Weddingbee Blog

We are on a small SMALL budget ($4,000) but we plan on having a b-e-a-utiful wedding. We are DIY-ing the bouquets, invitations, centerpieces, reception decor, ceremony decor, and for wedding favors we are going to make chocolate covered strawberries! Our wedding colors are deep red, black, white and gold. Any suggestions on decorations, or wedding themes??

graciette2~ i’m sorta in the same boat! One of my FI’s best friends dated one of my friends.. and it went down as the worst break-up ever! Well when we got engaged.. both of them said neither of them would come to the wedding if the other was there..(selfish i think since it’s not THEIR wedding, but whatever). So since my FI’s best friend’s known him longer.. and my friend moved to Florida.. we decided to have him in the wedding..and she will just come to the wedding not participate. She wasn’t to happy about the decision..but understood the reasoning behind it.. and still helps with planning the wedding some…so I’m planning on giving her a special gift as a “thank you” as well.

I would ultimately let your FI choose who he wants.. regardless. I just feel it’s you and your FI’s day..so feelings and awkwardness should be sort of put on hold..after all you’re only getting married once in a lifetime!

Bella,
what we are going to do is when the guestbook is signed there’s usually a #, well our friend who’s handling the guestbook and presents is going to write the # on a sticky note and put it on the bottoms of all the gifts! my friend did that when she got married last year and it worked out great~ she got all the thank you notes to the right people for the right gifts.. hope this helps!

Alisa - Thanks for the reminder that ultimately, it is our day! I guess people will have just have to get over their pettiness. I’m so glad it worked out well for you.

Chrissie - There’s lots of things to do in San Diego depending on when you go and what you like to do. There is of course Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. Balboa park is great if you just like to stroll around and enjoy the outdoors. There’s also a ton of museums there. If you’re looking for a quaint little town, go to downtown La Jolla. There’s a beach there and there’s a street with tons of artsy stores and lots and lots of great food! Gaslamp (downtown San Diego) has all the restaurants and night life. Feel free to email me if you’re looking for a specific activity or restaurant!

HeyJanety — could you also email me your list of NJ venues? I’m in a similar situation as you and Joanne and it would be a great help!

wsukarebear:

to find pics of the couples in chairs, go to “gettyimages.com” and click “creative.” then type in “adirondack chair” in the search field on the left. i got 7 pages of images of chairs, but on the first page alone there were at least 4 or 5 good pics (artistic) of couples in chairs. hope that helps!

For the small budget, consider checking out the wholesale route (for candles, small vases, etc.)

http://www.dollaritem.com/Wholesale-Candles.asp
http://www.dollaritem.com/Wholesale-Home-Decore.asp

(I’ve never shopped there so I can’t vouch for that particular company, I just mean check out similar places. Sometimes restaurant supply companies can have interesting items as well
for possible table arrangements, etc.

http://www.instawares.com/bowls.1.2.152.0.0.8.htm

Just be sure of the quantity ordered since sometimes a case or box has way more than anyone would need.

Instead of floral arrangements, maybe consider
small potted plants (borrowed, or even bought, since they can be kept for a future home too?)

Hope that helps someone! ; )

im planning the wedding for october in LA or orange county…i only have 5K for the whole wedding…what venues do you suggest? which caterers? we wanted a venue with a chapel so that we could celebrate a mass too(and save on paying for 2 locations)…but if there isn’t any we’ll go with a church and then a reception venue…thanks

i’m going to be a bridesmaid in an out-of-town wedding (i live on the east coast and the wedding is on the west). the bride has decided on a $300 bridesmaid dress (before alterations). does $300 seem a bit too expensive considering i still have to pay for airfare, hotel, car rental, shoes, accessories, etc? unfortunately this dress is only available through one particular boutique and not online. this will be the fourth wedding party i will be in and this is by far the most expensive dress i will have to purchase. her second choice was half the price. should i just suck it up and buy it or should i say anything to her?

Chrissie, I’d also go to Old Town, particularly if you like history-type stuff. Old Town has some good restaurants, is interesting historically, and is also home to the Whaley House (which is supposedly haunted and makes a fun tour).

There’s Sea World, which is fun if you’re into amusement parks and wild animals.

I second Mrs. Bee’s suggestion about going to Mexico, although I guess I’m low budget because I’ve only ever been to Tijuana. TJ can be cool for buying beautiful crafts and stuff, but I strongly recommend avoiding eating or drinking (hard to do, no doubt…but the Montezuma’s Revenge isn’t worth it)! Oh, and there’s a duty free shop right by the border going back into the US and they have phenomenal prices on Johnnie Walker and Grey Goose

Mission Beach is fun, as is Ocean Beach.

Belmont Park if you like old school carnival/pier-type attractions and rides.

I believe you can tour the baseball stadium (Petco Park?) as well. If you stay at the Omni downtown (which I highly recommend, as I believe it to be one of the best hotels in San Diego. I’m also a big fan of the Manchester Grand Hyatt which is downtown as well), the stadium is right next door.

Hope this helps!