Thank you thank you thank you! to Kathryn at Snippet and Ink who was kind enough to point me in the direction of this wonderful wedding. I love it for so many reasons:

• it’s done on a reasonable budget
• candles were used as centerpieces
• it’s in Detroit in a venue I’m considering
• there’s a photobooth present
• it’s gorgeous

The bride Amanda was kind enough to provide the details of a few of her vendors. I’ll definitely be giving them a call. As for the venue, I knew the Guardian building was nice, but these photos say that it’s fabulous. I’m a simple girl by nature, but who can resist those elaborate art deco details.

I’ll definitely keep this wedding close for inspiration. How could I resist?

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Technorati Tags: Ceremony, Cheap, Decor, Detroit, Inexpensive, Reception, Venue

So, we went to a wedding last weekend and at the reception they offered two signature cocktails, plus a cash bar. I’d never thought of doing a combination of free and for-pay drinks, but it’s a good idea. One drink was after the bride’s tastes and one was after the groom’s tastes. It’s nice because as long as you pick good cocktails, your guests are probably pretty content to just drink those.

One of the brides at Weddingbee has decided to have 5 signature cocktails, all named after the couple’s pets. What a cute idea. I don’t know yet how we’d name or even choose our drinks, but I do think it’s a good place for us to get creative. Maybe they could match our wedding colors. Or they could be our favorite drinks. Or they could be named after the places we’ve traveled, or our personality traits, or locations unique to Detroit, our hometown. The possibilities are endless!

And let’s talk about the savings. Many thousands of dollars for an open bar vs. a lot less for a few signature drinks. If we can figure some way to bring our own liquor, we’ll do that and try to save even more money.

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Technorati Tags: Bar, Budget, Cocktail, Idea, Reception, spirits

Check out this wedding recently featured on Snippet & Ink. It has several characteristics that I think very highly of.

• non-traditional venue
• lots of DIY touches
• vases purchased at IKEA
• paper lanterns
• a 13k budget for 150 guests

This couple did an excellent of job of staying true to their own style while also staying true to their checkbooks. I can only hope to be so talented.

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Technorati Tags: Budget, Cheap, DIY, Inexpensive, Venue

I recently talked about trying candles instead of flowers. Not long after I wrote that post, I came across a perfect example at a recent wedding. Very nice and elegant and seemingly inexpensive. The pictures are a little small, but here is an example.

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Technorati Tags: Centerpiece, Ceremony, Cheap, Decor, Inexpensive

So I’m one of those people who generally thinks, “If I want it done right, I better do it myself”. Unfortunately, I’m also that person who ends up with a crap-ton of stuff on her plate and very little time to accomplish it all. That said, I know there will probably be a lot of diy features to this 12k wedding so I may have to start asking for help ::gasp::.

Now, I know who’s crafty and who has a keen eye for detail and I’m pretty sure these are the people I’d ask for help. Aunt so-and-so who’s extra clumsy and a little willy-nilly – not so much. The big issue is that I don’t want someone to “help” me by putting a lot of time and effort into a project and then me not liking the final project. So I think I’ll attack it like this: start keeping a list of diy projects I think I might like to do. Then, determine which ones I can feasibly accomplish on my own. Then ask for help one project at a time from one person at a time.

That way either we can do the project together, getting it done in half the time or at least I can “guide” my helper along to begin with. All I know is, as much I’d like to convince myself that I can, I probably won’t be able to accomplish all my projects on my own.

What do you think? Are you getting a lot of helpful help? Or is the help you’re getting more trouble than it’s worth?

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Technorati Tags: Cheap, DIY, Inexpensive

Although this is a 12k wedding, there are a few things I don’t want to compromise on. The food is one of them. I know what I don’t want. I don’t want baked chicken, potatoes au gratin, cold hard rolls or dry roast beef. No offense to any brides who will be having that, but I happen to consider myself a lover of food and I’d like to share that with my guests. Baked chicken and cold hard rolls don’t quite come off as great. Both of us love seafood whether it’s shrimp, crab, lobster, crawfish or fish. So that should be incorporated somehow. We also both really like a good steak from time to time. So maybe a surf-n-turf kinda thing?

I know I’m asking for a lot here, considering the average cost per plate in my area is somewhere between $25-$35. And that’s for the usual fare listed above in my “don’t list”. I know we’ll have to make sacrifices in other places, but to me there’s nothing better and more comforting than a good plate of food shared with good company. I love it especially when you can provide people with food they love that they might not otherwise eat on a regular basis.

So basically, I have myself in a big pickle. How do I provide excellent food at a digestible price. In other words, I have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Any suggestions?

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Technorati Tags: Catering, Cheap, Dinner, Food, Inexpensive, Reception

Every time I look through pages and pages of dresses in bridal magazines or I click through wedding dress galleries online, I always somehow manage to pick the most expensive dresses. It drives me crazy. I have simple taste so it can’t be due to lots of beads and embellishments. I guess it’s because I really enjoy nice material and construction. So anyway, I came across this website, Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses. Brides sell their pre-owned wedding dresses at a fraction of the cost. Some of the dresses are new with tags, some are used but cleaned and preserved, and some are listed as needing minor repair. There are many many designers listed and in many many price ranges. It appears that there may be something for everyone.

Here’s the issue I have. I happen to very short with a large chest, short torso and long legs – not the easiest body to fit. Some of the dresses are listed as altered, making it that more likely that the dress won’t fit me. Not only that, but very few dress sizes are cut the same across designers. You could be a size 8 in one, but a size 10 in another.

I’m so hesitant to buy a dress I can’t try on or see firsthand to examine the detail. Especially because most of the sellers have a no return policy. The best I can do is to try the dress on in a local bridal salon, have them size me according to the manufacturer’s size chart and cross my fingers. That may be what I end up doing. We shall see. But in the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for other opportunities for discounted dresses.

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Technorati Tags: Cheap, Dress, Inexpensive

I’m the kind of girl that likes a modern look. Don’t get me wrong – traditional is nice…but modern is better. Although a big vase of flowering buds is nice, I happen to enjoy the nice sleek look of bamboo. And I looooove the price tag. I got some at IKEA that was very inexpensive. They show it dried and bundled on the website, but I got mine in the store still alive. I was told by my Japanese friend that it’s customary to use bamboo in bunches of odd numbers – that’s 1, 3, 5 etc. , but that 3 is generally most favorable. Outside of that, all rules are off. Think of pairing th bamboo with flowers, fruit, or other dried twigs. Or you could use it by itself in a vase with pebbles, sand, river rocks, glass beads, and the list is endless. I myself happen to have two vases in my kitchen framing my window over the sink. One has one stalk and the other holds 5. You know – that odd number thing. They require very little care. If I, with my brown-thumb, can keep it alive, than anyone can. After the wedding, you can use it to decorate your home or take it to the office and use it to liven up your desk. If you plan on having favors for your guests to take home with them, think about using 1 short stalk at each seat. Bamboo is often sold in home decorating stores already arranged in a vase. Take note of those you like but don’t feel like you have to snap them up right away. Most arrangements can be easily mimicked and can be done for a lot less than the store charges.

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Technorati Tags: Cheap, Decor, DIY, Inexpensive, Reception

A tradition is commonly known as a passed down practice or idea. It’s just that – not a requirement. Too often, brides get so hung up in tradition they end up costing themselves much more than necessary.

Before the wedding even begins, you can cut costs by bucking the tradition of sending every guest a gajillion inserts with their invitation. Every inner envelope and blank piece of spacer paper  is costing you not only for the items themselves but also for the postage you’re paying based on the entire invitations weight. All that paper is probably tossed anyway. So save yourself some dollars and help save the environment at the same time.

Check out this post from A Practical Wedding that suggests doing away with favors. Believe me when I tell you that no one in attendance will love you any less if they don’t receive a favor upon leaving. And if they do take issue with it, maybe they shouldn’t have been invited in the first place. After reading her post, I really don’t think we’ll be doing favors now. If we do, they’d have to be something very sentimental and very low-cost. I really like the hand-written note idea, but that’s probably a lot easier for 100 than guests than 200+.

And who says who are required to get married in a church. Consider holding your ceremony and reception in the same location. That way you can combine the venue costs, often lowering the total amount and saving money on transportation from one place to the next.

Finally don’t get all worked up about your ancestors and older generations disapproving your break from tradition. Think of it more as you creating new traditions.

How are you breaking tradition and saving money?

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Technorati Tags: Ceremony, Cheap, Favor, Inexpensive, Reception, Tradition

Just because it’s DIY (Do It Yourself), doesn’t mean it has to look like it. Try out your do it yourself project early enough to have time to perfect your craft before the wedding day. Of course a lot of brides today are printing their own invitations at home and saving lots of money. Just make sure you’ve considered the cost of both the paper and the ink. One bride at Weddingbee is making DIY paper flowers for her centerpieces, and they seem to have turned out very nicely.

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Technorati Tags: Decor, DIY, Flowers, Invitations, Reception