Veil of too many lengths

Who knew there were this many choices? I used my detective skills to snoop out the name and number of the $250 veil I tried on at a bridal salon. I then searched the internet for an alternative.

Are you a birdcage girl? Fingertip? Chapel? Cathedral? You'll soon learn these terms.

Ultimately I ordered 2 veils online and found the one that matched the one from the salon for $60 Yes, that is 1/4 the cost! Do your homework, look around and find the veil that looks good and fits in your budget.

Bridal Expos, worth the time?

YES! I went to a few and found great ideas. There are also many that have super giveaways. I spent $7 for the raffle tickets and stuffed the boxes of the vendors. Some people won cookware, some dresses, some a full wedding! Well worth the time!

I won a second place prize to the American Laser Center. I rarely treat myself to a facial, so this was serious! Thanks to this award I got to try out the seriously girly treatments i only hear about on OC housewives and such.

Save the DATE everyone

Once we found our dream venue and set a date, we had to get the word out. We chose to create a wedding website with as much information as possible to make our guests planning as easy as possible. There are tons of free options for this and also very low cost options.

We sent out a save the date email today to inform our family and closest friends about our wedding date since our celebration is close to a holiday. We want people to have a lot of time to plan, find plane tickets, and maketravel arrangements.

We included our wedding website url on this so all the planning was in one easy location.

Bridesmaids Dresses

After my cousins said yes it was all about their dress. I had been a bridesmaid enough times to know how it feels to be on that side. I decided that these girls were going to enjoy this wedding as much as I was and were going to look good!

I did start with the typical bridal party dress sites but thought they all looked TOO much like bridesmaid dresses. The problem with this is that usually they can't be died again to attempt to get another wear out of them. So, they ultimately take up space in the closet or just get left on the hotel floor.

We settled on a stunning White House Black Market dress that all the girls can wear again. Don't discount the regular retailers! WHBM totally worked around their regular return policy to ensure that if we had any issues before the wedding we had a way to exchange dresses.

Cake vs Cupcake?

This is truly the place to show your style. Square vs circular, layers, fondant, flowers, fruit, flowers...where to begin? Start my getting quotes from local bakeries. My venue had some to recommend and i went from there.

I happened upon my baker on a craigslist search for flower vases and found what i wanted in the background of a picture. I contacted the seller and got the low down on her seriously delectable desserts! She shared with me what her and her guests thought. Now that is the right place at the right time!

My sweet decorator was nice enough to help me find the display items i needed on ebay to truly show off these desserts.

Dress DONE!

Item #2 checked off the list!

After visiting only 2 stores I saved my next dress outing for my mom. Since she does not live in my city, I made a point to have her at at least one wedding dress shopping excursion. We squeezed this in after swimming lessons with Hunter and before our venue shopping.

With my mom, soon to be sister in law, and my personal attendant in tow we ventured out for a few hours of girl time. In just 4 hours I found:

4 dress I liked,
2 I loved,
and 1 I could not live without!

Today the deposit is paid and the dress is ordered! No pictures here, this one is a surprise!

Venue SET!

Check 1 thing off the list!

Countless calls and 259 emails later (and those are only the saved ones).

When Carrie emailed me with her pricing a few weeks ago I was discouraged. I wrote a sorrowful thank you back explaining it was not in our budget. She immediately asked me my guest count and budget and said she would make it work. What? Yes, you heard me. She knocked $ off here and there and amended the package to get our business.

This amazing venue is ours for a quaint 30's chapel wedding and an art deco wedding reception with 180 degree views! Let the true planning begin!

Room block set! This is a great idea. You get a discounted rate for the guests (mine was $10 off) staying at the hotel for the wedding. We had to guarantee them 10 room, which was easy with family and the wedding party. They even extended the price for those staying days other than our wedding night!