Wedding Planning @ MindSay 
wedding
I’d never lie to you
You know I’d die for you
Yeah, I love you too
So just do what you do,
Consume and gobble it up
Come on, show me some love
Or I’ll be blowin' you up!
So then. Things new in my life.
We managed two Thanksgiving dinners this year. The first was with Josh's aunt and her family on Wednesday up in Arlington. They have a beautiful piece of land up there, and I look forward to taking the children back in better weather. So that I can kick them outside and tell them to come back when they've run themselves out. Their house is old, and large - I was a little amazed by how spacious it seemed. I was also a little amazed by how well they filled it up. And I thought we had too much stuff.
Our next dinner was down in Tacoma with Nick's family. That was a little awkward in parts, but for the most part it was a very nice time. The kids did better than I had feared they would. It probably helped that they had people so willing to play with them - Nick always seems to love running around with them, and Camille is a pre-school teacher, so there you have it. Corwyn actually spent a lot of time curled up on my lap while we watched Invader Zim in the family room. And I took a post-dinner nap. It worked out.
The wedding planning is still moving right along. I've started keeping track of the hours I devote to it, just so I can have something to show Leah in, say, January and go "all right, I want you to look at this, and we're going to talk about how much I should be paid". I feel like people are looking at me unfavorably over this, because I should be willing to help a friend without compensation, right? And I am willing to help a friend. This just goes way beyond helping. This goes into doing it for her. In my opinion, that takes us into a whole new realm. I mean, for pity's sake, I am going to be making the groom and groomsmen's attire because our seamstress will be overworked with what she currently has to do. Oy.
Speaking of which, I need to order fabric. Work, work, work. Found a good price on Egyptian cotton, though. Just need to check that it's heavy enough.
I feel a little off moving into the holidays - this is the first holiday season that I have been so very cut off from all of my family and our friends. However, unless we win the lottery, there is no way we can afford a trip out to Colorado before next summer. Well, okay, theoretically we could in Spring after we get our tax returns back, but I really don't want to spend the entirety of my tax return on trying to fly during Spring Break season.
Back to the wedding planning, I've decided on a company name. I've already checked, and it is available. As is the corresponding domain name. No, I'm not telling anyone what it is. Not until we get the website launched. I don't know if this will end up going anywhere, but if it did I think I would be a very happy camper. I mean, even if it just worked out a little bit. Though I think I need at least one more job before people take me seriously.
And now I have a house to clean. Josh and I are going out for the first time since Halloween tonight. Leah and Nick are watching the kids, and they're going to get here early so that Leah and I can take a look at the menu and research food items so that I can call the nice lady at The Edgewater on Monday and go "all right, Kelsey, it's time to talk to the chef".
"This is your one day to express yourself."
What a horrible sentiment! As if brides aren't already under enough self- and socially-imposed pressure, now they're being told that they'll never have any opportunity for self-expression outside of their wedding day. What if you never get married? No self-expression for you. The wedding industry lines its pockets by planting these suggestions in the minds of vulnerable brides-to-be, who are presumably new to the wedding-planning game and willing to spend huge amounts of cash to meet real or perceived expectations. Who needs the pressure of being informed that you have an eight-hour window in which to show the world exactly who you are?
I'll be honest -- I began the wedding-planning process with loads of excitement, but before long got overwhelmed and came to hate it. I'm a perfectionist and a little (ok, highly) obsessive, and the stress of planning a wedding and a cross-border move brought out the worst of my neuroses. It's kind of funny in hindsight, but at one point I was so overwhelmed I actually crawled under my bedsheets in a panic mid-day, trying in vain to shut it all out. I've always been a champion sleeper, but would wake in a cold sweat from nightmares of a half-done wedding. Looking back, I wish I had enjoyed the process more, but by some miracle, despite the officiant showing up half an hour late and the guitarist arriving without the extension cords he needed to perform at our outdoor ceremony, the wedding came together last-minute and was the antithesis of the horrible planning process. Focussing on that allows me to block out all the blood, sweat and tears that went into it (I honestly don't know how I would have recovered if I had put all of that energy into it and had an equally traumatic wedding day to match).
Wow, I'm feeling dangerously expressive for someone who's already had her one kick at the can. :)
So this phone rep from the "Southern Bridal Registry" AKA "Royal Prestige" called my fiancee Emily today to inform her that she'd won a sweepstakes, including a couple free 3 day--2 night vacation vouchers and a $500 gift certificate to some webstore. She and I also have to go to some convention (cookware) where they're going to cook us lunch and discuss the details of said "sweepstakes." Well she called me to tell me about all this today, and needless to say, we were both excited--because hey, we're poor and we wanted a free honeymoon. But we took it warily, because hey--nothing is free anymore. I mean damn... I want to give Emily a nice honeymoon--but it's not like I have access to a fortune to do so.
Anyway, I was being good and studying my Biology and Emily called me just to say goodnight and we mentioned the "sweepstakes" deal. I mentioned that we should check it out online... so after a few minutes I get up to Google "Southern Bridal Registry." First thing that comes up is Scam Report. I read all the bits... one of which is that you have to pay a $75 deposit to receive the vouchers--(it's supposed to be refunded to you at the end of your stay). Oh, and also the $500 gift certificate does not pay for shipping and handling which I read was extremely expensive (came out to over $100). I'm glad I read it all to begin with. I called Emily--she'd read it too. Scam, scam, scam... She's feels particularly misled I think--even though we didn't pay them anything (and believe me, we won't)... but ya know, they said she "won"... but we didn't win jack. I'm really irritated at them because they got her and my hopes all up for a possibility of a honeymoon in the Bahamas... You know, sometimes there are such things as real sweepstakes, where you actually win something... I was thinking that it could have been one of those. But alas... skepticism wins and cynicism grows.
You know, picking on young couples hoping to be newly weds soon is pretty yucky.
I don't think we're going to waste our Saturday afternoon going to their cooking demonstration to sell their over-priced cookware. Although, I may just decide to go and waste their time and shove it in their face that they're scammers, etc. If I go though, I will be leaving my wallet in the car along with Em's purse. Besides, I don't have any money that they can scam me for anyway.
1. BBQ Bash - self explanatory
2. The Orient Express - Have a Chinese restaurant cater dinner, serve mini-pad thais as an appetizer, get soem colorful paper lanterns and parasols and whatever else you find from Chinatown or an online supplier that will make for a great Oriental festival. Fried bananas or mango ice cream bring a sweet finale to your gathering.
3. Go for a Dip -fondue pots with all different dips and things to dip in them. For favors, you can give guests a take-home version of one of the dishes or even a monogrammed fondue fork.
4. Let the Good Times Bowl - bowling parties. Some places have private rooms. Stage competitions between the two families, or do boys vs. girls, and give awards at the end of the night in which wnners receive a bowling shirt embroidered with “Team *insert first names of couple to be married*” while everyone else takes home sugar cookies iced to look like bowling balls.
5. Feelin’ Lucky? -Casino night complete with invitations on customized playing cards. Decorate surfaces with chocolate poker chips.
6. A Party You Can Really Dig - clambake party, could even do this at the beach with surf n turf. Fill buckets with shells and seafood-shaped candies at each table for fun favors.
7. Welcome to the Big League - baseball stadium or baseball field party. Many ballparks offer group packages, including with a congratulatory message on the scoreboard. Personalized baseball caps or plastic beer steins are great party favors. Guest book? Make everyone sign a "game ball".
8. Toast of the Town - wine tasting party. Mini wine bottles can be party favors.
9. Destination Theme - honeymoon themed to wherever you may be going on your honeymoon.
10. Tee Time - Golf party at a course or club. Favors: golf balls with name of couple printed on them.
and dont forget to use all those wedding cameras to take lots of pictures of the pre-wedding fun.
- Who's footing the bill? Talk about it with your respective families, then you can ask them to commit to a specific dollar amount. Or if you like, it may be easier to ask each set of parents to finance a particular aspect of the wedding (such as the ceremony, honeymoon, or catering) instead of just committing to a dollar amount. Maybe you are paying for it all yourself, or just contributing. Add it all up and make your budget.
- How much do you need? The average cost for a 150-person wedding is about $25,000 (higher in urban areas). Look at this basic breakdown of what you can expect to pay: Reception: 48%-50% Ceremony: 2%-3% Attire: 8%-10% Flowers: 8%-10% Entertainment/Music: 8%-10% Photography/wedding cameras/Videography: 10%-12% Stationery: 2%-3% Wedding Rings: 2%-3% Parking/Transportation: 2%-3% Gifts: 2%-3% Miscellaneous: 8% . Of course, you should also have 5% of your budget for a "just-in-case" fund. Budget your honeymoon in there, too, if you are the ones paying for it. If you're paying for your honeymoon yourselves, remember to budget for that as well.
- How much should you save? The best thing to do is start saving 20% of your monthly income from the time you get engaged to the actual wedding has to be paid for.
- How do you save? You can limit your spending on small stuff like going out to eat or renting movies. Other things that are luxuries can be cut, too. You should also check into CD's or money market accounts to save the most money. Just check the fine print to avoid penalties.
Showing 1 - 5. [ Next ]
