Weddingbee boards

For budgetary reasons, I initially thought about making my own invitations. But I'm not really so crafty, either, plus I took into consideration how much printer ink would cost me. Then I found seal-n-send invitations on www.annsbridalbargains.com. I just received a sample in the mail a few days ago and my fiance and I think we're going to go with it. The style we chose costs $114.00 for 100 invitations, but what really sold us on it was what we'll save in postage. Because they aren't overweight, they'll only cost the standard $0.44 to mail and the RSVP card will cost the price of a postcard stamp.

We bought invitations at Michaels with their 40% off coupons and got 100 invitations for $26.  What a bargain!  These happened to be marked down already, but even so, using the Michael's coupons is a great way to save money. 

We printed them out at home and then a family friend did the addressing for us, so the calligraphy was technically free (although I did buy her a generous thank you present).  The only other thing we had to buy (besides stamps) was extra envelopes because the invitation set only has the invitation card, inner envelope, response card and response envelope.  I wanted the traditional "outer envelope" thing too, so we purchased those at another store for $.50 each.  And for our reception cards, we bought nice 8x11 card stock and cut it into 8 equal pieces.  Total of $4.00 on the paper.  Total spent on the invitations not including stamps: about $100.  :)   

They turned out great.  If you match the colors well, no one will be able to tell!  Several people asked me where I'd had them done and couldn't believe it was our own work!  

I highly recommend the book Bridal Bargains.  I'm doing all the usual things to save money:

 -printing our own invitations, purchased at Michael's with 40% off coupon.

- I am lucky in that my cousin is a professional photographer and has agreed to do our wedding!

- we decided to get simple wedding bands.  The cheapest, well-recommended place I've found so far is weddingringhotline.com.  We both got 18k white gold bands and the total was around $300. 

- we chose a venue that allows us to use our own catering and liquor.  We are still planning to have an open bar, but will buy liquor at Sam's Club, wine by the case, and provide 2 kegs.  One of the waitresses at our regular bar will bartend.

- I tried on dresses at a local bridal store to get a feel for what I liked, and am now looking online for once worn wedding dresses.  I'm looking to get a Maggie Sottero dress (usually run $800-$1500) for around $500 with shipping and bustle already done.

- We are probably going to skip a lot of the things I consider unnecessary and trivial, like the favors.  I think providing good music, food, and alcohol is most important to the enjoyment of our guests and they probably won't care/remember if we had organza overlays on the table and sashes and matching chargers etc. 

 - we're getting a simple 3 tier cake from Publix.  If we had the money it would be nice to get a stunning, custom cake but I don't even like cake, half the guests probably won't eat it, and I don't think it will make a big difference.

- I also plan on doing my own floral stuff, using flowers bought in bulk from Sam's Club or fiftyflowers.com.  My centerpieces are going to simply be orchids submerged in cylindrical vases, so they should be fairly easy to arrange. 

 The biggest challenge I have so far is finding affordable but elegant food for an evening reception.  We're considering having a restaurant drop off the entrees and just getting the side stuff like salad and garlic bread from Sam's as well.  We would still have to find someone to set it up and man the buffet station, but we were thinking of craigslist for that.

I, too, love Michael's 50% off coupons.  The invites, thank yous, and place cards will likely all come from there.  You can only use one per day (or so the coupon claims), so I'll be heading by every day after work a couple months before!  I noticed a lot of the Martha Stewart kits are gone (now that it's fall).  Does anyone know when those will pop back up?  Hopefully before spring time!

Favors: Jones Soda offers sodas with custom labels, but they are expensive (shipping especially).  I really love this idea, so I'm paying a woman on Etsy to design a label for me.  I will print them on adhesive paper and put them on my own sodas (maybe cheaper ones from Trader Joes).

Centerpieces: I am taking the "pressure" off the flowers by adding color elsewhere on the table.  The sodas mentioned above will be placed on the plates to add color.  Also, I'm buying $5 tablecloth organza overlays in my wedding colors (deep pink and orange).  That's cheaper than Joann's fabric WITH a 50% coupon!  Table runners would work, too.  Then I'll place some white calla lilies in a tall vase.  The tables will be bright and colorful, with tall centerpieces, but still inexpensive.  I've already found great deals for vases on Craigslist, and I will sell those afterwards.  The $$ will go towards honeymoon extras or thank-you postage.

Flowers: DIY.  I'm buying bulk calla lilies from http://www.bridesign.com/ .  I may get roses there, too, or maybe Costco.  They do pre-made arrangements, too, if you want to get the bouquets done professionally but buy bulk flowers for centerpieces.  Cost = $150/75 lilies, and I'm guessing 7 lilies/table plus bouquets and such.  So $450 to be safe.  Plus bright ribbon from Michaels!

Dress: I tried to buy used online, but they never had the dresses I wanted.  So I've been negotiating between competitors.  I plan to sell the dress afterwards.

Make-up: free consultation at the MAC counter!  Well, maybe I'll buy an eyeshadow.

Headpiece: DIY.  Bought a pretty silk flower at Michaels and some fake pearls and a comb.  Glued it all together and it looks super cute!  Cost = $6.  Also got a headband at Forever 21 with silk flowers on it and I plan to do the same thing for the b-maids.  Cost = $4.  If you're not crafty, Etsy has super cute items for much less than those prom-y things in chain stores.  If you like veils, Michaels sells one for $15 and you could add whatever beads or crystals you want.

Catering: I've only interviewed places that don't sell booze, so they can't charge a corkage fee or ban outside alcohol.  Bev-mo has good prices during their wine sales, and will accept returns of unopened booze (if labels are not damaged by water).  Kegs don't appear to be worth it for us.

Rentals: whenever reasonable, I buy instead of rent.  For instance, an ivory aisle runner was estimated at $100 to rent, but only $35 to buy.  Tableclothes are similar.  This is because they stain easily and need intensive cleaning.  Other items, like vases, may cost the same to rent vs. buy, but you can then sell them later at your liesure instead of worrying about getting them back to the rental company ASAP.  If you go with this route, it's a good idea to make sure your venue will allow ample time to set up.  Caterers and florists may not be eager to work with materials they are not profiting from renting and/or they may need more time working with materials new to them.

Hope this helps!  Alright, time for bed.

Craigslist!  I found a photographer that was just starting out for $700 for a while day (and second shooter!)  His (limited) portfolio was really, really good too.  I also found a videographer on there who did wedding videography on the side, but had 10 years of experience (and a great portfolio) who charged at least $200 less than the least expensive package I could find anywhere else.

And people think I'm crazy, but I've been visiting local flea markets and getting some steals!  It might be crazy, but I got some amazing vintage jewelry pieces (bracelet, broaches, earrings) and nothing was more than $10.  And I've found a bunch of frames and glass vases for all under $1.  It's been great!

And I don't know if you live near a major city, but I got my dress at the Running of the Brides @ Filene's basement.  NEVER thought I would do anything like that, but I heard it's not bad if you go after like 11am.  I took a day trip with my mom with no expectations, had a good little bonding trip with her .... and I got (close to) my dream Amsale dress for $500! 

Good luck!