I was not able to read the whole thread so I am sorry if I am repeating but I did want to take just a few minutes to give you some ideas. We had a fabulous wedding and although it definitely was not a budget wedding (it cost us a small fortune!) - I was able to save a lot by being willing to do a lot and in the long run it was well worth it - everything was exactly as I wanted! By saving where I could I was able to splurge on the things I really wanted to splurge on.
The small things really add up quickly and seemed so expensive for what I was actually getting so I really focused on cutting out/down those expenses and it helped considerably.
If you are doing a unity candle it is so much cheaper to go to Michaels and use a 40% off coupon to buy plain, undecorated candles. They are still shaped very nicely and have the actual wax decor on them but they are half the price. I then took them home mounted them on a piece of wood which I had sanded, stained and polycoated myself, added some ribbons, bows, little white doves and little rings (all of which you can buy in bags real cheap at either Michaels or
Walmart). The end result was amazing - I still have the piece and it is gorgeous.
I used the same products to decorate lots of othe things by myself such as the cake knife and server, our champagne glasses, etc. Not only did I save a lot this way but everything matched perfectly - which is sometimes hard to do by getting this here and that there.
I made my own wishing well starting with a plain white cardboard one which I think cost me $3.00. I then bought lace on sale, covered it and used the ribbons that I had used on the other items along with the doves, rings, and silk flowers. I got so many comments on it and several people have since called me and asked me if they could borrow it. If I remember correctly it would of cost me about $50.00 to rent one and mine looked so much better = total cost about $15.00!
I also made my own favors which consisted of the personalized candy bar wrappers for the rehearsal dinner (so easy to make on your computer!) and bottles of wine which I had created personalized labels for. I used cheap wine because I chose it solely for the bottle color/shape & design. Friends laughed at me when I told them I was making these and thought they would look tacky but they came out soooo nice. I am sorry I did not make myself one to keep. But everyone that has one has never opened them and I see them displayed in people's home still to this day. For the reception I bought cheap white votives and handmade a branding iron in a heart shape which we heated and melted the heart into the sides of the candle we then quickly inserted little strands of plastic pearls around the heart into the groove created by the iron. After this was done I used a purple glittery nail polish and colored in the heart. Then we dipped the finshed product into clear wax (purchased at Michaels with a coupon). Finally we wrapped these in circles of tulle that we cut out of tulle bought from cut from a bolt (so much cheaper than buying the packaged circles!) and decorated the outside with the little doves, rings, pearls, and a ribbon bow. They came out nicer than I imagined when I thought the idea up, looked great and people seemed to love them. But bottom line is if you do want to do favors design and create them yourself - you'll save a bundle.
I also made my own invitations and church programs, they looked ten times better than anything I could of bought and matched perfectly. The church was even impressed when I brought them in.
Maid of honor and bridesmaids bouquets were all done by me out of silk flowers, they loved the fact they could keep them forever...I loved the price tag. After the wedding I offered to make wreaths for each girl out of their flowers but most chose to keep them in bouquet form. I see two of these when I visit family members homes and they are still proudly displayed and look great.
I made my own placecards and camera announcements also. So easy to do because I already had the artwork designed for everything else saved in the computer and just had to reformat.
I bought a neat basket from a yard sale for .25 and spray painted it white then decorated with all the same stuff as above and used this for a camera basket at the reception.
I sewed my own little lace bags for the rice at church, these too were decorated with pearls, ribbons and bows. After the church exit one of our friends passed out little packets of potpourri which people could put in the bags and use for a drawer sachet. These too were a big hit.
I made my own garters with all matching laces and supplies.
The list goes on and on and I hate to bore you with all the details! I have to tell you it took us a year to plan and prepare for our wedding but during that time we made some very precious memories working with family and friends on all these projects. We had a lot of fun and it seemed that everybody was willing and anxious to help and everybody brought their own talents into play. I remember what each person did and how it felt that day quite vividly. We also got a lot of great pictures while we were working on things. But it was also very nice to be able to have everything match and have it done to my satisfaction and expectations. I can't tell you how neat it was to look around at my wedding and reception and see the beautiful things that I had created and to hear all the compliments!
If you need any more details or want to know more about anything just give a holler! It was so much fun to do and so rewarding!
) but just that price isn't always everything.
