I found these necklaces that I want to try and duplicate. I've bought some beads but haven't tried putting it together. The first two are for the bridesmaids and the last one is for me.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Necklaces
So my other "cost saving technique" is to create necklackes for my bridesmaid and myself. I enjoy beading but lack confidence in doing it well. Sometimes I can put it together and it looks wonderful. Other times, I give up half way through because it doesn't look like what I wanted, in my mind.
I found these necklaces that I want to try and duplicate. I've bought some beads but haven't tried putting it together. The first two are for the bridesmaids and the last one is for me.
I found these necklaces that I want to try and duplicate. I've bought some beads but haven't tried putting it together. The first two are for the bridesmaids and the last one is for me.
Hairstyles
With the wedding approaching in about 5 weeks, I need to figure out what to do with my hair. I haven't hired any stylist and don't have plans to do so. Because it's a casual wedding, I convinced myself that the expense wasn't worth it. I may be changing my mind.
My fine, straight blonde hair doesn't hold a bit of curl. I don't want a fancy up-do since it's a beach wedding and I lack talent in styling hair. I found two hairstyles that I liked and thought were easy to do (or find a friend to do).
Luckily, I was mentioning this to one of my bridesmaid and she mentioned she has a friend who is a stylist and said we'd all get together (over a bottle of wine or two) and her friend would play with my hair. Good news!
I'm on the fence regarding having a veil or not. A friend got married a couple of years ago on the beach and she had a long veil at the top of her head. With the wind, the veil took on a life of its own whipping around her head. If anything, I will have something short at the bottom of the head. My mom just gave me a great piece that she had on her veil when she got married so I'm going to try and incorporate that into the hairstyle.
I'll keep you posted.
My fine, straight blonde hair doesn't hold a bit of curl. I don't want a fancy up-do since it's a beach wedding and I lack talent in styling hair. I found two hairstyles that I liked and thought were easy to do (or find a friend to do).
Luckily, I was mentioning this to one of my bridesmaid and she mentioned she has a friend who is a stylist and said we'd all get together (over a bottle of wine or two) and her friend would play with my hair. Good news!
I'm on the fence regarding having a veil or not. A friend got married a couple of years ago on the beach and she had a long veil at the top of her head. With the wind, the veil took on a life of its own whipping around her head. If anything, I will have something short at the bottom of the head. My mom just gave me a great piece that she had on her veil when she got married so I'm going to try and incorporate that into the hairstyle.
I'll keep you posted.
Bridesmaid Dresses
My girlfriend's mom agreed to make the bridesmaid dresses. (See previous post about trying to find dresses). She altered the dress a bit to an A line dress and it looks amazing!! The bouquets I made match great! She's going to finalize the dresses within the next week.
We loved the back of the dress because it's different and will be somewhat sexy.
Total cost of 2 bridesmaid dresses $50
We loved the back of the dress because it's different and will be somewhat sexy.
Total cost of 2 bridesmaid dresses $50
Program Fans
So my fiancee decided we should have a program for our 15-20 minute ceremony. I didn't think we needed one. A friend of mine is getting married about a month after me and saw the following directions for a program fan.
http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/easy-diy-wedding-programs-tutorial/
We met up and went shopping for all the materials (A2 cards, popsicle sticks, glue). I designed something a bit different than the website directions. We didn't have much information for the wedding ceremony so I put a photo of us on the front and the agenda for the ceremony around the photo. On the back is a list of everyone involved in the bridal party.
I'm working on trying to add some color. I got ribbon and tried just about everything with it and liked none of it. We may just end up with something plain but I think it still looks good (for the 15 minutes people will actually use it!)
http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/easy-diy-wedding-programs-tutorial/
We met up and went shopping for all the materials (A2 cards, popsicle sticks, glue). I designed something a bit different than the website directions. We didn't have much information for the wedding ceremony so I put a photo of us on the front and the agenda for the ceremony around the photo. On the back is a list of everyone involved in the bridal party.
I'm working on trying to add some color. I got ribbon and tried just about everything with it and liked none of it. We may just end up with something plain but I think it still looks good (for the 15 minutes people will actually use it!)
Table Signs
When we visited with our wedding planner at the resort, we said we'd just use their table signs. I came up with a super cheap option instead that fit our beach theme better.
I got the picture from online Microsoft clip art and selected "photo's" and "starfish" and the option above was available. I simply created a Word document with an appropriate size (4 1/2 x 5 1/2 is what I chose) and then added the numbers in the corner. I printed two copies on card stock paper and then cut them out and glued them together so both sides show the same picture and table number.
Beach themed table signs!
Bridal Bouquets
I have been remiss in posting to the blog. I feel I've accomplished a lot over the past couple of months.
I knew I wanted to save cost with the flowers. It seemed a complete monetary waste with real flowers and have them die within a week. I've always been a potted plant person anyhow because they last longer.
I spent a bit of time trying to find flowers that I liked that I thought looked real and that I could arrange nicely. Below is the bridesmaid bouquets. Total cost for both was $20.38
My bridal bouquest was a total of $14.31. I think they both came out nice!
I knew I wanted to save cost with the flowers. It seemed a complete monetary waste with real flowers and have them die within a week. I've always been a potted plant person anyhow because they last longer.
I spent a bit of time trying to find flowers that I liked that I thought looked real and that I could arrange nicely. Below is the bridesmaid bouquets. Total cost for both was $20.38
My bridal bouquest was a total of $14.31. I think they both came out nice!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Bridesmaid Dresses
My two girlfriends (Jasmin & April) and I have been attempting to find bridesmaid dresses for a while now without much luck. We all agreed we didn't want the 'traditional' bridesmaid dress. It seems no matter which bridal store, all the dresses had the same boring cut. And I didn't want them spending a lot of money on a casual wedding. Both girls prefer shopping online so we gave that attempt but we ran into problems where we liked a dress but when it came in the fabric was too casual or their sizes weren't available.
We finally gave in and did a day of shopping at one of our local (larger) malls. We hit the department stores but couldn't find anything we liked. I like the color purple but don't think like royal purple or pastel purple. I have a color I call 'sunset purple' which is the color of the clouds around sunset time. It's kind of a gray, blue, purple but no one seems to have this color. I told Jasmin and April they could pick another color they both liked because I could incorporate my color in a small way.
At the end of the day, we gave up and Jasmin offered to have her mom make a dress for her and April. This way they could pick a pattern they liked and then we could shop for colors. April liked the idea. Luckily, all that happened fairly quickly.
I've attached the pattern and we plan to do the knee length dress. I attached a color swatch from Joanns for the fabric we picked out as well, which they call delphinium. Not quite the 'sunset purple' but we all agreed on the color.
We finally gave in and did a day of shopping at one of our local (larger) malls. We hit the department stores but couldn't find anything we liked. I like the color purple but don't think like royal purple or pastel purple. I have a color I call 'sunset purple' which is the color of the clouds around sunset time. It's kind of a gray, blue, purple but no one seems to have this color. I told Jasmin and April they could pick another color they both liked because I could incorporate my color in a small way.
At the end of the day, we gave up and Jasmin offered to have her mom make a dress for her and April. This way they could pick a pattern they liked and then we could shop for colors. April liked the idea. Luckily, all that happened fairly quickly.
I've attached the pattern and we plan to do the knee length dress. I attached a color swatch from Joanns for the fabric we picked out as well, which they call delphinium. Not quite the 'sunset purple' but we all agreed on the color.
Monday, June 22, 2009
More Wedding Crafts
I question whether I should post these pictures because this is not how the completed item would look but at least gives an idea of what I've been working on this past day.
I've put together what I'm considering (and Corey agrees with) for centerpieces. I am duplicating the idea from Marth Stewart. You can see my earlier post about DIY ideas and it shows a picture for seating arrangements. To carry that idea through, I thought I could make these "mini-beaches" for the centerpieces. Flowers are too common.
This isn't the final project but I found the perfect container to hold the sand, which is a plant saucer. The number would be on something nicer than the cardboard I used to see what it looked like. And I would have different shells on the "beach" as well.
I also gave an attempt to decorating my sandals for the wedding. I picked up plain white flip flops from Old Navy and decided to bead them with some pearls, which are also on the dress. I basically took beading thread and wrapped it around the flop with 2 of the beads. It's certainly not perfect but I figure who is going to get that close to my shoes to notice the difference. For a first attempt, I am pleased. Ignore my very ugly non-pedicured foot.
I've put together what I'm considering (and Corey agrees with) for centerpieces. I am duplicating the idea from Marth Stewart. You can see my earlier post about DIY ideas and it shows a picture for seating arrangements. To carry that idea through, I thought I could make these "mini-beaches" for the centerpieces. Flowers are too common.
This isn't the final project but I found the perfect container to hold the sand, which is a plant saucer. The number would be on something nicer than the cardboard I used to see what it looked like. And I would have different shells on the "beach" as well.
I also gave an attempt to decorating my sandals for the wedding. I picked up plain white flip flops from Old Navy and decided to bead them with some pearls, which are also on the dress. I basically took beading thread and wrapped it around the flop with 2 of the beads. It's certainly not perfect but I figure who is going to get that close to my shoes to notice the difference. For a first attempt, I am pleased. Ignore my very ugly non-pedicured foot.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
My List of Other Things To Do
Since I've had the "big" projects done for the wedding, now is the time to work on the some of the small items. Although not all of them are so small. I've found that 1 project is contingent on another project so I don't feel I have much to do until some decisions are made. Here's my update in random order:
1. Wedding invitations - contingent on the design and card stock I find. I want to print them early but will send them out early August for our out of town guests.
2. Silk flowers for bouquets and wedding arch - contingent on bridesmaids dresses. I plan to get the flowers at Old Time Pottery and I've visited a few times and found some items I like. But we're still working on bridesmaid dresses so I need to wait.
3. Bridesmaid dresses - one of the bigger items but we haven't had much luck. The two girls found a dress online and bought it but the material wasn't nice when they received it so it was returned. We found another dress they liked online but wasn't in their size. I found a dress which they both liked and it was in their size but waited 3 days to purchase online and at that time, it was out of stock. We're spending a day at the mall in the near future with the hopes to find something. We're avoiding the bridesmaid stores as they have such typical dresses and we'd like something a bit more unique that they can wear again (if they like). I'm letting them pick the design and at this point, the color. I can mix in purple with just about anything.
4. Centerpieces - of course I'm making my own and I know what I want. I added a graphic of a Martha Stewart idea a while back to seating assignments but plan to make the same mini-beach theme as centerpieces. It took some time finding something appropriate to put it in that will hold sand and finally found plant pot holders that seem to work well. However, I need to get to the beach to get some sand to see what it really looks like. Being only an hour from the beach and I'm finally going tomorrow.
5. Seating assignments - I put together a tentative list of how I'd group people at various tables but this is all contingent on those who will actually attend the wedding. Can't finalize that until a week before the wedding in October. I can start making the signs for the seating assignments (tables) but don't know what table people will be at until later.
6. Officiant - another semi-big task but Corey and I have disagreed on the type of officiant we want. I'd rather have a personal friend become a notary and do the ceremony as it seems more personal to me. He'd rather pay a total stranger to marry us. Luckily, I found someone at weddingwire.com and he is available. Corey originally insisted on meeting the officiant but considering this will delay actually booking someone, he decided we could book without meeting him. His reviews on weddingwire are 5 out of 5 and I've talked with him on the phone. I will most likely book him tomorrow. Mom will be happy because he is actually a pastor.
7. Reception details - We have plans to do our tasting and pick out napkins and whatever else we need to do with the resort in July. At the same time, visit with the officiant and the photographer. I'm also trying to squeeze it into a mini-vacation for the weekend since we'll be on the beach.
Am I missing anything else?
1. Wedding invitations - contingent on the design and card stock I find. I want to print them early but will send them out early August for our out of town guests.
2. Silk flowers for bouquets and wedding arch - contingent on bridesmaids dresses. I plan to get the flowers at Old Time Pottery and I've visited a few times and found some items I like. But we're still working on bridesmaid dresses so I need to wait.
3. Bridesmaid dresses - one of the bigger items but we haven't had much luck. The two girls found a dress online and bought it but the material wasn't nice when they received it so it was returned. We found another dress they liked online but wasn't in their size. I found a dress which they both liked and it was in their size but waited 3 days to purchase online and at that time, it was out of stock. We're spending a day at the mall in the near future with the hopes to find something. We're avoiding the bridesmaid stores as they have such typical dresses and we'd like something a bit more unique that they can wear again (if they like). I'm letting them pick the design and at this point, the color. I can mix in purple with just about anything.
4. Centerpieces - of course I'm making my own and I know what I want. I added a graphic of a Martha Stewart idea a while back to seating assignments but plan to make the same mini-beach theme as centerpieces. It took some time finding something appropriate to put it in that will hold sand and finally found plant pot holders that seem to work well. However, I need to get to the beach to get some sand to see what it really looks like. Being only an hour from the beach and I'm finally going tomorrow.
5. Seating assignments - I put together a tentative list of how I'd group people at various tables but this is all contingent on those who will actually attend the wedding. Can't finalize that until a week before the wedding in October. I can start making the signs for the seating assignments (tables) but don't know what table people will be at until later.
6. Officiant - another semi-big task but Corey and I have disagreed on the type of officiant we want. I'd rather have a personal friend become a notary and do the ceremony as it seems more personal to me. He'd rather pay a total stranger to marry us. Luckily, I found someone at weddingwire.com and he is available. Corey originally insisted on meeting the officiant but considering this will delay actually booking someone, he decided we could book without meeting him. His reviews on weddingwire are 5 out of 5 and I've talked with him on the phone. I will most likely book him tomorrow. Mom will be happy because he is actually a pastor.
7. Reception details - We have plans to do our tasting and pick out napkins and whatever else we need to do with the resort in July. At the same time, visit with the officiant and the photographer. I'm also trying to squeeze it into a mini-vacation for the weekend since we'll be on the beach.
Am I missing anything else?
Wedding Invitation Decisions
I'm doing my own invitations, primarily to save money. The cost of wedding invitations are ridiculous in price (or so I think). I found a paper supply company that has a variety of options which I like so I will try out a couple card stocks to see which works best.
Since we're having a beach wedding, I wanted something to resemble that theme. My first wedding invitation attempt went well except that I had an idea of a folded card stock paper I was going to print it on. When I tried to do it, the printer had a difficult time recognizing the paper size so it looked horrible.
My second attempt I was trying to do a more simple design. I like simple lines but vibrant colors so I was attempting to do something with a single graphic but it seems too plain to me.
My third attempt is currently my favorite although no decisions have been made until it's printed on the card stock so I can see what it looks like. I may embellish the invitations a bit with ribbon (but does it really go with a beach theme?) or maybe attaching a shell (too cheesy?).
What are your preferences?
Since we're having a beach wedding, I wanted something to resemble that theme. My first wedding invitation attempt went well except that I had an idea of a folded card stock paper I was going to print it on. When I tried to do it, the printer had a difficult time recognizing the paper size so it looked horrible.
My second attempt I was trying to do a more simple design. I like simple lines but vibrant colors so I was attempting to do something with a single graphic but it seems too plain to me.
My third attempt is currently my favorite although no decisions have been made until it's printed on the card stock so I can see what it looks like. I may embellish the invitations a bit with ribbon (but does it really go with a beach theme?) or maybe attaching a shell (too cheesy?).
What are your preferences?
Saturday, April 25, 2009
A Wedding Update
Well it's been a while so perhaps blogging isn't for me. I used to journal when I was younger on a daily basis but I think in my 20's I had more drama in my life to write about.
Wedding plans are moving forward at a good pace. I booked my photographer who is Katie Beyer. One was recommended from the wedding coordinator at the resort and he wasn't available. I asked for recommendations (who better than from a good photographer) and based on quality of photo's, the rate, and personality, I selected Katie. Someone had told me it was important to be able to relate to your photographer and I felt Katie and I hit it off once we talked with another. Another photographer I was communicating with made me feel like a number.
I also found my dress! Originally, I wanted something simple and my mother and I found a cute BCBG dress that she bought for me to wear. (Sale at Macy's for $89) Then I started worrying that others might be more dressed than I so I did my final shopping stop at Alfred Angelo and loved the dress. The other one will now be my rehearsal dinner dress.
I also made and sent out our save the date card. I took the picture at Sirata when we visited one weekend to check out another wedding.
I'm now looking at ideas for flowers. I know I don't want to waste money on real flowers since they will not be used for anything else and die immediately. I've looked at silk flowers but recently saw information about DIY paper flowers.
I'm going to play around with it and see if I can make anything that looks decent.
Wedding plans are moving forward at a good pace. I booked my photographer who is Katie Beyer. One was recommended from the wedding coordinator at the resort and he wasn't available. I asked for recommendations (who better than from a good photographer) and based on quality of photo's, the rate, and personality, I selected Katie. Someone had told me it was important to be able to relate to your photographer and I felt Katie and I hit it off once we talked with another. Another photographer I was communicating with made me feel like a number.
I also found my dress! Originally, I wanted something simple and my mother and I found a cute BCBG dress that she bought for me to wear. (Sale at Macy's for $89) Then I started worrying that others might be more dressed than I so I did my final shopping stop at Alfred Angelo and loved the dress. The other one will now be my rehearsal dinner dress.
I also made and sent out our save the date card. I took the picture at Sirata when we visited one weekend to check out another wedding.
I'm now looking at ideas for flowers. I know I don't want to waste money on real flowers since they will not be used for anything else and die immediately. I've looked at silk flowers but recently saw information about DIY paper flowers.
I'm going to play around with it and see if I can make anything that looks decent.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wedding Venue Selected
We finally decided on a wedding venue! We will be getting married at Sirata Beach Resort & Conference Center in St. Pete Beach.
We ended up choosing this location for two primary reasons. We both really liked the Bilmar Resort but their sales person who came highly recommended via web feedback was leaving. When we visited the last time, they had a new staff member who had been there about 6 weeks but didn't seem to know what was going on. Also, I had assumed she would also serve as a coordinator during the day of the event in the sense she would assure that the ceremony and reception would be set up the way Corey and I wanted. She said she wouldn't be there but a catering manager would be the point person.
The other reason we didn't choose Bilmar was because they didn't provide us a rain plan. The ceremony and the reception was outside. Part of the reception area was on a concrete deck right next to the sand. Typically, people will tent this area for bad weather but I was concerned about a hurricane or more severe weather. The Bilmar has a nice ballroom and I thought it was be held for a back up plan but she told that more than likely another event would be going on at the same time as my reception.
Sirata is beautiful and we are very happy with our venue. Now that the place is secured my anxiety isn't as bad.
Next steps: finding a dress; finding a photographer
We ended up choosing this location for two primary reasons. We both really liked the Bilmar Resort but their sales person who came highly recommended via web feedback was leaving. When we visited the last time, they had a new staff member who had been there about 6 weeks but didn't seem to know what was going on. Also, I had assumed she would also serve as a coordinator during the day of the event in the sense she would assure that the ceremony and reception would be set up the way Corey and I wanted. She said she wouldn't be there but a catering manager would be the point person.
The other reason we didn't choose Bilmar was because they didn't provide us a rain plan. The ceremony and the reception was outside. Part of the reception area was on a concrete deck right next to the sand. Typically, people will tent this area for bad weather but I was concerned about a hurricane or more severe weather. The Bilmar has a nice ballroom and I thought it was be held for a back up plan but she told that more than likely another event would be going on at the same time as my reception.
Sirata is beautiful and we are very happy with our venue. Now that the place is secured my anxiety isn't as bad.
Next steps: finding a dress; finding a photographer
Dress Shopping 101
I ventured out this past weekend with my friend April (who is in the wedding) to begin my dress shopping experience. Neither she nor I have ever done this before so we didn't really know what to expect. The one word to describe my experience is Uneventful.
I found a few dresses that I liked from Alfred Angelo which seemed to be within my price range and casual enough for the beach wedding. We met at a store in the same shopping center to have lunch first and then ventured over.
When we first walked in, I noticed it was much busier than I had expected. I figured we would be able to look through dress racks and possibly try on some dresses with the assistance of a wedding assistant at the store. There was about 7-8 people standing in the entrance to the place and at least 3-4 other women working with assistants. It was just like the movies with these women standing on a mini-stage in their dress.
The 1 person who wasn't busy told us that it would be quite some time before anyone could help us. Still oblivious to the protocol, April and I ventured over to a rack and started looking through the dresses. I found 1-2 of the ones I liked but knew I couldn't try them on. I ended up having to ask the same person how the whole process works. Basically, I needed to make an appointment to have someone help me.
Someone recommended another bridal store so we left and went over to that one thinking it may be as equally as busy. It was actually closed and the store was for lease. Off to store #3, which was Brenner's in the mall because it also carried Alfred Angelo dresses, we walked in and was able to sort through racks of dresses without an appointment. But I wasn't interested in any of the dresses.
Here are two dresses that I like. One from J.Crew and the other from Alfred Angelo. Unfortunately, you can't try on JCrew dresses and I won't buy something I can't try on first.
My first lesson about shopping for dresses: Make an appointment.
I found a few dresses that I liked from Alfred Angelo which seemed to be within my price range and casual enough for the beach wedding. We met at a store in the same shopping center to have lunch first and then ventured over.
When we first walked in, I noticed it was much busier than I had expected. I figured we would be able to look through dress racks and possibly try on some dresses with the assistance of a wedding assistant at the store. There was about 7-8 people standing in the entrance to the place and at least 3-4 other women working with assistants. It was just like the movies with these women standing on a mini-stage in their dress.
The 1 person who wasn't busy told us that it would be quite some time before anyone could help us. Still oblivious to the protocol, April and I ventured over to a rack and started looking through the dresses. I found 1-2 of the ones I liked but knew I couldn't try them on. I ended up having to ask the same person how the whole process works. Basically, I needed to make an appointment to have someone help me.
Someone recommended another bridal store so we left and went over to that one thinking it may be as equally as busy. It was actually closed and the store was for lease. Off to store #3, which was Brenner's in the mall because it also carried Alfred Angelo dresses, we walked in and was able to sort through racks of dresses without an appointment. But I wasn't interested in any of the dresses.
Here are two dresses that I like. One from J.Crew and the other from Alfred Angelo. Unfortunately, you can't try on JCrew dresses and I won't buy something I can't try on first.
My first lesson about shopping for dresses: Make an appointment.
My DIY ideas
The crafty side of me wants to create some aspects for the wedding. While I'm not doing the complete DIY, I do have plans to do my own flowers, center pieces, a chuppah (in leiu of the wedding arch possibly), invitations, and probably a few other things as they come up.
So far my ideas have come from Martha Stewart's wedding magazine. Most of the other magazines are filled with things I can't afford or would even consider for the wedding.
Here are two ideas I'm considering for centerpieces. I was thinking about also using the umbrellas for seating cards as well.
So far my ideas have come from Martha Stewart's wedding magazine. Most of the other magazines are filled with things I can't afford or would even consider for the wedding.
Here are two ideas I'm considering for centerpieces. I was thinking about also using the umbrellas for seating cards as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)