You’re engaged ... now what?

Amy Lee shares her top tips for brides-to-be.

Book a Wedding Planner

“Always book a wedding planner. It’s saving you time, stress and money. I’m going to have that book of knowledge for you and save you the time of selecting which vendors you should look at. And a lot of the vendors will offer my clients special discounts or add-ons for no change, so I’m actually saving them money as well.”

Be Honest with Your Wedding Party

“Be up front with the costs and what you’re expecting them to invest in. There are costs you don’t want to surprise your wedding party with, especially for those brides you who are like, ‘I want to go to Vegas for my bachelorette party or go to Arizona and drive through the dessert with my wedding party.’ Tell them what to plan for. Then your wedding party will still be your friends at the end of it.”

Pin Down Your Style

“I always tell brides that once you’re engaged and trying to figure out your style, sit down with your favorite beverage and look at Pinterest. I give them key words like ‘modern wedding,’ ‘whimsical wedding,’ and ‘classic wedding.’ Once they start pinning, the algorithm will start pulling similar flowers, cakes, decorations and dresses. Then I go on in and look at their boards. It will visually help, not just with me, but with the florist and decorations.”

Make a Budget

“Create the budget with your wedding planner. If your parents are helping pay, have the meeting with both your parents and the wedding planner, because your parents are just as clueless as you are about how much things cost. If you’re a newly engaged couple and you call around and tell your parents it’s going to be $7,000 for the venue and they got married at city hall for 100 bucks, they’re not going to understand that that’s the norm.”

Plan Ahead

“Create your timeline when you are at least eight months out. If you want to get ahead of the game, you make it right away. See what time your hair and make-up is going to actually start. Do you have enough time with your photographer to accommodate what you want? Remember, it’s hard to do getting ready and sunset photos for a wedding in June, since it gets dark so late. So think about these types of timeline situations well in advance.”

Sometimes angels choose fur instead of wings.

These are just a few of our furry angels awaiting their forever homes.

BUBBLES homewardonline.org facebook.com/HomewardAnimalShelter/ 1201 28th Ave N, Fargo | 701-239-0077

Homeward Animal Shelter is a local and communityfunded, nonprofit animal shelter. Its mission is: “Rescue. Shelter. Protect. Rehome.” It provides a second chance at happiness to lost, abandoned and ownersurrendered animals and educates the community in the proper, loving and kind treatment of animals.

APRIL 12

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MAY 17

6:00 – 7:15 PM each Tuesday

"When Mourning Dawns" is our six-week series that looks at the seasons of the year to guide our conversations about the seasons of your grief. Preregistration is required and space is limited. Please call or email us if you have questions or interest in this series. for more info: boulgerfuneralhome.com

These meetings are led by our Grief Support Coordinators Sonja Kjar and Ann Jacobson. 701-237-6441 griefsupport@boulgerfuneralhome.com