Steal Your Wedding: Invitations
How is it even possible that we’ve gone this long without discussing how to save on wedding invitations? Not quite sure. Unlike save-the-dates and wedding announcements, wedding invitations are not something you can forego. How do we save and invite at the same time?
Check out the DIY kits. There are endless supplies of DIY kits out there. In your crafty stores, in your chain stores, in your gift stores, and online. There is an endless supply of them and doing it yourself can really save you money! Before you consider this option, thoroughly do your research on the product. And my suggestion is to buy more than you need. You are bound to mess up on a couple (you’re human) and you don’t’ want to run out prematurely.
See what you can cut out. It’s tempting to load up on the paper when you’re ordering your invitations. And I understand, you want everything to match. Adding the menu, directions to the ceremony and reception, link to your wedding website, etc. Really, the basics that you need are – the invitation page itself, the RSVP card, and the envelope for the RSVP card.
Check for hidden costs. They aren’t hidden when you ask about what each thing will cost you. Even when you suspect it won’t. Want a different color ink? Want your return address printed on the envelope? Ask about it! Most likely, anything different than what you are presented as basic will be extra. That includes a more sturdy paper or adding ribbon. You don’t be sorry that you asked!
Let’s touch on some things that I don’t think are a good idea (personally).
Evites, emails, facebook invitations are certainly ways to cut out the cost of the paper invitation, but I don’t think we need to go that far. I may be an old-fashioned gal, but I think that if you are sending out wedding invitations, it must be done through paper. Keep in mind that this is most people’s first impression of your wedding – and we don’t want to send one that’s tacky. You can jazz up an evite as much as possible, but it’s still going to come across as tacky. Try to avoid it.
Also, I think we can all agree that putting things inside the invitation that explode out (such as sparklies, sprinkles, confetti-like gems) not only cost you extra money, but it’s also a bit annoying for those opening it and now have a bunch of confetti to vacuum up. If they are anything like me, it’s already too late because the dog has wolfed down the majority of whatever just fell out of your invitation. It will likely cut a bit out of your expenses and a bit of annoyance from your guests.
Having trouble getting started? Check out our list of 290 wedding invitation vendors! Click on “Plan the wedding,” then select the vendor category of invitations and search by state to find one near you!
How did you do your wedding invitations? Let us know! Leave a comment or talk to @GetEngaged!
Weekly Dance Watch: City Hall Edition
We’ve talked about how intimate City Hall Weddings can be, now witness how small and beautiful these occasions can are, courtesy of YouTube. Witness the intimate moments these couples experience exchanging vows in the fastest and smallest way you can. Simple and so sweet!
The Discerning Gent: The Kiss
When you think about wedding ceremonies, what do you typically remember? The wedding procession? The bride’s walk down the aisle? The priest’s words? The exchange of vows or rings? All great things, but the moment that most often stands out in people’s minds is the kiss. The embrace, the smooch, the smack, the peck, the kiss. As the first official act as husband and wife, husband and husband, or wife and wife, it’s symbolic. It’s a small yet integral part of your public display of love and adoration for one another. It’s the culmination of the entire ceremony and what everyone is really waiting for.
Talk about pressure.
I’ve seen a myriad of different kisses, from ones that are epic and beautiful to ones that simply fall flat. With so much anticipation for the brief moment, I can’t convey how disappointing it is when the newlyweds underwhelm the guests with a kiss that makes you think they’re related. You just married this person. Kiss them with a little passion and with, dare I say, love. One kiss I witnessed was so short, so half-assed, that an elderly woman behind me actually yelled, “If you don’t kiss him for real, I’m gonna come up there and show you how it’s done!” Sassy one she was.. But I shared her annoyance. The kiss is supposed to be the cherry on top of the ceremony. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I and most certainly the elderly woman behind me literally felt cheated.
Of course, there’s definitely such a thing as overdoing it. We’ve all seen one or two examples of kisses that make you want to shield children’s eyes. I’m talking about full-on, deep, tongue kissing that goes on longer than it took to say vows. In these cases, there’s definitely no shortage of passion or love. The shortage instead is with modesty. I can’t even begin to imagine how people can perform what is actually a step shy from full-on foreplay in front of friends and family. In my opinion, there’s just something awkward about doing that with your parents or other close family in the front row. Do us all a favor and save that “enthusiasm” for later.
Like most things in life, the middle ground or moderation is best. Land somewhere between kissing Aunt Petunia and playing tonsil hockey and you’ll probably satisfy the crowd.
Have a kissing story to tell? Post a comment or tweet @GetEngaged!
Ask A Bride: Wedding Parties
Hello! Me and my fiancé both are having a bit of a problem with our wedding parties. We recently became engaged but are wanting to get our wedding parties together now as our wedding is less than a year away already. What’s happening is that I am having bridesmaids (and groomsmen) who are not giving us straight answers about whether or not they will be able to commit to being a bridesmaid/groomsmen. Is there a polite way to get a straight answer from people without putting too much pressure on them?
- Lisa, California
Lisa,
I understand your dilemma! To cut down on these kinds of stresses for my wedding, I didn’t have a wedding party at all. I felt like it would be a stressful event as it is, I figured it would be easiest to just have me and my fiancé up at the altar. So what do you do when you are trying to get all your friends and family together at one place at one time? Well, you have to start reminding/nagging people for an answer. As you said, there needs to be a balance between being polite and putting pressure on people. What you need to keep in mind is that you aren’t pressuring them to say yes. You would just like an answer. And remind them of this as well! Also helpful? Give them a deadline. Not in a way a boss would, but let them know that you need to have your wedding party list finalized by such and such a date. I think really the best thing to realize is that if you are having trouble just getting an answer out of someone for this, imagine how difficult it may be to get them to the rehearsal, to the wedding, to the wedding shower, etc. If you hare having a really hard time getting an answer from certain people, I believe that is your answer and they don’t know how to tell you. Make it as easy for them as possible to give a truthful answer. If they can’t make it, they can’t make it. It may mean cutting down on your wedding party, but it would be best to know there will be people there you can depend on!
Let us know how you got your wedding party together below!
If you have a question for our bride, feel free to post a comment with your question or send a tweet to @GetEngaged!
Proposal Stories: Ruth and William
Congratulations to Ruth and William on their touching engagement and wedding! Ruth and William knew each other in high school but married other people – both were married for 60+ years! After they both lost their spouses they reconnected and got married on Valentine’s Day this year!!! William bought a beautiful Hearts On Fire 5 Stone Diamond Band (pictured here) for Ruth. Congratulations to this wonderful couple!
Have a proposal story to share? Leave a comment or tweet @ProposalStories!
Steal Your Wedding: City Hall Wedding Edition
Although I love weddings of all shapes and sizes, I have always had a special place in my heart for small, intimate weddings. Not only because my own wedding was about 25 people deep, but I love the intimacy that comes with surrounding yourself with the very closest of friends who want to truly celebrate your love.
You may be thinking that a city hall wedding means no elegance and no fanfare, but you could not be more mistaken. See the photos below to check out how you can make your city hall wedding one that is elegant, romantic, and all about love. I could go on about how much money you will save by cutting out the need for a ceremony location (no one says you can’t have a reception to follow your city hall ceremony!) but really, seeing these real city hall weddings is all the explanation you need for how to truly combine savings and beautiful simplicity.
- http://www.oncewed.com/26221/wedding-blog/real-weddings/vintage-city-hall-wedding/
- http://www.lifelovelipstickblog.com/2008/08/05/a-ben-chrisman-city-hall-wedding-erin-chris/
- http://lisanjames.com/blog/2009/03/27/meyeon-jess-san-franciso-city-hall-wedding/
- http://100layercake.com/blog/archives/4377
- http://bklynbrideonline.com/tag/city-hall/
- http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2009/01/genius-wedding-idea-city-hall.html
Weekly Dance Watch: Vegas Edition
Vegaaaaas!!!!!!! Some go to gamble, some go to party, some go to get married in a hurry. But damnit, they all go to have fun. These couples take a break from their gambling action to get in on some wedding action. Considering a Vegas wedding or just curious about how these go down? Watch on.
Buy Like A Guy: Can Men Be Jewelry Gurus?
Granted this was sponsored by an independent jeweler…but these guys still have some enlightening things to say.
Check out our 1st BLAG-Cast…
Ask A Bride: Ring Out Of Reach Financially
I’m in a bit of a pickle. I’d really like to propose to my girlfriend quite soon (and I’m getting the feeling she is anxious for this as well). My problem? The ring I would really like to get her is still a bit out of my reach financially. Do I go with the smaller diamond to propose now or wait a bit longer for the ring I - and she – would really like? I guess my main question is will she be happier with a bigger ring or a proposal that comes sooner?
- Robert, Gaithersburg MD
Robert,
What I love about you already is that you are concerned with meeting all your future fiancés needs and obviously would like to please her with the ring and proposal timing she desires. I believe that the answer to this question depends on a couple factors (and the lady readers can add in their 2 cents to this as well). Has she given you an ultimatum? If there has been a point in your relationship where she has said I want us to be engaged by such and such time, I would encourage you to propose by that time regardless of the ring size. You may be able to buy some time if you tell her you 100% are proposing in the near future but need a little extension since you are trying to buy the ring of her dreams. If you more of a secretive and subtle hint kind of relationship, I think you are safe to wait. Drop hints that a proposal is coming if you feel that it is necessary. Most women are willing to wait it out when they know a proposal and ring are in their future (right ladies?) My question to you is how long will the waiting period be? Once you start discussing engagement, we can become a bit antsy. So try to propose within the next 6 months if you can. Keep in mind you can always upgrade your diamond down the road if you feel like you don’t want to stretch your budget at this time in our economy. I think any reasonable lady will understand that sometimes extravagance needs to be put on the backburner and a lifetime together takes precedence over diamond size. For advice on comparing diamond size with budget, go here.
If you would like to share how you decided on your diamond size, please feel free to post below!
If you have a question for our bride, feel free to post a comment with your question or send a tweet to @getengaged!
Buy Like A Guy: About Prices
As far as I know this guy was not in the jewelry business. I’m not related to him…never met him…don’t owe him any money and he has no compromising pictures of me from Vegas. I mention this only because what I am about to post is the philosophy that underlies our pricing approach…even though I couldn’t say it near as well:
Prices
It is unwise to pay too much. But it is worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much, you lose a little money; that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the product you bought is incapable of doing what it was bought to do.
The common law of business prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can’t be done.
If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you would have enough to pay for something better.
There is hardly anything in this world that someone can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper~and people who consider price alone are this man’s lawful prey.
~John Ruskin 1819-1900
Consider price in your buying decision? Of course. Think you ever get “more for less”? Not on your life.
- @BuyLikeAGuy
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