Go to kennethpool.com, odlr.com and verawangonweddings.com for more information.

Posted by Maureen

Attention all luxury-loving brides on a budget: Have I got a deal for you! Think of it as a magnificent gift with (wedding) purchase. Host your winter wedding at one of my favorite seaside resorts, Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod, and you’ll receive a free three-night honeymoon at the ultra-tony Hotel Guanahani & Spa on St. Bart’s. See, I told you it was a good deal! The package is valid for 2011 and 2012 weddings and honeymoons. Go to chathambarsinn.com for more info.

For more on CBI (that’s what we devotees call it) pick up the current issue of Bridal Guide (I told you I heart it may-jah). And check out our scoop on RHONY Bethenny Frankel’s honeymoon to Guanahani in the next issue on stands soon. Cheers!

Imagine you, here for free...

In case you didn’t know, I am honored to be the Etiquette Guru for Weddzilla.com, the first online website that combines social networking with wedding planning (be sure to check it out—you’ll love it). Today, Weddzilla.com announces its first 2010 Weddzilla Guru Awards recognizing the top 25 wedding bloggers with the title of “Blog Guru 2010”. The best part? All winners will be chosen by your votes! So, if you know someone who has an incredible wedding blog that deserves to be recognized, now is the time to nominate and vote for them. Simply go to guru-awards-weddzilla.com to nominate and cast your vote. The nominations are open to anyone and if you have your own wedding blog, you're free to nominate and vote for yourself!

The voting starts today and ends on October 5. The 25 winners will be announced on October 6, 2010, and each winning Weddzilla Blog Guru will be presented with a badge to display on their website and recognized by Weddzilla.com and all the Weddzilla Gurus (including moi). Nice! So make sure you take some time to honor your favorite wedding blogger or even nominate your own blog and let the voting begin!

Hi, Frugalistas. I’ve just finished editing a huge cost-saving story for Bridal Guide’s November/December issue. ( I realize that seems a long way away, and for most people it is—but not in magazine land. ) Anyway, there were so many great tips that I had to chop some of them because I ran out of my allotted pages. So I thought I’d blog about them instead—cyberspace means never having to say you’ve run out of room!

Venue: Have your heart set on a high-priced wedding locale? Your best bet is to be flexible. Approach the management before you set the date and ask if there’s an off-season Saturday you could reserve at a reduced cost. Some outdoor locations slash their rates from October to April (but be sure to have a backup plan in case of inclement weather). Similarly, many sites will cut a deal with couples booking a nontraditional wedding day and time, like a Thursday or Friday night or a Sunday afternoon.

Stationery: Keeping your paperie simple saves on postage. Elaborate multi-part or oddly shaped custom creations require extra stamps. Day-of items can be scaled back too: Instead of a booklet program, opt for a folded card; you get four sides, but it doesn’t require ribbon.

Catering: Unless your guests are connoisseurs of wine and liquor, skip the top-shelf brands. Most people can’t tell the difference. Having cocktails premixed in pitchers reduces bartender fees, since all they have to do is pour. And if the drinks are passed on trays as guests enter the room, most won’t even realize the bar has been scaled back.

Flowers: Boost centerpieces with inexpensive greenery, like ferns and ivy. These add a leafy organic touch and volume, so your arrangements will never look skimpy.