With the exception of my husband, everyone in my family, myself included, bought our party shoes from Payless. I don’t like the store, I think it’s rather small and cramped and you have to search for shoes, but it’s worth the savings. I wanted something pretty, but I knew whatever shoes I got I probably would only wear once. My kids feet grow so fast that I wanted to spend less than $15 on their shoes. Payless is great. I think their selection has even gotten better over the years, and that the shoe are as nice as designer shoes. I got four pairs of shoes for less than $50, which was exactly what I wanted to spend on shoes.

We didn’t want to stay in a regular hotel room after the wedding, because that felt kind of cheap. We left on the Sunday for a long weekend. My husband and I did get to spend three nights at this cute bed and breakfast. It worked out well, because my parents were in town and could watch our kids. We usually spend two or three weekends without the kids during the year, but this was really nice. The B&B was really peaceful, we went for nice walks and had nice meals, and overall I was really happy we had this long weekend getaway.

We did rent a limousine to drive us to the park and then to the restaurant. It was fun. The renting of the limousine was easy, I trusted the person on the other end of the phone with their judgement on what car would suit our needs. They were also very affordable, which was great. My husband and I arrived together, with the kids, because it was our day and we wanted to get married as a family. The limousine made the day seem more special, and I think it helped us feel that this wasn’t an ordinary day and that we were going to have a special meeting in the park. The outside of the limousine was beautiful, and I loved the inside. I also loved the fact that the driver, who was in a tuxedo, rolled out a small red carpet.

(fun but the bathroom was icky) To make sure that all our children were part of the wedding planning process, and to make this seem more like a family event than just something between the adults, we asked my youngest son to decide where he wanted us to eat the rehearsal dinner. We though he would have picked his favorite pizza place, but he choose the Golden Nugget. It’s not a fancy place, but we had such a good time. No one was on a diet, and so everyone was ordering huge orders of pancakes with fruits and whipped cream and bacon and ice cream. The food is not healthy, and good portions but not what I would want my kids or husband eating. It was the most decadent party ever! The waitress was nice, and they pushed tables together for us. Really, it’s not a gourmet place but it is a fun place.

Because we were going to have a small wedding, we decided that we would make our own invitations. I thought that this would be fun for the kids, too. I bought the invitation kits, and the extra ribbons and bows and beads. I thought they could add on to the cards. The kids lost interest after two cards each. It reminded them of homework. So I was left to make 80 invitations, and only 5 of them had fun extras.

I have very long hair, and I usually wear it in a bun, and so I had no idea what to do with it for the wedding. In the end my best friend suggested a nice salon, and it was really nice. It was the perfect place for me. We mad an appointment for two, my best friend and I, and they did our hair and make-up. My stylist gave me a really nice hair style, which was up and off my face. She understood that I hated having hair in my face, so she made she it was off my face but still nice. She did use a lot of hair spray, so it did stay in place until I washed it out that night.

I had my parent’s stay at the Crown Plaza, just because it was fancy and I wanted my kids to spend a night in the Crown Plaza with them. It’s so expensive to stay there, but it is really nice, and since they were in town for a special occasion they thought it was fine. My parents like the nice life.

Knollwood’s garden center was where we got the flowers to decorate the wedding, and also for the future garden. My husband and I told friends and family that we wanted to register at Knollwood because we wanted to build a bigger garden in 2009. People loved the idea. They bought certificates in various amounts, and wrote “for tomato plants” or “for cucumbers”. One person even wrote “for rocks, so your marriage may have a solid foundation”. I also got fresh flowers for my bridal party, which included my daughters and myself and my best friend. I love fresh flowers, and I love Knollwoods. I could spend all day there. I’m really glad my children have taken up my love of flowers and nature.

I have been to other Macy’s stores which are nicer than the one in Dayton, but I still think it’s a very nice place to shop. They have lots of selection, and the clothes are of excellent quality, for the most part. For my two youngest children it was easy to find something in the children’s section. My ten-year-old daughter is at the awkward stage where she’s too big for the kid’s clothing, but doesn’t quiet fit in the teen clothing. We eventually found something nice for her in the junior department. My best friend found the most beautiful dress there. It was an Esprit dress, and it was gold and beaded and beautiful. Her dress cost almost the same as mine, but she looked great.

My sister arranged for me, my oldest daughter, and two of my best friends to go and have a spa day with her. I originally fought against this, because I didn’t want my ten-year-old daughter getting a spa treatment (I think kids grow up too fast, and I didn’t want her painting her nails). In the end people worked with my wishes, and the manicurist was great and talked my daughter into getting clear nail polish for her hands and toes. I think the spa was beautiful, and my feet needed a treatment, so I was very glad I went. I liked the spa very much because they worked with my wishes, and didn’t try to force me to change my mind. Also my daughter will not be going back, because I told her she would have to pay for herself and that a manicure would cost her six month’s allowance.