Wedding planning
CostaRica120
Posts: 274 Member
Hi fellow brides-to-be! I thought it might be fun to use this space to also chat about non-weightloss related wedding planning things!
How are you all doing with your wedding plans and what are you currently stressing over? Any fun wedding details to share?
I'm getting married on New Year's Eve, so I still have time, but I am totally stressing over finding a photographer! I also still need to find bridesmaid dresses and someone to do hair/makeup.
Other than that I think we have all our vendors booked.
A lot of DIY projects left to tackle too!
How are you all doing with your wedding plans and what are you currently stressing over? Any fun wedding details to share?
I'm getting married on New Year's Eve, so I still have time, but I am totally stressing over finding a photographer! I also still need to find bridesmaid dresses and someone to do hair/makeup.
Other than that I think we have all our vendors booked.
A lot of DIY projects left to tackle too!
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I'd love to hear from others. I'm very early (looking at late July 2016 for wedding) so trying to figure out venues for reception (and need to make arrangements with church). I'm in Hudson Valley in New York (just a bit north of NYC) so budget is a major consideration.
Would love ideas for bridesmaids gifts. What kind of stuff are folks doing DIY (if anything) vs. what you're leaving to professionals?0 -
I'm in Toronto so things are super expensive, too. I saw online people having glamorous weddings for 150 guests for like 15K in, like, Missouri...yeah, that's not gonna happen here. Right now it looks like we're right on track to stick to our budget and mostly it's been because I spent A LOT of time shopping around and negotiating (and compromising). I feel like I haven't had to give up too much of my dream by getting the best possible prices. It has definitely been time consuming though. I was really excited that we went from planning to do all the decor ourselves (because of budget) to finding a great decorator. I'm even getting my gold beaded glass chargers and sequin table cloth for the sweetheart table, which are a bit of a rental splurge. We're dealing with the NYE element which really ups some of the labour costs (double time and a half after midnight...ack!). I'm going to let the pros (decorator and florist) do most of the stuff, but I found my candle holders, fake candles for the aisle, and vases and some other decor items on my own since I was able to find things under the rental costs...and then I can re-sell.
My only major decor DIY will be something like this to go above our sweetheart table:
We're going to be making our own programs, menus, seating chart, table numbers, etc. So many free and cheap templates online.
We're also doing our own desserts...not because of cost, but mostly because we want to (our friends and family are going to bake for a major treat table and another friend is making a small cake to cut and matching cupcakes).
And I used paperlesspost.com for my save the dates, which sent electronic cards and was cheap, that everyone thought was great. I think I may order my invitations there, too, but haven't gotten to that yet.0 -
Oh and for bridesmaids gifts I'm planning on just gifting the jewelry to wear that night. I think it's pretty standard and makes sense.
My groom is planning to give his groomsmen monogrammed tie clips (if we go with ties vs bow ties). Not sure what else.0 -
My wedding is a second wedding. Any one else on their second? I am enjoying this process a lot more than the 1st time around (I was 21 and just wanted to get it over with). This time the focus is going to be on being with all of the people who are important to us and having a good time with good food. We expect about 110 but are having a brunch wedding. At first we were going to go all fancy in a venue that is a castle on a hill in the country. But they were being very fickle about the food we could have. I was getting very frustrated and discouraged. My fiancee and I were discussing my frustration whilst (no I do not really talk like that but it just kinda sounds good, lol)… any ways, we were discussing my whoas whist dining in our favorite restaurant. I just kind of jokingly said; "I wish we could just have it here"… and he made me see it as a real possibility.
The restaurant is in our "Old Town" which is a cute town center with an old timey feel. The actual building is all brick inside with really tall (like 75-100 feet) exposed beam ceilings. It is a Mexican restaurant but there is not one scrap of Mexican decor. There will be 2 long rows of tables with white table cloths adorned with burlap runners, primarily white flowers with French lavender pops. We are both scholars and have a vast collection of books which will be used in the center pieces tied with twine. There will be mason jars with Baby's Breath and white candles along with fresh logs cut into thin circles of differing sizes used to elevate parts of the table scape.
When our guests arrive they will help themselves to our hot cocoa bar and they will choose a seat. They will mingle and enjoy some breakfast quesadillas along with freshly made chocolate chip cookies and chips and salsa while the rest of the guests arrive. At 9:30 we will begin our ceremony which is going to be a very nontraditional joining of our families consisting of our kids and then we will exchange our hand written vows at the head of the room under this cute little frame and drape that my step dad is making.
After the ceremony, breakfast will be served and will consist of fresh fruit, the best homemade tortillas on the planet, fried potatoes, beans, and our favorite dish chilequilles. There will be a candy buffet. Our cake is going to be 3 tier with the top being the only part that is actually cake, the rest will be donuts and flowers for decoration. My cousin is a photographer and will be providing his services along with making a video.
It will be short and sweet… the only form of entertainment will be music playing in the background. On our wedding website we are having all of the guests write their favorite love song and we are going to compile them all to play during the wedding.
The only detail I do not have nailed down yet is my dress. At first I wanted a traditional wedding dress but then I went shopping for one and felt foolish trying them on. Now I know I want a nice dress that is deep purple that I can wear again (like on formal nights on cruises, we are avid cruisers). But, I have not found one yet. I think the dark purples don't make their appearance in the fashion world until Fall.0 -
Oh, sorry that was so long
I got carried away. I have been so busy moving and then with recovering from my surgery that writing it all out helped to get me back into wedding mode! Thanks for letting me ramble. 0 -
Rachel, your plans sound super fun! I think it's great that you found all those little things that you can bring in that tie to you and your fiance's interests. I think the hardest part for me is that I don't feel like either I or my fiance have a clear vision of what we want our reception to be. I want the fairly traditional ceremony at church, but don't really know what I want for the reception. There's some pressure to do a hotel reception just because there will be a lot of people coming from out of town and that way there are less worries about people getting home (or needing to have cars/cabs). Hopefully, I'll have that moment where I really get that "wish it was here" and find the way to make it happen.0
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CostaRica: Thanks for lots of good ideas for DIY projects.0
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Sarah, just ask yourself… "what is MOST important to me?" Is it color, over all feel, food, decor, flowers, entertainment? Pick one and create a kick *kitten* plan for that then just build around it. I think so many brides try to focus on too much and they end up a) spending way to much trying to make everything perfect, b) not entirely happy with any one thing, and/or c) so stressed out that they don't get to enjoy their special day. All of those things were def true for me the 1st time around!0
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Thanks Rachel. I think I'm definitely in a c phase so far.
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Rachel, your wedding sounds like it's going to be amazing! I really wanted to have a brunch wedding, but my fiance wasn't super into the idea. I love that it can be more casual and you can save money on booze, less emphasis on dancing/partying if you want, and more emphasis on delicious food (who doesn't love brunch??).0
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Awe Sarah
At least you have some time, right? How many guests are you thinking you will have? 0 -
Jill, I know right? Brunch rocks! Your wedding sounds like it is going to be quite an event!!! That pic you posted looks like my venue. I love the treat table idea, yummy yummy yummy!0
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One of the reasons I have not been on much is because I have been very busy taking care of wedding and engagement party planning/prep. Now that the engagement party is done, I can put all of my focus on the wedding/honeymoon. Here is what I have accomplished in the past couple weeks: bought dress/shoes, secured make up artist and hair stylist, got rings, got his suit, paid off honeymoon and have most of it set up (flights, hotels, transfers, cruise tickets, 1/2 of activities). Now I am tackling the invites.
What all have you ladies been ticking off your to-do lists?0 -
Deposit paid, food tasted, string duo listened to, need to book flights..............0
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Where are you going? Not sold on the sting duo?0
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I have all my vendors, except I still haven't settled on my hair/makeup. Narrowed down options, so just need to finalize. I ordered my invitations last week and bought some supplies for a few of the DIY projects.
Major things on the to-do list are:
- find shoes and accessories
- order bridesmaids dresses
- book hotel
- book transportation
- find venue for photos and get permit if necessary
- book honeymoon
- and a bunch more...but that's priority for the next couple weeks.0 -
gthing1978 wrote: »One of the reasons I have not been on much is because I have been very busy taking care of wedding and engagement party planning/prep. Now that the engagement party is done, I can put all of my focus on the wedding/honeymoon. Here is what I have accomplished in the past couple weeks: bought dress/shoes, secured make up artist and hair stylist, got rings, got his suit, paid off honeymoon and have most of it set up (flights, hotels, transfers, cruise tickets, 1/2 of activities). Now I am tackling the invites.
What all have you ladies been ticking off your to-do lists?
Great work! Where are you honeymooning?
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Oh and I settled on my favours...custom fortune cookies! I think it's super cute for NYE and quite inexpensive. I'm going to have them dipped in white chocolate and covered in white sprinkles. One per guest in a little celophane package with a sticker or tag. We get to select (or create) around 15 fortunes and then on the back we're going to have our names and wedding date.0
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Fortune cookies sound perfect and yummy too
I'm going to Hawaii... 5 days on Oahu and a 7 night cruise.0 -
Fortune cookies sounds good, and Hawaii! Our wedding is in Italy, we've hired a villa and are staying for the week with some guests camping, the string duo are ace so booked them. The venue is taking care of all food and wine and flowers and setting up wedding tables, reception and wedding. Need to book flights, some guests already have
buy clothing, decide on favours, design a cake and a vegan cake (for vegan and allergic guests), have to do my own hair and make up I think, so will need to learn how to do that! Oh yes, rings, hmm, even a relaxed wedding seems to have lots of parts, and now the best man is pestering me for numbers and stag/hen party venues! He's too organised for a man, guess that's why he's best..... 0 -
A villa in Italy?! You win!!! Man that sounds amazing!!!!0
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Whoa! **taking a deep breath** That IS a lot to think about! After reading all those FABULOUS plans and ideas, I guess it may be a good thing I am limited on many things living on an Island in S.E. Alaska!
Along with the date I think we've picked our colors for the Wedding Party: My side (myself included) will be the colors of the sun-Yellow and Orange with Red Accents; his side will be shades of blue. His side will definitely be more casual, but I don't think my bridesmaids and I will go all out either.
The reception will probably focus on bright colors, but won't be limited to certain colors, I'd also like to use burlap and twine and other rustic touches...I'm thinking I can pull it off by tying in the whole ELEMENTS idea??
Earth:burlap, twine, rustic.
Water: shades of blue.
Wind: Pinwheels, Kites & Balloons. Pinwheels in place of flowers (SUNFLOWERS will also be used but sparingly) and colorful DIY Kites for centerpieces and Large Balloons with tulle for decoration.
Fire: colors of the sun!
We've also decided to do an evening Cocktail reception which will save on plated meals because we'll only have appetizer type stuff. The extra will go toward some beer kegs and a martini bar And I think I'd like to have a Pie buffet rather than cake.
I guess getting married at my age, I am anything but traditional and that's actually quite perfect for me! I'm re-reading Offbeat Bride right now. There are probably some things that we won't include at all...Of course we're not totally sure this is how it will all pan out since we are still in the brainstorming phase.
Thanks for sharing Everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures and wedding planning ideas!0 -
Marla Jean, the elements idea sounds really cool. Maybe make sure to find places you can combine them into something cohesive and make the theme clear so it's not too abstract for people to get or that it just looks chaotic; seems everything can go together pretty easily though, kites of either blue or sun (with tail of the other) with twine string (although I wouldn't necessarily think "elements" if I saw that? My sister in law had a nice centerpiece that was a big glass cylinder on a round mirror with water and then a floating candle. You could do something like that and have burlap or twine down towards the bottom, maybe with mini pinwheels, to represent the earth and wind and then you have water and fire? Depends what your venue's policy is on candles. It's a thought.
If you prefer pie, you should totally have a pie buffet. Enjoy the brainstorming phase and make sure it's you!0 -
@brisingr86 thanks for this tip! I hadn't really thought of that although I'm sure most people around here would understand if it was eclectic and chaotic from me! I hadn't really thought of that as a theme...I guess I should focus it in more...so my theme would be "Elements?" Ha!
The venue for the reception doesn't allow candles unless they are the battery kind, but I do like that idea...I also thought of maybe some sort of water fountain at the entry point?
Saw some cool pics of Pie Pops (like cake pops but with pie) on Pinterest the other day...0 -
That sounds interesting! I definitely think it helps to spend some time developing your theme so that the look all comes together. Eclectic is cool, but I agree with trying to find some ways to tie it all in together because if it's too abstract it might just look like you threw a bunch of ideas at the wall. Think about the vibe you want, and before you purchase/rent anything, ask yourself if it lines up with that vision. My pinterest board totally illustrates the evolution of my ideas as they became more and more refined.0
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Ok, so after thinking more about what you both said ( @brisingr86 and @CostaRica120 ) things are changing a bit and coming a bit more into focus! Thanks!
And I am definitely NOT going to be purchasing/renting anything except the Reception Venue and Save-the-Dates until a few months down the road when I should have a better idea of EXACTLY what will be going on!
I'm very NEW to pinterest so I'm still learning how it all works, but I've already got quite the mish-mash of things I like! Thanks again Ladies!0 -
Cool
Pinterest is so helpful for ideas and there are even free printable templates for things like table numbers, menus and programs if you want to do those.
While I do think it's important to try to get a cohesive look, it can definitely be creative and eclectic. Like, I'm personally not a fan of selecting a wedding colour. I think for lots of people that's an easy way to do it because you can just choose pink or blue or whatever and then that guides your choices for everything from bridesmaids dresses to napkins to flowers. Not really my style, but I am focusing on metallics, neutrals and blush, which really does help. Even if you're not picky, you end up having to make decisions about everything so it helps. Like, my fiance is always saying, "well, I don't care" about everything, and I'm like, "yeah, I don't care either but we have to choose something"...that's where having a concrete theme really helps!
My planning is going well. We met with out day-of coordinator earlier this week and went through the minute-by-minute timeline of the day, so it was great to get that all down. Definitely still have a lot of details and DIY to take care of, but I'm starting to get super excited about it because I can really visualize the day. I'm going for my dress fitting next week, which I'm excited about since I purchased my dress in May, so it's been quite a while since I saw it. Plus I lost around 15 lbs since then, I think! Only thing is that I need to have my shoes for the length, but I've gone everywhere and I can't find what I want! I'm looking for closed toe shoes with a strap or closed up across the front (so they're super secure) and a 3-inch heel...maybe even a wedge. Even a delicate bootie would be cool. I know more wintery shoes will start coming out, but I need something for next week. I might just bring a pair of shoes that I own that are the height I want, and then just hope I can find a pair later on that are similar enough. Or maybe they can hold off on that alteration. Or maybe I'll find shoes!0 -
I am discovering that Pinterest is very Helpful! Thanks for your input @CostaRica120 I love the idea of metallic I can't wait to see pictures...and yes, you are right about the fiancé "help" LOL He's WAAAAYYY laid back, so really is not too picky and has only really insisted on a couple things (like having the wedding in our hometown)
I can't wait until I'm at the point where we can lay out a minute by minute timeline! did you have your dress fitting? AWESOME about the 15 pound loss! Have you found shoes yet?0 -
So, last night, we picked a date for our wedding. June 18th. HOMG it's on the calender, so it's happening! That's how I feel. The wedding will be outdoors around 7:00pm in the amphitheater at my church. My parents are pastors and I live with them, so that means the wedding is going to be in my front yard, ha ha.
Last year, my friend did an outdoor wedding in the same spot in June right at 11:00 am. It went until 1:00 pm. The temperature was well over 90 degrees and everyone was sitting in full sun. It was really distracting to have rivers of sweat running down your back during the wedding. Everyone was so hot and thirsty and sunburned. All their cupcakes melted too, and starting falling off the stand. I'm hoping that with an evening wedding, I won't have to worry about these problems.
Is anybody else having an outdoor wedding? What time of day did you pick?0 -
HOW exciting to have set your date! Woo-hoo! And An amphitheater sounds awesome! I hope you will post pictures! I think having it later in the day will be great for easing the heat problem! Do you have lots of bugs where you are? That's one thing to consider (at least it would be here) is that once it cools off we tend to get more bugs coming out...Not sure if that would be an issue for you.
I am hoping to have an outdoor wedding, but September in S.E. Alaska can be tricky because we are in a rainforest so we have to have a back up plan...if the weather is nice we will have it outside one of the clan house in our town, if it is not nice we will have it inside the clan house. Both options will be "In-The-Round" because I want to forgo the whole aisle thing and both options will be standing although we will provide some chairs for those who need them. Here's a couple pictures...
Outside
Inside
a Possible 2nd outdoor option is out on this walkway about halfway across.
Ours will be around 3:30-4pm in the afternoon.
That is so sad about the melted cupcakes!0
