Monday 8 October 2012

Well.. it's been a while!

And not much has changed!

Things we still need to do?

  • Find a JP
  • Find a photographer (John's job)
  • Find a DJ (John's job)

I'm having dreams that we won't get it done on time :(


I think we have our centerpieces down. We went to Dollar Tree and came up with a prototype for our centerpieces


I'm not sure which one I like more :/ We're going to scatter some flower petals on the tables too so it'll look pretty :)

For flowers, we're only going to have the florist do bouquets, corsages and boutonniere. 

Other than that.. I got nothing. However, I think I'm making progress with my weight loss? Yay!
July 2012 (pre-diet)
Oct 2012

I kind of want to do this with my wedding dress. However I have no one near by to help me into my dress and take pics (other then John)! According to their size fitter online, I should be fitting into a 14W now. The dress I tried on was an 18W and I ordered a 16W.




Saturday 11 August 2012

Shoes and accessories!

So... I decided after all that I kind of really don't like the silver shoes I got for the reception. We went to DSW in Boston and had 0 luck today. However, when we got home, I found these lovelies on Amazon! I actually like them even more then the ones I saw in DSW! We're going to go return the other ones tomorrow.

I like! 

Also today, we went to H&M in Boston. I found awesome barrettes for the bridesmaids and I got 6 packs of them ($5.95 each).



I'm thinking something like this for the hair:

These are both really cute! I think something like this will look really nice.

Anyway, that's what I've been up too... Check for updates later!


Friday 10 August 2012

Silly me, I forgot to mention the important stuff

....Like I got my beautiful, shiny, sparkly ring that I absolutely love!!

I wish the picture would actually capture how pretty it is in person....

Progress today

To my surprise, my dress was available today! Also to my surprise, it's kind of big, especially in the chest area.

Also today, Amanda got fitted for her dress and bought it. It looks really cute and I'm happy with my choice of dresses.

Other things I got accomplished today:
*Got the bridesmaids' flip flops (which I don't have a picture of, sorry)
*Picked out bridesmaid shoes. Amanda and I decided on the ones for her, and found another similar pair in case the one's she picked out are unavailable or whatever. I like them!
The shoes Amanda picked out
Other shoes that were cute too! I'm letting my bridesmaids pick between these two, or shoes they can find that are similar.

*I also got my shoes. I got a pair for the ceremony and a pair for the reception.
Ceremony shoes
Reception shoes (except in grey, I want the ivory, so I'm going to hunt around at DSWs until I find Ivory in my color!)

Also today, we got our venue contract! Once we sign it, April 13, 2013 is our day at the Wayside Inn! I also got in contact with Frugal Flowers for a consult for our flowers. Hopefully we'll be able to meet August 21 (I forgot that we were meeting Catie and Andrew on the 20th (which is when she originally wanted to meet) to go to the aquarium)
I'm considering having my cousin do either the bridal makeup or bridesmaid's hair (I'm going to have my regular stylist do my hair, maybe the maid of honors as well). I've asked and am currently waiting for a reply!

Otherwise, no big updates. Thinking about jewelry and going to Frugal Fannies to see what they have. 







Tuesday 7 August 2012

Centerpieces

I have found an idea that I absolutely love for my centerpieces!

(The link to remind myself where I found it!)

I'm thinking incorporating LEDs at the bottom to illuminate it, since the venue doesn't want open flame.. which I think will look cool! Only problem is trying to figure out how to get them to turn on. Hm...

Bonus...
Beautiful card box idea my bridesmaid Amy is going to attempt! I absolutely love it, even if it doesn't have orchids! Also, it kind of matches the sashes I'm thinking of having the girls wear with the dresses.
See, kind of similar! So, if she can get the sangria color and a flower to match the sash, it'll look nice and put together!


Fun with wedding math!

So... wedding venue math. Fun.
All venue information is from here: http://www.wayside.org/files/2012%20Wedding%20Package.pdf
Venue Costs
Since we will be having an afternoon wedding in April, that gives us a charge of $1500 for the main dining room.

Wee will be doing the Mary Martha Dinner which is $59.95/person. So if we have 100 people (which is my goal) the total would be $5995. Plus we need to add a the 18% gratuity... which is $1079.10, making the meal for 100 people $7074.10.

Add the venue, we're looking at $8574.10. Plus apparently there is a $200 bartender fee. Now we're at $8774.10.

If we were to have the wedding at the chapel, that's an extra $750; $9524.10.
If we were to have the wedding in the garden instead, it's an extra $250; $9024.10.

So.. we're looking at somewhere between $9000-$9500, just for the wedding+reception!


I like roses. Of course, they are very expensive. I also like orchids, which I think I might go with since they are less expensive. Plus, it's kind of different.
I have broken down what I need for flowers.
  • 1 bridal bouquet
  • 2 maid of honor bouquets
  • 4 bridesmaid bouquets
  • 2 corsages
  • 9 boutonnieres 
  • 2 flower girl bouquets
  • 0 centerpieces because I plan on doing those myself
  • 1 place card bouquet



Mistine Orchid corsage. Really pretty, right?
And the bridal bouquet, really pretty! Ok, I think I'm sold on these orchids! So... how much do they cost?

Frugal flowers has four different packages and an a la carte menu to add whatever you need.


Dendrobium Orchids (A la carte)
Bridal Bouquet $80
Maid of Honor Bouquet $60
Bridesmaid Bouquet $40
Flower Girl (petite) Bouquet $20
Corsages $30
Boutonnieres $10
Centerpieces $40
Altar Piece (place card table) $90

So... this is the cheapest:
Let's Tie the Knot $295.00                    From A la Carte
1 Bridal Bouquet                        (1)          +$0
1 Maid of Honor Bouquet          (2)          +$60
2 Corsages                                (2)          +$0
4 Boutonnieres                          (9)           +$10*5=$50
1 Altar Piece (place card table)  (1)          +0
0 Bridesmaids                            (4)          +$40*5=$200
0 Flower girls                             (2)          +$20*2=$40

So, for my bouquet, I'm thinking of having the Sonia color since it'll pop out and will coordinate with the bridesmaids. For the bridesmaids, I'm thinking of the Mistine color so it doesn't blend in too much with their dresses. Flower girls... I'm going to go with the Sonia color. Corsages and boutinnieres? Either one. Doesn't matter. Though, I might end up going all mistine if they don't let me change around the colors for the package.

So... the total for this + a la carte is.... $645 ($295+$60+$50+$200+$40)

All the other packages include centerpieces which I don't need since I'm making my own.

On to photography... John's brother is friends with a photographer... he's given us a quote between $500-$800, which I think is pretty damn good. 

John's putting us at a budget of $15,000, so if we add the total of the most expensive venue, flowers, and most expensive photography.. we're at $10,696.10, giving us $4030.90 for the DJ and any other expenses that may come up. We also need to think about invitations, which I think we'll do ourselves, instead of getting them professionally done.

Any other expenses I'm forgetting about?




Wedding..

So... I decided to create a blog to get my thoughts down as to what I want for my wedding!

I have some of the basics down...
*I have my dress (and I love it!)
The front of the dress!
The back of the dress!

*I have the dress my bridesmaids are wearing
*I know who's in my bridal party
*I have a place and date
April 13, 2013 at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA

*I have an idea of who I'm going to do my flowers (Frugal Flowers in Sudbury)

What I need to figure out!

*Shoes! Do I want flats? Heels? Flip flops?! I kind of like these:
(after all, no one is going to be able to see my shoes under my dress!)

*Shoes for the rest of the bridal party! I am leaning towards gold shoes since my girls will have champagne accents. These are some that my maid of honor liked:



*What to have the flower girls wear! DB has a matching flower girl dress, but I think we're going to go shopping at Kohl's or The Children's Place during the holidays to see if they have any cute dresses.

Matching flower girl dress, but the smallest size is 2T. I'm not sure if my youngest will be in 2T yet... she's not even a year yet but already in 18 mos, so maybe..?

*Center pieces? I kind of like the idea where I have floating candles...
or even this is really pretty...
I just hope these are ok with the venue because they've said no open flames.

*Photographer?? John has connections to about 3 photographers so hopefully we're ok there.
*DJ?? No idea on this one. 
*How to shorten down that guest list! I want to be at 100, currently at 111. 
*Hair, make up, nails, blah blah blah. I know I want an up-do. Preferably something like I had for Prom 03 (except of course my hair won't be 3 different colors) (and of course I don't have pictures of it on this computer, argh!) But, definitely not like the monstrosity I had for homecoming '03. Do. Not. Like.
Homecoming '03, ew. I do quite like the dress however. And shoes. 
I do like this
And this, but I'd want something different in the back.


And we want to do this under $10,000.. with the venue and flowers we're already over that. I'm thinking $20,000 is going to be better :/
To be continued....