Ideas, Dreams and DIY

So like many Brides-to-be out there I'm constantly looking for great ideas for my wedding.  Everything from save the dates and invitations to welcome baskets and favors.  Recently I've found a few ideas that I really liked that with a little practice I can make myself.  Fortune teller save the date add a playful and unique spin on your typical save the date.  Some brides have used them to display trivia questions about the bride and groom during the cocktail hour. Which is a great idea is most of your guest don't know each other.  I've also found a few DIY Bride books that gave me some great ideas like making little calenders for my bridesmaids with important dates like dress shopping, bridal showers, bachelorette party, wedding day, etc.  

I consider myself a crafty person so on many occasions I find things that I like and then try my best to figure out how to make them myself and if I can make them for less.  I want my wedding to feel extravagant without the price tag of being extravagant.   I would love to have fireworks shoot off the roof as my husband and I depart for our minimoon and leave in a classic car or a vintage luxury vehicle.   I have discovered than many online stationary stores allow you to pick items that you would like to receive as samples.  This is great because I can try to figure it out from seeing it in a catalog and then order a sample to see if my knockoff compares.  Ordering samples also allows you to see the quality of a product.  There are times when I look at the cost of wedding invitations and wonder why these things have to cost sooo much.  Its a sheet or a few sheets of paper, a very important, memorable sheet of paper but it is still paper so I'm not sure I see the purpose in spending $300+ on a bunch of paper products.


(http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2010/06/21/0622-fortune-teller_we.jpg)

LovelyBride

I got engaged a few months ago and am slowly realizing how difficult it is to plan a wedding on a budget in Vegas.  Most likely my fiancée and I will be paying for the wedding.  My mom has offered to help a little bit.  She'll most likely pay for my dress and possibly his wedding band. My dad said he'll help with what he can.  I know my parents and they will try their hardest to help but I don't expect them to foot the bill for the whole thing.    I've asked my fiancée to talk to his parents and see if they'd be willing to help us pay for anything.  He hasn't broached the subject because money is tight and he doesn't want to seem like he is asking for too much.   His dad has offered to perform the ceremony (he did this as soon as he found out we were engaged).   Our families are going to be an interesting aspect of our wedding.  We've been together for 4 years now and our families have never met.  They are also broken families.  My parents divorced when I was ten.  thankfully they get along.  His family is blended.  His mom died when he was little and his dad remarried when he was in middle school.

Now about our wedding:  We are still looking for ideas.  We know that we want a church ceremony and a reception afterwards but we're stuck trying to narrow down the reception.  I don't want to go to a Casino because I have asthma and would like to breathe easy on my wedding day; but most of the casinos are cheaper than the country clubs and reception halls.  So that's where I'm torn.  I'd like to have a fairly small wedding with family and close friends(no more than 100 people).  Make it a day celebrating our love for each other.  A little romantic, a little classic, and a lot of fun.  Needless to say if I picked everything I liked for my wedding without any regard to cost I'd blow my budget in a heartbeat.

 I live in the town of the drive-thru and 24 hour wedding chapels... so why can't I find the perfect place to be a Lovely Bride on my wedding day?  The search is on and I'll keep you posted on the process.  Hopefully I find everything I need ( and most of what I want) for my Fall 2012 wedding.