Thrifty Thursday

Since the holidays are over, I'm back to my normal Thrifty Thursday posts.  Enjoy!

You can get a free issue of Bridal Guide magazine here.

Discounts
Victoria's Secret: Free lip gloss with any purchase (Expires 1/20)
Amazon: 3 Month Amazon Prime Membership for $1
Wedding Paper Divas: $10 off a purchase of $75+, Code: NEWYEAR (Expires 1/04)
Oriental Trading: Free Shipping on orders of $49+, Code: JANFD49 (Expires 1/04)
Michaels: 25% off your entire purchase (January 1st only!)
Shoes: Extra 20% off all sale merchandise, Code: WINTER (Expires 1/04)


Giveaways
Lingerie Giveaway at Confessions of a Lingerie Addict (Ends Today!)

Also, any Tallahassee ladies who are interested in boudoir pictures, there's a marathon going on in town on January 23rd/24th.  If you're interested, email thebondbetweenus@gmail.com.  It's $250 for a 1 1/2 hour session and an 8x8 photo album.

Invitation Vent

I had planned on showing you a mock-up of our invitations today, but that's not going to happen.  My invitations are not printed yet.  We are having so many problems with them, that I'm about to say screw it and just call everyone and tell them when it is.

I bought 110 lb. cardstock from Walmart and tried to use J's boss' printer to print it out.  I guess the paper is too big and it's making it smear when it prints.  So, we used the other printer in their office and it doesn't print clearly.  So now I have to go out and find lighter paper and hope that solves our problem. 

I tried to print them on our home computer, but the color isn't coming out right at all.

So, now I'm annoyed and want my invitations to be finished!

On a happier note though, the UPS man should be here anytime with our envelopes and I can start addressing those!

Cake Balls

Most people have heard of the famous Cake Balls by now.  They're the delicious balls of cake surrounded by chocolate from Bakerella.  Well, I decided to make some for Christmas and realized how great of a wedding favor it would be.  I already have decided on my favors, but I'm debating on making them to put in the out-of-town boxes.

What You Need:
- Box of cake mix (I used Red Velvet)
- Can of frosting that complements your cake (I used cream cheese)
- Chocolate bark (Used white chocolate/vanilla)

1. Bake the cake according to the directions on the box.  Let it cool completely.

2. After the cake cools, crumble it into a bowl.

3. Mix the frosting with the crumbled cake.

4. Roll the mixture into balls.  I did mine about an inch in diameter.  You can make yours whatever size you want depending on preference.

5. Chill the balls in the fridge for a few hours.  I recommend overnight.

6. Melt the chocolate bark in the microwave and dip the balls in it.  I recommend doing small sections at a time to keep the chocolate more workable.

7. Decorate the tops in whatever fashion you want immediately and then eat after the chocolate has hardened.

Ceremony Reading

Since we only have a few more months to go, I figured I needed to start working on the ceremony.  We're meeting with the officiant at the beginning of January, so I'm starting to pull together ideas.  Here's a reading that I thought would go nicely.

We're going to ask the husband of one of my bridesmaids to read it.

"You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –This is my husband. This is my wife. "

Best of 2009

Since we're nearing the end of the year, I thought it would be nice to look back at all the posts from the year.  Here are my 5 favorite.  I hope some of the newer readers enjoy looking over these!

Escort Cards I Love

Paddle Fan Programs

How to Find a Perfect Photographer and Photography Contract Points

How to Save Money on Catering

Chalkboards at Weddings

Christmas!

We spent Christmas at my in laws house.  Had a great time with everyone and had some delicious food.

Here's some pictures of present opening.

I got some great presents this year.  Very excited to get home and play with them.
















We played with the trivial pursuit game earlier and it was a blast.  You can load your own categories on it, so you're not just stuck with the traditional categories.  We used Marvel comics; The Strange, The Wierd, and the Unexplained; Science and Nature; People and Places; Family Movies; and Food and Drink Ingredients.  I definitely recommend checking it out if you like trivia games.  J was very excited because he won.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  What all did you receive?

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a great day with their family and friends.  Have a Merry Christmas!

Here's a survey I found floating around blog land and I figured it would be a great day for some holiday survey-ness.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?: I hate wrapping paper and would love to use gift bags, but that would just look weird under our tree.  So everything is wrapped.

2. Real tree or Artificial?: I love real trees, but I'm allergic, so we have to have artificial.

3. When do you put up the tree?: Normally halfway through November.

4. When do you take the tree down?: A couple weeks after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog?: No

6. Favorite gift received as a child?: My castle bed that my grandmother made me.

7. Hardest person to buy for?: My fiance

8. Easiest person to buy for?: My mom



9. Do you have a nativity scene?: No, we're not really religious.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?: Mail


11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received?: My grandmother got me an electric razor one year.  It was odd...


12. Favorite Christmas Movie?: Santa Clause


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?: Normally right after Christmas.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?: I'm sure I probably have.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?: Pumpkin pie


16. Lights on the tree?: White

17. Favorite Christmas song?: Santa Baby


18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?: We normally going to J's family's house.


19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?: Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.  Totally had to google this.


20. Angel on the tree top or a star?: Stars

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?: Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?: Not getting to see my family.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?: I use red and gold.  Go 'Noles!

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?: Ham and mashed potatoes and rolls

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?: Wii Fit

26. Have you ever been caroling?: Yes

Signature Cocktails

Now what goes better with the food that I was talking about yesterday than alcohol.  For our bar, we're planning on serving beer and wine and then 2 signature drinks.  We're doing a His and Hers menu and we're each picking a drink to serve.

For my signature drink, I want to do something pink to go with our wedding colors.  Plus, I want it to be something fruity and girly for my ladies who don't drink much beer.

Here's a couple drinks that I'm thinking about:
Pink Lady
Cosmopolitan
Deep Razzy

For my fiance's signature drink, he wants to do something more manly. 

Crown and coke
Rum and coke
White Russian

What are/were your signature drinks for your wedding?

Reception Menu

I know I've mentioned my reception food before, but I'm not sure if I ever talked about it in detail.  We're planning on getting our catering done by Sonnys BBQ, which is a chain restaurant in the South.  We can get our entire dinner catered for under $10 a head, which is an awesome price for what all we are getting.

Here is the menu we're planning for the night:
- Pulled pork
- Chicken
- Sliced beef
- Baked potato
- Corn on the cob
- Mac n' Cheese
- Salad
- Bread and butter

Plus, they give you sweet tea and lemonade.  It's a fantastic deal and the food is delicious.  Both J and I are Southerners and we want our wedding to reflect our personalities and we couldn't think of a better way to do it than the food.  It might not be your tradition fancy wedding food, but it works for us.

The picture above is from another wedding in Tallahassee also catered by Sonnys.  They bring their staff out and set-up the buffet and help regulate while the guests are eating.  They bring chafing dishes too to keep the food warm. 

Would you enjoy traditional Southern food at a wedding?

Cupcake Topper Winner!

The winner of the cupcake toppers is Gonna be His Mrs. from Shooting for a $3000 Wedding.  Congratulations!

Cards and Pockets Free Shipping

Cards and Pockets is having free shipping today and tomorrow only.  Coupon code is SHIP09.

The also got two new gorgeous colors and you can get free swatches of them.

I'm going to be ordering the envelopes for my invitations during the free shipping special.  That way I can start addressing them because it's going to take forever.  I'm ordering the color meadow and they're going to look gorgeous on our invitations.  They're shimmery too so they'll add a little extra.

Wise Impressions Ring Dishes

First, let me announce the winner of this adorable Wise Impression's ring dish.

Miss Megan is the winner of this dish.  Her and her fiance are also getting married in March and she's a fellow knottie.  Congratulations Megan!

I ordered some stuff from Wise Impressions for Christmas presents and also for myself and they arrived today.  I can't praise this seller enough.  I absolutely love her products.  After receiving the box today, I now have 3 ring dishes from her.

I ordered this adorable ring dish and magnets for my sister-in-law.  I noticed last time we were at her house that when she cooks, she just sets her wedding ring on the counter.  Well, I was scared she was going to lose it, so I figured this would be the perfect solution. 

This isn't the best picture, but it's a dragon bookmark.  I think she did a fantastic job.  I sent her a couple pictures of dragons I liked, and she made it for my fiance.  Wonderful job!

These last two are for myself.   I have a smaller version of the first one, but I wanted something bigger since after the wedding, I'm going to have 3 rings.  So, this new one will sit on my nightstand and the smaller one will be put on my fiance's nightstand in case he wants to take his ring off for any reason.

I'm absolutely in love with the Christmas dish.  It is now one of my favorite decorations.  I can't put it out until next Christmas, but I can't wait to put it to use.

So, if you're in the market for a ring dish (or bookmark or magnets), head on over to Wise Impressions and do some shopping.  She's very quick and will do everything to your specifications.

This is a sponsored/compensated post.

Centerpiece Trial #1

I finally found the vases for my low centerpieces at Walmart the other day.  Only $3 a vase too!  So, we swiped every single one from the store and came home to do a trial. 

I just took the vase from Walmart and stuck a 6 inch taper candle in the middle and put about 75 rose petals around it.  The petals will actually be pink for the wedding, but I had blue ones sitting around the house from my bridal shower. 

I will have 4 tealight candles sitting around the base of it and some more rose petals scattered on the table cloth.

I'm relatively happy with our low centerpieces.  I'll actually do a better mock-up when my tablecloths come in the mail.

Cardbox Winner!

Heather at Bicoastal Bride is the winner of the $25 giftcard to Creative Custom Cardboxes.  Congratulations!

Tomorrow I'll be showing everyone the mock-up of my lower centerpieces.  I'm really happy with the way they turned out.

Garter Winner!

Katie from Random Reflections of a Perfectionist is the winner of the GarterLady garter!  I recommend every check out her blog.  I actually follow it and it's one of my favorites.  Congratulations Katie!

Monogram Winner!

The winner of the Design Alley monogram is Katie from One Girl's Journey to the Altar.  Congratulations Katie and have fun designing your custom monogram!

Linen Tablecloth Sale!

Linen Tablecloth is having an awesome sale on all their clearance items.  Everything in their clearance section is 50% off of the already clearanced price.

I just got:
2 70in round pink tablecloths
1 70in sage satin overlay
13 108in round sage tablecloths
1 pink rectangular tablecloth
1 sage rectangular tablecloth
1 extra large white table runner

I got all of this for only $106!!!!!  You can't beat that price.  You also get free shipping on orders over $50.  So, if you're in need of linens for your wedding, head on over to Linen Tablecloth. 

The sale ends on January 1st.

Southern Weddings Magazine Winner

Congratulations to Tina who is the Southern Weddings magazine winner!  This is what Tina had to say about saving money for your wedding:

My favorite money saving tip would be to do it yourself.

Congrats again Tina and good luck to everyone in the rest of the giveaways!  If you haven't already picked up your copy of Southern Weddings magazine yet, I highly recommend it.  There are some gorgeous weddings in there.

Creative Custom Cardbox Giveaway!

Just when you thought the giveaways were done, I have another one for you.

Creative Custom Cardboxes makes personalized cardboxes for weddings.  That way, all your cards and money are safe inside a secure box.  It's easier to walk away with a stray card than it is with a huge sparkly cardbox.

Here's some of my favorite cardboxes from their gallery:

Creative Custom Cardboxes are offering a $25 gift certificate off of one of their cardboxes.  Their boxes start at $60 for a one tier cardbox, so that will give you a significant chunk off.  So, if you're not DIY savvy and want a gorgeous cardbox, this is the giveaway for you!

Just comment on this post with you how you would have your cardbox designed.  Colors, tiers, monogram, bling?  Tell me what you want!

I will pick a random winner on Sunday, December 20th at 5pm.  Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your entry.

Bridal Shower Pro Pictures

I picked up my CD from the photographer today and my pictures came out so good!  Here's a few of them for ya'll to check out!

 

The rest are on my facebook and also in my planning bio.  Also, if you're in Tallahassee and would like to use Nikki, please email her at nikkichaplin@live.com.

Thrifty Thursday

Discounts
Edible Arrangements -- $5 off, Code: INET1222
Afloral -- 10% off, Code: ES2

Giveaways
50 Save the Date giveaway at OneWed (Enter by December 18th)

2 Giveaway Winners

Here are the results of the first two giveaways.  There are still plenty of others to enter though guys!

First, the winner of the $25 MyWeddingFavors.com giveaway is The Flip-Flop Bride who said:

I really like all of the candle favors. And the lucky elephants.

Congrats girl!

The winner of the wedding sandals is Miss Pugs who said:
AND... I'm loving the "I DO" ornaments as my fave thing on the site...we have like, zero nice ornaments and I need to start collecting some!

I love Miss Pugs site.  She's also a March 2010 bride.

I definitely recommend you go and check out the blogs of both these ladies.  I will be emailing both of you and you have 24 hours to get back in touch with me. 

Good luck everyone on the rest of the giveaways!

Free Shipping Today Only!

Over 700 merchants are offering free shipping today only with guaranteed delivery by Christmas.

http://www.freeshippingday.com/

100 Days!

 

There are now only 100 days until our wedding!  Eek!

Giveaway Round-up

I hope ya'll have enjoyed the week of giveaways.  Since the first one ends this afternoon, I figured I'd put up a post with the link to all of them.  I don't want anyone to miss out!

$25 MyWeddingFavors.com gift card (Ends tonight at 5pm!!!)

Wedding sandals (Ends tomorrow at 5pm!!!)

Copy of Southern Weddings Magazine (Ends December 18th at 5pm)

Personalized monogram (Ends December 19th at 5pm)

GarterLady garter (Ends December 20th at 5pm)

Ring dish (Ends December 21st at 5pm)

Cupcake toppers (Ends December 22nd at 5pm)

Gifts in 24 Tablet set and Notecard set (Ends December 23rd at 5pm)

Engagement Anniversary!

Today we have been engaged one year!  I can't believe it has been so long!

Here's one of my favorite pictures from the night we got engaged.

Thanks to all my readers who have read my blog throughout the year.  I couldn't do it without you!

Week of Giveaways: Gifts in 24

The last giveaway of the week is from Gifts in 24.  They sent me some of their products to try out, so I could give you an honest review of the products they're offering for the giveaway.  I was very pleased with everything they sent over.

The first one is their Couples 7 Tablet Set (retail $35).  It includes 7 different pads of paper with different variations of yours and your fiance's names.  Great way to write notes to family and friends after the wedding.  They are many different colors to choose from.

 

 

The second one is the Couple's Monogram Notes (retails $50).  These would be great to use as thank you cards after the wedding.  There are multiple different ways to personalize these notecards.

You can enter to win both of these products, made to your customizations.  

To enter the giveaway for the two note sets, visit Gifts in 24 and tell me your favorite thing on their site.  This is required to be entered in the giveaway.

After you complete the first entry, you can get up to 6 more entries by doing the following.  Please leave a different comment for each step you complete.
1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Follow me on twitter
3. Follow me on facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway

5. Follow Gifts in 24 on twitter

6. Follow Gifts in 24 on facebook

Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments (either your blog link or email address).  This giveaway will end on December 23rd at 5pm EST.

Christmas Decorations

I thought I would share my Christmas decorations with you.  Christmas is my favorite time of year and I love decorating!  If I wouldn't get weird looks, I would keep my decorations up year round.  Can you believe the majority of our decorations came from the Dollar Tree?

 

 

Week of Giveaways: Cupcake Toppers

Everyone loves cupcakes.  So, of course you'd love cupcake flags just as much.  Graceful Correspondence is offering an adorable set of a dozen cupcake toppers to one lucky winner.  These would be great for bridal showers or you could buy extras and use them for your wedding.

She will personalize your cake toppers to your specifications, so you can adapt them to whatever event you want.

Each topper features a base made with beautiful coordinating, high quality cardstock. The design with your specifications will be placed upon the scalloped base using a glue gun to create a fun, 3-D effect. These beautiful party essentials measure 2 inches in diameter.

To enter the giveaway for a dozen personalized cupcake toppers, visit Graceful Correspondence and tell me your favorite thing on her site.  This is required to be entered in the giveaway.

After you complete the first entry, you can get up to 5 more entries by doing the following.  Please leave a different comment for each step you complete.
1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Follow me on twitter
3. Follow me on facebook
4. Follow Graceful Correspondence on facebook
5. Blog about the giveaway

Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments (either your blog link or email address).  This giveaway will end on December 22nd at 5pm EST.

Bridal Shower

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful maid of honor to throw my shower.  And to be able to have all my friends and family from different states there to celebrate with me.

I found a photographer who was wanting to build her portfolio, she shot my bridal shower for free.  I should be receiving the CD later this week, so I'll show you the pro pictures later.  Here's some of the ones I took with my camera though.  Sadly I'm not in any of them.

We played bridal bingo while I was opening presents and my mom won!  She did it with only half the presents too! 

My wonderful maid of honor.  She matched the cupcakes!

I received some fantastic presents off of our registry at the shower too.  A bunch of baking supplies, drinking glasses, and a Tassimo.  I can't wait to put everything to use! 

Week of Giveaways: WiseImpressions Ring Dish

You've seen this seller multiple times on my blog, and she's offering up another wonderful giveaway for one of my lucky readers.  WiseImpressions on etsy is giving away this adorable ring dish, personalized with your information.

All her dishes are handmade by her and they are fantastic quality.  I have multiple ones and I love them all!  

To enter the giveaway for this adorable ring dish, visit WiseImpressions and tell me your favorite thing on her site.  This is required to be entered in the giveaway.

After you complete the first entry, you can get up to 3 more entries by doing the following.  Please leave a different comment for each step you complete.
1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Follow me on twitter
3. Follow me on facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway

Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments (either your blog link or email address).  This giveaway will end on December 21st at 5pm EST.

I'm an FSU Alumni!

I've had a very busy weekend.  I had both my graduation and bridal shower yesterday.  I had tons of family and friends coming into town for both and I couldn't have been more blessed to be surrounded by them.

Graduation was a little crazy because it was pouring down rain the entire time.  I had a blow out done on Friday, so it was a pain to try and get into the civic center without getting my hair wet.  I think I succeeded though.  The ceremony was quick and painless, only 2 hours.

Here's a couple pictures I took after the ceremony.

Week of Giveaways: GarterLady Garter

The next giveaway up is a gorgeous garter from GarterLady on etsy.  You can customize the colors of the majority of her garters.  She also makes plus size garters for those ladies who can't fit in her normal 22" ones.

Here's some of my favorite garters from her shop:

Now on to the giveaway.  GarterLady has offered up her Diamond's Are a Girl's Best Friend Garter (valued at $25) to one lucky reader.  You get your choice of white, ivory, or tiffany blue.

To enter the giveaway for the garter, visit GarterLady and tell me your favorite thing on her site.  This is required to be entered in the giveaway.

After you complete the first entry, you can get up to 3 more entries by doing the following.  Please leave a different comment for each step you complete.
1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Follow me on twitter
3. Follow me on facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway

Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments (either your blog link or email address).  This giveaway will end on December 20th at 5pm EST.