Money-Saving Ideas for Your Wedding

You're in that time crunch. You know you've got to hire your wedding services, but you've only got so much money to spend. Can you get everything you want for your wedding day, even with a tight budget? Yes!

Here are just a couple of ways to save money:

  Any day except Saturday

Saturday is the most popular day to tie the knot. Choose a weekday to get married, and not only are all your services likely to be available, but you may also receive midweek discounts. 

  Be a "morning person"

Morning is the best time of day to get married, for a number of reasons. First of all, most couples have evening weddings, so your musicians and other services are more likely to be available in the morning (and may even offer you discounts). Your guests and musicians will be able to find parking earlier in the day (some musicians and wedding vendors charge extra when no suitable loading zone or parking is available adjacent to the wedding site). One more note: People won't drink as much in the morning hours, so you'll save money on the bar tab at your reception. 

Read more ideas on my website. And if you want to receive detailed budgeting ideas, including wedding budget worksheets, you'll find them in my book, "The Bride's Guide to Musicians: Live Wedding Music Made Easy and Affordable", published by Hal Leonard Books. It's available at my website (where I'll send you a signed copy), and all over the Internet. It's even available as a Kindle edition on Amazon.com!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about my book, so if you've read it and put the ideas I've offered to use, please post a review on amazon.com to help spread the word.

(Musicians: If you are looking for ways to make wedding performances happy, easeful experiences, check out my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides", also published by Hal Leonard Books. Find it at my website, as well.)

8 Simple Ways to Take Back Control of Your Life

Having a tough time getting things done these days? Juggling tasks as a musician, balancing the day between work and play as an entrepreneur, getting through your "to-do" list for your upcoming wedding--These things all require willpower and stick-to-it-ness.

Here is an abbreviated version of some great tips supplied to me from my friend and guest blogger Eliseo Mauas Pinto from a fantastic article by Tony Schwartz. Any one of these tips might help you to reflect happily at the end of the day that you accomplished what you needed to accomplished.

Tony says:

"Here's the problem we face, every day of our lives. Nearly everything that generates enduring value requires effort, focus, and even some discomfort along the way.  At the same time, we're deeply wired to avoid pain, which the body reads as mortally dangerous, and to move toward pleasure, the more immediate the better. We're also exposed to more temptation than ever....The sirens sing to us, too: Have the dessert. Skip the workout. Put off the hard work. Surf the web. Check your email. Indulge your whims. Settle for the easy way out."


My own suggestions for owning willpower:


1. Make your behaviors automatic--Willpower is hard. But if you make something that's hard to do a habit, it won't be so hard to do anymore. Take exercise. If you go to the gym the same time everyday, it will simply get easier to exercise.


2. Take yourself out of harms way--Would you eat that entire box of cookies at one time if they were in your kitchen pantry? Avoid the problem altogether and don't buy the cookies in the first place. Have problems dealing with certain people? Simply limit your contact with them.


3. Reflect before you react--Do you need to buy that box of cookies? Do you need tell someone how angry you are with their behaviors? Stop and think. "Do I want to do that, or do I need to do that?" If you need to buy a new tie for an interview, do it, but if you have 15 other ties that would serve the same purpose, do you really need to buy another one?


4. Sleep enough to feel fully rested--This is a tough one for me, as I'm always a light sleeper. But it's true that when you are rested, you can tackle the day and make the right decisions for yourself.


5. Do the most important thing in the morning--Get the hard-to-do stuff out of the way. And also keep in mind that what you do in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day.


6. Eat well--Obviously, if you haven't eaten, your mind is on satiating your hunger, not tackling the day ahead. And if you are trying to have willpower to stay on a particular diet, it is much more difficult to watch your portions when you are hungry. On the other hand, if you are too full or eat foods that do not give you the fuel to tackle the day, you'll tucker out. Eating small meals every three hours that always contain a lean protein balanced with fresh, unprocessed foods will keep you powered up.


7. Focus on one thing at a time--Multitasking means that you are dividing your time between each thing that must be done. Wouldn't tasks be better completed when you aren't interrupted with other things? Willpower is the will to get things done, and it happens when we concentrate on the task at hand.


8. Take a break--Have you heard that saying, "Can't see the forest through the trees." When we take frequent breaks, especially during difficult tasks, we can get a birds-eye view of whether we are on the right track an what needs to be done to complete the task. Taking a break helps to reduce mistakes, because you can see where you are going and can review as you progress.


So, go and finish up what you are doing and get things done today!!!


Please post more suggestions as they come to you...


Anne :-)


(For Musicians: You'll find more suggestions for taking care of what needs to be taken care of in my book, The Musician's Guide to Brides. Purchase a discounted copy at my website and visit the facebook page for updated articles. For Brides: You'll find great suggestions for your wedding day to-do list in my book, The Bride's Guide to Musicians, also discounted at my website and located on facebook.)

What Happens When You Smile?

A smile can be infectious, especially spreading to the audience when musicians perform. Watch this video and see how the musicians' enthusiasm makes you feel. If you're a musician or performer, whether you're on a concert stage or at a wedding, what happens when you play with this attitude? How does it affect you? How does it affect everyone else around you? Even if you aren't a musician or performer, what would happen if you brought this attitude to everyone you are in contact?

I'd love to hear your stories!

Special thanks to my friend @DaveJackson and his wonderful podcast "The Musician's Cooler" for sharing this video and his thoughts about smiling and having fun when we play. Listen to his podcast on iTunes. Read his article "Smiles Everyone Smiles!" for more great info. There's more info on his website about the power of a positive attitude. And more for musicians: catch Dave's interview with me for more specifics about playing at weddings.

For wedding musicians, you can read more stories about infectious enthusiasm in my book, The Musician's Guide to Brides. Purchase a signed copy of the book at my website, where a portion of your purchase is donated to charity, and visit the Musician's Guide to Brides facebook page for info tailor-made for wedding musicians.

When Your Co-Workers are Your Friends

Lake Tahoe Golf Course

Last Friday, I played at Holly and David's wedding at the beautiful Lake Tahoe Golf Course, with the Sierra mountain range as a backdrop. Jackie and Rachel, who handle weddings, are always a breeze to work with. They bend over backwards to make sure I have what I need when I'm preparing to perform.

I was greeted by Mario from Class Act Entertainment, who was happy to plug the microphone for my harp into his sound system. I didn't need to unload my amp from my car and fuss with sound! Thank you, Mario!

Photo by CiprianPhotography.com

And then, Ciprian, the fabulous photographer who has graciously taken photos for my portfolio was the official photographer for this wedding. He took a moment out to take some photos of me. Most photographers will only concentrate on the bride and groom and not take photos of the wedding environment--Ciprian takes in the entire scene. I can't wait to see the new photos!

When everyone works as a team, the wedding goes flawlessly. So if you are getting ready to tie the knot, it's a good idea to hire wedding vendors who have worked together before.

But from a wider view, everyone I worked with wanted to make sure things went perfectly for Holly and David. It is so nice to work with people who are generous with their talents and willing to help each other out to ensure a wonderful day for the wedding couple. This generosity of spirit makes work fun and something to look forward to. My hope is that you and your coworkers share this generosity of spirit in your own work environment, too. Try being generous with your time and your abilities at your workplace--What happens?

(For wedding musicians, you can find out more ideas for fostering good recommendations from other wedding vendors in my book, The Musician's Guide to Brides. Purchase a signed copy of the book at my website, where a portion of your purchase is donated to charity, and visit the Musician's Guide to Brides facebook page for info tailor-made for wedding musicians.

How Do You Run a Successful Giveaway?

Years ago, I had a monthly giveaway of one of my CDs to all those who signed in to my free download, the Celtic Club, on my website. Here's what I discovered: Many many of those people who signed up were not interested in the music,  they just wanted to win something, anything. They would post my giveaway at sweepstakes websites, but these folks just wanted to win win win. My email list was overwhelmed by people who used several different email addresses to stuff the ballot box, so to speak, even after I'd announce a winner. I guess you could call them sweepstakes junkies.

Since then, I've been rather shy of having another giveaway, but the wonderful folks at Hal Leonard Books  are willing to offer one of my books as a prize, starting with my newest book, The Bride's Guide to Musicians. My thought is to post a trivia question once a week, here on my blog, and the first person who answers it will receive my book. And you'll have to answer it here, at my blog. Nowhere else.

But before I get started, I'd like to receive your input....What do you think? Have you run successful online giveaways? Where did you post it? What made you think it was successful? I appreciate your thoughts...