Since we're moving in 2 weeks, I went through the wedding stuff I have (and packed it up) and found some stuff to sell already. Everything is in my knot planning bio which can be found here:
http://www.momentville.com/lovethebeach16/for_sale
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Favors - Black Bottom Cupcakes
It was very easy for us to decide on favors. I'm one of those people who won't take a wedding favor unless its edible. I don't have any use for something that has someone elses name on it.
So I knew I wanted to do edible favors. It didn't take me long to realize that T really likes the black bottom cupcakes that I make and it was also slightly significant since that was the first dessert I made for him.
A few weeks ago, I bought Chinese take out boxes from a local knottie who was selling 60 of them for $5. I couldn't beat that price! They are the 1/2 pint size and I wasn't sure if the black bottoms would fit or not. Since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I figured it was as good a time as any to test it out.
So, what do you think, are they too crammed? T thinks they are fine. You can easily get your fingers in there to get them out, so I think its okay.
If you are interested in the recipe, click here: black bottom cupcakes
So I knew I wanted to do edible favors. It didn't take me long to realize that T really likes the black bottom cupcakes that I make and it was also slightly significant since that was the first dessert I made for him.
A few weeks ago, I bought Chinese take out boxes from a local knottie who was selling 60 of them for $5. I couldn't beat that price! They are the 1/2 pint size and I wasn't sure if the black bottoms would fit or not. Since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I figured it was as good a time as any to test it out.
If you are interested in the recipe, click here: black bottom cupcakes
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Updated Budget Breakdown
Since we're almost 7 months away and I'm stuck at home again (thank you snow) I figured it was a good time to provide a budget update. Currently, we're under budget which is great because now we can afford to pay our bartender something instead of taking him up on his offer to do it for free.
Oh, and before I start the budget breakdown...we've finally made a decision on the honeymoon. We figured we would go to the Outer Banks in NC, but weren't sure of where to stay. I found a condo in Hatteras yesterday that is $610 for the week, has a pool and is right in the middle of everything so there is tons of shopping, restaurants, and we're super close to take the ferry over to Okracoke (sp?) Island. I haven't booked it yet, because we still need to decide if we are going for one week or two but at least I have a definite place now.
Okay, onto the budget.
Venue $600
Officiant $275
Marriage License $35
Caterer(garnishes and ice) $1060
Alcohol $500
Soda, juice, straws $105
Plates, utensils, drinkware $260
Linens $160
Chairs and tables $140
Cake $200
Serving set/toasting flutes $20
Centerpiece vases and rocks $15
Floating candles $30
Tealights $5
Mirrors $20
Centerpiece flowers $64
We Do Letters, cake table decor $20
Bouquets, bouts and corsages $190
Invitations and inserts $84
Menu and thank you cards $22
DJ $300
Photographer $1113
Ring bearer pillow and flower girl basket $11
Table numbers, card box, guest book, guest book pen, bouquet vases $50
Favors $22
Dress $500
Alterations $100
Shoes $50
Jewelry $50
Grooms attire $50
Total $6051
Which puts us almost $500 under budget. I know its not a lot, but its enough that we can pay the bartender and maybe the DOC as well. Of course the prices still aren't final because we haven't purchased everything yet. I have my spreadsheet set up to subtract the actual cost of things from what we have already purchased and its showing that we've paid for 1/3 of the wedding so far.
Another thing I realized is that we said we didn't want to go over $8000 after including the bridesmaids gifts, honeymoon and wedding bands even though they weren't a real part of the budget. Since my dad paid for the rings, even adding in the honeymoon and the bridesmaids gifts I've purchased and plan to purchase, we're still under $7K. Not bad at all!
Oh, and before I start the budget breakdown...we've finally made a decision on the honeymoon. We figured we would go to the Outer Banks in NC, but weren't sure of where to stay. I found a condo in Hatteras yesterday that is $610 for the week, has a pool and is right in the middle of everything so there is tons of shopping, restaurants, and we're super close to take the ferry over to Okracoke (sp?) Island. I haven't booked it yet, because we still need to decide if we are going for one week or two but at least I have a definite place now.
Okay, onto the budget.
Venue $600
Officiant $275
Marriage License $35
Caterer(garnishes and ice) $1060
Alcohol $500
Soda, juice, straws $105
Plates, utensils, drinkware $260
Linens $160
Chairs and tables $140
Cake $200
Serving set/toasting flutes $20
Centerpiece vases and rocks $15
Floating candles $30
Tealights $5
Mirrors $20
Centerpiece flowers $64
We Do Letters, cake table decor $20
Bouquets, bouts and corsages $190
Invitations and inserts $84
Menu and thank you cards $22
DJ $300
Photographer $1113
Ring bearer pillow and flower girl basket $11
Table numbers, card box, guest book, guest book pen, bouquet vases $50
Favors $22
Dress $500
Alterations $100
Shoes $50
Jewelry $50
Grooms attire $50
Total $6051
Which puts us almost $500 under budget. I know its not a lot, but its enough that we can pay the bartender and maybe the DOC as well. Of course the prices still aren't final because we haven't purchased everything yet. I have my spreadsheet set up to subtract the actual cost of things from what we have already purchased and its showing that we've paid for 1/3 of the wedding so far.
Another thing I realized is that we said we didn't want to go over $8000 after including the bridesmaids gifts, honeymoon and wedding bands even though they weren't a real part of the budget. Since my dad paid for the rings, even adding in the honeymoon and the bridesmaids gifts I've purchased and plan to purchase, we're still under $7K. Not bad at all!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Bridesmaids Gifts
I've been seriously slacking on wedding related stuff. With a little more than 7 months to go, I still have a lot to get done. I'm trying to avoid thinking about it because we're moving at the end of the month and I almost feel like its somewhat pointless to get started on a project only to have to stop and pack it up at the end of the month.
So, since a snowmageddon is going on outside (thank you Mother Nature, the state of Maryland must have really screwed you at some point), and I'm stuck in the house, I decided I could start looking at bridesmaids gifts and see if I could come up with any ideas.
I had no idea what in the world to buy. I know that you are supposed to buy gifts for them like you are shopping for their birthday, but thats kind of difficult when you're not birthday gift giving friends. I posted on the knot and got a ton of good suggestions. I also asked where I could find those grocery totes that have different patterns on them and was informed that Forever21.com has them for $1.50. That is an awesome price! They didn't have a huge variety, but I was able to find 3 of them to buy that will work out quite well and even matches the tastes of my bridesmaids.
Then I started looking around on the Forever21 site and found a ton of stuff that would work out as cheap but nice gifts. So I began shopping. I ended up with a pair of slippers, two candles, 3 totes and hair clip for $30. Then I moved onto Bath & Body Works, spending another $30 and getting bubble bath, a sleep mask, and two pairs of those scent infused socks.
Not wanting to give up on gifts just yet, I went to restaurant.com and bought a $50 gift certificate for $15. Usually they are $25 (and half price still isn't bad) but I was able to find a coupon code (ironically it was BRIDAL) to save me the extra $10.
Here is the breakdown of gifts (and intended-to-purchase gifts) with their prices.
Matron of Honor
S is a stay-at-home mom and opening a daycare in her house. I bought the restaurant gift certificate for her because I know she likes seafood, likes the restaurant and definitely could use an excuse to get out of the house for a date night with her husband. I also picked up a pair of the scent infused socks for her since she is usually on her feet all day.
Gift Card: $15
Socks: $6
Total: $21. Since I still have $20 to spend, I think I'll pick up either a picture frame that I know she'll like or some type of a figurine for her house.
Maid of Honor
C is going to become a mommy in May. It turned out that she was the easiest to shop for once I got the idea in my head that a recent mommy is definitely in need of some well-deserved me time. The other pair of socks are for her along with all kinds of other pampering type things.
Socks: $6
Bubble Bath: $12
Candle: $3
Sleep Mask: $5
Slippers: $7
Tote: $1.50
Total: $34.50
I'm not sure if I'll end up picking something else up for her or not. It really depends on if I see something. Maybe a bottle of wine to relax?
Bridesmaid
K is T's sister. I know that she likes to drink, so I thought a tote with different types of alcohol, premixed drinks, glasses, and maybe some snacks would be a neat idea. All I have purchased so far is the $1.50 tote, but I think I'm going to check out Target to see what type of barware stuff they have.
Tote: $2
Total: $2
Bridesmaid
R is my cousin. She will be almost 21 for the wedding. I wasn't sure what to get her either, but last summer we went to the flea market near my apartment and she bought a really cute knock off coach purse with a matching wallet. Since I looked at them with her and found out we have really similar tastes when it comes to purses, I think I can pick one out on my own. I'm not sure how early I'm going to buy this because they have new styles almost every weekend. If we have a snow free weekend soon, I'll go and check them out to see if there are any really great ones. If not, I'll come back during the summer to get one then.The next time I talk to her mom I'm going to find out what perfume she has in her room and I'll probably pick up a small bottle of that.
Coach purse: $35
Perfume: $15
Total: $50
Bridesmaid
A is my other cousin. Honestly, I have no idea what in the world to get her because she changes her tastes on things all of the time. So I emailed her mom to get some suggestions. I know that probably wasn't the best way to go about it, but we live 3 hours away from each other and usually only see each other for a weekend or so in the summer. I did pick up a candle and tote for her while making the other purchases though.
Tote: $1.50
Candle: $4
Total: $5.50
So far I've spent about $60 and have one gift completed, one almost completed and good ideas on the other two. Not bad at all!
Oh and I completely forgot! They are all also receiving a handmade necklace and bracelet they can wear for the wedding and I picked up silver pashminas for them in case we decide to have the ceremony outside.
How much did you spend on bridesmaids gifts and what did/are you going to get them?
So, since a snowmageddon is going on outside (thank you Mother Nature, the state of Maryland must have really screwed you at some point), and I'm stuck in the house, I decided I could start looking at bridesmaids gifts and see if I could come up with any ideas.
I had no idea what in the world to buy. I know that you are supposed to buy gifts for them like you are shopping for their birthday, but thats kind of difficult when you're not birthday gift giving friends. I posted on the knot and got a ton of good suggestions. I also asked where I could find those grocery totes that have different patterns on them and was informed that Forever21.com has them for $1.50. That is an awesome price! They didn't have a huge variety, but I was able to find 3 of them to buy that will work out quite well and even matches the tastes of my bridesmaids.
Then I started looking around on the Forever21 site and found a ton of stuff that would work out as cheap but nice gifts. So I began shopping. I ended up with a pair of slippers, two candles, 3 totes and hair clip for $30. Then I moved onto Bath & Body Works, spending another $30 and getting bubble bath, a sleep mask, and two pairs of those scent infused socks.
Not wanting to give up on gifts just yet, I went to restaurant.com and bought a $50 gift certificate for $15. Usually they are $25 (and half price still isn't bad) but I was able to find a coupon code (ironically it was BRIDAL) to save me the extra $10.
Here is the breakdown of gifts (and intended-to-purchase gifts) with their prices.
Matron of Honor
S is a stay-at-home mom and opening a daycare in her house. I bought the restaurant gift certificate for her because I know she likes seafood, likes the restaurant and definitely could use an excuse to get out of the house for a date night with her husband. I also picked up a pair of the scent infused socks for her since she is usually on her feet all day.
Gift Card: $15
Socks: $6
Total: $21. Since I still have $20 to spend, I think I'll pick up either a picture frame that I know she'll like or some type of a figurine for her house.
Maid of Honor
C is going to become a mommy in May. It turned out that she was the easiest to shop for once I got the idea in my head that a recent mommy is definitely in need of some well-deserved me time. The other pair of socks are for her along with all kinds of other pampering type things.
Socks: $6
Bubble Bath: $12
Candle: $3
Sleep Mask: $5
Slippers: $7
Tote: $1.50
Total: $34.50
I'm not sure if I'll end up picking something else up for her or not. It really depends on if I see something. Maybe a bottle of wine to relax?
Bridesmaid
K is T's sister. I know that she likes to drink, so I thought a tote with different types of alcohol, premixed drinks, glasses, and maybe some snacks would be a neat idea. All I have purchased so far is the $1.50 tote, but I think I'm going to check out Target to see what type of barware stuff they have.
Tote: $2
Total: $2
Bridesmaid
R is my cousin. She will be almost 21 for the wedding. I wasn't sure what to get her either, but last summer we went to the flea market near my apartment and she bought a really cute knock off coach purse with a matching wallet. Since I looked at them with her and found out we have really similar tastes when it comes to purses, I think I can pick one out on my own. I'm not sure how early I'm going to buy this because they have new styles almost every weekend. If we have a snow free weekend soon, I'll go and check them out to see if there are any really great ones. If not, I'll come back during the summer to get one then.The next time I talk to her mom I'm going to find out what perfume she has in her room and I'll probably pick up a small bottle of that.
Coach purse: $35
Perfume: $15
Total: $50
Bridesmaid
A is my other cousin. Honestly, I have no idea what in the world to get her because she changes her tastes on things all of the time. So I emailed her mom to get some suggestions. I know that probably wasn't the best way to go about it, but we live 3 hours away from each other and usually only see each other for a weekend or so in the summer. I did pick up a candle and tote for her while making the other purchases though.
Tote: $1.50
Candle: $4
Total: $5.50
So far I've spent about $60 and have one gift completed, one almost completed and good ideas on the other two. Not bad at all!
Oh and I completely forgot! They are all also receiving a handmade necklace and bracelet they can wear for the wedding and I picked up silver pashminas for them in case we decide to have the ceremony outside.
How much did you spend on bridesmaids gifts and what did/are you going to get them?
Monday, January 18, 2010
My Wedding Dress Is Here!
I ordered my dress from Pizazz Bridal in Aberdeen, MD back in August of last year. I found this dress online, its a Maggie Sottero Destinations dress (JD8103). I searched online and in quite a few stores before realizing that I was not going to able to find this dress. Since I had a lot of time, I decided to keep looking and eventually I came across Pizazz Bridal. While they didn't have the dress in stock (apparently no store on the entire east coast carries it), they would be able to order it and had similar dresses that I could try on to see what it would look like on me.I tried on a few dresses and figured that I had a pretty good idea of what the dress would look like on, so I ordered it. Brenda, the owner, called me last week and told me that it was in. I made the appointment for today to finally see my dress.
As you can tell from the picture, I don't look very happy. We purposely ordered the dress a size larger than it needed to be to make sure it fit in the chest because I suffer from huge-fucking-boob-syndrome. Even with the dress larger than it needed to be, there is still way too much cleavage showing. The straps need to be taken in and that will raise the dress some, but not nearly enough to be what I consider decent. So she suggested that I could add a modesty panel from the extra hemmed fabric. Great. Sure. Whatever. I bought a dress that I intended to wear as is, and now I have to make it look completely different (and possibly not be able to re-sell it) all because I have gigantic boobs and this woman informed me that a size 10 was going to cover them.
I'm hoping that because its close to aunt flo (sorry for the TMI) that I'm just retaining ridiculous amounts of water and since the wedding and aunt flo won't be close together, my disgustingly large chest will shrink significantly.
It also bugs me that on the bottom of the rushing, the dress sticks out funny. Its like instead of the rushing, well rushing, it gathers in one spot and looks like a large ruffle. Other than that, I really like the dress. The train is short and the dress is made of chiffon so its extremely light weight. It feels like wearing a regular dress and definitely doesn't weigh you down.
Another good thing is that if I lost no weight at all, the dress would still fit perfectly in the stomach and hips. Unfortunately, it does nothing to give me curves or a butt, but whatever, I guess I shouldn't expect too much.
Honestly, I feel like its 'good enough'. I mean, I'm wearing the dress for 5-6 hours for one night and then I'll never need to look at it again. Hopefully I'll be able to sell it. And at least I'm going to have really nice shoes!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Dress & Rings
Wow. Being engaged for 18 months is insanely long for someone who likes to plan things. Granted, were just over the 1 year mark for being engaged, but we still have 8.5 months until the wedding. There are so many things that I want to do, but its just too early to do them. Do you know how annoying that is for someone who likes to make lists and get things done right away?
At the same time, I can't believe we only have 8.5 months until the wedding. I have a ton of stuff to do! We still have money to save. But, being that super anal organized person that I am, I have everything broken down into what needs to be done each month.
Last week two pretty exciting things happened. T received a call that our wedding bands were in and ready to pick up at our convenience. When he told me, I said "holy crap we're really getting married!" Later on in the week I received an email from the dress shop telling me that Maggie Sottero contacted my dress store and said my dress was being shipped before the end of the month and should arrive to the shop by January 10th.
Its funny how those two things make the wedding so much more realistic. I mean, I know we're getting married and all of that, but until you have the bands and the dress, its not quite real that its happening. Its like when I went on a cruise. We paid portions of money throughout the year and although I made those payments and knew what they were going towards, it wasn't until we received the tickets in the mail that I thought "Wow, we're really going on a cruise!"
Now I have to patiently wait 8.5 months to wear the band. :-( However, in less than 3 weeks I can try on my dress so that makes up for it a bit!
At the same time, I can't believe we only have 8.5 months until the wedding. I have a ton of stuff to do! We still have money to save. But, being that super anal organized person that I am, I have everything broken down into what needs to be done each month.
Last week two pretty exciting things happened. T received a call that our wedding bands were in and ready to pick up at our convenience. When he told me, I said "holy crap we're really getting married!" Later on in the week I received an email from the dress shop telling me that Maggie Sottero contacted my dress store and said my dress was being shipped before the end of the month and should arrive to the shop by January 10th.
Its funny how those two things make the wedding so much more realistic. I mean, I know we're getting married and all of that, but until you have the bands and the dress, its not quite real that its happening. Its like when I went on a cruise. We paid portions of money throughout the year and although I made those payments and knew what they were going towards, it wasn't until we received the tickets in the mail that I thought "Wow, we're really going on a cruise!"
Now I have to patiently wait 8.5 months to wear the band. :-( However, in less than 3 weeks I can try on my dress so that makes up for it a bit!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
My First Wedding Nightmare
So I know that these are pretty common and I figured that I would have one eventually, but I was not expecting to have one that woke up me shaking, angry and freaking out. Here's the dream:
T and I are standing in front of the officiant who is saying the ceremony. He starts talking about religion (we're not having a religious ceremony) and T gives me the side eye. I look at him confused because I have no idea why the officiant changed the ceremony on us. T gives me my ring but then the officiant forgets to have me give T his. Neither of us can talk so we can't stop him or say anything. Then my mom and dad come through the door carrying folding chairs and complaining about just getting there. Finally I can speak and I say to her "I can't believe you would miss my wedding! I'm your only daughter and here you are being typical as usual, late, late, LATE!". I look out at our guests and there is no one there. I run out of the ceremony room and outside. Someone is setting up this hideous orange and black cake and I start yelling at them because its not the cake we asked for. They start yelling back telling me that it is what we ordered. I randomly pull a picture of out somewhere and show them its not the right cake. Some lady yells at me and says well this is what you get for wanting a budget wedding. You can't have what you want or what you ask for.
T comes outside to find me and thats when I realize that our photographer never showed up and we have no pictures of the wedding. I call her and get her voicemail saying how shes really busy, not accepting new clients and has missed a lot of weddings recently. I started yelling at the voicemail telling her I paid her and she was supposed to be here. The voicemail starts talking back to me telling me that "its just too bad and I don't need pictures since no one showed up for the wedding."
My mom finds me and tells me that we need to have the wedding again tomorrow because no one is there. I argue with her that I don't want another wedding and if no one gives a shit about us to show up than thats just their problem. Thats when I realize that none of my bridesmaids are there and I start calling them asking why they aren't there. My maid of honor tells me that she had something else to do and couldn't make it. Then she says maybe I should have had the wedding closer to her house and she could have came.
Someone must have convinced me to have the wedding again because T and I are calling everyone that we inviting making sure that they are attending. Everyone says they are on their way except for one of his friends. We drive to his house and show him the invitation and tell him that he lied to us he was supposed to be there.
We go back to the venue and someone is setting up a cake again. Its still not the one I asked for, but its the right color so I say that its okay. It was three tiers and the middle tier was blueberry muffins. The lady tells me its the closest thing to purple that she had. The photographer shows up and starts taking pictures.
The dream fastforwards to me holding a bouquet which explodes flowers in my hands and then gets fuzzy until its T and I packing up all of our stuff saying that if people don't want to show up at our wedding and give a shit about us that we're moving to another country.
Okay, its not really that bad when its written out, probably because my brain still can't comprehend everything that happened, but I remember feeling so lost, confused, alone and angry throughout the entire dream. That was definitely not fun!
Hopefully I can avoid having any more wedding nightmares for a while....or at least until this one gets out of my head.
T and I are standing in front of the officiant who is saying the ceremony. He starts talking about religion (we're not having a religious ceremony) and T gives me the side eye. I look at him confused because I have no idea why the officiant changed the ceremony on us. T gives me my ring but then the officiant forgets to have me give T his. Neither of us can talk so we can't stop him or say anything. Then my mom and dad come through the door carrying folding chairs and complaining about just getting there. Finally I can speak and I say to her "I can't believe you would miss my wedding! I'm your only daughter and here you are being typical as usual, late, late, LATE!". I look out at our guests and there is no one there. I run out of the ceremony room and outside. Someone is setting up this hideous orange and black cake and I start yelling at them because its not the cake we asked for. They start yelling back telling me that it is what we ordered. I randomly pull a picture of out somewhere and show them its not the right cake. Some lady yells at me and says well this is what you get for wanting a budget wedding. You can't have what you want or what you ask for.
T comes outside to find me and thats when I realize that our photographer never showed up and we have no pictures of the wedding. I call her and get her voicemail saying how shes really busy, not accepting new clients and has missed a lot of weddings recently. I started yelling at the voicemail telling her I paid her and she was supposed to be here. The voicemail starts talking back to me telling me that "its just too bad and I don't need pictures since no one showed up for the wedding."
My mom finds me and tells me that we need to have the wedding again tomorrow because no one is there. I argue with her that I don't want another wedding and if no one gives a shit about us to show up than thats just their problem. Thats when I realize that none of my bridesmaids are there and I start calling them asking why they aren't there. My maid of honor tells me that she had something else to do and couldn't make it. Then she says maybe I should have had the wedding closer to her house and she could have came.
Someone must have convinced me to have the wedding again because T and I are calling everyone that we inviting making sure that they are attending. Everyone says they are on their way except for one of his friends. We drive to his house and show him the invitation and tell him that he lied to us he was supposed to be there.
We go back to the venue and someone is setting up a cake again. Its still not the one I asked for, but its the right color so I say that its okay. It was three tiers and the middle tier was blueberry muffins. The lady tells me its the closest thing to purple that she had. The photographer shows up and starts taking pictures.
The dream fastforwards to me holding a bouquet which explodes flowers in my hands and then gets fuzzy until its T and I packing up all of our stuff saying that if people don't want to show up at our wedding and give a shit about us that we're moving to another country.
Okay, its not really that bad when its written out, probably because my brain still can't comprehend everything that happened, but I remember feeling so lost, confused, alone and angry throughout the entire dream. That was definitely not fun!
Hopefully I can avoid having any more wedding nightmares for a while....or at least until this one gets out of my head.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wedding Bands!
We stopped in the jewelry store that T purchased my engagement ring from while we were Black Friday shopping today and found out that both of the wedding bands we wanted were on sale. Mine was $175 off and T's was $25 off. We decided to purchase them today.
Here is mine:
And here is T's:
Of course he had to pick out the heaviest ring possible. I don't get his logic but he says that if he's going to wear a wedding band he wants to feel that it is there.
And the best part about buying our rings today? My dad called me later in the day when we were finishing up shopping and told me that he was going to give me a pretty decent amount of cash for T and I for Christmas. It was enough that it is going to pay for our wedding bands completely!
Both of our rings needed to be sized and mine will show up in the next week or so and T's should be here in a month!
Definitely a big check off the list of wedding purchases!
Here is mine:
Of course he had to pick out the heaviest ring possible. I don't get his logic but he says that if he's going to wear a wedding band he wants to feel that it is there.
And the best part about buying our rings today? My dad called me later in the day when we were finishing up shopping and told me that he was going to give me a pretty decent amount of cash for T and I for Christmas. It was enough that it is going to pay for our wedding bands completely!
Both of our rings needed to be sized and mine will show up in the next week or so and T's should be here in a month!
Definitely a big check off the list of wedding purchases!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Invitations
When I first started planning the wedding, I didn't care too much about invitations. Its just a piece of paper that eventually gets thrown away, right?
So I decided that I would just use Vistaprint deals and make our invitations that way. I created a few, but none of them were really what I wanted. They didn't have the color options or designs I wanted, and after the issues I had trying to create a monogram, I didn't want to upload an entire file as the invitation.
Then I started stalking knottie bio's and googling. I found the wonderful world of pocketfolds and knew I had to have them. But they were a bit expensive. For about 3 months I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I wanted pocketfolds, but I wasn't sure if I could justify that type of expense on well...paper.
I googled for a long time, searching every website that sold cardstock and pocketfolds to make sure that I could find the best deal possible. http://www.cardsandpockets.com/ had the best prices for the colors and style I wanted.
I'm kind of strange when it comes to paper. Well, anything office-supply related. I get really excited when stores put out the back to school supplies and there are tons and tons of pens, pencils, markers, post-it notes and other stuff on sale. I could honestly spend 2 or more hours in an office supply store, just looking at all of the stuff there. Sometimes I think I missed my calling as a school teacher, just so I could buy that stuff every year.
When I got an email from cardsandpockets.com that they were having a fall sale and saw a post on the DIY board that those sales were super rare, I made the decision to order pocketfolds.
I checked the guest list again and it turned out we needed 29 invitations. Of course, most pre-packaged items come in quantities of 25 or more. So I did have get higher quantites than I needed, but I figure at least I can definitely mess up a few times without having to order more. I also wanted to have extra invitations so we could keep one and send an extra set to our parents if they wanted them.
Here is the breakdown:
40 Signature Pocketfolds in Pine $0.98 each $39.20
2 packs of 25 qty. Blank Invitations $5.00 each $10.00
3 packs of 25 qty. Blank Enclosures $4.98 each $14.94
2 packs of 25 qty. RSVP Cards $4.00 each $ 8.00
50 RSVP envelopes $0.11 each $ 5.25
I had purchased 55 outer envelopes for the RSVP's from another knottie on the Trash to Treasure board for $6. Because the sale was for everything, I also ordered cardstock to back our menu's.
25 Pack 8x11 Pine Cardstock $5.25
25 Pack 8x11 Pansy Cardstock $4.99
The cardsandpockets.com total for the invite pieces and cardstock was $87.88. The sale was 25% off which deducted $21.88 from the price. Shipping was $9.40. Total: $75.40
So, the total for everything related to the invitations, the cost is $83.39
Unfortunately, this does mean that before postage (and excluding the stamps and ink pad I bought), each invitation is costing me $2.61. I know that is pretty un-budget friendly. However, I did price out what it would cost us for premade invitations, or ones where you print your specific information, and the ones I found decent enough varied from $0.08 less or $1.24 more per invite.
Maybe I'm just a paper snob. Who knows. :( But, even though its a lot of money, I'm getting the invitations I really want and we're still under budget.
So I decided that I would just use Vistaprint deals and make our invitations that way. I created a few, but none of them were really what I wanted. They didn't have the color options or designs I wanted, and after the issues I had trying to create a monogram, I didn't want to upload an entire file as the invitation.
Then I started stalking knottie bio's and googling. I found the wonderful world of pocketfolds and knew I had to have them. But they were a bit expensive. For about 3 months I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I wanted pocketfolds, but I wasn't sure if I could justify that type of expense on well...paper.
I googled for a long time, searching every website that sold cardstock and pocketfolds to make sure that I could find the best deal possible. http://www.cardsandpockets.com/ had the best prices for the colors and style I wanted.
I'm kind of strange when it comes to paper. Well, anything office-supply related. I get really excited when stores put out the back to school supplies and there are tons and tons of pens, pencils, markers, post-it notes and other stuff on sale. I could honestly spend 2 or more hours in an office supply store, just looking at all of the stuff there. Sometimes I think I missed my calling as a school teacher, just so I could buy that stuff every year.
When I got an email from cardsandpockets.com that they were having a fall sale and saw a post on the DIY board that those sales were super rare, I made the decision to order pocketfolds.
I checked the guest list again and it turned out we needed 29 invitations. Of course, most pre-packaged items come in quantities of 25 or more. So I did have get higher quantites than I needed, but I figure at least I can definitely mess up a few times without having to order more. I also wanted to have extra invitations so we could keep one and send an extra set to our parents if they wanted them.
Here is the breakdown:
40 Signature Pocketfolds in Pine $0.98 each $39.20
2 packs of 25 qty. Blank Invitations $5.00 each $10.00
3 packs of 25 qty. Blank Enclosures $4.98 each $14.94
2 packs of 25 qty. RSVP Cards $4.00 each $ 8.00
50 RSVP envelopes $0.11 each $ 5.25
I had purchased 55 outer envelopes for the RSVP's from another knottie on the Trash to Treasure board for $6. Because the sale was for everything, I also ordered cardstock to back our menu's.
25 Pack 8x11 Pine Cardstock $5.25
25 Pack 8x11 Pansy Cardstock $4.99
The cardsandpockets.com total for the invite pieces and cardstock was $87.88. The sale was 25% off which deducted $21.88 from the price. Shipping was $9.40. Total: $75.40
So, the total for everything related to the invitations, the cost is $83.39
Unfortunately, this does mean that before postage (and excluding the stamps and ink pad I bought), each invitation is costing me $2.61. I know that is pretty un-budget friendly. However, I did price out what it would cost us for premade invitations, or ones where you print your specific information, and the ones I found decent enough varied from $0.08 less or $1.24 more per invite.
Maybe I'm just a paper snob. Who knows. :( But, even though its a lot of money, I'm getting the invitations I really want and we're still under budget.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Checklist & Budget Templates
I've created my own Wedding Checklist, Excel Budget, and Vendor Payment Tracker. I thought I should share them with you.
If for any reason you can't access these documents, please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send it to you that way.
Wedding Checklist
I compiled this list with the help of theknot.com and the Bridal Bargains book.
Wedding Budget
This is the actual Excel sheet that I am using, so obviously its not going to work for everyone. It is set up to calculate the Already Purchased column total from the Actual Amount column total to show you what you have spent so far.
Payment Schedule
You can enter in your vendors and payment information as you receive contracts. The Payments by Month portion is something I created where I showed a 12 month countdown to my wedding to figure out what needed to be purchased/paid for each month. It allows me to see how much money we need to have put away.
If for any reason you can't access these documents, please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send it to you that way.
Wedding Checklist
I compiled this list with the help of theknot.com and the Bridal Bargains book.
Wedding Budget
This is the actual Excel sheet that I am using, so obviously its not going to work for everyone. It is set up to calculate the Already Purchased column total from the Actual Amount column total to show you what you have spent so far.
Payment Schedule
You can enter in your vendors and payment information as you receive contracts. The Payments by Month portion is something I created where I showed a 12 month countdown to my wedding to figure out what needed to be purchased/paid for each month. It allows me to see how much money we need to have put away.
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