favors?

[kcharr77]

was just looking for suggestions on what others are doing for favors? thinking i am going to have around 150 guests and money is definitely an issue? any great ideas/deals out there? thanks!

[TaylorCL]

Hi :)

Have you thought about looking at Oriental Trading.com? Right now they have a spend over $60 and get free shipping. I plan on buying all my favors and party supplies there while they have the free shipping.

I'm planning on going to Sams/Costco to get a couple of bags of Hersey Kisses (probably $14 at the most) and using the love stickers on the bottom of those (I think they are $4 for 800) from OT. Plan on buying the bubbles at a party store after wedding season (my weddings not until end of Oct) and I'll probably do the little personal thank you cards. I thought about doing flower packets. You can find those rather cheap at a hardware store and make little personal notes with cheap ribbon on each one.

Check your local Hobby Lobby and Michael's stores. I found great clearance deals there. Even Walmart and Target have had great wedding deals so far. I'm a clearance nut.

You aren't the only one on a tight budget. I'm paying for this on my own and have limited room in my financial budget for a wedding at the moment. Have you had any ideas about what you want out of the favors you want to give?

Christie

[kcharr77]

Hey Christie! thank you so so much for the ideas!! i am actually trying to get my wedding scheduled for the end of oct also (i am in NC so thinking the weather should be good then for an outdoor wedding which is what i am wanting!) i am actualy thinking now of doing the personalized matchbooks? there are some great deals on those and then having sparklers out everywhere and at the end when we are leaving have them light those instead of throwing something at us? looks like a really cheap way of doing favors but also creating some neat pics? so that is where i am-though i love the idea of the seeds also! do you already have most of your venues (location, caterer etc) already locked in for oct? i am literally trying to do all that now! so this is going to be a feat! any other tips or advice you have-i am completely open to! we just decided this past weekend to try and have the wedding this oct., so i am going like a crazy person! :)
casey

[TaylorCL]

Try www.cudge.net I found 75 votives with glass holders for 36.00, 96 bubble bottles for 10.47 and Tulle and Aisle runners at great prices. There favors are sky high but try www.bagettes.com for cheap ideas on favors, bridesmaid/groomsman gifts and other things. Oh, and if you're doing the cameras on the tables ( I am ) Cudge.net has them 3.48 per camera. It's the best deal I've found so far. They aren't the prettiest to look at but a cover of tulle, some ribbon or other embellishment will take care of that. I thought about doing personalized stick-it notes. But I also thought about the matchbooks.

With sparklers you have to be really careful about burning embers falling and burning your veil or dress by accident. I'm thinking about rose petals. I'm planning on going to local flower shops and asking for petals left over that they are willing to give away. Birdseed gets stuck in your hair (especially if you are wearing it up) and down the front of your gown. So I'll probably go with bubbles and rose petals.

I'm just now starting to plan as well (within the past couple of weeks). I've been looking around and getting ideas, but not really buying much until lately. I just got engaged in February and had no idea what it takes to plan a wedding. We just now decided on going out to the bluffs and having an outside wedding during the week (on a Thursday) which is saving us a ton of money. We will hold the reception there as well inside the winery. My guest list is rather intimate (less than 100) and I wanted something that if it were to rain, we could move the wedding inside. They have a beautiful look out point inside that will do just as great as outside.

We won't have a catered affair. Just small snack food. We're having a late wedding (after the dinner hour) so guest will have already ate and it keeps food costs low. My mother's best friend is a baker and makes wedding cakes every day in her business, so my cakes are free. I'm going to contact the local university (I live in MO) and see if any students would be interested in some side money. I got a DIY invite/placecard/RSVP/program kit (2) at Michaels for 15.00 (for both). Plain vanilla cardstock. I bought scrapbook paper flowers (in white and vanilla) and some really pretty ribbon and will go through and embellish them. All in all, I ended up spending about 25.00 for all that. I'll make my own veil and already have the materials to do that. I'm getting a dress off a China ebay site (went through the Cinderella Bridal Shop. They've been nothing but helpful and kind. The dress was 225.00 with shipping but I found ones that I loved just as much for cheaper. But I wanted a lace up.). I'd been thinking about the China dress sites before I bought this book (which has been a Godsend for me)and finally just had to do it. I don't have the money to spend 800.00 on a dress.

The flower seeds are a great favor idea. I know that there is a site where you can have customed designs of flower packets that they can just plant the whole thing. (I'll have to look for it and post it for you) But it's much more expensive to go that route (.10 for a regular flower packet versus 1.50 for the designed packet).

I still haven't decided on music. I debated making our own music CD's and playing those. Then I thought about doing that and making copies of our favorite songs from the wedding and giving those for gifts. I have too many ideas. I have to learn to weed through them and fast. :)

Really, you've gotta learn to haunt the craft stores in your area for great deals and don't be afraid to use coupons. Place a free AD in your paper for Wanted: Free Wedding Supplies. Anything left over? Please call .... I'll be doing this. I'll take anything that's free.

We can brainstorm. Any way I can help you just let me know. I've been doing so much research that I should be able to come up with something. Don't be afraid to ask me.

Christie

LOL. This turned out much longer than I expected.

[kcharr77]

Oh my gosh! Christie-thank you so so much for all this info-and i hadn't even thought about that with the sparklers! wow-you do have a lot of great ideas! and your location sounds gorgeous! thank you so much for the web site info! wow-that price on the cameras is amazing! i definitely did want to do that!

we just got engaged march 30! so decided to try and get married in Oct. and then i officially realized what an undertaking this was going to be! i had NO idea! wow!

i am wanting my wedding to be outside also, but like you i haev a house there in case i have to move it inside-i am trying to keep it around 100 people!

so you ordered your dress through cinderella? i found this dress i am absolutely in love with-but of course it is at david's bridal and is a bridesmaids dress---so doesn't come in white/cream/ivory....only actual colors! grr. it was only $150 also, so i was thinking about taking a pic of it and seeing about getting it done through china directly? your site has been working well for you? when do you expect your dress? i am sure it will turn out beautifully!

sounds like you have everything figured out-i agree-this book was GREAT! i think i am going to order flowers through one of the wholesalers/ or costco and try and do those myself! my mom knows an older woman who does cakes from her home for around $200 which is by far the cheapest i am finding in the area so far!

so how about an opinion question-so far the cheapest avenue i have found to feed people (have a lot of people from out of town-so need to do it on a weekend) was a barbecue dinner! it is averaging out to only $9.00 a head! but do you think that is tacky? i have never been to a wedding that did something like that?

i saw those seed packets that you plant the whole thing-but they were way more expensive-i really like the seed ideas and then do personalized labels or decorating them? i think i am definitely leaning towards that!

thank you so much for all the suggestions and sites Christie! i feel a lot less panicky! :)
Casey

[TaylorCL]

I have a ton of sites saved that I've been just searching through to find stuff. But of course, they are saved at home (and I'm at work :). I will try tonight to get online and post some sites for you to go through. The bagettes site, I'm going to get a few things like the rose candle for centerpieces and a couple of votives beside it. Then I thought about wildflowers (because they are beautiful that time of year here and it would be cheap to get some brown-eyed susans and daisies). I'm not quite certain what I want to do. I'm going to buy some sets of the glass fall leaves coasters for gifts. Plan on going to the dollar store for champange flutes for the Bride & Groom. I'm going to make flower baskets for my bridesmaids and they will be the ones to drop the petals. My mother's other best friend will officiate the wedding (for free) and my best friend is going to do my hair.

My fiance's best friend, his family own a BBQ resturant, so that's what we'll have for the rehersal dinner, but we were going to do that for the reception. Just don't get ribs (messy and doesn't bode well for a light colored dress) but I don't think it's tacky at all. And it's cheap and good food. Our friends did it for their wedding, and it was a big hit. Plus there was plenty of food, they didn't run out, people were happy and full. It was a great time. Just remember to do what makes you and your fiance happy. It's easy to get caught up in what everyone else wants and needs. This day is about you and don't feel bad if you have to take a step back from planning to remember that. I know I have. I've been really past the point of frustration twice already. (His mother and yy mother are driving me batty). At first, we were going to run off and elope. That plan got nixed. He comes from a huge, tight knit family and couldn't imagine them not being there. So I found a venue that limited the amount of guest (Thank Goodness) to 75 for the wedding. Most people are just invited to the reception. Reception hall holds 250.

Cinderella's Bridal did a great thing by me. The link below is the picture of how the dress started out and I made variations to the design. I got a dress in light champagne, lace up back and extra beading on the train (for no charge). Plus, I'm tall (almost six foot) and I was going to be charged an extra fee almost every where to have a dress made that was long enough. Cinderella's making a custom fit for free! I couldn't believe the customer service. Outstanding if you ask me. I started out at David's (big mistake. I had a panic attack in the dressing room and it ended with my sister fanning my face as I tried to breathe.) They were cold, smothering and downright rude. I looked at a lot of ebay sites and a goodwill site that someone else mentioned on these boards and decided to go with this one. I'm glad I did. I just ordered and the payment just went through. I bid on it, so I got it cheaper than the price listed, so all together with shipping it was 205.00, cheaper than I found in any of the speciality stores even with the discontinued dresses.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WG0522-MACARIA-W...QQcmdZViewItem


Here are some dress sites:

http://stores.ebay.com/Cinderellas-B...dZ2QQpZ2QQtZkm

http://stores.ebay.com/Kanacca

Or

www.kanacca.com

www.littlecoral.com

http://stores.ebay.com/gianinarbrida...Z2QQpZ21QQtZkm

At the last site, there were more than a few that I loved. Takes about three or four months to recieve the dress (or at least that's what they warn about). I've heard you can recieve it pretty quickly sometimes and they can do rush orders as well. I was scared to buy a dress online but I really had no other option.

We have a hardware store in our town called, Westlakes, and they carry seed packets for about .10. I'm going to get some and make labels to cover the packets, hole punch a couple of holes at the top, write out a thank you note and tie it to the top. Cheap and simple. Can't ask for anything more. I'm ordering buttermints from Oriental Trading, along with gifts for our bridesmaids and groomsman. They personalize for free! They have lots of great items that won't be an instant throw away item. I'm thinking about doing key chains for the bridesmaids and tie tacts for the men. I haven't decided yet. But I have to place my order soon or lose the free shipping :(

Christie :)

[kcharr77]

Hey Christie,
wow-your dress is absolutely gorgeous! when do you expect it? i am so glad to hear you have had such a good experience with them. my mom and i are going shopping this weeknd to try and figure out what style in particular i am looking for! oh-and i found this great site:

http://www.cheap-chic-weddings.com/c...vitations.html

they have some really neat ideas/sites on there as well! just something else to check!

thank you so much also for the words of advice, i actually had a bit of a meltdown yesterday. was telling my dad about the location i found. he feels it is too far away to ask people to drive (it is 30 to 40 minutes from here where we all are) because there is going to be drinking etc. then he suggested that i re-think the time as you "never know how the weather will be at the end of Oct".... so then i started re-thinking everything. My poor fiancee! you are right though. i need to just remember this is about whatever my fiancee and i want. NOT everyone else!

this venue is truly perfect in every way except that it is a distance-but i can't find anything even near this deal locally. oh well-looks like people are just going to have to figure it out! :)

i am so thrilled to hear about the barbecue. i just haven't been to a wedding where they did that and my fiancee didn't think it sounded "wedding-ey" at all. but truly-i want it to be just a fun party! so i think i am going to go ahead and settle on this---you should get "wedding planning leave" from work! :)

what are you doing about corsages/boutonnierres for everyone? do you know what you are doing with your bouquet? i am thinking about making my own-but that won't work with boutonnieres or corsages? but the prices? holy cow!! corsages run around $25 here per (and that isn't even with "premium" flowers!) fun fun! :)

[TaylorCL]

Casey, thank you so much! I've been looking since I got engaged (because I really had no idea what I wanted in a wedding dress, and to be honest, I look horrible in dresses and haven't worn one (that I've picked out) since high school.) But I tried on one so similar and it looked great. Dresses make me feel awkward and I'm not really picky.

I saved the site. Great site, Casey. I'll definitely be reading through it and gathering more information.

Our site is 25 minutes away from the city as well and our parents are not happy with the choice but I told them all too bad. I know it's probably not polite to do so, but this is our one day. We're never going to marry again, we're always going to be together. I want this to be about us and our love. Not what our parent's want. So I made that very clear. All that matters is that the official, groom and bride and a couple of witnesses. Everything else is fluff. And that's the way I think about it. Our reception is planned as a big party. Matt and I love to dance, so we're encouraging everyone to do so as well. If everyone is dancing no one will noticed that you suck at it. :)

I need a vacation from all this planning. :) My Maid of Honor is planning a girl's weekend next week where we will do nothing but have fun and no wedding talk. Thank goodness for best friends and sisters. Maybe you need the same thing. Share some responsiblity with your maid of honor or someone who you're close with that you trust their opinions. I'm a control freak but it's been a lot easier on me since I shared off some responsiblity (even though it's just keep tract all all the plans I've already made and decided on).

I'm doing two corsages, and that's it. I'm going to make them for my mother and MIL. Neither of our Grandmothers' surviving will be making the trip and I don't think it's imperitive to make them for the groomsman or my maids.

I'm going to ask what flowers are in season here around Oct, which won't be much and go from there. I've been planning on buying roses at Sam's/Costco's and arranging them myself. My MoH will be carrying a smaller bouquet like mine. Bridesmaids will be carrying the flower baskets and dropping the petals so they don't need bouquets. I'm going to Hobby Lobby getting two baskets and a couple of bags of petals and super glueing them on there, covering over it with tulle and lining the basket as well. My sister will probably help me out as well as my mother. My MoH is not crafty but she's an orgainizer, so she's helping me keep track of money, reciepts and decisions. My other bridesmaid is my coach. She's reminding me to breathe. :)

What are you doing about your cake? Are you doing one cake? Multiple cakes? One Bride cake and a Groom's cake? And what kind of dress are you thinking about?

[kcharr77]

Hey Christie,

that is so funny-i am literally the same way. do not own a dress at all and was actually freaked out that now i had to wear one and be photographed! found this one at davids

http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridesma...&prodgroup=110

but of course am having the color problem-as it is a "bridesmaids" dress. so actually contacted cinderella yesterday to see if they could make this - i would like it to have a bit of a train and sleeves if possible. wearing a light colored dress in public is enough without having to show my arms! :)

i think that girls weekend with NO wedding talk sounds like a dream! i think i am definitely going to be bringing that up! in fact-need to make it a monthly function! i really appreciate your email. it made me feel a lot better about my dad and the site! he is the only one who has said anything-but i was worried people were going to be thinking it. but you are completely right. this isn't about any of them- i would like for everyone to be there but really as long as the minister and mark, my fiancee (and of course my family) show-i am good!

i really don't like being in front of people, so i was thinking i was going to just have my sister be my maid of honor and the only one to walk. she can wear whatever she wants, but then i was wanting to do a corsage or something just to "recognize" my girls who would have been bridesmaids (but that list quickly gets to be long) so besides my mom, step mom, grandmother and possibly step grandmother-all of whom MUST have corsages (old southern family) then like 6 to 8 more for my girls? kind of scary when you start looking at prices of them! obviously the girls need to be different from my mom. but then i want hers diferent from step-mom and grandmothers. ahhh, so much fun planning a weddding. it seems like every thought leads to 2000 things that i never considered that all have to be done!

your ideas sound like a great way to go! are you sticking with roses? are you doing any flower centerpieces? what are you doing on your tables? i am completely down with costco-but then just worried about arranging them-though my family will help!

are you hiring a dj or burning your own cd's to be played? does your caterer do their own cleanup when things are done? i just realized i am going to have to find some sort of clean up crew at my location for the end of the night-that is probably going to get interesting! :)

i have no clue about the cake yet. i am going to this GREAT bakery on tues for a "consultation"- it takes an HOUR! my fiancee obviously wants to go along on that one-mention cake and he is there! :) but i just figured they could show me lots of things and give me flavor ideas. i just can't rationalize $3.50 a slice for a very basic cake- with little decoration! holy cow! so i was thinking i would do a small cake for the table and then have sheet cakes in the back? wrong-apparently they are all on to that! for a sheet cake-plain sheet cake it is $3.00 a slice! so not sure what i am doing about that yet! :) besides worrying!

[[email protected]]

Did you get your dress. I just ordered one a month ago they said 30 days and now they say 2 more weeks? I am getting nervious it won't be nice and that they are rushing it or that I won't get it at all . ordering on line is an act of faith and I'm worried. I need to hear from someone who was happy and had success. the price was great though
Any feedback on them would be appreciated. we also are having it custom made no train. because the venue is small and it is in the summer. don't want to drag a heavy train around.
Diane