Now clearly Evites are not for everyone, but for those who are watching their budgets, or are truly eco-conscious and planning a green wedding, Evites might be the perfect option.

There are many websites that can help design an email invitation and many have great systems to help keep track on who has and has not responded to your kind invitation. One site I really like is Myinvitationlink. This site offers many options to create highly personalized engagement party invites, save the date, wedding invitations, wedding announcements and thank you cards. They make it easy to design a “love story” pictorial including many pictures of the bridal couple with beautiful musical accompaniment and personalized text. This is a great way to share pictures with guests before and after the wedding. Green, inexpensive, personal and creative, what can be better than that?

Now some of us have a few friends or great grandparent’s that don’t own a computer, so you may want to consider creating a few paper invitations for those you think need to be mailed an invitation. Several of the email invitation companies also offer print-ready templates, so you can email some of your invitations and mail others. Some actually will print and mail them for you! Think of your paper invites as a supplement to your email invites or vice versa, which ever works best for you.

Evites may not feel right to you for your actual wedding invitation but consider them for all the events surrounding your wedding. Bachelorette parties, Bridal party get-togethers, rehearsal dinner, or a post wedding brunch all need invites – you may want to take a peek at the following sites to decide if emailed invitations may be right for these ancillary events. Whatever you choose, that’s up to you!  Take a peek at these sites and see what you think.

My invitation link

Paperless Post

Greenvelope

OurWedvite.com (does Evites and has print-ready templates as well)

Pingg

Evite:  (free but comes with advertisements on side of invites)

Question for those newlyweds out there – Did you email any of your invitations? Tell us how that worked for you. We really want to know!

Walk into most any department in Wal-Mart and you can find something that may be useful for a bride and groom and generally speaking, you aren’t going to find it cheaper anywhere else. In their jewelry department you will find a few inexpensive engagement rings and wedding bands and a generous selection of accessories and gifts for an entire bridal party. Cubic Zirconia tennis bracelets, simple anklets, heart shaped and “Journey” necklaces with earrings to match, will accessorize bridesmaids well without emptying anyone’s piggy bank.

In the party section you will find several rows of typical wedding supplies for much lower prices than most specialty stores. A good assortment of Favor boxes at 50 for $12 can easily be filled with a sweet treat found in their candy department. Want the kiddies-at-heart to have bubbles? 100 Ring Bubble Wand Favors are only $15. For the computer savvy they have invitation kits at unbelievable prices and for the home bakers they have most anything you would need to make your own wedding cake or cupcake tower.

If you venture into departments not often thought of as wedding related, you will locate some great “finds” for a celebration. Do some price comparison and you may find that it is actually cheaper to buy whole sets of dinnerware than to rent them from a typical party rental company. On a recent visit to a Wal-Mart store, I found glass dinner plates for $1.50 each. The nice thing about purchasing instead of renting is you will have a large collection for all your future celebrations.

Decorating weddings with $5 vases, filling them with homegrown flowers and surrounding the vases with $1 votive candles can make for simple and inexpensive centerpieces. Purchasing a gazebo or an arbor in their garden department will allow you to reuse it in your own backyard after it has been the centerpiece of your ceremony. You can also get multi-use out of other special décor like lanterns, firepits or outdoor furniture that help create a very chic and contemporary styled wedding.

Right now, when the Christmas department is just being set up, it’s a great time to look at white lights to swag on your head and cake tables (underneath tulle or iridescent material). Or purchase Christmas ornaments and pile them in a crystal bowl for an easy centerpiece anytime of the year.

Don’t forget the personal health and hygiene departments to make “Wedding Day Emergency Kits.” Band-Aids, Tums, Aspirins, mouthwash, hairspray, deodorant, nail repair kits, Kleenex and smelling salts are just a few of the items key to a good emergency kit. Add energy bars, nuts and bottled water from the grocery section and stain removers from the laundry supplies and your kit will begin to look like a pro made it.

If your schedule is crazy and feet are sore, do some of your shopping on-line at www.walmart.com. By creatively thinking outside the box – you can come up with a Wal-Mart Wedding that won’t break the bank but can still be a very special celebration with all the trimmings!