Clockwise, from top left:  

The inspiration — custom-made house and picket fence stamp by Three Fifteen Design, featured on Oh So Beautiful Paper; Bicycle Built for Two by terbearco, $24.99 on Etsy; Bouquet of Flowers by talktothesun, $15.00 on Etsy; Heart face change, set of 5 stamps, by MemiTheRainbow, $22.00 on Etsy; Bushy Mustache by skullandcrossbuns, about $7.31 on Etsy; Happy Couple stamp by Flonz Craft Shop, $5.95 on Etsy.

Not only can you use rubber stamps to personalize your invitations, but you can extend the design of your choice into other areas of your wedding, like favors (see how pretty the flower bouquet stamp makes burlap baggies?) and other wedding-day items (imagine using the mustache stamp on table numbers and menus).  Having a retro affair?  Try the “Happy Couple” stamp on your thank you cards.

Have you used rubber stamps as part of your DIY wedding projects?  Got any fun ways to use rubber stamps you want to share?

 Mr. Officer in Action
Photo via NY Daily News

Actually, this is a topic that Mr. Officer and I discussed long before we ever dated. In fact, I distinctly remember having a conversation with him when he was about one year into his job, in which he told me that he couldn’t see himself ever getting married or having a family because he didn’t want to put someone else through the stress of worrying about his safety.

Well I’m glad he abondoned that plan, but now I’m one of the people concerned with his safety so I’m going to level with you……it can be stressful. There have been a few scary incidents involving Brooklyn cops this year (exhibit A: this recent news story), and it’s always jarring to realize there are people out there that hate him just because of his job.

Now this is not to say that I sit at home every night, biting my nails and bracing for impact. In fact, Mr. Officer is really good at dissassociating his professional and personal lives, so most days I kind of forget what he does for a living. And seriously, sometimes the threat of physical danger isn’t as stressful as the general disdain that accompanies his job title. I mean let’s face it, police officers are not usually beloved among liberal-minded partygoers these days.

As backward as it may seem, I think the professional stress actually makes our relationship a little less stressful. We rarely argue (I know, I can almost feel the eye rolls as I write this), but honestly it’s hard to get into a huge blowout over cocktail napkins or floral arrangements when there are so many other things that I can worry about on a daily basis. It’s a little cheesy, but I love Garth Brooks’ song “If Tomorrow Never Comes”, because it pretty accurately summarizes our approach to marriage. Mr. Officer tells me all the time that as long as everything is fine with our relationship and families than he’s happy. You’ve got to admit it’s pretty hard to argue with that logic.

In the midst of all the wedding planning, I hope (nay, demand) that everyone takes a step back to lighten the mood with a kickass date night. That call to the caterer can wait until after margarita night, because you get to marry the person you love and life is good!

So now seems like a good time to get a stress relieving, dance party started. Go on and get down with your bad self…….I’ll even provide the tunes.  Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger

Clockwise from Top:

Stuart Weitzman $84 //Badgley Mischka $97 // Moda Spana $45 // Caparros $35 //
Martinez Valero $80 // Calvin Klein $94

Do you plan to play it safe with your wedding shoes, or are you doing something a little untraditional? Let me know in the comments below!

-Dana F. 

I know it's so pretty that you want to keep it. Please don't.

People Who Won’t RSVP. What is that? We’re all busy, I get that, but just check the appropriate box on the little card and drop it in your mailbox. It’s already stamped and everything! Or go to the website and click the appropriate box and let them know. Or email your response. If you don’t, a few weeks from now you’re going to get a very uncomfortable phone call/email asking you, as politely as possible, what the hell is going on? No one likes that phone call. No one likes making it. No likes taking it. And no one likes avoiding it, really. Little card, stamped envelope. MAIL IT.

People Who RSVP and Don’t Show Up. And Don’t Tell You They’re Not Showing Up. Again, life happens, I get that. But you were invited, and you RSVP’d yes, and your meal is already paid for. At least call or email and let them know that you’re not coming. I know that weddings can often feel impersonal – it’s this big, huge affair, now matter what size it is. It’s easy to think that you won’t be missed. Believe me, you will. Left-over place cards get noticed. Think of it this way – not only is it rude, but it isn’t  how you would want someone to treat you. Right? Right. And yet, the table with ten cards on it shows up at every wedding. Sigh.

Early Invitation Times. This one is on you. I know I keep repeating this, but I feel like it’s my mission in life to get this through to as many people as possible. If your ceremony starts at 5:00pm, put 5:00pm on the invitation, please. Putting 4:30pm on the invitations just to fool the latecomers is  going to inconvenience everyone else, including you. The majority of your guests are going to show at 4:00pm. That leaves you one hour less to set-up and get ready. And guests that are hanging out, all dressed up, for an hour. Hopefully, they’ll have someplace to sit. Will they have someplace to sit? And, most of the time, the usual latecomers will still be late. It’s not worth it. Never worth it.

Family Members That Give Into The Wedding Wacky. You have one idea of how you want your wedding to look like, they have another. And they will not shut up about it. And not only will they not shut up about it, but they take it personally that you won’t take their advice. And you react the way that you always react when they won’t back off, which you recognize as some variation of “badly.” And then suddenly your entire relationship is at stake. Over the color of the bridesmaid dresses. Seriously? Look, here’s the deal: You can’t control what they say and do, you can only control what you say and do. So, while they’re taking your rejection personally, don’t take their rejection personally, too. They are always like this, you know that. They want you to have a wonderful day, and you should acknowledge that. They just want you to have their vision of a wonderful day. Hold onto your vision of, affirm what you want, and keep moving.

My bride made these. And this is great if you know how to make it or want to learn. Do you? ( Courtesy of SDK Photo)

Unrealistic Wedding Tips.  Of course the cost of your venue and catering will go down if you pick a day other than a weekend, but how many people are going to be able to make it if it’s on a Thursday night? I guess that’s a way to cut the guest list, but…  I just read an article that said that vendors are willing to cut their rates if you have your wedding on a Sunday. Well, I speak for a lot of vendors when I say that I only work once a weekend, so I’m not going to be able to lower my prices on the one day I’m working. DIY is not a cure-all. iPod’ing your wedding music is not a cure-all. Grow your own flowers? I recently got asked to write a piece on alternatives to having (not hiring, having) a wedding photographer and, NO. I’m not saying that they’re not all do-able, but all of these come with caveats that are often missing.  Getting them to work may be more time-consuming,  stressful and sometimes more expensive, than other options. There are many, many realistic ways to save money when you’re planning your wedding, and you don’t have to step out of your comfort zone to do them.

So, what wedding pet peeves have YOU developed so far? And what do you think about mine? Let me know in the comments below.

See you at the end of the aisle,

Frowning Flower Girl, I totally get you now.

So John works 8 hours a day now, like a real adult, and I sit at home, alone with my thoughts, blogging about weddings. Or talking to my wedding vendors. Or watching my twitter feed for relevant wedding world blasts. Our new apartment is just one of those totally generic apartments in a totally generic apartment complex – you know, beige carpet, white walls – and most of our crap is still in boxes, because we have nowhere to put it. So I have nothing to look at. I’ve taken to watching 2 episodes of “Murder She Wrote” a day, back-to-back, because Angela Lansbury’s antics are one of the only things that can totally distract me from the terrible, BEIGE, WEDDINGNESS that is my existence right now.

Also, I’m getting married in just over 2 weeks. People keep asking me “AREN’T YOU EXCITED?!” Uh, no. As a matter of fact, at the moment, I am STRESSED because I elected to plan this whole thing  in 3 months, and then had to fit a cross-country move somewhere in between. OR  I am BORED TO TEARS of my new apartment. OR I am SAD because I’ve left everything I knew and liked on the East Coast. Am I excited to get married? YES. Will I totally enjoy my wedding day? HELL YES! I will love every second of it. I will relish having all my friends and fam in the same room for the first and maybe only time ever. I seriously can’t wait to love, party, eat, drink, and dance my way through the whole day. and of course, I can’t wait to make it official with John, the love of my life, after almost 6 years. NO DUH.

But even so, there are days when I just want it all to be over. I want to crawl into a dark hole where the word “wedding” is never spoken.  And fellow broke-asses, that’s OK.

You won’t be ridiculously giddy 24/7 until the day you get married. Life won’t stop happening around you, for better or for worse. Getting married is a big damn deal. But it’s not the only deal, for you, or your loved ones. And it’s important that everyone remembers that. Just because you’ve got a bad case of wedding blahs or wedding blues doesn’t mean your relationship/life/career (in my case) is about to fall apart.

This “first word problems” report brought to you by…

-Emily

The Bride-To-Be Book is designed for brides who want to preserve all the magic and excitement leading up to and including the big day: the proposal, the stories behind the ring and the dress, the parties, the toasts and speeches, and all the fun of celebrating with family and friends. With short and sweet prompts, brides are encouraged to write their memories and create a beautiful keepsake to treasure for years to come.

Our inspiration was vintage Hollywood and most of the photos were taken at the location of the wedding: Hollywood Forever. We chose Laurie because she is a band/music photographer primarily, and we are both in the music industry and we fell in love with her photos after seeing a shoot she did for a friends band.

She couldn’t shoot the actual wedding because her birthday was our wedding date, 11-11-11 She spent a lot of time and prep with us from picking out clothes, hair/makeup, scouting locations, to all the small details, and was very affordable and super easy/accommodating.

We didn’t want conventional “engagement” (or wedding) photos because those are always super lame looking. We wanted something more unique, fashiony, magazine, candid looking. We didn’t want to spin in circles and have our hair blowing in the wind; so we opted for cool images at the wedding location instead. We didn’t do “posed” wedding photos, so this was our chance to get cool shots together.

Whew. *fans self* If this is what their engagement shoot holds for us, I can’t wait to see the wedding. Stay tuned, Broke-Asses! xoxo

All photos: Laurie Scavo

The Broke-Ass Bride is always looking for rad-tastic Broke-Ass weddings to feature. Interested? You can submit via Two Bright Lights or by emailing us directly!

- Christen

I’m seriously stoked to bring you Iris’s request for a non-white wedding gown that is just Va-Va-Voom!  Here’s what Iris had to say:

Hi there!

Oscar de LaRenta $5,000.00+

Well, Iris, may I just say that you are one super smart cookie?!  By choosing a “not white” wedding frock, you have seriously upped your options and dropped your cost in one funky swoop!  I L-O-V-E it!

I had a blast playing personal shopper here!  So let’s dive into the sea of blue taffeta and one shouldered wonders I have in store for you.  Are you ready to Get Over It?

I stumbled onto designer Teri Jon‘s website and got smacked in the face with Awesomeness!  Both of the selected dresses are under $1,000.00! D-R-O-O-L….

1) ONE SLEEVE NAVY GOWN item 29207, $790.00

2) BLUE AND BLACK ASYMMETRICAL GOWN item 17029, $890.00

And then there’s Tony Bowls! He usually sells his gowns in prom shops. Since I don’t know where, in the world you are, you should definitely head to his website to find your nearest store.  Depending on the retailer and, of course, the year the design was released, a Tony Bowls dress could cost you anywhere from $300- $1,000.00.  I can’t help you out any more than that on price unless you do the rest of the leg work.  But, here are the two that I found best matched your azure dream!

All of these dresses are under the $500.00 mark!  I’ve  never had the pleasure of shopping at any of these sites but if any readers have purchased a gown from 1) Milanoo,  2) Elegant Park, 3) Luxeslee  4)  Alibaba, or 5) Dresssale.com, please comment below!

1) Dark Navy One Shoulder Flower Sequin Chiffon Evening Dress, $116.99

2) Dark Navy Fitted Asymmetrical One Shoulder Long Taffeta Bride’s Maids’ Dress, $142.99

3) Mermaid One Shoulder Floor Length Taffeta Evening Gown, $135.18

4) A-Line One Shoulder Floor Length Satin Prom Dress / Evening Gown = $128.80

5) Mermaid One Shoulder Floor Length Taffeta Evening Gown = $144.61

6) Mermaid One Shoulder Floor Length Taffeta Evening Gown, $135.18

7) Luxurious Dark Navy One-Shoulder Ruffles Dress, $128.99

Lightinthebox.com had four dresses that wowed me!  I particularly like that they make certain thier customers know that these dresses are not brand name.  They are reproductions/replicas of other dresses.  I’m down with that if you are!  These beauties are also under $500.00!

 

1) Chiffon Matte Satin Sheath/ Column One Shoulder Floor-length Evening Dress

inspired by Kathryn Le at Grammy Awards, $146.99

2) A-line/Princess One Shoulder Floor-length Satin Chiffon

With Crystal Detailing/ Criss Cross Ready-to-Wear Evening Dress, $299.99

3) Sheath/ Column One Shoulder Floor-length Chiffon

Elastic Woven Satin Bridesmaid Dress $129.99

4) Taffeta Trumpet/ Mermaid One Shoulder Floor-length Evening Dress, $178.19

There you go, Iris!  Don’t be blue!  I hope these options quell your fashionista thirst for fabulousity, structure, & that brilliant blue hue!  You are going to be a vision in whichever gown you grab!  Thanks for writing in!

Oh, and BTW, I like chocolate chip cookies

-Tori

Many of us agree that photography is a HUGE part of your big day.  After all, your photos stay with you forever!  As if pictures weren’t prominent enough in the wedding biz, they’ve taken a step further into the spotlight with the introduction of photo booths.

So what’s the big deal with these anyway?  Obviously, a photo booth lets your guest take home sweet photos, sure to bring up memories of the fun they had at your wedding.  But pictures aside, photo booths keep guests’ spirits high.  After the pomp and circumstance of a formal ceremony, it gives your guests a chance to cut loose and express themselves in a humorous way.

Now, let’s get real for a minute.  Yep, we have to start thinking about the dreaded b-word.  Photo booths for weddings typically rent for $1000+.  And when you’re on a budget, well, that can be a lot of dough to dish out on a novelty.   But let’s step back and think about the concept of the photo booth.  You want to give your guests an easy way to capture wedding-day memories.  You want to provide them a fun setup.  Thinking about it this way, having a photo booth – without actually renting one – is totally doable.

A couple ideas:

The Polaroid Setup.  This requires very little work from you.  All you need is the camera; a small table to set the camera on (along with extra paper and batteries, if you have a large guest list); and backdrop (whether it’s a folding screen, or pretty fabric tacked to the wall if your venue allows).  Make it fun and set out a box of props, too!

Polaroid Z340 Instant Digital Camera, $299 at Polaroid.com

Polaroid cameras are easy to operate, so guests can take turns taking pictures of each other, or hold up the camera to take pictures of themselves.

Tip:  If you don’t already have a Polaroid camera, register for one!  Make sure it’s on your registry early and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get it before your wedding.  If not, cross it off the registry and pick one up yourself.  It’s less than a third the cost of a photo booth, and you get to take it with you on the honeymoon! If $300 is still too rich for your blood, you can grab an old school vintage Polaroid for a fraction of the cost of a new one on Etsy, and source film for it from The Impossible Project!

The Laptop Setup.  To get closer to the real deal, you can purchase photo booth software (like Spark Booth, $59) that takes the pictures through your webcam.  By bringing in a laptop and printer, you can set up a photo station that snaps your guests’ photos in a single keystroke and prints them out in photo-booth format.  Brilliant!  Interested in the details? See the step-by-step and results from a real wedding here.

You can take these ideas a step further by using the pictures in your guestbook, as an alternative to signatures.  Set out markers for the guests to write messages on the prints, and mounting squares to stick their snapshots in a scrapbook.  (Your crafty girlfriends will have fun with this, too!)

Image:  Emmaline Bride

How are you getting creative with photos at your wedding?

So, I started collecting inspirational pictures from the interwebs for discussion ad infinitum with my mom, the maid of honor, the mailman, the waitress at Bertucci’s who complimented my ring and so on. I hoped a local bakery would be able to recreate something that resembled one of these astronomically expensive cakes:

Cake-spiration 1: Ron Ben-Israel Cakes
Photo by Antonis Achilleos via www.theknot.com

Cake-spiration 2: Gail Watson Custom Cakes
Photo by Antonis Achilleos via www.theknot.com

Cake-spiration 3: Sylvia Weinstock Cakes
Photo by Antonis Achilleos via www.theknot.com

Cake-spiration 4: Martha Stewart
Photo via www.marthastewart.com

So now I had my folder of inspirational photos, and I just had to find a bakery that could make a budget friendly version of my dream cake. No problem, except….except, I was having a really hard time wrapping my head around the whole idea of the wedding cake. As I mentioned in my last post, we went way overboard with the venue, leaving a very narrow budget for everything else.

Plus I must confess here, among friends, that I don’t really like wedding cake. Actually, I’m not really wild about cake in general….and I’m particularly tepid about ridiculously expensive and slightly stale cake covered with inedible fondant. Also, the thought of putting the brakes on the whole party just so that my groom and I could awkwardly feed each other seemed, well, very awkward.

I realized that I was only interested in picking a cake design because it felt like something I had to do, so the cake hit the wedding chopping block.  Since I made the decision to ax the cake, the reactions have been a little extreme. Some people have enthusiastically applauded our money saving decision, while others have nearly started a wedding mutiny. My future brother-in-law was so outraged that he threatened to bring a Little Debbie cake to smash in my face during the reception, and a few friends graciously offered to do a homemade cake for us. For the most part though people just want to know “Aren’t you upset about missing out on that photo opportunity?”

In short, no, no I am not upset about missing the photo op at all. I mean does anyone ever really look cute while eating/smashing cake? How did this even become a tradition?

Good Old Fashioned Cake Smash
Photo by Randy + April Wedding Photography

I know there will be many other memorable moments from our wedding day (our first kiss as Mr. & Mrs. comes to mind immediately), so I’m okay with skipping this one. However, I am a little upset to miss the cake tasting, that part looks fun!