busygirl

bride on a budget.

We're down to a little over THREE months before saying 'I do.'  THREE MONTHS!!

Which by means of subtracting equates to nine months that I've been "actively" planning my wedding.   Well, more like three months, because I'm pretty sure that from September to January I didn't actually DO anything wedding-related.  Except maybe nag Adam about picking what he's going to wear...because regardless of what he says, shorts are NOT appropriate groomsmen attire.

And so, I thought I'd take a moment to share some of money/time saving tips I've discovered along the way during my 'three' months of planning.

1.  Friday, Sunday and off-season weddings can save you THOUSANDS of dollars.  And scheduling headaches since most venues have vacancies.  We're getting married on July 2nd which is the Friday of July 4th weekend.  On top of saving some cash, we also get to see our out-of-town guests for the whole weekend rather than just saying hi and bye at the wedding.  We're actually throwing a huge party at my mom's house the day after so we can make our hungover-morning-debut.  And I can show off the many bruises given to me by Adam during our many attempts to dance together without causing serious injuries.

2. GUEST LIST!  When you make your initial list it seems like you have hundreds of people that you MUST invite.  If you're sending out save-the-dates, then it is ABSOLUTELY important that you go through your guest list beforehand and separate our the MUST HAVES and the MAYBES.  Make an 'A', 'B' and 'C' group.  'A's' get save-the-dates, 'B's' have probably heard about the wedding, and 'C's' are those people that you're still trying to convince your parents NOT to invite.  Don't send save-the-dates to your 'B' listers just in case you need to cut down your guest list a little.  In looking over my 'B' list the past month, I found about ten people that after taking a second look I decided not to invite - that's a huge savings!  A quick rule of thumb for choosing guests: if you wouldn't invite them over to your house for dinner, then you probably do not need to invite them to the wedding.  Or if you're like me and inviting people over for dinner involves cleaning your house (disaster) then if both the bride and groom must be introduced to them at the wedding, chances are they shouldn't be invited (unless they are the guest of one of your friend or relatives).

3. Also on the topic of the guest list - you don't have to add a Plus One to every guest you invite.  Especially if there are going to be a lot of other people attending the wedding that the guest will know and can sit with.  Note though: if someone is engaged or married, it is common courtesy to invite their significant other.  If the subject gets brought up, assess your guest list and let someone bring a plus one if your numbers are lower than expected.

4. Limit your bridal party.  Yes, they buy their dresses and yes they buy their shoes and yes they buy their tux/suit, but it is still a LARGE expense to the bride/groom.  You have to buy that many more bouquets, boutonnieres, thank you gifts, jewelry you want them to wear, etc etc.  So before you invite your entire sorority to stand up there with you, think it through.  A smaller bridal party also makes the wedding feel more intimate.  And there are that many less opinions involved in what colors, what style, what everything.  Don't invite people to be in your wedding party just because you're avoiding a confrontation - there are plenty of other ways they can be involved.  Being included in someone's wedding regardless of the role is an honor.

5. THE dress.  Mine happened to be the very first one that I ever tried on (lucky me, it was an easy decision!)  However, I did look around at other boutiques to see if they carried it as well.  I wasn't so lucky with mine since it is a newer style, but a lot of wedding boutiques carry the same lines - you can price shop and sometimes save more than $100 on a dress.  Also, shop around for your alterations.  If they need to do an overhaul (like taking the zipper out of mine because it's too big) then chances are you might want to shell out more money to have the boutique do it.  If your dress is simple and just needs to be hemmed or have the straps tightened, then shop around for a tailor.

6. Veils.  This to me seems like such a silly expense.  I'm going to be wearing mine for maybe an hour and they are just so gosh-darn expensive.  It's a piece of fabric glued to a comb, why does it cost over $200?  So my thrifty mother scoured the internet and found that there are lots of discount wedding veil suppliers.  I'm actually purchasing mine from one for a fraction of the cost that it would be in the boutique.  And by a fraction, I mean 20% of the cost.

7. For flowers, go with what's in season.  My colors (fuchsia, orange and red) not only compliment the summer season, but luckily are found in many inexpensive flowers.  If you have a favorite flower that's slightly more expensive, include a few and surround the flowers with less expensive kinds.

8. And the more satisfying part of the wedding - the cake!  Decide if flavor is more important to you or the overall look of the cake.  Trying to combine those two elements will most likely cost you a fortune.  Compromise a little on one and you could save a lot of money.  Also, check out your local grocery store bakery departments, a lot of them will create comparable wedding cakes for a lot less than a high-end bakery.

9. Design your own invitations.  Although I have my own personal reasons for doing this (as in, I hate everything I've found so far and apparently am picky about this), it's actually going to save us quite a bit of money.  I designed our invitations, rsvp cards, reception cards, programs and table cards in Adobe Illustrator and am using Vistaprint to print them.  Or if you do order invitations, print the addresses on your computer at home instead of paying a printer to do so.

10. NEGOTIATE!  Having a Friday wedding or having referrals has saved us money on everything from the DJ to the limo to the photographer.  It never hurts to ask.  Most wedding venues or providers are referral based businesses so they are willing to work with you so that you are happy.

Happy wedding planning - I'm sure I'll have some more little tidbits to share once we get closer to the day!

wordless wednesday: my bestest.

Had an email this morning from my best friend who lives in Cleveland.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be back near her.  She rocks so I thought I'd tribute today's (not so) wordless wednesday to her. 

Cause let's be honest, between packing and selling the house, I have NO time to even think about picking up my camera.  Get ready for some awesome repeats over the next month.

monday woes.

I'm starting to freak out.  As in, the reality of everything going on in our lives at this moment is setting in.

We have to sell the house.

We have to move.

We have to plan a wedding.

I have to start a new job in TWO weeks.

And worst of all, I have to say goodbye to my current job within two weeks.

Sigh.

It's harder than I thought.  I told some of the higher-ups last week and the reactions were hard to deal with.  Comforting to the fact that they would miss me and it's not like they were at all happy to see me leave.  But sad to the fact that I left each meeting feeling like I was disappointing them.  And I was. 
I wasn't supposed to be leaving this job so soon.  This is a company where people put up roots and just stay forever and ever.  But I'm one of those.  That just packs up and moves on.

It's hard.

I'm just hoping the next couple weeks speed up because this part of getting a new job is the PITS.  The phrase 'this is the last time I will ______' keeps going through my head with each report, each project.

Sigh.  It's just work, why is this so hard?  I just need this chapter to close and the next to open.  And soon.

just playin' some halo.

 

it's official!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The long awaited moment has arrived.  Oh yes, the one that everyone has hoped for.

I'd love to tell you that months and months of planning led up to this, but to tell you the truth, we're just plain lucky.  It all fell into our laps and we're super excited to share the news.

You ready for this?

We're coming home.

To CLEVELAND.

And I couldn't be happier.

What?  How did this happen?  You need details?  I'll give you details.

It all started when a little birdie (one of our groomsmen no less) whispered that there might be a position opening up at his place of employment that may or may not be the exact same position I have now but WAY cooler and conveniently located near Adam's place of employment and everyone we love and hold dearly.  A resume submission, a couple phone interviews, a real looooong inperson interview and much nail biting later...I got it.  I GOT THE JOB. I still cannot believe it.

We're going.  We're really going.

I can't stop smiling.

I'm so ready to be back.  Where my family and friends are.  Where I can spoil my nephew like crazy.  Where the puppy can be spoiled like he should be.  Where Adam and I can live.  In the same city.  As in, coming home and seeing each other every day.  Not every few days like we do now.

Can't. Stop. Smiling.

To quote Adam, 'we're going to be like REAL married people now.'  (uh huh...)

We're also like REAL crazy people now.  Like those people who have to change jobs, sell their house, move and plan a wedding all in THREE months.  Red Bull's stock is going to go up on account of me the next few months.

So yeah, we're crazy.  Real crazy.  Crazy happy and I don't care if we don't get any sleep for the next 3 months.

Cause we're going home and that's all that matters.

cinderella needs her shoes.

I found THE shoes.

Although shoe finding doesn't seem momentous enough to blog about, I'm still going to.  I was finally able to try on my dress...but needed to find shoes before I could do so.  I scoured a lot of internet sites, cause let's face it, real shoe stores don't sell white satin shoes.  There's not a huge market for them unless you're flouncing down the aisle.  Not to mention they pretty much just collect dust after you've been hitched.

But, I finally found THESE shoes at David's Bridal.

They're not only super-comfortable, but I feel secure in them (as in, they won't fall off my feet).  And being a little on the clumsy side has the potential to provide some interesting entertainment on my  wedding day, particularly since I cannot see my feet when I walk.  So I was looking for a reasonable heel - again a feat because apparently all brides wear at least a 3" heel according to the meager selection available.  So this 2" heeled shoe was the perfect fit, not to mention cute, flirty, summery, just perfect for a July wedding!  Did I mention they are ONLY $49?  Talk about a budget no-brainer.

Pardon my ugly feet but here they are, my cinderella shoes:

And the BEST part?  After I wear them they can be dyed to whatever color I want.  White satin shoes have a second life after all!

try this: spinach lasagna

My favorite future sister-in-law is a vegetarian and since cooking meat can be time consuming, I've been trying more vegetarian dishes lately.  This one is actually an oldie but a goodie that is a hit on a cold winter night.  Not to mention the next day when everyone's grabbing leftovers out of the fridge.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded mozzarella

1 (15oz) container of ricotta cheese

1/4 cup of fresh parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

5 cups of your favorite sauce (I usually use Prego Mushroom flavored for this recipe)

1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

No-boil lasagna noodles

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. 

In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Stir in spinach.

Spread 3/4 cup of sauce along the bottom of the pan.  Layer with three pieces of noodle, then a layer of sauce, topped with a layer of cheese/spinach mixture.  Keep repeating.

Cover with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese on top is golden.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving so lasagna can set.

cinderella has competition.

Okay, I totally make fun of those girls.  The ones who cannot wear mascara, even the water-proof kind to their dress fittings because it's just so emotional.

But I got to try my wedding dress on for the first time on Saturday with my mom, sister and Wren providing emotional (laughing) support as I struggled to climb into the dress.  But it was MY dress.  In my size.  Note, that's about ten sizes smaller than the sample I flounced around in a few months ago.  And it was considerably whiter looking without the endless trail of colorful clips holding it together in the back.

But I love it!  After months of wondering what it would look like in my size, how it would fit, would I still be absolutely certain it is THE dress, it was such a rush of relief to know that if everything else falls apart that day, at least I'll look damn good dealing with things.

So I admit it, it was a bit emotional but I still stand my ground that those were tears of relief.  And laughter, because apparently when I take my dress off it retains its form.  No bride needed, the dress can stand on its own.

and then they threw in the tow rope.

I found myself heading out to the slopes for the last time this season on Friday since my little sister decided to splurge and get herself a new ride.  And by ride I mean snowboard.  Which came last Wednesday so there was no way she wasn't going to try it out before the snow melted for good.

So off we went to Brandywine with Adam and Chris, to face a mountain full of snow ice resembling snow.  Amy strapped on her new boots -  which I will admit, are cooler looking than mine.  Seriously, if Michael Jackson needed some moon boots for his moon walking, these would be it.  Minus the fact that you can't actually move any part of your foot in snowboarding boots.  Which explains why we all walk around looking like we have a major wedgie or something - and off we went.

We headed straight to the ski lift to the top of the...err, hill, to try out her new board.  The icy conditions weren't very accommodating, but we managed to snake down to the beginners hill while making a couple craters in the snow along the way.  There wasn't much we could do on the slopes, so we figured we'd head down to the smaller less-crowded slopes to work on some moves.  I was doing pretty well.  Until we got to the bottom of the hill.

And realized we had to go back to the top.

You see, the beginners hill doesn't have a ski lift.  No no, it doesn't even have a ski carpet.

It has a TOW ROPE.  Which basically consists of a steel string with handles attached, churning up the hill at about 5 mph. 

So here I am, standing at the bottom.  Just waiting for a little handle to come along.  Of course I've never been on one of these before so I just grabbed it with my hands and this little piece of plastic drags me up the hill.  None of the eight-year-olds surrounding me thought to let me know that you're supposed to put the handle behind your back and let it push you up the hill.  Sigh...so I'm attempting to hand onto this plastic for dear life while balancing on my board which is running into tiny mountains of ice and flailing everywhere instead of following a neat little path.  One thing led to another and I was suddenly on my butt in the snow, tangled up in the line and trying to stand back up on ice.

Fun fact: tow ropes don't stop.  The people keep coming.

I ended up knocking over my brother who in turn pretty much side-tackles one of those pesky eight-year-olds.  It was a domino effect which resulted in about six of us piled in a heap at the bottom of the hill.

Let's just say I had to take some tips from the snotty eight-year-old next time up.  Although I swear the lift attendant was snickering as I went for my second attempt.

I think I'll retire from the tow lift till next season.  Sorry snowboard, I love ya, but I'm ready for spring.

thought.

One should not go snowboarding the night before a wedding dress fitting appointment.  I am pretty sure my bruised 'behind' is not going to fit in this dress today.