MindyJ's reviews

Staples has a great selection of blank wedding invitation packages. They come in boxes of 50 with an invitation, rsvp card, and an envelope. The packs are about $20 - $30 which can save you a bunch of money. Plus then you can play around and create your own look to the invite.

The only down side of using these is that you have to have a computer with a word processor and a printer and you kind of have to play around with the size and layout of the text to get it to come out right. It took some time but it was worth it.

This is a bit non-traditional --- But there is a traveling vendor who goes to just about all the county fairs in Ohio and sells wooden roses. You may see them at other places and craft stores too. They come in all different colors and are really inexpensive! These beautiful wooden roses were the perfect touch I needed for my rustic/country theme. They are made out of thin shavings of balsa wood and have a green wire stem that can bend to create fancy napkin holders, or keep them straight to create amazing bouquets for table decor. They really set the tone of my reception:)

The only down side is your time spent actually putting the bouquets together. (But used it as a time to bond with the women of my family and it went by almost too fast)

Amazing idea from my amazing husband --- We had our reception at an authentic 19th century outdoor museum. They had a large activity center set up with picnic style tables --- plenty of seating for 200 - 300 guests. The center had large garage-like doors that opened on each end of the hall and double doors at opposite ends width-wise so that it really gave my reception that out-door feel without actually being out-doors. (It didn't rain, but if it had we would have all been safe:)Plus who could beat the price!!!! If your on a tight budget: Check out museums, libraries, parks or other non-traditional reception places first to save some major $$$.

The only down fall was that they said we didn't clean up enough afterwards, but they couldn't give me any details about what was left messy and they didn't have any records of why they kept the $100 deposit. We didn't argue about it...even with the deposit it was still a bargain!

I had some under-ager's in my bridal party so this super-fun bachelorette party was held at The Bone Yard, A fun restaruant/bar/arcade ---- We had a great meal with excellent service and then laughed the night away playing in the arcade. I have to admit having a bachelorette party at a restaurant or restaruart/arcade (my maid of honor's idea) was a great way to have our drinks and include the younger members of my party.

I was surprised to find out that Dillard's acually had wedding dresses! They didn't have a big selection but they did have really pretty dresses. Very classy and elegant. I found the perfect one!!! They also had a lot of cute party dresses that could really double for bride's maids dresses for half the cost of the big bridal chains and they don't need to be ordered --- so if your getting married on a budget or in a hurry, stores like Dillard's are a great first stop!