Sorry that I created this blog and then disappeared off the face of the internet! I actually ended up working three jobs so my life has been very consumed with work! One of my jobs is ending this week, so my life is becoming more manageable. I have been working on a couple of posts for this blog, so hopefully by next week there will be more content! My original plan was to post at least once or twice a week, but until things calm down, it will probably be once a week or once every other week.
Here's to hoping things calm down soon...
Until next time!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Let's bake some cake!
Wedding cakes. There's an expense! The other day I was reviewing a website that makes cakes and the price was listed at $4.00 a SERVING! Averaging at $500 a cake, there are tons of ways to cut back and still have some delicious cake at your wedding.
I'll start by linking some pictures of my personal favorites!
I'll start by linking some pictures of my personal favorites!
This charming cake is actually for a wedding that was held at the 7F Lodge which is where Justin and I are planning to have our wedding! I love the details of this cake and how it plays into their wedding theme. There is something very sweet about this cake.
Cupcakes are a very popular way to build up cakes nowadays, I love the chalkboard signs detailing out which type of cupcake is on each tier.
This is one of the most gorgeous wedding cakes I have seen. I love the ribbon frosting and the delicate roses. Even though this is a very simple cake, it still has a lot of personality. It's almost too pretty to cut.
I love the little wooden toppers that seem to be trending right now to put on top of cakes. Oftentimes people paint them to look just like the bride and groom. These are sold all over Etsy or you can DIY and buy the figurines from Michael's or Hobby Lobby. (Tutorial on this later!)
Lastly, some couples decide to nix the wedding cake altogether and just have a couple small cakes that add to the style of their wedding. I love this sweets table and how the colors play into their theme.
I've heard one of the best ways to save money on the wedding cake is to have fewer layers and have a sheet cake that you serve to guests. I personally love having a top tier as the cake and the bottom tiers filled with cupcakes. That being said, cupcakes can be just as expensive as getting a wedding cake, so I did some research and found out you can have vanilla and chocolate cupcakes made at a local grocery store for much cheaper! Sam's club sells cupcakes 30 for $15 and they taste just as good. HEB is another place that makes really great cakes and they sell cupcakes at 12 for $6.00. These places also let you choose your color and type of frosting. I am considering getting chocolate and white cupcakes from one of these places and then buying more "gourmet" flavors from a cupcake shop or baking them myself.
As for the top tier of the cake, I thought it would be really fun to try making it myself so I started looking into tutorials on cake decorating. I found this really awesome tutorial from "i am baker" on frosting roses that is super easy and looks great! I used a standard cake mix from the grocery store and baked 2-8" cakes. To level them for stacking I pressed down on the cakes (while they were still in the pan) with a clean towel until they were both flat on top since they originally looked like pie tops! I then put them in the fridge for an hour or so and took them out of their pans to layer them. I used a thin layer of frosting to seal the layers and crumbs then put it in the freezer for several hours. After the cake was thoroughly frozen, I decorated it cake with this buttercream frosting recipe which was DELICIOUS! It turned out to be a bit more difficult to make the frosting than I thought because my mixer wasn't very friendly, but eventually I got the ingredients all blended together.
After decorating it with the rose tutorial, this is how my cake turned out:
Not too bad for a first try! Of course if I use this for the wedding cake, I will probably make it two-tiers and make 4-8" cakes for the bottom layer to make it even thicker and 4-6" cakes for the top layer.
I'd love to hear about your wedding cake ideas-please comment below!
Thanks for reading and Happy Monday!
Friday, July 12, 2013
First things first, Setting a Budget
Wow! Over 200 views in 2 days, let's keep it up!
Now on to today's topic: setting a budget. When we first started planning, I told Justin I wanted our wedding to be the same if I had all the money in the world or none. I love crafting and I can't imagine having and extremely formal wedding. With this being my main goal, it has really helped me to get my priorities straight of what is really important for our wedding.
haha yes-Budget Weddings for Dummies. I originally found this book at Barnes and Noble for $17.00 then looked it up online and found it on Abe Books for only $6.00 including shipping and got it within a couple of weeks. That's $11.00 saved right there.
Now on to today's topic: setting a budget. When we first started planning, I told Justin I wanted our wedding to be the same if I had all the money in the world or none. I love crafting and I can't imagine having and extremely formal wedding. With this being my main goal, it has really helped me to get my priorities straight of what is really important for our wedding.
Before setting an itemized budget, even thinking about planning our wedding was overwhelming and I just saw all these abstract "things" we had to complete before our special day. Nailing down our budget created an outline (almost like a class syllabus) for this huge project I was about to begin. From the budget I was able to see all the little things I needed to take care of and to form an overall "vision" of what I wanted for our wedding.
First things first I bought this trusty guide to figure out ways to save off the fabulous abebooks.com.
haha yes-Budget Weddings for Dummies. I originally found this book at Barnes and Noble for $17.00 then looked it up online and found it on Abe Books for only $6.00 including shipping and got it within a couple of weeks. That's $11.00 saved right there.
The first thing I learned is that every penny counts! If you are in the mindset of, "oh, that's only another $11" then your wedding will add up quickly and before you know it, that will turn into hundreds of dollars you could have saved just by doing some research. This book offered several great suggestions of how to save, but still have a great wedding.
To create our budget, I found some sample wedding sheets to get an idea of what the "average" costs were. After this Justin and I called (or googled) around to get a general idea of the costs for venues, photographers, etc. that we were interested in. This made it easier to get an idea of how much we should budget for each thing in particular. I would always go with the largest number we thought it could cost, to cushion our budget. I would rather be over-prepared then to run out of money! So far everything we have purchased has been well below our budget.
Here's five things to keep in mind when creating your budget:
1. PRIORITIZE! If money is tight, you can't have a 3-course meal, an award winning photographer AND have a helicopter lift you after the ceremony-yes I just found out the other day they actually do this! Unless you have a million connections, you are going to have to pay a pretty penny to have the most expensive of everything. For me, having a good photographer and videographer is my main priority. I have heard your wedding day goes by so quickly it's often a blur and I want to be able to relive that day after it has passed. I also know, being a designer, if my wedding photographs turn out terribly, I will never forgive myself.
2. Tally up your connections. For example, does your church have tablecloths or vases they lend people for weddings? Can one of your mom's friends make the cake? Oftentimes you can ask people to help out with the wedding in lieu of a wedding gift and that can be a big money saver for you.
3. Consider your venue. Does your venue provide tables & chairs? Can you do both the ceremony and the reception at the same place? Do they make you use their in-house catering or bartenders? Being able to provide your own food, drinks, etc. is a HUGE money saver and you are pretty much getting the same product. Having the ceremony and reception at the same venue is also a money saver. This calls for one venue price, one set of decorations, no transportation from the ceremony to reception, etc. The place Justin and I chose has a beautiful little white chapel outside lined with pews and then a covered pavilion and indoor section for the reception. There's even some adorable themed cabins that surround the property where we will be staying later that night.
4. Be creative! I am gearing this blog towards DIY projects and just general wedding planning advice, so hopefully by next May there will be a heap of ideas for you to choose from. Think about your theme and figure out ways to make things yourself. Just the other day I saw a post on "dollar store crafts" about how to make your own cake stands with candlestick holders, plates, and spray paint. In this "Pinterest" generation, there are so many different ways you can find DIY projects, it's almost more common than paying to have it done.
5. And last, but most importantly: You are marrying the love of your life! This is not about just one day, this is about the start of your life together. Any money saved on the wedding can be used for your honeymoon, as a down payment on a house, towards a new car, etc. This wedding is only ONE day-make it special, but keep things in perspective and you will be happier in the long run!
Once you set your budget, stick to it! One good tip I was given is to leave your wallet in the car when you are at a vendor so you have a break from the excitement before you commit. If you bring your budget with you as you're shopping around, this helps to keep the end goal in mind and to avoid pressure from vendors. If you show vendors your budget and stay firm, it will make the decisions easier.
Good Luck and Happy Planning!
To create our budget, I found some sample wedding sheets to get an idea of what the "average" costs were. After this Justin and I called (or googled) around to get a general idea of the costs for venues, photographers, etc. that we were interested in. This made it easier to get an idea of how much we should budget for each thing in particular. I would always go with the largest number we thought it could cost, to cushion our budget. I would rather be over-prepared then to run out of money! So far everything we have purchased has been well below our budget.
Here's five things to keep in mind when creating your budget:
1. PRIORITIZE! If money is tight, you can't have a 3-course meal, an award winning photographer AND have a helicopter lift you after the ceremony-yes I just found out the other day they actually do this! Unless you have a million connections, you are going to have to pay a pretty penny to have the most expensive of everything. For me, having a good photographer and videographer is my main priority. I have heard your wedding day goes by so quickly it's often a blur and I want to be able to relive that day after it has passed. I also know, being a designer, if my wedding photographs turn out terribly, I will never forgive myself.
2. Tally up your connections. For example, does your church have tablecloths or vases they lend people for weddings? Can one of your mom's friends make the cake? Oftentimes you can ask people to help out with the wedding in lieu of a wedding gift and that can be a big money saver for you.
3. Consider your venue. Does your venue provide tables & chairs? Can you do both the ceremony and the reception at the same place? Do they make you use their in-house catering or bartenders? Being able to provide your own food, drinks, etc. is a HUGE money saver and you are pretty much getting the same product. Having the ceremony and reception at the same venue is also a money saver. This calls for one venue price, one set of decorations, no transportation from the ceremony to reception, etc. The place Justin and I chose has a beautiful little white chapel outside lined with pews and then a covered pavilion and indoor section for the reception. There's even some adorable themed cabins that surround the property where we will be staying later that night.
4. Be creative! I am gearing this blog towards DIY projects and just general wedding planning advice, so hopefully by next May there will be a heap of ideas for you to choose from. Think about your theme and figure out ways to make things yourself. Just the other day I saw a post on "dollar store crafts" about how to make your own cake stands with candlestick holders, plates, and spray paint. In this "Pinterest" generation, there are so many different ways you can find DIY projects, it's almost more common than paying to have it done.
5. And last, but most importantly: You are marrying the love of your life! This is not about just one day, this is about the start of your life together. Any money saved on the wedding can be used for your honeymoon, as a down payment on a house, towards a new car, etc. This wedding is only ONE day-make it special, but keep things in perspective and you will be happier in the long run!
Once you set your budget, stick to it! One good tip I was given is to leave your wallet in the car when you are at a vendor so you have a break from the excitement before you commit. If you bring your budget with you as you're shopping around, this helps to keep the end goal in mind and to avoid pressure from vendors. If you show vendors your budget and stay firm, it will make the decisions easier.
Good Luck and Happy Planning!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
My First Post: Hello and Welcome!
Here's a pic of me and my boy:
My fiance and I are paying for the wedding ourselves, so being that I am recent graduate and my fiance is still a student, our funds are quite tight. Luckily we both have some cash stashed away from previously working, but I realized quickly we needed to figure out ways to cut down from the average $27,000 American Wedding! I decided it would be fun to share my inspiration, tips, tricks and anything else I learn about wedding planning for anyone out there trying to figure out how to save a few cents.
I would love for you to get involved. Please, please, please comment and let me know what you think! Your feedback is very important to me and I would love to hear if you have anything to share. Feel free to send me an email if you would rather communicate in private. Feedback is much appreciated, even if it's critical-if there's anything I'm used to from being a designer, it's the critics!
I look forward to sharing with you and hearing what you think.
Thanks for stopping by!
Until Next time,
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