When thinking about ways to save money …

We knew that having little gifts on the reception tables isn’t a deal breaker for our guests.  When thinking about little gifts to do for the tables, we weren’t simply going to go out and buy something just to put it on the table.

However, I have seen some very cute ideas done by other brides and grooms.

I have seen the koozies that read “To have and to hold and to keep a beer cold” which I personally find quite entertaining.  I have also seen a candy bar, which had “specialty ingredients” which involved cute things such as 3 cups love, 2 teaspoons of trust, etc.

These are fun ideas, but they just simply were not within our budget.

Posted under Uncategorized

My main words of advice; call around for prices.

If you have the ability, design your own!  You will save a lot of money.

Simply take your design to a local print/office supply store, and they can make you the required amount on card-stock.  If you would like them too, they can also cut them to the correct size.

My biggest advice: Before cutting the invitations, make sure you can find the correct size envelope.  This is a situation we ran into.

Our invites were too small for the envelopes, but “Oh well. What do you do?”

Posted under Uncategorized

Some people want real. Some people want fake.

Something I found out is that you have to ask the church and hall for their criteria first and foremost before you make any final decisions.  The next step is write yourself out a list of what you need flowers for; for example:

Bridal Bouquet

7 bridesmaid Bouquets

Bouquet to toss

Flower Girl

Grooms Boutonnière

6 Groomsmen boutonnieres

2 Dads Boutonnières

2 Grandpas

Boutonniere or wristlet for

2 Moms

3 or 4 Grandmas

2 Readers

1 Book Signer

Flowers w/ wine bottle for centerpieces on tables

Flowers for altar of church

Flowers on head table

Flowers by sign in book

We were lucky to have a wonderful aunt who is a retired florist and offered to make all of our flowers.  All we paid for were the supplies.  Collect your resources and make it a fun-filled family event.  We took a Saturday and went to various hobby stores.  We wanted to make sure we went on the Saturday that had the 50% off on all flowers sale.

Always look for the sale!

Posted under Uncategorized

Some say that the grooms aren’t as involved in the planning as the brides, but registering was the perfect blend.

It was fun to take a night and “dream shop.” We chose various stores and we signed up for the scanner.  My advice to all brides: Definitely let the groom use the zapper. Don’t get me wrong. I stole it a few times and had fun, too, but it is a ongoing toy for them to play with.

We took the unorthodox approach.  We didn’t have a list.  We just simply walked through each aisle and if we saw something we thought we’d like, we registered for it.  Our plan was that after we went through the entire store we would sit at home online and narrow items out if we needed to.

We took each moment and laughed.  We registered at 3 stores, and when we were at the last store, I had a moment where I could tell I was done.  I looked at Joe and said, “I’m not having fun anymore, let’s go home!”  And we did.

This was not something that we were going to stress about.  The whole point is that it should be fun.

Posted under Uncategorized

This turned out to be a very fun event.

The big guy and I started looking early.  We knew it wasn’t going to be the easiest thing in the world, because my ring did not come with a wedding band so we’d have to find one to fit perfectly.  Also, Joe being a typical man, has never contemplated the type of ring he’d want.

We went to the store in St Louis where Joe had bought my engagement ring.  There is a lot to be said about working with the right employee.  Some people just don’t understand what you are looking for.  In that situation leave, come back and have someone else help you.

We spoke with a woman that made the experience enjoyable.  She found my ring in 2 minutes, and then we were on to Joe’s.  She showed him things he would have never contemplated, which made it easier for him to understand what he really wanted.  We knew it would be hard for us, and we’d have to special order for him because his size is anywhere from a 14-15 because he has jammed all his fingers from basketball.  We knew we had to find a ring that could be resized, which eliminated various types of metals.

We found his ring within about half an hour, and we marked this adventure off our list.

Posted under Uncategorized