BridalBuds is great new site for wedding tips and inspiration from real brides.  You can follow Buds (engaged brides) as they go through the joys and frustrations of planning a wedding, or Blossoms (newlyweds) who reflect on their experience.

The site is a great resource for budget friendly ideas, DIY projects, and vendor recommendations.  They also have contests with great wedding related prizes.  Their current giveaway is a free subscription to MyInvitationLink. Since the site is relatively new, you have a better chance of winning the prizes, so hurry up and enter before the secret gets out!

The hardest decision I had to make was what to give my husband on our wedding day.   As a poor grad student, I didn’t have the means to buy anything fancy, so I had to be creative.  I finally decided to get him cologne.  I picked out a scent that I liked, put it inside a Mr. Potato Head Spud Trooper (he collects them), and had my maid of honor deliver it to him the morning of our wedding.

Later that day as I walked down the aisle, I was met by the smell of the cologne.  During the reception, I could still smell it as we danced to our wedding song.  Now when he wears it, I am taken back to that day and remember the joy and romance of our “I dos” and first dance.

I am about to share the best secret on the web: Blurb.com.  At Blurb, you can create a professionally bound wedding album for as little as $12.95.   My favorite thing about this site was the ability to design the book myself, and it was so easy!  They offer dozens of page layouts that range from single photos to collages, and you can add text, borders, and ornaments to complement your photos.

Once you finish your book, you just submit it online, and they send it to you in the mail.  I created one for my parents that had more photos of me and my family, and then another book for my inlaws with more photos of my husband and their family. It made a great personalized thank you gift.

The postal service is raising their rates, which means the price of stamps are going up to 42 cents from 41 cents.  1 penny may not seem like a lot but when you factor in the already high price of postage, it can add up.  Not only does this affect RSVP cards, but it could affect wedding invitation postage costs as well depending on how heavy they are.  So depending on the timing of your wedding, you might want to see how this affects you and make budget adjustments accordingly.

The other option which I am a big fan of is using an online RSVP tool.  Free wedding websites like those from WeddingWire offer online RSVP as an option to the wedding websites.  Many wedding website companies will charge for this feature, but you shouldn’t have to pay for it.