Big, Plush Wedding on a Budget!
Posted on March 01, 2006 by Her and tagged wedding
Last night my fiance uttered the words, "Maybe we're just not thinking BIG enough for the wedding!" What tipped him to my dark side? Well, this week I bought the new copy of my favorite wedding magazine, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style. I showed him some photos of really big, plush weddings and he loved it! While we definitely have a low budget (we don't know what it is yet, because our parents haven't decided whether or not to help us out with the cost), we also want to avoid the expected and the banquet-y. Some of the photos that piqued our interest:
The most impressive head table setup EVER. Done all in red, with a carpet of rose petals, a square table draped with red accessories sits underneath a sumptuous red canopy. Happily, Target has a similar canopy on clearance right now for $140. After the wedding we could use it as a garden gazebo, but if we throw some red fabric remnants over the top and it'll look exactly like the pricey magazine spread. There are always plenty of faux rose petals and red linens on sale on eBay, so I see the whole thing coming together for under $200.
Some gorgeous handmade bridesmaids handbags from E.J. Stern. These retail for around $750, but my guess is that I can create something similar with a trip to Hobby Lobby's silk floral department. Totally personalized, these handbags can replace bouquets AND be a gift from the bride to her 'maids.
A recipe to mix equal parts blue Hpnotiq liquor and Champagne to create a bubbly bridal blue wedding toast. It looks fabulous and expensive, but a bottle retails for around $14. We're guessing our guests won't have seen this before!
After showing Him how we could replicate the looks for cheap, He got really into it. We both love the deep colors, multiple layers and varied focal points in the magazine. Now we just have to make it happen!
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As someone who has been a bridesmaid more times than I want to admit (and with another wedding happening this summer) I absolutely love the idea of those handbags. Handbags can be the hardest part of the wardrode to deal with because where do you put them during the ceremony? Especially when you don't have your own car or a date!
jessica | Mar 1, 2006
I have an Amsale wedding dress that I need to sell, never been used. Can anyone help with this? I have tried eBay and had no luck. The dress can be seen at http://amsale.com/bridal/amsalecollection/040323/0403419.shtml. It is in perfect condition, sz 10 and is ivory; originally 3000. Anyone interested? Email jessicaenete@yahoo.com for pics, price and details.
That was beautiful! I also love how thoughtful you've been about it, thinking of great ways to do that with little money. I don't have that creative gene, but you've inspired me. Not engaged yet, but looking forward to it! Joy
I love the idea of copying styles that you like for cheaper. It reminds me of a show on HGTV. I don't remember the name of the show, but they do exactly that. They take a photo of a dining room, living room, bed room that was put together by some fancy designer for like $40k, and do it for $2k. Pretty cool stuff.
That is stunning! I LOOOOOOOOOVE it! I hope that you are able to replicate it all for alot less. Hey! Maybe you should keep track of everything prices, stores and labor and then make a publish it. I'm sure many brides would love to do that, but as you can see from your responses they are not creative enough.
Just a thought!
Trackback sent from It's Just Money on Mar 3, 2006:
As usual, there's a wealth of information (pun only slightly intended) in the personal finance blog community! Here are some of my favorites and shout outs for the week: Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity broke down the goods and
Continue reading Blogtastic Posts of the Week
That's so funny 'Maybe we're just not thinking BIG enough for the wedding.' I don't think I would every hear those words out of my boyfriend's mouth! :)
About the Hpnotiq - I LOVE IT. Buy a bottle before and taste it. I can drink it on the rocks alone, it's pretty sweet. Mixed with champagne would taste great, I imagine. Great idea!
Veerry nice. When my wife and I were married about 1.5 years ago now, we thought it was a cheap wedding @ xx bucks a plate. But it turns out that a lot of the people there felt it was the best wedding they've ever been too. They felt laid back compared to all the uptight weddings they'd recently attended and had a great time at ours. Of course it helped to have 5 hours of open bar and a good DJ. ;-)
Fantastic ideas!
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Mike | Mar 1, 2006
I really like your style! My fiance' and I are currently looking into ways to make our Fall 2006 wedding look as lavish as possible,but at a low cost,since we will be paying 1/3 of the bill ourselves. Good luck and I hope you succeed! Feel free to check out my new blog site sometime....
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