When planning your perfect wedding, Gulf Shores beach weddings are the best for those magic moments to start your married bliss. Nothing can compare with Alabama’s Gulf Shores beach weddings when it comes to letting the world go by and indulge in a tropical paradise.

Special offers abound when it concerns Gulf Shores beach weddings. There are many packages to choose from to suit any budget. The unbelievably white powdery sand beaches and emerald blue waters makes you forget the world and lets you focus on your loved one alone for that magic moment.

Gulf Shores beach weddings make you enjoy your honeymoon to the fullest. You can easily go to nature trails and commune with Mother Nature by watching shore birds peek at sea shells or going on a deep-sea fishing boat that you can charter at very reasonable rates.

Once done, you can enjoy any of the championship golf courses located nearby. If you are one of those history buffs, you can opt to visit the nearby Fort Morgan which saw an important battle during the American Civil War. That is one way to combine sightseeing, history and culture in one go.

Gulf Shores beach weddings provide ultimate privacy whenever you want to. Being a newly wed couple, you can hie off to one of the numerous wildlife trails or rent a beach house exclusively. For total enjoyment, it is best to book for a week’s stay so you can do all the things you have ever wanted.

The best in Gulf Shores beach weddings allow you to let loose your inner being, make you savor the companionship of your very special loved one and slow down life itself to let you rediscover your wonderful self. You can plan your Gulf Shores beach weddings by ordering a vacation guide in advance and see what life really has to offer you: the best in everything you can imagine.

You can book your guests at your Gulf Shores beach weddings in any of the local hotels or the local branch of national hotel and motel chains. There are also many beach front condo units available at affordable rates for your close family members. That way, Gulf Shores beach weddings are a family vacation outing too. There is probably nothing more you can ask in terms of accommodations.

The bad economy should not weigh you down when it comes to Gulf Shores beach weddings. The best hotels offer a fourth night free (that means you need to book for a minimum 3-days’ stay). Anyway, when you book a room, you get the entire beach free! Other hotels require only two days and you get the third day entirely free with a lot of freebies to go along with it like free tickets to the zoo.

After setting the wedding date and tentative location, the next important decision is choosing your wedding invitations.  With a such a wide variety of wedding invitation  styles and price ranges, this decision can sometimes be overwhelming.  Here are a few ideas to help you choose the perfect wedding invitation for your big day.

How many people to invite.
You may not have specific numbers yet, but you should be able to set a number range of guests you expect to invite, such as fewer than 100 or between 200 to 300.  The  bride and groom each may have different ideas of how they picture their wedding day so it is very important to communicate your wishes and ideas regarding a large  wedding (with many guests) or small wedding (family and a few close friends).  With this guest estimate in mind, you will be able to decide on a budget for your wedding  invitations.

Budget.
When estimating the cost of wedding invitations, setting aside about 3% of your total wedding budget would be an adequate amount.  This means if you have budgeted  $20,000 for your wedding, you are able to spend up to $600 for your wedding invitations.  Costs for wedding invitations can range anywhere from $1,000 and up per 100  invitations on the high end or as little as $70 per 100 invitations on the low end.

Plan ahead, order early.
It’s good to start early when choosing wedding invitations.  You and your partner will need time to research and discuss the various choices available for your invitations.  If  you look early enough, you may even have time to request samples from various companies.  Ordering your wedding invitations  at least 6 months in advance will give you a  cushion of time to allow for printing of the invitations and correction of any errors that may occur in printing.  You also need to account for the time it takes to assemble your  invitations and mailing them out to give sufficient time for a response.  Plan on ordering 20 to 25 extra invitations in case they are needed because of mistakes in addressing  the invitations or if you find you need to add additional guests to the list.

Wedding invitation types.
There are three or four different types of stationery that are popular with most couples choosing wedding invitations.  Prices for these various types of stationery vary widely  because of the way the invitations are made.  The following are some common types of stationery used for wedding invitations:

Thermography.  This type of wedding invitation is relatively inexpensive, popular and easy to find.  This type of invitation can be used for a casual wedding.  Thermography  creates the illusion of raised text through a printing process that heats the ink and resin chemical in a combination that causes the printed text to appear raised while the  paper beneath it looks smooth.  Because of the heating process involved in creating this type of invitation, the proper combination of paper and ink must be used.

Offset Printing.  This type of wedding invitation uses normal, everyday print.  Although the print may seem common, this type of invitation will still announce your wedding  in an elegant manner.

Engraved.  This type of wedding invitation is usually very expensive and reserved for very formal weddings.  Engraved invitations are usually used to annouce a very  traditional style of wedding.  This type of invitation is costly because an engraver must first carve the image or message into a copper plate, ink the plate, and then push the  plate down onto the paper.  This creates the raised lettering on the paper.  Because of all the steps needed to create this type of wedding invitation, this method is time  consuming and you will need to wait weeks for your invitations to be ready.

Embossed.  Embossed invitations are very classy but also very expensive.  Similar to engraved invitations, the raised print on this type of wedding invitation looks  impressive but may be hard on your budget because of the technique used to create this type of invitation.

Calligraphy.  This handcrafted invitation is elegant and refined but needs to be done by a skilled calligrapher who may be difficult to find.  You can also look for a printer who  creates the look of calligraphy on printed invitations.  Obviously, the printed calligraphy is more affordable than the hand-written calligraphy but may not be as elegant as  the hand-written one.

Once you have decided on your wedding invitations, make sure you order all the wedding stationery you will need, such as response cards and thank you cards, together for  uniformity.

Choosing your wedding invitations should be an exciting and fun task in preparation for your big day.  Keep in mind some of the ideas discussed above and choosing your  invitations will be a bit easier.