Wedding Ideas From Emerging Stars

Celebrities have a tendency to leave all of the wedding planning details to other people, but we've all seen how their marriages usually end. Will a couple who worked together to create their wedding have a better chance of success?

Engaged on TV Well, that's what we'll find out by watching the marriage of Susie Castillo, an MTV VJ and 2004 Miss USA winner, to Matthew Leslie. The couple had been dating since 1999 when they met at college and became engaged in a very celebrity-like way: on television. After being crowned Miss USA, Susie appeared on On-Air With Ryan Seacrest and during her interview, Matthew appeared on the stage and asked her to marry him.

Just two years after he popped the question, the couple's intimate ceremony took place in October 2006 in Massachusetts. Even though Susie's engagement was televised, her ceremony was anti-celebrity in almost every detail.

Let's start with her dress. While celebrity brides usually spend thousands on designer gowns which are custom made for their big event, Susie didn't need that. Instead, she chose a Domo Adami gown off-the-rack at a bridal sample sale. Of course, that didn't stop the dress from being beautiful.

But Diamonds are Forever Susie may not have had a custom-made dress, but the couple didn't skimp when it came to their weddings rings which were designed for the couple from white gold and diamonds.

The couple also worked together to custom another important part of the marriage: the wedding cake. Each one was able to design one tier of the cake and these tiers illustrated definite taste differences between Susie and Matthew. While Susie wanted chocolate, Matthew chose a spice cake. The wedding cake topped off a dinner for the 22 guests which included some tasty dishes, including lobster bisque.

A Couple Engaged in the Marriage Although Susie may not be the biggest celebrity (at least, not yet), her wedding can teach the rest of us a great deal about how to get married in style without having a celebrity budget. For one thing, Susie and Matthew worked together to make the wedding a success. He didn't just turn everything over to her as some men do. That's important because a wedding isn't all about the bride; it's all about announcing and celebrating a couple's love ? the key word there is ?couple? and that means both people should be involved in the planning.

Next, let's talk about Susie's dress. Brides want to feel like princesses but most don't have the budgets of royalty. Susie bought her dress during a bridal sample sale. Basically what that means is the wedding boutique has a number of sample dresses available so women can try them on and look at what's available, but these samples aren't sold. At the end of the season when new dresses coming in, those old samples are sold. Those samples are the same designer dresses other women are buying, but they can cost between 30 to 70% less. If you have your heart set on a designer dress, but you can't afford one then start watching for sample sales in your area. You might just get lucky!

The custom made wedding rings are another great idea. Sure, you could go out alone or as a couple to choose a set from a jewelry store. But imagine how much more special those rings are going to be if they've been custom-made just for you. This might cost a little more, but if it's important to you, then you can always adjust your budget so you pay less for something that's not as important.

Cake Ideas Too Another beautiful idea is the wedding cake. Today, cake makers have tons of flavors, icings, and fillings you can choose from. Typically, it's the bride and her family who go taste-testing and who make the choices about the tiers. As a couple, you should go together and each of you should select a flavoring for at least one tier. If you have more than two tiers, you might want to make one more simplistic to meet the tastes of some guests who won't be attracted to fancy fillings. If one or both of you have children, you might also let them choose a flavor for one of the layers ? it's a nice way to make them feel as if they are part of the big day.

In the end, you need to remember that the day is all about the two of you ? whether you're ordinary people or celebrities ? and it's up to both of you to make it a special day that you'll both want to remember forever.

Chris Morton ran hotels and restaurants for 17 years - catering for 100's of weddings. His wife Sue is a wedding planner with 10 year's experience. Together they have established http://www.TheWeddingWizards.com to provide unbiased help for brides and grooms.