design them using eInvite’s were there for the picking. (Note that
free Web service. varieties may change.)
Wedding
smarts
To get started, visit costco. For those partial to exotics, costco.com’s bulk
com and click on “floral & tropicals include bird of paradise, ginger, Spanish
events,” then “invitations & pineapple and anthurium. They make the perfect
announcements” and “Wed- tie-in for couples planning a Hawaiian honeymoon.
ding Invitations.” The beauty of these programs (sorry, not cur-Costco’seight Print Shop rently offered in Alaska and Hawaii) is that
and Copy Centers, located in the flowers are shipped directly to the wedding or
select West Coast warehouses rehearsal site.
and Costco Business Centers, Roses in many colors, as well as masses of sea-provide wedding-invitation sonal varieties, are available at the warehouse floral
printing services, too. coolers. And because the flowers are delivered to the
warehouse for member pickup, there are no ship-
Flowers ping and delivery charges. For details, talk with the
One place couples-to-be floral merchandiser found at each floral cooler.
can save money is through
Costco’s online and ware- Photographs and albums
house floral programs. Costco’s 1-Hour Photo department is a dream
What could be easier than come true for engaged couples. Digital photos, up-
going to costco.com, clicking loaded and ordered on the Costco Photo Center on
onthe“floral & events” section costco.com, are ready for pickup within an hour.
and then “wedding floral col- Photo announcement cards, photos on CDs, reprints
lections?” There you’ll find and enlargements are also available. (Tip: Place Fuji
stunning, premade wedding one-time-use cameras on tables at the reception.
IRIDIO PHO TOGRAPH Y floral arrangements for a frac- This is a fun way to get more pictures of guests danc-
tion of what is normally charged. Each natural ing and celebrating the bigoccasion.)
flower collection is created by a designer accredited A hip approach to digital-image wedding
by the American Institute of Floral Designers. albums is MyPublisher PhotoBooks, a software pro-
Freshness is assured, thanks to a streamlined three- gram. The program is available on costco.com (type
day picking-assembly-shipping policy. “MyPublisher” in the search box). Just download the
Collections come in assorted varieties and de- free MyPublisher BookMaker software; select pho-
signs to match many moods, from formal to casual. tos from your hard drive, CD or digital camera; then
(I’m wild about the Simply Elegant Wedding White organize, edit and lay out your choices, place your
Rose Collection, Item #902615. Pearl pins peek out order, and you’ll receive your customized album in
of the rose bridal bouquet, and tiny white ‘Million about a week. (Tip: Order additional albums for the
Star’ gypsophila flowers surround the matching weddingpartyasthank-yougifts.)
beribboned boutonnieres.) Each grouping usually
includes an impressive bridal bouquet, plus harmo- For the honeymoon
nizing toss-away bouquet, maids’ bouquets, corsages For a honeymoon a little bit out of the ordinary,
and flower-girl petals. (For further information, call consider Costco Travel’s always-expanding travel
toll-free 1-888-620-8895.) repertoire. These include specialty boutique hotels
Creative wedding do-it-yourselfers may want at some of the world’s most romantic destinations,
to consider the online bulk flower groupings. I found luxury cruises, mountain lodges, condominiums,
a wide array of romantic flowers suitable for wed- RVs, Grand Canyon river rafting, over-water bunga-
dings, in 25- to 150-count bundles. My favorites— lows in Tahiti, Disneyland (perhaps the Cinderella
calla lilies, gerbera daisies, alstroemerias, Oriental wedding package?) and even a private island in Fiji.
lilies, premier roses, sunflowers and hydrangeas— For more information, pick up a Costco Travel
brochure, found in warehouse kiosks, or go to
costco.com and click on “Travel.”
Costco flower power
FLOWERS
COSTCO.COM DELIVERY COSTCO
FEE SAVINGS
Rose & Star Collection $899.99 none 19%
from costco.com delivered
Exact package from $1, 015 $55
online competitor
Prices based on surveys taken in March 2006.
Don’t forget car rentals and travel insurance. To
book, call Costco Travel toll-free at 1-877-849-2730.
Wedding by Costco? There’s only one correct response to such a question: that’s to joyfully say,
“I do.” C
For more Costco wedding resources and tips, visit
costco.com, click on “Costco magazine,” then
“Buying Smart.”
MEMBER Becki Fowler
is one smart Costco bride,
as shown by our recent
correspondence.
Hi Pat,
I had to plan our wedding by long distance. A couple of weeks before the date,
we found out our caterer
was moving. My soon-to-be
husband and I discussed
our options and decided that
Costco was our best hope
in rescuing this stressful
situation.
We ordered meat platters, veggie trays and sandwiches, as well as some
frozen lasagna that we put
directly into a rented chafing
pan. We grabbed a case of
champagne on the way out
and we were set!
The trays were beautiful
and we had compliments all
night on the food. Everyone
was surprised to hear our
wedding was catered by
Costco!—Becki Fowler
Dear Becki,
What a great Costco
story. I hope you remembered to purchase a Costco
cake, too. With fancy wedding cakes running up to
$15 (or more) per slice, I
always suggest buying a
smaller wedding cake for
the cutting ceremony and
then serving one of Costco’s
made-fresh-daily sheet cakes
to guests. You’ll save lots
(and lots) of money and time.
Or purchase three Kirkland Signature All-American
four-layer chocolate cakes.
Place the cakes on stands at
different levels and arrange
in a spiral-staircase design.
Total cost is less than $45
and the cakes serve more than
60 guests ( 5 ounces each).
Don’t forget to pick up
the champagne at Costco.
—Pat
h
