If you're a dog lover, you can now dress your dog in a wedding dress for your big day.

Seriously.

There's even advice available online for what kind of dress your dog should wear. f the dress has lots of layers, make sure the dog will be in air-conditioning if it's a summer wedding; consider matching white panties for a short dress; remember the veil may not be include; and if you're dog isn't used to wearing clothes, consider a simple fitted top and a barette instead.

Seriously.

Yup, Ed and I sent out the invitations Monday. Now, if either one of us bails, we actually have to call people and cancel the wedding.

We sprung for some extras on the invitations, including having our return addresses printed on just about everything we possibly could. I will say, it saved us a lot of time, not having to write our address over 100 times. It was definitely $25 well spent.  It took Ed and I three hours working together to assemble and address the invitations.

A couple of things I didn't know:

-If you have your invitations printed, they will likely come with directions as to how to assemble and properly address the envelopes. I didn't know this mainly because the directions were on the bottom of the box. I didn't actually find them until invitation 92.

- Which brings me to the next thing I didn't know: You're supposed to address the inside envelope as well as the outside. Ooops. My apologies to all those guests who have unaddressed inside envelopes. I hope you'll still reply.

- I did manage to put enough postage on. Word to the wise: Most invitations take 59 cents to mail, because they're over the standard one ounce. If you mail them out with a 42-cent stamp, you're going to get them all back.

- Also, there's an orfer to how things are placed in the envelope. Another whoops. I thought I could just wing it.

So if you're learning from my example and want to assemble your pieces according to proper ettquette, check out this site. It's got all the info you need.

However, some people think you won't need it very long. Wedding e-vites are becoming more and more popular. I think this is fine for a casual wedding or a wedding of friends. I like it because I don't have to wonder if the invitation actually arrived. However, my 80-year-old aunt isn't exactly online all the time. It depends on your family though, Ed's 80-year-old mom loves the Internet. 

Also, don't forget to check out Brides.com's blog this week. Vera Wang is guest blogging until June 27. So if you want the queen of bridal's advice or thoughts on how to make your wedding special, check it out. So far she's blogged about picking a wedding dress and registering for gifts. 

Vera Wang at work. Check out her guest blog this week. 

I recently read an article on wedding talk at work. It was definitely an eye-opener, in terms of who to invite and how much to share.

In a nutshell, I chose to invite everyone in my department, but not the company, seeing as our company is REALLY big. There are a few more that I would have liked to invite, but where do you stop? And how do you keep people from being offended? I figured my department would make a clear cut-off point.

What I didn't realize, which the article points out, is you shouldn't share too many details about your wedding with co-workers. It might lead them to believe they're being invited, since there's an expectation that if you're sharing this much with them, they're close enough to share your big day as well. And that can leave people feeling left out.

You're also obligated to invite spouses, finaces and live-in partners to your wedding, even if you haven't met your co-workers' better halves. That's according to Emily Post. I pretty much followed that rule for all invitations. If I had to write "and guest," I simply left it off. That's led to a little confusion from people who assumed I made a mistake, but at least two friends said they were happy to be relieved of the pressure of finding a suitable date and knowing that they wouldn't be the only single at the reception.

For a little fun this weekend, check out your wedding horoscope. It's  based on a new book, "Never Throw Rice at a Pisces," which offers an astrology guide to planning your wedding. This excerpt will tell you exactly what kind of bridesmaid matches your sign. Have a good weekend!

So Ed and I decided to have a sand ceremony as part of our wedding. The idea is that once we take our vows, we will each pour different colors of sand into a glass jar. Ed's children will also add their choice of sand to symbolize our blended family. The the jar is sealed and kept as a keepsake.

Never one to wax sentimental over things like my own wedding (thank goodness Ed has a sense of humor), Ed and I were at a second-hand shop, when I saw a cheese shaker. The old-fashioned kind that you see in Italian restaurants. 

I looked at Ed. He smiled. He said he could definitely seal up the holes so the sand won't fall out. He's a very handy guy.

So we bought a $3 cheese shaker that will become the container in our sand ceremony.

And that is one of the many reasons why I'm marrying Ed.

So ed and I decided to go with the band. Joe, one ofThe Foggy Duo called us last night at home. He seemed really motivated and was excited to play for us. He gave us his home phone number, home e-mail and said he'd be willing to help us in any way he could. I can't help but appreciate the motivation. As a bride, I'm drawn to the vendors who seem excited about my wedding and are willing to work with me and even offer advice. I've never been married before so I like the vendors that are willing to say "Well, this usually work," then back off and let me make the decision.

So Ed and I will be sending out our invitations soon and things will be on their way.

I'm in a bit of a quandry.

I'm getting cold feet . . . about the DJ.

You see, it's like this: About a year ago, I went away for the weekend with a friend to Hampton Beach. We were just kicking around and we ended up at a small bar in the basement of a building listening to this band, The Foggy Duo. We had a blast. Thy got the crowd involved in the show, played songs we knew, and even had the audience come up and play the drums.

I had just gotten engaged at the time, so with wedding on the brain, I asked for their card. They're actually an offshoot of a larger band, Beyond The Pale. Both are Irish bands, and the Duo plays acoustic covers of popular music as well.

Fast forward a few months and Ed has booked a DJ. I then come across their card and, thinking that they're way too expensive, I talk myself out of contacting them. But they're on my mind.

What's the harm in asking, I argue with myself? (No, I do not have a mental disorder, I just talk to myself a lot) So I e-mail them. While Beyond The Pale is out of the question financially, I find that the Duo is willing to play the wedding and will cost $50 LESS than the DJ.

I really enjoyed them, but I'm wondering, can two people get a crowd of 150 going with acoustic music? They did great in the bar, and my friend and I remember the show as the high point of our vacation.  But people can't request any songs -- the rap-lovers are out of luck.

I checked into the question a bit online -- the consensus seems to be that bands work harder to get the crowd going but DJs have a wider selection.

What do you think? DJ or band? Post a comment and let me know what you'd do. In the meantime, take a look at the Duo.

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Here's a great article on how going non-traditional can save you big money. While, not everyone wants to get married on Halloween, I definitely think there are plenty of ways to use holidays, events and just general creative thinking to save yourself some money -- if you're willing to let go of the idea of a princess wedding. If you're committed to walking down the aisle on white, what tips do you have to save money? Post a comment!

One thing Ed and I did was have out invitations printed at a local Paper Store, rather than by a professional printer. We probably cut the price in half and we just got the invitations yesterday -- they look great! There's also invitation kits that allow you to pront your own invitiations off your home computer.

Basically, you have to find the things you can compromise on and trim there.