This is outrageousprincess's Red Wedding!

WOW I haven't been able to get on this site for a while. So it's now gone from counting the months to weeks. I can't wait and I am so happy friends of ours that moved away will be staying with us before the wedding. I am off half a week before so I will be able to get stuff done. They will be there to help me YAY. It's coming up so fast it's all so surreal. I read my maid of honours shower invites and I saw Lea-Andras Wedding Shower on it and I was thinking 'OMG it's actually all happening'. Everyone keeps asking me if I am nervous, I'm definately NOT nervous but totally and completely EXCITED.

My goal was to have a very elegant wedding for less. I think that spending an enormous amount of money on a wedding is just silly. So here's my rundown.

Hall $300 - It's small it only holds 136 people, but it's so nice. It is run by a senior volunteer group and they have been amazing.

Caterer $1700 approx for 110 people - This I somewhat scrimped on. I am having a cold buffet of cold cuts and rolls, ceaser, greek and green salad, veggie platter, pickle platter, cheese and crackers, fruit platter and dessert tray with tea and coffee. It's in June so I figure a light meal will be a good idea and as long as everyone knows about it then it's fine

Ceremony site $147 - In our local park in a picnic area that's covered.

Chairs 50 cents a chair - they are used by a local group for festivals, they are teal green with a big black E on the back but the teal green I am not worried about, so a coworker came up with an idea, she suggested I put a bow on the back of the chair which we will do and it will make it fancier

Flowers $190 - yes you saw that right, that includes, 15 centerpieces, one centerpiece for our head table, two bouquets and corsages and boutineers. I went silk, my personal preference for a couple of reasons. First I wanted to be able to keep my bouquet, and possibly sell my centerpieces after. So my caterer gets there flowers from a woman at a local flea market. She is an ANGEL!!!! The vases I bought at a dollarstore and the price also included the glass beads to go into the vases. They are cala lilies ivory and wine red. So pretty.

So those are my big $ savers.

Did I say I was excited?

So our caterer told us we had to have things planned out before the end of this year so we could get this years pricing as his prices are increasing. So the other night we had everything laid out.

The problem we had was this. We couldn't figure out who to feed and what to feed. Because of this we didn't know what time to have it at so we couldn't give our Officiate the time for the ceremony. She has a wedding already that day at 6 or 6:30 so we had to work around that. So here it is.

5pm - ceremony
5:30 - start pictures etc
6:30 - finish up pictures go to reception site
7-7:30 - reception line mingle etc
7:30 - food which will be a light cold buffet, 3 salads, cold cuts and rolls, veggie platter, pickle platter and cheese and cracker platter, cake cutting, serve cake and desserts which will include pastries and fruit platter
Speeches during desserts
After that dance

My friend who is our caterers stepfather was a great help in getting this sorted out. So now it's done YAY I feel a HUGE relief.

Now after christmas we have to start in invitations.

So now I have finally decided on flowers. I am going with silk for a couple of reasons. I want to keep my bouquet. Also it's a lot cheaper as long as you pick certain flowers that don't look bad in silk (gerbers and asters are not in this category). So I have chosen Red Wine Tulips and off white lilies with this snowball type flower in a aged looking green colour. I can see it in my head and it will look so awesome. I can't wait to see it.

So finally we decided on a hall. There is this cute small hall near our town. It's a good price, they run the bar, their chairs match my red colour I have chosen. They are so nice. It's run by a bunch of seniors. They pretty much have the nicest looking hall around. And it's only $300. At least that stress is done YAY.

YAY I found it!!!

We live in a small town so there is only one dress shop and with my schedule getting together with my mom is really hard to just take off to another place. SO I was really happy when I found it in our local bridal shop. My MOH was a little apprehensive about the fact that I had found the dress I wanted at the first place I went. But she saw it today and totally agreed that it is "The One" But I have had to make some slight changes to my colours. It's still going to be pick. But my dress is off white and cream. So the light pink I was thinking of will not go. So I have decided on wine, cream and off white colours. My MOH will be in the wine colour which will look really good on her. I said to my MOH that she picks the colour she can wear and I would work my colours around that. So I am happy, at least it's one thing completely decided.

Ok, so here's the story with the halls.

The hall I want has an issue about rezoning (I hate the township it's in, they are terrible). So until this is resolved no events can be booked. On September 11th, there is going to be a general township meeting regarding this rezoning and if there are any problem that the general public with it. Now they don't think there will be any problems but you never know. If there are some disputes then they have to be dealt with. If this happens I won't be able to book until December maybe.

The other hall I was thinking of is more expensive.

Well I looked around again to be on the safe side and I found another hall that on paper sounds good. Price is good, etc. I just have to see if first before I put a deposit down. They also have the day I want. But I can't see it until September 10th (seeing a trend here).

Things are just not cut and dried right now... It's really frustrating I must say.

Anyone else having problems like thes?

We had originally discussed about going Eastern Canada (PEI, Newfoundland etc) and camping. But lately I have been thinking about wanting to go on a cruise. But we would want to do it fairly inexpensively.... Anyone have any ideas??? Or any ideas about inexpensive honeymoons??

Wayne and I had gone through our guest list and decided on 125 guests. This amount we could feed, so this allowed everyone to be able to come to the ceremony, dinner and reception. Then his mom started to rhyme off people she figured should come. My smile went to forced and I honestly started having a panic attack. Our guest list was easily climbing to 200 people. We cannot afford to feed that many people!!! I told Wayne that MY mother/father etc were not inviting their friends, and the only friend that is coming of theirs is our photographer. I also told him if he felt that his mothers friends played an important part into his life then that was fine. But this was OUR wedding!!!

He said that maybe we have 100 people for dinner and invite more people to the dance afterwards. We had originally decided to have our ceremony and reception at the same place... So this meant our search for another place to hold the ceremony must be found. We didn't want a church and didn't know of any other place that could be used... Until I talked to our photographer Mark told us of a Pavillion in our local park that would easily hold over 200 people. I went to look at it last night. WOW it is HUGE and beautiful, you can have the ceremony face the lake. Awesome choice I must say. I will add pictures.

Originally I had chosed a hall a long time ago to have our reception at. But after talking to my caterer he told me that the 'deal' I was getting from the hall I picked may not be such a deal. So I started to look around just in case. Waynes sister had her reception at the Brian Orser Hall in Penetanguishene and his other sister will be having hers there. So I figured I would phone them up and get a price. Got a good price and they were really helpful so I told them to pencil me in. I told some people about the hall and they told me to go look at it because they remember it not looking so nice. So I did. WELL they were right. I am glad I looked because at this time I was considering having the ceremony and reception at the same place. I walked into this hall and a pit formed in my stomach. It's dingy, one wall is painted GREY (why I have no clue), the tiles on the ceiling are coloured and dirty and falling apart. I am so glad I looked at it. For this I would have paid $300 with some extras. But what good is getting a deal when you aren't happy.

So I called another hall and they were booked for the date we originally picked June 14, 2008 but were available the 28th. So I took a peek at it (it was locked up the day I went) and I am going back Monday to take a better look and figure stuff out. The North Simcoe Sports and Rec Center is beautiful... bright, clean, well kept... and that makes all the difference in the world.

The other all I do have chosen is also very nice, I have been in it many times. So now I just have to choose. But the bonus to the Sports and Rec Center is that the ceremony is really close by. Did I ever say I hate choices...

Many people ask my how my fiance proposed. I picked out the ring, I was with him when he picked it up. But I didn't know when he would give it to me and that drove me mental.

We didn't have a lot of money, because I work evenings and he works days, and his mom had a heart attack back in May that has caused us to do a lot of things for other people lately... made the day he proposed even more special.

We spent our day off together, we did things only for ourselves, we made dinner, we ate dinner together and relaxed together and then he proposed.

What makes that day special is in the eye of the beholder. We didn't go out, it wasn't grandure, but I wouldn't change for the world, it was the most special and meaningful proposal to me.