DIY Placecard Template

Martha Stewart has some great DIY ideas that work for party planning and weddings. Here's a placecard template that she has on her website that you can use on your own. They're very cute and simple.

Wedding Video

This is too cute. If we had the time to plan all this, I would've gone for something like this. I'd highly suggest something like this. It gets everyone involved in the wedding and makes them feel like they really had a part in it. Brian & Eileen made a wedding video. Check it out.

Wedding Video

M.I.A.

Wow, I've been completely away from blogging and I miss it. =( I've been seeing things on and off, but I've been away and sick so I haven't had a chance to blog about it. But, here's a link to enjoy. Our wedding slideshow!

Recycled Pendants

These are cute and even recycled! Recycled Treasures from Etsy sells recycled pendants and cufflinks that can be great bridal party thank you gifts, or even a replacement for place cards for your bridal party. I love the cufflinks too because they're made out of beer bottles. What better way to celebrate your love for Pacifico than with Pacifico bottle cap cufflinks for your groom and groomsmen?

Cake Toppers

I love cake toppers that mean something to a couple. I especially love double duty wedding items. Basically things you can reuse after the wedding. Check out these salt and pepper shakers that can be cake toppers.Very cute. More salt & pepper suggestions...

Crafting with Jullie

I found this lady, Jullie, who's pretty talented in knitting. She makes knitted mini people. If I had found her earlier enough, I may have brought it up to Ira to consider as a cake topper. Doing further investigation on her, it looks like she needs at least 2 months notification to be able to be completed in time. Now that the wedding is over, I still may consider her talents for future gifts. Here are some of my favorites from her.

DIY Candy Favors

DIY items are always great for weddings. It saves a ton of money and it can still look very cute. I've noticed that a lot of weddings now lean towards to candy/food favors. Well, I was clicking around and came across Hostess Blog. Even for our wedding, I noticed that a lot of party planning books, such as Martha Stewart stuff, work great for weddings. This one works just the same for weddings. It's a Candy Cone. All you need really is fancy wrapping paper and a stick to hold it up. Click here on how to make it.

Budget Wedding Dress

Whoever said you can't find a wedding dress for just a few hundred dollars obviously wasn't looking very hard. I found this dress that was only $280 and it's gorgeous! I tried finding it on the website again, but it's no longer available. The gown is from Jasz, and it's actually a prom dress!

Moral of the story: Don't ignore prom dresses when looking for a wedding gown. One of them just might be your wedding gown.

Things I've learned from our wedding

Ira and I tried our very best to be as organized and as prepared for the wedding as possible, but there were just a few things that we either didn't think about or did not do a very good job at it. Some of these tips though are probably not needed for those that are having a more extravagant wedding and hiring people do things, i.e. a Wedding Coordinator.

Things I've learned:

• If you do want to keep your top layer, make sure your cake maker is going to give your caterer's a box to put the top layer of your cake in. We had our aunt make our cake for us. She does it on the side, but I don't think it's a very professional business. Mainly for family and friends. We made the assumption that the caterer's were going to save the top layer and give it to us, but since a box/container was not given to them to put the top layer on, they were not sure if we wanted to keep the cake. In the end, we did not get the top layer. They did box it up, but no one was given the box in time.
• Make sure you delegate someone to pick up the top layer from the caterer's for you.
• This tip is mainly for those who are not going to hire a professional Wedding Coordinator. When you choose someone to be the Wedding Coordinator for that day, make sure they understand the exact role of the coordinator. I thought it was clear when I asked my friend to coordinate for that day, that she would understand. I informed her that we would like her to be the one to make sure we're on time for our schedule, make sure everyone is in line, know what to do, etc. Basically just be the mediator between the vendors/wedding party, and us (bride and groom). I also informed her that this means we would need her at the rehearsal so we all know what's going to happen. She said okay, but it was very apparent that she did not understand she had to take charge of the rehearsal and help make sure everyone knew what to do. So in conclusion: Be very clear on your instructions! Even if it means spelling out everything, to the point where it seems too much. It's better to be over-communicated than under.
• Make sure to put people in charge of things that need to be done before, during, and after the wedding. I.E. Someone to bring home the gifts, someone to pick up the top layer of the cake, someone to pick up the centerpieces, etc.
• Be very organized. Even treat it like a project. Meaning: keep excel files of things (addresses, gifts, budget, etc.), create a To-Do list, create a task list to help see what's pending, deadlines, and what's completed. The more organized you are, the less stressed you will be.
• Don't be afraid to delegate! Don't think you can do it all. We thought we could, but really, you can't. Plus, your family and friends are more than happy to help. That's why they are there for you. For some people, it may even be offending if you do not let them help.
• Finally: ALWAYS expect things to go wrong. The only thing you can do is try your very best to PREVENT things from happening. If things do go wrong during the wedding, let other people handle it. That's what they are there for. For example, there were high chances of rain for the time of our reception. Instead of worrying, I let the coordinators deal with it. They found a way to handle all the tables and it worked out fine. This caused the name tags and table arrangements to get mixed up, but I let my friend deal with it rather than running in to fix it myself. This may be harder for those brides that want to be in charge of everything or are perfectionists, but really, don't stress yourself out. Let others handle it so you don't have to be stressed. It's your day. Allow yourself to be pampered.

New Website Address

I've changed the website address now since the wedding is over. I still want to write about the wedding and offer tips and things that I find, but it didn't make sense anymore to have the url have our names on it.

http://weddinghodgepodge.blogspot.com

Wedding Hodgepodge because it's a mix of everything. Muahaha.

More Wedding Pics

More of my favorite items of the wedding day.Our wedding was the very first wedding that there was no grandparents present, which really bummed me out. So, I had pictures of each of my grandparents tied to my bouquet. My grandparents were with me the whole night. My hair! The style and the clip got lots of compliments that day. Created by Jasmin Labarile "The Hair Diva"Name tags. The red represents Beef.

Our Reception Program. Magazine Style. Created by Me & Ira.

Wedding Decor

I love all our wedding pieces. Just love them!Ceremony ProgramCeremony Aisle FlowersIra's "Big Daddy" Pimp cup. Courtesy of his big brother. Sand Pouring

Hoppa FlowersCenterpieces.Cake. Best cake every! (Top to bottom: Coffee, Mocha, Strawberry). No fondant! All buttercream icing and goodness! This cake was so moist and yummy. My aunt did a great job!

Introducing: Mr. & Mrs. Gummy Bear!

Mission Complete.

The wedding is over! There is a lot of relief and relaxation now. We decided not to go anywhere, just stay at home and relax and spend time with the family members from out of the country before they go back.

After all is said and done and all the bills are paid, we both realized it was well worth all the hard work and money. Even though we were already married on paper last year, it somehow feels "official" now.

The wedding was not completely how we had planned. A lot of things didn't happen exactly how we had planned, but we didn't even care. It was perfect. Everyone was telling us it was one of the funnest weddings they've been to. That is truly all that matters. That we celebrated with the family and friends that we truly love and that they all enjoyed themselves. Mission Complete.

More pictures are coming soon...

Fun Transportation

Okay, when everyone thinks about transportation for their wedding, they think a limo. Or to be fancy, a hummer limo. Now, who would ever think to rent a bus? I love this idea! I'm actually entertaining this idea and will now begin looking up pricing. Screw the traditional limo. =) Okay...not completely, but we'll see.

Excited!

9 days left until the big day! Whoohoo!

Processional

I had such a hard time finding a song with a faster tempo that's nice for the processional. Something that would also match the song I'm coming out to. Then, I heard George Winston's version of "Joy". I love it! It's very happy and not so slow, so it's perfect for the bridal party to come out to.

"Joy" by George Winston

By the way, does anyone know how to add a video on this that's from YouTube? Something you don't have on your desktop to download...It's driving me nuts that I have to put the link on here instead of just the video.

Colors, Colors, Colors

I love colors! Who says you have to have matching colors for your bridesmaids or your wedding in general? Bright colors usually look great together. It still looks like a matching bridal party. I say just pick the colors you love. If you love pastel colors, you don't have to settle for just one or two pastels. Go for a whole rainbow of colors. Love this bridal party's colors!Photo by Jeret Slack

Place Tags Are Final!

Our name tags are officially picked. We're doing a basic fold with the name in the middle. The folded paper will correlate with what meal they're getting.

Sample

Red = Prime Rib

Blue = Mesquite ChickenGreen = Pasta Pomodoro (Vegetarian)

Cereal Box STD!

A great way to recycle your cereal boxes. I'm now wondering if you could do something with shopping bags...

Front

Back

Wedding Gown Update

My dress finally came in on the 25th. I went to pick it up and get fitted the next day. Long story short, they were very accommodating and gave me the free rush alterations and 20% off the dress with no questions asked. The lady looked pretty nervous when she first went up to my mom and I because she knew what she had to deal with. You know, as annoying as the whole process, that one lady (Rebecca) was always nice to me. It was just frustrating at how hard it was to get my point across and have them fix their mistake.

Either way, if you're trying to find your wedding dress, I suggest not going to David's Bridal. I'm not the only one that's had issues. We ended up buying a few of the bridesmaid dresses there and when the time came to pay for the dress, they didn't give my sister-in-law the discount they said she would get because I bought my dress there. In the end, they gave her the discount, but still. They have a tendency to say things and not follow through. Maybe in hopes that the customer will forget.

The dress fit so much better. Not as much alterations needed now. I get to pick it up September 5. The dress was beautiful. I love it! I'd post it, but Ira might see it...

Vintage Photo Shoot

I came across these engagement pictures, and I really really love them. I'd really love to have a photo shoot like this one day. Check out the complete page of pictures from their engagement shoot. Brea + Anthony's Engagement They also have part two of their photo shoot. That's real pretty too.

Centerpieces are Complete

Okay, they have been for a long while. I've just been M.I.A. because I've been so busy. I'm very excited for the centerpieces.

This was all created by my cousin, her husband, my dad (who assembled the whole thing), and my aunt. The wine bottle will actually have a branded label that has the table name on it. We decided on Rock Band song titles. =) I love Immigrant Song. hehe.

Pieces of the centerpiece:

• Staves of a wine barrel (Courtesy of my cousin)
  
• Dried Grapevines (Courtesy of my cousin and uncle)
  
• Sticks
• Grapes
• Ribbon
• Empty wine bottle (Courtesy of my cousin)

Beach Wedding

If we had a beach wedding, I would definitely do this...

Flowers

The flowers have been chosen. =) I'm very excited for them. I love the bridesmaids bouquets.

My bouquet & the Groom's Boutonniere

Bridesmaid's Bouquet's & the Groomsmens Boutonnieres

Mother's and the Sponsor's Corsage

Unique Boutonnieres

Awesome boutonniere. We already picked out our boutonnieres and bouquets, but I still love this one. I'm not a very "flowery" sort of person, so I think this would be a great change. Fritts Rosenow has lots of other unique boutonnieres.

Table Names

Table names have been decided! Fabulous Rock songs. =) Example: Back in Black. We're going to print out the table names and who sits at that table and lay it out for everyone during cocktail hour. Their name tags will already be at their seat at the reception. My sisters going to take our picture, and we're going to put our own twist to something I found. It's really cute.
No, we're not going to use a fence or a whiteboard.

Caroline Tran Photography

Beautiful! I love the shopping cart picture. The other engagement pictures actually look great too. Photographer: Caroline Tran. I think I just found a new photographer to follow. =)

Bride$hare

For those brides on a budget, I found out about this website called Bride$hare where brides can go and sell, borrow or find what they need. I went on the site about an hour ago and didn't really see anything I need. Probably because we've got most of the larger items completed already. It's just getting everything organized and picking who's in charge of what. But, this is still a great place to find things. I found a few wedding dresses that are being sold as well for only a few hundred dollars. Either way, check out Bride$hare if you want to save a few bucks. You may find what you need. Or even find another bride willing to split the costs with you.

Wedding Inspiration

Going back to my previous post about the tree centerpieces, I continued to look at her wedding pictures on flickr and she had some great ideas. Here are the few things that I love about her wedding. You can find all this on her flickr page. It brought out some ideas for our own wedding as well. We'll see if we actually go through with it.

Registry: Macy's

Last week, we got our very first wedding gift in the mail. Ira's friend decided to just mail it in to us. It was a happy surprise. Especially for me. I have to take it out of the box now and put it away. It's always exciting when we get something in the mail. We've been getting our response cards back too, which we've been excited over. It's all now falling into place.
Tools of the Trade Basic 4-Piece Mixing Bowl Set. Very excited to use when I make my next batch of cookies.