs for no-show vendors or postponing because of a MIA vendor; if your venue goes out of business; and if your officiant doesn't make it to the alter.

There are other riders you can purchase in addition to the basic coverage. These can include liability insurance if you're having your wedding at home, damage to your gown and his tuxedo, and if one of you is in the military and called to duty a rider will protect against financial losses of postponing the wedding.

To see all of our wedding coverage check out IDoSugar.

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Back to Basics: Achieve Your Goals With These Calculators

SavvySugar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Sure, we'd all love to snap our fingers and achieve our financial goals. But successfully paying down credit card debt and saving money can only happen if you go in with a plan, and a realistic one at that.

Want to be debt free? Use my credit card payment calculator to determine how long it will take while paying a certain amount each month. If saving money is at the top of your list, whether it's for something fun or to build up your rainy day fund, use my savings calculator to figure out how long it will take to reach your goal.