A good friend of mine runs a wedding planning service.  She has had many clients over the years, so I thought that I would pick her brain for some of her trademark secrets when it came to weddings.

From our little conversation, I learned a lot.  She told me that there seemed to be two groups of people - one who was looking for ways to save money on their wedding bills, while the other just wanted to have the most amazingly grand wedding whatever the price.

But, for the most part, she told me that many couples hired her to help them save money on their weddings.  A lot of the younger couples were keeping their savings for a down payment on a home as opposed to spending it all on their wedding day.

She told me that her biggest secret was to set up these couples with practical favors instead of expensive ones.  It was one of the easiest ways for her to save a couple money on large weddings, because the cost of the favors add up quickly.

I came away from the meeting enlightened - things have sure changed since we were married many years ago.