To everyone else that disagrees with theknot.com...

... sometimes they're not so bad.


I was bored and looking through my (million) bookmarks today and rediscovered theknot.com ...

Usually I disagree with about 75% of everything on that site but the article that caught my interest first was probably one of the best I've seen from them in a while (not to bash them, it's a great and very user friendly site and I had spent whole days doing nothing but surfing through it's seas of wedding porn when that oh so pretty ring first touched my hand but quickly noticed that theknot.com is just not geared toward couples with a budget less than 1/4 of what they make *yearly*). And thus I give you: 30 Ways To Save $ On Your Wedding and the things i agree with:


1. Cut the guest list. This will slash your catering costs and save on invitations and even the number of centerpieces. While painfully obvious this is a biggie. When we (I) made our first guest list I almost feinted when I counted: 300 people. Since then, we've gone after that list with a machete, a grenade or two, a pair of scissors and a couple hundred clicks of a mouse. And now we are down to about 130, much better huh? :-D

2. Think off-peak season and save thousands! Kevin proposed to me in May. To wait till warmer weather we would have had to wait almost a year or more. We didn't think we could wait those extra 4 months. So with the help of this book, the $ it would save us, my love of winter but most our own love we decided that we would get married in 8 months in January and on a Sunday (!!!!!! I know, it shocked me too!). Our biggest problems with this decision: the COLD! (i have yet to find a jacket or shawl I like enough to wear with my wedding dress), the (possible) snow and road conditions, the lack of time even if its the way we wanted it, the limited range of ideas (you would be amazed how little wedding porn is from a winter wedding!) and of course, the almost universal looks of "what-the-heck-are-they-thinking". But I promise, if its what you want, it's worth it.

3. Hold your ceremony and reception in one spot -- it will cut travel time for vendors you pay by the hour. We're doing this one too! As a very involved member of our church I asked our pastor if we could hold our reception in the church hall and with the simple guidelines that there must be no (or very little - still working that out)booze, no overtly sexual music, that we make sure to stay within fire safety's guides for how many people in the hall and pay the set fee, the church is totally with us and even quite a few of the members will be receiving invitations (when we actually get around to that)!

4. Skip the Saturday wedding. Having a Sunday wedding was a big deal to us and has been the basis of MANY discussions. We go to this church every Sunday almost and to not do so on our wedding day seemed wrong. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that while during the sermon Kevin will be fidgety and nervous and crazed with all the things on our to-do list, I will love the normality and tradition of it and hopefully so will he. Usually service ends at noon at our church with most everyone being gone by 1:30. Our wedding is set to begin at 3. It will not be easy but I am sure that we will love every moment of that day :)

15. Serve comfort foods like barbecue chicken, mac and cheese, and corn. It's fun and often cheaper. OH yes! We're going full blast with that idea asking our family and friends to each bring a dish for a "family style" (yeah, okay, pot luck) early dinner. We're thinking build your own tacos, ham, turkey, pizza, pasta, pork chops, all the deliciousness of home!

16. Skip the champagne toast. Even though we bought a cake cutting/ champagne flute set, neither of us like that kind of bubbly hehe, we may use soda or water or whatever we have on hand actually!

22. Get single-page invites to save on postage. We're planning on printing our invites on a single sheet of (shock i know!) cardstock that has been cut down to size (thanks Dad!) to save on paper and $. I've never really seen a point to using a whole other sheet behind the invite simply for added color - with no info on it! - anyway :) plus we have these awesome stamps to use on the invitations!

There is so much you missed theknot.com! Couples today are getting so crafty! You could make your own bouquet from flowers from the grocery store or bought in bulk online. Or make your own cup cake wedding cake. Or buy a super cheap wedding dress (I know of women- yeah online haha- that have spent $70, $40, $10, even $5 for their wedding dresses!).

It can be done people!
*holds imaginary champagne glass full of imaginary caffeine free coke up in a toast*
To all the couples daring to be different and cheap with their weddings: good luck, happy days and lots of love♥

been MIA for awhile now...

I sortta kindda slacked off here. Between hunting for an el cheapo (under $800 a month) apartment and convincing myself NOT to have a panic attack because the wedding is less than 4 months away, I found a wedding ring I love and can afford !!!!

HERE it is!

and Kevin's :)

^_^ and I'm totally loving the fact that both are under the $150 we were aiming for!

vacation

WHERE I WANT TO BE TODAY:


my aunt and uncle's house ^_^ Can't wait to visit

love this silly old swing:

WHO I WANT TO BE WITH:
(bff/cousin and me)

OR:

(Kevin, me, Mom, and Dad)

WHAT I WANT TO BE DOING:

OR:

....................

what i did today:

blehhhhhh. Sweet Virginia here I come!

SHOES!

MY SHOES ARE SUPER AWESOME. I tell myself this at least once a week. I decided early on that I DID NOT AND DO NOT want white shoes. I’ve worn white shoes so few times in my life it seems like a waste. Now, blue shoes I could wear again. And they’d be in our color scheme. And they could be my something blue. Now, I have to admit, my mom has been great with all of our quirkiness and the amount of traditions we’ve thrown out. That said, my mom hated my shoes. I don’t think this has changed but she doesn’t threaten to burn them anymore. I personally think they are the epitome of awesome and their price tag only sealed the deal (7 bucks + tax. I love you Walmart!). Still not sure if they’ll work with my dress but at $7, I think I can take it as a loss if they don’t ;-)

not exactly the most flattering photo of them, but it'll do, it'll do. I searched online for a pic and silly walmart doesn't have the same color shoes in any of their pages but I STILL LOVE MY SHOES

bling bling ;-)

The anique looking $40 pin I bought from Lily's Bridal ^_^ loved it so much I just had to have it. It's a little gawdy, but man, i love it.

^ my mama's pearls are lovely but I wanted to add a little something to them, you know. Well sifting through my Grandmonther's old costume jewlery I found this little blue treasure. It's really a clip on earring! I need to add a little something to keep it from slidding down some but I love the way it looks.

^ the (not so good) close up

life upate and weekly finds

!!!!!!!! Been a while since I posted and I have good news and bad. Some good first! We founds rings we love!

mine^

his^

I'm totally thrilled about them. My ring is completely different from what I expected to like but its fantastic all the same and we really have our hearts set on these, BUT...

Kevin's job of nearly 7 years just went downhill and out and now he's out in this scary, recession heavy world, looking for work. I am proud to say that he's already out and actively looking but we're both starting to worry. How can we plan anything on one little paycheck like mine? I keep telling him that we must have faith and need to be strong and that something (anything) will come along and I still believe it will but boy this economy has really fallen into the crapper....

ON A HAPPIER NOTE: the day after we received that lovely news, I was scheduled to go out and buy my wedding dress. Needless to say, I was (am) terrified. How could I justify spending so much (honestly, not that much, but I'm kindda a penny pincher) after that? But w talked and realized that the loss would not affect our CURRENT bank account balance it would just take a while longer than normal to jump back up... and I bought the dress.

shhhhhhhhh but it's not REALLY a bridal gown. It's a bridesmaid dress! I ordered it in ivory and it should be here by Sept or Oct (obviously I can't post pics of it seeing that Kevin is a religious reader and Mom says of all the traditions we're nixing, THAT one CAN'T go). I'm totally thrilled! I also bought a pin for the dress Saturday (will post pics later) and should be getting my shoes soon :)

anywho: here are some more interesting/inspiring/swoon worthy photos that have captured my eyes these past few days. Enjoy!

found these lovelies on Etsy! would make an awesome unity candle

I love this idea for table numbers (Kevin and I being the comic book, cartoon loving nerds we are) from this wedding but I'm thinking we might name tables after famous couples (think Fred and Wilma Flintstone, WallE and Eve, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Lucy and Ricky Riccardo). Any suggestions?

loving the balloon-lined path from this baby shower

also love this white themed party (mostly those giant balloons!)

hehe it's CHEESECAKE! loving this great idea for a non-traditional (and non-sweet) groom's cake from here

web-crush

I am really loving realsimple.com
I'm seriously, totaly enamored. This is every domestic woman's dream site. Literaly simple to the point of minamalistic sometimes, I love the uniqueness. All pics below are from them.

^ super simple and effective

^also pretty (AND edible!)

^ these two would be great for a Thanksgiving dinner or a Fall Wedding

^ game night (which is totaly awesome to me, knowing my Darling's love of all things game -not sport- related)

^ GREAT idea for a Mexican Fiesta! (or Mardi Gras)