The Brokest Bride

Story of my life

2010-08-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

Every once and awhile you get caught up in a fairytale and forget that this is life; anything can happen. Everything is predictable in a fairytale, even the ending. Only a stumble or fall brings you back to reality and leaves you longing to stay asleep just a little longer. Nothing is promised, Nothing lasts forever...

It's over now...what comes next?

Much love,
The ex-brokest bride

I got the call!updated

2010-08-20T06:26:00.001-07:00

The dress is in ya'll and just in time! I went on a quick hiatus to go spend time with family in another state but now I'm BACK!

Things I'm getting done:

Meet with the caterer next week on Wednesday
consultation with MUA Saturday and Monday
I got the ring bearer suit (yay me!)

Back to the dress. I'm going for my first fitting this morning! I'll update later with pics and commentary.
_______________________UPDATED_________________________________________

So.....I got my dress today and I LOVE it! The fit was very close to perfect, I'm sooo happy! Anyways there are some comparison pics below! Enjoy =]

Much love,
The Brokest Bride

Shoes..omg Shoes!!

2010-07-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

SHOES!

My first fitting is in august and I still haven't found the perfect heels. I know that I want them to be at least one of the wedding colors; preferably green (psst, that's my favorite color!). Do you know how hard it is to find vibrant green heels without glitter?? It's HARD! Or maybe I'm just picky...

No You all already know I'm a broke bride....in fact I'm the brokest bride!(haha get it? get it?). That being said, I wanted to find cute heels around the $50 mark.Well, that's not going to happen! I figure I'll splurge a little on shoes since I want to wear them again and again.....and again. So begins my search for the perfect psuedo-bridal shoes (omg shoes).

I think these shoes are hawwt! But....$190 is more then I'm willing to splurge. On to the next one

Yup I like these ones too! That price tag? Not so much

Cute!! But the color isn't what I'm after...

And....the search continues.

Till next time,
The Brokest Bride

Second Thoughts....

2010-07-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

I think I chose the wrong dress....and now I'm having regrets. If you dont know what I'm talking about here is the dress I chose(bberry quality pic):

and here is the dress that was in the running (2nd place if you will):

I love the dress I chose but it's been so long and I find my self pouting because I didn't take better pics. I wish August would just get here already, I 'm ready to see my dress.

That is all....

It comes to me, like an epiphany....

2010-06-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

CUPCAKESSS!!!! YUM YUM YUMM YUMMM

You guys.....*pause* I had the greatest idea ever!....well maybe not ever. I come up with a new idea for the wedding every other day but I usually rule them out within the next week. Like there was this time I wanted to do draping decor but then I realized I'd be missing an arm, leg, and wallet! hehe! Or the time I wanted to have a lounge wedding reception but axed it for the same previous reason. Hey what can I say, I like my arms, legs and wallet.

Anyways, let me make this brief....I want to make cupcakes for my wedding. Brave, huh? When we(aka I) first started planning, I knew for a fact that I wanted cupcakes instead of a wedding cake. Not only is it cheaper....its cheaper =]. I was going to buy them but know I'm toying with the idea of making them.

I want to do two different flavors for the wedding. Here are my top four:

The girls and I are going to get together later on this month to do cupcake trials. I'll keep you all updated about that, hopefully everything goes smoothly.

*Ohhhhh! and I hyperlinked each of the recipes to those flavors. Just click a flavor and go!

Till next time!
A Broke Bride

Bad Dream??

2010-06-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a bizarre dream about the wedding.When I woke up, I didn't know what to make of it. Maybe you all can help me out a little.

So in my dream, the wedding was still a good 2 months away and I was still planning. Well, something happened and instantly I was in another venue rushing to get ready for the ceremony. I had my dress but- it was wrong. It had a PINK bottom! On top of that, only 2/8 of my bridesmaids had their dresses and only one of handsome's groomsmen had his suit(and showed up). I ended up asking an old high-school friend to be a groomsmen.

Handsome, his best man, and last minute groomsman did a little dance down the aisle...it was kind of resembled a stroll. When it comes time for me walk the aisle, I'm still distraught about my dress, my father not being there to walk me, the bridesmaids, and the overall lack of organization for the event. Instead of gracefully waltzing across the aisle, I stomp. I marched straight to the microphone and announced that this was not the wedding, it was just a rehearsal. Then I woke up...

I later discussed the dream with on of my ace's. She feels the dream is a product of my stress and I agree. There is so much that needs to be done but dont take my word for it, look at my checklist...

cake testing
find a caterer
buy candy for candy bar
Hair and make-up trials
type up a detailed wedding time-line
rent chair&table covers
cupcake trials**

That list doesn't include everything. Just the things that I want to get done before fall semester begins.

**We're having cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake and I'm considering making the cupcakes myself. More about that in another post.

Link Meh

2010-06-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

You guys.....I have a problem. I'll admit it. I've become a....

GOOGLEWEDDINGSTUFFMANIAC!

I cant help it! But lucky for YOU, I come across some pretty freakin awesome wedding sites. Cool beans -_-

Here are a few of my links! (I cant give ya'll all the good stuff)

DIY Plate chargers[via BridalGuide] ----> An inexpensive way to make plate chargers

DIY Aisle Runner[via Road to the Aisle] -----> Love this!!!

Chair Cover Kits[via Charming Bows] ------> I looove this idea

FM(i)L

2010-06-21T14:13:00.001-07:00

FMiL!!!! *grrrr* I'm so frustrated! *squeezes stress ball* Okay I feel better, now on to the issue at hand...my fmil(future mother inlaw).

Let me first say that handsome and I get along very well with each other's families. I absolutely love his fambam, they're great people!

Now, I love handsome's mother and is doesn't hurt that we're both virgos so our interests are similar. Great! But we both happen to be bossy.... Anyways, about a month ago she expressed to me that if handsome and I dont have X-amount of (extra budget)money by august 1st, then we need to get married in Las Vegas...0_0. I guess she doesn't want close family & friends to think our wedding is tacky. While I kind of understand her concern, handsome and I are grown ass people. We both ruled out Las Vegas awhile ago but she keeps trying to shove it down our throats. I have nothing against Vegas but I do not want to have a wedding there. Plus we already sent out STD's and the invitations are made already. On top of that we would lose the money we used to rent the venue.

*le sigh* Parents just dont understand!

How are you all getting along the the future inlaws?

This is a serious matter!updated

2010-06-03T15:45:00.014-07:00

Both handsome and I love music! We both used to play instruments (well I still do) and share a love for jazz. Granted he also likes rap more than I ever will (not to say that I dont listen to it every now and then) while I'm a little more into RnB than he is. I digress. The point of this post is to ask all you lurking musical genius' to vote on our processional music as we are not going with the traditional wedding march.

Now I'm going to list two choices. The first is Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence(Ryuichi Sakamoto) covered by Duel and Gavin Wright. While I LOVE the original I am IN LOVE with this rendition. Seriously.Pandora helped me fall in love with this song though I've never seen the movie (the song is the movies theme). p.s. I discover ALOT of great music on pandora! Anyways, go ahead and take a listen.

The second song is Pretty Wings (Maxwell) Instrumental. This is a very pretty song about *cough* breaking up BUT the instrumental is RIDICULOUS(beautiful). Don't judge me, just listen!

Which one shall it be? vote now (delivered with a thumbs up and mentos smile).
**I moved the poll to the side frame above the music player. Thanks for your votes!

Paperwork: STD's + rough invite

2010-06-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

In January I sent out STD's (save-the-dates) and came up with a rough model for our invitations. The STD's I made myself with the help of Power-point and a printer.

It didn't take me long to design and print the postcards but the invitations were the exact opposite. I'm new to DIY'ing so I thought Michaels carried cardstock.....they didnt. So I ended up getting construction paper instead 0_0 , I know. Needless to say, the results weren't pretty(below).

BUT don't fret! I eventually got it right and went by Joann's. I found the most beautiful jade green cardstock for the invitations! While the jade cardstock was perfect the invitation was far from it.

I took another trip to Joann's to pick up more card-stock and found a replacement for that awkward star liner in the photo above. So below is the newly revised invite! =] Now I just need to round up the bridesmaids and make the rest *sigh*

Guest what?!

2010-05-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Originally the handsome(F-H) and I were content with inviting 50-60 of our closest family and friends, and herein lies the problem. Handsome has a large family (in and outside of this state) and his mother,though I love her to pieces, keeps adding people to the guest list! She doesn't want to leave out ANYBODY! That includes the play cousins and uncles and their family. We all know that mas gente = mas dinero and our budget is firm.

The handsome and I already discussed that we want this to be "intimate" with close family and friends. Meaning if he or I have a 3rd cousin ray-ray that we've seen sparingly throughout our lives...they wont be invited. We prefer sharing to showing off and only people that are special to us will share this moment with us.

Future brides, have you ran into any complications with your guest list?

Say Yes to the Dress? Pt 2

2010-05-11T11:15:00.001-07:00

Memory need refreshing? Read the part 1 HERE!

The search continues for "THE" dress! Next stop, Uptown Bridal Boutique.

Pros:

Great location and curb appeal
Customer service
Complimentary water is always a plus
great price range
Ordering takes 4-5 months
Decor

Cons

small selection of dresses ( in comparison the the previous place)
Only takes 2 appointments at a time

I love this place! Only my best friend/bridesmaid Ris accompanied me to this time and we were both warmly greeted. I didn't have an appointment but the owner, Dianne, managed to squeeze me in. I must admit, I was disappointed when I saw the small selection but after browsing we found 4 that I liked. Dianne, who also happened to be my consultant pulled a few dresses too. While the dresses were beautiful I wasn't really in love with them. That it until she pulled THE dress.

Now let me apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures below. I forgot my camera so the following pictures are of Blackberry quality. P.s. there aren't as many either.

I loved the top of the dress but hated the bottom. My rating? 6.5/10

This one was alright. It didn't "wow" me though. 8/10

This dress had no lace...and a little embellishment on the side but it was THE dress. The pictures do this dress no justice and when I go to pick the dress up in August, I promise I'll put better pictures up. Just so you guys know, I am very critical so I didn't buy this dress the same day. I actually went back to the first store and tried on my favorite dress from there before making my decision. The dress, along with a veil, came to $1065.06 and was graciously paid for by my bff Ris.

Plus they gave me a cool little "veil" and Bride sash!

Say Yes to the Dress? Pt 1

2010-05-05T15:30:00.003-07:00

Mid March the bridesmaids and I finally went to look for THE(my) dress. The first store we visited was a place called Arizona Bridal Warehouse in Mesa,AZ. Before you guys get to see the "good stuff"(pictures) lets weigh the pros and cons:

Pros:

Huge selection of bridal gowns
lots of price options
I tried on alot of dresses

Cons

customer service was mediocre
All dress orders take a minimum of 5-6 months to be filled. And the orders for dresses go out every 2 weeks.

I tried on at least 9 dresses which was great! And while I took alot of pictures I'm only going to show you all my top 3 dresses. They all fell between $1000-$1300.

DRESS #1

I really fell in love with this dress. I absolutely love embellishment and lace, it sends me into a wedding dress coma of bliss! I also adored the detailing in the back. On a scale from 1 to 10 this dress would be a 9 because I really wasn't to fond of the top cleavage area.

DRESS #2

Again I liked the embellishment but as you can see in the second photo (from left) I wanted to get rid of the extra tulle on the bottom. I give this dress a 7.5

DRESS #3

I call this the "beauty and the beast" dress. I really wanted to stick to sheath and mermaid style dresses but I really liked this one. However, ugghh, it was just so heavy! I give this dress an 8

After the search I was leaning more towards purchasing dress #1 but I had this nagging feeling to visit another store. A store that I originally planned on going to first. Stay tuned because the search continues for THE dress.

Meat&Potatoes: We found the place

2010-05-02T19:14:00.002-07:00

Sahuaro Historical Ranch Park
Glendale,AZ

We found our place!! And I am too thrilled!

For $552.50 this is what we get:

8 hours rental which includes 2 hour set up, 2 hour clean up and 4 hours for the ceremony + reception
16- 60" round tables
banquet chairs
front courtyard for the ceremony

This is the overall layout of the park. I circled the place we rented out in red.

This is the layout of the space:

The space also include a bathroom and small prep area(not shown). The larger room is where the reception will be and it comes with light dimmers! yay!. The smaller space will be for food set up or a small dance floor?? I'm not %100 sure yet. The place has 1430sq.ft.

Here are some pictures I took when I went to go check it out.

Side of building

front right of building

front courtyard area. There is an orange grove to the right and a vineyard to the left

Inside the larger area. The tables & chairs are pushed back

The smaller area

Now I know some of ya'll aren't impressed but I promise you that this is an impressive space.
Till next time....

Meat&Potatoes: The search begins

2010-05-02T18:29:00.002-07:00

So we originally wanted our wedding date to be October 10,2010 but the venue was booked for that date. So we settled on October 23. Initially I wanted to do an evening ceremony and reception but that would mean that we would be paying for our guests dinners....and that wasn't going to happen. Therefore we're going with a brunch reception.

Now when we started looking for venue price was the deal breaker. For example, there was a nice place called Inside the Bungalow that was just beautiful. Lets list pros and cons, shall we?

Pros:

Beautiful setting
They catered
Provided ceremony chairs + reception tables&chairs
They had a PA system
Cheapest package costed $500 for 50 guests.

Cons :

Parking. Its in downtown Mesa[AZ] and parking is sparce
Only two package options
They only allow preferred vendors
The cheapest package allotted only 3 hours. That includes set up/ clean up.

The deal breaker was the allotted time and the preferred vendor rule. So we continued our search....stay tuned!

In the beginning

2010-05-02T18:02:00.010-07:00

Now, I wasn't joking when I named this blog "The Brokest Bride" because I really think I could be the brokest bride out there right now. You'll learn more about that later though. You can find background information about me here

We've already gotten through some of our wedding checklist of things to do, so the first few posts will be playing catch up. I decided to start this blog to prove to future brides[and myself] that you dont have to spend an enormous amount of money to have a nice wedding. So stay tuned, I have a feeling we have a bumpy ride ahead.

Sincerely,
The Brokest Bride

The Brokest Bride

Story of my life

I got the call!*updated*

Shoes..omg Shoes!!

Second Thoughts....

It comes to me, like an epiphany....

Bad Dream??

Link Meh

FM(i)L

This is a serious matter!*updated*

Paperwork: STD's + rough invite

Guest what?!

Say Yes to the Dress? Pt 2

Say Yes to the Dress? Pt 1

Meat&Potatoes: We found the place

Meat&Potatoes: The search begins

In the beginning

I got the call!updated

This is a serious matter!updated