Mandalinn, thanks so much! Gigmasters serves my area and I jsut requested a quote for the wedding. I know waiting for surgery stinks. I wish you well! I've found not exercising isn't too bad if you keep reminding yourself how great it will be when you start back. I've had my days, though!

Jen, the sample tracks for the "recommended" band were horrifying! My personal favorite worst was Holding Out for a Hero... oh, my! I'll keep looking!!! Your venue options sound extraordinary... we'll have a panoramic view of a Wisconsin golf course in March. It's beautiful the rest of the year and most of the reception will be in the evening anyway! I'll just have to discourage people from outdoor pictures... with help from the climate, of course!

I found one other bridesmaids' dress possibility on the Aria Dress website. A full-length strapless in their silk shantung in leaf green (check out the albums for the best examples) would look stunning and very spring-appropriate. Plus, they're made to each girl's measurements, which may solve a lot of problems for me.

I also found another possible centerpiece idea... I started looking at the FTD and Teleflora arrangements on my florist's website to get a price idea. It's a 8X8" arrangement of pink and yellow roses called "pink lemonade." The roses are accented by kermit mums and oregonia but I will ask to have this replaced with lime green viburnum (my favorite spring flower). It's $34.95, which is right at the limit of my centerpiece budget. Anything less expensive starts looking, well, cheap. Plus, this incorporates both of my grandmothers' favorite flowers with the pink and yellow roses.

Anyone else have great floral arrangements/ideas for centerpieces (on a budget)?

Mandalinn – Hope your surgery goes well and your recovery is quick. In the mean time it sucks that all you can do is wait it out, you have my sympathies.

One really cool thing about this wedding is the bride and groom are both vegetarians and big time environmentalists. The rehearsal dinner, another dinner hosted by the parents, the cookout party I hosted, the cocktail hour, the reception – all vegetarian food. It was so awesome to not have to grill anyone about what’s in the food, I could just enjoy it! The mashed potato bar at the cocktail hour was really good, I might look into that option for ours. They also did a bunch of cool things to make their event as close to zero environmental impact as possible (compostable plates and cutlery at the rehearsal dinner, buying carbon offsets, using recycled paper and soy based inks, etc.) and included an explanation of these things in their welcome bags (which were awesome by the way, home baked treats!) I am so proud of them for having such a positive impact and for educating all their guests about those things most important to them.

I guess the work for my wedding really needs to get underway. We’re planning on putting up flyers at the UW music school to find musicians for the ceremony. I used to see those posted all the time when I was a student there. We have our DJ picked out (college roomie of my BIL, he did my sister's wedding), we just need to have a meeting with him to hammer out the details/expectations and get a contract worked out. I can’t believe it’s just over 9 months away now, seemed like yesterday I had all the time in the world!

For centerpieces I thought I might do something as dressed up potted tulips. That way guests can take them home and they’ll last for a while and it would be relatively inexpensive if I work with a local vendor.

Shananigans- Get in touch with the music directors/conductors of the music school for recommendations. They are busy people, but they will know! Also, do not blindly hire a musician. Ask to see them perform first. And word of mouth is best. I didn't put up a single flier after my freshman year because I was regularly playing. UW has a fantastic School of Music, so you should have a lot to choose from. Get creative! See what small ensembles they are featuring. You never know what interesting combo you may stumble across!
Sorry, I get a little wound up over the topic :) I think music schools have some of the best classical musicians in the country and aren't tapped often enough (and they are MUCH cheaper than the "professionals").

That's really cool about the green wedding. We are offering a vegetarian option with our meal as well. I know it will be the majority choice on my side of the family.

We decided to make our vegetarian option vegan to appeal to the most people. I've watched my future sister-in-law get served a salad too many times!

I just got a response back from gigmasters. I haven't listened to their samples yet but I have high hopes it will be better than the last.

Junebug and Shan, your idea of contacting a music school is brilliant! I may have to get working on that next.

I'm so excited about creating a reception atmosphere that will encourage conversation- both families have more than their share of great storytellers and I can't wait to see how well they'll all get along. The families are starting to get excited, too. We're all getting "younger" and the idea of a relaxed dinner and an early evening has appealed to everyone so far. We're going to close the bar at 11 and end the reception at 11:30. Plus, it's helping us keep the budget in line.

Another cool centerpiece idea I saw was a small herb garden. I would love to take something like that home! Choices, choices!

aww... all your wedding plans sound exciting! I still don't have pictures... shouldn't it be illegal to make a bride wait 4 weeks after her wedding to see pictures?

Anyway, I thought I would weigh in on music. I know my situation is a little different, because I have a LOT of musical friends. I had only friends playing or singing at the ceremony itself.

My reception had a jazz combo that I adored... a friend from high school is a jazz performance major at IU School of Music, and he was the leader. The result was a really professional sounding group, for much less than the cost of professionals. A bunch of seniors at a music school are so close to being pros that none of your guests will ever be able to tell the difference. I got a lot of compliments on the music! So, obviously, my recommendation is to go the music school route.

Take care, ladies! Happy planning! And, I must say, I loved my wedding. It was fun and happy even if it was super hot. But now, I am just so happy it's over! No more stressing about tiny little details for a single day. Married life is divine. Not perfect, but thoroughly enjoyable. Being married is much more fun than planning a wedding. :)

Congratulations, Christine!

I am sooo eager to have everything done. My fiance had to attend the wedding of a good friend without me this past weekend. He took notes! I cracked up... he even brought me their program so I could see the music they had selected and how they had set everything up. I swear, I did not train him to do this!

I'm starting to get excited about our colors. The David's Bridal clover and the leaf shantung from Aria are both nice, bright greens so we're moving forward with options- very cool. I think the centerpieces with pink and yellow roses will look awesome. Our reception venue is very yellow- yellow chintz drapes, gold stucco walls- and I was concerned about that color overwhelming my pale pink and green but, by pulling in the yellow, I think it will look very polished.

Is anyone else thinking of skipping the cake in favor of a spectacular dessert? Wedding cakes are ridiculously expensive in this area and the service I've received from several highly-recommended area bakeries has left me reluctant to give these obnoxious people my money. We may just go with a rich chocolate mousse with a Chambourd raspberry sauce. It tastes wonderful and can be prepared by the on-site kitchen. Very tempting!

I'd love to have friends perform at the ceremony, unfortunately none of our friends play classical instruments. I think we might start going to some of the free performances at the music school to start scouting, plus it's a fun way to spend and evening.

Lafayette - I hadn't thought about dessert instead of cake, but I don't see why you shouldn't. I've been to weddings where there's been desserts in addition to the wedding cake and the other desserts are usually better and more popular than the cake.

One of our friends offered to do a video for the reception. He did one for our friends' recent wedding and he did such a good job, it'll be a fun project to work on with him. You can see the video for our friends' on YouTube here.

Wend dress shopping again this weekend, it kind of makes me want to scream and throw things. I spent an hour and a half there to try on two dresses, the woman helping me was a total dingbat. She kept suggesting I try things on that I clearly had no interest in trying on. I went in there with a designer name and styles written down, it's not my fault she couldn't find any of the dresses I wanted to try on. Finally some other sales staff were able to locate 2 of the 4 dresses I was hoping to try on. I liked one of the dresses a lot, but if I end up getting it I will order elsewhere, I don't want to have to deal with them or give them any $$$.

Lafayette- I have been tossing around doing cupcakes or some other single serving desert in lieu of a wedding cake. I have very little choice as far as cake decorators go- I grew up not too far from Aspen and therefor am dealing with Aspen prices :( The local grocery store bakery does nice cakes, but the selection is limited. Those are excellent color choices! I am in the same boat as far as the room colors being a bit of a hurdle.

Shananigans- I don't understand why dress shopping has to be such a nightmare! I would just like to find that happy medium where the sales"dingbat" isn't bringing me size 2's to try on, nor is she bringing me dresses I have ZERO interest in trying on. Is this too much to ask?
I think it's a great idea to check out the free concerts. And like I said, don't forget about the ensembles!

So people keep asking me what my colors are.... I haven't the slightest idea on how to go about this. It doesn't matter for the ceremony because it's in a garden and there will be very little decoration and the reception hall has blue/teal accents and anything I pick is going to clash except a purple hue. But I really like the Canary at David's Bridal. I never would've imagined picking a yellow, but it's such a happy color.

Shan, the independent bridal store I went to suggested I call or fax them the style numbers so they could have things ready. They actually didn't have one of the styles in stock but they pulled a similar style from another manufacturer so I could get an idea of what it would look like. She also asked for my measurements, not my size, to help have the right things on hand. Your experience sounds like mine at David's Bridal... the girl was nice but clearly had no clue despite having worked there for several years. The "it could be discontinued today" sales pitch is what finally did me in, though.

Have you tried a little local store?

Jen - I love yellow too :) Unfortunately it's a hard color for most people to wear, I personally look horrible in it.

Sadly, the store I visited on Saturday was a small local shop. They have two stores, one in Madison and another in Janesville. I even asked when I set up the appointment if I could give them the styles I wanted to try on in advance and they said to just bring pictures or style numbers. It's frustrating when you just want to get something done efficiently and no one seems to want to cooperate. If it's possible, I would say this experience was worse than those I had with David's Bridal. There are two more local shops I plan to check out, hopefully things can only get better, right?

I hope your experience gets better- otherwise I can suggest good places in this area. Amelishan Bridal in Hubertus (kind of between us) has come highly recommended to me, too.

Jen, do you have pictures of the reception site? I looked around to the people I love to inspire my color palette and I really love knowing my choices pay homage to special events in their lives.

My green was inspired by the season and my mom's bridesmaids' dresses. I love pink and pale pink roses were my maternal grandmother's favorite. My paternal grandother loved yellow roses so it all came together for the centerpieces. My bouquets will be pale pink with white freesia (still in buds to pull the green color into the arrangements). The more lime green in the fressia buds and in the green viburnum that will be in the centerpieces are a nod to my future mother-in-laws bridesmaids' dresses, which were a lime-chartruese (gotta love the 70's!). I had a lot of fun "talking wedding" with all of these women to pull these ideas together.

I'm having fruit pies as the main dessert for my wedding - one on each guest table plus 3 more for extras. But, we are still doing a 2-tier wedding cake (but is only costing me $85), and a groom's cake. DF was not happy about the pie idea, so I had to have the cakes as well in order to get him to agree to it. Way too much dessert, I know, but still in all it's less costly than if I'd gone with a big fancy wedding cake. Plus I love pie, so this is so me!

2.5 weeks to go!
Cindy

Hi all! I am new to 3FC, and a bride to be so I thought I'd drop in. All I have to say is that I really suck at planning events and I am poor so it's definitely been... interesting? *sigh* :P Anyway, the wedding is coming up like a freight train -- March 22nd, 2008. I have a lot of long distance people I'm inviting so I really needed to send invitations out like, 2 months ago but you know, I like to live dangerously. :P

:welcome2: rakel!

Planning a wedding definitely has obstacles and frustrations, but you can do it! Just try to be as organized as you can. It's hard for me as I am normally a walking disaster, but I kind of look at this like work and make myself do a budget, keep files, etc. It really helps. :)

Good luck and I look forward to hearing more about your plans.

Hi, Rakel!

My wedding is March 29, 2008. I'm sending my wedding invitations right after the first of the year, roughly following the three month rule. I skipped Save The Date cards, which are typically sent six months in advance, because a) everyone I REALLY want there already knows the date and is somehow involved in the wedding and b) they cost money!

There are a number of free online e-card style Save The Dates and wedding websites available, if you decide to go that route.

What do you have planned/decided so far? What kind of wedding? How many guests?

Yes, yes, Rakel! We need details ;)

Congratulations and welcome!!!

Hi Rake - I agree - you're not that far behind. If I were you I'd do Save the Dates to give your out-of-towners a heads up, as it's too soon to send invitiation IMO. STDs require very little detail - basically just a date and city/state. That will definitely buy you some time. Good luck and let us know what we can do to help.
Cindy

I'm so excited! Despite being essentially laid up for the time being, I have managed to maintain my weight loss. I have no work clothes that fit so I guess this little break is a good thing!

I talked to my sister/MOH and I think we'll go with full-length strapless bridesmaids' dresses from Aria in leaf green silk shantung. Very cool! Plus, the invitations are coming together beautifully and the bouquets of pale pink roses and white freesia I fell in love with will look great with the dresses. Things are moving right along!

How's everyone else coming with their plans?

Wow! So many responses! :D

I thought I was so behind but the more I read about Weddings, the more I am getting a little more comfortable about my timing. I hope to have the invitations sent out by the end of this month, and then I should be right on target for a 6month advanced notice -- although most of my immediate family already knows that I'm getting married and the invitations are just a matter of solidifying the details.

I have decided to have the wedding at 3:00pm on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 (Easter weekend) at my Church in Sanford, Florida. The reception will either be at my church, or at my apartment complex's club house (depends on how many people RSVP). My colors are black, dark grey, powder blue, and a coral red. I'm going to ask one of the members of my church if he is interested in making our wedding cake. He used to be a professional cake baker/decorator but is retired now. My pastor mentioned that he may be willing to make our cake for the cost of the ingredients. I haven't seen him in awhile but the next time I do I will ask him how much he would charge and see what he says -- I don't want to assume he'd do it for next to nothing and would rather let him offer if he wants to... but either way, he's really good and really nice, and I'm sure he will help us out!

I'm getting the invitations printed up by someone I found on Etsy. We're actually doing a trade -- I'm going to make her a website (I'm a web & graphic designer) and she's making my invitations and various other paper things I'll need (programs, etc). I *finally* decided on my invitation design... I have discovered it's next to impossible to design for oneself ... I went through about 6 or 7 designs before I decided on mine. It's so much easier to get to a certain point with a client and make them choose! I'm attaching it here so you all can see what it looks like :D I think my problem is that I was trying to make it too fancy and that's just not me.

I found a dress on Lane Bryant that I liked, but I don't think they are making any more of them. The site says to contact stores for availability so I will probably go dress shopping in about 3 months. I would have bought the dress already but to be honest I hope that I am not still wearing the same size in 3 months!

I'm working on making a wedding site for us, I just bought the domain last night!

Rakel, I know what it's like to be your own client on a design, too! As an artist, I passed the invitation and program design duties on to a graphic designer friend of mine so I wouldn't go completely insane. Your colors sound like a very pretty combination. Lane Bryant makes wedding dresses?

Ah yes, I think I pretty much went nuts. I'm really happy with the final results though!

They do! I don't think they usually have them in stores though, but you can find them on their website. The one I wanted is the 3rd one down in the 2nd column: http://lanebryant.charmingshoppes.co...bridal_dresses

Hi rakel

I just wanted to encourage you that you certainly CAN get all of this done before March 22nd, 2008. I had a short engagement. I was officially asked April 17th, 2007, and I was married August 12, 2007. I had a beautiful, fun, enjoyable wedding, and now I get the fun part, being married! (PS ladies, still no pictures...)

Anyway, don't buy into any of the hype that you cannot do do a wedding in a short period of time. It can be stressful, and probably will be at times, but it is doable.

I thought I would pass along one more thought. If you care about etiquette, some will say that invitations should only be sent out 30-60 days in advance. I have even seen people say that it is rude to send them out earlier. If you have any ultra-conservative guests, that may be good to know. So, if you decided to send out your invitations closer to your wedding date, you would want to do something for your out-of-town guests. This would either be save-the-dates or just calling those key players for your wedding.

Good luck to you! Enjoy the process, do things the way you want, and have a happy marriage.

Why is it rude to send them out earlier than 2 months prior? Pretty much all of my family lives at least 5 states away so I'd want to give them plenty of time to make arrangements if they would like to come. I think I'll just send them out by the end of this month as planned. It's unbelievable how much "etiquette" there is to follow with this crap, it kinda makes me not want to do it at all. People can't just relax and be happy for the couple? Geez.

LOL, I was sooo there a few months ago. My mom had great advice- learn the rules so you know which ones you're breaking. My sister got me Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette updated by Peggy Post as an engagement gift and it has been a wonderful resource. I've read other books that place etiquette across the board- even going so far as to suggest the exacty oppostite is correct- but I figure the people who care probably know Emily Post (read: my older relatives) and she hasn't steered me wrong yet. I've broken a couple but I know I did, I know why I did and I'll have a ready answer if asked.

In the end, most people are focusing on how happy they are for the couple but proper etiquette actually conveys a lot of information, from how formal the wedding will be to whether the bride will be keeping her maiden name.

After I got over my initial, thank-god-Emily's-dead-or-I'd-be-in-jail reaction, I appreciated having direction!

It isn't rude to send invitations earlier than recommended but it may make collecting the RSVP's more difficult. You may find yourself making a lot of phone calls to nail people down, regardless of when you ask for the cards to be returned. You may also find yourself sending out duplicate invitations and needing to provide guests with itineraries when they arrive because the original invitations will be long gone.

Hang in there!

Yikes, I think I am too poor to double the postage, lol. I'm making a website for it that will have all the information. I know not everyone is savvy enough for that but these days most everyone knows somebody so I don't think it will be a huge problem.

Rakel, you could also send an Evite-style Save The Date via e-mail. I have a friend who did this for the majority of her guests and then made phone calls to the older, less tech savvy relatives. There are several free options.

I'm struggling with creating our registry. Being over 30 and having two complete households to combine, the only things we don't have are china, crystal and silver. We're also planning to sell our house within the next two years so it's hard to know what we'll want for the new place. My dad suggested registering at a bank ;)

Post card is a good idea! I was thinking of printing up business cards with the website on it... I figure, a business card? They could stick it on the fridge or in their wallet? I just dunno, I'm trying not to spend a whole lotta money because I don't have anything except what my dad is giving me ($2k)... I HATE BEING POOR.

Rakel, have you already established how are you allocating your $2K budget? I imagine that will dictate some of these decisions.

You can have a great wedding for this amount- I helped a friend plan a wedding for 300 people with a $4k budget (total, including her dress) and we even found a way to do a family style dinner for everyone- but creating a budget and sticking to it is critical.

I started my own wedding budget by compiling two sets of numbers- what things actually cost and what I was willing to spend- and worked from there to get everything to conform to my bottom line. So far, I've managed to spend either the amount I budgeted or less- any extra is honeymoon mad money! I may be the first bride to ever bring a wedding in under budget...

Wait, so do you register for a shower? Do you include stuff on your regular registry and people pick from that? My oh my....

I have picked a total of 4 items off of Macy's and Target. We need stuff, sure, but I can't figure out exactly what :lol: And the more I browse through Macy's, the more overpriced I think it is.

Casual dishes... check
iron skillet and grill... check.
serving platter....check.

I'm sure I'll think of something...

Several people have told me Macy's is a bad idea because they discontinue items and rotate their stock frequently. I've gotten great referrals to Bed, Bath & Beyond- I guess they'll let your guests use multiple coupons and even competitors' coupons but will refund you the full purchase amount when you return the items for cash or store gift cards. Plus, they will answer your questions and make suggestions as you complete your registry.

Thanks! We need to discuss the "all new stuff" philosophy... the thing is, we have not stopped buying things!

As for overpriced, I know we look to get gifts based on the amount we are going to spend- most recently, we bought wine glasses and bar glasses for our friends. The price of each item was high but the item itself would be something they'd keep and the quantity got me to the amount I wanted to spend. If you love it, register for it!!! Someone will buy it for you.

Hey gals - just one week before I head out to Michigan before the wedding! Yikes!

I am sort of floundering right now to try to figure out what still needs to be done - maybe I have it all done already????

I do need to do my table number still, but otherwise, all my DIY projects are done I believe. Still need to get some music info to the DJ. But otherwise drawing a blank.

Hey, any suggestions for finding an ivory dress to change into at the reception (my wedding dress is just so uncomfortable - I'll never dance in it!). I found a great one at Newport News, and then it was on backorder! I need a 16W so it needs to be available in women's sizes. Any guidance would be appreciated - I've looked everywhere locally.
Cindy

I'm a bride-to-be (and have been for 2 years, long story), no date set yet, september 08 or 09 I think.. but I thought I would introduce myself to the group and say HI!

I'm not doing too bad with the budget, but I'm pretty sure I'll be going over $2k. My mom is also giving me $1K but we're using that for the honeymoon! I'm thinking if I can spend $3K total on the actual wedding, we'd be doing pretty great. The thing is, I'm actually trading for the invitations. I found a screenprinter who needs a website, so I'll be making her website and she's printing my paper stuff. HOWEVER, I'm trying to keep the cost down so I can actually make some money off the deal :P I have decided that I will go ahead and go with Save the Date postcards. I have them designs and ready to go for the most part! I'm still working on the budget (the wedding is 6mo away) so I still have time...


**EDIT** here are my saves the date designs... my printer still has to go over them and make sure they are "screenprint safe" ... but I'm really happy with them :D

Rakel- very cute Save the Date cards!

ValentineBride- welcome!!!

BfL Cat- try Target's website. They have wedding dresses designed by Isaac Mizrahi and the one I checked (Opal cream strapless sheath dress for $89.99) goes to size 18. Looking at the options, the most you'll probably spend is $200. Let me know if this works- I'm tempted to buy my wedding dress there just based on the price!

Thanks guys! I got a big THUMBS UP from my printer so she's gonna print them up now :D. I've been doing lots of work on my wedding website... you guys are welcome to check it out, but I don't have any content up yet, I've just been working on the design. It's the first time I ever made a Wordpress template from 100% scratch, so it's definitely been a learning experience... and there are still some bugs with the script I used to insert font headlines on-the-fly, I believe that is what's causing it to bring up ugly 403 errors when you try clicking on some things. BUT... still working on it. :D

check it!: fairfull.us

MissMess- No kidding, we have every item on that list! In some cases, we have two! So many of the big items were gifts that I hesitate to register for new ones for fear of upsetting the givers. My mom and aunts have long held the belief that I would take an interest in cooking if I just had the right equipment. I'm pretty sure that's how I got a stand mixer for my birthday.

I did discover last night (when I almost sliced my fingers off) that we need a bagel slicer. That's one item!!!

I started to plan our registry. FINALLY. China and crystal with a few silver serving pieces plus tablecloths, sheet sets and towels. I also added a good quality down comforter.

My future sister-in-law told me in the nicest way to stop being so pragmatic! It's actually pretty fun now that I've started to think extravagant instead of practical. Can you tell I prefer to give rather than receive?!?

Is anyone else getting married in a Church then going to another location for their reception? We're trying to figure out transportation from the Church to the reception now. What are you guys doing?

One week to go - eek!

We registered at Macy's and William Sonoma. I only have 60 guests, and we only had one MI shower - none in NY due to some confusion, so I didn't get a lot off my registries. Which is ok, since I'm 43 and I have all the stuff I really need. The W-S stuff is more of a treat for my cooking, and I will buy some stuff with the gift cards I've gotten. We did get a set of Waterford candlesticks from our Macy's registry - I was quite surprised that someone got us such a nice $$ gift!

We are just having the guest drive from the church to the reception - I was going to try to shuttle them, but it's just not in the budget. I do have a couple of designated drivers though, in case the open bar is too much for some guests. All of my places are only about 5 miles apart, so it's easy for us to manage.

I'm trying to clean the house up for the pet sitter - it's a disaster, then I need to tackle some final DIY projects - table numbers, finish place cards, photo site card, and that's about it.

Then the creation of the to-do and to-pack list begins!
Cindy

PS - Rakel - love the STDs - I wish I could design stuff like that myself!

MissMess & BFL -- thanks! :D

Lafayette -- We are considering it. We're either going to have it at our church, or at our apartment complex clubhouse (can't afford anywhere else :P). I don't really know what the most appropriate thing is, but I know my sister had a pretty formal wedding and people just drove their cards to the reception spot. I don't think you need to provide any transportation for guests... or do you mean for yourself? If that's the case, people either get limos or... ?? Their own car?

So much going on here!


Cindy - Down to the wire now, eh? Good luck with everything, I'm sure it will be lovely!

rakel - How cool that you can design your own invites and save-the-dates! And that trade deal is saving you a bundle.

The couple that will be sharing our ceremony site with us (their wedding is a couple hours after ours) has agreed to split costs on the tent and chair rentals, and they seem nice and easy to work with so that looks like it's going to work out fine. We also confirmed with the ceremony site that our dog will be allowed, even though the gardens don't generally allow dogs. So Dexter gets to be "Best Dog", he's going to look sharp in a bow tie ;)

We are having a problem with stuff being discontinued on our Crate and Barrel registry. In retrospect we should have gone with BB&B.

Wedding website is starting to come together, still needs some work http://www.shannonjason.com/

I found my dress on Saturday! Good thing, it's about 1/3 of the cost of the dress I was infatuated with last week. :dizzy: It very simple and elegant, and also very comfortable! I'm so excited and happy to have that detail taken care of.

Meeting with this florist this Wednesday. Feeling a little more on top of things now.