Ok, I’ll just put it out there….I LOVE MY INVITATIONS!!!!!! And obviously, am so excited about them! A friend of mine did a stellar job designing them. She is insanely talented. Now, I have friends/family who read these so I don’t want to put everything out there but here is a little sample of the great work that she has done. My vision was that I wanted it to look like it was hand-painted on there. I want lots of flowers and color—and she did exactly that! Here is a sneak peak:

A sneak peak of our invitations! Aren't they pretty?!

We are working on our enclosure cards now. Once those are done, I will be ordering using cardsandpockets.com, one of the best wedding websites out there. Not only are they inexpensive, the quality is high, the samples ship free, and the customer service is excellent. I emailed their print shop a question over the Thanksgiving holiday and she responded that day! I decided to go the semi-DIY route to save some money. Plus, I’m crafty and have crafty bridesmaids so with some help we can put them all together! I’m so excited to be working with them and can’t wait to see how they turn out! I’ll keep you posted!

One things that we saved a big chunk of money on was flowers. I made all of our wedding flowers in advance with silk flowers to not only save money but also reduce stress (and they don’t wilt!). We were pleased with how all of the flowers came out.

Overall I made:

5 bouquets

10 bouttonnieres

7 corsages

All photos in the post are by Chatman Photography

Are you ready for this?  This has to be my all time ultimate DIY project that I’ve done.

This past weekend, I worked on reupholstering this large makeup/suitcase I got from the flea market.  Since inside was pretty yucky, I knew I had to do something with it if I wanted to use it for the cards for my wedding.  The vinyl and cloth was coming apart, but the exterior and its functions was still in good shape.  Overall, it wasn’t too hard of a task, just a little time consuming.  It took me about 4 hours from start to finish.

Fabric Sticking to the Poster Board on Bottom

MMMMMM CAKE TASTING.

I basically could leave it at that… but it makes for a boring read.

The venue we are having the wedding at has their own pastry chef, but unless they’re doing a wedding they aren’t baking cakes, so they don’t do a tasting. I’ll give them that it’s probably a good cake. But how can I know which of the many flavors I want to choose if I’m not sure what they end up doing best? However, our venue does offer one great option. They’ve partnered with a cake shop down in the valley (because our venue is up at a ski resort) And with this particular baker they don’t charge a plating or cutting fee. (Yeah–look out for that charge, and find out if they partner with someone to avoid that fee). So, we opted to use their out of house cake vendor, as she does cake tastings ,a bit more for the decor, and we avoid the plating fee. She plans all of her cake tastings for Tuesdays so that she has fresh cupcakes for tasting once per week and can do one big batch.

So, we came in and looked at pictures and planned a bunch of things with our cake. And for the ENTIRE time that we were planning there were two plates each of eight delicious looking cupcakes covered with delicious looking butter cream frosting.

So we still don’t get to taste yet, we talked about decor and cake set up.

Instead of having a big tiered wedding cake we’re having an eclectic set of cakes on different stands and different flavors. And we set it up in foam to see how it would look and feel.

However, there’s certainly not enough cake there for us to feed the whole party. So we’ll have a couple of cakes in the back that are frosted, cut and ready to eat when we cut the cake. It’s also cheaper to have a cake that’s in the back than up front it turns out, even if there is some amount of the same decor. And will make it so that your cake gets out faster to your guests. It’s a good way to save, and a way to make the ‘show’ cake really special if you’re on a tight budget.

(still no cake tasting)

Finally after discussing decor a bit more we were finally allowed to taste the cake flavors. To my excitement there were no strawberry and banana flavors, which meant i got to eat all 8 delicious looking pieces. (As I am sadly allergic to these things) I was so excited for the cake that I forgot to take a picture. The eight flavors were: vanilla, chocolate, orange, raspberry almond, lemon, coconut, red velvet and carrot cake. The red velvet and carrot cake have a cream cheese frosting. and the Lemon has a lemon-butter-cream frosting. The rest are just plain butter cream..

My favorite was the lemon cake with lemon butter cream frosting. Love it. However we choose to go with three flavors and split them up kind of 30% 40& and 20% with Lemon, Red Velvet, and Vanilla respectively. Mr. Daisy is generally a chocolate man. (hence the Red Velvet) and I am a vanilla cake with butter cream frosting, or a yellow cake type– but lately i’ve been on a lemon kick. I like a bit of citrus to break up the sweet.

Frosting… Now, I’m a big fan of Ace of cakes and all that cakey television fun. However, I’m a HUGE fan of eating butter cream frosting and not eating fondant. Seriously. She does do fondant but I more or less told Mr. Daisy that I didn’t care how it looks, I want a real cake with real frosting, besides we’re going with a vintage-lite wedding anyway, ditch the modern frosting. SO on her butter cream she uses only real butter, no shortening. So it’s a creamy color, instead of white white, so if you want white she simply has to add white food coloring ( I didn’t know that existed.). However I like the cream/antique white look anyway, but she mentioned it, and it might be something to keep an eye out for if you’re looking for a real white cake with out the fondant frosting.

I do wish we had scheduled more time for the consult. We were there about an hour and Mr. Daisy had to head off to work, but an hour and a half would have been much better and have included more wiggle room, and more time to relax instead of feeling like we had to get business done.

I now have a serious sugar craving again–Gotta love the cake!

Poppy Dude and I are very much in love with the simple rural surrounding that we were raised in. It was important that our wedding really reflect those values. I wanted to find a way to get Poppy Dude really excited about the wedding planning process because I know sometimes the groom just smiles and says “whatever you want, honey!” when it comes to picking and choosing wedding details. I had an idea that fit the ticket for both wishes – a touch of country.

Poppy Dude is a “country boy” when it comes down to it. He was raised on his family’s farm/ranch where three generations of men come together to make the operation a success.

When researching and coming up with ideas for centerpieces – it struck me. What’s yellow and plays a huge part in our agriculturally centered lives? Corn and Wheat. I ran my idea by Poppy Dude and his eyes lit up. We decided to incorporate corn and wheat grown right on the Poppy Dude family farm. Corn would be easy to get – Poppy Dude’s family has some stored in bins on the yard. The wheat on the other hand only presented a certain window of time for cutting at the perfect golden color. That’s usually around the 4th of July here in south-central Nebraska, but because it’s been so wet this year it was a little later – even better for us!

Poppy Dude hand cut the wheat from the field while I bundled it. It then needed to hang to continue to dry.I then sprayed it with a clear coat of matte acrylic spray sealant (to ensure that the seeds don’t shatter out all over the tables – or worse before the wedding) So far they are holding up beautifully! Here’s a look at what we’ve done with our natural resources:

moodl lighting

centerpiece: mason jar with wheat & corn

I was so tore about what to do for our unity candle. I didn’t want to spend $$ for a candle that, although very symbolic, was only going to be lit for a few minutes. To add to that, I had no idea how to make this project DIY. Numerous times had I looked up ideas online, but nothing really caught my eye. Then the other day when I was writing a post about making my wedding stationary and continuing the same fonts and decorative elements throughout all my wedding items it hit me like a ton of bricks. Use the items that you’ve already picked out because you like them so much! In a matter of seconds I had a design to place on the plain ivory candles I had purchased. Here’s the finished product:

unity candle

details

This was a seriously cheap DIY wedding project – here’s the breakdown.

• Ivory pillar candle – $4, on sale for $2
• 2 ivory taper candles – $0.99 each, on sale for $0.99 for the pair
• glass candlestick – $7.99, sale for $3.99
• 2 glass candlesticks -$5.99 each, on sale for $5.99 for the pair
• 1 sheet vellum – free, on hand
• 8 pearl sewing pins – free, on hand
• ribbon – free, left over from other wedding projects

That comes to a grand total of $12.97. A purchased unity candle designs costs $20 and up, that’s not including the stands…which can run another $20. Do I even need to do the math? I will anyway…that’s at least a $27.03 savings! And better yet, it matches EVERYTHING I’ve already done!

Designing my own wedding invites was something that I always planned on doing. And I truly enjoyed doing it! I sort of new what I was looking for before I ever started, which in some ways made it easier (like choosing fonts) but in others more difficult (like finding the perfect decorative element). Here’s the finished product…

After doing the invitations I was on a roll, so I continued with the theme of western fonts and the same decorative element and created a whole wedding stationery including response cards, direction/accommodation cards, wrap around address labels,  thank you notes, rehearsal invites, reserved tables…the list goes on! (Ceremony programs are still to come)

When it came time to print everything I decided to do my research. At the local print shop I asked them about my paper choices – they could special order the type of paper I wanted (recycled brown kraft paper) and envelopes and do the the printing for $$$. I also asked for a quote if they just did the printing and it came out to $$.  I had already looked and priced paper online and knew it was much cheaper that the paper the printer was proposing we use. So being the frugal bride that I am I went ahead and ordered the paper and envelopes online and dropped them off at the printer’s when they arrived. By doing this I saved $200 and got exactly what I was looking for!

I’d love to hear from the Garden…did you DIY your invitations? Are you pleased with the results?

This blog is dedicated to all the UK followers!  =)  I recently found this UK online clothing store that can sell across the whole world.  Of course, with some extra shipping costs.  Even though if you do buy the dresses from the US, the dresses are probably still cheaper then getting it at a regular bridal salon.  All the dresses are under $50 at Dorothy Perkins.  There’s such a wide selection of dresses that could be potentially for your lovely bridesmaids.  All dresses from Dorothy Perkins.

Taupe One Shoulder Dress: £24.00

Peach Crochet Trim Dress:  £27.00

Multi Floral Sleeveless Dress: £24.00

Chocolate Ruffle Bandeau Dress: £27.00

Cream Scallop Beaded Dress: £24.00

Silver Ruffle Shoulder Dress: £29.00

All Dresses from Dorothy Perkins

Are you like me where you’re either afraid of going to the dentist, too lazy to get real teeth whitening, and just don’t want to pay for it if you don’t have to?  About a month ago, I got my yearly teeth cleaning and I asked my hygienist for non-professional teeth whitening options.  She recommended the Crest 3d White Strips.  Guess what I did the very next day?  That’s right, I got the Professional Effects 3d White Strips (Pictured on the left).

Results: Out of a scale from 1-5 (1 being no effects to 5 my teeth are blinding white!), my rate would be a 2.5 out of 5.  It wasn’t as white as I wanted it to be, but it did have SOME effect.   I thought about posting up pictures of my teeth, but I don’t want to gross you out!  =P

Would I Recommend this Product?
Not really.  I spent about $45 on it and the results weren’t what I wanted.  I thought about returning it to the manufacturer and getting my money back, but I just thought it was too much of a hassle.

What REALLY worked for me:

After the disappointment with the crest whitening strips, I decided to do a little research on other non-professional teeth whitening options.  I remember reading an article about the Crest Whitening toothpaste and it was the top rated one.  SO I went to the supermarket and got the Crest 3D White Vivid Toothpaste (pictured on the right).  I got mines on sale so I ended up spending about $5 for it.  Yay for deals!

Results:
After about using this for a month, my rating would be a 4 out of 5.  It was a pretty significant difference from the very beginning for me.  In the reviews it said that the Crest 3D whitening toothpaste worked the best; even though it took longer for the effects to come in.

Now I have a beautiful white smile!

Bouquets!  Bouquets are one of the “wedding” details I want to be perfect.   The problem? I want  flower-less bouquets!

After meeting with the florist several times, I decided that I am going to forgo her beautifully designed bouquets and do what I have always wanted to do…have paper flower bouquets!

While reading through Tweets on my phone, I saw a tutorial from Project Wedding on how to make Paper Flowers out of coffee filters. I could not believe my eyes at how life-like they were!   The step by step directions seemed easy enough and there were limited materials so I decided to try and I am so glad I did!  You can find the tutorial by clicking here!

After a lazy Saturday afternoon, this is what I came up with-

I do not have a crafty bone in my body so I know if I can do this, you can too!  I wanted an all white bouquet so the original white coffee filters worked out perfectly!

After making a handful of flowers, I made the decision to make the bouquets for my bridesmaids with these paper flowers and ostrich feathers (ordered from Ebay) but I wanted something funky, unique, and different for myself!  I wanted my bridal bouquet to be the talk of the town! Not to mention, something I can keep forever!

In desperate need of the “perfect” bouquet, I headed over to Etsy and found this beauty from a seller called Croska!  I immediately snatched it up and will have it in my little hands by the end of April!

What do you think about non-floral bouquets?  Have you considered going flower-less?

Ooo another great online store that I found that has a lot of great bridesmaid potential dresses!  It’s a lot like ModCloth but even cheaper!  Almost 90% of the dresses are under $50.  Another great find!

Store: RUCHE

something to smile about lacy one shoulder tunic $42.99

citrusy sweet blossoms applique dress $36.99

charmingly endearing royal blue ruffle dress $35.99

victorian romance draped dress $42.99

posh & circumstance bow dress $48.99

cocoa couture pocket dress $34.99

emerald cascades one shoulder dress $49.99

ruffled rosey fantasy dress in lavender $44.99

country beauty belted dress $39.99

enchanting lady strapless dress in brown $45.99

I just bought a pair of dyeable shoes for the wedding on Shoebuy.com. I like their website because it actually tells you the height of the heel in inches, not just “high” or  “mid”. They also offer free (ground) shipping in BOTH directions, so if they don’t fit you can exchange for the right size.

Right now they’re also doing their 20% off Winter Sale (SAVE20) and if you’re a member (as in you register at check out) you receive another 10% off. AND, here’s a link for 10$ off. 10$ off a pair of shoes at Shoebuy.com

Here’s the shoes I bought: (Touch Ups Abby)

What I was looking for in a shoe:

Truth be told this is the shoe I want… I am actually IN LOVE with these shoes, but i don’t think i’ll be finding them. As I discovered bridalbuds when i stumbled across these shoes on someone else’s blog. (P.S. these adorable green shoes are still available in black from Nordstroms for 60$ they are the “Sonja BP. Pump”. I may  have to have them anyway.)

However, the bare facts of what in a shoe are:

• wearable, for all or most of the event– meaning 1 1/2 inch heel or lower
• fairly simple
• something unique, (or, the ability to add to make unique)
• green or dyeable
• something i’d want to wear after the wedding
• less than $150

The shoes above cover all that, and the price was even better. Originally 51, 20% off promo = -10.29, 10% member discount= -4.12 = GRAND TOTAL: 37.04!! And did I mention free shipping both ways! (Sorry, I’m a bit excited about the shoes right now.)

They don’t look like much now, but once they’re dyed and dressed up with a vintage shoe clip and maybe a bow (like the pretty green pictured shoes) they’ll be pretty unique. I plan on using a pair of shoe clips off of my grandma’s prom shoes (totally cool!).  Mama Daisy and I will be dying them to match in the next month or so, after we’ve gone fabric shopping for the rest of the wedding. A post, with instructions and before/after photos to come!

My Attempt to do a Wedding Veil

“Back in the day,” when I was trying on wedding dresses, I discovered how ridiculously expensive wedding veils were.  The typical cost of a 2 tiered wedding veil is $150-$500.  You probably can get a super cheap wedding dress for that cost!

Well, to save a couple hundred dollars, I decided to make my own wedding veil.  Overall, it only required some basic sewing skills.  I didn’t even create the veil from scratch!  I got a pre-maid two tiered veil from Joanns Fabric Store.  It was a lot simpler then I thought it would be.

Wedding Veil

Veil from Joanns

This is the two-tiered pre-made veil that I got at Joanns.  You can purchase this pre-made veil at any craft store.  It includes the veil and comb.  Also, on the back it tells you directions on how to attach the comb, hair band, or whatever you’re using to the veil.   (A lot of times, Joanns and Michaels have 40-50% off coupons.  You can search for Michaels coupons online or sign up for the newsletters at Joanns)  Original price for this is $14.99.

Quick Dry Tacky Glue

Type of Glue to Use If you want to add embellishments like pearls, rhinestones, etc., you should use this glue.  Before putting the lace on, I put on pearls to embellish the sides.  It usually took about 5 seconds for the pearl to stick onto the veil with just a dab of glue.

Sewing Tools

1.Scissors- use scissors that you ONLY use for fabric.  If you use these scissors for paper or other purposes, try to avoid this.  It will dull the scissors making it harder to cut material.
2. Thread- Use thread that matches your lace or veil color.
3. Pins- Use at least three to pin your veil so it won’t get scrunched up when you sew the lace down.
4. Threading Needle: Just need one.   Use one that is about 1 inch long.  You don’t need a big needle.
5. Cushion: I used the fleece material as a cushion to pin the veil down.  You can pretty much use anything, as long as it’s flat.  Most importantly, I used a black fleece so I could see the veil.  The black fleece is shown in the picture.

How to Pin Veil Down When Sewing Lace On

Preventing Scrunching: These are what the 3 pins are for.  This is to prevent the veil from scrunching up while sewing the lace down.  Make sure to flatten the material first before pinning it down. Also, you don’t want to stretch out the material too much, you want to keep it relaxed still.

Sewing Line

Where to Sew
When I sewed the lace on, I used the border (which is the thicker white part) to guide me along.  This picture shows the back of the veil.

Final Product!
Sorry this picture is kinda at a weird angle.  I wanted to make sure you could see the whole thing.  I’ll try to get a picture of me or someone else wearing it to give a better view of it.

Cost:

Pre-Made Veil: $14.99 + w/ Joanns 50% off coupon= $7.50

Lace: 3.99/ yard (Use about 8 yards to be on the safe side) +40% off Joanns coupon= $20

I already had the scissors, thread, pins, needles, and glue.

Total: $30 compared to…$200+

For more information on how to make veils, I found these videos to be very helpful…

How to add lace, beads, and etc.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqypV376e8w

How to attach the comb, hair piece, etc.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJpg0r-tWWI

How to stitch a full length wedding veil (chapel): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiDAx-Ffw3Y

Final Tip:

A lot of bridal salons let you rent your wedding veil for free if you purchase the dress with them!  That’s what I’m going to do.  Free 99…now you can’t beat that!  =)

Question:

Any other suggestions?

An average bridesmaids dress from a bridal boutique would probably cost you about $130-$250.  There are some gorgeous ones out there, but let’s face it…most of the girls will only be wearing it once.  Plus, if you’re having them pay for it, you definitely need to be cost conscious.   On the other hand, if you’re paying for it…it does add up!

Lulu’s: $38.00

LuLu’s: $37.00

Lulu’s: $38.00

Lulu’s: $50.00

Lulu’s: $47.00

Lulu’s: $43.00

These next two are also from Lulu’s but it’s in the 60′s range.  I think these are a great find that’s why I posted it up.

Lulu’s: $65.00

Lulu’s: $64

Store #2: Forever 21

Forever 21: $24.80

Forever 21: $27.80

Forever 21: $19.80

Forever 21: $22.80 (also comes in royal blue)

Forever 21: $29.80

Forever 21: $32.80

Store #3: Target

Seriously…what does this place not have?  They just recently created their bridesmaids line.  Everything is under $50.

I would upload some pictures, but it won’t allow me to do it.

This link would go directly to the bridesmaids line: Target Bridesmaids Dresses

Store #4: Charlotte Russe

Charlotte Russe: $29.50

Charlotte Russe: $29.50

Other Suggested Stores:

ModCloth

Urban Outfitters: Sale

H&M

Final Note:

Finding great bridesmaids dresses for a low cost also means getting it at the right time.  If you’ve had your eye on a bridesmaids dress at a local store, you can also wait a little longer for a sale.  That’s if you have that time luxury.  =)

Question:

What other stores do you recommend for getting bridesmaids dresses for under $50?

On top of having all those wonderful bills to pay, Orchid Boy and I are attempting to put money away for this wedding that, according to my Knot.com counter, is happening in roughly four and a half months.

Do manage this, we’ve tightened our purse strings and it seems to be paying off already.

Saving Change

I started pouring my loose change into a Carlo Rossi wine jug about three years ago and when I left for North Carolina it was about 75 percent full. It never made the trip (my mom had made an offer to roll it, which I took her up on), but we continue to put our loose change into a bank that I made for Orchid Boy last Christmas. I don’t have hard numbers, but I’m estimating I’ve accumulated a few hundred dollars in cold hard cash. I’m giving it another month or two before adding it to the wedding fund.

Putting a dollar aside

I got this great idea from Self magazine. Every time I use cash and get a dollar back with my change, I take that dollar and put it aside. I started doing this about three years ago and saved more than $250. I would have saved more if I was a big user of cash. I tend to use my debit card because it’s less dangerous.

This was taken on a particularly warm North Carolina weekend, but as you can see the temp is set at a chilly 63.

Is it cold in here?

I grew up without air conditioning. My summers were spent sitting next to multiple fans. I’ll admit I went a little crazy with the central air when I first got here. After our first North Carolina summer electric bill, which amounted to a whopping $103, Orchid Boy and I were a bit more conscious of how cold we kept the apartment. We generally kept it coolest at night and when I woke up I increased the temperature about five degrees. When Orchid Boy went to work he increased it even more, putting it up to 80. Since our apartment is shaded by a lot of tall trees, it never actually hit 80 degrees. By doing this, we decreased our bill by almost $20.

Now that it’s the winter, we bundle up, sometimes wearing three layers. The thermostat is set at a constant 63 degrees. During the fall our bill was down to $60, but since the freezing weather arrived, our electric bill jumped significantly. From what I’m told by homeowners, electric heat is expensive and this is not something abnormal. But, our bill would be much higher if we set the heat at a more comfortable level.

Peace out Time Warner.

Aside from all my favorite wedding shows on WE, Orchid Boy and I don’t watch too much cable TV. Most of the television we watch is in the form of Netflix. When we moved, we signed up for an internet plan, but went without cable. Between Netflix, Hulu and other internet-based TV watching, we get enough of the boob tube. Sure I’m WAY behind on a lot of the popular shows and need my Twitter feed to keep me in the loop of daily events, but we’re saving about $50 a month.

Hello? Can you hear me?

Who really has a home phone anymore? Most people just use their cell phones. Orchid Boy and I would do that, but our apartment is a dead zone and I only get service when I sit outside. My mother invested in a Magic Jack for my brother while he was at college. She paid $70 for five years of service. Now that my brother is home and doesn’t have any use for it, she passed the gadget onto me. It’s definitely not perfect. It has a whole slew of flaws, but it’s been serving its purpose. I can’t complain seeing as though we are phone bill free. I even bought another one to use for my freelance writing work. We save about $40 a month.

We Coupon

Orchid Boy’s cousin D introduced us to extreme couponing. This is not your average clip and save, but playing the coupon game that allows you to save oodles of money by getting things for free or for almost nothing. On one of our most recent shopping trips, we combined coupons with sales and saved $40, which was more than half our grocery bill. We’re still new at this, but the time and planning it takes is already starting to pay off.

Embracing the dollar store

When Orchid Boy and I need Halloween decorations, birthday cards or some other random product, we head to the local dollar store. Items in dollar stores vary from store to store, but take a walk through one and see all the things you could buy for a fraction of the price. You’d be pleasantly surprised. But, not everything is cheaper at the dollar store, so you’ll have to be savvy here too. For example, a box of 12 brand-name freezer bags cost a dollar, but 40 Target brand bags cost $3.

No frills

Walmart might not be eco-friendly, but it is budget friendly.

In a perfect world, I would buy my groceries from local farmers who grew their produce organically. I’d buy organic toilet paper and natural shampoo. Since the things that are good for you are inherently more expensive and Orchid Boy and I struggle to pay our rent as it is, we head to Walmart to do most of our shopping instead of Whole Foods.  When we shop there, we buy Walmart’s value brand, which in some cases is better than the no-frills brand at the local grocery store. Walmart sandwich bread is better than Kroger’s sandwich bread, but I’m slightly concerned about how it stays soft for almost two weeks.

We also buy in bulk for things we go through quickly, like cheese, salsa and ketchup. It’s more money out of pocket when you do make the trip, but it lasts a lot longer and is cheaper when compared per ounce/item.

What’s the special tonight?

The few times we go out to eat, we take advantage of the specials. On Fridays I treat myself to pizza at my favorite pizza place. I get the lunch special, two slices and a drink for $5. Considering all the other sacrifices I make, I try to do something that makes me happy.

Spoiled by our favorite half priced sushi place on Long Island, Orchid Boy and I are still adjusting to paying more for our favorite food. But, we always make sure we head to a place that has a buy-one-get-one offer to keep the cost down. We end up spending about $10 more than we did back on Long Island, but we get fancier sushi rolls.

When we can, we also get our food to go. Getting our food to go cuts down on the tip and the drink. (I know there have been arguments about tipping if you get food to go and generally, I’m a great tipper, but to-go orders are where I draw the line.) Doing this saves us up to $10 on our dinner. We also save a few bucks by picking up our orders instead of having them delivered.

How did you save money for your wedding?

I have an addiction: Online browsing. (Please note that I did not say Online Shopping because the norm is that I go on certain sites, see what’s new and what I wish I could just buy, and then stalk that item for days until it finally goes on sale. Seriously. Laugh if you will, but I always find the best deal.)

Anyway, I have a love for the new trend of one-day designer sale sites, such as  Haute Look, Rue La La, and (the reason for this post) ideeli.

ideeli is having their big “Ready, Set, Wed!” sale this Wednesday and Thursday. According to their blog, ‘choose from a huge selection of wedding gowns from Nicole Miller, Christina Wu, Dere Kiang, and more – all stunningly gorgeous, yet utterly returnable if you decide on a different dream dress. And since your glam gown is just the beginning, we have almost everything else to complete the fantasy: precious underpinnings from Cosabella for the honeymoon, giftware from Mikasa, Nambé for romantic dinners to come, plus Badgley Mischka watches, Jessica McClintock evening bags, and so much more.’

Thought this might be JUST the group to promote it to. Happy browsing!

Some brief notes, so you can have an idea of what I’m— errr, we are planning:

• Colors: No thank you.  As of now, the plan is to put the BMs in neutral dresses (probably black or grey) and get the flowers at the last minute (day before), and put them together ourselves the day of the wedding.  I can tell you that I love orange (how appropriate).  Orange will be somewhere in there.
• Food: BBQ/Southern comfort food.  Ideally, I’d love to have someone come with a smoker… I can already taste the turkey legs, ribs, grilled corn, pulled pork, cole slaw, hush puppies… nom!
• Drinks: Beer & Wine.  We’re going to have a couple of different kegs of our favorite beers; and wine.   Haven’t thought out the logistics of that yet.
• Location: As of now, we’re considering a couple of historic sites… but more to come on that in another post.
• Date: All we’ve talked about so far is Fall.  Mr. Man seems to think he’ll be able to talk me into a Spring wedding, but let the record show: IT AIN’T HAPPENING.  Why does he want this?  Football.  Surprise, Surprise.  I’m pushing to consider getting hitched on a Friday (cheaper), that way we can make a weekend out of it – be lazy on Saturday, watch the Skins wherever we honeymoon on Sunday.  I’m thinkin’ Sept/October. I’ll keep you lovelies updated, don’t you fret.
• Dress: I’m a plain jane.  My only requirement is that it not be frilly and that it absolutely, positively must have pockets.  I will not budge on this.
• Veil: I don’t do veils.  I think they’re annoying.  I plan on having a cute-as-a-button birdcage with a to-die-for fascinator.
• The Boys: Mr. Man wants to wear black suits, but I’m trying my bestest to convince him to wear grey or khaki; again, I’ll keep you updated.
• The Ceremony: Quick and dirty.  Nothing religious.  Maybe have a friend get ordained.  I dig.

After the vows and, of course, the dress, the most important element of the wedding, in this bride’s opinion, is the flowers.

I’m not just talking about the bouquets; I mean the centerpieces, the aisle décor, the cake table, and those other intimate details that serve as the eye candy for your wedding. That’s what makes those David Tutera weddings so amazing — the venue is transformed into a magical, once-in-a-lifetime space that creates a lasting memory for you and your guests.

But it seems like I’m in the minority for thinking so. People tell me, “Flowers die! Spend on the food instead!” To which I say, the flowers live on forever in the photos! And when was the last time you remembered what you ate at a wedding? It was chicken something, right? Or steak?

It probably looked like this.

Those online wedding budget calculators tell you to allot less than 8% of your total wedding budget to flowers. In my case, that’s about $2,000 — which is a sizable chunk of change already. But here in New York City, the land of the Carrie Bradshaw dream wedding, that’s a drop in the bucket.

So where did I start? First, I searched the blogs for real New York City weddings that featured flowers that I loved. Jotted down those vendors. Then I sent an e-mail detailing what I was looking for and inquiring where their pricing started. Quick reality check: The average New York City wedding florist works for around $5,000, that’s more than twice my budget. What to do, what to do?

Well, I’m not much of a DIY girl. The crafting gene sort of skipped my generation of the family, and I don’t know the first thing about flowers. To avoid a wedding day catastrophe, I sidestepped the idea of building my bouquets pretty quickly.

Instead, I went back to my budget and cut out those elements I knew we didn’t need. Limo was the first to go. Then I had each of the florists give me a complimentary proposal, pricing out every single element I could imagine for the wedding, up to and sometimes including a champagne bar. What I got back was, well, intimidating.

So then I got on the phone and was completely honest. I gave a reasonable expectation of what we want to spend, and how could we bring the total cost down? Here’s what we came up with:

1. For the bridesmaids: posy bouquets, rather than traditional round ones. They’re half the price and twice as sweet.
2. I was flexible with the types of flowers I wanted. By subbing out some of the more expensive ones, like fiddlehead fern and off-season ranunculus, I brought the price of my bouquet down by about $75.
3. With one florist, I said point blank that the centerpieces were too expensive. They knocked off $50 per just like that, for a total savings of $500.
4. Bar floral arrangements: You don’t need ‘em. The only people hanging around the bar will be your uncles, and of all the people on your guest list, they are the least likely to appreciate those flowers. Boom! Saved $300.
5. Have the bouquets delivered in mason jars, or other interesting vessels, filled with water. That way, after the ceremony, the bridesmaids’ flowers can be used on the bar, or in the bathrooms, or in any other corner needing some sweet adornment.
6. Between the three florists, setup and delivery charges ranged from $100 to $600. Obviously, we veered away from the latter.
7. Then there’s the old “cash discount.” It’s a little embarrassing to ask about, but the reward can be an extra $400 off your tab.

Oh, and my favorite part of talking with the florists is the inspiration boards they create for you. Check out some of mine…

The question of whether Orchid Boy and I should  send out engagement announcements and was on the table for a few weeks after he popped the question.

I had no intentions of sending out save the dates. For me, they’re a waste of postage. We’re not getting married on a holiday and we’re not getting married in a foreign country. There is also the obligation to invite those that you asked to save the date. Well, what if we’re over budget and I have to cut the guest list? Those that we want to save the date, will know about the engagement and the date. No need to kill trees.

Then I spoke to my cousin.

I wished her a happy birthday via Facebook and then mentioned that Orchid Boy and I are planning for June 4 to have the wedding and she better keep her weekend clear.

Her reaction was, “WHAT??!! I didn’t even know about the engagement!”

Oh. Oops.

I just assumed that everyone knew at that point we had been engaged a month and a half.

Which brings up my second point. Was it too late to announce the engagement?

In our case, I think we get a little leeway. We got engaged and then moved to North Carolina two weeks later. During that time I had been working at a new job, Orchid Boy was trying to find a job and we were waiting to move in to our new apartment, which we only just did a week prior to the discussion.

It wasn’t like we sat around for two months just procrastinating.

We decided to kill some trees and send out an announcement and included our new address.  I had my awesomely talented, sister and  Maid of Honor design these incredible announcements, which we printed at Walmart for nine cents a pop for a total of $10.43.

I told my MOH what to write, gave her a picture, and this is the awesomeness that she came up with.

HINT: If you do print your announcements at Walmart, make sure you leave extra room around the edges (or bleed, as they call it in the biz) because the photo will get cropped slightly, even if the image is saved at the proper size. The first set we had was cropped right through those first lines of the song lyrics and through our wedding website. But, the good people at Walmart exchanged our photos for a new set for no extra charge, even when I had them done 1 hour vs the three-day processing of the original set.

How did you announce your engagement?

Mr. Magnolia convinced me a few months ago that we can, in fact, DIY our invitations. The whole thing. Cutting, measuring, aligning, assembling, *designing*…

After much consideration of our budget and our original plan of having a New Year’s Eve wedding, we could not make it work.  To us, we had the perfect date and the perfect venue.  If I had a money tree, it would have been perfect.  Getting back to reality, we decided to take a step back and re-evaluate everything.  Good thing we did because we found the quirky venue we were looking for with a price that a penny pincher would love just by getting out of DC  proper!

Now, we have a NEW date of September 17, 2011 in a NEW location of Alexandria, VA.

We didn’t have a date that was particularly “special” to us so when I accepted that the NYE wedding wasn’t going to work out, I was open to picking a date that the venue AND our planner had availability on next fall.  Did you get your first pick of dates? How did you choose your wedding date? What makes it special?

Howdy garden!  I’m here to spread the word about the White Hot Hope initiative — a month-long, nationwide program to help women and children in need find their “happily ever after”.  White Hot Hope is sponsored by Brides magazine and supports two really great charity organizations: Operation Smile and Dress for Success.

http://www.whitehothope.com/

If you’ll be in New York City October 8-10, check out the schedule of happenings, where you can get a mini makeover, receive a hair trial, and enjoy coffee, tea, cocktails and cake tastings!  There are dozens of activities scheduled, so there is sure to be something for every bride-to-be!

Not in the NY area?  Check out the online charity auction running through the end of the month, where you can bid on jewelry, a honeymoon, signed cookbooks, and more!  There are also White Hot Events and special promotions (including trunk shows and contests) being held all over the country; so go check them out and help those in need while you have fun — it’s a win-win!

Has anyone attended a White Hot Hope event?  Please report back to the garden if you do!

I took a floral design class here a the U just a semester back…it was AMAZING! I learned the basics of designing my own arrangements as well as the in’s and out’s of a floral business. The most helpful thing I learned…how expensive real flowers are! For the make-believe wedding I was required to create for the class final, the budget for the flowers was upwards of $7,000. And I thought my arrangements were pretty modest!

Here’s some pictures of arrangement I made in class just to give you an idea:

Now that I am trying to cap spending on my own REAL wedding at $10,000…spending over 2/3 of the budget on flowers isn’t realistic. My solution: I will be buying silk flowers and making the arrangements myself with some help from a terrific and talented family friend.

I’m also saving money (and the planet) by recycling containers to use as vases for the arrangements at the reception. I’m going to use wine bottles for taller arrangements and mason jars and tin cans for shorter ones. Just add a little ribbon, decorative wire, and vio-la! Now I just need to pick the flowers…ha!

Be sure to look for a post in the future about the arrangements I create!

I framed our save the dates and my bridal shower invite.  They are both hanging to the left of our computer desk in our ‘office’ which is actually our dining room.  I had no doubt I would want to also frame my wedding invitation.  That was until I came across this post on the awesome blog, Young House Love.  This couple who recently became parents have a fabulous blog which mainly focuses on DIY home projects and decor.  There is also a link at the top to view information about the fabulous DIY wedding on a budget they had.  Here is their wedding shadow box -

My Inspiration - http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/07/wedding-week-ii-think-inside-the-box/

So I headed to the local crafts store and purchased a 14×14 unfinished shadow box for around $13.00.  I also purchased some scrapbook paper in my wedding colors.  My husband painted the shadow box for me, I gathered my wedding goodies, and was ready to put it all together.

My Final Project - I love how it turned out.

I LOVE how it turned out and appreciate the ‘model’ from Young House Love who helped to inspire me to create this fabulous piece of art I will cherish forever.  If you are already married hopefully this will inspire you to gather your wedding goodies to display and if you are getting married…start a pile of wedding goodies you can use to keep your wedding mementos!