Budget Bride: v. 1.3

February already?! I better get to blogging!

TIP #3 -- 

DIY (to a point)

WHY: Savings! Savings! Savings! The more money you save on the wedding the more money you have for the honeymoon! I am all about DIY projects BUT keep in mind that if you have TOO much DIY going on it is not worth the stress! I repeat, NOT WORTH IT! Sometimes it IS just better to pay for a service rather than have a headache. Know your personal strengths and weaknesses and how much you will or won't be able to personally take on.

There were 4 major areas that we did ourselves (me & my mom): Flowers, Programs, Headpiece and Invitations. I will discuss Flowers first. Ladies, if you've been looking for a florist you know that flowers are a pretty penny. They are beautiful and completely necessary for your big day however it is not necessary to spend a fortune. I did not do all of the flowers for my wedding, I only did the bridesmaid's bouquets. This was fun however I kept putting it off which was not wise on my part but in the end I'm glad I did it and it saved a lot of $moolah$. I got fake flowers from Hobby Lobby. They had the best selection and their flowers are very life-like. To make bridesmaid's bouquets I purchased fake yellow roses and a fake, green blossom, wire cutters, ribbon to wrap and pearly pins. I also bought a little basket for the flower girl and wrapped the same ribbon around the handle and put fake petals in her basket. In all I spent a little under $100 for flower girl and 6 bridesmaids. You just can't do that at a florist (unless family's in the biz). Also, a little side note here, I had a hard time finding a florist I liked. Mom & I met with a few and I just did not like the work that I saw and I did not like them. Thanks to our caterer & friend who told us about a florist out in Odenville who we went to meet with and I really liked her and I loved her work. I realize that this is a little bit of a drive but it was totally worth it! She knew exactly what I wanted and the arrangements for the church and my bouquet were absolutely perfect! I could not have been happier! Do not just settle for a florist, make sure you find who you like. Also, make sure they have RECENT photos of their work. If all of their photos are outdated it could be a tell-tale sign...

I am definitely for fake flowers to a point. They are great because you can re-use them for other occasions. My cousin got married in May 2007 and they used some fake flowers that were gorgeous that they let us use as well. What a blessing!

CAUTION: If doing flowers yourself it is best to use fake flowers so that you can have them done in advance because you will not want to do them at any point during your actual wedding weekend. Be careful when buying fake flowers! You do NOT want them to LOOK fake and especially not plastic-y. This is a tragedy that is not worth the saving of any amount of money! If you do not have an eye for this or do not have someone who can help it would be better for you to just pay a florist!

*Next DIY project was programs. This is another thing that I am super glad we did and caused no stress! I bought white and 3 different shades of blue cardstock paper and found a really neat bird stamp. Thankfully my dad is "tech-savvy" and found the same bird image online so he just put it in the layout on the computer and we just printed them from his office. Now, I did not include music (because we did not have any special music in our ceremony) or anything like that on our programs, it was basically just the wedding party listed. They were very simple yet perfect for our wedding but anyone can do these and make them look however you want! Big money saver here!

CAUTION: When doing programs yourself make sure you include all of your wedding party. We printed all of our programs and Mom suddenly realized we forgot to put the flower girl's name on there, sorry Mal!

*Thirdly, a fun DIY project for me was creating my headpiece! I knew from the beginning that I did not want to wear a veil so this was a great alternative! I found a sparkly, and by sparkly I don't mean glittery I mean crystal-y, headband and also bought a broach that was hand-crafted from some lady in the Galleria. I got some jewelry wire and attached the broach to the headband and viola! instant headpiece! I loved it! I was inspired to do this because when I was trying on my wedding dress they gave me a similar headpiece to try on that was $350 because it was made out of swarovsky crystals. It was gorgeous but too much money to spend on something I was just going to wear once. I knew I could do this myself. I also wore it to my bridal tea and it now sits on our dresser by a wedding photo and is beautiful!

*The last DIY project was invitations. This one was a doozy, to say the least. This is also another area where we saved a ton of $! I got the invitations at Michael's and they were on clearance so I spent about $40 for 200 invitations. They came complete with envelopes, RSVP cards and return envelopes. Now, the easy part was printing them at Dad's office. They looked great! The doozy part was addressing all of those envelopes! I will admit, Mom did most, if not all of that, but sealing the envelopes, putting on the stamps and addressing them was extremely time consuming! I wish we would have just paid someone to address them for us but in the end we did save!

*Another small, small task we did ourselves, that I just remembered, was the bubbles. Mom bought boxes of little bubbles and we put yellow and blue ribbon around them. Too easy!

**There were other tasks that Mom & I did not do but that were lovingly done by my aunts and friends! My aunt Nancy rolled and wrapped the silverware with adorable blue & yellow ribbon, the caterer (Tammy) put together a gorgeous flower arrangement for the food table, and my aunts, Nancy & Vickie, along with friend, Tammy, decorated the reception. They did the tables, lighting and all of the other special touches that went in to making it the most beautiful and wonderful day ever. Also, my sweet dad & brothers set up the tables, chairs, etc... It was all that I had dreamed of! I could never thank anyone enough!

Moral of the story: DIY but not too much. You don't want your wedding to look "home-made" or "crafty" and you certainly don't want to add any more stress to your life BUT DIY as much as possible to save! save! save!

Here are lots of pics for you to see the end products:

--L

Book Review: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

This book might have been one of the worst books I have ever read. I had to force myself to finish it, never a good thing. To give a quick synopsis it is about a teenage girl, Lee Fiora, who attends a wealthy boarding school in New England but she is from a middle class family in the midwest and feels out of place. It was her decision to go, she even had to convince her parents to let her, but she constantly wonders why she wanted all of this so badly. She is the protagonist however she is extremely self-absorbed and pities herself constantly making it difficult to be "for" her. In my opinion I would like for the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) to be clearly defined. I want to love to hate the enemy and love to love the good guy. I found myself thinking Lee was stupid and I did not care what she got herself into. I thought all of the negative things that happened to her were well-deserved, which sounds terrible, but seriously this character is annoying!

On top of disliking the main character to the upmost the book was vulgar at times; inappropriate and gross. The author obviously has very different moral and political views than I do which also made me constantly roll my eyes.

I could go on forever about the things I hated but I will make one final point. Lee's family is completely horrid. Yes, she has a stable nuclear family where her parents are still together and her dad has a decent job however her parents have no concept of how to have a functional relationship with their daughter. Ok, let's be real, teenage girls are difficult, I know, I was one but in the same breath her dad is disgusting and does not even begin to try to listen to her. Her mother is totally awkward and is not bold and upfront with Lee. She lets Lee walk all over her emotionally. Lee also has two younger brothers who think she is cool in a distant way because she is not there. Even when she does come home she practically ignores them. They are an awful, disgusting, weak family that does not truly care about each other.

I would recommend to never read this book as it is too long and too obnoxious to waste your time on.

The End.

--L

Budget Bride: v.1.2

Tip #2 --

Complete your registry ASAP!

WHY: Gifts! Gifts! Gifts! We got engaged in November of 2008 and we registered about 3 weeks later. Not only was it super fun but for Christmas all of our gifts came off of our registry! Also, my birthday was 2 months before the wedding & my birthday gifts came from our registry. We then had all of our showers & teas where we received more gifts. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who overwhelmed us with not only their time but also gifts to help us start our family and make a home for ourselves. Since the major holidays have passed there are still minor ones between now & wedding season! Valentine's Day would be a fun one to start with! You & your honey can exchange gifts that are off your registry only. This is what AW & I did for Christmas. There is also Easter & the Easter bunny can always fill your basket up with hangers, door hooks, measuring spoons or a blender!

(*Sidenote: NEWLYWEDS NEED HANGERS! -- Everyone kept asking "What is something you really need?" & I replied, "Hangers!" but alas only one person got us hangers ((Thanks, Steph!)). This is not to say we were not appreciative of every single thing we got but really, newlyweds need things like trashcans and hangers! Practical gifts are the BEST wedding gifts!*)

 Another wonderful aspect about registries is that most places will keep your registry in their system for a while. We registered at BB&B only and they keep your registry in for 2 years! This is great because this Christmas Santa brought me some more of my fabulous Calphalon cookware off my registry; I now have more pots & pans than I do stove eyes, WOOHOO!!!

As I stated we only registered at one store which I personally loved because BB&B has a ton of stuff in all different price ranges plus your registry is online so anyone can view it by going to their website & searching for your name. We had relatives in TN that just went online and our gifts were sent to our home! Super cool! We also did this for some friends of ours who were out of state. Some people would argue that there are not BB&B's in every location but I believe that the online store is the remedy to that. It worked for us also because I didn't have to keep up with matching items for one room from two different stores. My personal opinion is to register at one large, well-known location but I know that this is not the majority's opinion. Just some food for thought...

CAUTION: Do NOT register at stores that are going out of business for the obvious reasons. Also, most places will tell you this, but do not register for items that are on sale or are clearance as they will probably sell quickly and will not be re-stocked by the company. That would be a bummer!

At the end of the day, registering is so much fun! We had an absolutely wonderful experience at BB&B & they have a few hubby gadgets to keep the men happy too. We got most of the items on our registry and we got all of the things we really needed which was such a blessing. So, GO REGISTER!!!

--L

Budget Bride: v.1.1

First of all let me say that of course I think I had the most beautiful wedding ever. It was everything I wanted it to be but it certainly was not without the help of my amazing family! I am truly blessed to have so many aunts, cousins and friends who helped make it a dream come true. Not even to mention my parents and sister who sacrificed so much to make it the absolute BEST day of my life thus far...

I want to share things that I did and that I think most people would find helpful in planning their weddings. Wedding season is right around the corner. I personally believe the year is actually broken down into 3 seasons:

*Football Season (Can I get a BIG ROLL TIDE!!! 13!!!)

*Holiday Season (Christmas is my favorite!!!)

*Wedding Season

So as we approach wedding season let's celebrate! I'm not sure how many of these posts I will do but I hope that you find them helpful & that you gain at least a little peace of mind as the big day approaches!

Wedding Season...Two very exciting words! What emotions do these words evoke in you? Well, if someone you love is getting married you are probably thinking/feeling:

LOVE

HAPPINESS

LAUGHTER

TEARS OF JOY

BEAUTY

FUN

PARTY

HONEYMOON

& perhaps even JEALOUSY

However, if you are a bride or parent of a bride you might be thinking/feeling:

STRESS

RUSHED

SAD

COMPROMISE

CONFUSED

BROKE!!!

Tip #1 --

Take advantage of today's down economy!

HOW: As unfortunate as it is that businesses are closing and people are losing jobs, there is a benefit for consumers. When you and your boyfriend/fiance are seriously ring shopping go to stores that are closing/going out of business. They are simply looking to get rid of their inventory and will reduce prices significantly. Also, don't be afraid to "haggle". Ultimately the ball is in your court in these situations. They are looking to unload inventory and make a profit of any kind. Keep in mind however, that if you do purchase rings, be it engagement or wedding, that if the store is closing you will more than likely have to get them sized at another retailer. We did this with my engagement ring and we even found a retailer that sized it for FREE! Another idea to keep in mind is to purchase wedding rings with engagement rings. This is something I wish we would have thought of. When you are in the store look for wedding bands, as they too will be reduced in price.

CAUTION: Do not order a FUTURE good/service from a company that is going out of business. Last year there were several news reports of brides that had ordered cakes from a company that later went out of business. However, they had already paid them a non-refundable deposit and ended up with no cake(!!!), leaving them scrambling to find another baker! What a nightmare!

--L

Evidence Not Seen - A Book Review of Sorts

This book was by Darlene Deibler Rose. She was a survivor of a Japanese internment camp in World War II. This book was wonderful and so relevant. I could connect with her because she was my age and a newlywed. Also, she was funny and nervous and loved the Lord but she was completely imperfect. She was definitely a modern day Moses. A regular person with an extraordinary purpose. 
  The book begins with Darlene and her new husband, Russell, venturing off to the mission field to be one of the first missionaries in Papa New Guinea. It was on their first wedding anniversary that they set out on this journey and Darlene was 21! 21! Can you imagine having been married for a year and setting out to an uncharted land where everything is unknown? I could not imagine, although I pray that if I was ever called to do that the Lord would give me boldness. Believe me, I would need His courage and it could ONLY come from Him, but back to Darlene... They set out and when they arrive Russell has to hike over mountains to find exactly where the people live and where he will begin to build a home for his new wife. During these excursions they would be separated for months at a time. Graciously the Lord provided a wonderful team of missionaries to encourage young Darlene during their times apart. 
  Not long after their arrival to this very strange and new world WWII begins and their lives are forever changed. I do not want to spoil all that happens to Darlene, I want you to read it for yourself, but I was not able to put this book down! It was inspiring, captivating and totally relevant! The difference between this book and The Hiding Place is that Darlene was a young woman during the war whereas Corrie Ten Boom was in her 50's. Also, Darlene was an American and Corrie was Dutch and Darlene was married, Corrie never married. Do not misunderstand me, The Hiding Place is an absolutely wonderful and inspiring book as well and a classic at that, I personally, was just able to relate better to Darlene. My favorite quote from this book is a rather long one which I have posted on my FB profile http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=58901574#/profile.php?v=info&ref=profile&id=58901574 but I do want to talk about a little snippet of that quote and what it currently means to me and to today's world.

  "Were not these also the characteristics of the godly men and women in the homeland who knew a God whose supply is not modified by the world's economic situation?"

This quote is referring to a missionary campaign that was launched in the Netherlands East Indies in 1929 right in the middle of the Great Depression. "A God whose supply is not modified by the world's economic situation"...How comforting is that? What a brilliantly beautiful reminder for everyone who is currently being affected by today's economy. God will provide. He is not limited as we are. 

  Yesterday at church the Pastor spoke on Hebrews 12:26-29 

²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."^[a] 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

 ²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,²⁹for our "God is a consuming fire."

These words too offer comfort. We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The world around us may completely fall apart but God and His kingdom remain therefore if we are part of His kingdom we too will remain IN HIM - that is the best part, In Him. Just as Darlene recognized that in 1929 during the Great Depression the Lord still provides and shows His glory we too need to remember during this "Great Recession" that the Lord STILL provides and shows His glory to receive more glory! He is the same. The same as the day Hebrews was written, the same as in 1929, the same as in WWII & the same today.

  I highly, highly encourage everyone to read this book! I initially received it 2 years ago at New Years Conference with Campus Outreach and it was not until last month that I read it. Don't wait 2 years like I did! Read it this month! It is an easier read with great human emotion. I literally laughed and cried throughout this book. Please let me know what you think when you read it! I know you cannot read this book and not be touched.
--L