Wedding Blog

miss melodius - check out Shelley at http://www.onlocationbeauty.com/. She’s considered one of the best in SoCal.

I also have a question for hive: I’m looking for a Chinese wedding dance group to perform at my wedding. My wedding is in Orange County, CA. I’ve found some local groups on the internet but want recommendations from brides who had personal experience.

Meg,

when is your honeymoon? you can sign up for an aa.com card. once you sign up, you get 20,000 miles. that’s how my FI and I are getting our honeymoon. I dont think you can go to Fiji with those points, but you can definitely go to Hawaii, or the carribeans with that card. there are no blackout dates, as opposed to continental. there are so many restrictions with them.

Ive - my theory on the rehearsal dinner is this: all the important members of the wedding had to practice, and naturally they had to do so at a time where people could get there (as in after work). Then, when they were done, someone suggested that they all go to dinner together, since it was about that time. Thus, the rehearsal dinner was born. I don’t think there’s any certain protocol to follow, just a “hey thanks for making it out here on a (usually Friday) night, here’s some food in return”

You can ask whoever you want to be there, and it can be wherever you want it to. It’s nice to invite all the people at the rehearsal (you can always ask the officiant even if he declines) and their dates, and if you have the budget, even those OOTers who came in early. A lot of people do something at a restaurant because it’s less of a hassle and someone else sets up and cleans up. I’ve heard of some people doing an informal backyard picnic or a luau, so you can relax and talk with family without worrying about being in the restaurant’s way. The only thing I’ve heard as far as rules is that your rehearsal dinner shouldn’t be nicer/cost more to throw than the wedding itself.

Personally, I’m leaning towards either renting out a restaurant (a lot of them have party rooms) or doing it in someone’s backyard. My FSIL had hers at Birapouretti’s which was pretty nice, with a whole buffet thing. It’s up to you and whoever is hosting what the mood/theme/budget/guest list will be. Hope this helps!

one more thing…if you’re going to get a cc, get one for your FI (him as a secondary card holder) so you wil accumulate points faster.

bliss - i think sending out the invites 3 months in advance is too soon

About the credit cards - yes it will take awhile. Probably too long if you are trying to fly in the next year unless you already have some miles. If you want to game the system, here goes:

The big thing that helps is the sign-up bonuses. 20K miles is standard, plus waive the annual fee for the first year. Then use it for 11 months for EVERYTHING, and cancel it before they charge you an annual fee. Then sign up for a different airline as you need to wait 6 months before you get another sign-up bonus on airline #1.

If you keep this up, you CAN accumulate a lot of miles on say, two major airlines, over the years. But you have to ask yourself, is it worth the hassle? Are the miles better than the 1% cash back that is standard on other cards? Etc. For me, it mostly makes sense IF you are also going to fly that airline some and accumulate miles the regular way or you know you have a superexpense ticket to buy.

I used to make fun of my FI for jumping thru hoops to get miles. But then we cashed his out and went to New Zealand for “free” (airfare was ~$150 total for taxes but significant money was spent once down under). So I jumped thru the hoops in anticipation of this pricy ticket I wanted to buy but when the time came I ended up finding it on sale for half price and decided that was a better deal than using the miles. So….

Meridith - I’ve checked out the plasticware options at Costco before trying to see if it will save me a lot and if it’s nice enough. Around the holidays they had some plasticware that imitated nice holiday china/silverware (ivory colored plates with gold trim, silverware was actually silver looking) and they looked okay from a bit of distance but they certain felt very plastic still. I don’t remember the exact cost but they were not cheap, I think the cost would have only been very little less than renting the basics from the caterer.

Meg–friends of ours figured their flights (to Hawaii) into their overall budget, used a credit card branded for that airline for virtually every single purchase from then until the day they left for the honeymoon, and used the points to upgrade to first class. Depending on how close you are to the honeymoon, that might be a more reasonable goal than trying to get the tickets themselves with points or miles.

bliss- I don’t think it’s a big deal if you send them out now. Our English friends sent us an invite to their April wedding in December. Apparently in England it is customary to send it out several months in advance. Plus people are making summer plans and it would be a shame if they were going to be gone for your wedding. So now they’ll be able to plan for it! : )

Oh good question Miss Popcorn! I was wondering the same thing!

I have a question - I’ve heard so many good things about Cards and Pockets.com, and have enjoyed their friendly customer service through what I’ve ordered so far (just a couple samples). But, I just received a sample of the signature pocket folder in coco, and I have to say I am really disappointed. It’s a lot smaller than I expected, and very flimsy. The part where the invitation would be glued on curved way up when you open it up, leading me to think that anything I glued on there would pop right off possibly. And, to me it seems like a really wierd size. If you layered your invitation, the actual invitation would have to be so small. Whenever I see examples of invitations done with Cards and Pockets pocketfolders, they always looked so nice, so that’s why I’m so confused. Am I the only one that feels that the quality doesn’t seem very good, or is that how all pocket folders are? After seeing the sample, I’ve totally re-thought on my invitation and am considering not even doing pocketfolders.

Meg–individual airline cards usually charge an annual fee and have massive blackout dates. From experience, American has been the most disappointing.

An American Express card has been the most beneficial. It takes more purchases to get there, but you can use the points for anything–airline, hotel, rental car, anything. And if you can use the card for work purchases, you can get massive points wicked fast.

meredith-try plum party. At the dollar store, I have gotten trays that look like cut crystal but are actually plastic.

Two questions for the hive!

1- I’m looking for d’orsay style pumps in brown for my b’maids…I’m trying to not make them spend over $100 on shoes– and I just can’t find ANYTHING — please help!

2- Has anyone mail ordered linens for their event? My rental place doesn’t have the linens I have my heart set on, and I’ve heard you can mail order……just wondering if it’s worth the trouble.

Thanks!

Meg - I saw you already responded. But, I have another idea for you. I currently have two Citibank cards that offer rewards. One is only available to students. But, basically, I receive 5% back on purchases made at restaurants, movie rental stores/theaters, bookstores, music stores, grocery stores, drugstores & gas stations. I’ve managed to get almost $700 back (in points) in rewards over the past two years. Instead of applying this towards specific wedding related expenses, I’ve spent some of it on gas gift cards. This way, the money I would have spent on gas can go towards the wedding. Hopefully this makes sense.