Welcome, newly-engaged brides and grooms!

Congratulations on your Christmas Eve or Christmas Day engagement! Last night, as my husband and I celebrated our second Christmas as marrieds, counting our blessings and fielding many phone calls from family and friends wishing us a joyous day, I was also thinking about you, about the fact that you're just entering the exciting world of wedding-planning, and maybe this is the best holiday ever for you. Three cheers to your groom for a fabulous marriage proposal, and I hope you're waking up this morning beaming over how much fun stuff is ahead of you.

I know that wedding information world has gotten super-crowded and noisy with a ton of wedding sites and blogs, and of course all of the well-meaning suggestions from your own family and friends (and his mom!). And I know that the best, money-saving and stress-busting information you need can get buried by all of those fun quizzes and celebrity wedding stories, thousands of articles about wedding dresses and so on and so on and so on.

Consider me your sister in the wedding business -- I have the insider secrets to planning your wedding day, and I'm also going to make you smile and lighten your mood. I'll help you word that confrontation with your pushy future mom-in-law, jealous bridesmaid, and the groom who thinks he's supposed to just sit back and let you do everything. [It's not his fault...many grooms are just trying to let you have the fun, and they don't realize it's coming across as disinterest.]

You have my 35+ wedding books here to help you plan every element of your day, and -- most importantly -- avoid and handle some of the most common wedding mistakes. Visit my website to get your copies, and also reach me to ask your wedding planning questions.

'Here Come the Moms' Show #7 is now live!

'Here Come the Moms,' my show at Wedding Podcast Network, is now live with our newest installment! Listen in here to find out the newest ways that brides and their moms can face the challenge of a wedding budget together, get some things for FREE, and not sacrifice quality on the wedding day.

Great cake toppers!

If you want your wedding to sparkle, even after you've taken a lot of cost-cutting steps to make your Big Day more affordable, check out these dazzling cake toppers:






A description from the company: "Elegant details put the finishing touch on the big day. When it comes to the reception, everyone notices the cake. Why not make the cake standout even more? Toppers With Glitz adds a little bling to wedding cakes with custom designed crystal cake toppers. Extra edible components can increase the cost of your cake – and they are usually thrown away. Glam toppers are hand made with CRYSTALIZED Swarovski Elements AND they are a fun keepsake. Three-letter monogram toppers come in various sizes and custom made designs are offered, including palm trees or snowflakes, anything to go with your theme.

"Designer Sari Watkins hand makes every topper herself. While planning her own wedding she searched everywhere for high quality monogrammed cake toppers. She wasn’t happy with the selection so she started her own business. Toppers With Glitz specializes in customizing artwork, lettering styles and crystal colors. The possibilities are endless and gorgeous!

For more information: www.topperswithglitz.com
Email Sari: Questions@topperswithglitz.com

Should you worry when a wedding expert doesn't have a 'package?'

No, don't worry. It's the new trend for more and more wedding experts, such as florists, photographers, caterers and wedding cordinators, to customize the details and plans they'll put together for your wedding. In past years, you'd see the Budget Package with just the basics, the Gold Package with lots of perks in addition to the basics, and then the Platinum Package that would blow your mind and budget. Now, wedding pros know that you want to create your own package of their goods and services, according to your own budget. And your wedding won't be similar to any other friends or relatives who had their weddings at the same place. So don't be afraid of the no-package pro. Just interview them with the same careful questioning you use for all of your experts and see what you might be able to create with them.