My cousin designed both of these for me as well as my invitations. She's amazing! The seating chart ...
|
07/21/2009
 candybuffet sign2 Final Decision!   |
Ask a Question
Candy Buffet Sign...Vote...Please?
**Update**
Thanks for the input, ladies. From your suggestions, I did some tweaking and combining. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! **************************************************************************** I'm working on the candy buffet sign and have come up with several different ways to word it. I'm not sure which one is best. I want it to be clear that the buffet is the favor AND that people should make multipe trips throughout the night. Here's what I have. Vote, or offer suggestions. :) Thanks!! 1)Your presence has made our day complete. As a thank you, please take something sweet. We know the night can be long, So please enjoy the treats until they’re gone! 2)Thank you for making our day complete! From us to you, please take something sweet. We want you dancing all night long, So continue to enjoy the treats until they’re gone! 3)On our special wedding day, Have some goodies to take away. It’s a treat from us to you On the day we say, “I do!” Thank you for making our day sweet! Please enjoy the candy buffet throughout the night! |
|
07/18/2009
 Candy Buffet Trial DSCI0939   |
DIY Wedding
Candy Buffet
I'm not sure where the last six weeks have gone. I was going to try and be better about posting. Those of you brides who manage to post this close to the big day, props to you!
I did my candy buffet trial at my house today. I wanted to make sure that all of the glassware we had was going to work with the candy we got. Those of you doing a candy buffet, I highly suggest doing this. After doing the trial I decided to change the placement of some of the candies. It was also good because I was able to see how much of the candy we had it would take to fill the jars. After the wedding I'll post about the candy buffet and let you know how we did as far as estimating the amount per person. Some sites I found particularly helpful for this project: Ribbon for the candy jars-->save-on-crafts.com Clear scoops--> orientaltrading.com At 3/$4 you can't beat it. Other sites wanted as much as $2.50 A SCOOP! I personally think that they are the perfect size. I was going to tie ribbon on the handles, but they're really fine without that. Bags-->papermart.com Way back when I wanted to get paper candy bags imprinted with our names. Cute, but I decided, unnecessary. I'll put a sign on the buffet instead. I ended up finding black and hot pink striped cellophane bags. I went for the smallest size (3.5x7). They're PERFECT! This way, people can definitely go back and fill up, but they can't take 3 lbs. of candy with each trip. When my cousin did her candy buffet and used chinese take out containers, she had that problem. |
|
05/31/2009
 Our GORGEOUS niece! |
Usherettes
Dress found!
Since we seem to have an abundance of important ladies in our life, we chose to have Mike's niece (17) and my cousin (18) be our usherettes. Initially I told them just to find a short black dress they liked. I wasn't concerned about them matching. However, my FSIL found this cute little number at Kohl's. I fell in LOVE with it! We ran out and got it for my cousin as well. I think that having the usherettes in matching dresses will help them look REALLY look like part of the wedding party. Plus, the dress matches the theme so well! It just so happens that our niece has hot pink shoes from prom (same color as my shoes) and she'll wear those the day of...perfect!
|
|
05/31/2009
 Envelope w/ belly band Outside of pocketfold w/ pink band Inside of Invitation All Invitation      |
Wedding Invitation
DIY Pocketfolds...DONE & MAILED!
This post should have been made over a week ago, but I just haven't had time. I'm sure most of you can sympathize. :)
Well, invitations are done and mailed! I am ecstatic about how they turned out! They were my eight-month-long project. (For those of you thinking about doing DIY pocketfolds, they shouldn't take that long. I started early and changed a lot along the way.) The final project is a result of hours of work most of which was spent with one of my good friends who has an incredible knack for design. (Thank you, Sarah!) I was so relieved to have these. I just could NOT find any pre-made invites that I liked. I can't tell you how much money (if any) we saved. I did the math however, and including postage, each invite cost us about $3.75. For those of you interested in making these yourself, I'll offer some up how I did mine. Obviously there are many options. Microsoft Publisher- If you consider yourself a DIY bride, chances are that you have a program that you use to create most of your projects. Mine is Publisher. I have become very familiar with the program. All aspects of the the invite were created in Publisher (including the belly bands). You can adjust the height of your inserts based on number and design preference, but you'll want to keep the widths of everything consistent. paperandmore.com- I cannot say enough wonderful things about this company! I ordered two sets of samples from them (totally worth it and completely necessary) before I ordered what I needed. Prices are the lowest I found online. The selection and quality is phenomenal. I'd recommend them to anyone! I bought the following from them: pocketfolds, large black envelopes, small pink envelopes ("backing" behind the layers in pocket), pack of 100 pieces pink card stock (used for the invitation mat and pink closure band). Office Depot- The most frustrating aspect of this whole process was finding a place to print and cut the invites. I went to Kinko's first. Because we needed to assemble 140 invitations, printing and cutting was going to be over $300!!! I moved on to other options. I ended up at Office Depot. They were wonderful and affordable. $0.59/color copy (I provided my own card stock that I bought at Wal-Mart) and $0.75/cut. I ended up getting out of there for $125 (I had a coupon for $10 off) for the invitation parts. AWESOME! onlinelabels.com- The minute I saw wrap-around labels, belly bands, or whatever you want to call them, I knew I HAD to do them! I did research and found that I could get 100/$11 at onlinelabels.com. (Office Max charges $11/25!) Including shipping, I got my labels for $15. I took them to Office Depot for printing and left for $15. Total for belly bands= $30. I've already received TONS of positive comments about them! I highly suggest doing them. WAY cheaper than calligraphy, and they make a statement! I also got the clear labels for our RSVP invites here. :) Postage- Not as bad as I thought. I got $0.44 stamps with rings on them for the RSVP envelopes. When I had my invite weighed, I was able to mail it for $0.61. The post office has pretty wedding cake stamps at this price. :) So $1.05 per invitation. Bridesmaids- I can't thank my bridesmaids enough for coming over and helping me assemble these. It would have taken me FOREVER to put together 140 invitations. With the help of four of my bridesmaids, we finished in about 2 hours! The result- Amazing! I've already received calls from guests saying that they've "never had such a gorgeous invitation" or "I've never seen anything like this" and that it's "breathtaking." That's what I was going for! I've never wanted a cliche wedding, and these invites have helped to set the unique tone I wanted. |
|
05/19/2009
 FH & Me with FH's family. (I'm in the black, white & PINK. The way we stood it looks like his sister is the bride, but I'm to the left.) Centerpieces made by my FMIL & FSIL Table settings & favors (made by one of my BM's) Michael & me with our cake! ;)     |
Bridal Shower
Could not have been more PERFECT!
We had our first bridal shower on Sunday, and it was PERFECT! Although I know it is a faux pas, our moms hosted the shower. The main reason for this is that they didn't want bridesmaids to be strapped for cash, but they still wanted to give us the best shower possible. I couldn't be more thankful!! They gave us a champagne brunch at our country club. My sister was in charge of the hall decor. Everything was light pink with black accents. Mike's mom made our gorgeous peonies center pieces, and one of my bridemaids made phenomenal cookies as favors and attached a tag that said, "In love and dreams there are no impossibilities."
We played two games. A "How well do you know Betty and Michael?" quiz (appropriate since I'm a teacher) and gift Bingo. My mom and sister hit up TJ Maxx and bought a bunch of cute random prizes for people to take as they got Bingo! Hopefully I'll post more pictures of the details soon. My sister-in-law is a wedding photographer so her "job"/gift to us was taking pictures during the shower. I can't wait to see them! I hope those of you with showers coming up really take time to enjoy them! I had such a wonderful time talking with everyone and catching up with relatives and friends I don't see often enough. |
|
05/14/2009
 Possible BM's dress |
Bridesmaids
Cheap black dress...
Hi ladies! I was looking at JCPenny.com seeing if they had a dress I could wear for my upcoming showers, and stumbled upon this dress. Now, my girls' dresses are already in, and I do LOVE them, but...if you still need black bridesmaids dresses, you can't really beat this dress at $90! Just throwing it out there for all of you girls who are concerned about your BM's budgets! (They also had in red!)
Here's the link: http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=50434&CatID=56292&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=16100b3&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CMID=50434%7c50444&Fltr=&Srt=&QL=F&IND=144&cmVirtualCat=&CmCatId=50434|50444|56292&mscssid=67f2f82d99f3d4680a24280e8062f829exMnVNoVzaGWxMnVNoVzaGo200B2CD34755D0B5A1B0704E3E5D938EE1D90913414 |
|
05/05/2009
 Pretty in PINK! |
SHOES!
Finally!
I know that quite a few pink brides are going with these shoes, but I am still THRILLED to be wearing them!! I ordered them from ioffer.com. They were $100 with shipping included. STEAL! For those of you who are considering ordering these from ioffer or ebay, I'll tell you that I went with a 39 and I'm glad I did. I typically wear an 8 1/2-9, while these are a little bigger than I'd like, my girlfriend (who's also wearing them for her wedding) who has the same size foot got a 38 and they're a little too snug. I'll use the gel inserts I use in my regular heels and they should be perfect!
|
|
05/05/2009
 What are your songs? |
Songs-Ceremony & Reception
What you need. What are you using?
I'm curious about what some of you are using for your songs. I'm starting to put together our program which means I need to know...soon! :) For those of you who are/were clueless about what you need for songs, here's a run down. (According to Weddingwire.com..if you haven't checked this site out yet, DO! It's an AMAZING resource!!) Share what you're using; give a girl some help. :)
Prelude songs-Prelude music is played prior to the ceremony as guests are being seated. These songs will set the tone for your ceremony, therefore classical or jazz music is commonly played. Depending on your timeline, you will typically choose 5-6 songs to be played at this time. Processional song(s)-The Processional begins as the immediate family members are ready to be seated. Depending on your ceremony dynamics, you will choose a new song as your bridal party walks down the aisle. Bride's Entrance-Choose the perfect song as all eyes will be on the blushing bride! Interlude-Interlude songs are often used during the ceremony to signify a special moment for the couple. This would be a perfect type of song to play during the lighting of a unity candle. Recessional-Congratulations, you're married! The recessional song celebrates your new commitment and is played as you walk up the aisle together. Postlude-The Postlude plays at the conclusion of the ceremony, after the recessional. As your guests exit, the postlude music should keep with the upbeat mood. At the reception: First Dance Cake Cutting Father-Daughter Mother-Son Anniversary Bouquet Toss Garter Removal Last Dance |
|
04/02/2009
 If only money fell from the sky! |
Wedding Invitation
Budget Blues
When I initially decided to create and print our invitations, I thought it would be a TAD more economical that having them printed somewhere. After I began designing, I realized that I would not find EXACTLY what I wanted anywhere anyway. Months of designing, re-vamping, and editing later, I had a mock-up for our pocket fold invitations.
I took my little flashdrive into Kinko's excited to find out how much money I'd be saving. I left a little disgruntled and definitely frustrated. Because each of our invitations needs five separate color copies of cards, it would cost over $300 to have them print and cut! This did not included the over $300 to purchase pocket folders, envelopes, labels, postage, etc. For a whole 5 seconds, I considered ditching my beautiful invites in exchange for a "simple" invitation. Fortunately, I have amazing friends. I am now going to print the parts of our invites on a friend's laser printer and cut them myself. While I know this will be tedious, it's TOTALLY worth saving the money so that it can be spent in other places. This means that with all elements our invites will still only be around $400. Wedding planning is DEFINITELY a lesson in problem solving! I'll post pictures of the invites when they're done! |
|
03/06/2009
 ORCHIDS! |
Wedding Flowers
Florist...booked!
After a month of moving (and not having access to the Internet at home), I'm back! :) The biggest news is that we booked our florist last night. My suggestion if you HAVEN'T booked yet, is to DEFINITELY shop around and get estimates. All in all, I met with four florists. The difference between estimates was $500!!! I was fortunate that the florist I like the most is also the most affordable. More on flowers to come later.
|
bett0917
| 4 | years since wedding |
Betty
Michael
Aug 01, 2009
Chicagoland,
,
United States
Private Location
Private Location
Captured By Candi- SO EXCITED!
Black
When I thought about my wedding, the most important part was that I'd be marrying my best friend. How exciting that the dream is coming true! Now that I have an amazing partner for life...I'm planning an AMAZING EVENT!
The mantra for my wedding is "Classic Elegance." I want it to be classy, but not break the bank. Hopefully, with the help of some of the brides here, we'll get that result.
number of visits: 5118
bett0917's favorite posts
I just realised that i never showed how my wedding invitations came out...Here it is I love the way ...
So here are my tears of joy DIY pockets! I really like how they turned out. Little pockets with a ti...
So I'm getting very close to my wedding and still haven't decided if I want to wear a veil yet. I'm ...
20-Minute Wedding Workout
If you are planning your wedding and working full time, I know how ha...
I almost finished but ran out of crystals...It kinda stinks that I have to buy a whole nother packag...
Just got these from ebay for my FH. He loves superman comics & he will be surprised that I found...
bett0917's other posts
...flowers for my bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc. and get fresh flowers for my bouquet and FH's bout...
...pictures of my bridesmaids dresses before my own, but I was debating if I wanted to place the ...
...I know that quite a few pink brides are going with these shoes, but I am still THRILLED to be wea...
...dable. More on flowers to come later....
... wrong, I LOVE flowers, but spending $1000+ on things non-consumable stuff that's going to die...
hot talk in
... mailed off my MOH special purse invite. She received it a week later in Arizona and called me...
...or my BM's and MOH. I really loved how Futuremrsdonahue did it with invites.
How did you d...
... in one of the photos and added one of my burlap flowers, it made me go hmmm for a minute beca...
you may also like...
...lor or type of flower I should use. Has anyone used fake flowers for a centerpiece like in the...
...smaller one of honeymoon pictures. I'm planning on giving these to our parents as christmas pr...
... I found a few photos. Here we go.
I love this one, it's simple but still has that wow fac...
bett0917 said...