At first glance, this just looks like a regular, yet very beautiful, wedding cake. But put your forks down: it's only for show. The nine-tier design is simply stuffed with foam but (not so simply) embroidered with silver dust icings and trimmed with actual diamonds.
We're counting down to the new year by taking a look back at the very Best of 2009, and that includes your favorite guides and tips for managing your career and money. Planning a wedding, preparing for a honeymoon, and easing into married life can wreak havoc on a budget and force couples to work together to plan a financial future. Like love and marriage, it's a lot of work.
With universities raising tuition across the country, the cost of higher education takes the prize as the most overpriced expense of the year, earning 34 percent of the votes. It's no wonder, with college tuition prices rising high and fast, getting a higher education is becoming more unaffordable for many. Parents are dealing with some serious sticker shock as they prepare to send off their college-bound kids, while any student facing loans is definitely dealing with the spike in prices first-hand.
I affectionately renamed this Summer the "Summer of Love" because I attended so many weddings, so I was shocked to learn a procession of you didn't spend a penny on weddings in 2009. Twenty-one percent of readers did spend $100 to $500, which tells me that most of these events required little traveling, and 15 percent threw down $500 to $1,000 to witness sweet nuptials.
I'm with the 12 percent who spent $1,000 to $2,000 on weddings this year, and that's due to the fact that I had to brave a few flights to witness the weddings of my college pals.
This year saw some escalating prices coming down — and back up again (hello gas prices!). We're not fans of this pricing roller coaster either — but couldn't determine the Best of 2009 without asking what you think about this year's priciest expenses.
By the end of this year, we're seeing some signs of a recovering economy, but prices are still in flux.
There's no doubt about it, weddings are expensive celebrations, and not just for the couple and their families. When you add up engagement and shower gifts, bachelorette weekends, wedding gifts, event-related travel, PTO, and the right outfit, the bill can be astounding. How much did you spend this year in the name of other people's love?
Staying organized and on top of your savings are key to both long-term financial and personal success. Doing so isn't easy without a little extra assistance, which is why we've put together a selection of pretty printable downloads that will help you get and stay on track. The beginning of a month is the ideal time to get organized.
Most of you were baffled when a broke bride-to-be asked strangers to contribute to her wedding fund via her Help Me Pay For My Wedding! website. But what if the woman was only targeting her family and friends?
Novelty dates are always popular for people getting hitched. The date 7/07/07 was especially hot because it was a Saturday, but yesterday got its fair share of nuptial attention thanks in part to the 99 Cents Only Store. In honor of 9/09/09, The 99 Cents Only Store chain hosted weddings for nine couples at its Sunset Boulevard branch.