Silver & Red Wedding Invitations

I have completed my wedding invitations and they have been sent out, I already have a few RSVPs back.....super exxited!!! Of course being a bride who loves crafts, I made my invitations myself. We don't really have a theme for our wedding but we are using the colors red, white, a little black and a touch of silver so I of course wanted to use some of those colors for my invitations. I was at first going to go with a red paper but I found this really shimmery silver cardstock, thanks to one of my favorite stores, Papersource! All of the cardstock is pretty cheap for a pretty good amount (as I am writing this I have decided to make a whole post dedicated to Papersource since I really recommend it to brides...lol). Anyways, here is my finished product....

 I found the red scroll on some free wedding scrolls website, and of course I cannot remember which one it was...lol. I typed this up in Microsoft word. i was at first unsure of how to word the invitations but there are plenty of websites on the internet that can help you with that. When I first made these, I had a rhinestone attached to the end of the scroll but when I sent one through the mail (it is so very important to do a trial run) it poked a hole in the envelope, so I had to abandon that idea :(. 

We also decided to write in the # of people invited to hopefully prevent confusion in regards to who is actually invited. As we are on a budget, we cannot afford to have extra guests showing up to our wedding! It is really important to make it clear to folks from the beginning!!!

These are very simple and elegant and I am very impressed with my work. Some of our guests have already commented on how much they like the invitations.

Wedding Venue on a Budget

My fiance and I were born and raised in the city of Philadelphia, which is where we still live and I must say a wedding in Philadelphia can be pretty darn expensive. There are tons of hotels, museums and clubs in the area that are absolutely beautiful but charge a per person rate of $50.00 or more (mostly more!) and we certainly do not have that type of money to spend. And you know people say "Well, I'll wait until I get enough money....blah, blah, blah". But my question is what is enough? We both will always have bills and living expenses so I am sure we will never have what we feel is enough! But I digress...lol.
Any who, we did some brainstorming and decided that we needed to find a fire or banquet hall because they would be the most reasonable. There were 2 things that were really important to us;
      1. We needed to find a place that would allow us to bring our own food.
      2. We also needed a place where we could have both our ceremony & reception since we do not   
          belong to a church.
We did some fishing and we found a banquet hall called "Park Avenue Banquet Hall" in west Philadelphia, across from Fairmount Park. The price for rental of the main ballroom on a Saturday evening for 5 hours is $1,500 which just includes the rental space, tables and chairs. I was very impressed with the room when I saw it. The room is completely covered in white drapes and they also have perimeter lighting which makes it look even more nice.

Picture of a wedding reception in the main ballroom.

And like I said before, we also needed a site where we could also host our ceremony as well. We first agreed that we would have both the ceremony and reception in the same room with guests seated at their tables for the ceremony. My mother and I really weren't to fond of the idea but we were going to just tough it out anyway. Then my mom came up with the idea of asking ParkAvenue if we could have one of he rooms upstairs (the Ivory Room) for our ceremony, she's so smart! We have the balance payed off so I figured we should be allowed to. They are letting us have it for an extra $200...nothing ever comes for free....lol. It is just a plain old room and I am honestly not too fond of the tan and brown walls but hey, I am a girl on a budget and I trust that my mom will work her magic on the room and make it look awesome. 

The Ivory Room (empty)

So now we are putting our heads together to figure out how we are going to decorate the rooms, we pretty much have finalized our decorations for the reception, we just need ideas for the ceremony room. I know that I am going to have an aisle runner and I am thinking about getting some small pillars or something. Still working it out but we obviously do not have that much time left. I will definitely post pictures of our finished product!!

Our Wedding Vendor List

I would like to share a list of our vendors. I will obviously continue to update this list as we find more vendors, etc. but here is what we have so far!

Bride & Bridal Party Attire - David's Bridal https://www.davidsbridal.com/HomeView
Groom & Groomsmen Attire - Men's Warehouse http://www.menswearhouse.com
Transportation -  City Wide Limousine http://www.cwlimo.com/
Bakery - Oteri's Italian Bakery http://www.oterisbakery.com/
Ceremony & Reception Venue - Park Avenue Banquet Hall https://sites.google.com/site/parkavenuemediacloud/

DIY: Bride & Groom Glasses (Take 2)

UPDATE:
(PLEASE excuse my messy dresser...lol!!!). If you refer to by prior blog about my wedding glasses, I mentioned that I may be changing the glasses. I loved the design but decided to change the font of our names. The glasses are still exactly the same except for the writing. I have yet to put these in the oven because I may change my mind again and need to wipe something away, who knows...lol. I am also thinking about making glasses for my MOH and BMs as well as my mom and his mom to give as gifts at the rehearsal dinner.

DIY: Hot Chocolate Cone Favor

So, I did say before that I would be using these for my wedding favors. And they actually turned out much better than I expected. This really is an awesome idea especially for our winter wedding and as I said before, you can switch the hot cocoa off for a tea. So here is my tutorial!!!

Supplies:

• Wilton Decorating Bags (3 boxes for 150 favors)
• Mini Marshmallows (# bags is up to you)
• Clear rubber bands (300 for 150 favors) 
• Hot Cocoa Mix
• Scissors
  

Optional*

• Ribbon (I used red) or Twine
• Crushed Candy Cane (you can put whatever else you want inside, I used this because it's red & white)
• A cute label and/or tag

Tutorial:

1. Each favor requires you to use 2 bags. Fill one bag with your choice on the amount of mixture and seal it with a rubber band. The other bag will contain the hot cocoa bag and all of the other ingredients (marshmallows and peppermint, etc.). 

2. Place the hot chocolate bag into the second bag (I already placed the label on the outside bag but you can of course do it your way.

3. Now you fill the rest of the bag with your ingredients (marshmallows and candy, etc) and place another rubber band on this bag as well.

4. Lastly, add you beautiful ribbon and there you have it, an awesome wedding favor!!!!

***Our labels read "A&T....The Perfect Mix....2.23.12". I made them myself, purchased some round labels from papersource and created them on microsoft word.

Long Overdue

So I am just 80 days away from the big day and to answer many people's question, yes I am beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by it. Well, anxious more than anything! The Mr. says he isn't but he isn't really doing much, except for spending $$$, which is important but I am in charge of all of the details...lol.
 I have been neglectful. I haven't blogged since sometime in October but I have been fairly busy. Dealing with wedding stuff and plus I started a new job!! My fiance also suffered a tragic death in his family in early October, which took a toll on both of us.
I do have much to share! Invitations are done so look out for those!!! Working on my hot chocolate favors and I will be creating a tutorial for those. Lots of fun DIY projects that I will be sharing and much more site  make sure you come back and visit soon :) 

DIY: Bride & Groom Glasses (Take 1)

I was simply excited when I learned how to make personalized glasses via http://diy.weddingbee.com/! I could simply just but a bride and groom set of glasses but I decided on this, and it was probably cheaper this way. I purchased the paint at $1.97 each and a set of 4 glasses for $5.00 both at Wal-Mart. I really liked the wavy/swirly design and decided to use it on the glasses. Our colors are red & white so I obviously wanted to incorporate those colors into the glasses. This is my 1st take because they are not yet complete. I have to finish the bottom of the glasses and I may change our names (I am not too fond of the writing). This is a pretty simple DIY project and if you creative, this can definitely work for you!

Making the glasses are very simple. Purchase some glasses (in any size or type), glass paint and paint brushes. Design your glasses any way that you like. And after you have finished, you must stick them in the oven for about 20 minutes (so that when you wash them, the paint doesn't come off). After you do that, you are good to go! Like I said, this is Take 1. I will be posting a picture of the finished project!

Front view of the glasses

Back view of the glasses

A picture of the bottles of paint that I used, you can't miss them since they have the little glass icon at the top of the bottle.

My Fingerprint Tree Guestbook!!!

So I have created my own and here it is!!! It turned out as nice as I had hoped for :) I used a sheet of paper from my sketch pad and sketched the tree with a pencil. I then brought some paint from Michaels (97 cents a bottle!) and painted over the lines. I was a little worried that the pencil lines might show up through the paint but they didn't, WooHoo!!!! Our names and the date were hand written by me (people say that I have pretty good penmanship...lol) and traced them with a black sharpie. I made the 2 birds red because those are our wedding colors. I purchased the picture frame from Michaels which was $6.99. The green ink pad came Papersource for $4.95. I may get a red ink pad as well. The important thing about the ink pads is to get the chalk type because they are water based. All in all my grand total for my guestbook comes to a whopping: $14.85!!

4 Creative (& Inexpensive) Guestbook Ideas

I have decided to go with a non-traditional guestbook idea. For one, the guestbooks offered in the stores are not only plain and boring but they are also very expensive, in my opinion ($30 - $50 for a little book). So I have been doing some internet research for the past month or so on alternative guestbook ideas. I have found a few and would like to share them with you. I personally have fell in love with the fingerprint tree idea and will be creating one for my wedding! 

1. Giant Letter Guestbook
This idea is pretty neat because there are so many options to choose from. Some couples opt to follow the idea like this picture. You can also do just one giant letter (last name initial), spell out your last name or "Mr. and Mrs". Letters can be purchased in several different fonts and sizes. You can also decorate the letters however you like. Paint them and don't forget to get some nice pens that match your wedding colors. This is also a plus because you can definitely display these in your home after the wedding. Here is a link to a site where you can purchase letters for a reasonable price. <http://www.craftcuts.com>

 2. Jenga Puzzle
This is a great idea for a couple who really loves games! Just buy a Jenga puzzle (or 2 or 3, depending on how big your guest list is), set it up with some pens and have guests sign their names and/or write a special message to you! Pretty inexpensive and creative! And you and your partner will have a great time playing Jenga while reading the messages after the wedding.

3. Birthday Calender Guestbook
This is a really easy and very inexpensive guestbook idea. All you have to do is find a nice calendar and a few pens and let your guests have their way with it! It's also a very nice and helpful way for you to remember birthday through out the year, but we always have facebook to tell us...lol. It can also work as a conversation starter, a way for guests to see who they share birthday months or days with that they hadn't known

4. Fingerprint Tree Guestbook
This is what I'll be using as my guestbook! I am so in love with this idea! I have never been a nature person but this is adorable and is something that I cannot wait to hang in my home after the wedding. Now if you are an artsy person, like moi, then you may be able to create your own. There are also custom made tree on etsy.com and plenty wedding boards that have brides who are more than willing to share their templates with you. Just buy whatever color ink pads you'd like and some pens for your guests to sign their names next to their fingerprints!

5 Inexpensive Edible Wedding Favor Ideas

Favors, one of my favorite parts about the wedding! lol. I thought that it would be so fun deciding what gift I would have for my guests at the wedding. And since we are inviting about 130 people, it had to be something inexpensive but nice. All of the ideas that I have listed below are DIY and edible but I think that they can all be accomplished pretty easily. For starters, I'm coming to realize that edible favors are very inexpensive and will be of the most use to guests, hopefully your guests will eat them...lol. I must admit that I'm a little bias because I am a baker, so you'll see a lot of baked goodies on this list. And I just think that homemade favors are really special. The first favor listed is the favor that I will be making for my own wedding! Can't wait!!!


1. Hot Chocolate Wedding Favors - This is an idea that can be used for a fall or winter wedding. You can also use this favor for a spring or summer wedding by using a tea instead of hot chocolate. They are very easy to assemble and can be decorated in tons of different ways to match your wedding theme. You can add marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, nuts, different color and shaped jimmies, you can get pretty creative with these. And don't forget to add a pretty ribbon and nice message to go with them! You can also make you own blend of hot chocolate or tea but I am going to stick to the store brought concoctions. I will probably be adding peppermint to mine, to match the red and white theme and adding some very pretty red and white ribbon and a nice tag or sticker, not sure which one yet. Check out this website for instructions on how to make these awesome favors and the materials you will need. http://fattiedelights.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/fall-is-here-diy-hot-cocoa-kits-party-favors/

2. S'Mores Kits - Again, this would really go well with a winter or especially fall wedding. I am personally not a big fan of S'Mores but I think this is a really cute idea! These little baggies contain a mini Hershey's bar, a marshmallow, some graham crackers and a nice tag to go along with it. Pretty simple right? They look delicious and I am pretty sure that your guests will be excited to get home and make some S'Mores! Visit this website for materials needed and instructions on how to make these yummy favors. http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Smores-Wedding-Favors-Yum/

3. Chocolate Covered Pretzels - I really like this idea for favors! It seems very easy and fun to make. It may be a bit time consuming to make due to the fact that you have to wait for the chocolate to dry but the end result is great! You just purchase some pretzel sticks or regular pretzels and some molding chocolate. Molding chocolate is pretty cool because it comes in sooooo many different colors so you shouldn't have an issue with finding something that matches your wedding theme. You melt the chocolate and then let your creative juices flow! You can cover the pretzels in multiple colors and even do special designs! And then you can bag them up with a nice ribbon and add a tag or sticker. Just make sure that you are not using these for an outdoor summer wedding because they probably will melt and make sure that you have room in your freezer to store them before the wedding.

4. Cupcakes! - These are my specialty but I will not be using them as a favor. They will be at my wedding of course. This is a very easy and inexpensive wedding favor idea. You don't even have to make them from scratch, yes you can use boxed cake! You can make several different flavors or stick to your favorite flavor cupcake. All you need to purchase is some cupcake liners to match you theme, icing bag and icing tip, and some toppings for your cupcakes (if you want any). If you have no idea how to ice a cupcake nicely there are tons of videos on you tube that show you how within a matter of seconds. Cupcakes are awesome because you can really express your creativity on them. You can make them into anything that you want them to be. Once you're finished you can purchase individual boxes or bags and box/bag them up with a nice tag or sticker for your guests. You can make these at least a week in advance because cupcakes freeze well and thaw out within a matter of minutes. Just make sure that you don't eat them all before the wedding.



5. Candy Buffet - This idea really isn't homemade but it can be pretty inexpensive. You have to be really careful with these because if you are not planning correctly the cost can run up. The key to candy buffets is to purchase items when they are on SALE!!!! So that means knowing that you want to do a candy buffet well in advance and shopping around for sales. You can purchase candy after major holidays like Halloween, Easter and Valentine's Day. You are bound to tons of candy on sale after those holidays. Also look for sales on containers to put your candy in. They can be all different sizes and shapes. They can be glass or plastic containers, whatever you choose. You can find some candy buffet kits on the internet and in stores but remember to look of SALES!!! You can color coordinate your buffet using an array of colors and decorations to make it look nice. This is another one of those favors that shows creativity. You also need to make sure that you have candy scooper and something for you guests to put their candy inside of; a bag, container, box, etc. You just need to make sure that you have enough candy to fit your guest ratio, I would recommend this idea for smaller weddings.

So, Where Do You Begin?

Well, there are lots of things that you can do before you begin actually spending money for the wedding (of course there are, only a fool would not know that). I have come up with a little list of 5 things that will get you off to a great start with planning your wedding! And here they are....

1. Organize Yourself - You need to find a place where you will keep all necessary information pertaining to your wedding such as a budget sheet, guest list, contracts for venues/vendors, etc. This can be a notebook, file folder, binder, whatever you find! I created one using a binder, some dividers and some decorative stickers (to make it look nice). I have 6 tabs inside so far; Venue Info, Budget Info, Guest list, Wedding Party Info, Menu Info, and a section for samples of my invitations, etc. You can design it however you want but this binder has really helped me keep track of important information so far.

2. Envision Your Wedding - How big do you want your wedding to be? Are you going to have a theme? Are there any important aspects that must be apart of your wedding? Figure them out together with your partner. It is so very important to make sure that the two of you are on the same page and share the same vision for your wedding, if not then one of you will be very disappointed in the end and that would not be a very good start to the marriage.

3. Create A Budget - This is the part that most of us dread (I know that I did)! Your budget must be realistic. If you know that you can only afford a $5,000 wedding then that is what you must stick to and move on. There is no use in troubling yourself if you cannot afford something and trying to make it work. You don't want to begin your marriage in debt, that's a pretty stupid idea. Mark off what you are willing to spend for each area of your wedding budget. It's much easier to make your purchases suitable to your budget rather than picking sites and items and trying to shape your budget around them. Be content with your budget and don't let anyone make you budge if you don't want to.

4. Start Your Guest List - This is another thing that I did not enjoy doing but it had to be done! You most likely will be creating a few different drafts of your guest list so do not let the first draft drive you crazy. It's pretty simple if your only inviting a handful of people (50 max) but we have a pretty good amount on our list. You need an estimate so you know how big your venue needs to be and the amount of food and drinks needed. I have a pretty big family including both of my parent's sides but only a few friends so majority of my list is family. Everyone's list will be different but I want my wedding to be intimate so I am only inviting those that I really know and really want there.

5. Pick A Date - Don't worry, I'm not talking about a definite date at this point (we changed our date about 3 times before booking the date...lol). You do need to figure out a time frame for planning the wedding. If it's 2 months then you better get going quickly but if you want around a year or so then you can pace yourself.

Why I'm Blogging

So I am getting married on February 23, 2013 which is a little more than 7 months away and you can of course tell that we are on a budget, hence the title of this blog! We've decided that we want to keep things pretty simple with a budget of about $7,000 max. We're having 150 guests at our wedding and that number includes ourselves and our wedding party too. We've been at this for months, trying to figure out how to cut costs while still having a wedding that is nice and elegant and I can say that I do believe it is possible. I just graduated college so I DO NOT have a ton of money to spend and honestly I was never one of those girls who envisioned every aspect of her wedding so putting ideas together now doesn't hurt me or make me feel like I am falling short of my "dream wedding". My 'dream wedding" consists of me marrying this young man that I've known for almost 8 years and to have our family members and friends share in the joyous occasion. And I think that this mission is going to make things all the more easier.

So my intentions with this blog is to share my ideas (and end results) of my wedding on a budget which I know will be awesome! Hopefully I can share with other brides some dos and don'ts when it comes to weddings on a budget and ways that you can make your dreams come true. But I must say that my #1 tip is not to lose sight of why this occasion is occurring. Your wedding is happening because you (hopefully) have found the right partner to walk through life with. In the end, it should be about uniting with that individual and beginning a new life together. This is something that I will try my hardest to abide by through out this process.