Wedding Recap

The wedding of my dreams is over 400 days away and I have to say that I am glad to stress now rather than later. I want all the information down on the books and the proposed budget to be realized before it gets down to crunch time. After looking at cakes, flowers, caters, and the like I realized that I was over budget by almost $1000. I believe that we can have an exceptionally beautiful and classy wedding on a budget and my fiance agrees with me, so after careful consideration we were able to make some needed changes.

One: Choose another photographer that offers everything we are looking for in quality of work, coverage time, full copyright of photos, printing of photos included in price, and a price that fits our budget. Even after all considerations were done were still looking at $1000 for a photography. Oh well, we want to be able to remember our day and have the best pictures to prove it.

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Two: I will downsize my bridal bouquet and use silk flowers for my bridesmaids or some beautiful silk fans that will defintely be helpful for our summer wedding. Also, this allows for the wedding flower budget to be lowered by at least $100. I believe that my bouquet should be the big bundle on campus, so the bridesmaids don't need flowers anyway.

Three: Cupcakes over a large wedding cake that most people are not going to be eating. Wedding cakes are often not eaten by majority of the guest and it is a sunk cost that you can not get your money back for if it isn't eaten. The cupcake idea works best in my opinion because it can also double as a wedding flavor. Two for one.

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Four: What they don't know or realize,will not hurt them or wedding budget. Plastic flatware that resembles real silverware at a fraction of the cost. Was thinking of renting the silverware, glassware, and plates but the expenses still add up. Smartyhadaparty.com has become my new best friend. The prices are in bulk and offer a variety of wedding items to choose from.

Five: Food is good for the soul, so why not have the comfort foods that we know and love. I went to a family cook out this week and fell in love all over again with my favorite Aunt Pattie's food and the presentation. She made food that everyone would love and I still get my country loving in the process. Family will still prepare the food except the menu items will be a lot more cost efficent to make for a large group of people.

Nonetheless, I know that our wedding will be beautiful and the wedding our dreams. So, I'm a bridezilla on a budget and I will get what I want. While making my hubby to be happy as well with the wedding decisions.

Wedding Registries and The Anticipation

Today I learned that there is 430 days until our big day and wouldn’t you know it I got a little emotional. The countdown was set for me as I began to register my fiancé and I at different companies such as Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target, Sears, and Macy's. I have to say that I liked registering on Target the most. It was easy and convenient to manuever. It also provided helpful information such as days until wedding, number of times registry viewed, number of items purchased, and number of items in each price range.

Before You Start

If you are endeavoring to set-up online wedding registries I have a few simple words of advice. (1) Get some music going (2) Grab a nice glass of wine, I suggest a glass of Moscato and some chocolate (3) Find a comfortable chair and get to surfing the web.

Five Simple Tips for Wedding Registries

1. Include your fiancé in on making the decisions. You may not have exactly the same tastes and he should be able to add things he likes as well, so that both of you can be happy with your gifts. Compromising and good collaboration are needed relationship abilities that are helpful for the future.

2. Don’t go wedding registering crazy. Choose 3 or 4 retail stores to register to make it easier for your guests as well as yourself if you need to update those online registries.

3. Make sure to include gifts in every price range. You can do this by choosing one high-end store, one averaged-priced store, and a more cost-conscious retail store.

4. Don’t be afraid that an item will be too much for your guests to buy. The worst case scenario is you won't get it, so don’t feel guilty about having high-end taste. Do keep in mind that asking for a car or $4000 sound system might be pushing the envelope.

5. Word of mouth and social media is the easiest and most polite way to let family, friends, and guests know where you are registered.

I had a friend tell me she attended a wedding where the bride registered at a lingerie store. It made me wonder is there a such thing as inappropriate gifts on a wedding registry. According to friend Ally McQueen, “You should not have “naughty items” on your wedding registry.” Student Sidney Edwards replied, "You should not put anything on your registry you wouldn't want your grandparents to see." There were only a few people who felt this way. Another friend commented, “Why not “naughty items? You will have to have something to help consummate the marriage with.”

Whip Control

Personally, if you want to do that for potential bridal shower gifts then limit the registry to friends and family with an equal sense of humor. Otherwise, it's not exactly something your future mother-in-law or older family need to have access to. Now if it was me, I would register at Fredericks of Hollywood.

The GiftRegistry360.Com by theKnot is incredible. It allows you to link/sync all your wedding registries if they are a part of the Featured Partners list, but you can also add from other on-line registries. There is also the added bonus of creating styleboards for each room. I love this feature. Fun to see how well our tastes aline with one another. Once again I noticed that certain companies have lost their minds with regards to price, so Crate and Barrel will not have to worry about a Hilton-Bond Wedding Registry.

You Will Wear What I Tell You To Wear Cont.

I have narrowed down which bridesmaid dresses I will be choosing for my girls. The experience at David's Bridals was hilarious and very eye-opening to say the least. I realized how important it is to understand your bridesmaids body types and what they are truly comfortable with wearing. If they have to spend hundreds of dollars on a dress, then it is only fair that they feel beautiful and comfortable in it. I love my bridesmaids and I want nothing more than for them to look their best.

My favorite Davids Bridal specialist Jessica made this wonderful comment, "The right brassiere can make any dress look fantastic." I have to agree and will be going undergarment shopping with all my girls. Even I need to make sure the ladies up top are going to look fabulous in my one shoulder wedding dress as well as be safe and secure. We will not be having any wardrobe malfunctions at the Hilton-Bond wedding.

Here are the dresses that I have narrowed the choices down to.

My Aunt Pattie remarked, "I like this dress one because it would flatter everyone of your bridesmaids."
This one is personally my sister Chaka and my favorite.
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This is a dress I like to think would look great on my maids of honor.
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Great color and style. I just need to get them to not be so stiff. I love these girls.
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This is a sexy and stylish dress that looks great on my girls.
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Shoes Make Any Dress

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Shoes are an important part to any woman's outfit. The shoes can even make or break an outfit and as a woman I can say that I start from the feet and work my way up. If the shoes are a hot mess or just don’t make the bill then the outfit loses serious cool points. It is only proper that I have put incredible thought into the shoes my bridesmaids will be wearing in my wedding.

www.davidsbridal.com

                            Five Point to Keep In Mind When Choosing Bridesmaid Shoes

1. Do the shoes match the style of the dress? Example a summer flowery style dress can be dressed down with flats or wedges or up with a sexy pair of stiletto slingbacks.
2. Is the environment safe for stilettos or high-heel pumps? Never cute or safe to have stumbling bridesmaids. Note: Plenty of YouTube views of bridesmaids taking a good tumble.
3. How much are your bridesmaids willing to spend on shoes?
4. Should you let your bridesmaids choose their own shoes or pick them as the bride yourself?
5. Comfort and style should be considered equally. Remember the ceremony is at least an hour and the bridesmaids may not like you if you stick them in sky-high stilettos.

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I have thought long and hard about this and I have decided personally to let my bridesmaids make the choice themselves. I consulted with bridesmaid specialist Ms.Kathleen Moore said “You should let your bridesmaids choose their own shoes, but you get finally say in the shoes. The bridesmaids will like you better for it.” Plus, we consulted with other seasoned bridesmaids they said that fifty bucks is a reasonable price to pay for bridesmaid shoes. I can understand that and have chosen a few shoes I think they may like if they so choose to buy them for the wedding.

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Brides remember that just because a shoe is crazy sexy cool doesn't mean its going to be the most comfortable or appropriate for your wedding day or wedding dress. Never fret. Fashion always prevails, so kick those cute and conservative shoes off the minute you walk down that aisle with your new husband. Next step, put on those shoes that just make you shine and your sexy bride dress pop. So strut your stuff. I know I will. If you have a pair of shoes you just love from your past use them and have your something old.

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