Tiaras, Veils, Headpieces & Updos!

Until recently, I was very opposed to wearing a veil. Mark is very traditional, so this has been the source of a heated debate between us. I've seen pictures of brides with veils that stick straight out and give that "I just flew in on my broom" look - I do NOT want to be one of those brides!

To placate Mark, I signed up for an account on WeddingChannel.com The site features a ton of photos showing the different styles and lengths of bridal veils. After some searching, I actually found a few veil styles that Mark and I might agree on.

This one (minus the brunette) is the style I want. It is an elbow-length, Satin Rattail Edge Veil.



Through this veil- searching ordeal, I learned that choosing a "plain veil" is much more difficult than you'd imagine. For starters, there are about a million terms used to describe the length of a veil. From elbow length, fingertip, chapel, shoulder length to past shoulder, waltz, dance length etc. According to my Modern Bride, though, short brides (that's me!) should not look for anything longer than elbow length.

So, I will succumb to peer pressure and wear a veil. Great. Now I need the "perfect" updo to accompany my veil.

I found this one on UrbanBetty.com

There's another I like on ModernBride.com



I'm not so sure about the sparkly decorations, but I like the large updo. I think a variation on one of these styles will look nice with the veil length/style I picked out.

Finally...a tiara! Come on, every bride needs to feel like a princess! (If I have to wear a veil, I might as well go the whole nine yards.) I found a few styles online that are absolutely gorgeous and incredibly expensive. (Most of these cost from $45 to $109) My favorite is simple, plain and above all - sparkly! I also found it on Modern Bride.

I've seen similar styles in some of the local accessories shops (Claire's, Afterthoughts) for $10-$15.

Invitatons & Programs

PROGRAMS

Mark and I have decided to make our own programs to be handed out at the ceremony. This is a great opportunity for us to spend time together, save money and create and preserve the memory of our wedding. We won't be working on these until a month or so before the wedding, but I decided to check online for advice on writing the program so we don't leave anything out.

Parts of a Program

This website lists the key components of a wedding program and provides sample poetry and short stories that can enhance the program. I scrolled through the list and found this beautiful poem.


These I Can Promise
I cannot promise you a life of sunshine;
I cannot promise riches, wealth, or gold;
I cannot promise you an easy pathway
That leads away from change or growing old.

But I can promise all my heart's devotion;
A smile to chase away your tears of sorrow;
A love that's ever true and ever growing;
A hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow.
Author Unknown


(Whew! Getting a little teary eyed!)
Anyway, I'll either buy stationary or printer paper in a cranberry color or we'll use plain, white paper and scan a photo of us together for the cover of the program.

INVITATIONS

We also want cost effective invitations and would love to do them ourselves, if possible. Wal*Mart sells blank invitations and there are at least 30 different websites that allow you to create your own invites. We also plan to check into Printing Express in Chilton to see their printing prices.

I realize that most people look at the invitation, write down the date and then throw them away, so I want something simple and inexpensive.


Fall Leaf Invite



Autumn Invitation

These two are pretty and fit with the fall theme, but we'll make the final decisions in a few months.

DJ & Limo Budget Woes

The answer is yes...but it won't be easy!

I decided to tackle the music issue first and did a basic online search for "Appleton area DJ services." WeDj.com listed 37 choices in no particular order, so I began randomly clicking. Some of the businesses were based out of Madison and Milwaukee, so I quickly crossed them off the list. (Services outside of a 50 mile radius tend to charge extra for travel time and gas mileage.)

I narrowed down a few and applied for a free consultation/price estimate at Fun Factory Entertainment LLC out of Appleton and jotted down the phone numbers for a few smaller, local services.

After finding some options, I realized that Mark and I still haven't discussed a budget for hiring the photographer, DJ and Limo services. I set out to do some research.

One of my bridal magazines offered their professional suggestion that we budget:

• $700-$1,500 for a DJ service


• $1,000-$4,000 for Photographer/Assistant


• $420-$450 for Limo rental

I, on the other hand, have a few choice words and suggestions for their over-priced, snobbish attempt at a budget. Here's my budget:

• DJ Service $600-$720


• Photographer $900-$1,400


• Limo Rental $350-$420
  

While we are still in the "discussion" stage when it comes to photographers, we have made some progress in terms of the limo. We have agreed (I think...) that we need to look into booking a limo-bus to accomodate our large wedding party.

The advantage is obvious: we can easily fit the wedding party/significant others into the bus and in this way, we ensure that all bridesmaids and groomsmen arrive at the same place at the same time.

This is an example of a 14 passenger bus that I found on ALimoBus.com


There are lots of local limo services, so our next step is to call around and get some estimates...I think I'll let Mark handle this one!

Cake Display & Centerpieces

Mark and I attended his cousin Ron's wedding last Friday and (lucky me) I picked up a few helpful ideas. The couple had a beautiful cake/flower display that I would love to replicate.



I love the fountain and the look of the flowers on the fluted glass vases. The cake was delicious...cheesecake in four different flavors! It was so good, I began looking into the idea for our wedding.

I found a website for a wedding cake business based in Milwaukee called
Suzy's Wedding Cake Styles.
Another site has a delicious sounding recipe for wedding cheesecakes. I have bookmarked the site, A-WeddingDay.com and plan to bring the recipe along when I meet with each of the three ladies we have in mind to create our wedding cake.


I've begun buying supplies for decorating at the reception. I recently bought these glitter leaves and vases quite inexpensively and plan to use them along with small pumpkins from my family's pumpkin patch to create fall-theme tables.







My current plan is to use these fall leaves, vases and pumpkins on the individual tables at the reception and to use our unity candle and bouquets as decoration on the head table. I also plan to use glass fluted vases to re-create the centerpiece from Ron's wedding. I want to use these around the cake to create a tiered look.

DIY Unity Candle

We started looking at Unity Candles and found that the cheapest was around $35! I was shocked! Seriously, it's just a candle...I can handle that right? In an effort to save money, I went to Wal*Mart and found a white,"Fresh Petals" scented pillar candle and bought it for $1.97!

I searched online for ideas and found a picture on www.yourweddingcompany.com of a simple unity candle that fits the fall theme.


I also found a DIY site that features a Unity Candle decorated with a copy of the wedding invitation. www.diynet.com

So many choices! Either way, my goal is to create a Unity Candle for under $10 and to use the money saved toward the cost of the table centerpieces.

"Free" Flowers!

Among the least of my worries is choosing flowers for bouquets, centerpieces and boutonnieres. Thankfully my aunt has volunteered to not only pay for the flowers, but she will also put together and arrange the bouquets etc...as long as we use silk flowers.

Not only am I excited to be saving money, (More for the Honeymoon fund! Cha Ching!) but I also love that I won't have to worry about the flowers wilting or making my grandma sneeze!

I've begun looking online to get an idea of the various colors and types of flowers so we won't be overwhelmed when we go to the local Ben Franklin store to pick them out. (Ben Franklin...right...the last of the big spenders!)

WedIdeas.com features examples of the various bouquet styles and also showcases a selection of colors.

SilkSpecialties.com is a site full of great wedding ideas, including Do-It-Yourself projects, and there are a lot of examples of bouquets that incorporate the fall colors.

I love this bouquet, it is simple yet elegant and the color is perfect for an October wedding!

Dress Colors

I have been trying to decide on a color for the bridesmaid's dresses that ties in with my fall theme. I went to Bridesmart.com and after some searching, I've narrowed down my 3 favorite colors.

Cherry

Wine

Claret

Which dress is your favorite?
	Cherry
	Wine
	Claret
Free polls from Pollhost.com

The Rings

This is the beautiful engagement ring that Mark picked out with his brother Randy's help.

This is my wedding band, which has not yet been fitted, but will eventually be soddered to the engagement ring.

We haven't decided on Mark's ring yet, though we know we want white-gold and something simple.

Here are a few that we like:
Wedding Band #1
Wedding Band #2
Wedding Band #3

The Church and Hall

We set the wedding date for October 27, 2007 and booked St. John Sacred Heart Congregation church on Military Road in Sherwood.

Then we started calling and gathering estimates from all the local banquet halls including Kloten Oasis, Neighborhood Pub and Grill and Michiel's in Brillion.

We eventually met with the owners and booked Laughrin's Kloten Oasis, where we were assured that the dinning hall would accomodate our 300+ guests in one place setting.

The Story of Us

Mark and I met at Hickory Hills Country Club in Chilton, WI on a Thursday evening. I was bartending for Thursday Men's Golf Club when he showed up with his brothers and ordered a round of Captain & Coke.

After a month of flirting, we finally had our first date and a year and two days later, Mark proposed.

On July 20, 2005 Mark took me to a beautiful man-made waterfall in Campbellsport. I was distracted, taking photos of the water, and when I turned around he was on one knee. He said "I just have one question...will you marry me?" He pulled out a beautiful white-gold ring with 13 diamonds...one for every month we'd know eachother! I cried and hugged him and after a few moments, he got the hint that my answer was "Yes!"

We took this photo a few minutes after Mark proposed!