Recap: Getting Ready

The morning of the wedding, I had to run to Walmart before I did anything else.  We need glue sticks to finish up a few projects and I was on a mission to find a tank top that I could wear while getting ready.  Got the glue sticks and found a cute Miley Cyrus tank top for $4.

After I got home, I finished up the projects the glue sticks and my fiance ironed on a cute "Tying the Knot" rhinestone decal on the front.  His best friend called while we were doing this, so it was nice to be able to talk to him before the wedding (he lives in Japan).

When we were done at the house, I had to run and pick up my mom from the hotel so we could get to the salon.  We had a huge festival going on in town, so we ended up running all over town to find a way to get over there.  It took way too long and we were running really late for our appointment.  Not a fun way to start the morning of my wedding.

We had a lot of fun at the salon though and they did a fantastic job on our hair and make-up.

After we were done at the salon, we heading out to the venue to start getting dressed.  Two of my bridesmaids didn't go to the salon with us, so they were already at the venue waiting on us.  After the bridesmaids got dressed, it was time to get me into my dress.  That took a lot of assistance.

Then it was time to sit around and wait for the ceremony to start.  I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, but I kept it together.

Recap: Rehearsal Dinner

After we were done with the rehearsal, guests started arriving at the park.  We were rushed on our way to get there, so my mother-in-law ended up running out and getting food for us.  After they got there, the guys started get the grill lit and started cooking the food.

We had a lot of friends and family coming from out of town to our wedding, so we decided to invite all our guests to the rehearsal dinner so we could spend extra time with them.

While the food was cooking, our guests kept themselves entertained by playing on the playground and walking out by the lake.

Jason's mom did an excellent job with the food.  She picked up hamburgers, hot dogs and chips from the store.  She also brought some homemade baked beans, mini corn on the cob, and two delicious cakes!  Everyone was stuffed and happy.

We decided to have a rehearsal of home to cut the wedding cake, so we would know what we were doing on the actual wedding day.  Of course no one had a knife, so we had to use the end of a spoon.

The park closes at sundown, so there were no lights in the park at all.  Cleaning up in pitch black was definitely not fun.  After we got home, we finished up a few wedding projects and then went to bed.  We needed our beauty sleep for the next day.

Recap: Rehearsal

Well, this is the first of my recaps.  I'm going to be doing them every day this week, so keep coming back for more.  All of the pictures in the recaps are going to be taken by friends and family.

Our venue was going to charge us $100 to have the rehearsal on their property, so instead we opted to have the rehearsal at a local park.  It was closer for us and our guests and it was free.

We told everyone in the wedding party to arrive at the park at 5pm.  We were running late, so we didn't end up getting there until about 5:30pm, so the rehearsal was kind of rushed.

4 out of 8 members of our bridal party were missing, so this rehearsal was really more for us.  I grabbed a couple of friends to stand in as our missing bridal party.

We lined up like we would at the real ceremony and all walked in at the command of our officiant and wedding coordinator.  They helped direct us the entire time so we knew what we were going to be doing on the day of the wedding. 

Our officiant gave us verbal cues of what we were supposed to do, so on the wedding day, we would be able to remember them.  She wrote into the script telling us that we were supposed to face each other, so we knew when we were supposed to look at each other and not her.  During the sand ceremony, as soon as she said "united as one", we were supposed to start pouring the sand together.  It was really helpful to have those verbal cues so she didn't have to actually direct the entire ceremony on the real day.

The rehearsal was definitely helpful, but I think it would have been a lot better if we would have been able to do it at our venue and also if our bridal party would have been there.

I'm a Mrs!

Yesterday was fantastic!  I couldn't believe how amazing it turned out.  I'll start recaps tomorrow, but here's a sneak peek.  One of my friends took it during our first dance.

Wedding Day

Today's my wedding day!  I can't wait to come back and give everyone a review and pictures.  Don't forget to follow the hashtag #brideonbudget on twitter!

Tweeting on Your Wedding Day

If you haven't already signed up for twitter, I highly recommend it.  It's a great way to meet new people and have conversations with people who have the same interest as you.

I have a wedding day tweeter who will be tweeting throughout my wedding day.  Her name is Angela and you can follow her at XoAngieoX.  I'm going to be giving our hashtag to other guests who are on twitter also, so if you would like to follow the entire day, come over to the hashtag #brideonbudget where you can see all of the tweets of everyone who uses that hashtag.

I hope you'll tweet with us!  There might even be a couple tweets from me throughout the day.

Day of Schedule

The day of schedule was one of the hardest things that I came across in the wedding planning process.  Thankfully I have fantastic coordinators that were able to help me with this, but it was really hard trying to figure out how long something was going to take.

Here's the important parts of our timeline for the day:
11am -- Hair appt. for bride, bride's mother, and bridesmaids
1pm -- Make-up appt. for bride, bride's mother, and bridesmaids
1pm -- Photographer arrives at salon to take pictures
2:30pm -- Getting ready shots of the guys
3pm -- Pre-ceremony shots of the guys
3:30pm -- Getting ready shots of the ladies
4pm -- Pre-ceremony shots of the ladies
5pm -- Ceremony begins
5:30pm -- Formal pictures while guests are at the cocktail hour
6:30pm -- Reception site opens up to guests
7pm -- Grand entrance for bridal party and couple
7:10pm -- Dinner is served
7:20pm -- Bride and groom perform table visits
7:50pm -- Toasts by best man and maid of honor
8pm -- First dance
8:05pm -- Dance floor opens up for guests
9pm -- Cake cutting
9:10pm -- Bouquet toss
9:15pm -- Garter removal and toss
10pm -- Bar closes
10:50pm -- Last dance
11:05pm -- Grand exit

Wedding Day Priorities

Since I've been planning this wedding for 16 months now, I've had a lot of time to think about what I want and what I don't want.  I've also read a lot of wedding blogs and wedding forums and learned what other brides are glad they did and what they regretted they didn't do.

So, I made a list of priorities for the wedding day to make sure it's as wonderful as I imagine it to be.

1. Talk to each of my guests at least once.  Most of our guests have traveled long ways to visit us, so the least we can do is make sure to thank them for coming.  I also haven't seen a lot of these people in years, so I would love to say more than a sentence to them.  We have a couple ways we're going to accomplish this.  The first one is by inviting all of our guests to the rehearsal dinner.  The second one is we're going to do table visits during the reception which everyone is eating.  That should give us the opportunity to talk to every single person coming to celebrate with us.

2. Eat dinner at the reception.  A lot of brides say that they never get to eat the delicious food they picked out for the wedding because they were always too busy.  Why in the world am I going to spend that much money on food and not even eat it? 

3. Spend some alone time with my fiance on our wedding day.  We're going to be surrounded with so many people, that it's going to be easy to forget that the day is all about the two of us.  I planned a spot in the schedule to allow us a few minutes of down time in the bridal suite.

What are you priorities for the wedding day?

Seating Chart

I was originally going to design our seating chart myself, but after much fuss with it, I decided to just have someone else design it for me.  So, I contacted Double Trouble Designs and they did it for me and it's gorgeous!  Definitely couldn't have done it myself.

I'm having it printed as a poster and then adhering it to foam board and then setting it up at the reception.  I thought it would be a nice way for guests to be able to find their table.

Wedding Ceremony

Well, our wedding is finally complete (except for the part where we're writing the vows ourselves).  I love it and I think it fits us perfectly.  I wrote parts, then I stole parts from other ceremonies, and then my officiant wrote parts.


Ashley and Jason want to extend their gratitude to all of you that have gathered here for this joyous event.  With unfaltering determination, this day has been planned to the infinite detail.  You, as witnesses, have the honor and pleasure of experiencing the fruits of their labor.

Bryan C**** will now lead you in prayer.  Please bow your heads.

  Jason and Ashley, you both need to enjoy today.  Wrap yourselves in the love this day brings, and accept all that this day has to offer.  Take a deep breath, your journey begins now.

Your marriage can be all that you have dreamed.  Honor and respect should be the cornerstones to the foundation of love and trust. Don’t let the time come when you think to yourself…”Have I told you lately…..”?

Jason, do you affirm your desire and intention to enter into this marriage?

I do.

Ashley, do you affirm your desire and intention to enter into this marriage?

I do.

Please turn to each other and take a good look at the person who looks back at you.  True love cannot be found where it does not exist, nor can it be hidden where it truly lies.  With all the work that you have put into this relationship, it will now require extra dedication and a new resolve.

 

Jason: I love....

I love...

I love...

I promise...

I promise...

I promise...

Ashley: I love...

I love...

I love...

I promise...

I promise...

I promise...

Jason, please repeat after me

I, Jason

Take you, Ashley,

To be my wife.

To have and to hold

From this day forward

For better, for worse

For richer, for poorer

In sickness and in health

To love and to cherish

As long as we both shall live.

Ashley, please repeat after me

I, Ashley

Take you, Jason,

To be my husband.

To have and to hold

From this day forward

For better, for worse

For richer, for poorer

In sickness and in health

To love and to cherish

As long as we both shall live.

Sebastian S**** will now be reading

The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two loyal hearts in endless love.  Being true to your hearts, you are committing yourselves to one another.

Jason, place the ring on Ashley's finger and repeat after me

It is my honor

That you wear this ring

I commit to you

My heart and soul.

Please wear this ring

As a symbol

Of the vows we have spoken today.

Ashley, place the ring on Jason's finger and repeat after me

It is my honor

That you wear this ring

I commit to you

My heart and soul.

Please wear this ring

As a symbol

Of the vows we have spoken today.

Jason, please take Ashley’s engagement ring.  This ring was given as a symbol of promise and intention.  Now that the intention is realized and the promise fulfilled, this ring goes over her wedding band to symbolize that the love that brought you together will always protect and sustain your marriage.

Sand Ceremony

Jason and Ashley, as these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together, as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be, united as one for all of your days.

Remember that deep breath you took at the beginning of the ceremony?  When you are faced with a task in the days ahead, take a breath.  When there is tension in the air, take a breath.  And late at night when you can’t quite believe that your “spouse” is beside you…take a moment to catch your breath.

Inasmuch as Jason and Ashley have this day consented together, in holy wedlock, and have given a pledged their love to one another in front of these witnesses, by virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the state of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Jason, you may kiss your bride.

It is my distinct honor and privilege to present for the very first time

Mr. and Mrs. Jason and Ashley C****

Happy Wedding Day Miss Pugs!

 Today is Miss Pug's Pawfect Wedding day!!!!  Have a great day Kelly and enjoy yourself!

St. Patty's Day Cake

Okay...well this is probably not a budget cake in any way shape or form, but it's so awesome that I had to show it to you!

This was made by Anna Cakes in Orlando, FL.

Weather Forecast

So, the 10 day forecast has now came out for our wedding weekend.

Beautiful weather right now for the wedding day. 

I'm worried about the rehearsal dinner right now.  We're having it in a local park.  There's a huge pavilion there that everyone could get under, but I don't really want my guests to have to be in a park in the rain.

So, let's hope that all the rain pushes to Thursday and both Friday and Saturday are going to be gorgeous!

Next to Last Dress Fitting

Last night was supposed to be my last dress fitting, but it turned into my next to last dress fitting.  Now my dress has become too large for me and is falling down and gaping a little.  So, she decided last night that she's not going to do any more alterations until next week.  So I'm going in Tuesday and she's going to see how my body is doing then and then do the alterations so they should be perfect at the wedding.

For your pleasure though, here is a picture from the fitting last night.  Sorry it's not the best, but it was taken on my blackberry.  And I'm not wearing shoes, so that's why it looks so long.

Happy St. Patty's Day and Winner!

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!  I hope you had a great day and was able to have some green beer.

The winner of the Wise Impressions ring dish is Courtney!  Congratulations!  I have already emailed you.  Thanks to everyone who entered.

Get Your Rings Cleaned!!!

Do not forget to add have your rings cleaned to your to-do list for the month up to the wedding. 

I needed to have mine steam cleaned and re-dipped before the wedding, but guess what, I forgot!  I realized that I hadn't sent them out on Friday and when I called they said they wouldn't be back until March 26th.  No way am I going to chance them possibly not coming back in time.  So, I'm just going to have to get them cleaned in store.  I'm sure they'll look gorgeous, but I really needed to get them re-dipped.

So, if you already started your to-do list for the month before the wedding, add getting your rings cleaned to it.  You don't want to forget.

3 Year Anniversary

Today is mine and Jason's 3 year dating anniversary.  I love how it ended up in the month we're getting married.

Here's a picture of our first vacation together.  We drove to Panama City to go to his friend's wedding and we made a stop at the beach along the way.  Bliss!

Dance Floor Decal

I've seen really cute pictures where the couple had a decal on their dance floor.  It looks great in pictures, so I wanted one for my own wedding.

I've been working with Lauren from Ten23 designs and she made a customized decal for our dance floor.  I gave her an idea of what I wanted and she ran with it.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out and I can't wait to see it in our floor.

I'll write a review of the product after the wedding is over and can judge the quality.

2 Weeks!

Oh my gosh.  We have less than 2 weeks until the wedding and I have so much left to do.  It's definitely getting stressful and I've noticed that my fuse has gotten a little shorter.  Hopefully I can keep my cool.

Here's what we have left to do:

Meetings
- Alterations on 3/17
- DJ on 3/17
- Florist on 3/18
- Bunch of meetings with coordinators

To Do
- Finish playlist for reception
- Buy gifts for bridal party
- Assemble programs
- Order table numbers (I can't find the files!)
- Order insurance for wedding
- Finalize menu and service details
- Order seating chart (it's been designed right now)
- Finalize day of timeline
- Make and assemble favors
- Assemble wedding day emergency kit
- Buy plates, napkins, and silverware
- Assemble napkin rolls
- Buy alcohol
- Assemble reserved seating signs
- Buy jewelry
- Buy rehearsal dinner outfit

Dyed Shoes

I really wanted pink shoes for my wedding, but I couldn't find a cute pair that I liked that was in my price range.  So, I decided to get my shoes from David's Bridal and them them dyed.  David's only charges $3 per pair of shoes, so it was a pretty economical option.

Here's my shoes in the white:

And here's what they look like dyed rose petal:

I. LOVE. THEM!  I think they came out absolutely fantastic and will be the perfect pop of color underneath my dress.

I'm going to get them dyed black after the wedding so that I can wear them during formal night on our honeymoon cruise.  Gorgeous!

Uprinting Poster Print Winner

Congratulations to Emily over at One Day at a Time!  She's the winner of the Uprinting poster print giveaway.

Thrifty Thursday

Discounts
Wedding Paper Divas: 25 free wedding invites when you purchase 60+, Code: INVITES25 (Expires 3/15)
Wise Impressions: 20% off a ring dish purchase, Code: BOB (Enter in notes to seller)

Giveaways
Lucky sixpence giveaway at I Do Weddings
Green Bride Guide giveaway at Backyard Bride
Pearl cufflinks giveaway at Staggered

Also, don't forget about the two giveaways I' m running right now:
Wise Impressions Ring Dish giveaway (Ends 3/17)
Uprinting Poster Print giveaway (Ends 3/12)

Real Wedding Wednesday: Tiffany & David

Did you enjoy the sneak peek this morning?  Now you get to see even more of Tiffany and David's gorgeous wedding.  They got married on January 6th, 2007 in Austin, TX.

What was your budget?: About $25K

What did you do to make your wedding unique?: I wanted everything very personal. We Did most things ourselves, but wanted it very classy an elegant. My favorite part of the wedding was that my sister was my maid of honor and my brother was a groomsman. Dave's dad was his best man and his sister was a bridesmaid. So the groomsmen came in and stood at the front near David while the bridesmaid's walked down the aisle. But my brother and his dad did not come in with the groomsmen. My brother escorted my sister down the aisle and his dad escorted his sister down the aisle and then they each stood by us. My brother/sister stood on my side and his dad and sister stood on his side. I loved that personal touch. (I included one of the great pictures of my brother and sister I got because of that) Some of our best friends have children and they were our ring bearer and flower girl, but the little boy who was 10 at the time did a scripture reading. It was precious and perfect and we were so happy he could be a part of our day. We also served non-traditional wedding food at the reception. I LOVE Mexican food and when we were choosing the menu everything seemed so stuffy and fancy. I love nothing more than chips, salsa and queso, and I wanted it to be a reflection of our style. We had fajitas, enchiladas, quesadillas, chips, salsa, queso, guacamole and margaritas and I think everyone felt comfortable and had a great time!

What was your biggest splurge for your wedding?: My photographer. I knew I wanted gorgeous pictures.

What aspect of your wedding did you save the most money on?: Flowers. I did not use a lot of flowers. We had a ton of candles and my goal was a romantic feel and beautiful lighting. It felt very cozy and romantic.

What was your favorite DIY project?: Well, the entire church was a DIY project. We bought all of the candles and candle holders and my mom, my sister and my mom's best friend decorated the church the day before the wedding. I also loved the way the programs turned out and I designed them and printed them at Kinkos!

Any advice to give to other brides?: Make it personal. Whatever you want to be the message of your wedding day, work to achieve it in all of your details. I wanted God to be the center of our day and the focus of the beginning of our lives together. From the moment my BFF's grandmother (who was our pianist) began playing "We are Standing on Holy Ground" and the ceremony began until the moment we left the reception I hope people knew that we love the Lord and we love each other!

Vendors
Photography: Focal Point Photographics
Reception: Texas Union Ballrooms at the University of Texas 
Cake: Fantasy Cakes 
Dress: Melange Bridal

Wise Impressions Ring Dish Giveaway

I have another fantastic giveaway for you from my favorite etsy seller ever!  Wise Impressions has put a bunch of new ring dishes in her shop and she's giving one away to one of my fabulous readers!

Here's some of the cute new dishes she has in her shop.

 

Aren't they cute?!?  Before I get to the giveaway, I want to let you know that Cindy is offering 20% off a ring dish to my readers.  Put BOB in the message to the seller and she will refund you 20% off the price of the ring dish through paypal.

Okay, now on to the giveaway.  Cindy is giving away this adorable bride and groom dish.  It can be personalized with your name and wedding date.

Again, I'm going to make this one easy since I already have so much to do.  To enter, go over to Wise Impressions and come back and tell me your favorite item in her shop.  That's it!  Easy peasy!  Make sure to leave me a way to contact you in your comment.

The giveaway ends on St. Patty's Day, which is March 17th.  You can up until March 17th at 5pm EST.  I will pick a winner shortly after that.

Good luck!

Sneak Peek: Real Wedding Wednesday

I have a gorgeous wedding to show you later tonight.  Here's a sneak peek!

Can't wait to show you the rest!

Bridesmaid Gifts

If you are one of my bridesmaid's that read my blog, stop reading now.

I had a really hard time figuring out what to get my bridesmaids because they're all so different.  I really wanted to get them all the same thing though, so that it didn't look like I spent more money on one bridesmaids compared to the other.  So, the searching began on what to get them.

I love the look of coordinated bridesmaids, so I decided to make their jewelry for them.  I was going for this look.

Since I was requiring them to wear this jewelry on the day of the wedding, I wasn't considering this their gift for the wedding.  It's just a little part of it.

So, I had to think of something else to get them.  I saw a lot of brides getting their bridesmaids pashminas and I love that idea.  It would be something they could wear with their dresses on the day if they wanted and they could use them again.  So, I ordered ivory pashminas from FashionUnic.  I love pashminas because they're really versatile and you can wear them with almost anything.

I might add a few more little things as I come across them, but that's my main ideas so far.  What did you get your bridesmaids for participating in your wedding?

Update on Guest Count

Well, we did some calling around this weekend and got some more RSVPs.  Still don't have a final number just yet though.

Rehearsal Dinner
Yes: 35
No: 56
Haven't Responded: 19

Wedding
Yes: 56
No: 40
Haven't Responded: 14

I'm not as concerned about the rehearsal dinner because we're not getting that catered, so final numbers for that can be given 2 days before.  I need at least a good estimate of the wedding numbers by tomorrow.  Frustrating!

Aisle Decorations

I was originally going to line our aisle with shepards hooks holding lanterns.  Well, I decided I wanted rose petals to do our aisle instead. 

Here's our ceremony site.

I was originally just going to line the aisle with petals, until my coordinator sent me this picture.  I'm in love!

My coordinators are going to decorate the aisle like this shortly before the guests show up.  I can't wait to see how it turns out! 

RSVP Date Passed

Our RSVP date was yesterday and we're still missing a good bit of RSVPs.  I gave them to today to get their cards in before I started contacting them.  We received a total of 35 cards, which is about half of what we sent out.  We've gotten a few verbal responses too. 

I started contacting my guests, but the majority of them are J's guests, so he has to deal with.  I gave him the list, so hopefully he starts contacting them today.

Here's our count as of now:
Rehearsal Dinner
Yes: 35
No: 45
Haven't RSVPed: 30

Wedding
Yes: 50
No: 33
Haven't RSVPed: 27

I need final numbers by Tuesday, so hopefully people start getting back to us.

Uprinting Poster Print Giveaway

I have another great giveaway for you.  This one is hosted by OnlinePosterPrinting.com.  They can do digital photo enlarging and also put your digital photos on posters.

The winner of this giveaway will win an 18x25 poster print.  This would be fantastic to put one of your engagement picture at your reception, or do what I'm doing and use it to make your seating chart.

I'm going to make this an easy giveaway with only one way to enter.  Since my wedding is coming up soon, I don't have tons of time to sift through a gazillion responses.  So, leave a comment with how you would use your poster print.

Sorry, but this giveaway is only open to US residents.  Please make sure to leave me a way to contact you.

Giveaway ends at March 12th at 5pm EST.  Good luck!

I am receiving a poster print in exchange for hosting this giveaway.

CSN Stores Shoe Review

I ended up getting the Nomad Frost shoes that I was talking about before.  I got them from CSN Stores, which has about anything you could possibly need, from mailboxes to shoes.

I received the shoes in about a week, so shipping was fairly quick.  When I opened them up, I was surprised to see that they have pink thread on them.  CSN Stores didn't have a picture of the white ones on their website, but I looked at a picture on Amazon and would never have known there was pink thread.  I'm okay with that though because pink is one of our colors!

Here's the original picture from Amazon.

And here are my actual shoes.

The shoes have a little over a 2 inch heel, which will help keep my dress from dragging on the floor too much during the reception.  They're really comfortable too!  I'm normally really picky about my flip-flops, but I really like these.

I think these shoes are going to be the perfect addition to my reception ensemble. 

I received these shoes in exchange for a review.  This review is my own thoughts and has not been swayed in any way.