Wedding on a Budget

So along with the invitations that I purchased a Big Lots (talked about in a different post), I also picked up a flower baskets and ring pillow set for a whopping $2.00. However it didn’t match our wedding color, red.  We aren’t going to have a ring bearer and flower girl either. I bought it and thought, it I toss it, whats two bucks?

As it sat there on my dining room table while I worked on Save the Date cards, I got inspired to do something. I went out to Wal-mart and picked up two small spools of red ribbon at $1.00 each and here is the result.

We can use the pillow to set the rings on ahead of time at the front where our officiant (Newbie) will be. The basket…..I can fill it with petals but it can be for decoration on the sign in table or something.

So the last DJ we interviewed was dramatically different from the first one we met. When asked how he kept up to date with his music…his response, “I stay very up to date, see….” as he pulled out a stack of papers with song titles. He said he had personally typed them himself. If we sign then we would get a copy and were to highlight what we wanted.

– What kind of equipement do you use?  Real good equipment.

– How do you back yourself and make sure things are available for the day? (aka, the song list) I have backup of everything. In fact I make you a disc of the songs for you so if anything, we can play from CD that I will make for you.

– Do you offer Karoake services? Yes, but you shouldn’t pay the extra. Anyone that is going to sing will already know the lyrics. Let people sing along to the music and save some money.

Sigh…the first DJ had and elaborate website that DJ’s buy into and everything is online, from song selection to event planning. He stored his music repository on laptop, external hard drive, etc.

I’m sorry, you can’t be shuffling papers and CDs with all the technology that is out there today. This last DJ is “NOT” making the final cut. I am not a tree hugger but I do think technology has replaced the need for paper in many situations.

Brian and I were originally not going to do an engagement session. There was no need. We weren’t going to put an announcement in the paper or anything.

However the photographer we selected gave us a special with a free engagement session! YAY for Springfield Photography (www.springfieldphotography.com).  So the question is where do we go to get them done and what should we wear.  We have one idea so far but not sure.  We’ve talked about wearing the traditional Vietnamese wedding outfit, ao dai, for the wedding. Well, what if we did that outfit for the engagement session. It will be like a bridal session or pre-wedding session.

For those that don’t know what the traditional wedding ao dai look like, http://aodaivinh.com/wedding-ao-dai-red-127-p-3612.html. Typically the bride will be in red or pink and the groomis in red, blue or gold or some combination of it.

A few things have to happen for this to work though. 1) I have to find someone that will make the ao dai at a decent price for both of us. 2) find a location that is a countryside or pond with lots fo flat land. Basically we’re looking for a location that could somewhat resemble the natural landscape one might find in Viet Nam. If we can’t satisfy both then we will most likely do a regular engagement session.

The search begins. We also have quite a while before we have to decide too so no worries…..yet….

Today I finally swung by the post office and dropped off the Save the Date cards after my Dr. Appt today. The stamps from zazzle were a bit big for the envelopes

I just hope they go out okay without issues about postage. I weighed the envelope with card and magnet and it was the right amount of oz. But it just feels heavy because of the magnet. I got adhesive magnetic sheets. They cut really easily and it was very easy to place!  Now you don’t have to reassign one of your fridge magnets to hold up our card.

*sigh* what’s next? I think Brian would say…”REST.” Perhaps I will go lay down now and he will go over the list of DJs again so that we can get that crossed off of the list.

So I was online hunting for a place that sould a double happiness cake topper for my wedding. But what did I find? This cute little site called “zazzle.com”

Here you can make your own stamps. Apparently this has been around for a while, but I’ve never used it. They had a double happiness stamp someone had made but if I’m going to order custom stamps then why not uplaod my own art that I made. I also left it up there for others to buy too if they want.

So here is what I made: http://www.zazzle.com/yipdesigns

Apparently for everyone that orders my designed stamps, then I get a little commission. I might go in there and make other stamps just for fun

Last night: DJ interview
Tonight: Photographer
Tomorrow: chores, examine Clear
Monday: Photographer
Wednesday: birthday of Kim’s mom
Thursday (brian): giving platelets and going to ALE on niece and nephew’s b-day

We need to start sending the nice little Save the Date cards Kimmie created, and we’re looking to start integrating some bits and pieces of our cultures/families into things.  Yes, more of the double happiness symbol above, of course.

Wow. And then there’s the week following with food tasting at the venue, followed up with the weekend we help friends move, followed up by a Shakespeare Tavern visit for 6.

We apologize if we’re not posting as much.

The good news is this DJ had nothing but excellent things to say about our venue, both from his professional experience as well as stories he has heard about other weddings there, so we are very confident our venue was the right choice.

So I got a follow-up phone call from a large wedding photography place this morning asking how my wedding planning was going? 

I should start with some background info. This company has  a website you go to and get an account then you can pick a photographer, videographer and DJ based on a list of available people on your special day. You get to see some sample works, their bios and thats it. 

So I told her that I haven’t decided yet. She started pushing me and saying that May is a really busy time and I shouldn’t wait. I let her know that that we’ve been interview folks in person and find that more appealing than just looking a a few sample works.

Her response? we have brides in 20 states that use us and never had a problem. So, to her personality doesn’t matter. A wild and crazy photographer paired with a meek couple would be no problem. So I arrive on my wedding day and find the guy or girl that is not on my invite list and ask, are you my photographer?

I don’t think that method is for me.

So ever since we’ve been engaged we have been showered congrats. We really appreciate all of them. 

Then we also get:

“I can’t wait to come to the wedding”

“Don’t forget to invite me”

and the craziest one was, “Let me know when to come get fitted for my bridesmaid dress”

*sigh*

We do value everyone in out lives. You entered our lives for a reason and all of you are dear friends. But we have decided to do a very small wedding with just the groom and bride and not other wedding party.  So the guess list is tiny and though it would be nice to have everyone we know there, its only going to be family and very few friends. 

Our apologies if you aren’t on the list. It’s because the venue is too small. Yes, I’m blaming it on the venue, so that you can’t blame me.

It’s about time I posted here.

Up until today, the only rings in possession were the two of her wedding set.  As of today, we now have my ring, after finally picking it up almost two months late.  Even more interesting is that it didn’t fit.  It was far too large.  Had to come down 1.25 sizes before it seemed to hold, and even then it seems looser than any I’ve had on before.

White gold ring originally made of two bands that have been melted together to form one thicker.  This place’s rings tended to be a bit small, and I wanted a little something more.  Pictures to follow at some point, I am sure Kimmie would like to share.

So we’ve successfully met with two different photographers and they are both good but different.

Candidate #1 is full of energy. She specializes in staged photography.

Candidate #2 is laid back. She seems to be better with candid photography.

Who to choose?  We can keep looking but we don’t to end up with no photographer either. Hmmm…too bad I can’t afford to have both. Of course, if I could afford it then I would just hire a super duper photographer that can do both.  My thought is to hire the one that does candids for the day of the wedding. Then we can also do a portrait session later because we don’t have a big wedding party. It’s just us.

What to do?