The NY Times also mentions a cool website called Bravo Brides. This is a fantastic forum for brides-to-be who want to save money by purchasing pre-owned stuff, and brides-who-were who want to get some money back on wedding items they no longer need. You can buy or sell anything wedding-related, from designer wedding gowns to groom’s attire, veils, shoes, jewelry, candles, isle runners, ring pillows, flower girl baskets, place card holders, cake toppers, centerpieces, wedding planning guides, party and shower items, and much more!

They also have listings for local vendors and wedding tips to help you save even more money on your wedding planning needs!

Why choose Bravo Brides? Here are their reasons!!

	We’re the premier one-stop resource for all your wedding needs
	You won’t find bicycles or fish tanks on BravoBride. Instead, we focus completely on pre-owned designer wedding dresses, jewelry, accessories, ceremony and reception items, wedding favors—everything you need for the perfect wedding. Here’s what some of our satisfied customers have to say about their experience with BravoBride.
	It’s easy to find exactly what you need on BravoBride
	With our advanced search features, you’ll find the items you need quickly so you can focus on more important things like deciding on the flavor for your wedding cake. Search for wedding dresses by style, size, designer, or price—to name just some of the options. If you see what you want but aren’t ready to buy, simply add the item to your ‘Favorites’ list to purchase later.
	BravoBride makes selling your items easy
	Listing items for sale and uploading your photos is very simple, there’s no technical knowledge required. We don’t charge any listing fees or commissions so you can sell your item at the best possible price. Your listing stays on the site for 18 months, giving your buyers plenty of time to find and purchase your items. You can upload up to eight images and make three image and text edits after your listing has been posted at no additional cost. It’s easy to track your sales and update your listings.
	We support the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign
	Did you know that heart disease affects more women than cancer? BravoBride is proud to donate a percentage of our proceeds to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign to reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke among women. You can read more about the Go Red for Women Campaign here.
	BravoBride is good for your budget—and for the planet.
	When you shop on BravoBride, you’re not just getting the wedding items you need at a great price. You’re also making the Earth-friendly choice to re-use and pass along. Just a little something extra to be happy about when you walk down the aisle!
	BravoBride offers a range of features no free site or auction site can match. For example:
	Featured Item placement Advanced search capability Multiple photos My Favorite Items section Recommend items to a friend

Whether it’s wedding or bridal shower invitations, place cards, wedding favors, or thank you cards, consider using rubber stamps on your home-made creation. There is an incredible array of options ranging from classic to whimsical, that will put the perfect finishing touch on your handiwork. Plus, they’re adorable, easy to use and loads of fun!

These tips are from About.com. Check out their site for more info:

Getting started: For inspiration, look through rubber-stamping and card-making magazines, and visit craft stores to look at paper and cardstock first hand. These will provide plenty of inspiration. Remember that greeting card layouts are simple to adapt, therefore a great birthday card layout, for instance, could be adapted to make a great wedding invitation. Make a note of fonts, type faces, and color choices as this will help when choosing or commissioning rubber stamps.

Follow the theme: Pick rubber stamps, inks, papers, and other materials that match or complement your wedding design theme and colors.

Customize: Many companies offer customized rubber stamps that can be personalized with your names and/or design. The design department will work with you to craft an image you love, or you can use a design of your own!

But the best materials: This means looking for products that are of archival quality and that are acid free. Your invitation will look good longer, even after years in your scrapbook! Good supplies are readily available from stamping and craft stores and are becoming very much the standard offering, so it doesn’t have to be expensive. But good quality rubber stamps too, for clear and crisp images.

Practice makes perfect: While it might be extremely tempting to start work straight away creating invitations, it is useful to practice on scrap paper with unfamiliar products first. This will help to avoid any costly mistakes or problems later on.

Envelopes: Your invitations might look fabulous studded with embellishments and adornments, but it does have to fit into the envelope! While it is possible to buy or make small card-sized boxes for heavily adorned cards, they will cost more to produce and send. Make sure you’re cards are not too bulky.

Include Basic Info: They’re going to look great, but don’t forget that the invitation must convey some important information. It is possible to buy rubber stamps that include these headings and then handwriting the relevant information. Alternatives include creating a rubber stamp with all the information or printing theses details from your home computer.

• The names of the couple
• The date of the wedding
• The location and time of the wedding
• The location and time of the reception.
• How to reply

Plan ahead: Make a few spare invitations in case some get lost in the post, or for last minute guests. Plan ahead, particularly when commissioning stamps. Stamping when stressed is not likely to give the best results!

The following delightful stamp images are available at Impress Rubber Stamps:

Check out their “wedding ideas” page for amazingly creative invitations and cards such as this one (bridal shower stamp for sale too):

You can also look at Blossom Stamps on Etsy for unique stamps, stickers, and one-of-a-kind hand carved stamps:

Addicted to Rubber Stamps has some cute bride-themed stamp sets:

From Blockhead Stamps, some gorgeous stamp sets, particularly if you like an Asian theme:

Some pretty finished products, including invitations, place cards, and wedding favors:

The theme of the Man Shower: the manlier the better! At Nick Dekker’s shower, guests ate from old license plates, participated in a nail pounding contest and were judged on how manly they wrapped their gifts, most of which were tools. (How does one wrap a gift man-style? “There was a lot of duct tape,” recalled one participant. Another guest built a box out of plywood!) Another such party included football, drinking games and playing Rock Band, a video game where players perform in virtual bands

Man showers are voted to be “a whole lot of fun” and a great way to bond with the guys, as well as receiving manly gifts that will help the groom build his new home (literally and figuratively!)

Showers geared to grooms are a growing trend in the wedding industry. Grooms today are increasingly involved in wedding planning, are arena that used to belong exclusively to the bride, along with other female friends and relatives. It’s another example of grooms leaving their stereotypical roles behind, but not to worry! These little parties do not have to be a replacement for the traditional bachelor party. The Man Shower can be regarded as a “precursor,” a chance for the guys to get together and “let off a little steam.”

In addition to that, “They’re wising up to the fact that there are gifts involved,” says Summer Krecke, executive editor of WeddingChannel.com. Football, drinking games, gadgets, tools, pizza, video games… all rolled into one happy afternoon with the guys!

Makes you think that some brides would skip their own wedding showers to go play with the boys!