WOW!!! LOTS of responses to greet me this morning!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! i have come to two conclusions...below...
I LOVE LOVE LOVE

these veils. I'm doing a very retro 1940's hollywood glam theme and DF & Co. are doing a "mobster" look. I thought about doing a short net veil like this but I asked DF his opinion on veils and he scrunched up his face. So, one less thing for us to spend money on. But I LOOOOOOVE them and I will live vicariously through you!
thanks! i LOVE the 40's! it was such a romantic, strong, feminine time in women's fashion!!!
caryn ... what if i made your center pieces? I can get lemons and what not and some silk flowers and make them up really nice! It could be your xmas present maybe?! Let me know if youd like that.
that's sooooo much work megs! we need a whopping 14 of them and that would be one more thing to drag all the way down there...
ooo i love the beaded bouts..great job
thanks! they are still a work in progress!!!
Caryn, you've been productive today! I love the bouts... especially the one with the calla lilly! The place cards look great too, the one in the middle is my fav. How'd you do the numbers? Just glue and glitter? Or stencil?
Why dont you ask if you can make your own centerpieces and just pay for Disney Floral to set out votives or something.
Btw, I agree with your sister... yay for liquor as centerpieces!
the #'s are rubber stamps that i embossed!!! i didn't want to use mickey's...but the flowers i bought were too small, so i'm going to improvise with my mickey head cut out until i'm more inspired...
this is martha stewart fun...
Caryn,
You've been a busy bee today. I really like the beaded bouts. They are really creative. You could probably sneak a Mickey in there too...I always love the chance to sneak Mickey in my designs.
Looking good. I think if you can pull off the birdcage veil, you should wear it! It's definately not me, but I think it would be very chic on you!
i put teeny-tiny little swarowski crystals on the teeny-tiny ribbons that are going on the bout's, they have to be so small because my df said, "don't make them all girly, we're MEN." as if there was any question of that.
Hi there -
I've been lurking here for awhile and thought I'd take this opportunity to post.
First, I've read all your planning journal and enjoyed it very much. You have way more energy than should be allowed! j/k
Second, having been a wedding florist for almost 30 years, I feel that I can maybe speak a little to your cp dilemma.
The cps you picked are expensive for several reasons: First, you're using a rectangular vase. These and square vases are always more expensive than round because they aren't produced/sold in the mass quantities that round ones are. Your vase probably has a retail of roughly $40-50. Second, from the looks of it it's fairly sizable - which you would want for 10-toppers, but maybe too large for 6 or 8 toppers. Next, figure around 25-35% of the cost is design. More on bridal party work. (Heck, it's Disney - I'd figure the high side) Floral arranging is an art, just like photography--the people that do it are trained artists. Yes, grandpa Al could take your wedding pictures with his Polaroid, but would they actually be what you wanted? Same deal here. And if your flowers are ruined, it tends to show in the pictures, too.
The pittosporum in there isn't expensive, but you might try to replace the fillers with white wax flower for a similar look at less of a cost. Also consider that although lemons will be less expensive than the seckel pears that are pictured, you'll still likely have $20 worth of fruit in there. Just because they grow in Florida doesn't mean they're free! I certainly understand that $145 feels like a lot for a centerpiece - it is. But consider that more of the "prime rib" option. If your budget is feeling more "hamburger-ish", then go with hamburgers, Still tastes great, but a cheaper option. Look for things like carnations, alstroemeria, mums--there's some very cool mums out there now. These would all be less $ for you. I hope you work it all out, and keep in mind the one truly important thing: at the end of your wedding day, no matter what little bumps happen, you and your true love will be married. And that's really what it's all about, isn't it?
Best of luck to you.
tinklynn, your post has helped me more than you can know! i have a $210 rental fee for my vases...she did the flowers that she chose to match my bouquet, which is $350, but i'm ok with that since i plan on keeping it forever...you've helped me come to one of my possible solutions...
Dagnabbit! I looked through my huge stack o' wedding mags and couldn't find that article on cheap-o centerpieces. But I do have this pic of something we were considering. Rose suggested using glass marbles instead of blueberries to keep the cost down. I never did get a quote on this one though...
something like this would be effective...
Hey Caryn,
Nice job on the bouts and place cards.
Here is another thought for your centerpieces:
Why don't you go back to your planner or floral person (not sure who you have to deal with on the flowers) and give them a $$ number you are comfortable working with or spending for the centerpieces. Tell them the colors you'd like & shape or look you are going for then ask them to send you suggestions of what they could do for you.
Making your own would probably save you the most money and allow you to be even more creative (which we know you love), but since you will also need to figure out how to get the items to Disney - more work and maybe more $ - and since you will probably have to pay Disney to set them out anyway, and since they can probably come up with something really pretty - it might be worth it to just scale it back and see what they can come up with for you. Then one less worry for you...
yeah, since i have to decorate my house now for christmas and i'm hosting thanksgiving, the wedding crafts are about to stop...
those are so beautiful and unique. have the floral department try them. they can always cut down the size. they did that for the bouquets for me and i saved a good amount of money!!
this is one of my conculsions, your's looked fantastic though!!!
Caryn where did you get the opal paper you used for your invites? Can you use it in a laser printer?
it's star dream, you can get it on paper source, though it's kind of expensive there, i got it locally at a store called xpedx...there is a link a couple of pages back that has a replacement for it that's really cheap...
MY CENTERPEICE CONCLUSIONS (i lied, i have more than 2...)
1. decreasing the size and making them round is #1...possibly losing either fruit or the flowers is another option...tinklynn is right, the tables are small...
***Thaks Aunt Jeanne for emailing me those thinks, they bring me to numbers 2 and 3...***
2. i didn't even think about pinecones, that is a good idea, especially for the winter...it brings the outside in...i could place them around the...
3. edible centerpeices- this is one of my brain child ideas that goes with kristen's sandcastles...the chocolate castle cake toppers...how do we feel about this? is this allowed??? would the votive melt them? we could put them on glass blocks that look like ice.
am i losing it? am i going over the top with 2 and 3...
thanks for the input, i appreciate it soooooooo much!!!