big wedding tiny budget

guest book trial

2011-05-02T15:44:00.000-04:00

Don't mind the messy box and junk surrounding this, but here is an example of what we want the guest book table to look like:

The framed tree will be leaned up against the wall and leaves scattered in front of it. The frame will have a note directing folks to choose a leaf to sign with the silver pen, and then simply drop it in the glass jar. Then after the wedding we'll put the leaves in the tree and have a nice little house decoration! here's what it would look like completed:

ceremony aisle

2011-05-02T15:37:00.000-04:00

We found these silver pails from target in their dollar section...

We're going to use them up the aisle during the ceremony. We'll put one hydrangea in each one. We practiced by cutting a hydrangea from my parents garden.

First we put a plastic bag in the pail (so water doesn't leak out) then we placed the hydrangea stem in the oasis flower foam and placed it in the bag with water.

We did this practice one (below) on Saturday and here it is Monday and the flower is still going strong. Another project that can be done a couple days before that's simple. The hydrangea that we will use for the wedding would be white/green though:

boutonnieres

2011-05-02T14:02:00.000-04:00

We did a trial run on the boutonnieres this weekend. plucked the herbs from my parents garden and gathered together.

Not bad for a first try! The tape would be green and possibly covered with ribbon. The practice ones are in the fridge now to see how long they would last... that way we can do them a couple days before the wedding. We'll take them out in a couple days and see not only what they look like while kept in the fridge, but then keep them out for a day to see how they last if they were pinned on someone.

we'll have more herbs in the bouts when we really do them too...

bathroom basket

2011-05-02T13:53:00.000-04:00

We collected materials for the bathroom basket and went to my parents place put that together this past weekend. There would be one basket placed in the ladies and mens room.

These bathroom baskets are filled with toiletries and can save the day for one or more guests. In the women's basket we have spray on deoderant, body spray, hair spray, lotion, brush, q-tips, mouthwash, pads, band-aids, sewing kit, floss, off spray (mosquitos), itch spray, tums, tylenol, lip gloss, etc. The mens basket is obviously a bit different.

menu cards

2011-05-02T13:47:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking about doing some menu cards for every other seat at the table. Just a way for folks to know what they are/are about to eat. These cards would be tucked into the napkin fold. Trying to figure out which color style would be best in the navy napkins... and also which swirly icon things to use...

on the other side of this card I may print out a photo scavenger hunt list with ideas of things for folks to take pictures of... for example:

Camera Scavenger Hunt:

If you have your camera please scavenge around
Hunt for those pictures that need to be found!
Shoot away and complete the list,
Find moments that the Photographer may have missed.

Table 1

___ Group photo of everyone at your table
___ Photo of each family or couple
___ Group photo of the table next to yours
___ Bride and Groom holding hands
___ Groom watching bride from distance
___ Matron of Honor making a toast
___ Bride and Groom’s first dance
___ Bridal Party entering the reception

Table 2

___ Group photo of everyone at your table
___ Photo of each family or couple
___ Group photo of the table next to yours
___ Child under a table
___ Groom playing with ring
___ Person who’s known the Groom the longest
___ Groom dancing with his mom
___ Bride and Groom’s first dance
___ Wedding cake

Table 3

___ Group photo of everyone at your table
___ Photo of each family or couple
___ Group photo of the table next to yours
___ Groom watching bride from distance
___ Groom and/or Bride laughing
___ Best man making a toast
___ Biggest smile
___ Bride and Groom cutting the cake

card box completed

2011-04-06T19:02:00.000-04:00

This took all of 5 minutes to do... just added a place card and ribbon.... and here is our card box....

Program Project

2011-04-06T18:55:00.000-04:00

Currently working on some simple program fans. I am thinking we'd probably put one on every other chair at the ceremony.
These are easy to put together... I have a template for the shape of the panels, then just print off from our home computer, then have to cut the panels out (the most time consuming part), then I punch a 1/8" hole at the bottom and put brads in the hole to enable the panels to move around. badda bing badda boom.

I just can't decide if it should be color on just the two end pieces..... or alternate color....

bridesmaid hair flowers

2011-03-24T16:06:00.001-04:00

Here are some hair thingies I'm going to have the girls wear in their hair. They are pale green hydrangea on bobby pins. Each one is about 1-1 1/2 inches. The flowers will have a pearl in the middle rather than the rhinestone pictured below...

The girls would have 3 or less in their hair...

Table Numbers

2011-03-24T10:25:00.000-04:00

I worked on our table numbers the other day. I had a bunch of silver frames already so I though we can just put them to use. I cut down some card stock that I already had, but it in the frame, then glue gunned a wood number that I painted right on to the card stock. I was simple and cheap and ended up looking like I hoped... and it was so quick and easy to do...

Trivia Cards

2011-03-24T10:23:00.000-04:00

We were thinking of making some trivia cards for the cocktail hour. These cards would be placed around on the tables at cocktail hour and hopefully help entertain the guests or at least get some conversation going. The cards would be trivia about Scott and I as well as wedding tradition/superstition questions. We'd make about 50 different questions and have a small handful on each table. We love games, so though this would be a subtle and simple way to include something fun.

ceremony decor

2011-03-24T10:19:00.000-04:00

For ceremony decorations I was thinking about maybe doing something like this... hydrangeas in a simple container either hanging off the end chairs or placed on the ground next to the chair.... it would be white hydrangeas instead of the purple pictured here though. then i figured once the ceremony was over they can be placed on the pathway from the house to the tent or at other places during the reception.

ornament

2011-03-04T13:39:00.000-05:00

I found a seller on Etsy that makes some pretty cheap customizable ornaments the other week. So I contacted them to make one for us to have for holidays to come. I just had to give them a few facts about us and then they put them all around the ornament

just thought it would be a cute keepsake to have and bring out every Christmas!

reserved seating

2011-03-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

I've been working on "reserved seating" cards for the ceremony seats. Just used some left over card stock and ribbon I had on hand. I'm making the cards for all the "VIP" seats and they would be tied on the seat backs.

Here's an example of one that I made:

I got this idea after seeing someone selling them online. Below is what the cards look like when on the chairs (this is what i based my cards off of) Below they were selling them for $4.20 each... the one's i made (above) only cost 30 cents each:

hair accessories

2011-02-24T14:14:00.000-05:00

I don't think I'm going to be wearing a veil. I think that expensive purchase that I would be wearing for 30 minute max is a little unnecessary. Instead I plan on wearing a hair flower clip/pin instead. This would be something I'd wear the entire evening. Here's an example of one that I liked. It's made from the same material as my dress...

shoe shopping

2011-02-24T14:12:00.000-05:00

I've been browsing for shoes to wear and I haven't been too picky about them. I figured since my dress will be covering my feet, not too many people are going to see them anyways. I've been looking for some simple styles that are wedding-ish... but that I could dye to a different color once the wedding is over and use for other formal occasions. Here's one that I ordered to try on. The site that i ordered from has free return shipping/exchanges... so if they don't work for my tootsies I can easily send back for a refund or exchange.

other styles that I was considering:

Hair/Makeup

2011-02-01T18:25:00.000-05:00

Here's an example of what I'm hoping to have my make-up and hair look like.

The first picture is an example of my hopeful makeup. I of course don't want to look like a clown... I want it to look romantic and pretty with a pop of the eyes and natural colored lip, but still resemble myself.

For hair I'm looking to do a loose half up/half down style. My hair is actually naturally wavy and I plan on keeping the side bangs I have now... so I think this look will work. I'm hoping to get these kind of loose wave (no tight curls or ringlets!) just something soft and not too over the top.

Time to get our workout on!

2011-02-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

With 5 1/2 months left to the wedding, we figured we better get a move on to look our best! We joined a gym last week and we've been going every day since. I personally currently weigh the most I ever have in my life, so I want to trickle down to a healthier weight. Scott is tired of being out of breath and wants to be more active and drop some pounds as well.

Right now we usually head to the gym after dinner (and on the weekends it's around lunch time). Scott hits the free weights and I hit the weight machines for strength buildings. I'm hoping to tone up my arms so they aren't so jiggly! After our weight lifting stuff I head over and do a hour worth of stuff on the cardio machines (treadmill, elliptical, and bike for 20 min each). Scott heads over to the basketball court and plays a few games with other members.

We're also taking a closer look at our portioning and eating habits. So far we've made it a goal not to eat past 7pm and have cut our dinner portions in half of what they use to be. Our trips to the grocery store have been a change too as we're packing our basket with more healthier options too.

Here's hoping our weight drops over these next few months with these efforts!

honeymoon

2011-02-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

Our honeymoon spot (this is the hotel in Bora Bora)! We have a trip booked to Moorea/Bora Bora starting a couple days after our wedding. We are pumped!

Bands

2011-02-01T18:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a sneak peak at our wedding bands!

Door Wreaths

2011-02-01T17:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a good find I found online... there would be two of these wreaths on the front door of the venue... it's dried hydrangea and it would be mostly green stems...

Crinoline Dying

2010-11-30T17:27:00.000-05:00

My dress doesn't need a crinoline skirt, so this does not pertain to me...
But this is something unique and fun that some brides are doing. They are dying their crinoline skirts that go underneath their dress. It's not visible from the outside, but if they lifted up their dress a little, the color would peek out. I just thought it was something cute... here are some pics that show what I'm talking about.
This won't happen with me, but I like the idea...

Black Friday Shopping

2010-11-30T00:07:00.000-05:00

Well we really didn't partake in any of the pre-dawn shopping craziness this year (last year we went to Old Navy at 3am for some reason). This year we just drove by solely to observe the Loonies.

Here is a pic that we took on our way home from Thanksgiving dinner... it's of the folks camping out at our local Best Buy:

. There were like 40 tents set up... and the store wasn't opening for another 7 hours!

We did end up venturing out in the afternoon on a hunt for a Christmas Tree sale. We found an awesome 7 1/2 ft tree that was an amazing deal though! Score! We put it up that evening and it looks great!

We're really stoked about our Cyber Monday deal we got for our Bridal Party gifts! I can't post that on here in case any of the girls are checking this out... but it's such a cool gift and we're happy we were able to find it at an affordable price! We're happy to be able to check that task off our list... but even more excited to give the gifts to our bridemaids and groomsmen!

Browsing Boutonnieres

2010-11-29T23:48:00.000-05:00

My new obsession has been boutonnieres. I don't even know if I spelled the word right, but I like them! I think they add a little pizazz to the guys. I'm trying to steer clear of the prom look and go for something elegant, sophisticated, and different. Just browsing, but here are a few that caught my eye (some of these are not even close to our color scheme). We'll probably go with something more traditional, but I thought these were crafty creations...

Engagement Pics

2010-11-29T23:02:00.000-05:00

We got our engagement pictures back from the photographer. We were photographed at the Glenview Mansion in Rockville, MD in early November. It was a gorgeous place... but a little cold and windy. After seeing the pics Scott and I learned that we need to relax a bit more in front of the camera and angle ourselves a bit better as well. We also have to learn how not to be so "cheesy" and do something rather than just look at the camera and smile! We got 80 pictures back, but out of those we really only have about 15 that are our favorites. Here are a couple taken from the day:

I said "Yes To The Dress"

2010-11-29T22:46:00.000-05:00

Well I told myself that November was going to be my dress month... and I made my goal...with a day to spare! Today I said YES to my dress! I absolutely LOVE it. It's perfect for a June wedding!

I went to the bridal shop with my mother to browse earlier this month. I must have tried on 15 dresses or so. There were some that I was able to walk out of the dressing room, then right back in because I knew it just wasn't THE dress... but there were also a few in my "maybe yes" pile. One particular dress really stood out to me, but I thought I'd sleep on it before making the decision. Well I went back a few weeks later, and tried that one particular dress on again tonight and still LOVED it so the purchase was made!

I'm NOT going to post a picture of MY dress on here (big day viewing only!)... but here are a few of the dresses that DID NOT make the cut: