I’m A Mrs. NOW !!!

I’m A Mrs. NOW !!! Wow .. my day came and went my Honeymoon felt like it was way too short and the whole Month of October just felt like it happened in a week. So much to write about forgive me if I bounce around a bit. I had written this out already like a journal ready to post but in the midst of getting my wedding pictures ready to print I lost my documents. Whaaaaaaa in my Snooky voice . : )




DRESS MADE FOR A DIVA



Let me tell you of my experience on this roller-coaster ride that I have been on the past year. I tell you one thing being a plus size Diva with a small budget is no easy task. Every Diva knows that what cost every other average lady $10.00 is going to cost a Diva $20.00. Picking of my Dress was no easy task and I spent months after being engaged envisioning the dress of my dreams. The shopping of the dress was soooooo draining and disappointing and humiliating all in one. I had went into a few stores and the woman would instantly refer me to websites that I could probably shop from and even had one lady hand me a card to a seamstress that can possibly make me a dress. Even stores that advertise that they sell Diva size dresses don’t carry but one or two dresses in your size at the shop. Talk about a huge slap in the face. Every brides magically memories are when she puts on that dress .. the one .. the dress she has dreamed of. Lucky for me I have about the best friends and family and husband that would not allow me to get down . Helped remind me I have been rocking this plus size body for a LONG time and I know I’m sexy. When I finally found my dress I hesitated. I didn’t even take my mom with me the first round of picking out dresses just to make sure I would not make any quick decisions. I didn’t want to fall in Love with the very first dress that I tried on but that’s exactly what happened. I had stalked this dress online .. I knew it would fit and I knew that if it hugged me nice I was going to make it mine. There began my relationship with my dress and it was beautiful. It was a union so great it can be compared to the invention of the recees cup. My mother choose to buy me my perfect dress ..Awwww Love my mom . This day I marked down as the start of the wedding rollercoaster.













WARM AND BRIGHT THEME




Dress was set and now my theme for the wedding that was to be Black and white completely got tossed out. The idea was originally set perfect to black and white the favors and candies were brought months ahead and I can picture weddings I had seen on TV and knew I can pull it off on a tight budget. One problem, it just didn’t feel like me. I wanted my wedding to sing a joyful song and play a sexy salsa and I wanted everyone to feel like they were receiving a warm hug from us and know that we love them so much. If a wedding could tell my story it would be one you want to read again and again &again and cry and laugh you're way though to the end . Black & white wedding was not going to work for us.




I needed something warm and bright . I knew October would have beautiful fall colors outside and I didn’t want to bring leaves and pumpkins in just to make it look fall. I went with the colors that made me the happiest. The colors I used were of the flowers that I had been wearing in my hair for the past few months. The colors that reminded me of the tropics like bright orange and reds but also thanksgiving neutral green and purple and bright colors that made me smile like yellow.





After many appointments we got the flower ideas together and through my imagination and my florist experience we put together centerpieces that I absolutely adored . I did tall centerpieces filled with beads and lights with birch and wiggly branches and large palm leaves .There were some branches with dark deep orange and dark deep purple flower buds. At the base was purple and orange hydrangeas and as fillers where white calla lilies with a few orange roses here and there. Some tables had three large cylinders different heights with floating candles and submerged calla lilies with beads and lights at the very bottom. I wanted fall theme without the obvious and these centerpieces were perfect. They made it feel like a warm forest , not going to lie it did feel a bit tropical but I loved it !!









My invites also had to match my theme so I was able to find a very affordable online company that did a beautiful job on my invites. It cost less than anyone I can find online and had beautiful bright colors. They customized the coloring and setup of the template exactly the way i wanted and did not print until the online proof looked exactly like I needed it to be. http://www.vponsale.com/invitations/

So now that the flowers were done how did the room come together ? Well little items were placed on the guests tables ... Kissing bells with little poems attached and smaller votives for extra glow of course two kinds of wine on every table and rust color napkins on white linen and the chairs were covered with red-gold bischon sashes on white linen.

Head table was dressed in white linen and the center was elevated with a sweetheart table so that this Diva could sit like royalty with her new hubby. The table had these long vines draping the front with pops of color though-out. There was a mural on the wall where we were seated that had a nice garden scene with purple and green tones. The inside room with the hanging chandeliers and marble dance floor was stunning and provided the most romantic lighting and the large silver candle bras was a nice touch to my head table. I just knew my wedding had to be here at Casa Royale. I fell in love with the Banquet hall the first time I drove up to it .
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Everyone knows when planning a wedding Location, Location ,Location is priority. Downtown Desplaines was perfect not to far from the Downtown Area and every guests had access to either a highway or main street to get there. It was not more than 20 minutes from any suburb but then again you can ask any Chicagoan how long it will take them to arrive at your house and it doesn't matter what part of town they are in they are going to tell you they will be there in 20 minutes. There was tons of parking and the service was exceptional. They take all the worries out of the planning and keep the night going for you even if you lose it.

ONLY A DIVAS TOUCH




The theme of the party was set so now the finishing touches needed to be in place.

My lovely ladies all got their dresses from DB and Looked amazing . The style I choose was to the floor classy and the color just looked beautiful.

My flower girl I choose to put in White and chocolate and kept her dress long. She looked so cute and wanted everyone to acknowledge it.

I had to make sure that my signed Obama Congratulations was put in a frame and on display as well as Mickey and Minnie and Cinderella and Prince Charming congrats. If you need the addresses of any of these I have them listed at the bottom of this post.









I had adored for weeks a cake serving set and flutes from things to be remembered that I had to have but waited until the very last minute to buy. They were expensive but I tell you it is sooooo worth it. They are gorgeous it’s called the Park Avenue collection and I will be using this set every time I get a chance too. I didn’t have a chance to engrave them but I plan to on our first year anniversary. These pics aren’t mine but I will replace once I find some from our albums.

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On all the plate settings for my guest to review was a wedding program. I designed the wedding program off of www.vistaprint.com using templates for a business brochure.

I loved the idea of being able to say a few words and put my personal touch and thoughts out and recognize the people we had stand in our wedding as well as our family and give many thanks to our parents. It was not difficult at all but as the day approached there were items that I kept on changing and I had spent so much time on the seating chart that I ended up putting my order in so close to my wedding. I paid the extra shipping cost for speedy delivery and they did just that. I received them two days after I placed the order... Amazing and they were perfectly folded and ready to be placed on the plates at my reception. I received a lot of compliments on creativity for this and it was not expensive at all. Vistaprint is so nice they have a great customer service line that will help you create what you envision and they also threw some great discounts off their price. I plan on using this site again in the future ..for my sister’s wedding... Yeah Milly !!!




So , next hot topic was my photo albums most talked about photo our custom Cake Topper. How original can you be when everything seems to be done already? I loved the idea of having clay animals as our cake topper to look like us. I wanted two love doves one chubby and one smaller with glasses on.

So in my search I found fully custom clay dolls made to look like you. Almost looked like bobble heads and they did have some that were bobble heads. I wanted one and I wanted it to look just like us on our wedding day. Problem was they were ultra expensive and I had to nip that idea. I could not bring myself to pay $500.00 - $800.00 for a cake topper uhhhh nope not going to happen. So I searched for an alternative and just when I was going to settle on a pair of monkeys I found an ebay listing to good to pass up. I found an artist overseas that would make a fully customized centerpiece for a great price. I brought it and crossed my fingers that it would be ready in time for the wedding. Max was his name and he sent pictures all through the process.

Contact for cake topper: Max  @dealeasynet09@hotmail.com

The dress I am wearing resembles my dress and his Tux is the exact tux he wore and he put in my headpiece and his glasses. It was very cool to see how it developed and he was right on. Funny thing is he offered to make my body more realistic and chubby if I wanted it to be. I choose a standard size body , Hey why not ? ! The base I had made to compliment the cake which was chocolate with branches so I wanted the base to be like a nest sitting on a branch with us being the two love birds in it. I also had him create two tiny birds at our feet one with glasses on like I originally had wanted. I recommend his work and wish his business the best. Contact max by email a@ dealeasynet09@hotmail.com .




















My florist made me a Stunning rose to wear at the end of the night when it was time to let loooose. She painted the rose to match my theme and it looked perfect.



All of my Pearl Jewelry was brought at Lane Bryant and because I had some coupons I got them super cheap.



Now I knew I wanted pearls but I also wanted bling … so my headpiece was brought at DB and looked gorgeous in all my pics… Normally brides would use these veil combs ..for well .. a veil but I left mine in all night and used it to pull my hair tight from the front and allow my curls to just fall along the sides. It also gave it the illusion of being a full headband. Tiaras can run up to $80.00-$250.00 or more but this headpiece was about 60.00 and really pulled together my wedding hair.

I can’t forget my earrings that I admired from a distance but my Hubby brought for me as a Day of wedding gift. I found them on Etsy.com and they were romantic and not to flashy that they stood out more than my smile : )

My shoes though often hidden made there appearances.

Torrid Rocks some hot shoes made especially for Divas .. thicker heels and wider shoes that don’t kill you to wear them and they are strut worthy. Sometimes when I’m out shoes can really dig into my heel or my foot feels like it’s wrapped in silicone and jammed in a size to small but the shoes at Torrid fit perfect each time .. Sizes do run a little larger so I buy one size smaller than what I’m used to which is always fun to think I have smaller feet.
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My comfy shoes that I made myself from Wal-Mart flip flops were worn throught the majority of the night. I dressed them in ribbon and jewerly to give it that touch of sparkle. Less than $10.00 to do and less than 20 minute project.

My extra comfy dance shoes ....You know when it’s time to Monkey around. Brought these at Target





CREATING MY LEGACY

Alright my legacy that I wish to be the item to pass on though at least a few generations is my Veils. I had always knew that what I wanted was a beautiful long veil on my wedding day.

As kids growing up with my sister I remember using sheets on our head and holding them with a headband and pretending that we were a bride. Of course we would fight about who would be the bride and I almost always won. I was a lot bigger than my light as feather sister. While dress shopping I had seen a lot of short veils in stores and fingertips but not cathedral length veils. I stopped with my sister in this one boutique down Harlem close to the HIP mall and they told me they had a few cathedral veils. Tried on two before the sales associate warned us that the final veil was extremely expensive but had all the elements I wanted … Lace and length. It was magnificent 6 feet long and lace edged about 3 ½ inches thick and had a waterfall cascade look it was stunning at a mere $750.00 !!! WOW that was the cost of a wedding dress. Needless to say I left without buying that veil but I was determined to find one.

I went on Etsy.com and found a designer (Candice) that made custom cathedral veils. She worked with me over several weeks, picking through different style of lace, colors and then cuts and made me the veil I had wanted. Two tier cathedral ivory veil with 5 ½ inch lace cut Mantilla style and the lace matched my dress design to the T. The top tier was fingertip length and the main layer was 6 feet long and the width 108 cm was a bit wider to insure it will cover around my arms.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58558369/custom-made-2-tier-cathedral-length-veil 

Here are pics off the listing online

 I later decided I wanted to detach the Fingertip tier but I didn’t want to damage or alter the one I had already made so I requested another be made so that I can wear for the reception part of the evening. The designer did an amazing job and was super affordable and very good at communicating the sale. I spent nowhere near 700.00 not even close to 200.00 dollars. I love that I wore these veils because as a plus size bride I was self conscious and worried of how my arms would look in a strapless gown and I figured that the veil with thick lace would hide some of the width of my arms …. It sure did and I felt Gorgeous but I have to admit my favorite pics of the night were when I was wearing my hair flower. I think because that was at the end of the night and I was finally enjoying my party.

Extra’s Extra’s
I had my dress together and my accessories and my theme and over all look but how was I going to set the mood I wanted? I know having an open bar was going to help we even brought extra bottles of liquor we wanted stocked that we were sure our family would enjoy. I know majority of the guests are not that shy and would mingle around but how can I insure a good time?
1. Music – Dj Extreme came recommended by my Boss and friend and for just a few hundred put on a good party all night. No complaints from anyone !! I didn't even give him songs I just told him do what he does and make it a club after dinner. He did just that and was great. He is a highly recognized DJ in the Chicagoland Area and holds some titles for awards won... I don't know all the specifics but im sure he has them listed out.

2. Keeping to a timeline would have helped but that all goes out the window if you don’t have a wedding planner to help you keep track of the events going on. My trusty clipboard would not have looked cute on my arm but would have helped me that evening.


3. Providing an outlet of entertainment! I visited many chicagoland and suburb vendors providing this service and was able to get the most complete package with all the perks and a huge booth with attendant for a better price at http://www.photoboothexpress.com/ I have not stopped getting calls since my wedding on 10/10/10 regarding how awesome of a time my guest had. My guests have said “I can’t remember ever having this much fun at a wedding I’ll never forget today”. I knew the younger crowd was going to love it but EVERYONE enjoyed it ! The representative they sent out name was OJ he was hilarious and was Great with my guests. I wish I had a chance to take more pics in the booth but I was crazy busy taking pictures everywhere else. I’m glad to see that my guests had a blast. I have two weddings coming up that I’m going to and standing up in and im keeping my fingers crossed that they get a photobooth as well.

I had wanted live entertainment but didn’t realize how much that would cost and how much time needed to go into coordinating a routine that I just let that go to focus on other wedding items.


Just day’s away from Our Big Day
The final payments all were taken care of .. I brought my little extra glam items and booked my makeup artist for the day of my wedding. I spent hours finalizing my seating chart and had it printed at office depot for only $8.00 dollars. The day’s felt like they were getting shorter and shorter but with everything pretty much done we just had to wait. My husband went to pick up his Tux and get it altered and all the groomsmen were getting their looks all together. It was time for our wedding rehersal. Now I will never forget this day because my groom as we pulled up to Casa Royale his face went pale white. The facility had displayed our names in their outside street sign.

Aww it was really time all the countless trips we made and read hundreds of names in this sign our names were finally on display. I was ecstatic but my groom looked like he had just got a case of bad indigestion. He immediately tensed up and later tells me it was the fear of going through the ceremony and tripping or fainting or just making a fool out of himself. He was able to shake it off somewhat for awhile. We had to do the rehearsal without any of the Men and even use a few stand in’s .


For the Procession I would have my cousin who plays in the all city music orchestra do a violin solo of “river flows through you” he is very gifted in the arts and didn’t need much practicing at all. He played as my ladies walked down the aisle. Then the doors would close and I would be standing alone outside the doors as my entrance song would begin Jaime Foxx “when I first saw her” Rehersal was about 35 minutes long and we ended it at our local Pizza Joint.

24 hours before the wedding and you cut the tension in my mom’s house with a butter knife.
All my family felt anxious. My hubbby and I decided to take ourselves out and relax a day earlier at the hotel that we would be getting ready at and leaving from the day of our wedding.

We had our wedding party meet us there and made a night of it. Girls in one room guys in another there was pool that we took advantage of and spent most of the night in my room getting trashed the day before my wedding… Good Times ..LOL

Once in a Century, Once in a Lifetime 10-10-10

I woke up early and my girls went and took me to pick up a breakfast for a champion at Mcdonalds . Had my maid of honor drop off some food to the guys that were still sleeping in their room. I started early taking a shower and getting ready and then all of the sudden it hit me . IM GETTING MARRIED TODAY. I literally lost my mind and started stressing every little detail. I looked at my dress and noticed very light wrinkles. I was determined to get out the wrinkles from my dress and veils and it wasn’t until one of my Bridesmaid looked me dead in the face and told me .. Elina you are going to be sitting down and shoved and tucked into a limo and then in hiding sittingin your suite at your reception do you really think you are not going to get wrinkled at all today ? Let it go …. As fast at the anxiety settled in it was gone as if it was never there and I was back to being bubbly and happy and ready for the Ceremony.

My makeup artist came and my photographer was there taking room pictures and then my solo pictures.

Pictures were happening everywhere I felt famous. I thought I was going to lose it and mess up my makeup when I saw my dad walk in. Than again right after I saw my mom get dolled up with makeup she looked amazing. Happy thoughts and how much money I just spent on my makeup was all that helped me keep the tear at bay. I was on schedule and receiving reports that my groom was downstairs taking pictures with the photographer and appeared to have just seen a ghost.

I knew his nerves would be going crazy I couldn’t wait to see him to hold his hand and tell him it was okay to smile.
I had all my girls and the photographer walking downstairs with me where I met some guests and family that had been waiting had guests at the hotel and workers commenting on my dress and bouquet. Took a few pics and was whisped away to the reception hall.

I was there 30 minutes before the ceremony and I waited in my Bridal Suite for my guests to arrive. My uncle stood guard outside my suite making sure that there was no one that tried to take a peek before the ceremony got started. I sipped some champagne and looked out my window at guests arriving wondering who would make it in time. I can see my cousin’s grouped up together getting ready putting on their ties and I wanted so much to run up to them and give them all hugs.

My coordinator came knocking and then it was time. I walked out into the main hallway with the doors closed infront of me holding my father’s arm and listening to the violin play. My song comes on and the doors open to a room of bright lights and smiling faces.

The almost year and half engagement was finally over im walking down the aisle toward my Groom. There is this look in his eyes much different than I had seen before. He is so serious and so intense and as I am approaching you can see his eyes glistening. As he gazed into my eyes I couldn’t stop smiling I am so happy to be here, I feel like im going to explode and I wanted so much to just kiss him. Our ceremony commenced and my Minister pulled it together very nicely. I stumbled over my words through my vows fighting my tears back that just could not control themselves. We kissed a long kiss infront of our families and I actually could not get him off me ..LOL

Finally he can't stop smiling and we walk out to the main hall and our handed glasses of champagne as we run not walk into the Limo. After the whole bridal party piles into the limo we got to take pictures at a nearby park literally 2 blocks away . It looked gorgeous outside I couldn’t have wanted a more beautiful day. As we returned to the hall and made our grand entrance it was our first introduction as Husband and Wife and it felt good. The rest of the night went so quickly as soon as I am able to I will attach a quick video my videographer is creating a 3 min fast forward through the highlights of the evening. When we left we ran out to meet the shuttle bus taking us back to our hotel . We left it all behind my Maid of Honor took care of the room for me and I was handed all the copies of the pictures from the photobooth and my sister handed me all my wedding envelopes and we were off. It went by so fast , it was beautiful , it was amazing, I laughed I cried , it was the best scene of my life, it was once in a Lifetime.

BrideZilla I am Not !

Of course there are always stories of some bride going off the deep in at someone and getting nasty with realities. This is not one of them … this is proof that people can push someone to be a Bridezilla or cause them an emotional breakdown. My wedding planning experience taught me a lot about myself. Nothing is impossible if I stick to it and set my mind to it.
So when I say I was on a tight budget I was on a super tight budget. BrideZilla I was not but BrokeZilla I was. I missed out on parties , holidays , shopping … I hadn’t brought myself something just for me in such a long time. Terrible yes I know try not to lose any sleep because of it. So, as a result of this ludicris wedding budget it was a decision we made to take my parents offer and move in two months before the wedding to help save some money for it. It did help a lot and we are super grateful. Even with a budget in place somehow things just kept popping up that we would have to dip in our stash of money. Had we had credit Cards and access to other money it would not be a problem but we were paying for this whole wedding cash by ourselves . It was looking like we were not going to be able to cover the wedding or even think about taking a Honeymoon.
Another problem that started building was a few weeks before the wedding both our cars go dead. As we struggle to get one fixed we managed to work out a car pool schedule but it required us both to be at work for over 12 hours a day but only get paid for 8. These hours took a tool on us and made it very hard to get to all of my wedding appointments and do my last minute shopping for the wedding.

Two weeks before the wedding my second veil was still not here and my Custom cake topper still had not made its way. As I was freaking out about these two details I started getting changes to my seating charts that I had already formatted to be printed. At this point my stress levels were through the roof. Not to mention the added stress of worrying about my husband’s health who a month before due to the non-participation of his family to our events he was stressing himself out worrying about his wedding day and had already spent a weekend in the hospital due to chest pains.
A week before the wedding we get a call that one of the groomsmen had decided to drop out the wedding through a text message. Yes, a text message. Our perfect 10 at the head table was not complete without him and now we had to find someone to get a Tux last minute if it was even possible a week before the wedding. In this same week I find out my Cake topper had been stuck in China customs for over a week now and USPS cannot even estimate when I would get in. If that wasn’t bad enough my fingertip veil was shipped to my office but was undeliverable and was now on it’s way back to Japan to the sender. I had been expecting it but for some odd reason this one package didn’t make it to my suite so when I went to pick it up at the post office the teller lets me know it was already shipped back. An accumulation of all things leading up to this one moment caused me to have the biggest meltdown ever. My eyes turned instant red and tears started uncontrollably roll down my chubby cheeks as I mumble the words softly “but this is my wedding veil “. As if it would matter to anyone else but me this man instantly sent me to the receptionist to have them get a manager. As I walked into the office tears already covering my face and hands trembling I hand him my package print info and I try to talk but the words are just not coming out my mouth. I start hyperventilating and sobbing and apologizing. I was so embarrassed but I could not stop from crying. He knew something was wrong and took my paper and said he would be back. He went to get a manager and as the manager came out I told him if he could please get my package. He had me wait what felt like an hour but was more like 10 minutes before he walked back out to where I had been standing. I had calmed myself down to a gentle roll of tears and I was sitting anxiously awaiting what he would be able to tell me. He walked up to me empty handed and let me know that my veil was already at the airport making it’s way back to Japan . It would take 7 days to get there and 14 days to be returned to me. I was able to thank him for trying to look for it and as he turned his head up to look at me in the eyes this mans eyes appeared to be glistening. I lost it completely I apologized for my outburst of tears and explained it’s just that im getting married and nothing is going right this week. I literally ran out of the post office and cried even harder in the car. I tried to drive off but had to pull over in another parking lot to cry some more. I hadn’t cried this hard since the funeral of my uncle and the passing of my grandpa earlier this year and it just snapped in me. Waterworks turned off and I made my way back to work.

The straw that broke the camel’s back

I had cried so hard over these things … things…and details of my wedding. I cried as hard as I did when my family passed this year. How could these things be even close to that pain that I still feel everyday for them. How embarrassed I felt and ashamed for putting so much emotions into these things. I went to bed that night and prayed and gave thanks for all that I had and all that I was grateful for. I admit I cried but it was tears of joy and release of tension that built up and just felt like it was lifted off me . I had decided that I was getting carried away in these details that have nothing to do with what really is important… Our Marriage. I was not going to let any detail or person make me believe or feel like I had been this past week. It is what is and im greatful and thankful for what I have been able to accomplish.
I woke up the next morning feeling lighter and people even said that I looked like I was glowing. The day started as it normally would but a v/m I received would change that for me. The manager from ther post office called to let me know he needed me to call him back. When I did he tells me he was able to call in some favors and had my veil held for me at the airport. After meeting me he went himself out to the airport to pick it up and had it at the office waiting for me. He felt really bad about all the stress I was obviously under and wanted to make sure I got my veil. I couldn’t thank him enough and I was so ubber happy I cried again. I ran to the office and the same teller I had last time was there and was as happy as I was to know that they were able to get it back for me. He told me that almost never happens and wished me luck. I spent the whole day fighting tears not because something I had wanted came in but to know a perfect stranger went out his way to help make my wedding special. That was a blessing and I cannot stop thinking of it.
With this new turn of events the feeling of stress started to just roll off my shoulders. I kept putting all my faith into these words "everything will be alright "and they did. My parents were able to lend us what we needed to make sure we had enough to cover our budget. My cake topper came in two days before the weekend of our wedding and my brother-in- law stepped up and became our missing groomsmen and was able to get his tux in before the wedding. Everything was working out and I prayed each day and gave thanks as I was just so overwhelmed with this feeling that everything was a huge blessing and it was amazing. Im not even a very religious person but I have my faith and my beliefs and I know that these things that kept happening to me , these wonderful things that were turning around for us were blessing and I have been thankful. I kept my mind free of the anxiety and allowed things to just be and they were what they were.
I know there are some minor things that weren’t exactly the way I had planned but I didn’t let it get to me. Our wedding was beautiful my theme was set, my mood was there, my guests enjoyed themselves , and we ate and drank like kings and queens and partied together as one big family. I love my wedding and this experience is one that I will never forget.


I’ve been asked to provide any tips to maintain sanity or tools that I have found to be useful in the planning of my wedding.

Be rich or Marry Rich-This way you can hire someone to plan it and just let you know when the fun stuff comes around.



Now if you’re not as lucky to be naturally wealthy and if your budget is as tight as ours you have to be a bit more resourceful.



You need a Clipboard, new email account just for wedding stuff that you can pass around at bridal shows and provide Vendors. An awesome Wedding website HUB that will help organize provide ideas and checklists.Weddingwire.com was mine and I absolutely loved the Free wedding website templates that they have that allowed us to build a webpage for our guests to visit with info on our wedding and registries.



Let your friends help --- If people are offering their help let them and don’t weigh yourself down with a huge to-do list .. incorporate some help from wherever you can. I didn’t do that but wished I had. I kind of kept everyone out the planning because I wanted themselves to enjoy the wedding and not worry about the behind the scenes but from I have been told they wished they had helped out more in the planning instead of being pushed away. I missed out on some good opportunities to have some bonding moments with some friends and family.



Don’t waste money on things that you know people won’t keep ..IE Wedding Candy Favors/ Favors ? really I think these are a waste of money unless they are useful keepsakes and if they are they are super expensive so budget for them.



Artificial versus Real flowers ? I went artificial but you could not tell and no one did . When I told a few friends that looked at our pictures they were amazed. I know it’s hard to make that decision but really look at some high quality artificial flowers before you make up your mind. I know I can preserve my bouquet or break it up into a table centerpiece to use throughout the years.



Renting centerpieces instead of making your own – Depending on how you want your centerpieces designed renting would be best for some large very unique designs. Anything like simple candles or a few flowers in a vase would probably be cheaper made than rented.



Use what you got – Tap into your family phone lines find out if you got a minister in the family that could perform your ceremony or a cousin with amazing musical talents to play music or see if anyone can sing at your wedding.



Ask for referrals from friends and family to vendors they have used and recommend for any recent parties or functions



Always fight the impulse buys -Everyone wants to stress shipping times but it’s really for a quick sale. Do your homework and shop around you are bound to find a deal or an idea that can help you get creative and do it yourself.





Don’t let anyone tell you what is the wrong way and right way to do anything because the only way that matters is your way !



I’ll list my most visited websites here and they should be some more throughout my blog . Unless you already have money saved for your wedding aside and/or a huge bank account or credit cards you don’t mind maxing I highly doubt the planning will be completely stress-free. It will have its days and sometimes weeks but if you have determination and a budget anything is possible.



http://www.excelspreadsheet.net/personal/15-useful-wedding-spreadsheets/2/



http://www.vistaprint.com



http://www.vponsale.com/invitations/



http://www.weddingwire.com/



http://www.etsy.com/