As you know, the work on the bedroom has come to a halt at the moment. (However, I am asking for the materials to get my headboard made for my birthday/Christmas. So, hopefully, that project will be completed soon.) Right now, we are focusing on the wedding and I had a few items of interest I thought I would share that have saved us a ton of money already.
The reception locale - We originally thought that we would be able to have the reception in the Commons Area (or for those Southern Baptists reading this, the Vestibule) at our home church. Unfortunately, due to some smashing of food and spilling of drinks at a previous event, pastor has nixed any future gatherings involving food. :( OK, no problem, we can put a tent inside the unfinished warehouse portion of our church building. Cost : ~$1500. Um, next. Then I followed a lead on renting the Polo Fields Country Club. Only $450, they provide the tables, linens, centerpieces. Sounded too good to be true. It was. Yes, it is $450 to rent the facility, but you have to have a minimum food and drink total of $3000! Um, no. Then we found it... the Brannon-Heard House. It is so pretty and simple. Completely empty, so we can stage it however we need. And the best thing, it rents for only $250! So perfectly within our budget!
The date - The date was not chosen based on anything special or any tidbit of wedding planning info they had. They liked the date itself... 3/1/13. But, did you know that March is a slow time for rental companies AND Fridays or Sundays always rent cheaper than Saturdays. I had no idea. That gift of savings was from God. ;o)
The wedding decor - Trees. A friend of mine just purchased 13 acres of woods. She has given us permission to take all the trees we want. We have grand plans for them. But I think I will keep that under wraps for awhile. Lighting. So excited to make DIY chandeliers out of a hoola-hoops and hanging tea lights for the trees.
The reception decor - Glass jars. We are saving them now. Have plans that involve rubber bands, salt, paint, lace, sheet music, vinegar, sticks, and twine to turn them into beautiful candle holders. There will be a Saturday of DIY coming up that makes me happy just thinking about! Pictures to follow. Letters. There are lots of empty wall space in the Brannon-Heard House. We plan to hang various fonts, sizes, and styles of the letter "H". Looking forward to that DIY day as well!
And finally, the dress - After looking through magazines and theknot.com, T thought she had found the one. We happened to find it locally while stopping in a dress shop next to a shoe store. (We were buying shoes. Had no intention of wedding dress shopping!) She announces, during this impromptu dress fitting with no grandmothers present, that this was it. I promptly informed her that she can't pick her dress without the proper family present, nor after only trying ONE dress on. ONE dress! That's insane! She reluctantly decides to stay on the hunt, which we took to Savannah for a girl's weekend; all necessary personnel in tow. There she did find THE ONE. (Mind you, not the same "one" she had found before.) We leave with all the information, sizing, etc needed to order the dress in the very near future as the salesperson informed us we needed 6 months to get it in. Being the woman that I am, I came home and started a hunt of my own. Craigslist, Ebay, Google. And did you know that people are buying replica dresses straight from China for a fraction of the cost? (BTW, that designer gown comes from China too!) So, telling only 2 people, I took the leap of faith and ordered the replica dress. I paid $20 extra to rush my order so if it arrived looking like a cheap knockoff, I could hang my head, box it back up, and buy the real one. Not only did it arrive within 2 weeks, it is gorgeous! It fits perfectly and T loves it! Of course, I can't post pics of the dress until after the wedding, but I will and you will see how beautiful it is. Original, designer dress - $1336. Replica, just as gorgeous dress - $395! Savings - almost $1000! That includes the rush and delivery! There are many replica dress makers to choose from. I used http://www.ingridbridal.com/ because I was able to pay via paypal. That gave me a little added security. You can find one by googling your dress name and style number and "China replica". Just take some time to research reviews and payment types before you decide.
Well, that's all the news from the wedding front. Hopefully, I will be able to put up a post on the headboard in the next month or so. I have some DIY designs I am pondering as Christmas decor and gifts. I will definitely let you in on those when the time comes.
