katuska's Red Wedding Blog - Wedding By Color

A Bride's experiences - this is my Goodbye! - Pics with vendors' names and costs

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:36:00 PST

So, as I promised here are some more photos about the wedding, the dance, the fireworks and the party. We're not gonna have the second clip for a while now, so I decided to put here the raw pics we've got. I put a little explanation under each picture and the names of the vendors and how much things cost. And now about the wedding... The whole day was fantastic... My girlfriends all popped in during the morning to have some champagne, pizza and chocolate, to help out with the decorating and to keep me happy. The centrepieces turned out absolutely stunning and apart from the flowers each centrepiece only cost around $30 including the mirrors! The guests loved the decoration, and a lot of them asked if they could take the diamonds home as souvenirs!! When it got dark, the Floralytes kicked in and they illuminated the flowers beautifully. Again, for around $3 a piece they were a bargain from Ebay but everybody loved it and the Hotel asked me for the vendor's name as they wanna use them in the future. The ceremony had the first of the few hiccups: my bouquet went AWOL and I had to walk down the aisle without it!! Eek. Nevermind, most of the people didn't notice it and I decided not to worry about it. The ceremony was in Hungarian but all the British guests had an exact translation in their Program booklet. We wanted to have a translator but it would have cost us $$$$$, so we decided to do a little DIY, and just print these booklets ourselves. The whole thing cost us around $20 and looked really sweet and simple. We ended up having the bubbles which was a great idea (and a cheap one) and looked great in the pics. Also, the kids were really quiet at the ceremony as they were busy blowing bubbles... The rest of the evening was a blast. We had buffet dinner, which I recommend to everyone instead of the sit-down meals. It gave our guests a much wider choice of food, they didn't mind getting up and serving themselves, they could go back for a second helping AND it cost us half a sit-down served meal. We had an open bar which was sort of a half-mistake. Our guests were getting drunk pretty quickly (and our tab was running out of control) so we had to put in a break when for an hour there was no alcohol served, only what was already on the tables (and believe me that was plenty already!!). The fireworks was a HUGE success!!! If you can do it and afford it, I say go for it! Even if it's only a couple of minutes...you'll have the most amazing pictures and your guests will always remember it. As some of you may remember, Jason and I decided to have a surprise dance... hmmm... that was interesting!! We had no time to practice as we spent the last 3 weeks before the wedding in different countries, but we gave it our best. You can see the result here (sorry, the last bit of our dance is missing...): All in all, it was a fantastic day. I had awful morning sickness all day, so I went to bed at 11pm. Everybody had a brilliant time, and I wouldn't change a thing. My only good advice is: -Enjoy your day! -Don't worry about things going wrong, no one will notice them! -If you have an open bar and you fear your guests getting too drunk too quickly, makes sense to ask the staff not to serve spirits at the beginning. After dinner they can start serving a bit stronger stuff if people are still ok. -And... our wedding was only with 50 guests but we still ended up running around and taking care of everything. If you can get a Wedding Planner just for the day, you'll thank yourself as that will be probably your best investment. -Make sure you know your photographer's style. We had a stress-free day as from day one our photographer and I were on the same wavelength. The pictures speak for themselves.. Well, thanks for reading my novel and I wish all of you happy planning and an even HAPPIER WEDDING!! Bye!

Our wedding photos - Play it with the SOUND ON!!!!!

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 09:50:00 PST

CLICK HERE! This is only Part1. Part2 is coming soon with the dinner, first dance, fireworks and the party.

Mr and Mrs Roberts' first pics - Just the first few for you to see...

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:51:00 PST

So, we done it! Here are the first pics, soon more to come. In a few days I'll post a proper wedding post with all the details. Until then, enjoy!

Ask a Question - Last post till wedding!! Ladies, please wish us luck!

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:53:00 PST

Well, here we are. Tomorrow is the BIG day, so the wait is over. These last couple of weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster with financial worries, family dramas, a pregnancy, lots of arguments but also lots of laughter, and now we're here. So, tomorrow I'll walk down the aisle and then later I'll raise my glass to ALL of you lovely girls who gave me ideas, support, advice and a shoulder to cry on or vent sometimes. So THANK YOU once again. Houston, out.

Here comes the (slightly) pregnant Bride... - Yayyyyyyyyy!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:16:00 PST

Oh yeah, I am 5 weeks pregnant and couldn't be happier. I guess it'll be a very sober wedding for me after all... Ps: Can't add photos for some reason...grrr

Ask a Question - Anybody else is having a bilingual wedding?

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:47:00 PST

I was wondering, is anybody else having a bilingual wedding? I was born in Hungary and all my family still lives there. I've been living in London, England for like a gazillion years now and hubby is British, too. We covered the ceremony and the speeches with a translator but I was wondering how the rest of the night will go. Any brides out there with bilingual (or even multi-lingual) wedding party?

Ask a Question - SURPRISE WEDDING DANCE- Please Vote! Which one should we go for?

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:40:00 PST

Right, I never asked you ladies to vote but the day has come that I am totally clueless and frustrated with our surprise first dance. First we wanted to do this: But after practising it once or twice we realised that I CAN NOT breakdance/pop&lock to save my life. Then we decided to go down the hip-hop route as that's more FI's territory. We didn't want to do the Baby Got Back dance as we wanted something original. So we decided we'd dance to Ice Cube: U Can Do It which is pretty rude but I like the beat and I don't mind rude... ;o) After practising THAT a few times we realised that either we do the 'rude bwoy & gal' grinding dance which may not please my Dad too much or we break into some serious krumping which may result in us being rushed to hospital with multiple fractures. See, I'm alright dancing in a club when no one's watching but I ain't no Usher or JT to bust those moves... So we arrived at Pulp Fiction. Nice and easy... And I LOVED the film. So question: WHICH ONE IS THE WINNER FOR YOU??? UPDATE: We've got the winning combo: Afrika Bambaataa: Looking for the Perfect Beat (breakdance) Michael Jackson: Thriller (Thriller moves) MC Hammer: Can't Touch This (MC H moves) Grease: Grease Lightning (Grease moves) Pulp Fiction Dance YAY!!!

Final shopping completed - The last bits purchased!

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 02:15:00 PST

We bought the last pieces for the wedding but there are still a few more things outstanding. The things we bought (in order of pics): (see names of vendors under each picture) *My garter set *Venetian mirror boxes for the rings - as we have 2 ring bearers and one is 7 the other little boy is 3 we thought it'd be awkward for them to carry one tiny cushion. I never liked the idea of the cushion anyway and when I saw these stunning boxes we decided these would be the perfect substitution for the cushions *Wedding bubbles - after asking you ladies, we went for these mini bubbles *Mini coloring books for the kids - still need to buy mini pencils/crayons, stickers, bubbles, and mini cars for the boys *White rose petals - these are high quality silk and I love them! There's a 1000 in the packet and will be more than enough to cover the aisle (a red carpet for us) *Bride and groom handkerchiefs *Table name holder - I'm very happy with these, they are silver and just the right size *Diamond ring keyrings for all my girls in their goodie bag *Damask giftbags for the girls *Wild hibiscus flowers for the signature drink - Hibiscus Champagne *Bling flip-flops for all the girls *White pashminas for the girls *Votive candles for the tables *Flowergirls dresses and shoes *My Dad's tie and handkerchief Things we still need to buy: *Confetti to throw *Crayons/pencils for kids, stickers, mini toys *Hankies for Bridal party

Ask a Question - Wedding Bubbles?

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:45:00 PST

Should I bother buying wedding bubbles for our guests? Do people use it? Or is it only for kids? What do you ladies think?

The girls... - I won't have any bridesmaids but they'll be my rock on the day

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:29:00 PST

This is the gang on a recent outing, bar 2 of my other very good friends... As I have no planning/buying etc left, I thought I'd post pics of the gals and moi on a pre-bachelorette (hen) do. We look bloody drunk!

Ask a Question - Seating plan - uneven numbers / empty seats at tables?

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:16:00 PST

Here I am sitting on the floor with circles around me and I'm trying to pin names to them but no matter how hard I try the numbers are very uneven. We have tables of 8 and looks like we'll need 8 tables which is ridiculous as we only have 55 guests. Looks like almost every table will have at least 1 or 2 empty chairs(at one table there's only 5 people sitting out of 8!). But the worst is that at the table where 5 people are sitting, they are actually 1 family. I just can't put them anywhere else, as they don't know anybody else! And to top this, as our wedding is bilingual, I don't wanna seat together English and Hungarian because I'd like them to have a good time at least until they get drunk and suddenly all are fluent in both languages. What do you ladies think? Is it bad to have tables where, say, only 6 people are sitting? Should I worry about this at all? The only way I could even out the numbers would be Jay and I sitting alone at the top table and our family blending in with the guests. I know that these days quite a few people choose the top table to be a 'table for 2' but I'm not sure about it. Any suggestions? UPDATE!!! Many of you asked the name of the table planner I used. Here it is: Perfect Table Plan

Ask a Question - How do you ask for money politely?

Mon, 19 May 2008 01:53:00 PST

Well, this has been on my mind recently and I thought I'd ask. How do you ask your guests politely to give you money instead of presents? To understand where I'm coming from here's a little background story. For a few months now my FI has been in some sort of transfer-mode at his company as we may be relocating to the US. For this reason we don't need anything material as we don't want to ship out anything (the other reason is that we've been living together for almost 6 years in a fully furnished household and we don't need another toaster or wineglass-set). Initially, I wanted to tell all our guests to NOT bring anything, we'd be just happy for them to come and celebrate with us. However, my Mum said that (in her opinion) quite a few people will turn up with either presents or an envelope. So that made me think: How do you tell people that if they WANT to give us something they could give us cash (ie contribute to stuff for our new home)? Tricky.

Wedding shoes - My wedding sandals have arrived!!

Fri, 02 May 2008 04:43:00 PST

Finally my wedding sandals have arrived. They are Coloriffics Sierra shoes in white satin and they are gorgeous! The heels are a comfortable 2.5" and they are very easy to walk in. Very pleased. Coloriffics Ps: Xcuse the chicken legs... I took all the pics by myself that's why I look so constipated.

Ask a Question - Halleluja, we've got a SEARCH function on the site!!!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:58:00 PST

Yayyyyyyyyyy!!! After lobbying for it for so long, finally we got it!! So happy! We can now just search for whatever we want on the site. V.I.C.T.O.R.Y.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bridesmaids - My Sister's dress arrived (MOH)

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:51:00 PST

Oh. My. God. My sister's dress arrived and it's beautiful! She's my only bridesmaid so that's sorted then. Here I am parading in her dress, Alfred Angelo 6546 in white/claret. Again, purchased from Ebay seller 'elegantfashionoutlet' who was a star throughout the whole transaction.

Alternatives to a ring cushion - Jewellery boxes

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:49:00 PST

I have to say I tried to like them but today I decided I wouldn't want one near me. I haven't found a pretty and classic pillow that was still 'me'. Also, we've got two ring bearers (one is 7 and the other is 3.5), and one of them is almost twice as tall as the other so in my mind it always looked kinda odd them trying to carry that one tiny pillow. So I am on the hunt for the perfect substitute, the jewellery box. I think I found The One, you can see it in the main picture, it is from Amazon and costs £5 ($10) We would have two of them, one for each ring and for each boy to carry. Any thoughts? Or better ideas? Thanks!

Ask a Question - Is your dress a surprise for your Fiancé or has he seen it already?

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:28:00 PST

Are you keeping your dress a secret until you walk down the aisle or has he seen your dress already? To surprise or not to surprise that is the question... (I will surprise but I'm dying to show him the dress already!!!)

Perfect little damask stickers - Love at first sight

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:08:00 PST

I am loving these stickers and at $4.50 for 12 they'll be a great addition to our favours. Check them out at VanessaCavacoDesigns. Update: I decided not to do these. Our favours have funny shapes and the stickers wouldn't look good on them.

So, this is how it's all gonna look... - A Wedding Party image

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:07:00 PST

I am always the last to figure things out, so thanks a lot hollyrayanne for helping me. Here is how things gonna look on the big day! Ps: Jason's best man is gonna luuuv the afro I designed for him. :o)

Bridesmaids Gift Bag aka all my girlfriends get a freebie - Gifts for all my girls...

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:35:00 PST

So, I purchased everything my girls will get on my Hen night. * Bubble bath * Diamond Keyring * Bling flipflops * Pashmina * Baby champagne * A pic of us framed in a damask frame - not sure about this, gotta get the pic first. All from Ebay.

Ask a Question - A Deal Breaker - how far would you go and what do we think about Pre-Nups?

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:53:00 PST

So last night Jay and I went out for dinner with about 30 friends of ours and after a few cocktails the discussion turned towards marriage (as it always does somehow...odd). 3 of us are getting married in the next few months and some more next year so there were a lot of excited brides at the table. And then somebody dropped the bomb: "What would be the deal breaker for you?" I was quick to answer: " If he cheated on me." I was surprised to see that I was pretty much alone with my proud announcement. So what's going on girls? Would we swallow anything just to have THE WEDDING? To save the embarrassment of a canceled ceremony? And I wondered, if pre-nups are here to stay is this about the love anymore or just a business deal. So how do we feel about pre-nups and what would you consider a deal breaker, if any?

Ask a Question - Fitness DVD's aka How did I grow Bingo-wings overnight???

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:54:00 PST

After a baby and at the age of 32 things do go south a bit, so I decided to tone up for the wedding, and in general as well. So 4 times a week I try to work out at home which is so bloody difficult with a 3 yr old jumping on my back every 10 minutes. My favourites are Cindy Crawford The Next Challenge Workout and my ancient Claudia Schiffer Perfectly Fit dvd, which is only available on VHS, so I had to have it copied onto a DVD. I was wondering, is anyone else trying to get fit at home? Which workout DVD's are you using and recommending? I thought I'd leave you with this video from The Sweetest Thing. Sums my sorry ass up pretty well.

Mother of Bride outfit and those tuxes! - So, we've got the outfits for my Mum, Dad, Fiance and the Groomsman!

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:38:00 PST

Surprise, surprise!! I can present a post that is not about me... Hmmm. So we got my Mum's outfit which will look stunning on her. Very classy and not mumsy at all. She's going for traditional slingbacks in ivory and a pearl bracelet to keep things simple. MOB suit from Barrie Pace. We also chose the attire for FI, My Dad and the Best Man. They are all from Hugh Harris in the UK. Black patent shoes from Shipton & Heneage. And last but not least, my parents got the flowergirls dresses for really cheap in Hungary. They look stunning and will match the red theme perfectly.

99 Days!! - Yeah baby, we're in 2-digit territory!

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:40:00 PST

99!! Wow!! It's getting so close!!

Wedding Inspiration Board - Had to have mine - with a twist

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:47:00 PST

Not really a twist, it's just my little spin on the thing. As I pretty much decided/ordered/received everything I decided to actually put together a Wedding Bits Board. So in these pics you can see the actual items/arrangements that I am having on my wedding day. I love this, so thanks Constance (fabulousmrsklein), as I can just print the board out and take it with me to Hungary when I go to meet the vendors! Yayyy.

Jewellery - Emitations.com jewellery

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:55:00 PST

I love Emitations and they had a 20% discount day so I bought some accessories for myself and my BM. LOVELY!!

THE DIY ONE - Flower girls shoes, napkin rings, petal cones

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:43:00 PST

Ballet shoes(pic 1): I'll buy the average ballet shoes for my daughter and the other flower girl ($20/pair) and put these beaded flower decorations on ($9) in my red color. You can check out your local Michael's for the very same beaded flower decorations. Confetti cones (see pic 2): Roll photocopied sheet music into a cone. Glue the edges together. Fold up a 3cm flap and seal with glue. Loop ribbon and fix to the cone with a personalised sticker, then fill with confetti petals and display in a bowl. Sheet music ($5/book in music shops), ribbon & stickers from Ebay Beaded Napkin Rings (pic 3 &4): Thread beads on to 30cm lengths of wire. wrap the wire around the napkins three times and twist the ends together. Tuck handwritten lables between the napkin and the ring. All from Hobbycraft or Michael's or your local hobby store

Ask a Question - WARNING!! PG-RATED QUESTION: S.e.x. or sleep on wedding night?

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:01:00 PST

So, Jason insists we turn the bedroom upside down after our wedding celebrations have finished.. I'm not so sure. Knowing myself pretty well, I can honestly say: 1. I won't be able to sleep the night before the wedding ergo 2. I am gonna be tired and emotional ergo 3. All the drinks consumed will hit me big time ergo 4. Once I'm in our hotel room, I'm gonna kick off everything, have a shower and fall into bed. Now this is when Jason thinks the action will start...hmmm. What are your plans laydeez? Rock the boat or beauty sleep?

Why is my Profile at the bottom of my Blog??????? - HELP!

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:21:00 PST

Bloody annoying!!!

Ask a Question - Would we like some new features on this website?

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:27:00 PST

I've been using this site for a few months and I always missed a 'Search' facility where I could just type in random searches like 'pink tissues' or whatever and the site would show hits where I could look for them. I find that brides keep on asking the same questions because they can't just search for the answers (see 'wedding music' or 'bridal entrance song'). Am I all by myself here or do we want some new features on the website? Ideas? Ps: I already emailed the Editor regarding the Search feature, we'll see what happens....