July 16, 2013

Dress fittings and why you should always have emergency money in the budget.

  I knew that when I got alterations to my dress it was not going to be cheap... I thought I only had to get my dress taken in 1 size then I ended up losing some weight and we ended up having to take the dress in almost 4 inches on both sides... THAT IS 8 INCHES...
    There are some very important tips that you should always remember when going to a dress fitting.


  • Wear ALL the undergarments that you are planning on wearing on your wedding day. (I didn't put on my longline bra for my first fitting meaning I had to get the dress adjusted again on the second fitting)
  • Wear the shoes you are planning on wearing for the wedding. They will be heming your dress so you want to make sure that your hem is the right length with your shoes. (Your slip/crinoline will also affect your hem so wear your slip/crinoline at all fittings)
  • If you are worried about your dress being pinned too tight or too loose do not be afraid to speak up. You are paying for this service don't say ok until you are happy with the way you are pinned.
  • Drink lots of water. If your wedding dress is anything like mine you are going to be HOT so make sure that you drink LOTS of water my seamstress told me stories of brides fainting at their fitting when I was asking my bridesmaid for water.
  • Make sure you have someone with you at your last fitting. If your dress is a lace up you will need someone who knows how to lace it up. Or how to do the buttons or how to just make sure it is on right. 
   My good friend told me that alterations were not cheap. I thought she was overreacting until I started calling around to get price quotes. 

   When I first went I was a bit in shock at the price I was given to take the dress in (I need to learn how to sew wedding dresses) Then after 3 fittings I got the bill and wanted to cry.... It was almost DOUBLE the price they quoted me.
   Always make sure to have extra money in the budget for unexpected expenses. If not you could be scrambling at the last minute to cut some costs or get more money because there will be at least one thing that goes over budget.

March 06, 2013

Tutus for the Flower girls!

      So I am jumping on the band wagon of Flower girls in tutus!  I love how adorable little girls look in tutus and I know how to make them so I figured why not? Now here is where the trouble came in.... I was talking to my flower girls (AKA my daughters) and told them they get to wear tutus for the wedding they were very excited but were not too happy with my choice of white. I was thinking of tutus like this pretty white and long. But my stubborn little girls think that tutus mean PINK!
     I admit every tutu I have made the girls up to this point has had pink in them (I still haven't gotten around to making their Oregon Ducks tutus yet even though I have the tulle...) So it is partly my fault... But I want the girls in white so I made a deal with the girls. They will wear the long white tutus for the wedding BUT they get short hot pink ones for the reception. It took a little while to convince the Mr. That this was a good idea BUT I told him the girls will be able to move around and have more fun in the short ones. Plus what girl does not love a wardrobe change? 

     So I have already made the hot pink ones! (Slacking a little bit on making the white ones) But I thought I would share pictures of my little girls reception tutus! They are shorter than the white ones are going to be and SUPER FLUFFY! Each tutu has 100 yards of tulle that is one super tutu! These things could pretty much stand on their own they have so much tulle. When I had the little ones try them on  they were beyond excited and kept on commenting on how they were just like ballerinas! 
     If you haven't noticed the adorable hangers I have the tutus on here is a closer look! Yep they say flower girl on them how adorable is that! I was not sure how the tutus would look on the hangers so I almost didn't even order them for my daughters but I am so glad that I did! I can not take credit for the hangers though I got those from WishUponStarfish! I seriously can not say enough times how AMAZING her products are! If you are in the market for personalized hangers her shop is seriously a no brainier! 

     What do you think of a flower girl outfit change? And if you are planning your wedding (or already married) what will/did your flower girls wear? 

January 01, 2013

What to toss?

      I have been going back and forth on what to toss when the Mr and I are announced Husband and Wife. I was not sure if I wanted to do bubbles, confetti, or something different all together. I wanted to skip this all together because I don't really like the idea of paying for something for people to throw at us (and I don't think the guests would miss it or even realize we didn't have it) but the Mr said that we needed it so these are the options we have come up with.

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    Bubbles can be really pretty! It can make for some great photographs and less face it the bubbles are not so badly priced. But if it is windy then they will all blow away, leaving no bubbles for pretty pictures. If they spill they can leave stains on the guest pretty dress clothes, and make a big mess with the little ones. I think bubbles are pretty expected also every wedding I have gone to in the past few years has had bubbles. I understand why it is the "Safe" option I just don't know if it is the right choice for us!

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     Then there is Confetti! This was off the bat a no with our venue. They told us they would charge us an arm and a leg for the clean up of all the confetti. UNTIL I did my research! I found out that there is bio-degradable confetti that all you have to do is  take a hose to it and there you go all cleaned up!! Our venue liked the idea of this and told us that if we picked bio-degradable confetti they would allow it. I made sure to get that in writing on our contract. If your venue is not originally open to the idea you have in mind make sure to talk with them you might be surprised! 

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   But the good and bad points of confetti.... It is pretty and just like bubbles can make for some great pictures! It comes in all different colors so your confetti can match your wedding colors if you care about that. It is bio-degradable so clean up is easy and it is not bad for the environment. BUT if it is windy it can make it so that the confetti just floats away... The confetti is not all that badly priced BUT you also need to to find a way to package the confetti adding another expense to the wedding. I can see how it may be hard to get out of your hair and anywhere else it might find its way too... I am still not 100% sold on confetti so lets take a look at the next option!

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      Sprinkles? Ya sounds cute right little sugar candies being thrown at you... Not as cute anymore right? My cousin and one of my bridesmaids linked me to this picture in form of a Pinterest pin, and told me it would go amazing with my bright summery wedding and yes it would probably be pretty I can see this turning into a big melty, colorful, sugary mess. I am getting married in August the chances someone is going to have sweaty hands that will make those sprinkles wet and then throw those sprinkles at me in a big white dress... I dont want my dress stained or that big sugary mess... (plus this seems like a waste of sprinkles to me and there is no way my venue would ever agree to this) So before sprinkles could even have a chance they are cut out of the running... 

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     Sparklers are a very photogenic option! And super fun for in the evening when it is dark and would be a even funner option for a 4th of July wedding! Once again they make for some great pictures! I think children and adults could have fun with them. They are a bit more expensive than the other options (for my wedding could not do this for under 200 dollars) Sometimes sparklers can be VERY hard to light making it so that some of your guests might not even be able to get theirs lighted and that would be a bummer. Plus a lot of venues have restrictions about sparklers for exits so you want to make sure that it is ok with your venue before you make this investment for your wedding. I would love to have sparklers at my wedding but I don't know if it fits in our already tight budget or if our venue would even allow it!

     I have a lot to think about with the Mr as we pick out what we will use for our send off... What will you be using for your send off?