Wedding Thoughts on our Anniversary

Last Thursday Hubby and I celebrated 4 years of marital bliss. We went to the Sox/Indians game (does that man know me or what!) We had a great time, even though it started to get pretty cold towards the end.

Not sure why I'm making that face?!?

So this week I had me thinking a lot about the weeks leading up to our wedding and the planning that took place. It boggles my mind that I was able to pull it all together. Hubby laughs when he calls our wedding the 40% off wedding, a joke regarding all the 40% off coupons that were redeemed at Jo Ann Fabrics in the months leading up to the big day. But, I like to think that I did a relatively good job of keeping the costs down. Of course there were the things that I splurged on. So I thought, since the focus of my blog has been saving money lately, that I would share some things I did to keep the costs relatively low.


DIY at your own risk


A recently engaged lady that I work with informed me the other day that she was going to do her own flowers for her wedding, so I ask the centerpieces or bouquets? Both was the answer. ‘Do you think that is a good idea?’ Was my only response. I have said this on numerous occasions. If you are not a florist, or if you are not related to, or friends with a florist, just hire one. It’s a really important element of the day, and it is really hard to put them together and keep them all looking good.

So, that brings me back to my wedding. See I fancy myself a crafty girl. So I thought, I can make all these things for the wedding and it will save us a ton of money. Reality sank in very quickly. It happened one night, in our living room, just me some ribbon, and one of those ‘bow maker’ things. Hubby (back when he was just boyfriend) came home to me sobbing (out of frustration) without even one bow made. To clarify I was making pew bows for the ceremony. Hubby (bless his heart) reminded that the florist had offered to take care of them. No, no, no I had said I make them myself, thinking how hard could it be? Turns out, super hard, I called the florist the next day. For $100 bucks, the problem was solved.

But, I worked through the bow making incident and moved on to bigger things. I made all the save the date cards, favors & place cards, welcome bags for the hotel, and water bottles for the tables that I had made and attached customized labels for. I made a card box for the gift table, the programs, jewelry for all the girls, the baskets for the flower girls and all the Thank you notes. So, it turns out I might be alittle crafty after all.

Miscellaneous Ways to Save

So besides making your own favors, and driving yourself crazy running back and forth to the craft store, there are some ways you can really save.


- Book your wedding on a ‘off-day’ Friday and Sundays – this will usually net you some significant savings, just be mindful if this is a solution that makes sense for your guests. This wasn’t a option for us due to the volume of out-of-town guests we had coming.


- Enlist Friends and Family – we got our limo for free, and paid just $500 bucks for DJ – thanks to Hubby’s friends. Don’t be afraid to ask, at the very least they will be able to recommend someone if they are unavailable.


- Keep things simple. Our tables were decorated very nice with what was termed as the ‘basic’ package. It was simply, white roses in a glass vase, and frames with the table number, classic. We only set-up room blocks at one hotel, because we had some many guests, Hubby and I got two nights free for our room, a free night for both sets of parents, and we did not have a rental fee on conference room where we held the brunch the following day. Research all the options that you have with each one of your vendors, and ask a lot of questions, you will be surprised at how much you may get for free.

Like the water bottles, don't you??

- Scale back on your rehearsal dinner. We pulled ours together for around $250, we had about 20 people, by hosting a cook-out. It was all done with one trip to Gordon Foods. It was a wonderful way for everyone to mingle in a relaxed atmosphere.




Everyone looks too excited don't they?  LOL



- Skip the wine. We had an open bar (which was closed during dinner), but we had the option to have wine service with dinner for an extra charge. Since neither of our families are wine drinkers, so there was no need for this extra cost. No one even noticed that the bar was closed; they were too interested in the wonderful food!

Elements worth their price

 

My best advice is always this. Spend the majority of your budget on what is important to you, and skimp on the other details. There are some elements that you need to be prepared to spend some money on.

Photographer


Why go to all this trouble, if you do not have a professional there to capture it all.

If not for him, I would not have this picture, and it is one of my favorites..

Invitations


This in my option sets the tone for your wedding, which is if you want it to be formal. I do not suggest that you print your own. This can be a relatively low expense if you order from the right company. Do not use address labels. Hand write these all the addresses.

Florists

This was covered above. Unless you are one, hire one.

No way I could have done this.

If you have any tips, or tricks that you used, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at cynfullywonder@gmail.com


Later
~Cyn

Week In Review...stuck on the sofa...

 Hi Everyone - hope that you are enjoying your weekend.  The weather has turned cold again in Chicago, the joys of Spring.  Yesterday was interesting to say the least.  I'm in the process of getting a bridge on the right side of my mouth.  So I go to the dentist, and it is decided that I need to get a root pulled in order to speed the process up alittle bit.  Let's just say that I've only ever had this done one other time, and I was knocked out for it.  After 4 shots of Novocaine, and some tears it was done.  I had to have Hubby meet me at Walgreen's, because I couldn't talk, to help me get my prescription filled.  So needless to say I've been alittle out of it for the past 24 hours.  But, I woke up this morning feeling good, and ready to go. 



I have been enjoying alot of ice cream over the past couple of days!



I've recently joined a program that sends coupons to our military families stationed overseas.  I received an email this week from the family, they seem very nice and our stationed in Japan.  If you are interested in helping out a family, please send me an email at cynfullywonderful@gmail.com  and I'll get you in touch with the program, or if you have extra coupons just send them to me and I can forward them along.  The best part is that they can use them for up to 4 months after the expiration date!

We had alittle baby shower for my friend at work.  My girl Laurie brought the cake.  She did such an awesome job.  See...

Things I made....

I've been busy trying to get some craft projects done before we leave for vacation, so below is what I have been working on.  I have specifics one how they were done over on The Crafty Cat, check it out.

Flip Flops for my girls!

Beach bag for me!





I put the instructions for each on the The Craft Cat page.  Both were super quick and easy to make.

Things I tried this week....

Kraft 'A Touch of Philly' Shredded Cheese, we tried the Three Cheese and it was quite excellent in my baked Mac and Cheese today.  My only issue with this is that it expense.  For a 8oz. (2 cup) package it was $4.29 at the store normally, but on sale for $3.40.  Usually, I can get a the regular shredded cheese for around $1.60 a package, so this will probably be 'only when I can get a good deal' buy and not an every week purchase.

Then I tried this new Mini-Wheats with fruit, the mixed berry.  Had to tell you I was alittle worried when I saw blue-berries (I really do not like those) on the package, but was surprised, it was very good.

So both products get a big thumbs up!

Sorry this was so long today, I've kinda been trapped on the sofa and this was fun to put together!

Have a great week!

Later
~Cyn

Thoughts on a Friday the 13th

Sorry I have been away so long, blogger was down so I couldn't post anything.  So this will probably be a long one. 

I hate Friday the 13th.  It is never a 'good day.  Today was a long day.  I had one of those days were Hubby told me that I'm not allowed to leave the house again tonight, fearing that I shouldn't be 'pressing my luck.'  It all started when I woke up completely on the wrong side of the bed (apparently, at some point I told Hubby to shut the F up and let me sleep, nice wife huh?) Then a train derailed and caused my commute home to be 2 hours!  I do realize that my day could have been alot worse, by actually being on that train.  But, the day was equaled out be being able to visit with an old friend.  So I just that we call today a draw.

Well, I’ve been complaining for the past few weeks about how cold our spring has been. Well, I think someone finally heard me. On Tuesday, it was 90 degrees in Chicago, it was warmer here than in LA. Ha! So this is the time of year in Chicago that I like to call Srinumer, not really Spring (too hot), not really summer (still only May). By the time I got home from work, Hubby had the air conditioner cranked since he described our place as ‘oppressive’ when he got home; it was very comfortable when I got there. It was the first night of the year where I deemed it was too hot to cook dinner (common occurrence at our house.) So needless to say, grilled chicken salad night has started at our house already. Thank you George Foreman.


So I have spent the past couple of weeks in full planning mode (which you know I love.) We are gearing up for another ‘Summer of Fun’ as Hubby and I call it. So far this year’s list includes, 5 (I know it seems like a lot, I agree) concerts, a beach vacation (road trip!), at least one baseball game (to see the 1st place Indians defeat the last place White Sox), and a Nascar (first race in the chase!) race weekend. I like to get all the planning done at once so that I can sit back and enjoy all the events.  Hubby always says that we just can’t go somewhere and come back, that I have to ‘add’ a few things to the list. For example, we are going to see Kid Rock again over the 4th in Milwaukee (Summerfest, baby!!), and I’ve added in a trip to the outlet mall and the cheese castle. Seriously, we are going to drive right past them, why not? He actually told me not to make any plans (or reservations) for the way home from vacation, because he wanted to try and make good time (something not that important to me.) Now you know what is going to happen right? I’m going to see something on the way down that he will not let me stop at and the whole week he is going to hear about until I get him to agree to stop on the way home, so I’m not sure why he bothered to even mention it.

Well I'm going to turn off the computer and watch a movie, then go to bed.  Hoping for a better Saturday the 14th.

Have a Great Weekend!

Later
~Cyn

About Last Night...

I could not believe it last night when I came into the living room and saw the President on TV, and the headline ‘bin Laden is dead’ crawling across the screen. I yelled for Hubby, we rewound the DVR alittle and let B-Rock (that is my nickname for the President) tell us what happened. First thought, don’t screw with the Special Forces. Second thought, it is about time. Third thought, I wish we could have taken him alive. Later after I learned that it was the Navy Seals that took him down, all I could think about is that movie that Charlie Sheen was in like 20 years ago (back when he was young and crazy.)


My thoughts on this have been random. I hated that we had to kill him. Not that I don’t think he deserved to die, he did, but I really would have loved to see his face every night on the news after facing another day in court where he heard from another group of families effected by his deeds. I would have loved for him to have to come to the United States and had to sit in one our prisons, surrounded by the best America has to offer. Although, it looks like that would have been an upgrade for him.

I don’t think anyone could not think of 9-11 today. I know that it weighed heavily on my mind. From the train I saw a plane in the air, not a big deal since we live pretty close to one of the nation’s busiest airports, and all I could think about were the days after when the only planes in the sky were fighter jets. I’ve read a lot of 9-11 victims families thoughts on the death of Osama bin Laden, most seem relieved that he was finally brought to justice. I’m sure this will bring some closure to many of them. My guess is that the hurt will never go away, but hopefully this will dull it somehow.

So many comments I heard last night said, ‘Osama bin Laden is dead, bring our troops home.’ Sure that makes a great Facebook status, but that is clearly not possible. Just because you have removed the tumor, we clearly have not caught the cancer in time; it has spread all over the world.

Maybe I just watch too many movies, but has anyone given thoughts to how we were able to find him now? I’m not under estimating the abilities of our intelligence teams, I’m just been thinking, did they want us to find him? Had he served his purpose? Was this a way to overthrow him and blame the Americas, thus furthering the hate they already have for us?

Told you, my thoughts have been random. I also think that his neighbors may have been the ones that turned him in, maybe for burning trash and stealing Wi-Fi. Also, how about one of those cowards using a woman as a shield?

Let me know your thoughts, I would love to hear them.


Have a Great Week.

Later
~Cyn