During the wedding planning process, I really had to find a way to cut corners on EVERYTHING on order to work with our limited budget.  Not only was I interested in saving money on all wedding items, but I also continued to try saving money on EVERYTHING.  That's when I came across and developed my obsession with couponing and getting everyday items for FREE!  Visit my blog (South Suburban Savings) to find out how to do the same!

Here's just a couple examples...my recent trip to CVS...final price was under $18!

In the interest of privacy, I have almost all of this page as viewable only to friends.  I have tons of stuff on here, but don't want to publish everything to everyone on the net (there's a lot of crazies out there...lol) so just request me as your friend and you can see :P (UPDATE 4/19/2010: I decided to make just about everything public after the wedding, but please continue with the friend requests!)

On June 12, 2009, I married the man of my dreams. He's my best friend, my lover, my constant companion, my shoulder to cry on, my partner in crime, my comedian, my soulmate. Everything went smoothly and everything was beautiful! I'll post more details later, but I wanted to post some pics from our guests' cameras while we're waiting for the pro pics!

 MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE:

Andre and I met through friends of my best friend in college. We are approaching our five year anniversary and couldn't be happier!  We got engaged on Valentine's Day 2008...it was so romantic. Andre took me on a blindfolded trip back to where he asked me to be his girlfriend four years before--the foyer of my old apartment in college. It was super sweet and just so perfect.  I've been floating on clouds ever since, and we are planning our wedding for June, 12, 2009!  It's on a Friday and we've been finding tons of great deals because it's on an "off" day.

We're trying to do as much DIY stuff as possible in order to save money and add that extra special sentimental touch. I've already done a few, but I have lots more ideas for projects...and even Andre has a few in mind!  I'm one of those lucky girls whose future hubby is really involved in the wedding planning process...although at times it can be a challenge to blend our very different tastes together!

We've been living together for the last four years and we're hoping on buying a house in the next few years!  We live with our two "sons" Cash (4 year old Collie) and Rocky (2 year old Chihuahua/Daschund mix).

PS. I started collecting inspiration pics before I ever even heard of a bio. I've tried crediting all the pics I had info on, but if you see yours, just send me a message so I can give credit where credit is due!

PSS. As it gets closet to the date, people keep asking if I'm nervous. I'm not nervous at all (well, except maybe financial matters...lol). I saw this on another bride's site and would love to walk around with this pin...lol

Accomplished so far (see below for more details on each):

• My Templates
• Kids Activity Books
• Wedding Party Newsletter
• Our Monogram
• Our Save-the-Dates
• Experimental Invitations
• Envelope Liners
• Favors
• Personalize Favor Boxes
• Photo Scavenger Hunt
• Bridal Shoes Letter Bling
• DIY Ring Shots
• DIY Garter
• Reserved Signs
• Personalized Matchboxes
• Centerpieces
• VIP Thank You Cards
• Our Bathroom Baskets

**Since there's personal info on these projects, I made them viewable to friends only. Make sure you add me to your friends so you can check them out if you want to!**

Since I'm doing so many DIY projects, I decided to create some templates for other brides to download! It's a slow process so be patient, but I'll add more as I create them!

Please note that the formatting in the preview is VERY off. Once you download the document in Word, it should appear exactly as it should. Sometimes I use fonts that I've downloaded from other sites (such as dafont.com). If that's the case, I've included the font names in the directions on the second page. I also created the template in a generic default font if you'd rather go that route :P

Templates

• Personalized Covers for DIY matchboxes

• Template of second edition of our wedding party newsletter

I got all my stationary from paperandmore and I HIGHLY recommend them! Products and I ordered and recommend:

• 70# White Linen Paper
• Chocolate Brown 100# Cardstock

Submitted this article for the PW DIY Challenge!

There will be about 10 kids at our reception (siblings and wedding party kids) so I made personalized DIY coloring and activity books for them. I also made a handful of non-personalized extras for any kids at heart who might want to have a little fun doing crossword puzzles and such. They work as favors and place cards for all the kids at the tables.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

To Make the Coloring & Activity Pages

1. Use Microsoft Word to create the coloring and activity pages to put inside the books. Adjust your settings so that you’ll be able to print out two pages for each sheet of paper.

2. Design a cover sheet. For our books, I chose to write “Anna and Andre’s Wedding Activity Book” with the date underneath. I also inserted a clip art image of wedding doves below that. 

3. Design your second page by personalizing each child’s name in bubble letters using Word Art and inserting clipart images. For non-personalized books, do something similar using something generic (I chose to write “True Love” in bubble letters for the non-personalized books).

4. Add coloring and activity pages. There are many sources where you can find these pages already drawn out online. However, instead of printing these pages directly from the websites, copy and paste them onto Word to get the sizing right. To add some variety to the books, I added some easy puzzles (such as connect the dots and color by name) to the coloring pages for the books for the younger kids. Some of the sites I used:

• http://www.123coloring.com/events/coloringpages,wedding,1.html
• http://parenting.leehansen.com/downloads/coloring/wedding-coloring.htm
• http://www.squidoo.com/weddingcoloringbook#module8165954

5. Add some challenging puzzle pages for the books for the older kids and adults. Options include Sudoku puzzles, personalized mazes with the names of people in our wedding party, crossword puzzles with hints about the couple and wedding party, word scrambles with secret messages, word searches with key terms relevant to our wedding, etc.

It was a little challenging weeding through some of the sites, but I was able to find some places where you can create a puzzle for free. For most of those puzzles, you’ll need to take a screen shot (Ctrl + Prt Scr/SysRq) and edit it on Paintbrush to make it fit onto Word. A little tedious, but well worth it! Some of the sites I used:

• http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/create.html
• http://www.abbee.com/bridal_shower_games/party-list1.html
• http://weddings.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Free_Printable_Bridal_Shower_Games
• http://crossword.armoredpenguin.com/
• http://www.internetfamilyfun.com/gamesprintmazes.htm

6. Continue adding pages to your book until you are satisfied. We ended up having about 10-15 pages for the books for the toddlers, but the books for the older kids and adults have about 20-30 pages.

7. Finish with a last page. I came across a last page I loved in one of the websites listed above: a little thank you note with a cartoonish bride and groom. You can easily design your own, though, using Word Art and clipart.

8. When you are done designing the pages, print them out. You should have two coloring/activity pages per sheet of paper so use a paper cutter to cut the sheets in half.

9. To bind the pages together, use a hot glue gun to add a line on the left side of each paper and stack them one on top of the other starting with the last page and ending with your cover sheet. Now the pages of your booklet are glued together and should look like a booklet.

I chose to use hot glue because I felt it held the strongest and added some girth to the “book” to make it look like a real book. However, you can also use a permanent glue stick or any other type of glue (the book will be thinner though). Just make sure to do a test run to see how strong the glue holds the pages together once they dry.

10. For now, set the glued pages aside and let them dry. It’s time to start working on the covers!

To Make the Covers

1. Start with a 12”x12” piece of white cardstock. Fold it in half and then make two more folds ¼” inch on either side of the middle fold. It is best to score the lines before folding so you get nice, clean lines.

2. Take a piece of colored paper and fold that in half. Again, make two more ¼” folds on either side of the middle fold.

3. Glue the colored paper onto the white cardstock but only along the three folds. It is important to keep the sides of the lilac paper unglued so you can decorate the covers later. This creates a nice ½” binder for the booklet making it look like a real book.

4. Cut off ¼” of the white cardstock off above and below the colored paper to get rid of the excess cardstock and make the cover really take on the shape of a book.

5. Next, glue your coloring sheet booklet from above into the cover using a hot glue gun to ensure the sheets will stay put!  Pour a few thick lines of hot glue onto the middle binding of the book and the middle folds of the cover. Hold the booklet in place while applying some pressure while the glue dries (about a minute).

To Decorate the Covers

1. Now that the covers are nearly complete, it’s time to decorate the outside. To achieve the look I have on my covers, glue some ribbon and lace ribbon onto the left and top sides of the front cover. Leave an inch in excess about the top, bottom and sides so you can fold the ribbon into the inside cover.

2. Next, glue the excess ends onto the white cardstock on the inside cover UNDER the colored paper.

3. Use a glue stick to glue down the colored paper onto the white cardstock and ribbon. This gives the book a more finished look.

5. Decide if you want to add anything to the colored page of the front inside cover. On the inside cover of the kids’ books, we wrote a note to each of the kids on some linen paper we had leftover from the invitations about how much we love them and included a memory or two. We mounted the note on brown cardstock measuring 7.5” x 4.5” then added it to the lilac paper. The non-personalized books will just have the blank lilac sheet of paper.

6. Decide if you want to add anything to the colored page of the back inside cover. For the kids’ books, I put our monogram. I also considered adding a picture of us with whoever the book is for. The non-personalized books will just have the blank lilac sheet of paper.

7. Your books are now complete! Make sure to make one for yourself as a momento if you’d like one!

 PRO PICS AT WEDDING:

One of our ringbearers acting goofy with his grandpa's glasses:

PS. The activity books were a huge hit among the kids and adults. I should've made more extras because people kept asking for them...even after the wedding! lol :)

I totally loved the idea of sending out a newsletter to everyone in the wedding party to keep everyone updated on what's going on and what needs to be done.  It took a while to finish up the first edition...mostly because the drama with bridesmaids' dresses was stalling it's production :).  I am SO PROUD of the finished product though!  It's longer than I expected (6 pages), but that's because this was the first one and the wedding party needed to know lots of important info.

In this edition I have: Update on what's done so far, Meet the girls (bridesmaids, flower girls, mom), Important Wedding Websites (PW and Momentville), Announcement about Mom walking me down aisle, Monogram Debut, Info on Attire for Bridesmaids, Groomsmen, Flower Girls, Ring Bearers, Contact Info for Everyone, and Important Dates for the Wedding (plus upcoming birthdays!)

I just sent out the first edition a few weeks ago and everyone should have them now. I did have to re-send one but I'm wondering if that's because the first one needed more postage or something. Anway, only rave reviews! Woo-hoo!  I'm looking forward to doing the second one in a couple months!

UPDATE: The second newsletter went out this week. Once again, everyone loved it! It was only 4 pages this time because I didn't have as much info as the first newsletter.

In this edition, I have Updates & Progress, Reminder About Websites, Meet the Guys (groomsmen, ring bearers), Groomsmen Tuxes, Bridesmaid Shoe Info, Contact Info for Everyone, and Important Dates for the Wedding (plus upcoming birthdays!)

I created a template free for download of the second edition of the wedding party newsletter! The formatting in the preview is off, but once you download it in Word, you should be able to see everything!

I designed my wedding party newsletters completely from scratch using Word with clipart, our pictures, text boxes, and Word Art. You can use our templates above if you like them.

If you're looking for something different, DIY Bride has a lot of newsletter templates you can use!

I also submitted this article to the PW DIY Wedding Contest!

Well, we've been working on a monogram for a few weeks, and we finally decided on one. It was the worth the wait because Andre and I love it! Here are some pics of the monogram...the colors are kind of off in the picture because I couldn't get the lighting right, but the text is lilac and it's mounted on lilac then chocolate brown cardstock.

 Step-by-step instructions:

Although there are a variety of computer programs you can use to make a monogram, I decided to figure out something on Microsoft Word because that's the one I am most familiar with.

1. First, draw a big text box. This is where your new last name initial will go.

2. Insert your new last name inital and experiment with different fonts to find one you like. You'll need to increase the font size...I suggest starting somewhere in the 180 to 200 range. It is important to keep the monogram big while you're creating it to get a clean, crisp look when you change the dimensions for later projects.

3. Next, play around with different colors. Our main color for the wedding is lilac/lavender so I tried to keep all the colors in that family. Since I plan to write our names and date on top of the initial, I choose to go with a very light color purple for the "B."

4. The next step is to insert the names. Do this by adding two more text boxes. Again, play around with different fonts and colors for each name as well as where you'd like to place them on the monogram. I went for a much darker purple because I wanted the names to stand out above anything else.

It is normal for the text box to have a line drawn around the border of the text box as well as all the empty space filled in white. To get rid of the border around the name, simple right click on the text box and select "Format Text Box." You'll get the "Format Text Box" Pop Up.

Go to your first option (Fill) and select "No Color." This will get rid of the white background that prevents you from seeing the big initial.

Next, go to the second option (Line) and select "No Color." This will get rid of the border around the name.

Click "Ok" and the fill and line should be gone from your name text box.

5. After inserting the first name, make a new text box and follow the steps above to create the second name. Make any little tweaks to the font and color for the names. It was at this point I decided to put the names in bold.

6. Then, you'll want to insert your "and" sign. Again, insert a text box, play around the font, color, and placement to find which one looks best. Remove the border and fill following the instructions above.

7. If you choose, you can insert your date. We chose to insert the date below the "B," but the possibilities are endless. To add the date, insert another text box, play around the font, color, and placement to find which one looks best. Remove the border and fill following the instructions above.

8. Add any more details you'd like to the monogram. We decided to add butterflies because we have a very subtle butterfly theme for the wedding. I was able to get the butterfly through a font (Butterfly Heaven; letters "B" and "b") I had previously downloaded. Simply insert another text box, select your font, select your color, remove the border, remove the fill, and play around with the placement of where you'd like to place your detail.

9. I decided I wanted a chocolate brown border around the whole monogram, but didn't like the placement of the original border of the first text box (around the "B"). All you do is remove the border around the giant initial you began with following the directions above through the "Format Text Box" option.

10. Then, simply draw another text box in the height and width you like that will encompass all the details of your monogram by holding down your mouse button. When you release the mouse button, it'll look like your monogram has disappeared, but it's still there. Simply right click, select the "Format Text Box" option and select the "No Color" for the "Fill" option.

10. If you don't want a border, select "No Color" for the "Line" option from the "Format Text Box" options. However, if you'd like a border, you can change the border's color in the "Line" option. Simply select whichever color you'd like for the border to be and click "Ok" to select your options. You can also make your border thicker by choosing a higher number under the "Weight" option.

Now you have your monogram. It's in an editable format and I suggest saving it in this way in case you'll need to make little tweeks later.

1. Now that you have your monogram, take a screenshot (on my computer it's "Control" and "Print Screen" held at the same time). Essentially, you've just taken a picture of what's on your screen to make sure to get all of the monogram.

2. Next open up the Paintbrush program from your computer start up menu. It's a program that comes with most computers.

3. Select the "Paste" option from the "Edit" menu. Now you should see your monogram and the rest of the "Word" screen copied onto the white area.

4. Select the rectangular "Select" button from the menu. It looks like a box with dashed lines. Now draw your rectangle around your monogram.

5. Copy your mongram by right clicking and select "Copy" from the menu.

6. Go back to Word and paste what you just copied. Now you have a copy of your monogram. You can easily change its size in Word without losing its proportions for various projects that you'd want to use your monogram with, such as save-the-dates, invitations, small favors, etc that would vary in size.

I didn't write a step by step tutorial of it, but I made a banner that we draped over the front of our sweetheart table on an aisle runner.  We were originally going to use it as an aisle runner, but after we thought about it, we figured it would get more use at the head table AND we could save it as a momento.  It didn't get dirty at dinner and we're going to frame it :)

I created our save the dates a couple months ago. We ordered them through Vistaprint and couldn't be happier about the quality and price.  We got magnets with the 2009 calendar with our and wedding website. Then I ordered oversized postcards with envelopes. We'll attach the magnets to the postcards and send them in the oversized envelopes. The way I designed the postcards has it where when you take off the magnet, you see the message "Hope to see you there!" in English in Spanish. Whole cost was around $20 for 80. The only thing is that I feel like our postcard is too plain or something. I ended up ordering a second type of oversized postcards and I'm just waiting for them to arrive to see which ones we like better!

Front and back of the postcard (quality of the pic isn't great because I had to take the flash off to get rid of the glare, but the quality of the card is awesome!):

One of the magnets...we ordered 4 different layouts with different pics to create some variety :)  I still have to go buy a red permanent thin tip marker to go through and circle all the June 12's! I'm waiting on some stickers I ordered through vistaprint that will have the password to our website and I'll stick that under the URL.

In order to get the magnets to stay on the postcards, I created slits in the back to tuck the corners of the magnets in.  To create a template, I cut out a heavy piece of cardstock that was the same size as the magnets and then snipped off the ends. Then, I took a pair of scissors and cut around the edges of the template. I extended the slits a little bit past the template edges to get the magnet to stay in right.

Insert the magnet corners into the slits and the postcard is all set and ready to go!

 The project isn't done yet...I still have to circle all the dates and add the password sticker. And this is the only one I've done so far!  Plus, I'm not sure which postcard we'll use...once those come in, I'll post them here :)

UPDATE: Well, we ordered the other design for the postcard and liked it so much better! I finished with half of the project tonight and took some pics, but I don't want to delete the stuff in case anyone wants to use it for inspiration or whatever :P

Sooooo...here goes!

First, through trial and error I came up with a template of where I need to place the slots for the magnet to fit right.

Once I got the template, I used scissors to lightly trace the lines onto a postcard. I tried using a pencil, but since the paper is a little waxy, the line wouldn't show up and the scissor indentation looked "cleaner."

I have a paper cutter that has the handle that comes down and cuts the paper on one side a slide cutter on the other. I used the slide cutting device to get a clean line that went over the line I traced from the template. I first tried using scissors and a ruler, but I didn't get a clean cut. I got a perfect cut, though, from the slider.

 Then simply slide the magnet into the card! When the recipient takes the magnet off, they'll see our monogram, wedding website URL and password. We did put something on the back so it wasn't just plain white:

The Final Product:

We haven't even sent out our Save-the-Dates yet, but I couldn't contain myself from doing some trials of invitations. I made 4 different ones and I have a pretty good idea of what we'll go with because it's mine and Andre's favorite :)

Version One (I thought this one was too small):

Version Two:

Version Three:

Version Four (which we're probably going to use but still open for adjustments!  We had an earlier version of this one that looked like the ones above but once we realized we liked it best, I added the text and pic...we're going to use a different picture than this one, but you get the idea!):

Want to add something like this to the bottoms of the sheets (add more color)

Some helpful info on invitations for the future:

• How to address invitations:  http://www.jbink.com/brochure.html
• Invitation ettiquette: http://weddings.weddingchannel.com/wedding-planning-ideas/wedding-etiquette/qa/is-there-correct-invitation-etiquette.aspx
• Wording help: http://www.weddingbee.com/2004/11/22/invitation-proofs/

UPDATE 12/31:

We've decided we're definitely going with Version 4. I just ordered the paper from www.paperandmore.com. For $55, I got:

• Bright White Linen Paper 70# (100 Sheets) [invitations]
• Solid Chocolate Brown Card Stock 100# (100 Sheets) [invitations]
• Customized Vellum Pack (100 Sheets) [75 white sheets for invitations and centerpieces; 25 royal purple sheets for centerpieces]
• Vellum Adhesive (10 Sheets)

I think we got a pretty good deal. We already have an ample supply of the lilac paper we'll mount the linen on as well as plain white cardstock and the brown/gold ribbon. I can't wait to start the invitations!

Since we're doing our own invitations, I did lots of research on cost of the supplies. I could not believe how expensive envelopes were!  For a bride that has to pinch every penny, I could not justify spending upwards of $20 just for 50 envelopes.  Sooooo, I had an idea...I ordered 50 envelopes for free from Vistaprint when I made the order for my oversized postcards. I only had to pay for shipping which was about $6 (and I ordered other free stuff).

So, I the order came in for the plain white envelopes. They did the job, but also looked cheap. So I got creative! I used some of the lilac paper I got from Office Max ($12 for 500 sheets and I only used 25 for the liners) that I've been using for all my stationary needs and made DIY envelope liners. It really pretties up the envelopes and they look professionally made. I showed them off a couple times with our sample invitations and didn't tell anyone I made the liners...Lots of people wanted to know where I ordered them from because they liked them and wanted them for Christmas cards!

So...here's how I did it!

First take your envelope and your paper. Measure the envelope so you'll get the dimensions of how wide to make the rectangular part of the liner. I ended up cutting about 2 cm smaller than the actual envelope dimensions (for me 9X6) so it would go in easily. For the length, I measured the envelope from the bottom to just below the line of glue. I then cut all the paper to that size.

Next, I put the paper in the envelope, but not all the way in. Instead, I slid the paper so the edge was flush with the top of the flap of the envelope. In these pics, I did it a little below the top of the flap until I realized the other way was a lot easier and less risk for error.

Then, I cut the part of the paper showing on the sides of the flap so I could get a perfect shape for the top of the liner.

After cutting the paper, I pushed it all the way in the envelope. Then I folded the envelope flap and it folded the paper perfectly. Last, I used a permanent glue stick to stick the paper flap to the envelope and it's done!  HOWEVER, if you are hand addressing your invitations and want to use lines as a guide (see below), don't finish gluing the liners shut just yet!

It took a few hours to do them all...with the help of one of my lovely flower girls! (For some reason, this last pic looks like the edge of the paper is squiggly, but it's straight as you can see in the other pics!)

I know there's a debate about etiquette and doing labels, printing on the envelopes with the printer, hand adressing, etc. Personally, I don't have a problem with any of it. And to me, if someone is personally offended at the way I address the envelope for their invitation to our wedding, I think there are bigger fish to fry in our relationship...lol.

Anyway, for the save-the date envelopes, I tried all three methods: printer, label, handwriting. I have acceptable handwriting so I wasn't worried about that, but just wanted to see what would be quicker. Well, when I tried the printer with the envelope, it took forever to get it just right and it came out with all these black marks...lol.  I didn't like the labels I had, but if I had clear ones, I could see myself using those. Since we're on a tight budget, though, I figured why buy something when I can do it for free?

Anyway, I decided on doing handwriting...the only problem is that I can't write in straight lines! lol So, I came up with a little trick...

***You need to do this step before you glue in the liner! I only glued half of mine, so I gotta figure out a trick for the half I glued in already! lol***

First, take a regular sheet of lined paper and place it on top of your envelope. Take a marker, and put a dot on the lines that would cover the area where you'd normally place both addresses:

Next, take a marker and trace along the marked lines with a straight edge. I just used a piece of scrap cardstock:

Place the paper with the traced lines in the envelope and write your addresses! It's so much easier this way then trying to get it straight by freehand...at least for me!

This thread was posted a couple months after I created and posted my own envelope liners. Here, the person used wrapping paper. The article might be helpful for other brides!

LOVE this idea on how to cheat on your calligraphy, but do it yourself :P I can't wait to try it out!

We're doing simple, inexpensive, edible favors because I don't want to give people things they'll just throw away. The whole cost will be under $20 for 100 people.  I'm making my own personalized mini Hershey bars.  Basically, I just cut up sheets of my lilac paper into strips measuring 3" x 1.5" and wrapped them around the mini bar. Then, I used my glue stick to attach the two ends together. Viola! Done!

I came up with a few different ways to decorate/personalize them...Andre and I have different favorites so we'll probably do a mix and we're just going to scatter them around the centerpieces...

My favorite (it's like an abbreviated version of our monogram):

Andre's favorite:

I entered this project into PW's DIY Wedding Challenge!

We are still doing the mini Hershey Bars, but thought they were a little bare or something...so we decided to put them in super personalized pyramid boxes!

  

 

I am all about taking pictures. I'm usually the one at all the parties snapping away hearing complaints on everyone being blinded by the light...and later on fulfilling requests for copies! Andre will probably have to hide my camera the day of the wedding (hehehe...if I don't hide it from him first so he can't hide it from me!)...so I'm really trying to make sure I have a good chance at getting tons of pics!

We bought disposable wedding cameras from www.efavormart.com to put on each table.  I'm also thinking about getting some memory cards for a few people who love to take pics and I can collect them at the end of the night and send out copies.

Anywho, I've heard complaints that pics from the tables usually don't turn out that great so I'm hoping that giving the guests some kind of direction (and a "special prize" incentive) will encourage some good pics! I'm putting together a photo scavenger hunt.  I want to offer a prize to the table with the best photos (probably a lotto scratch off ticket) so I can't forget to write the number on the bottom of the camera for the contest!

I've attempted one of the cards for the scavenger hunt and I like it...so now just gotta mass produce! I wrote the directions with the table number on white cardstock (along with our monogram just to jazz it up a bit) and glued it to some chocolate brown cardstock.  Then, I wrote out a list specific to the table and glued it on the other side of the cardstock. I punched a whole in the corner of the cardstock and looped some ribbon through it and the camera. I attached a butterfly charm I have to decorate it up a bit too. I made sure to leave plenty of length on the ribbon (abour 6 inches) so the card hangs off the camera and doesn't get in the way when you're trying to take a picture. Here they go:

UPDATE:

I made a few minor changes when I did the final run for all the cards...I changed the poem and the wording at the bottom of the card, added a flourish on the top of the other side of the card, and added a lilac border around the white cardstock:

POEM IDEA

Use this camera to scavenge around;
Hunt for the pictures that need to be found.
Do your best to complete the list
For pictures the photographer might miss!
Click away as best as you're able--
When you're done, leave the camera on the table!
Then check our website--keep open those eyes:
The table with the best pics will get a special prize!

(maybe add something to remind people to use the flash)

Other poem ideas: http://www.weddingbee.com/2005/02/22/table-cameras/

PHOTO IDEAS FOR THE LIST (lines in bold will go on every table's list; # in parantheses is how many cards that line will appear on) Personally, I'm not going to use too many suggestions with the bridal party because the pro photographer will be catching lots of those!

1. Group photo of everyone at table (12)
2. A guest making a funny face  (12)
3. A couple at your table kissing (12)
4. Guest at your table with the biggest smile (12)
5. Line at the bar (2)
6. Guest look-alikes (3)
7. A ringbearer or flower girl dancing (4)
8. Picture of the DJ (2)
9. Messiest cake eater(4)
10. Best dressed guest(2)
11. Someone sticking out there tongue(5)
12. Groomsman dancing with someone(2)
13. A guest laughing(3)
14. Best Man giving his toast(2)
15. Picture of the photographer(2)
16. Best dancer(3)
17. Someone acting silly(4)
18. Bride and her mom(3)
19. Picture of someone signing the guest book(3)
20. Happiest guest at your table(2)
21. Bridesmaid dancing with someone(2)
22. Older couple dancing(2)
23. Youngest guest at your table(3)
24. Bride and groom's first dance(2)
25. Child/guest at table writing/drawing in the activity book(3)
26. Bride and groom kissing(3)
27. Quietest guest at your table(2)
28. Picture of Card Box (1)
29. Two guests hugging
30. Coolest tatoo(2)
31. Bride sipping champagne(2)
32. Groom sipping champagne (2)
33. Groom with his dad (2)
34. Bride with her grandparents (3)
35. A guest drinking a cocktail (2)
36. A guest saying their goodbyes (2)
37. Picture of the gift table (1)
38. Picture of the centerpieces (1)
39. Picture of the favors (hershey bars) (1)
40. Picture of Cake (1)
41. Picture of the food at dinner (2)
42. Someone misbehaving
43. Someone staring at the wedding cake (1)
44. Couple that's been married the longest (1)
45. Grandparents dancing
46. Next couple to get married (1)
47. A guy trying to flirt with a single girl (1)
48. People clinking glasses (1)
49. Coolest shoes on a guest (1)
50. Picture of the photographer taking a picture of someone (2)
51. Someone whispering into someone else's ear (1)
52. Two kids dancing together
53. Cutest older couple
54. Someone fixing the bride's hair (1)
55. People dancing to a special group dance (like the chicken dance or hookey pookey)
56. In Laws talking to each other
57. Someone making a very serious face (1)
58. Someone who looks suprised (1)
59. A guest who thinks no one is looking (1)
60. Child sleeping
61. Groom talking to a ringbearer or flowergirl (2)
62. Grooom with his grandma (1)

-----Other Ideas I Didn't End Up Using---

1. Whoever catches the bouquet (if we do one)
2. Mother of the bride dancing with someone
3. Father of the groom dancing with someone
4. Photo of each couple/family at the table
5. Photo of all the singles at the table
6. Bride and groom laughing
7. Bride and groom holding hands
8. Bride and groom cutting the cake
9. Bride laughing with bridesmaids
10. Groom laughing with groomsmen
11. Bride with her brother
12. Groom with his sisters
13. Bride and groom watching while Best Man gives speech
14. Bride and groom watching while Maid of Honor gives speech
15. Bride and groom at head table
16. Bridal party at head table (if we have one instead of a sweetheart table)
17. Bride and groom entering reception
18. Maid of Honor and Best Man entering reception
19. First Set of Bridesmaid and Groomsman entering reception
20. Second Set of Bridesmaid and Groomsman entering reception
21. Third Set of Bridesmaid and Groomsman entering reception
22. Fourth Set of Bridesmaid and Groomsman entering reception
23. Bride tossing the bouquet (if we do one)
24. The bride sticking her tongue out at the groom (or vice versa)
25. Groom talking to a guest
26. Bride talking to a guest
27. Bride talking to a kid
28. Bride dancing with someone other than groom
29. Groom dancing with someone other than bride
30. A Bridesmaid's shoes
31. Bride and groom feeding each other

There will be 10-14 tables (haven't decided if we'll have tables of 10 or 8 yet) and I want to have a list of between 10 and 15 shots that would be unique to each table. A couple of the shots will repeat on every table (ex: group photo of everyone at table) and I need to pick out a couple more so we can compare for the contest :)  The rest of the pics will be candids. Soooooo....I want to come up with at least 150 unique photo shots!

Some inspiration photos...

• First pic courtesy of http://www.melissaandsean.com/index.php/howto/scavenger_hunt_table_cameras/
  • This bride attached the notes to the camera
• Second pics courtesy of http://www.projectwedding.com/biography/list/Trinityvz/diy-photo-scavenger-hunt-cards
  • Looks like these notes would be put on the table, separate from the cameras

PRO PICS FROM THE WEDDING:

In the end, I am happy that we did disposable cameras.  A little more than half come out pretty good (mostly because of the lighting when the reception hall dimmed the lights and because some guests tried taking shots from 20 feet away...lol), but there were a lot of really good shots that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise.  Some people left right after dinner and we wouldn't have gotten many (if any) pro pics of them, but they were there on the disposable cameras.  The scavenger hunt went over well too.  I developed them through Snapfish because they seemed like the cheapest deal and I have always had good experiences with them.  Overall, I'm happy we did them and I'd do them again :)

I made this into a PW article: http://www.projectwedding.com/wiki/show/bridal-shoe-bling

It was also published as a DIY article on another website! http://www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com/diy-rhinestone-wedding-shoes.html

I saw a couple other pictures of blinging up the bridal shoes and I couldn't help myself from doing another DIY project! I saw the pics, but didn't know how it was done, so I came up with my own method and it worked beautifully!

First, I printed an "A" in a few of my favorite fonts to test out which one I'd like best. I cut them into little squares and decided on what I liked best...then I printed out different sizes of the chosen font to see what would be the best fit.

Next, I taped the square onto the shoe and used a safety pin to poke holes to trace the letter onto the rubber sole. Once I peeled the paper off and there was a nice faint outline of the letter (so I don't have to worry about a glue mistake doing it freehand).

Then, I traced a little part of the outline with clear nail polish (actually it was nail hardener so I don't know if that made a difference but it sticks on STRONG!). I took some tweezers and one by one put the little lilac rhinestones on along the glue.

I followed nearly the whole outline...I decided not to do the little loopy thing at the end because I wanted to hang on to a few extra rhinestones just in case a couple fall out before the wedding (since we still have 5 months to go and a few more fittings). I like them the way I have them, but still might finish that little loop at the end. If not, the pin pricks don't show up...only at a certain angle in the light.

I was inspired by a post a few days back to do some creative ring shots with my camera. I have just a regular Casio point and shoot camera...nothing special...but I think I did ok for a first timer :) Here are some of my favorites...I did the editing myself on photobucket and I'm super happy with the results! Can't wait for FH to come home to show him!

I bought a garter on clearance from Torrid a few months back, and it was cute, but too generic for me.

I decided to carefully remove the ribbon and heart charm that came with it and create my own decoration. I used some of the ribbon we are using on various items and made that into a bow. Then I glued our initials (A and A) in rhinestones on one side of the bow and a "B" on the other side. I then attached a couple butterfly charms and sewed the whole thing onto the garter.

The pictures really don't do it justice. I LOVE it

I made the signs similar to our monogram...white paper on top of lilac paper on top of cardstock seems to be almost a theme in our wedding...lol. I absolutely love how these came out, but my camera doesn't do them justice. The rhinestones underneath are very sparkly. The ribbon matches perfectly with the lilac paper.

Ceremony Signs

I made a sign for my mom, his dad, my grandparents, and his grandma. Andre's grandmother doesn't know English so we did a sign in Spanish for her. I made an extra one in English because we're not sure what we want to use yet (I like the Spanish).  I am thinking about making a few more general "Reserved" signs for the flower girls, ring bearers, and readers so we'll see as time gets closer. The ceremony isn't going to be too large so I'm nervous about making too many signs...it'll all turn into assigned seating!

Well....here they are:

Pre/Post Wedding Signs

I'm not sure where we'll be getting ready before the wedding, but I made some signs for Andre and I (and the bridal party) just in case we can put them to use. I'm almost positive we'll splurge on getting a hotel room for the night and that's where the newlywed sign comes in :)

This article was submitted to PW's DIY Wedding Challenge!

It only took a couple hours for a couple night while watching TV, $5, my printer, and some extra stationary I had lying around to complete 50 personalized matchboxes!

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

You can find generic matchboxes are your local store. I was able to find these at my grocery store. They are the standard 1 3/8" x 2 1/2" size. They came in packs of 10 for $1 so I can make 50 for $5. I am also using a couple sheets of lilac paper I bought for various projects and scraps of 100# chocolate brown cardstock I used for invitations and other stationary needs.

In the beginning...

Finished Product:

How To Make The Covers

1. Take the matchboxes apart. Slide the inside "box" out from the cover and remove the matches. Because I didn't want little matches all scattered around, I kept the matches in their bottoms and placed them in an empty coffee can. I also only did 5 matchboxes at a time.

2. Carefully unfold the cover of the matchbox by breaking the seal of glue. I used an eyeglass screwdriver because it was small and had a flat tip.

3. Completely unfold the cover and measure it.

4. In Microsoft Word, design a label using the dimensions of the matchbox. If you'd like to put something on the back, you need to insert it upside down by adjusting your settings. We decided to do a simplified version of our monogram (without our names and date) since that was already on the front of the matchbox.

5. Print out the design on your printer. When you cut the design out to wrap around the matchbox, make sure you'll have some excess paper on one side and at the bottom of the label. I found it was easier to glue the paper on and snip off the excess than it was to try to perfectly match the paper to the matchbox.

I created a FREE template for this project that you can download! Please click here. The formatting in the preview is very off, but when you download it to work, the document automatically formats itself in the correct way! This template will only fit 1 3/8" x 2 1/2" matchboxes.

6. Using a glue stick, smear glue all along the edges of the matchbox and smear it on the top edge of your paper label. Line the top edge of the paper label close to the stiker strip.

7. Carefully cut off the excess paper along the matchbox lines.

8. Now, carefully fold up the matchbox back to its original form.

9. Glue the matchbox closed when it's in its original form. Because it's best to apply firm, even pressure to the inside of the box to ensure the glue sticks, I inserted a pen into the box and held it down for 30 seconds where I glued the matchbox closed.

10. Now your matchbox cover is complete. Put it aside and let it dry for a while. I suggest clipping the pen onto the matchbox while it dries so pressure is continually applied to the drying glue.

The Boxes

You can of course use the cardboard boxes that come with the original matchbooks. However, I had a lot of scrap brown cardstock leftover from other projects and I wasn't crazy about the cardboard color or quality so I decided to do my own boxes as well.

1. To begin, carefully unfold a box.

2. Trace the box outline onto a piece of cardstock and cut it out, creating a template for yourself. Initially I traced the original box onto a white piece of carstock but then later realized I had a lot of chocolate brown scrap cardstock leftover from other projects and liked it so much better!

4. Carefully score the necessary lines onto your cardstock so you'll have nice clean folds.

5. Fold the box back up.

6. Glue the box to hold it together. I used a glue stick on the underside of the tabs at each end of the box.

7. Once your box is all folded, glued and thoroughly dried, place the matches in your new box and slide it all back into the covers. Your personalized matchboxes are complete!

PS. If anyone has trouble trying to design the front and/or back covers (not the inside box though...I don't have a scanner so can't create a template for the boxes), send me a private message with your email address and I'll email you the template I designed all by myself...lol...I'm proud of it :P

We still need to add a menu card, table number, favors, rose petals and photo scavenger hunt cameras to the centerpieces! Also, in the pics, the table runner is folded because it is long and we have a smaller sized table so it doesn't have multiple layers how it looks in the pics :P

About the Centerpieces...

We have finally chosen our centerpieces and we're sticking with them! I just wasn't so sure how much I liked the paper lanterns I made and honestly it looked cluttered. Here's the story...We were going to see a movie last Friday and had two hours to kill because the one we wanted to see was sold out so we decided to wait to see another. We ended up going to Walmart to get some more craft supplies and I wanted to show Andre some ideas for "I DO" letters for the cake table...he wasn't crazy about them though :(

Anyway, we ended up finding ourselves in the candle aisle and we found our centerpieces! It's only $10 for a set for a huge hurricane vase, a pillar candle and some rocks to go on the bottom. I was a little unsure of the rocks, but they are natural and brown and when I did a mockup, we were both thrilled with how it turned out. The rocks just added to the complimentary brown color found throughout the wedding.

We put the hurricane vase with candle and rocks on top of the lilac runners we ordered. We are going to put 4 votives around the base of the vase. We tried 5, 6, 7, and 8 but they started looking cluttered and just not right. We're wrapping the bottoms of all the candles and the hurricane vases in chocolate brown ribbon. It looks beautiful!

It really cast a bright, romantic glow when we turned out the lights and lit the candles. I'm thrilled! Only thing now is we need 8 more. My wonderful future hubby went to four other Walmart stores to find more sets so in all we have 5. He's going to look again this week. If not, we can make them ourselves with the same stuff (Walmart has it all in stock) but it's a couple bucks more per centerpiece. Anyway we're thrilled, I love them and Andre loves them! He says they're an 11 :)

Table runners: We got them from www.efavormart.com for $2.69 each when they were on sale...they're normally $3.49 which is still a pretty good price. No complaints at all...great shipping time (with 4.95 flat rate), great quality, pretty color...all around great experience!

Why is it so hard to find pics of round tables with table runners? lol...Here's a few I came across (by chica, gthorne)

Freeze-dried rose petals:

I ordered 50 cups of freeze dried rose petals (15 lavender and 35 white) from www.FlyboyNaturals.com for under $50 during a holiday sale (50% off everything). We ended up liking them so much that we ordered another 30 cups of lavender petals. They look beautiful on the table runners and can easily get soft. They smell great too. I am extremely happy with my experience with them and love the way the petals turned out! Both orders all together came about to about $80.

Candles

We ordered 72 clear votives and 72 white candles with 8-10 hour burn time from www.candles4less.com.  Shipping cost $15 because it's a heavy box, but I found a discount code and they were on sale so my grand total was only $45...not bad at all! I like frosted better, but Andre loves clear and we figured clear would give off more light so we went with those instead!

Favors

We've decided to go with our Mini Hershey Bars for favors. We're going to scatter them around the centerpieces...I am thinking though of putting them in some kind of glass jars instead or separating them from the centerpieces all together because I don't want it all to look cluttered!

Additional Ideas...

Maybe something like this for the candles? In a way, I feel like there is something missing for the big one

Vellum Votives by Nidia112...

 **Don't really know where to put this so I'm putting it here! lol WM offered a great bit of advice about candles...Stick them in the freezer for a couple hours to clean old wax out from votives. Turn them upside down and it should pop right out!**

Also...

If freezing leaves a film residue, which it sometimes does, then heat up some hot water your coffee pot and then go outside and pour the hot water into the votives.  Let it sit for a few seconds, then dump some of it out and use paper towels to wipe out the floating wax and wipe them down with clean paper towels.  that should shine them up real nice.  It is messy, so you may want to use rubber gloves. (from lesliedigs)

There are people called padrinos in the Mexican culture that sponsor particular parts of the wedding. However, we decided not to have padrinos for a number of reason, but mostly because we didn't want to burden anyone in the current state of the economy.

Even though we are not having padrinos, there are a few people in our families who have really gone above and beyond in regards to helping out for the wedding (offering to help set up or financial help, etc). Sooooo, I had been trying to come up with something to say "Thank You."

After starting my wineglass charm project and being unsure what to do with them (lol), I decided to create some creative thank you cards with the charms inside.

I created pocketfolds from 100# chocolate brown cardstock that have four panels once you open the card. The first panel has a lovely thank you poem I found online. I printed it on some linen paper and mounted it on our lilac paper. Right now, the second and third panels are blank, but Andre and I are going to handwrite personal thank you notes on each panel...one for each of us. On the last panel, I created a way to attach the wine glass charms and mounted a little note saying they are just a small token of our appreciation. On the outside, I attached ribbon so I could tie the card up and into a bow once it is all done!

We're giving these to the people we're giving a special thank you to (who are helping with wedding stuff). We're probably going to make them for the bridal party as well. So, without further adieu....

To attach the wine glass charms, make little tabs that are folded four times using the method below. Using a glue stick, attach the top flat part to the card, insert your wine glass charm then glue the bottom flat tab to the card. They are securely mounted! You don't have to attach the wine glass charms before you glue since you can unlatch and latch it as you would a wine glass, but I wanted to make sure they would properly fit :)

The charms:

Wanna try using this template to create an envelope for the cards since they are so think...on his site, they're called a card portfolio

OR this one:

Well, we decided to splurge a little more for our guests and I've been working on hospitality baskets for the bathroom. I ended up ordering some free samples online of a few things (tampons, prilosec OTC, lactaid). I'll post up pics when I have finished collecting stuff, but here's my list so far:

Women's Basket:

• 3 Playtex Sport Tampons (free sample)
• 3 Playtex Gentle Glide Tampons (free sample)
• First Aid Kit ($1 from Dollar Tree)
• Dove Extra Hold Hair Spray ($1 Walmart)
• 30 pack of Q-tips ($1 Walmart)
• Jergens Ultra Healing Moisturizer ($1 Walmart)
• Mini Bottle of Lavander Body Spray ($1 Walmart)
• 1 Tablet of Prilosec OTC (free sample)
• 2 Tablets of Lactaid Fast Act (free sample)
• 2 Always Pantyliners & 1 Pad (free sample)
• Sample of Ralph Lauren Perfume (from magazine)
• 12 pack of Ouchless Ponytail Holders ($2 Walmart)
• 1 Brush ($1 from Dollar Tree)
• 4 Individually wrapped combs ($1 from Dollar Tree)
• 12 Nail Files ($1 from Dollar Tree)
• Sewing Kit ($1 from Dollar Tree)
• 2 Packs of Certs Mints ($1 from Dollar Tree)
• 2 Packs of Gum ($1 from Dollar Tree)
• Floss ($1 from Dollar Tree)

Men's Basket

I'm still going to add a few more things, but not sure what. I want to look around the next time I go to the Dollar Tree because I already hit up the travel-sized item bin at Walmart. :) Some more ideas:

• Women's Spray deodorant
• Clear nail polish
• Antacids (Tums?)
• Contact solution
• Bobby pins
• Cough drops
• Earring backings
• Tweezers
• Aspirin/Ibprofin/Tylenol (worried about kids though)
• Individually wrapped toothpicks  

I wanted to do a flip flop basket but didn't think we'd have the money. Well, through a combination of some fortuate blessings from God and finding a bunch of PURPLE flip flops at the Dollar Tree (for a buck each), we're doing one after all! I also found a handful of brown ones that are a different style to give some variety :)

There are 18 pairs total (hope that's enough) and most are between sizes 6 and 9. I also found some really small ones (large kids sizes) so I decided to make tags that say (extra small, small, medium and large). They were just regular plastic for the tongs part. They were alright, but I decided to spruce them up a bit with some satin ribbon that we've been using on other DIY projects. It makes them so much comfier...I made myself a pair and I've been using them for days!

Anyway, I'm LOVING how they're coming out! I'll post more detailed DIY instructions later, but you can download the template I created for the tags here! I put a sign on the front that hangs off the basket with ribbon bows. Download the sign here!

I've been putting together some ideas for different aspects of the wedding. Here are some for (see below for more info on each)...

• Flower Ideas
• Hair & Makeup Ideas
• Do the Bustle!
• Random Stuff We're Liking

**These pages are also only viewable to friends, so if you want to see, request me as your friend!**

This is the section for all the stuff we've already picked out. Right now, it includes (see below for more details):

• Traditional vs. Non Traditional
• Our Colors
• Butterfly Theme
• Our Songs (and other Music)
• Our Professionals
• Our Wedding Cake
• Cake Topper
• Our Reception Site
• Our Flutes
• My Dress
• Andre's Attire Accessories
• Our Rings
• Tentative Guest List (private)
• Wedding Party Thank You Gifts
• Message Pens

**Since there's personal info on these pages, I made them viewable to friends only. Make sure you add me to your friends so you can check them out if you want to!**

The ceremony is the best, most meaningful part of the wedding, and I don't think enough time is spent on planning...at least not nearly as much as the reception. Sooooo...I'm trying to start splitting my focus on both of them. Things we have already chosen for the ceremony (such as the readings and our site) are listed above under "The Chosen." This section is more of the planning tidbits I've picked up.

 The section is broken into:

• Order of Things
• All About Vows
• Sand Ceremony Ideas
• Ceremony Decor
• Ideas for Readings

Helpful Links:

• DIY Bride's Ceremony Templates
• The Knot's Section On Ceremony Planning

This section covers info related to the wedding party and includes:

• For The Bridesmaids
• For the Groomsmen
• Flower Girls
• Ring Bearers

**Since there's personal info on these pages, I made them viewable to friends only. Make sure you add me to your friends so you can check them out if you want to!**

In this section, I've included...

• My To Do List
• DIY Projects Ideas
• DIY Reception Ideas

**These pages are also only viewable to friends, so if you want to see, request me as your friend!**

This is just some other stuff wedding related stuff that doesn't fit into the other categories above!

• The Weather
• Favorite Sites
• Bargains
• Online Coupons
• Origins of Traditions
• My Ebay Deals

**Since there's personal info on some of these pages, I made some of them viewable to friends only. Make sure you add me to your friends so you can check them out if you want to!**

I just want a place where I can list all the online deals I come across...and share them with anyone interested :) I get a lot of emails and it's time to clear those out but keep the discounts!  I'll update whenever I can, so check back often! Here goes...

• www.snapfish.com
  • Free shipping on orders over $40 - SHOP40 - expires August 6th
• www.walgreens.com
• www.shutterfly.com 
  • Free shipping on photobooks (ends 8/12/09)
  • Free shipping on $30 or more - SHIP30
  • Free shipping on prints when you buy more than 50 - SHIPPRINTS
• www.annsbridalbargain.com
• • offers a 90 day bill me later payment plan with $150 purchase (subject to credit approval)
• www.marilynskeepsakes.com
  • CONTEST - $10 off any order over $50 (unknown expiration)
• www.snapfish.com 
  • THANKS - 20% off print order - unknown expiration date
  • ENTMTGIFT20 - 20% off all gifts - expires 12/31/09
  • MYPOINTS - For MyPoints members: 30 free prints AND 20% off your entire order. (Plus MyPoints is currently offering 10 points per dollar for every SnapFish purchase.)
• www.tungstenfashions.com - not sure when it expires
  • $14.99 off with code RENZO5
• www.theknot.com - unknown expiration date
• • SAVECASH or TAKETEN or COMPLETE2- 10% Discount (http://www.retailmenot.com/view/theknot.com)
• www.bluenile.com - unknown expiration date
  • EMALL27 - 10% off fine jewelry
• www.weddingchannel.com
  • WSP20 - 20% OFF IN ORDERS OF $50 OR MORE!! - unknown expiration date
• Borders Rewards Perks (need to be a member) - http://www.bordersrewardsperks.com/secured/default.cfm
• www.vistaprint.com
  • I don't have any coupon codes, but I get their emails for free stuff all the time. If you're interested, PM me your email address and I'll forward the emails to you!

I just came across a thread from another bargain shopper who is a fellow PWer...she has lots of good deals on here, but I only posted the ones I'm likely to use so check out her thread! http://www.projectwedding.com/post/list/coupons-discounts_meoc

Merchandise sites: (had no experience with these but they seem to have cute stuff at affordable prices)

• FavorIdeas
• LavenderFanatic (good site for all lavender stuff...for bouquets click here; bridesmaids bouquets for $40; 10 mini bouquets for $20...would makes good bouts and corsages)
• Personalized Handmade Items from IDoOriginals
• Afloral (floral supplies for fresh and silk)
• Weddingish (personalized apparel; check out the clearance section)
• Bride Stuff (various wedding merchandise)
• Brides Village (various wedding merchandise)
• The Wedding Outlet (various wedding merchandise)
• American Bridal (various wedding merchandise)
• Wedding Mountain (various wedding merchandise)
• Exclusively Weddings (various wedding merchandise)
• Wedding Favors Club (various wedding merchandise...mostly favors & supplies)
• Marilyn Keepsakes (various wedding merchandise)
• My Wedding Favors (various wedding merchandise...usually good prices in the red tag deals)
• Customized Girl (personalized apparel)
• Wedding Factory Direct (good source of blinged out monograms, bouquet jewelry, etc)
• Favor Ideas is a site that has everything wedding related

Merchandise sites: (had great experiences with and would recommend)

• Oriental Trading Company
• Efavormart

Classifieds:

• Wedding Bee Classifieds (click here for free offers)
• Buy and Sell Used Wedding Dress
• Recycle Your Wedding (like an Ebay for used wedding things)
• Chicago Craigslist Classifieds

Candles:

I had a section on places to get candles until I purchased mine at www.candles4less.com because they were on sale and I had a discount code. Here are some other sites for anyone who wants to to do some comparison shopping:

• 72 clear holders and the white votives: $35.44 at cudge
• 72 52.5" votive holders with candles; burn time 8-10 hours; available in 7 different colors for $36.99 at candles4less
• 24-3" floating candles $24.99 at candles4less
• Various items at candlesjustonline

Charities 

• Dress donation program in Illinois; lists other program in other states; provides receipts for tax purposes:
• Brides Against Breast Cancer is a great nationwide organization. I wanted to buy my dress from there but couldn't because they weren't visiting my state until too close to the wedding. Check them out for your own gown though!

Craft Sites

• Aylee Bits is a good DIY Site with various templates (including: Paddle Program, Fan Program, Day of Timeline, Boarding Pass/Save the Dates, Petal Toss Cones, Leaf Favor Tags, Diamond Favor Tags)
• Save On Crafts is a great source of craft supplies and instructions on DIY projects...a few good ones include  and a good source of DIY projects and other ideas: (Floral Design, Add Light and Color to Centerpieces, Pew Bows, Seeded Paper Cones, Favor Ideas, Pomanders, Candlestick Votive, Ring Bearer's Pillow, Wineglass Shades)
• Personalized Handmade Items from IDoOriginals (good for inspiration)
• There She Goes is a blog about crafts; some good wedding ideas here
• How to make different kinds of bows: here and here
• Martha Stewart - a favorite source of DIY inspiration
• Style Me Pretty is a definite top favorite blog of mine...great inspiration from real weddings and tons of DIY ideas
• House Of Lime has free fonts and some really beautiful dings for personal use only
• Elizabeth Anne Designs has tons of ideas for DIY projects and great profiles of real weddings (list of helpful DIY sites)
• HP Activity Center has wedding projects and templates on the site (such as programs, candy bar wrappers, thank you cards, envelope label wraps)
• Lots of great poems related to weddings...I'll be using for DIY Thank You Cards 
• Long List of Templates for several DIY projects (includes various day of timelines, guestbook, kids coloring sheets, design your own paper, clip art, flourishes, programs, newsletters, OOT stuff, fonts, etc.)
• DIY Bride is a blog with tons of DIY projects and coupons for craft stores
• This is another arts & crafts geared blog; not too much wedding related, but tons of great ideas!
• Tips on how to create your day of timeline (more tips)
• Learn how to embroider (I definitely want to take this up after the wedding!) so I can do projects like these!
• Free dingbats at Dingbat Depot
• DIY Bride has TONS and TONS of templates on everything wedding related!
• Love me some free Microsoft Clipart!
• iWeddingClipart has free stuff too
• CraftBits has a lot of project ideas
• Martha Stewart Wedding Templates
• Design Sponge Online has some cute craft ideas
• DIY Ideas from The Knot
• A whole library of ideas and instructions at Pash Weddings with a page of various templates
• Do It Yourself Weddings has a lot of articles (a few of mine are there too!)
• I'm loving Folding Trees since I love doing crafts with paper!
• Free templates through Creature Comforts
• Various templates including square box, petal cone, and circular seals
• Pretty medellian type templates from Martha Stewart...not sure where to categorize them
• Mirkwood Designs has TONS of templates for various boxes...for real...there are LOTS! lol

Upcoming Bridal Shows & Wedding Related Events in the Chicago/NWI Area:

• Chicagoland Events Listed on Wedding Wire
• Events Listed at Chicago Style Weddings
• Events Listed at Chicago Bridal
• Illinois Events From Brides.com
• Indiana Events
• Events Listed at My Chicago Wedding

Other fun sites:

• Mosaic maker helps in creating inspiration boards  (used this one a lot!)
• Another photo program to create inspiration boards
• Virtual makeover 
• How to send an invitation to the White House (send at least 6 weeks in advance so you can have to display at wedding)
• Really cool wedding photos
• Baby maker to see what your and your FH's kids will like...lol
• To figure out when your "time of the month" will be
• The origins of many wedding traditions (good to be armed with when you do things a little different and get the "why are/aren't you doing the ___":
• Amusing Stories at Etiquette Hell
• Funny wedding comics
• Create word clouds of all things related to your wedding
• All About Schererville, IN
• Predicts long range forecasts over 5 day period
• Forecast that gives sunset/rise, averages and recent records for your day
• I thought this was cute, but doubt I'd use it for anything...it's a poem to your future husband
• Just cuz I'm so proud...this is an article that was on the first page of our newspaper...it's about my little brother who is doing the ceremony music
• Create your own blog
• How to patch a torn fingernail

Helpful wedding planning sites:

• Help with toasts
• Tips on all parts of wedding and wedding planning
• How to do a seating chart (tips)
• How to change your name:
• Ward off unexpected problems
• It's called wedding etiquette here, but there's lots of good info...everything from responsibilities of MOB to who to tip...also has a pretty detailed "wedding calendar"
• Very Helpful Wedding Planning Worksheets
• Tips from a coordinator
• About outdoor weddings
• Honeymoon Registry Info
• Free Powerpoint Wedding Background Templates
• Thoughts on Friday Weddings (and tips on what to do if you're having one)
• Lots of templates and timelines for the DIY type bride!
• Image resizer...I've been collecting picture resizing websites for all the emailed pics to me that were too small for prints...best one so far seems to be reshade or here's a list of sites

Helpful Sites about Bridal Attire

• Lots of info including info on dresses for different body types
• Terminology of dresses
• List of gown sale events at Brides Against Breast Cancer

  Wedding Insurance

• WedSafe

  Engaged Retreats

• Chicagoland Resource Marriage Center
• Marriage Ministries
• Chicago Counseling

 Fun Places Around Chicago

• Restaurant Deals Around Chicago Through Kiss 
• Restaurant Deals Through B96
• List of good photography locations in South Suburbs & Chicagoland area 

• Heart Top Favor Boxes: 72 boxes for 11.94 at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/favorboxes.html
• 5.5" tall Toasting Flutes (Box of 6) $6.60 at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/mi2.html 
• 6" Glass Rectangular Vases $2.99 each; if you order over 12 it's $1.99 each so 12/$2.88 at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/glcuva6.html
• 2.8" White Disc Unscented Floating Candles 3/$3.99 (8 hour burntime) OR 2.25" ones for 6/$3.99 (6 hour burntime) http://www.save-on-crafts.com/whitefloating.html
• 10" Clear Glass Floating Candle Bowl $4.29 each (has an 8" opening) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/candlebowl.html
• 7.5" tall clear glass weighted bud vases 12/$20.16 (that's 1.68 each)
• 9.5" Clear Bulging Vases $4.99 each http://www.save-on-crafts.com/discountvases1.html  OR 7.75" for $4.73 each (but if you order 4 or more, they're $2.99 each) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/clglvava74ea.html
• 6" Clear Bud Vases; Case of 24 for $23.76 (that's 99 cents each) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/budvases.html AND 8.5" Clear Glass Bud Vases for $2.99 each (but if you order 8 or more, it's only $1.29 each!) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/diflbudvagle.html
• 12" Weighted Glass Apothecary Jars with Glass Lid for $7.99 each(maybe something like this for sand ceremony?) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/apothecary5.html  
• 7.25" Plastic Silver Mint Julep Cups - Case of 18 for $47.16 (or $2.62 each) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/pl.html
• 32 oz bag of decorative medium grain premium white sand for $2.49 (sand ceremony) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/whitesand1.html

• $23.76 / 24 - 6 ounce Champagne Flutes; Stands 7-1/4" tall; http://www.save-on-crafts.com/ch1.html 
• $27.84 / 12 - 6 ounce Champagne Flutes; Stands 8" tall; http://www.save-on-crafts.com/flutes.html
• 12- 6" centerpiece mirrors; $11.88 (99 cents each) at http://www.save-on-crafts.com/ce.html
• $11.88 - Wedding Bridal Aisle Runner 75' x 36"- http://www.save-on-crafts.com/brairu75fo9.html; Top quality white polypropolyne with a linen texture. An easy yet elegant accent for your walk down the aisle
• (http://www.save-on-crafts.com/glassbottles2.html other glass jars for later...especially http://www.save-on-crafts.com/corktopbottles2.html)

• $3.29 each; Satin Table Runner; 18 colors available (inc Lavender & Chocolate); Approximate Measurements: 12" x 108." Edges are hemmed. http://www.efavormart.com/satinoverlay60x60-10colorsavailable-2-1.aspx
• 6.25/lb (350 pieces) of pillow mints at http://www.weddingchannelstore.com/weddingchannel/ProductPage.aspx?scId=Unique%20Favors(KnotShop)&pId=P34(KnotShop)&cId=Favors(KnotShop)&cTypF=&sscId=CandyandCookieFavors(KnotShop)
• Since we have a butterfly accented theme, I thought these were really cute...they're big too; $6.25 for the 11" ones and $5.25 for the 5" ones at http://www.thebutterflygrove.com/butterfly-decorations/sasha-butterflies/purple-sasha-butterflies.html
• These are $4.25 and they have a 5" wingspan http://www.thebutterflygrove.com/butterfly-decorations/abigail-butterflies/purple-abigail-butterflies.html
• These are $5.45 for the 11" ones and 4.45 for the 5" ones http://www.thebutterflygrove.com/butterfly-decorations/brianna-butterflies/purple-brianna-butterflies.html
• Standard Aisle Runner: $13.88; 100 foot long, 36" wide white aisle runner for indoor or outdoor use. Runner is of plastic/vinyl construction and includes a pull string. Standard runner has a slightly more synthetic feel than does the premium runner, but neither item has the appearance of cloth or linen. www.cudge.net
• Victoria Lynn Aisle Runner: $16.99; 100 foot long, 36" wide white aisle runner for indoor or outdoor use. Runner is of plastic/vinyl construction and includes a pull string. Victoria Lynn runner has a slightly less synthetic feel than does the standard runner, but neither item has the appearance of cloth or linen. www.cudge.net
• Classic Cake Topper: $6.33; Traditional bride and groom wedding cake topper. 4 1/2 inches in height.www.cudge.net

Costco has various wedding items: http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePage.aspx?ProductNo=11273973

I'm a wierdo who loves researching stuff. Ok, so I'm a nerd :p Anyway, it usually pays off in the end so here is a gathering of helpful stuff I've found...

• Stuff I (Might) Need To Research on the Future
• Various Rental Places Nearby (And Prices)
• Past Research on Chicagoland Photographers

We booked our photographer--Victoria Sprung. She has great reviews online and is very affordable, talented, and friendly. I'll post a review on her after the wedding, but so far she receives high marks on my score card!

However, I spent MONTHS weeding through websites for inexpensive photographers in the Chicagoland/NWI area and I don't want all that time and energy to go to waste. So, I've compiled a list of websites that I came across in my search and bookmarked. *****I have NO EXPERIENCE with any of these photographers so I can't give any reviews or be in a position to recommend any of them. It's just that I bookmarked all this info and want to clear it out of my computer without it being a total waste. I figured this might save another bride some time and energy as she begins her own search for an affordable photographer!*****

I also think it might be a good idea for me to hold on to this info for a while just in case there are no last minute emergencies or we win the lottery or something and want to book two photographers or get a videographer...lol.

PS. The info I posted is what was on their websites as of 1/06/2009 or info I gathered from email responses from them. Do not count on these prices as I'm sure they'll change but at least it might give you a ballpark idea :)

• www.ncpictureperfect.com (owner is Paula Graves; offers package for $700 with full coverage of ceremony and reception with CD of images; all images are edited and retouched; she works out of Porter, IN...just moved there from North Carolina but she's local now)
• http://www.sprungphoto.com/Wedding/ (she has a deal going on right now...very discounted $700 for all her remaining dates because she's joining a big company...includes 8 hours of coverage, hi res CD and FREE engagement pictures!) REVIEWS: http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/victoria-sprung-chicago/243984881f2bbc75.html and http://www.yelp.com/biz/victoria-sprung-photography-chicago
• http://dangin.smugmug.com/ (he has GREAT reviews on yelp; packages start at $1600)
• http://www.aoneweddingphotos.com/ (packages start at $695 for full day coverage; hi-res DVD; pics posted to website; NO album)
• http://danielleaquilinephoto.smugmug.com/ (this photographer came highly recommended; I wanted to book her but she was already booked the day of our wedding)
• http://www.jameswphoto.com/ (referred to me on yelp questionboard; packages start at $625 for 5 hours; hi res CD)
• http://www.nickblakephotography.com/ (packages start at $2000)
• http://www.petercoombs.com ($1000 for 10 hours of coverage, hi res CD, processing and editing)
• http://www.georgestreetpv.com/wedding_photography_packages.php (looks like pacages start at $1395)
• http://www.generations-photo.com/ ($600 for 4 hours of coverage and hi-res DVD)
• http://www.wojoimage.com/flash/ (packages start at $1250 for full day coverage with 2 photographers, digital copies of edited photos with reproduction rights, online viewing and regular album)
• http://www.chc-photography.com/default3.asp (packages start at $850 for 8 hour coverage; edited photos on DVD; upload to website like shutterfly; 11x14 complimentary print of favorite picture
• http://www.nicholefrankphotography.com/ (packages start at $1500)
• http://www.intagphotography.com/ (packages start at $900 for 5 hours of coverage; online gallery with edited images; 2 hour engagement session)
• http://www.justinrowephotography.com/ (packages start around $3000 but willing to negotiate)
• http://www.kuehlphoto.com/prices.html (packages start at $645 for 5 hours of coverage; basic color and exposure correction; online proofing; hi-res CD)
• http://www.notinabox.com (packages start at $700 for 4 hours of coverage; editing; reproduction rights)
• http://www.parkavenueweddings.com/parkavenue_002.htm (packages start at $895)
• http://www.pro-photovideo.com/packages.php ($900 photography package; $700 videography package; $1500 for both)
• http://www.hoosierphoto.net (packages start at $700 for 5 hour coverage and wedding album)
• http://www.smilelikeumeanit.com/indexcl.html (packages start at $700)
• http://www.studio3pros.com/index.php?page_id=2 (packages start at $995)
• http://www.sylverstudios.com/pricing.php?pkg=weddings (packages start at $1200 for ceremony and ceremony location pictures  and online proofs and ordering)
• http://thismomentphotography.net/users/editorialdisp.php?mn=52077&fn=packages (packages start at $1000 for 6 hours of coverage; digital negative DVD; two weeks of online viewing and ordering)
• http://www.tiphotos.com/weddingpackages/packages.htm (packages start at $1695)
• http://www.angeleyesphotography.com/ (packages start at $2500 for 6 hour coverage; proofs; hi res CD; online gallery; engagement session)
• http://www.ljcphotography.com/weddingpackages.html (packages start at $950 for 6 hours of coverage; some prints; digital editing; all images on CD)
• http://www.chicagoweddingpictures.com/services.html (packages start at $845 for Friday or Sunday wedding with 6 hours of coverage, hi res CD, online gallery
• http://www.clintwolfphotography.com./ ($399 for ceremony and wedding party; $599 for wedding photography; hi-res CD with edited images)
• http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/store.aspx?p=59740 (packages starat at $695 for unlimited images; CD of all images with usage authority; must be paid in full when booked)
• http://www.stephaniewallacephotography.com (posted on CL on 11/27/09 for NWI photography; packages start at $800 for full day coverage with 2 photographers) 
• http://www.heirloomevent.com/index2.php (full days range from $500 to $1000; from email she sent me: The basic package is the $500 day which includes a coffee table album.
  You can than add prints (varies), DVD of digital proofs ($250), and
  slideshow ala carte ($100). However, as I run my own business, I can
  be flexible for example if you prefer digital DVD rather than an
  album, the price is only $600."
• http://heatherparker.com/ (referred to me on yelp questionboard; in email she sent me, says rates start at $2200 after March 15, 2009)
• www.cloudveilphotography.com - posted on CL on 11/11/08
• http://www.myspace.com/lauraskanderaphotography - posted on CL on 11/11/08: "I am a photographer of 5 years and have been doing wedding photography for 4 years. I am holding a special booking right now for $375.00 for an 8 hour day. please let me know if this is somthing that would interest you. I have done over 30 weddings, but my last employer never game me any of my proofs, so I am trying to build my portfolio."
• http://www.mgchicagoweddings.com/index2.php (packages start at $1350 for 6 hours of coverage; hi-res DVD; online gallery)

Sites to find an inexpensive Chicagoland Photographer:

• Craigslist in your local "services" section
• Local photographer search on yelp (Chicago: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Wedding&find_loc=Chicago%2C+IL&cflt=photographers)
• http://www.cppa-inc.org/findaphotographer.html
• Wedding reviews (has reviews too): http://www.weddingwire.com/shared/Search?type=vendor&page=1&l=y&cid=10&name=&geo=chicago+
• http://www.brides.com/local/illinois_chicago/wedding_day_services/photographers/results

These are places whose prices aren't listed on their website. I had bookmarked them for some reason...either they were recommended to me or had on ad on Craigslist as being inexpensive. Sorry I can't give more info, but at least it's a starting point!

I got some of these leads from a question I posted on yelp: http://www.yelp.com/topic/lansing-chicagoland-nwi-wedding-photographer

CHICAGOLAND VIDEOGRAPHERS

I also briefly looked into affordable videographers. I didn't spend too much time because it turns out it's a luxory we can't afford :( but at least I might be able to use that time and energy to generate some leads for other engaged couples!

• Email: serv-922737423@craigslist.org; Posted on CL on 11/17: "We are offering a special package: $500 for 7 hour day, NO editing. Will provide one unedited DVD copy. This is a limited offer. Please email us for availability. Online demos also available for you to review our work."
• http://www.eventconnections.com/Videography/Coverage_Pricing_and_Packaging/index.html?PHPSESSID=20387120ee85876fa2498b47071395e2 (packages start at $995 for Single Camera Ceremony and Reception coverage. Client receives unedited ceremony and unedited reception coverage on DVD)
• http://www.magicdreamsproductions.com/ 
• http://www.benabrams.com/wedding.htm (packages start at $675 for ceremony only with editing)
• http://www.stradstudio.com/prices.htM (packages start at $700 for video taping wedding and reception)
• http://www.imagequestproductions.com/Videography.html (packages start at $850 for DVD of entire ceremony and reception)
• http://www.memoriescustomvideo.com/services_weddings.html (packages start at $795 for ceremony only)

There are a TON of ideas for DIY brides, and I've been collecting ideas for months. I divided the ideas into three sections, but have been running out of character room on those pages!

Anyway, these are the many, many, MANY ideas for DIY projects I've come across for weddings! I've included the ceremony and reception ideas in their perspective sections...this section is for all the other project ideas that don't fall into those categories!

• Invitations
• OOT Booklets/Baskets
• Bride & Groom Survival Kits
• Ring Shots
• Random DIY Ideas
• Thank You Notes

I've picked up TONS of inspiration from all over the net on different ideas for regarding the reception. These aren't what we're actually going to be doing...you can find our projects under "DIY Stuff" or "The Chosen," but these were/are my inspiration. Here are the sections I have listed:

• Table Numbers
• Centerpiece Ideas
• Matches
• Favors
• Guestbook
• Menu Cards
• Placecards
• Signs
• Memorial Items
• Bathroom Baskets
• Photo Sharing Cards
• Card Box
• Paper Lanterns
• Flip Flop Basket
• Serving Set
• Table Entertainment
• Thank You Notes

I've picked up TONS of inspiration from all over the net on different ideas for regarding the ceremony. These aren't what we're actually going to be doing...you can find our projects under "DIY Stuff" or "The Chosen," but these were/are my inspiration. Here are the sections I have listed:

• Recessional Ideas
• Tears of Joy Packets
• Monogram Aisle Runner
• Water Bottles
• Programs

There are TONS of great resources on the net and I have a section called "Favorite Sites" dedicated to those resources. Well....the list is now too long (lol) so I thought I'd edit my page a little and have a section dedicated to SOME of my favorite Bios and Bridal Blogs!

Favorite PW Bios:

• Abattyref (cute DIY projects with directions; tons of info on everything)
• GoingtobeGoff (cute DIY projects with directions; tons of info on everything! LOVE her E-pics)
• Married2mrwright (cute DIY projects; good decor ideas)
• Soon2Bmrsjaramillo (cute DIY projects)
• Nidia112 (cute DIY projects; tons of info on everything!)
• Myfiancesbrave (cute DIY projects; lots of inspiration pics)
• Charmeng (cute DIY projects)
• Trinityvz (cute DIY projects)
• Khill (great pics of wedding day)
• AMiller (great pics of wedding day; love ceremony decor)
• HolyMolyMatrimony (beautiful wedding; great pics of day)
• Evans1hb (great DIY projects)
• Chubsmom (beautiful wedding pics)
• Claudmend (LOVE the engagement pics!)
• KristinKay (cute DIY ideas)
• MissQnomore

Other Bios:

• GraftefulBride's bio is definitely one of my top TOP favorites...just jam packed with DIY ideas, inspiration pics, various info on everything, etc. 
• KSirish (a knottie) has a lot of great DIY ideas and beautiful day of pics
• Ailinamei808 (a knottie) has a ton of great DIY ideas
• Academybeldam (a knottie) with cute nature-y wedding
• The Chicago Wedding Bio - lots of helpful info for Chicago brides (vendors, bios, etc)
• Darling Dexter has lots of cute ideas
• For Brides on a Budget
• Miss Bee's bio with tons of creative ideas
• Miss Champagne's bio
• Wedding Chicks has a ton of great ideas and templates

Helpful Blogs

• Elizabeth Anne Designs has tons of ideas for DIY projects and great profiles of real weddings
• DIY Bride is a blog with TONS of ideas including tons of templates
• C(oi)n:purse is a cute blog with lots of wedding ideas
• Stylish Events is an awesome wedding blog
• Bridal Bliss in Memphis
• PW's Blog
• The Bridal Blog has lots of ideas and tons of free templates!

Well, it's been a while since I've been on PW, but I plan on coming back a lot more. I finally have some time to post our pro pics...everything came out beautifully! Of course I have to showcase the DIY projects...I told our photographer to go take pics of all the details instead of coming for the "getting ready" part of day cuz it really isn't my thing.  I'm thrilled that she had the extra time instead to take pics of the projects I did!  Enjoy!

We loved the look of the cake done by Calumet Bakery...the only thing is that we didn't get to taste it!   We were too busy walking around greeting everyone at the tables.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it though!  They forgot to include the cake stand that we paid for, but we didn't even notice until a few days later when we started searching our boxes to return it! lol  They returned our deposit and even gave us a little refund even though we didn't complain...I recommed working with them :)  Those are real flowers on the cake...simply beautiful and exactly what we wanted!

Although we did a whole lot of work, one of the most prized details of the wedding (and now one of our most prized possessions) were the champagne flutes my grandparents gave us for Christmas last year.  It was such a sweet gift and we'll use them forever and forever!

Photo guestbook made with our engagement pictures ordered through Snapfish.  We had our bridesmaids who helped set up sign the day before so people had some inspiration :)

Our favors were a big hit! Everyone loved the chocolates and I got tons of compliments about how I personalized all the sides of the pyramid.  Our photographer took a pic with the chocolates upside down (it's a B with butterflies), but you get the idea :P

I made a banner for our sweetheart table with our monogram instead of doing one for the aisle runner.  It was tedius, but it was a great detail to add and we're framing it to hang in our living room!  Since it was on the table, it didn't get dirty :)  PS.  LOVED having a sweetheart table! Even though we didn't get to spend too much time there, it was nice having a little bit of private time to be off in our own world.  And it was great having the wedding party sit with their families and enjoy themselves!

Our centerpieces were a big hurricane candle with brown stones underneath and smaller votive candles surrounding.  All had brown ribbon and helped to bring in the chocolate brown accents for our lilac theme.  They looked so nice when the lights were dim during dancing time.  I made our table numbers on Word using our engagement pictures and made a trifold type stand out of cardstock.  The other side had the dinner menu.  The freeze dried petals were easy to work with, soft, and added a lovely fragrance to the room!

We didn't have too many kids at the reception, but I wanted to make sure they'd have fun too.  I made personalized activity books for all the kids filled with mazes, coloring pages, word games, etc. I also put together boxes for all the kids filled with a variety of toys including personalized rubix's cubes!  I peeled off the stickers of one side of all the cubes and replaced it instead with a sticker of their name I made on Word. They were a hit and some adults wanted one too! lol  There were also card games, teddy bears, crayons, and glowsticks (for the older kids) among lots of other goodies!  Ordered the boxes through Oriental Trading!

These two projects were a HUGE success for the wedding.  I made a flip flop basket from purple and brown sandals from the Dollar Tree. Total cost of the project was around $30 and all the women LOVED them.  I felt kinda bad cuz we ran out of flip flops...I thought 25 pairs would be enough for a wedding with only 100 guests.  I even made myself a pair and still wear them all the time over three months later!  I ended up putting on my pair halfway through the night when my feet started killing me and my feet could not thank myself enough...lol.  They were even the pair of "shoes" we used for the newlywed shoe game later in the night!  I made extra activity books for the "adults at heart."  I got the pens from Oriental Trading Company...everyone kept asking for more! lol  I honestly didn't think they'd be that popular among the adults but the basket was empty halfway through the night!

One of our adorable ring bearers reading his activity book...upside down...with his grandpa's glasses...lol...He can be so silly :P

Love this pic...

And me in my flip flops...

My DEAR HUSBAND (love saying that instead of FH now...lol) also helped on a few projects.  He took over the cake letters project since I was struggling with making them smooth (they were cheap from the Dollar Tree but really rough) and he's a professional finisher. He made them so smooth they look like plastic now...lol.  He also sprayed them lilac.  We're going to hang them up somewhere around the house...just not sure where yet.  My OCD mind goes nuts on one little detail though...I guess someone bumped the cake table before the reception so the letters aren't all even spaced out and it looks kinda sloppy...the flower petals shouldn't be that wide around the cake either, but oh well...lol.  LOVE how everything turned out anyway!  Andre did such a beautiful job!

A couple cool shots of our rings...

This bride went totally crazy with DIY...lol.  I even did the bouquets on my own with some help from my husband's cousin and her daughters.  I actually ordered the flowers from Sams.  I was planning on just doing all hydrangeas for all of us...me too.  However, when they came (they were gorgeous...highly recommend Sams), there was one very large hydrangea branch that stood out among the rest. We decided to make my bouquet from that one stem and get other flowers to add to the bouquet from the grocery store.  Love how it all turned out!  After the ceremony, we used the bridesmaids' bouquets to decorate the sweetheart table and we made an extra one for the bouquet toss.  We also had some extra stems so we decorated a little here and there, like on the guestbook/favor table.

An extra special little touch is we got personalized cufflinks for all the guys. We didn't get initials or anything like that, but cufflinks for something of their personality or something they love. For instance, my brother is a musician and actually composed and performed the music for our ceremony.  He LOVES music so we got him musical notes.  My best friend groomsman has always been a die hard Snoopy fan so we got him Snoopy cufflinks.  My husband's brother-in-law collect Marilyn Monroe memorabilia so we got him Marilyn Monroe cufflinks.  You get the idea...lol.  It all started when I got Superman cufflinks for my Superman :D

An online friend gifted us with her flower girl baskets and they were so cute, they needed no extra decoration.  We made our ring bearer pillows ourselves though...love how they came out. They were fake rings from the dollar store...our grandparents were cute...they thought they were real and tried to save them from the ring bearers after the ceremony! lol

Another project by my DH...he made the cardbox.  It's so beautiful and he gave it a good finish.  It's professionally done since he's professional finisher :P  I attached a beautiful monogram "B" that we got for our cake but decided not to use since it was pink.  He told me he did a great job because he wanted me to keep it for keepsakes or whatever after the wedding :)

The scavenger hunt was another big success that really our guests involved.  I was pleasantly surprised with how many good shots we got from the cameras.  True, the lighting was off in a lot of the pics and they were disposable cameras after all, but some of our FAVORITE pics came off those cameras...a little more than half came out great.  If we had to do it all over again, we'd definitely do the scavenger hunt again!

Our programs were a little labor of love, but they were a hit!  Glad I made them and kept a few for myself!  Even my uncle was impressed...and he's a professional printer!  The tears of joy went over well, although we did have some leftover. 

 Our recessional petals were another hit...

The sand ceremony was definitely a combined effort.  My DH made the beautiufl table that we now have showcased in our living room, and I made the sand ceremony set from Dollar Tree vases.  I dyed the sand myself two different shades of purple with food coloring.  It actually took a lot longer thank I expected but we saved a ton ($50 for a sand ceremony? No way we'd pay that...lol) and it all cost around $5!  After the ceremony, when we got home, I sealed our sand container with hot wax and it's all safe and sound!  As you can see, there was extra sand leftover.  I carefully measured out the sand ahead of time so I think it had something to do with the way we poured the sand during the ceremony.  When we got home and the sand had settled, there was room for what was leftover...if my DH hadn't thrown it away! lol

Reserved seating for the VIPS...just make sure you let them know ahead of time!  I let my family know but my DH forgot to tell a handful of family members so the VIP were left empty :(