Sponser Wedding WTF?!?!

I don`t think many of the people on this board have a non rude bone in there body...
I am never asking a question about my wedding ..... (yes i am paying for my own)... In fear that NINA or one of her henchmen will jump me

Here`s a kicker. Ok, you want sponsorships - and say you get them....If you`re not incurring the expense of the wedding like all of us are - why should you get gifts? You should no longer be entitled to showers, gifts or cash gift. It didn`t cost you anything, so why should we all feel obligiated to pay for our plate - you did pay for it!
I`m going to crash all of the sponsored weddings with my friends and family - eat for free, as this is supposed to be an "advertisement" of your caterer, right... Establish if I like it or not, and leave. I will thank you before I leave, of course, take some of the business cards.... But I will not feel obligated to give you a gift nor feel bad that I came, as you did not feel bad for asking for sponsorships - so I won`t feel bad for coming to your weddings. That way the businesses that sponsored you will truly have a real advertisment - as I will now know what everything looked and tasted like. That would be considered a true advertisement - who`s with me?
So when and where is the next wedding - you can count me in!!

Cathys you sound very dum.Iwish you would crash my wedding.That would be the last thing you would do.

Really? Are you having a sponsored wedding too? I`d like to stop by and see what it is you`d do. I didn`t threaten anyone, you have. Let`s see how far you`re willing to take it. I just want to give these businesses that would advertise a fair chance - as for the freeloaders, they don`t deserve gifts as they didn`t pay for anything, so they have money to spend now. What did I do wrong, would you have prefered that I said, I`m coming to your wedding? I wouldn`t cause an chaos - I`m not rude.

Ok.. We all know by now that more then 95% of the people here are against sponsered weddings, and you have stated your reasons(and on occasion, been rude... Both sides of the debatehas been)
But if someone wants to try and have a sponsered wedding.. Let them.. All they have to do it go and ask the businesses if they will sponser them and the worst they can say is no. ... Live with it already!!... Its not up to you what these people do.... Its not your wedding.

Cathy S, I don`t understand how you are connecting gift-giving and weddings. Gifts are given in congratulations and celebration of a couple who are getting married. They are also given to help the couple start their life together. They are not payment for a good time and expensive food.

That`s not true, and the majority of brides on this site know it. I have heard from more and more brides that the only reason they are inviting certain people or so many to their weddings are because of the kind of gift they`re going to give. Are you going to tell me that if no one brought a gift to your wedding you wouldn`t be upset? Maybe they can`t afford a gift - but they wanted to enjoy themselves at your wedding. And why would we splurge the way that we do? None of this should be an issue - we would do it at a regular restaurant that can accomodate so many people, but most us you expect something back, that`s why you want to get the $50-$100 per person hall. Don`t try to feed us BS! So I have to say I think I agree with Cathy S.

I know that I will be receiving gifts, because I have family and friends who love me and want to give me a good start in my life. I do not expect the gifts, and they honestly have taken very little of my thoughts. I am having the wedding that I am because it is how my fiance and I want to celebrate. It has nothing to do with the gifts we receive. In the wedding you are thinking of, there are no gifts at all, but payment for your "guests" food and fun. That is way to cynical for me and any of my family and friends.

I would hate to have businesses do advertising at my wedding. That would take all the romance and meaning out of the day. There is enough advertising and marketing in this world already.

I have never heard of a sponsered wedding before these boards. I have heard of sponsored events for charity purposes before though. If I was a guest at one of these weddings, I would feel very offended if it was a sales pitch for all of the companies. I don`t care where you bought your dress, who`s jewelry you are wearing or who cooked the food. If I want to know, I will ask. As a guest, I am there to enjoy the atmosphere and festivities. I am not there to purchase anything nor am I there to choke on the advertisments.
As for the gift thing. You won`t know in advance if it is a sponsored wedding to not bring a gift. I agree that gifts are not to be expected, but so many of us do. The reply before this one makes a perfect point, many people are invited to a wedding not for their company, but for their expected generosity.
Do whatever makes you happy, it`s your day. But for myself, we have saved for years to afford the wedding we wanted without going into debt or skimping on extras. That is what makes me happy.

I can`t stand the idea myself. My fiance and I dont have spare cash. We`re getting a little help from his parents but other than that we`re going ultra-simple. Our moms are helping me make my outfit (we have a hippy theme so I`m having a peasant blouse and skirt). We`re doing the whole thing at my church so that wont be expensive. It is out doors but I think the church will let us use their chairs (We may have to rent chair covers, dont know on that yet) and we`re going to have an arch of daisys...not sure if we`ll be making that ourselves or renting. Everything we`re doing is simple like that.....I just need to trim the guest list

I really don`t like the idea either. For me it cheapens the whole idea of a wedding for me. His parents are giving us a chunk of cash to use however we wish and we are picking up the tab for everything else. We`ve been engaged for over a year and have had th etime to look for amazing deals piece by piece, my faves are the auction websites (we all the know the one we see on TV every 10 minutes, this board erases non advertisers), my dress was the most expensive and was purchased using a chance cash win in Reno, with $53 to spare. My future sister in law is helping me with the flowers and bouquets with flowers purchased from our local farmers market. We thought about renting an arch, but loved the idea that if we bought one we could keep it and always be able to look in our backyard at the roses growing over "our" arch. Most were unaffordable for us so we purchased a brand new one for $5 at a flea market and spray painted it white. We have a few months before the wedding still and we planted the arch in large rectangular planters to anchor and planted morning glory (a very fast growing vine with big flowers) on either side. Everything is going to be held in one place, a private garden with small waterfall. By doing it this way we have saved a ton of $$ on decorations and so on.
I think if I knew that I was going to a sponsored wedding, I`d stay home. I don`t like the idea of feeling like we are at the Bridal Fair with sellers hawking their goods and handing out cards.

I`d never heard of this idea either until now. I guess it depends on who`s sponsoring it??? If it`s family and friends who appreciate you can`t afford a wedding - then why not. Sponsoring doesn`t necessarily mean advertising. I sponsor my neighbours kids all the time when they do a `sponsored` school walk or silence etc. Sponsored by businesses would set the wrong ambience - I would feel as if I was holding a conference rather than a wedding.

But, if it works for them then good luck - each to their own eh!

How many of you have actually been to a sponsored wedding? There are, as in EVERYTHING, different degrees and you can certainly take things to extremes and make them tacky.

If I chose to have a local vineyard provide wines for my reception and they agree to provide them to me for free or at a reduced cost in exchange for a mention on my wedding home page and their logo and a thank you printed (as in Thanks to Vineyard Y for providing wine) on the wine list (which will be at the bar and describes each of the wines so my guests will be able to make the best choice) -- it isn`t turning it into a carnival adventure.

DJ and bands routinely advertise on their equipment or table -- nothing garish, but mentioning them on the webpage for a fee reduction wouldn`t bother me either.

A close family friend is a professional photographer and will do my photos as her gift to me. She does stunning photos and I will definitely include the link to her website on my webpage -- even though it isn`t a "sponsorship" deal.

Banners would be out of place, but I see no problem with working a deal in exchange for discrete references -- I come from a large extended family and allowing discrete sponsorship will enable me to include all of the important friends and family rather than creating an A or B guest list. My family and friends would rather be included with sponsorship than cut from the guest list because of finances.

I`m not sure where anyone ever got the idea that the price of the wedding paid should be equivilent to a gift given. It isn`t. Gifts should be given based on your relationship with the bride and groom and your financial situation -- they are not entrace fees to the wedding. My guests will be invited and their presence cherished regardless of whether or not they bring a gift or not. If a guest chooses not to bring a gift because I got the wine at less then full price, that is their choice, I will welcome them to share in my happiness anyway -- since I am hosting the reception to share my joy with them, and it shouldn`t matter how much I did or did not spend to host them.

Cathy S.

By your reasoning, if my parents entirely pay for my wedding, I ALSO shouldn`t receive gifts since *I* wouldn`t be paying for it. Gifts are the least important part of a wedding -- anyone who thinks otherwise is getting married for the wrong reason.

My wedding won`t be elaborate or ritzy, but it will include everyone who is important to me, gift or no.

Brides and Grooms have had sponsored weddings for years -- it was just usually the parents or other relatives doing the sponsoring.

Why are you ladies so mean about sponsorship? If you think it is a tacky idea, then you don`t do it...don`t dog someone else who finds that to be a viable option.
I, like many of you, am working hard to pay for my own wedding (but then again, I wouldn`t have the guts to ask companies to give me anything), but if I had any suggestions for those wanting a sponsored wedding, I`d offer it and not flame it. I know we are all stressed about planning our weddings, but let`s be kind to our fellow brides to be.

Message to Maggie,

I know of an easy way to get your castle cake for a great price.Do not let the baker know it is a wedding cake, fib a bit and tell them it for your child`s or niece`s 1st brthday party and that you can`t afford much, but she loves Cinderella and you really, really, want to get her a Cinderella castle cake. My sister just did the castle cake for my niece`s bday last year and it was very affordable, but when my cousin went to the same bakery for a castle wedding cake it was 3x the price.

You will still be able to get it decorated in any colors you wanted to and save a bundle. If it`s feasable for you, you can also have them make the castle for 1/2 the amount of guest you are having and a sheet cake or 2 in the kitchen to be served after the cake has been cut and served. No one will Know the difference. The sheetcake will have the same fillings and frostings, just not elaboratly decorated. I saved over $200 doing this with my butterfly wedding cake 2 weeks ago. No one knew and everyone loved the flavors.

Sponsored weddings are a great way for people to have a more elegant wedding than they could otherwise afford. I think most of you are jealous at the idea that you have or will be spending all of your savings to have your wedding.
I have a small Event/Wedding Planning company, and I often sponsor weddings as a form of advertising. I am not trying to become a large household name, or work directly with famous or rich people. My entire mission is to assist low to moderate income brides with the wedding of their dreams for under $5000. I often "sponsor" weddings as a way of giving back, and also to let those in my community know that not everyone in the wedding industry is here to take advantage of them.
I enjoy putting a smile on a bride`s face without making her make payments to her credit cards for the next 5 years!!
Don`t be so harsh on everyone, you never know someone`s circumstance.

Hey Meg,
In response to the message about the hurricane lanterns...I have been looking for some, so if you`re serious about getting rid of those (depending on when your date is) just let me know!!!!!!!

I was intrested in finding out how I would go about getting my wedding sponsored....what do I do? I really want to have the wedding of my dreams. Thank You