Thrifty Thursday!

I had an amazing thrifting adventure yesterday.  

I went to three stores in 1 hours, spent $5, and got all of the following:

6 mason jars

7 votive holders 

2 candlestick holders

Not bad.  

From the mason jars and candlestick holders I am fashioning what some people call, redneck wine glasses.  Personally, I will use them for flowers or candle...

 not sure exactly what I want to do with them yet.  

They are super easy to make though...

1. Heat glue gun

2. Apply glue to top of candle stick holder.  

3. Center bottom of mason jar on top of candle stick.

4. allow to dry.

That's it!

Fill with flowers, candles, beverages... whatever you want.

Enjoy! 

Taking Some Time

So after about a month long hiatus from any sort of wedding planning, I'm ready to get back in the game.  I know I was barely into the planning process, but I was totally burnt out already!  I think that moving, studying my boards, finishing my internship, and everything else that has been going on really took over and kind of sent my head spinning.

After a week long vacation with my love, Chad, I am ready to start working on things.
This blog is going to get a bit of an update.
I'm going to start adding pics of some projects.
AND right now, I'm going to start toward my fitness goals by heading to a zumba class.

I have a lot of goals to complete in a short amount of time, but I feel more motivated than ever.

You can also catch up on some of mine and Chad's vacation adventures by visiting:

www.ourgrapeadventures.blogspot.com

We did find several wines we love and have purchased many bottles, 7 of which will keep nicely until our wedding.  It may not be much, but it is a start!

Falling off the Wedding Train

There is only so much you can take before you need to take a wedding vacation.  My fiancé and I have so much going on in our world... aside from our wedding.

I am here to tell you that it is ok to take a wedding break!  If you aren't in a rush, take a moment to simply enjoy being together and loving each other.  The stress of everyday life, plus combining your lives, and planning a wedding can start to tear a relationship apart.

Before you get overwhelmed, stop!  Take a second to just enjoy the company of each other.  Go on a date.  Plan a small vacation.  Take a day where you don't talk about your wedding.

Your wedding is about celebrating the two of you together... not letting it tear you apart.



On Thursday, Chad and I are leaving on a week long vacation that we haven't planned.  We planned the first night but are just going with the wind from there.  We know when we are leaving and the latest day we can get back... but everything in between is a surprise!  We will be planning a small part of our wedding along the way though!

We decided that our alcoholic beverages are going to be limited to wine and beer.  But not just any wine and beer... Wine from our favorite wineries and craft beers from our travels.  We're starting collecting the wine while hitting a wine trail or two on our vacation.  Spreading out the cost will keep us from having sticker shock if we were to get everything at a liquor store at once.

Can't wait for our trip...

Happy Wedding Planning and don't forget to take time for yourselves! 

Two fun facts for Trivia Tuesday

Because this is a social media site, I thought one of today's fact should be related...

1 in 8 couples marrying in America met on the internet via social network or dating sites. Another fun fact:  A Malaysian man holds the record for being the best man at over 1000 wedding Today's fun facts brought to you by: http://www.simplythebestman.com/bestman-facts.html

Playing Catch Up

The past few days have been filled with spending time with my brilliantly wonderful fiancé, Chad.  Thus, I temporarily put blogging on the back burner.  Now it is time to play catch up on a couple of the things I wanted to blog about.  This post will be sectioned by the day of the week it generally corresponds with.  If you are looking for something in particular, just scroll to the appropriate heading!  

                                                         Happy Wedding Planning! 

Thrifty Thursday 

diy centerpieces, finding your decor for less. 

The decor for my wedding is comprised almost completely of thrifted and upcycled items.  I am collecting  small candle holders and mason jars from all over the place.  I refuse to spend more than $0.25 on any item I buy from a thrift store.  While this requires some self-control, patience and perseverance, it is totally worth it.  

My strategy?  

Using the information provided by local thrift stores and second hand shops. 

All stores have sales... ALL THE TIME!  It is important to take advantage of those sales, keeping up to date on what you need, when you need it, and what you are willing to spend.  Just because something is 50% off doesn't mean it is in your price range or something you need.  Always keep yourself in check by either creating a list or going in shopping with a goal.  

Many store carry the same or similar products at different prices.  Though it takes time, shopping around can prove to be fruitful.  

These candle holders are what I am currently thrifting.

I found these at three different stores and spent only $0.75 on all seven.  While two of them are slightly different, I have holders that match each of the different ones.  They are all similar enough to appear matching when they are on separate tables as well.  

Fitness Friday

 A Quick Workout For the Busy Bride 

Let's face it.  All of us, no matter what our size, want to get in shape for the big day.  Whether it is shedding weight or toning abs, we all want to look our best.  There isn't always time to get in an hour long work out or the extra cash to join a gym or find a personal trainer.  I believe "in home" workouts can be just as effective... when you stick to your plan and goals.  I haven't exactly started my fitness quest yet, but I am experimenting with a few different workouts... thank you pintersest! 

Here is one workout that kicked my butt!  

On the blog it was linked to, the author recommended doing 5 reps of this four minute workout.  I could only get through 3 reps and was hurting for the next few days.  

Keep track of your time by simply using a clock with second hands or by setting a countdown timer.   

Put on some of your favorite tunes and get moving! 

 

Link to workout source

Wedding Wednesday - Where Do I Start?

So, after the initial thrill of the engagement starts to settle in, you begin to realize that you only have a set number of days to plan the biggest event of your life.  That fact starts to become slightly overwhelming so you head to a bridal expo to try and get some ideas for your wedding.  Instead of ideas you get heaps of literature tossed at you and hundreds of emails.  This mound of information doesn't help anything, it just piles on more work and makes the whole process seem daunting.  If you can't hire a wedding coordinator (like me) you may feel like this whole thing will never happen.

BUT FEAR NOT!  There are a couple things that will help you get organized and on the right track.
There are tons of websites out there that can help you plan your special day with less stress and worry, while offering great tips and ideas.

Currently, I am using theknot.com.  When you set up an account you get your personalized homepage with a countdown to your wedding, lists of vendors in your area (with links and information about them), a personalized checklist and budget, and thousands of pictures to inspire your dream wedding!  I love this website.

Other websites that might help include: 

http://www.myweddingchecklist.net/  - with detailed lists regarding each part of your day.
http://www.realsimple.com/ - including a timeline of when things need to get accomplished
http://www.mywedding.com/ - pages for vendors, inspiration, and planning tools.

There are a ton of resources out there!  You just have to take a deep breathe and find what works for you.
No system is perfect.  Tweak it to fit your needs!

Quick Tip: Vendors are always asking for an email address.  Set up a wedding email so the emails from vendors don't get mixed in with work and personal emails.  That way, when you want to forget about the wedding stuff or completely focus on it, all of your wedding information will be stored in the same place.

Quick Tip #2: When visiting a bridal expo,  vendors ask for a ton of information.  Writing it out time after time can become tedious, time consuming, and a huge pain (literally... bending over, writing quickly, ugh). Come prepared with labels that have your information ready to go.  Include your name, wedding date, address, wedding email, and phone #.

In newer versions of Microsoft Word, you can choose a template for labels, which will bring you directly to the form above.  Type in your information, and format it however you like, changing the font, moving things around... making it yours!  Select the type of label you want (available office supply stores, walmart, walgreens, and several grocery stores) and select full page of the same label.  Then, PRINT! 

Happy Wedding Planning! 

Trivia Tuesday - Traditions

      Most weddings have some element of tradition to them. Wedding traditions span hundreds of years and come from all sorts of cultural backgrounds. Here are the origins of some popular wedding traditions.

1. The bride’s veil traditionally symbolized her youth and virginity. Veils also hid the bride from jealous spirits or the Evil Eye. In the past, veils could be red, blue or yellow (the color of Hymen, the Greek god of marriage). The modern white veil became popular during the Victorian era as a symbol of purity and modesty. A white veil also connoted that a bride was wealthy enough to wear white.


2. Wedding rings are often placed on the third finger of the left hand because ancient Egyptians believed the vein in that hand (which the Romans called the “vein of love”) ran directly to the heart.

3. In many cultures, the groom historically often kidnapped the bride, and the groom’s friends would help him, leading to the modern-day groomsmen. At the alter, the groom always stood on the bride’s right side so his right hand—or his sword hand—would be free to fight/defend a jealous rival.


4.Flower girls traditionally threw flower petals in the bride’s path to lead her to a sweet, plentiful future.

5. Nearly all cultures have showered the wedding couple with symbolic food. For example, the French throw wheat, Sicilians throw wheat bread and salt, and the English throw pieces of cake. Early Romans or Greeks threw nuts, dates, and seed-bearing plants. Bulgarians have thrown figs.

6.Guests in ancient times would tear off part of the bride’s gown as tokens of good luck, leading to the tradition of the bride throwing both her garter and her bouquet.


7.A wedding cake is traditionally a symbol of good luck and fertility and has been a part of wedding celebrations since Roman times, when a small bun, symbolizing fertility, was broken above the bride’s head at the close of the ceremony. During the Middle Ages, custom required the bride and groom to kiss over small cakes.


8. The phrase “tying the knot” initially came from an ancient Babylonian custom in which threads from the clothes of both the bride and bridegroom were tied in a knot to symbolize the couple’s union. Literally tying some type of ceremonial knot at a wedding ceremony can be found across cultures.


9. Pope Innocent III (1160/1-1216) declared that a waiting period should be observed between betrothal and marriage, which led to separate engagement and wedding rings. The first recorded account of a diamond engagement ring was in 1477 when King Maximilian I of Germany (1459-1519) proposed to Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482) and offered her a diamond to seal his vow.

10. Much like the modern tradition of feeding wedding cake to one’s spouse, in ancient Rome, couples pledged their unity by sharing food. Today a Japanese bride and groom drink sake together, Jewish couples drink from the same cup of consecrated wine, and Muslim couples eat from the same piece of candy.


11. Some scholars claim the word “honeymoon” comes from the Teutonic custom when newlyweds would hide out and drink hydromel (a fermented honey and water mixture) for 30 days until the moon waned.


12. The superstition that the bridegroom must not see his bride before the wedding stems from the days when marriages were arranged and the groom might never have seen the bride. There was the chance that if he saw her, he might bolt. Other sources say that to see the bride in her dress is peering into the future, which can bring bad luck.


13. Wedding bells are an important symbol of a wedding. Traditionally, it was believed that demons were scared off by loud sounds, so following a wedding ceremony, anything that could make noise was used to create a diversion.


14. The bachelor or stag party supposedly started in fifth-century Sparta where military compatriots would feast and toast one another on the eve of a wedding, like warriors going to battle.

15. Over 74% of first-time brides receive a diamond engagement ring, with the diamond (first discovered in India over 2,000 years ago) symbolizing pure and eternal love. The Greeks thought diamonds (adamas) were tears of the gods, and the Romans thought diamas or diamonds were splinters from heavenly stars.

HAPPY WEDDING PLANNING! 

A complete list of references can be found at http://facts.randomhistory.com/interesting-facts-about-weddings.html, where these traditions were obtained.

Money Monday - Who pays for the wedding?

Whether you are planning a your wedding on a small budget or you are having a huge blow out, it can still feel overwhelmingly expensive.  Between all of the vendors, decorations, invitations and hidden costs... it adds up quite quickly.  But the cost isn't meant to be just the responsibility of the bride and groom.  So who pays for what?  Traditionally, family and wedding party members each have specific responsibilities.  While these guidelines do not pertain to all families, the following links give some ideas of what responsibilities are traditionally suggested:


http://www.brideandgroom.com/wedding-articles/wedding-party-duties.asp
http://www.wedding-guide.org/wedding-responsibility.aspx
http://www.thinkwedding.com/FinancialResp.htm
http://www.bridalguide.com/etiquette/bridal-etiquette-qas/wedding-budget-qas

Happy Wedding Planning! 

Thrifty Thursday

Planning our wedding on a budget means getting thrifty and crafty.  I am learning to recycle and upcycle products that are either in our home or at a thrift store.  When I moved to Lincoln, IL last summer one of the things that surprised me most was the number of thrift stores here in town.  We have 9 thrift stores for 15,000 people.  You can drive from one end of town to the other in 10 minutes... in which time you will pass several of those thrift stores within a 2 block radius.  It's Crazy and Wonderful!

My centerpieces at my wedding are going to be glass jars filled with wildflowers.  Kind of like these...

I'm not sure what the flowers are going to be... or if we are going to decorate the jars.  BUT, I do know that I will not spend above $0.50 for a jar.  Most the jars are either thrifted mason jars like the 2 I found today...

OR recycled food containers that are in my fridge or pantry.  Things like sauce and jam jars are perfect.

Wedding Wednesday

Last wednesday, my fiancé and I sat down for the first time and really hashed out some of the details for our wedding.  One thing I knew I could get him to talk about was... FOOD!

My fiancé, Chad, and I are from two different backgrounds.  I'm from suburbia and he is from the country. His high school class totaled 28 while mine was barely under 500 people.  I was the academic, choir nerd while he was enjoying fishin' and muddin'.  So, needless to say, our wedding is a blend of two very different styles.  We're sticking with a DIY, shabby chic, vintage inspired, simply natural style.

Food wise, it'll be grilled outside... professionally, of course!  I like the idea because it guarantees it is fresh, hot, and just what we want.  We'll dress it up by cooking steaks and fresh veggies.  Though the grilling package requires the meal to be buffet style, we will style dress the table with plates instead of doing a stack of plates that I would probably bump into and send toppling to the ground.

Cocktail hour will be all about the grooms' favorite foods, chickens wings and potato skins.  Keep it simple.  Keep it fun.

We decided on a wedding theme... US.  This is our day after all, so why not have our wedding be completely and totally about us.

Trivia Tuesday...

This weekend I am co-hosting a small and simple bachelorette party.  Nothing over the top, just food, friends, and drinks.  Since this is the first of our group of friends getting married, I thought it would be fun to write up some wedding trivia cards.  

Here are some of the fun facts

1.  The top wedding city in the world, averaging 166,000 weddings a year is Istanbul, Turkey.  Las Vegas Comes in 2nd place

2. 42% of grooms go on a diet to prep for the big day

3. The most popular month to pop the question is December, accounting for one of every five engagements.

4. The world's longest married couple celebrated their 85th wedding anniversary,

5. 12% of wedding are destination weddings.

6.  The average engagement time is 17 months.

7. The median age for males getting married is 28 while females are only 26.

8. 99% of newlyweds take a honeymoon.

9.  The least popular wedding month is January

10.  The most popular wedding month is June.

Just a few facts for now.  More to come next Tuesday.  

To make your own wedding trivia cards, all you need is:

Card Stock
Scissors
A Pen
Some Facts

Trivia Cards and Facts were derived from the knot.com

Money Monday

4/9/12

Planning our wedding is far more than choosing flowers, food, and fabric.  For us, we're planning our life together.  Our marriage.  I just moved back in with my fiancé after finishing school.  One of my biggest concerns at the the moment is consolidating our finances, paying my student loans, and finding a job.

It's stressful, but our open communication is helping us organize and figure things out.  Step one was to find a bank where we can open a joint account.  There are a lot of different things to consider when finding a bank.  For us, here are the important points to consider:

1. Location - Is there a branch near by?  Are there ATM's with 24-hour access?  Are there other branches in the area?  My fiancé and I work in different towns and we like to travel, so having our bank be accessible  is important to us.

2. Type of Account - Not every bank has free checking and savings.  Understanding their policies and account types before signing off on anything is pivotal.  I want to understand any fees that might come my way.

3. Internet banking -Being on the go means I want constant access, including on my phone.

4. Loan Financing - It may seem over the top at this point, but having a bank that we know and trust and who can be our lender in the future is huge.  At some point in the near future we will be buying a car and a house.

We've found a couple options and will try pursue them this week!

Step 2 - Organizing the mounds of paperwork each of us has.
A file holder, a shredder, and several hours of my time will be necessary.