Again...

So here I am yet again apologizing for not posting in what seems forever. I'm so sorry I can't seem to keep up with my blog as of late. I'm still without a job and without easy access to hi-speed internet.

To say things are stressful and tight financially without a job doesn't even begin to cut it. And despite all that, the wedding is drawing ever closer. When I started planning, I never in a million years would have guessed I'd be unemployed. It's a huge challenge and is adding a lot of unneeded stress.

Time just seems to be getting away from me lately. I don't know where it's going! lol Christmas is under two weeks away and that is scaring the crap out of me! lol We have less than five months to go until the wedding and I know the big day is going to creep up on us FAST!

I haven't really worked on anything wedding related lately. My family has two birthdays in October and two in November (mine included) and then Thanksgiving and now Christmas and I just got back from a wonderful vacation with my sweetie! Things have been super busy for me.

However, I have gotten a few things done. My groom to be and his best man did get their measurements taken care of. My mom got her MOB dress ordered, I let my girls know what dresses they can pick, and I've shared the info about the flower girl dresses to one of the girls parents.

In any case, I'm sorry again for the lack of posting and will try and do better. For those of you who are sticking around...THANKS!

Lets Talk Honeymoon!

I believe I mentioned before that Charles and I were planning to go to Kauai Hawaii. We've decided to change our honeymoon location though. After looking into Kauai we discovered it was wayyyy too expensive for us to go at this time. Our hope is that after we're married we can go to celebrate an anniversary.

Our new location is Hilton Head Island, South Carolina! I have been to Hilton Head twice while on vacation with my mom and I absolutely LOVE it there! Charles hasn't been before though and I can't wait to be there with him! Hilton Head is less than 8 hours away from us so that makes for an easy trip. No more having to worry about where we'll spend our first night as husband and wife and worrying about how to get to the Atlanta air port in time to catch a plane!

Charles did some research and found a rental company (Hiltonheadrentals.com) and we found a few possibilities. Last week we narrowed it down to one and fortunately it was available when we need it. So now our honeymoon plans are booked and taken care of! It's so nice not to have to worry about it anymore. And the best part....the condo was under $800 for the whole week! What a blessing that was!

The condo is a one bedroom, one bath unit located on the third floor and has an ocean view! It has a small kitchen so we'll be able to go grocery shopping and have meals (especially breakfast) in our room when we want. It will be so nice not to have to get dressed and go out for breakfast every day!

Here are a few pictures:

(Source: Hiltonheadrentals.com)

We are so excited and cannot wait!! I highly recommend Hilton Head Rentals if you'd like to look into vacationing or honeymooning in Hilton Head. It is a beautiful area!

Job or No Job?

That is the question. And right now I just don't know the answer. Due to some very unexpected circumstances at work we no longer have offices to work out of. (At this time I cannot go into more detail.)

As I sit here at home and type this I'm still in disbelief that this has happened. If I do end up losing my job, I have no idea what I'll do. And I have no idea how I'll pay for this wedding I'm in the middle of planning. I was already going to go into debt a due to wedding costs and if I lose my job that debt is sure to grow.

As a result of all this, I will not be online much. I no longer have access to high speed internet. Where we live - in the sticks - nothing but dial-up internet is offered. And it is just way to much of a pain to even check my e-mail!

On a positive note, I have the most incredible fiance in the entire world! Yesterday evening once the job news finally had a chance to sink in Charles was right there with me. Letting me cry in his arms, kissing me on the forehead, telling me I'm beautiful as black is running down my face from my mascara, comforting me, praying with me, assuring me things will work out, just holding me tight and telling me he loves me. I really don't understand how he can tell me I'm beautiful when I'd been working for hours packing things up and was so gross and sweaty and then once the tears started to flow and I had mascara running down my face. He truly is incredible and I'm so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with him.

So anyways, those that pray please keep me and my job situation in your prayers.
Thanks,
Kristal

B is for Budget

I realize the last couple of posts have been long and I apologize...for this will be another.

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{rant}Can I be honest? I hate the word budget right now!

Before getting engaged and before beginning the planning of our wedding, I had no earthly idea what weddings generally cost. You read everywhere that now a days the average wedding costs upwards of $25,000! What, seriously!? I never understood how the cost could be so high. Now that I'm in the thick of planning our wedding I can totally see why that $25k was chosen as the "golden number". Stuff adds up realllllyyyy fast.

I am trying to be as conservative and budget friendly as possible and still make our big day magical and unforgettable. That is proving to be a tremendous challenge! In the begging of all this planning, it was my hope to be able to stick to a budget of $6,000.

I'm covering the cost of the wedding almost entirely myself. My mom is not in a financial position that will allow her to help a whole lot. She's going to when she can and that is perfectly fine. I've told her multiple times not to feel pressured. She's helping in so many other ways that will save me money in the long run. And my dad hasn't had an active role in my life in over 6 years....so I'm not going to him to ask for money. Plus, I don't think he could help anyways because of his financial situation.

As you've read, I've known for a long time that I would spend the most amount of money on wedding photography. I would NEVER consider changing this. Yes it's a lot of money ($4,500), but the results and rewards we will have will be worth far more than any amount of money.

Subtract $4,500 from $6,000 and you have $1,500 left. I thought that would be enough. After all, the only other big things I'd need are the rental items and the food. Seeing as I've never been married before, I was completely clueless as to what the cost of the rental items would be. We need a tent, chairs, tables, linens and a small PA/Sound System. Shouldn't be to bad right....maybe $1,000-$1,500? Oh how wrong and naive I was.

I have a contact (because of the company I work for) with a local party rental company. He's a great guy and I knew he would be able to work with my and my "little" budget. A number of weeks ago, I called him to let him know I would be needing his help in determining what rental items I would be needing. More specifically, what kind and size of tent I would need. After discussing some details, he told me what he would suggest for the tent. When he told me the cost, I about hit the floor. The tent quote was $1,080.00!!! OMG....really? Then we talked tables and chairs and linens briefly. He told me he would get a quote together and send it my way.

The total for the tent (30'x60'), round tables (60"), chairs (white Samsonite) and linens (basic white) totaled to $1,799.60 after fees and tax! And that price was after he discounted the rental price on everything. The total without the discounts would be $2,021.23! And that was just a basic list, it didn't include everything we will be needing!

Now, this is all stuff we NEED....not stuff we want.
1) We need a tent because the weather here is unpredictable and we need a backup plan in case of rain (heaven forbid).
2) We also need the tent to shade our guests so they don't fry and burn up in the afternoon sun during the reception.
3) We have to have chairs for the guests to sit in during the ceremony and reception. I've already skimped on the chairs as you might have read here.
4) We have to have tables for the guests to sit at during the reception and for the food. We have a few tables that we own that we can use for the food, cake table and sweetheart table but that only eliminates 3 tables...which doesn't add up to much savings. But it's something and it all adds up in the end.
5) Linens are needed because the quality of rental tables is often poor because they are used and abused so much. I've looked into purchasing the linens myself in an effort to save money but it's cheaper to rent them. I did however pickup some rectangular table cloths at the dollar store (that look amazingly nice, they're white lace) for $5 a piece. Which is considerably cheaper than the rental price, that way I at least eliminate the need for some linens. And I can try and sell them after the wedding to gain back some of the cost. If the dollar store had the same lace table cloths in round sizes I would have snatched them up in a heart beat! However, they didn't.

What was I to do? I can't get rid of any of these things. I was already choosing the most basic and low cost items available in an effort to save money. I can't eliminate any of these things. Thus, my budget of $6,000 was out the window...and fast. I figure that once I go and meet with Jeff (aka the rental guy) and we get everything that we will be needing on the list it will come to around $2,500. There is another rental company in town that has a lower price on the same size tent I'll be needing and a lower price on the round tables. So, I'm going to ask Jeff if he can at least match the prices for me. Otherwise....I'll most likely have to go with the other company as much as I would rather not.{/rant}

Have you had any big shocks in the planning process? How did you deal with them?

Up next, our idea of a reception.

Breaking & Keeping Traditions

For our wedding, I'm breaking lots of "traditions". I'm trying to keep things unique and hopefully do some stuff not many people have seen or heard of. Here's a run-down of our tradition breaking:

1) We will not be having a unity candle ceremony. However, we will have a unity sand ceremony. Us bride bloggers know exactly what I'm talking about but I don't think many of our guests will. Therefore, we have something memorable and unique to symbolize us becoming one.

(Source: unknown)

2) At the reception there will be no dancing and therefore, no first dance.

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3) As I mentioned in my last post, we will not be having a ring bearer.

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4) My dad will not be walking me down the aisle.*(This will be addressed in another post.)

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5) The seating at the reception will not be dictated by me or anyone else. Guests will be able to sit wherever and with whomever they like.

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6) We will be having a bouquet and garter toss but it will not be restricted for single/unmarried folk. Most everyone at our wedding will be married so in an effort not to make our few single friends embarrassed, the tosses will be open to everyone. I'm also thinking of doing something along the lines of what Miss. Bruschetta over on WeddingBee did. She tied Lottery Tickets to the garter and bouquet and opened the tosses to everyone. The tickets were the incentive to get the guests involved. Since Charles and I are not the gambling/lottery type, I'm thinking of adding some cash. Everyone loves some cash and I think it would be fun, memorable and get the guests involved!

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7) There will be no china, silverware, glassware or any other type of fine dining plates/utensils at our reception. Instead, we'll be going for the plastic. (More on this another time.)

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8) Our guest book will be a book featuring our engagement pictures with plenty of blank space for our guests to sign and leave little notes if they'd like. Just like with the unity sand ceremony, all of us bride bloggers are very familiar with this concept. But again, I don't think many of our guests will have seen or heard of such a thing and besides....I just plain love it! After the wedding, our "guest book" will have a prominent place on our coffee table and we'll enjoy it for years and years.

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9) All of our wedding music (ceremony and reception) will be done through iTunes on my MacBook! This is yet another thing we BB (bride bloggers) are familiar with. I love this idea because it's VERY budget friendly and we get to choose everything that will be played.

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10) We're seeing each other before the ceremony. Why? I for sure will be a nervous/anxious wreck and I'm sure Charles will be too. Seeing him will greatly help ease my anxiety. Plus, because we'll be seeing each other before the wedding we'll be able to get nearly all of our pictures taken before hand. That means no pressure on the photographers, my hair and makeup and overall appearance will look better, we won't leave our guests high and dry for an hour while we scramble to get pictures, etc.

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11) We're not doing favors. I just simply don't have the budget to give anything that I would consider worth giving.

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12) As mentioned in Save-the-Dates, I'm opting to e-mail our save-the-dates. Once again it comes down to the budget. When you're artsy and decent with graphic design, there is no cost involved at all to do this.

(Source: yours truly)

After this list of tradition breaking, there are some traditions that we are keeping:

1) Cake cutting and toast.

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2) We're also choosing to go down the old fashioned route and have a receiving line. Why? We really want to make sure we see all our guests. After all, they took time out of their busy schedules to attend the wedding and lots will have traveled as well. And...I have a hidden agenda. lol I won't lie. What is it? Well as you know we're having an outdoor ceremony and reception. I'm only going to be renting one set of chairs. I really can't justify buying double the number of chairs so that there are chairs set up where the ceremony will be and then also where the reception will be. During the receiving line, I'm going to have close family members (aunts, uncles, cousins and anyone willing to help) move the chairs from the ceremony location to the tables under the tent. Why spend the money on two sets when after the ceremony that set would sit unused for the rest of the day!?

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3) I'm keeping the something old, new, borrowed, blue tradition. I have my something old and new but I'm still working on the blue and have no clue about the borrowed.

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That's all I can think of at the moment. What are your thoughts on all this? Are you breaking more traditions than you're keeping? How does your fiance feel about it?

Hope

My hope for amazingly incredible engagement and wedding photographs has come true! Yesterday afternoon Charles and I went to meet Wes & Danielle Hope with Hope Photography for the first time! I felt like I already knew them though because I've been a faithful stalker of their blog for months now! lol Seriously, when I first discovered their blog I was mesmerized by their work and spent TWO DAYS going through every single post! I knew I would just love them before even meeting them, their personalities show in their work and posting. And boy was I right, they are nothing short of AWESOME!

However, I was a bit anxious because even though I was fairly confident that Charles would like them I needed to know for sure. In my opinion, it's really important to feel like yourself, feel comfortable, have FUN, and feel at ease with your photographer(s). Without these things, I strongly believe that you don't get the same quality pictures. So it was crucial that Charles like them. No worries though....he LOVED them! Yay!!

I can't even begin to describe how excited I was that a) I signed a contract with the photogs of my dreams, b) that Charles loved them and c) that all this wedding talk really seems REAL now. Charles can testify that after our meeting with the Hope's I turned to him in the car and said "I can't believe we're really going to get married!" He said "When was the first time that it really hit you?" My response..."Right now!" haha This was our first meeting together as an engaged couple planning our wedding and it just really brought everything home.

Besides marrying the man of my dreams, sharing our incredible day with close family and friends, photography is right up there with the most important things for me. I'm on a tight budget and won't be having videography because I simply can't afford it. Photographs last a life time...longer actually. So it has always been my intention to go "all out" when it comes to our wedding photography. Before I even met Charles, I knew whenever I was going to get married that the largest amount of money would be spent on photography.

I'm a huge photography lover period. And dabble in some macro myself. That being said, I know what I want and what I don't want. I want incredible photos that tell the story of our wedding for generations to come. I want all the little details that would be forgotten over time captured in a picture that won't fade like a distant memory. I want all those special moments between my mom, my brother, Leonce (our pastor), Lindsey (my MOH), Javi (my bridesmaid), the flower girls, Charles and his guys and our close family and friends captured so they can never be forgotten. Images of us getting ready for the most important day of our lives. And so much more, I'll stop boring you though. ;)

Enough about all that, on to the details of the Hope's and their incredible work!

Their slogan/motto/compay saying is this: "Where there is love there is hope." Love it! Wes & Danielle are so easy to talk to, so much fun, make you feel at ease and comfortable, and are just plain old awesome people! (And no guys I'm not referring to your age!) Their photography style is along the lines of a photojournalistic (is that a word? lol) and artistic approach. They don't have a studio, they rarely pose pictures (and the ones that are don't look posed!), they capture moments as they happen naturally on their own and I love all of those things! I seriously couldn't have imagined being so blessed as to have them shoot our special day.

The package I selected contains the following:
- 8 hours of coverage by 2 photographers and an assistant
- Online gallery for 60 days
- Spiral bound proof book (most amazing looking proof book I've ever seen!)
- Engagement Session (includes online gallery and spiral proof book)
- 9.5 x 9.5" Fine Art Book (30 pages)
Plus, I'm adding the cost of a CD with all the engagement session photos with written consent to print them anywhere we like. (I'll talk about this again at some point because it has to do with our guest book.)
I'm getting all this for under $4,000.00!!

After the wedding we will get the Wedding DVD that has all the images from our wedding with written consent to print them anywhere we like. And I imagine we'll also be ordering some albums to use a gifts.

In all the research I've done regarding wedding photographers, it is unheard of to get TWO photographers and an assistant for 8 hours, plus the engagement session, proof books and an album for so little! I've seen some photographers whose packages begin at over 4k! I am ecstatic and cannot wait to shoot our engagement pictures and then have them shoot our wedding next year!

And now for some photos!!! (Click on the boards to view larger. All photos from Hope Photography.) Our photographers Wes & Danielle Hope:

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Some of my favorite engagement session shots:

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Some of my favorite wedding shots:
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Don't Wes & Danielle look like a ton of fun from their pictures!? And their work is to die for! Plus, how can I not love someone who wears a purple shirt in honor of me and keeps up with my wedding blog!? Thanks Danielle! I couldn't believe it when you told me you keep up with this. You're a mother of two precious little girls, a wife and have a full time job! When do you possibly have time to read my blog? lol

Charles and I couldn't be more excited to be working with you! May 2010 will be here before we know it! :)

So what do you think of their work?

DIY Centerpieces!

Believe it or not, I've already started working on the centerpieces for the reception tables! Yes I suppose I am crazy since the wedding is over 300 days away! lol But since I have the time and the materials I'd be a fool not to get what I can done now rather than wait. I'll have my hands full closer to the wedding. My mom's running joke is that I'll have everything done and planned out two months before the wedding and will then have nothing to do! lol And honestly, she's probably right or at least close. When I have things I'm working on for a big project they eat at me till I can get them accomplished. You have no idea how hard it is not to get the invitations done now! lol But I'll wait on those as hard as it is. Anyways on to the centerpieces!

I originally wanted to do submerged centerpieces. I love the look of them! Plus, they make a big statement without having to use tons of flowers...which is ever so helpful on the budget. Here's a picture of a submerged centerpiece I love.

(Source: unknown)

As much as I love the look of submerged centerpieces it soon became clear to me that I wouldn't be able to incorporate them. Why? Because of budget reasons, time and labor. My mom is doing all my floral decor including the bouquets. I read on a florists blog that submerged centerpieces have to be put together the day of the wedding at the wedding location to avoid messing them up. This picture got my attention and I instantly fell in love with the look.

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But how on earth would I recreate something even close to that!? There's no way I can afford orchids...as much as I'd love to be able to. While browsing Save-on-crafts.com my vision came into being with my mom's help. Here is my completed vision:

(Source: yours truly)

What do you think? I absolutely LOVE them!!!!! I am so glad that what mom and I had envisioned in our heads really worked and looks so amazing, stunning, beautiful, and expensive!

So now I bring you the materials list and step by step instructions on how I made my centerpieces.

(Source: yours truly)

Materials Needed:
A) Clear Glass Cylinder Vase 10 1/4" tall and 3 1/2" in diameter.
B) Natural Curly Willow Branches 27 to 30" long.
C) Purple & White Preserved Orchid Blooms 2 1/2" wide (3 blooms per vase).
D) PVC Grass Onion Bush 24" tall.
E) Glass Nuggets of your color choice (mine came from Michael's but they no longer carry this purple color).
F) Natural Sheet Moss 1.5 oz. bag (make sure you get natural and not artificial).
G) Mini Glue Gun and glue sticks (not pictured).
H) Scissors (not pictured).
I) 7" Round Centerpiece Mirror (not pictured).

(Source: yours truly)

Instructions:
A) Cut curly willow branch to just under the height of the vase (9.5 - 10 inches).
B) Cut two pieces of grass from the bush.
C) Curl the grass using scissors (keep them closed), just like you would curl curling ribbon.
D) Place enough glass nuggets in the bottom of the vase to cover the bottom and allow for the willow branch to stick down in them.
E) Using a mini hot glue gun glue an orchid bloom into place on the willow branch. You decide on where and at what angle to glue the bloom, it's entirely up to you. Start either at the base or top of the branch though when placing the first bloom.
F) Let the glue set for a few seconds and then place a small pinch of the sheet moss over the glue. Make sure you can see no hot glue and be careful not to burn your fingers! Tweezers can be used to aid in this process.
G) Repeat steps E and F two more times placing the remaining blooms on the willow branch. Again, it's up to you to decide on where to place them, how to angle them and how much space to leave between each bloom. (My centerpieces will be going on round tables at the reception so I tried very hard to make it so each of the blooms faced a different direction. This allows every guest to see a bloom no matter where they're seated at around the table. In picture "G", I rotated the branch three times to show this.)

(Source: yours truly)

Once you've followed the above instructions, you can do the next step in whatever order you find to be easiest.
A) Place your willow branch with the blooms inside the vase and insert (on at a time) the curled grass. You decide on how you want it to look. (I chose to stick the end of the grass into the glass nuggets and then let it curve around the inside of the vase. I tried to get one piece of grass to start from the base on both the left and right side.)
B) Then repeat with the other piece of curled grass.
This part can be a little frustrating and tricky because there isn't room to get your hand into the vase once the willow branch is in place. You may find it easier to put the grass in first and then put the willow branch in.
C) Sit back and admire your work!!!
Note: I prefer that the top orchid bloom not stick out above the top of the vase so if yours does just cut off a little more from the bottom of the willow branch to shorten it. *If you have any questions about the DIY process feel free to leave me a comment or send me an e-mail!

When I placed my order with Save-on-crafts, I was initially worried about how fragile the orchid blooms would be. However, they stand up pretty well when working with them. I didn't have any break while putting them together. I will say though that you need to order a lot more blooms than you really need because through shipping, some of them get the tips broken off.

COST BREAKDOWN FOR ONE CENTERPIECE:
1) Cylinder Vase $3.99
2) 7" Centerpiece Mirror $1.12
3) Glass Nuggets $0.50
4) Curly Willow Branch $0.33 (it's actually less than that because you don't use the whole branch for one centerpiece)
5) 3 Preserved Orchid Blooms $1.26 ($0.42 per bloom)
6) 2 Pieces PVC Grass $0.0093124 ($0.0046562 each piece of grass, $1.49 a bush w/ 320 blades of grass)
7) Natural Moss $0.12 ($2.99 for a 1.5oz bag-I'm making 24 centerpieces so I divided 2.99 by 24 to get the price.)
GRAND TOTAL PER CENTERPIECE:
$7.33!
Note: I already had the hot glue gun and glue sticks on hand so I didn't incur a cost for those.

I cannot believe I was able to use real orchid blooms (although they aren't fresh they're real!) in the centerpieces. I absolutely love how they turned out and I'm so glad I was able to make them myself! And the best things about them....the cost was low, they can be made in advance and I can give them to special people as gifts if I so choose, sell them or use them to decorate! LOVE THEM!! :)

So let me know what you think...Do you like how they turned out? And can you believe I made each one for under 8 bucks!?

Did you have a DIY project that saved you a ton of money and turned out exceeding your expectations?

In Favor of Favors....Not So Much

Who ever said you had to give your guests a favor? I don't think anyone ever did. In my opinion, I think the whole idea of "favors" was thought up by someone in the wedding industry with the hopes of making even more money off your "special day". Once again, in my opinion, allowing your guests to be part of the most special day of your life is enough of a gift. Why on earth do they need some cheap trinket only to leave it all together or throw it away later on? Why spend the money on an edible favor when it just gets eaten!? You're already feeding your guests a meal (at least of some sorts) and cake. I don't think anything else is needed.

I've been to weddings with and without favors. The weddings that had favors were edible favors. A nice touch but who really needs the added sugar, calories and fat? And unless you go with something really pricey, like handmade candies or cookies, to me edible favors say this "I was too cheap to get anything else and didn't want to put any thought into what I should give as favors." If you wouldn't have a use for the favor or wouldn't want the favor in your home what on earth makes you think your guests would?? Now, the weddings I've been to that didn't have favors...I never even noticed there weren't favors! So why oh why would you spend all that extra money?? Please see exhibits A and B:

Bad Favors (Source)

Good Favors (Source)

Are favors a nice touch? Absolutely. When a lot of thought is put into them and they are something that is useful and practical and you have the budget for them go for it!

However, on my shoe string budget I don't have the extra cash to be able to do favors. When you're talking about inviting 250 guests even a favor at a buck a piece is too much. Had I been able to splurge and do favors I would have. Want to know what I was thinking of giving? Personalized pens that were in our wedding colors with a message from us thanking our guests for celebrating with us. Yeah you read right, pens. Everyone always needs another pen. I know in my house when I need one I can't find one. Pens are so incredibly practical and I knew they would without a doubt be put to use! And if you do your research you can find them for less than $0.75 a piece! What a steal right? As much as I'd like to be able to carry out that idea there are lots of other things that money can go towards.

Oh and let me quickly address the issue of bubbles being considered favors. In my opinion, they are not favors. I will have bubbles for my guests to use while we "get away" (more on them later) but I do not consider them a favor. I bought them because that's what I wanted when it was time to leave for the honeymoon. And what use would my guests have for bubbles as "favors"? None. Unless they have little children, then they can be used for entertainment purposes. lol

So to sum all this up, I will not be having favors for my guests. I will have bubbles but they are not favors. :)

What's your take on favors? What about the always asked question about bubbles being the favor?

Good News and a Few Updates

Over the weekend I worked on a new personal budget. With the help of my mom I was able to determine that despite having to cover my own health insurance I can still save $350 a month towards wedding costs. Praise God! :)

In other news...my mom and I have an appointment on Thursday evening with Emily Herrod the owner of the Bed & Breakfast where the wedding and reception will be held. It will be a short meeting though because she will be getting ready to go out of town for almost a month! Once she gets back in town at the end of May, we'll have a more lengthy and detailed meeting with her.

I've had my eye on several Mori Lee "Affairs" Bridesmaid dresses for sometime now. At the end of May, I will know for sure if the designs I've been eying will still be available! Once I find out which dresses are still available and can share that info with my attendants, I will be able to share them with you!

I placed a HUGE order with Save-on-crafts.com over the weekend and cannot wait until it comes in! With the help of my mom and hours spent surfing the net I finally have my reception centerpieces figured out! I had been very undecided about what I wanted until this past weekend. All the centerpieces will be DIY projects and I cannot wait to share my vision and then process with you!

Over the weekend, I also ordered our cake topper! Once it comes in I will share that with you all as well!

Are you waiting for a big order to come in so you can get started with a DIY project?

Up next: my floral inspiration.

Road Block...err Detour

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So I've come across my first road block when it comes to wedding planning. But I think I'd rather call it a detour instead.

A few weeks ago my boss informed me that the company would no longer be paying for my health insurance. They had been paying it 100% to the tune of $303.00 a month. I was so thankful that they were covering it for me. Because they had been covering that cost I was able to save about $400.00 a month for wedding costs. I was so thrilled that I would be able to cover the entire cost of the wedding without going into debt! I figured that if I saved $400 every month for 14 months that I would have $6,000.00 come the wedding. Well, obviously I wouldn't have it but I would have been able to keep that money available for when I needed to purchase something.

Anyways, now because my company is no longer covering ANY percentage of my insurance I'm unable to save $$. And to top it all off, they had to get a new policy and it's more expensive than what they were paying. I'm dishing out just under $350 a month for health insurance now. I was sooo frustrated, upset and angry when I initially found out. I've now simmered down about it. lol I know the Lord is going to work it all out and provide what I need. And if I have to put stuff on credit I guess it isn't the end of the world....right?

I've still got to draw up a new personal budget so I can see if I'm able to save at least a small amount each month. Because lets face it, a little is better than nothing at all! That way if I have to take the credit route I can make the minimum payments with no problem. So we'll see what ends up happening.

What road blocks/detours/snags have you come across in your wedding planning?