I wanted to give something to my bridesmaids to thank them for helping me with all the planning and being there when I was falling apart and going dress shopping and potentially being a bridezilla. I couldn’t afford to give them full spa treatments, but I was able to get them each a pedicure. This spa is really nice, and they make the pedicure experience last almost an hour. It’s really nice and not that expensive. Also, I gave them gift certificates that way they could decide if they wanted to go together or on their own time, whatever was best for them.

We rented everything. We started off with a tent, and then a floor for dancing, and tables and chairs and linens. It was so much easier to order everything from one company, and Kosins was a great company. Everyone we spoke with was very nice! They took care to make sure they had all the details right, and they were really considerate when it came time for the set-up and take down on the tent and tables. My grandparents thought they were nice, and since it was being held at my grandparent’s house, it was important to me that they didn’t feel like they were being pushed aside. They completely transformed the backyard, it looked so beautiful, so much better than I imagined.

We ordered pizza and salads to be delivered to our house for our rehearsal dinner because we had so many last minute things to take care of, I couldn’t even imagine leaving the house. The pizza here is great, I asked for salads because it was my last attempt at eating healthy and losing five pounds before the wedding. The salads aren’t that good, especially for what you pay for them. But the pizza is wonderful here. The cheese and sauce is great. Also, when we placed our order, they told us that they would be there in a hour, but that the pizzas would all be hot and the salads ready. I liked that they were honest, and they were at our house still in less than 40 minutes.

We bought glass vases from a dollar store, and then went to a garden center and bought flowers. I read that if you buy flowers from a garden center, you will save money than going to a florist. I liked going to the garden center because they had such a great selection, and also because we would be able to get flowers that were in season. My only warning is that it takes a lot of work to get this done, and we were seven people working on the table arrangements for two hours on Friday night before the wedding to make sure they would be done and ready.

We bought wedding cameras online at a wedding store website, and I thought that this was a good idea. We attached a little card to the camera saying that people should take pictures, since we weren’t hiring a photographer. The cameras were not expensive, and we did get some fun candid shots. I think it was worth it. Even with development, it was still a thousand dollars less than what most photographers would charge.

This was the catering company that hosted my father’s 50th birthday party, so we had already worked with them before. We knew the menu, but we went with more appetizers because it was a wedding and people would be standing around for a bit. The other thing we did that was different was ask them to come out with sandwiches and cheese trays later in the evening. I wanted this because I usually find myself hungry towards the end of the night. We had lots of food left over, but the caterers had these nice boxes and wrapped it up for us.

We made the decision to get the cake from one bakery, but to get the food from another caterer. This was not a problem, but it did add extra work for us. I originally wanted a theme cake, but my family and friends talked me into getting a regular cake with buttercream icing. I didn’t know what fondant tasted like, and when I did taste it I was happy that I chose regular icing because fondant is really sweet. The cake was two layers, and was decorated with lots of icing flowers. It was really beautiful. I almost didn’t want to cut it. The staff at Rinaldo’s was also happy that I got a regular looking cake, because they say that always looks more classy at a wedding.

Going here was the suggestion of my sister, who has a good job and who likes to buy really nice things. The dresses here are expensive. They are beautiful, but even the dresses on sale are expensive. I personally didn’t think that shopping for a bridesmaids dress here was saving anyone money, and even if the dresses were nice, they weren’t that nice. The dress that the bridesmaids chose was almost $200, and that still didn’t include shoes or jewelry. If I would have been a more pushy bride, I would have told them that I didn’t want them spending that much money on dresses.

I was only at the bridal show for two hours, which I thought gave me just enough time to get business cards and speak with vendors that I needed to speak with. I still didn’t have a bouquet or a reception venue or a dj and lots of other important things when I went to the show. Everyone there was very nice, and it wasn’t so crowded. I only waited ten minutes to talk with one vendor, and if one florist was busy, I could find another florist to talk to. My only regret is that I didn’t get to stay for the fashion show, but I did see lots of dresses while I was there.

I actually chose a prom dress as a wedding dress. The prom dress was more what I wanted, because it was more fun looking and sexy, and the sales person who was helping me find dresses that I liked didn’t mind me going through the prom dress section on my own. There was two that I liked, one bridal dress and one prom dress, and the bridal dress was almost twice as much but looked nicer, and the prom dress was fun but was made of cheaper material. I was happy the sales person told me to go with the dress that made me happy, because I felt that she really believed that a bride should at least have the dress she wants.