About Me and Fairy Tale Weddings

First, I'm a grandmother. I'm also married to Jim, the most wonderful husband in the world. And I probably wouldn't have met him if not for the Internet; we met online at a personals site when that concept was still pretty much in its infancy.

So yeah...I'm an Internet junkie!

I'm also pretty budget conscious. I raised my two kids as a single mother and had to learn how to cut corners everywhere I could.

When my daughter got married, I helped her plan her dream wedding on a really tight budget. But I had a lot of fun doing it because I'd never had my own fairy tale wedding and never realized how much fun it was to plan!

By helping her with her wedding, I realized the challenges that today's brides have in sticking to a low-budget and still having their dream weddings.

Later when my son got married (he's in this photo-the one in the black tux of course) he and his wife were on a tight budget too.

They had a small wedding at a quaint bed and breakfast in Lancaster County and invited only their closest friends and family.

They purchased a print-yourself wedding invitation kit that I did for them.

During all the research to help my kids I ran across some articles about reaffirmation or vow renewal ceremonies.

Since my husband and I had a very small romantic wedding ceremony, I thought it would be fun for our fifth anniversary to finally have the big event we didn't have.

But my dream of becoming a published writer shattered when I realized expensive it is to get a book published; even self-publishing is costly - hiring a printer, getting enough copies printed, getting the ISDN, finding a marketing venue, and on and on.

Now even though you'll find a lot of wedding websites online, not many really focus on how planning your wedding early is one of the keys to staying on a low budget.

It's harder to save money when you set your date for just a couple of months beyond your engagement! Who has time to really shop for the bargains or save money up ahead of time?

The more you rush, the more money you're going to spend because you waited until the last minute. And the next thing you know, you've blown your savings or your first home down payment - or even your honeymoon funds.

And since one of the first places new brides look for information is the Internet, I knew my book would get noticed more if it was online.

So instead of spending a fortune to get an editor or pay the expensive fees to get self-published, my book is now out in Cyberspace, being found and helping others learn about different ways to save money!

And while my dream of being a published writer came true by building this website, the extra money I'm earning now has made my vow reaffirmation ceremony a dream come true too!

Thanks for stopping by!