daughters wedding

I know exactly how you feel...

Its really hard to even plan anything when you have NO money (except what is scraped together) So I have been doing alot of soul searching about things that will truly make my day special...and what I can (and can't) live without on my Wedding. Of course I am still hoping to win the free wedding here (..lol..)...but just in case I don't (hehe) I sorta came up with some ideas ----

Wedding Favors don't have to be elaborate-- they can be something as simple as a note or a small assortment of special candies in a box or tied with ribbons inside tulle(If you have a Trader Joes near you, you would be amazed at the good deals they have on boxed imported 'fancy' chocolates) .... another idea is to give a seedling tree (ask them to plant it ) or a starter for a precious plant or flower with a handwritten card that says something poetic(or explains the meaning of the particular herb or flower you chose).....

As for pictures.... well this probably sounds cheezy (but when you have very little money you get creative...HA!) but if we don't have alot of money when our wedding is at hand we are going to borrow a good digital camera (or rent one from a local camera shop) The picture quality is excellent if it is a good camera (with a zoom lens) You can pose and see the pictures right away (by viewing them on the LCD screen )..... This will let us know right away which shots did and didn't turn out for us. I wish we could hire a Photographer but we just cant spend the $600 (or more )it would take. This also will allow us to take some really candid shots... No, they wont be as beautiful as what could be taken by a professional...but they will be a lasting memory of our wedding day and that is really what s important to me.


I wish I had more help..but I am truly trying to find the same answers you are seeking. It will take a lot more time to plan but you can have a beautiful wedding on virtually nothing : ) If I come across any good ideas I will post them here for you: )

Good Luck and tell you Daughter Congrats!!!!

Keri

Miss Judi, you certainly came to the right place! We ran into the same sort of issues... Kyle and I are paying for most of the wedding ourselves and we're getting a little, very little, but a little *ha* help from our parents. I'm not complaining though because I know that if they could help more they would!

Here are a few of the things I have come up with:

Favors: I came up with an idea for a little box (bought wholesale online for $0.16 each) filled with home made potpourri sachets ($30 made 32 cups of potpourri... PLENTY) and little floating flower candles in my wedding colors, and then I tied a little ribbon on them and attached a scrool that says:

Here is a little box of love
Filled to the brim, that's true,
When you see it you will know
How much we think of you!

You do not need to open it
So leave the ribbon tied
Just hold it in your hands and know
It's filled with love inside.

If you're so inclined to peek,
This gift is our way to say
How much it means to both of us
You are here to share our day.

Love,
Kyle & Leah
Sunday, May 13, 2001

They ended up costing less than $1.00 a piece! I actually added the third verse, so if you decide to leave it off you don't have to put anything in the box!

Caterer: Call your local culinary arts school! They all have programs that put their senior students to work. Basically they will send one of their students that is about to graduate to meet with you and talk about what exactly you want. If you decide to go with them they charge much less than regular caterers becuase they just want the experience!

Photographer: Do the same thing! Contact your local college/university.

Florist: Try ordering your flowers from a wholesaler and then arranging them yourself. You'll most definitely save a ton of money that way!

Stationary/Invitations: I made my own and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out!!!

Before you do any of this though, the most important thing is to set your budget! I cannot stress that enough. Set your budget and do your best to stick with it. Try PartyPop's budget calculator, it will give you a good idea of some of the costs of major expenses. If you would like you can contact me via my web page and I'll send you a copy of my budget to give you an idea of what we had to work with. My home page can be found at:

http://www.geocities.com/winfreymcgee

I'll let you know, the most indisposable item I've purchased for my wedding has been a book by Denise Fields called "Bridal Bargains." If you're on a strict budget I HIGHLY recommend this book.

One more place to start looking is within your own group of friends... you never know, maybe you have an aspiring photographer-nephew! Good luck and keep your chin up.

~L

Miss Judi,

I hope Leah's advice helps.......WOW Leah....you sure helped ME!!!! hahaha Excellent Response....

Diane

Leah.... great advice (*Taking notes here*)...lol


Keri

Gee *blush* Thanks Girls *haha*

~L

Well the ideas you have all given me are great keep them coming. A couple of things I have found useful is to keep everything written down in a big notebook. I mean write down every thing you might want that you see or have thought about. The people you call the times for any meetings EVERYTHING and date and ask for the names of the people you talk to concerning anything also. We have all ready found that sometimes when you talk to one person then call back the next person is clueless about what you have been told. We also found that balloons are the best and cheapest decorations and the tanks to air them up are not that expensive at least in our area. Candle making doesn't seem to be that hard and is also a good table decoration and I will post anything I find out in that area for you all. Untill next time, the mother of the bride judi

Check out Favorsbylisa.com. Very attentive and pay close attention to detail. They have great idea's. And prices are great.
Gene

Well all been a while since I have been here, the wedding dress of her dreams has been found and fits perfect will only need tank sleeves taken up about one inch on each side.
Found a pattern and seamstress to make attendents gowns for 100.00 dollars, Simplicity has the greatest patterns. Same dress at shop was going to be around 250.00 for each girl.
Have found great ideas for using ballons for reception as well as clear christmas lights so we are stocking up on those Happy New year to all and keep the ideas coming.

Judi----

Sounds like you guys are doing great! I have been looking at brides magazines and stuff and it is crazy how much some of the companies want to charge for a Bridesmaid dress. I think that sometimes you can have one made for you cheaper than you can buy it off the rack (and it will be exactly what you want!).

Congratulations to your daughter (and you;) for finding the perfect Bridal gown...*smile*... Its so amazing to me that you can look in a bridal magazine and the most beautiful models in the world look "good" in the wedding dress but somehow they never look quite as magical as the real bride herself...I guess its true that Love and Happiness can truly transform the way someone appears. :)

Hope you have a happy new year!
(By the way...when is the Wedding Day??)

Keri

Keri I know just what you mean about the books and the gowns, we were so lucky that Amanda found this dress
And it is just perfect some one was watching over us. The wedding is September the 8th 2001. We kind of
Put the wedding plans on hold over the holidays but will be getting into the swing of things now. Story of getting dresses made
Is kinda of funny. We went to the local JoAnn Fabrics store and I found a pattern that was so close to the dress
Amanda had picked out a shop for the girls it wasn't funny. I just asked off hand the girl waiting on us if she knew
Of any one who sewed wedding gowns and such. She said I do , just sewed my on daughters gown and all
Dress for girls and did another wedding a few weeks before. She said she was hoping to get into that business
Full time but husband was a little hesitant as the weekly check would be gone. But as the story goes she is out on
Her own doing just that, and lucky us we got in on the ground floor and cost. Colors are dark purple and teal with
Silver I think dresses will be velvet on top and satin on bottom. Looking for ideas for table favors though if you have any let me know.
Happy New year to all see you next year.

Hello again Miss Judi; I'm on a favor roll! *haha* I just replied to a bridal/baby shower post that has my brain crankin!

• I love the idea of taking favor boxes and stacking them as a centerpiece (a la Martha Stewart). To see what I mean just cut and paste this link...
  http://www.marthastewart.com/weddings/favors/wfa02_000_0026.asp?category=favors
  
• Candles Candles Candles! You can use votives or floating candles, but they will almost always be appreciated!
  
• Bookmarks: one of my BM's was recently married and she had bookmark favors at her wedding... She had 200 made, 147 guests and NONE were left!
  
• You can get pens made with the date and bride & groom's names on it, everyone needs an extra pen!
  
• Home-made jams: this would be perfect for small weddings. Every year I make jams and give them as Christmas gifts, they make little 4oz jars that would be perfect for a wedding! Just attach a little note that says "Made especially for you by the new Mr. & Mrs."
  

I have to run to a meeting right now, but I'll be back! Hope this helped :-)
~L

Judi---

Wow... You lucked out finding someone to do the dresses...what a great story: ) I am looking into making the dresses ,too (with help from some family members who are good at that type of thing) but it all depends on if I can find a good deal somewhere : ) We won't have alot of money to play around with so we have to think about the things that are really important to us. As long as the BridesMaids dresses are pretty they don't neccesarily need to be really "fancy". I am thinking of having the same color scheme but have each person in a style that compliments their body type. I have been a bridesmaid and had my own worries and concerns about the dress so I don't want to make anyone else feel like that..;)

As for table Favors there are a few things that could be really cute.: )

---I just recently saw an idea that if it is a hot time of year when the wedding takes place then you can have simple handheld fans at each place setting.

---Also like Leah said...Candles Candles Candles;)
---Potpourri was used in alot fo ancient ceremonies. It could be placed in a small container or in a drawstring bag of some kind. There is alot of meaning behind each scent . You could attach a small card that lists the ingredients as well as what they symbolize.
--- Another good one is small wedding cakes (as I think Leah mentioned in another post)...these cakes are decorated like mini wedding cakes and usually in a small box to take home with them. I think these are probably expensive though. But if you are good at that type of thing or know someone who is it might be feasable. :) (I wish I could do that; )

I'll try to think of some more....good luck with ideas!

Keri

To Leah----

Great ideas...I am going to check out the Martha Stewart thing right now! .....

Hope you had a great New Year!

Keri

I had a lovely (quiet) New Year's... Thank You :) And you?

I LOVE that Martha Stewart idea, darned that woman, she's the one thing that has the possibility of blowing my budget! She has some FABULOUS ideas... I decided not to go with that exact centerpiece because I'm attaching the little scrolls to mine, and it makes it too difficult to stack, but I got the box idea from her in the first place!

~L

Hello again; )

Well I had a very "odd" New Years Eve actually. Was alot of fun...I'll fill ya in when I have more time..its a long story...*Wink*

But oh yeah ! Those favor boxes were a great idea!..I love it!

Gonna go look around more there.....thanks for the tip:)

Keri

*haha* I'll be anxiously awaiting your e-mail with the New Year's story!

~L

Hey guys thanks for all the great ideas, as for my New Year's it was the best at 9.51 a.m. Our time I got a new grandaughter
On my birthday no doubt. I was the new baby for our county "years" ago and she is also the New baby for
Her county. Alyce Nicole 5lbx 14 oz and 18 in long. Hope to somehow be able to have her in the wedding now also.
As for dress, we are using a simple pattern and I will get you the pattern number it has an aline skirt and simple top
We using this as it flatters both the plus size and the small. As I said Amanda's colors are dark purple, teal and
Silver so the maid of honor will be one color and the other girls the oppisite color. I think we are going to do the tops in a light weight velvet and the
Bottom in satin but not sure yet. Keep the ideas coming, I am gettin a computer at home this date 1/5 and hope to\
Be up and running by early next week so if you don't here from me don't think I am missing in action I will be back
Friends Judi

If money is tight-do you really need favors? If so, im-
Printed matchbooks are 21c each at American Wed-
Ding Album website. Also, they have imprinted napkins
For $11 per 100.
As for the digital camera, a decent one is going to run
You more than $200! How about your photographer
For the local paper? Or a photography student or teach-
Er?
As for the food-Hy-Vee is pretty reasonable or any
Grocery store that has a deli. They make wedding cakes, also.
Look at Davids Bridal in your area. Right now, they are
Having a $99 sale!
JC Penney outlet always has some good buys on
Gowns & bridesmaids dresses. Why not go with a
Prom dress or special occasion dress instead of the
'bridesmaid' dress. No one will know the diff! Besides,
Bm dresses look like that anyway!!!
Good Luck!
Princess

Personalized candy bars are great to give out at wedding receptions. For more information, contact me at kandygrams@hotmail.com

On e thing that has helped me on my budget is severl family members and friends have recently gotten married and I have been fortunate enough to salvage some of thier stuff. Just an idea, i you know any newly weds. Ashla danyel

Judie if you could email me at grapepixystix@aol.com i might have something for you.id rather not talk in board.might work out great..i know how it feels my mother is giving me 1,000 all she can afford my dad wont give me nothing..

Beth

P.s please contact me