While many couples are seeing themselves, as well as the grooms family contributing to todays weddings - father and mother of the bride traditionally still see this day as a huge investment.April 7, 2008 -- Philadelphia, PA - With all the talk these days about the “R” word and what is happening to the economy and our spending habits – talk for many also turns to the cost of weddings. Hopefully those of you planning for the big day have been stashing away some savings preparing for the occasion. “Families with daughters -or sons- who are 20something have hopefully given this matter some thought along the way” says professional wedding consultant Mark Kingsdorf, owner of the Philadelphia based Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants.While many couples are seeing themselves, as well as the grooms family contributing to today’s weddings – father and mother of the bride traditionally still see this day as a huge investment. “Hiring a Professional Wedding Consultant is more important now than ever” says Kingsdorf. “Families struggling to make their dollars go farther for the wedding need someone experience to help direct the planning.”While some people see a consultant as a luxurious expense Kingsdorf sees himself as an investment in savings toward the bottom line. Helping couples save time during the research can be seen as investment in having time together, and having a wedding consultant there for the big day an investment in the peace of mind knowing that things will run well. Kingsdorf sees the bigger picture as a financial savings – “people will need more guidance now than ever, finding the right wedding professionals and negotiating contracts to “trim out the fat” are part of what we can offer families”.Other areas an experienced consultant can assist with are advice on trimming that ‘ever expanding” guests list, ways to find focal points that will still ‘wow’ guests and not break the bank, and getting the biggest bang for your buck when wining and dining your guests.Many people are still stretching to do big weddings for appearance sake- “business owners and those in upper management have a lot of business relations on that guests list- trimming the wedding too much may show them that business is bad” says Kingsdorf. It can also dampen some of those relationships if you find the need to cut them off the guest lists all together.Working with an experienced consultant can help finesse some of the details to make the wedding look luxurious while actually trimming some of the expense.The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants is a full service Philadelphia based wedding consulting, design and coordination. Owner Mark Kingsdorf is a nationally recognized expert in wedding planning, etiquette and design- he has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, the Style Network’s “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?” and HGTV’s “Ultimate Wedding Guide”. Kingsdorf is available as a featured speaker for wedding and special events industry trade shows, as well as bridal events.