I will, hopefully, be getting married on August 12, 2006. I will, unfortunately, be having a wedding. Why is it unfortunate, you ask? Simply because of this: I HATE weddings. I've never really figured out exactly WHY I hate weddings, I just know that I do. And now, that which I feared most has come upon me.
This blog is to chronicle the joys and terrors of planning a wedding. Enjoy!
Also, for those of you with any experience in planning a wedding, please feel free to give advise. I am going to need all the help I can get!
4 comments:
Depending on your budget and how in charge of the wedding planning you are:
- Ira Lippke is WORTH the money, if you have it! (http://www.iralippkestudios.com/)
- Photography is the most important thing because it's the only thing besides your dress that lasts to remind you of your big day. They are also more accesible for sharing than a wedding video, so I wouldn't spend a lot of money on a videographer if I were you. I have only watched 10 minutes of my wedding video, but have looked through our photos countless times.
- Sam's club has party trays and you can buy punch, crackers, etc. for cheap in bulk there. Serve snacks and cake; people don't NEED a meal from you - most wedding meals aren't that good anyway.
- If you're not doing detailed flowers and have the time to work on them the days before the wedding, the LA flower market is thousands of dollars cheaper than a florist (I spent $600 vs. a few thousand)
- Right next to the LA flower market: the LA fabric district. You can buy all the tule in the world for cheaper (if you take someone who speaks Spanish, they can even bargain with the vendors to bring the prices lower)
- Ebay and the internet are your friends for buying the little things, like guestbooks, the guestbook pen, items for wedding favorsm, etc.
- Allusions in Brea is where I found my dress. They seem a bit home-owned, but do have a wide selection and decent prices.
- BU rents out linens (or did when I had my wedding) at a good rate
I'll share more as I remember things!
First of all...congratulations on getting married. As some may have already told you...be prepared for the most chaotic time in your time. Before it's over, you'll be prepared to elope and in some cases wishing that you had.
We found in our case, that her parents were willing to be as helpful as we wanted in organizing the logistics whereas my folks were helpful in the financial aspect. The key is establishing what you want first and setting up goals. My wife and I established a set of goals for me for the wedding: Show up, sober, on time, in a tux, with shoes.
As the bride...your list of goals is obviously much longer. ;-)
Seriously though, once you have a clearer picture of what you want, take a trip to Costco/Sam's/etc to price things out. But have fun with it. Plan who is responsible for what early on so there arent many surprises. Figure out what your budget is; who if anyone is contributing to the wedding/ honeymoon fund and go from there. Keep in mind also that you'll probably need the week before your wedding for the final chaos/ rehersal/ rehersal dinner/etc so adjust your budget accordingly.
Our wedding was nontraditional in several respects (wife's dress was based on a famous portrait as patterned in Scotland; Celtic wedding bands; Honeymoon in Quebec and Montreal; Photos before the wedding; No Chicken Dance; No Dollar Dance) and traditional in others.
Good luck!
I highly recommend getting a copy of Denise Fields' "Bridal Bargains: Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget."
This book saved me SO much money! I was able to buy my dream dress for half price, spent only about $5 on favors for 200 people, I could go on and on. When I told friends who had attended how tiny my wedding budget was (I had the smallest budget of anyone I've ever met) they were quite surprised that it all came out looking so perfect! :) It's a terrific book and should give you lots of great ideas. Good luck, and enjoy! The planning can be stressful, but then it's all over at once, and the wedding really is fun. :)
Thanks for all the advise! I look forward to more in the near future.
Ojan, I would LOVE to elope. Unfortunately, I am afraid my family (and his) would kill me ... and it's possible I would regret it 10 or 20 years down the road.
Ro - the first link is just for you. :o)
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