2009 April | 12k Wedding Blog

April 29, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Behind the Scenes

I was at the post office today and while I was there I asked for clarification on upcoming postage rate increase.

Here’s the scoop:

Anything less than 1 oz. can be mailed with a Forever Stamp, which is currently $0.42.

Forever Stamp

Anything 1 oz. to 2 oz. (which includes most invitations) can be mailed with a special wedding stamp, which is currently $0.59.

You don’t necessarily have to use the wedding stamps, cause they usually look nice and are usually the right denomination.

Here’s the important info:

USPS Postage Stamp Rates will increase on May 11, 2009.

The First Class rate will increase to $0.44.

A new wedding stamp will be issued at a rate of $0.61.

Wedding Stamp, issue date 5/1/09

If you’re like me and you know you’re going to need stamps soon, whether for save the dates, invitations, or thank you notes, keep this rate stuff in mind. And May 11th is around the corner. Don’t let it sneak up on you.

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Technorati Tags: Invitations, postage, Save the Dates, stamps, STD

Bridal Bargains Contest Winner

April 25, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Free Stuff, Discounts, Contests

Hello 12k Readers!

I’m 12k’s little (and unmarried) sister and I’m here to announce the winner of the Bridal Bargains Book Contest! I’ve seen this book first-hand and it offers a a plethora of tips and tricks to saving money for your big day. She received many responses and there was no way to choose based on the responses so we used a website Random.org that helped us in the decision-making process.

And the winner is–

Crystal!!

Thanks again for participating and continue following Ms. 12k on her quest for a 12k wedding!

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Cupcake Tower Inspiration

April 23, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

If you’re gonna do cupcakes, this is definitely the way to go.

Source: Pink Cake Box

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Technorati Tags: Cake, cupcakes

Wheat Grass Cake Table

April 22, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

I have so many ideas running through my head about what to use for the decor. I keep thinking about the wheat grass that come up early on. What if, instead of using it on each table, we use it just on the cake table. If we did, it might look a little something like this, minus the butterflies.

If we did end up deciding to put it on the tables, it might look like this:

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Technorati Tags: Cake, Cake Table, Centerpieces, Decor, decorations, Reception, Wheat Grass

Mixing Fake Flowers with Real Flowers

April 21, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Flowers

So, if you haven’t already noticed, here’s a little tidbit about me: I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. And I don’t even mean to, but it seems like it always happens that way.

That means when it comes to my bouquet flowers, of course everything I seem to like is super-exclusive, out of season, or just plain expensive. It doesn’t help that we live in Michigan. For flowers to really thrive and grow in this crazy weather, they have to be pretty resilient and few make the cut.

Sure, I could order flowers from across the country and have them flown in, but in the grand scheme of things, it just feels a little silly. The flowers will be way overpriced and will undoubtedly die the next day anyway. And while I’m not the greenest girl out there, I do know that’s a lot of unnecessary stress on the environment in transportation just for some flowers.

So, what if I mixed in some not-so-real flowers with my real in-season, readily available flowers?

[side note: If I were witty enough, this would be the point where I make a hilarious analogy regarding those chicken cutlet booby things everyone seems to like so much and how its essentially the same thing because you're mixing the real ones with the fake ones. That's if I were witty enough.]

My real flowers could be:

dahlias
poppy
zinnia

I could mix in fake stems of:

peonies
anemone
tulips
gardenia

Anemone. Source: fleurs nyc

Gardenia. Source: The Knot

Peonies. Source: Vogue Flowers and Gifts

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Technorati Tags: Bouquets, DIY, Flowers

First Caterer Tasting

April 20, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

We had our first tasting on Friday night at the Museum of African American History where our reception will be held.

First of all, shame on me for not taking a picture of the food before we ate. I was extra hungry and the picture was obviously the last thing on my mind.

Here’s what we had:

Garden Salad Served with Italian Dressing
Baked Chicken with Tomato and Basil Sauce
Beef Tips with Parslied Rice
Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes
String Beans with Red Pepper Butter
Rolls with Butter

Overall, I’d call it a 7. Not outstanding, but better than most wedding food I’ve tasted.

The salad was decent because it was mixed greens and not just iceberg lettuce. The chicken wasn’t dry. The rice, mashed potatoes and string beans were actually really good. The beef tips were a little tough though. And the rolls weren’t good at all. They tasted cold, and bland like they were straight off the Sysco truck.

So that’s the food. Now, let’s talk about organization for a minute. Our tasting was originally supposed to be at 6:30. I emailed to confirm, but never heard back from them. So I called and they said, “Oh, we need to make it 7.” So on Friday, we showed up at 7pm starving with our stomachs touching our spines. We didn’t start eating until 7:30. Not cool.

And although I’ve had issues with their communication and organization the entire time I’ve been working with them, they are actually better than both of the other caterer contenders. Again – not cool.

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Technorati Tags: Beef, Caterer, Chicken, potatoes, Reception, rolls, saldad, string beans, tasting

Bridal Bargains Book Giveaway!

April 19, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Free Stuff, Discounts, Contests

Now I know it’s not a set of custom letterpress invitations or a honeymoon trip to Fiji, however, I figured it’s the thought that counts.

So, here’s how it will work.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post. Doesn’t have to be anything super-inspired but here are a few suggestions:

Your comment could be about:

why you want the book
what kind of stuff you’d like to see me write about
what budget obstacles you’re facing
or anything else, as long as it’s remotely related

The contest will end Friday at 6pm ET. I’ll randomly choose a comment and that person gets the book. Easy Peasy.

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Technorati Tags: Bargain, Book, Bridal Bargains, Free, giveaway

Tablecloths and Chair Covers – Check!

April 16, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

After a tip from a middle school friend of mine (shout-out to Alicia!), I have secured a vendor for our tablecloths and chair covers.

I ended up choosing ivory pintuck tablecloths with champagne pillowcase chair covers. And I am very pleased. The rates were very reasonable and she had a decent selection to choose from.

The vendor we chose is Unique Chair Covers. Ashley was super easy to work with and had lots of good ideas but made sure that I was comfortable with the choices. We clicked so much in fact, that Unique Chair Covers is now a featured 12k Sponsor. I would highly recommend Ashley and her company to anyone in the Metro Detroit area. And as you know faithful readers, I do my best to not steer you wrong.

Chair Cover

Tablecloth

chair-cover-and-tablecloth

Chair Cover and Tablecloth Together

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Technorati Tags: Chair Covers, Chairs, linens, Rentals, tablecloths

DIY Contest at 100 Layer Cake

April 15, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Behind the Scenes, DIY

Because I love you guys and I’m not selfish, I’m pointing you in the direction of a contest I just found out about.

The full rundown can be found on their site, but I’ll give you the rundown here.

Host: 100LayerCake.com
Deadline: May 1st, 2009
Instructions: Email them pictures of your DIY project along with a description
All the other details: here

May the best bride (or non-bride) win!

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Technorati Tags: contest, DIY

Invitation Talk and Inspiration

April 14, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Behind the Scenes

My friend, the graphic designer who so graciously agreed to help me with my invitations, and I will be getting together this week to get an idea for how the invitations will look. He’s already got some good ideas and he’s super talented, so I’m super excited. Our invitations may not end up looking anything like these, but here are a few that I like: