Monday, September 17, 2012
Bouquets
Another great tip for all you brides to be: BE FLEXIBLE. One of my bridesmaids and I were going to Michaels just to get ideas about flowers and there was a great sale on so we bought all of the flowers for my bouquets (please see previous post on my extreme hatred for real flowers). A real bridal bouquet typically can range anywhere from $100-400 (ridonculous), I got all of the flowers for 6 bridesmaid bouquets and my huge bouquet for less than $200.00 so I saved a butt load of money! We got really eager and decided to make the bouquets that day as well, here is my cheap DIY Bridal Bouquet:
Engagement Photos
I know I've been slacking but it has been a crazy month. This was a treat, to say the very least. On our last trip to Cape Breton, Josh and I, along with our extremely talented photographer Shoshanna Fraser decided to do a little engagement shoot. People seem to have varying opinions on engagement photos and I can understand the hesitation if you are paying a lot of money or dont particularly enjoy having your photos taken, but Shoshanna recommends it and now I definitely recommend it. Having professional photos taken at a location other than Walmart or Superstore can be slightly intimidating, of course, if you have the model personality that I do it is a breeze (jokes).
It is, in all honesty, slightly awkward at first trying to not look posed while posing and I'm happy that we got that awkwardness out of the way before our wedding photos. It is a great way to get that lucky man used to having a camera all up in his grill too, because Josh was certainly not prepared and was certainly not a fan, as most straight men of the world are not. It was nice for us to get together with our photographer in a more relaxed setting than what I would imagine our wedding day will be like and tell her what angles we like, dont like, which photos we are pros at and which ones we suck at. It helped us and Shoshanna get more comfortable with each other, understand how she works and we learned quickly that she's the best. Having a photographer that you can have fun with, I realized very quickly, is so important for the photos not turning out posed; all of the smiles and laughing photos were genuine because I was either laughing at Josh or laughing at the fact that Shoshanna swears just as much as ... well ... Josh and I.
The results are simply the best; we have gorgeous photos of us in our normal clothes in a beautiful setting that we can treasure forever and it got us very excited (Josh slightly less than myself) for our wedding photos.
Here is the link to Shoshanna's Website: http://www.sfraserphoto.com/ and you can find her photography group on facebook by searching Shoshanna Fraser Photography. She is the BOMB.
It is, in all honesty, slightly awkward at first trying to not look posed while posing and I'm happy that we got that awkwardness out of the way before our wedding photos. It is a great way to get that lucky man used to having a camera all up in his grill too, because Josh was certainly not prepared and was certainly not a fan, as most straight men of the world are not. It was nice for us to get together with our photographer in a more relaxed setting than what I would imagine our wedding day will be like and tell her what angles we like, dont like, which photos we are pros at and which ones we suck at. It helped us and Shoshanna get more comfortable with each other, understand how she works and we learned quickly that she's the best. Having a photographer that you can have fun with, I realized very quickly, is so important for the photos not turning out posed; all of the smiles and laughing photos were genuine because I was either laughing at Josh or laughing at the fact that Shoshanna swears just as much as ... well ... Josh and I.
The results are simply the best; we have gorgeous photos of us in our normal clothes in a beautiful setting that we can treasure forever and it got us very excited (Josh slightly less than myself) for our wedding photos.
Here is the link to Shoshanna's Website: http://www.sfraserphoto.com/ and you can find her photography group on facebook by searching Shoshanna Fraser Photography. She is the BOMB.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Keeping Fat Away From My Body
This will be an ongoing topic for the blog because, well, it will be an ongoing struggle over the next year. I'm not going to sit here and say i'm chubby, because i'm not; I am a healthy sized individual, HOWEVER, people might be surprised to hear that I've gained 20 pounds since starting University (I blame this on Josh).
The problem is not that I gained that much weight, I went from 5 ft to 5 ft 8 in a year and I looked like a nasty stick for much of my teenage years so I needed to gain that weight, the problem is proportions. I am one of those lucky individuals who primarily gains weight in the lower half of my body, in other words yes, while I have do have a black woman's ass, it looks cottage cheese when I'm naked. I dont do a lot to fix this because well, as this blog would suggest, I've found the person i'll likely be with for the rest of my life so who am I trying to impress now and in all honesty cottage cheese or not, I wasn't blessed with boobs and everyone knows it so why would I want to do anything to loose the one curve I have. The problem of my large ass came up when shopping for wedding dresses. When they took my measurements the brutally honest british or scottish or irish old lady at winchesters (if you've been in the store you know who I am talking about) so graciously told me that on the bottom I am a size 10 on top I am a size 4. So we ordered an 8 because I could likely squeeze my ass into it and it wouldn't come with outrageously oversized cups for my little A boobies. This means that in the wise words of Winchester's lady "Chelsea, you simply cannot gain any weight in the next year unless its in your breasts." News flash, i've been waiting for 22 years to gain weight in my tits and it ain't happening so basically I just cant gain weight.
I made a deal with myself that I would eat healthy when I started working for the summer and I've actually been doing really well. I dont eat fast food, I eat a small sized salad everyday for lunch with a healthy dressing a.k.a. not caesar or ranch but vinagrettes usually. I eat a small breakfast and I've been eating relatively healthy dinners. Chasing around kids for nine and a half hours four days a week has helped a lot too. So far i've only focused on a change in diet because I work really long hours and Josh studies all night so the two hours I would use to go to the gym are the only two hours a day I get to spend with Josh awake right now so I'm using them. The good news is i've lost five pounds already and I feel a lot better. I'm going to try these Green Monster Smoothies in the near future that are packed full of spinach to up my game even more.
If I get in a pickle come dress fitting time I have a few cleanses in mind that I might try over the next year (not crazy ones dont worry, I will still eat). But so far so good on the wedding diet. So if you see me with something I shouldn't have I give you full permission to scold me like I am a child.
The problem is not that I gained that much weight, I went from 5 ft to 5 ft 8 in a year and I looked like a nasty stick for much of my teenage years so I needed to gain that weight, the problem is proportions. I am one of those lucky individuals who primarily gains weight in the lower half of my body, in other words yes, while I have do have a black woman's ass, it looks cottage cheese when I'm naked. I dont do a lot to fix this because well, as this blog would suggest, I've found the person i'll likely be with for the rest of my life so who am I trying to impress now and in all honesty cottage cheese or not, I wasn't blessed with boobs and everyone knows it so why would I want to do anything to loose the one curve I have. The problem of my large ass came up when shopping for wedding dresses. When they took my measurements the brutally honest british or scottish or irish old lady at winchesters (if you've been in the store you know who I am talking about) so graciously told me that on the bottom I am a size 10 on top I am a size 4. So we ordered an 8 because I could likely squeeze my ass into it and it wouldn't come with outrageously oversized cups for my little A boobies. This means that in the wise words of Winchester's lady "Chelsea, you simply cannot gain any weight in the next year unless its in your breasts." News flash, i've been waiting for 22 years to gain weight in my tits and it ain't happening so basically I just cant gain weight.
I made a deal with myself that I would eat healthy when I started working for the summer and I've actually been doing really well. I dont eat fast food, I eat a small sized salad everyday for lunch with a healthy dressing a.k.a. not caesar or ranch but vinagrettes usually. I eat a small breakfast and I've been eating relatively healthy dinners. Chasing around kids for nine and a half hours four days a week has helped a lot too. So far i've only focused on a change in diet because I work really long hours and Josh studies all night so the two hours I would use to go to the gym are the only two hours a day I get to spend with Josh awake right now so I'm using them. The good news is i've lost five pounds already and I feel a lot better. I'm going to try these Green Monster Smoothies in the near future that are packed full of spinach to up my game even more.
If I get in a pickle come dress fitting time I have a few cleanses in mind that I might try over the next year (not crazy ones dont worry, I will still eat). But so far so good on the wedding diet. So if you see me with something I shouldn't have I give you full permission to scold me like I am a child.
The Budget
I find one of the questions I get asked most frequently is about our budget. People get these ridiculous ideas about budget from watching shows like Four Weddings and Say Yes To The Dress, in which most of the budgets are geared towards large city weddings with people who are basically taking out a second mortgage on there house in order to finance their lavish events. Before I tell you our budget its important to remember that we are having at least 200 guests and that I am calling in a lot of favours and cutting a lot corners to save money. Our budget right now is around $10,000. Now this seems like a lot of money, but to put on a wedding with 200 guests, this is about as cheap as it comes nowadays and if we were getting married in the city I can guarantee it would be a lot more expensive.
Food will be the huge cost. We are paying 15.95 a plate plus 15% gratuity and 15% tax so multiply that by 200 and some and you get around $4000.00. Remember that one bottle of red and one bottle of white wine are usually found on every table in your reception hall so that is another 500ish bucks that isn't included in your meal cost. So food alone is basically half of our budget.
Photography is the next largest kicker. Our photography package costs $2500.00 and I am excited to spend every penny on it. To me photography is the second most important part of the day next to the dress and maybe the booze, okay make it the third most important thing. These images will help you relive that special day.
My dress, which has already been purchased cost $1010.00. When you add in my veil, jewellery and shoes I will have spent 1300.00 on my outfit. I can tell you that at any Bridal Store in Nova Scotia you will find VERY FEW dresses for more than $2500.00 so dont let Say Yes To The Dress freak you out. I tried on the priciest designers at Winchesters and no dress that I tried on was priced higher than $2000.00.
The hotel suite that we are getting is the last major cost, because well I want it to be the best Sydney Nova Scotia has to offer and we're staying in it for three nights. The rest of the budget will go to little things that add up like the guest book, cake topper, flower girl dress etc etc.
We're cutting costs by using fake flowers (I know some of you are having an anxiety attack right now, but I fucking hate flowers and they are expensive and they will die the next day so get your priorities straight people), a friend of mine is doing the decorating as she has an amazing decorating company called Table 4 U (look her up on facebook, she travels throughout NS), another friend is DJing for us, I am making my own wedding cake. I'm making edible place cards that double as favours, I'm making centrepieces, bouquets, invitations (and I'm hand delivering as many as possible).
So there is our secret, if you choose to go our DIY way, be prepared for a year of hard work but a more gratifying and cheaper experience in the end.
Food will be the huge cost. We are paying 15.95 a plate plus 15% gratuity and 15% tax so multiply that by 200 and some and you get around $4000.00. Remember that one bottle of red and one bottle of white wine are usually found on every table in your reception hall so that is another 500ish bucks that isn't included in your meal cost. So food alone is basically half of our budget.
Photography is the next largest kicker. Our photography package costs $2500.00 and I am excited to spend every penny on it. To me photography is the second most important part of the day next to the dress and maybe the booze, okay make it the third most important thing. These images will help you relive that special day.
My dress, which has already been purchased cost $1010.00. When you add in my veil, jewellery and shoes I will have spent 1300.00 on my outfit. I can tell you that at any Bridal Store in Nova Scotia you will find VERY FEW dresses for more than $2500.00 so dont let Say Yes To The Dress freak you out. I tried on the priciest designers at Winchesters and no dress that I tried on was priced higher than $2000.00.
The hotel suite that we are getting is the last major cost, because well I want it to be the best Sydney Nova Scotia has to offer and we're staying in it for three nights. The rest of the budget will go to little things that add up like the guest book, cake topper, flower girl dress etc etc.
We're cutting costs by using fake flowers (I know some of you are having an anxiety attack right now, but I fucking hate flowers and they are expensive and they will die the next day so get your priorities straight people), a friend of mine is doing the decorating as she has an amazing decorating company called Table 4 U (look her up on facebook, she travels throughout NS), another friend is DJing for us, I am making my own wedding cake. I'm making edible place cards that double as favours, I'm making centrepieces, bouquets, invitations (and I'm hand delivering as many as possible).
So there is our secret, if you choose to go our DIY way, be prepared for a year of hard work but a more gratifying and cheaper experience in the end.
Friday, June 22, 2012
A great find!
In the spirit of trying to pay for things now so it is not such a huge cost later, I have been on the hunt for my invitations. There are two ways you can do invitations:
1. You can order them from a place like David's Bridal or Michael's and pay for them to print them for you (I haven't found this option for cheaper than $350.00 for the 150 invitations I need) or...
2. You can buy a DIY kit and print them at home or somewhere else. Obviously since DIY is my middle name I decided to choose this more cost effective method.
I searched at David's Bridal, Michael's and other places and the general consensus was that a DIY pack of 40 invitations would cost around 40 bucks and I would need at least three of them so that would be around $150 with taxes in. I decided to hold off and keep looking. A friend of mine told me she saw invitations at home sense so I decided to go and check it out. I found three packages of 50 invitations, envelopes, response cards, and thank you cards for 9.99 each and they were in my colors. So for $34 I bought all of the stationary and envelopes for my wedding other than programs and I am delighted by this!
So brides go to home sense if you are looking to save some money on something that most people are just gonna throw out anyways!
1. You can order them from a place like David's Bridal or Michael's and pay for them to print them for you (I haven't found this option for cheaper than $350.00 for the 150 invitations I need) or...
2. You can buy a DIY kit and print them at home or somewhere else. Obviously since DIY is my middle name I decided to choose this more cost effective method.
I searched at David's Bridal, Michael's and other places and the general consensus was that a DIY pack of 40 invitations would cost around 40 bucks and I would need at least three of them so that would be around $150 with taxes in. I decided to hold off and keep looking. A friend of mine told me she saw invitations at home sense so I decided to go and check it out. I found three packages of 50 invitations, envelopes, response cards, and thank you cards for 9.99 each and they were in my colors. So for $34 I bought all of the stationary and envelopes for my wedding other than programs and I am delighted by this!
So brides go to home sense if you are looking to save some money on something that most people are just gonna throw out anyways!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The Initial Costs You May Not Think About
One part of this wedding planning process that I was not prepared for were the initial costs to get started. Initially this wasn't a concern of mine because we were planning on taking two years to get married and if you are not in a stable financial situation taking more than a year and a half to plan would be very smart. When we switch out date to be in a year and a few months, we immediately needed to start booking stuff. Depending on where you plan to get married you may have a little more leniency in when you start booking depending on if it is a tourist destination, the time of year, the amount of wedding venues etc. But, if you have a specific idea of where you want your wedding to be and which photographer, videographer etc you want, you should plan to book AT LEAST a year in advance. All of these services require deposits, unless you get seriously lucky. Here is the breakdown of what we have had to pay this month to get everything booked:
Hall Rental- $500.00 deposit
Photography- $200.00 deposit
Jack and Jill- $150.00 deposit.
Keep in mind that I am doing most of my wedding myself. Decorators, Videographers, DJs, Florists, Wedding Planners, Bakeries etc all typically require a deposit. We are getting married in a church so it isn't costing us money but if you were getting married at a private venue that would probably be another couple hundred dollars. The amount of money we would have to spend this early on had never even crossed my mind, so hopefully this will help you be a little more prepared than we were.
Hall Rental- $500.00 deposit
Photography- $200.00 deposit
Jack and Jill- $150.00 deposit.
Keep in mind that I am doing most of my wedding myself. Decorators, Videographers, DJs, Florists, Wedding Planners, Bakeries etc all typically require a deposit. We are getting married in a church so it isn't costing us money but if you were getting married at a private venue that would probably be another couple hundred dollars. The amount of money we would have to spend this early on had never even crossed my mind, so hopefully this will help you be a little more prepared than we were.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Rolling With The Punches
The last week has been crazy. As crazy as it was, it made me realize how flexible you have to be when planning a wedding. We thought we had our date set in stone, however, unfortunately when booking our hall we found out it was already booked. This sent up red flags for Josh and I because its a pretty small community and chances are we would know who booked it. So we put the question out there and found out that one of Josh's good friends had booked his wedding that weekend.
So started the scramble. We had to look for another weekend, we had to call everyone back and rebook everything. I seriously considered eloping at this point, it still goes through my mind every once in awhile, but it will all be worth it once it is the big day.
We rescheduled everything for October 26th, 2013. Ceremony at St. Joseph's in North Sydney, Reception at Sydney Mines Fireman's Centre.
Hoorayyy!
So started the scramble. We had to look for another weekend, we had to call everyone back and rebook everything. I seriously considered eloping at this point, it still goes through my mind every once in awhile, but it will all be worth it once it is the big day.
We rescheduled everything for October 26th, 2013. Ceremony at St. Joseph's in North Sydney, Reception at Sydney Mines Fireman's Centre.
Hoorayyy!
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