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On the heels of Mrs. Cherry Pie’s great budget post yesterday, we thought we’d follow up with today’s wiki: Hidden Costs. Hidden costs apply to not only bride and groom, but also the wedding party and wedding guests as well.
If you’ve ever been a bride, groom, wedding party member, or even a guest at a wedding, you can help us fill up the wiki! What hidden costs of have you experienced surrounding weddings? Are there ways you can avoid or lessen such costs? If you’ve run into costs that shocked or surprised you, add them to the wiki:
If you’re unsure how you can contribute to the wiki, take a peek at this wiki article on how to edit a wiki. Check it out and share your expertise! Or, if you’re shy, just leave your tips in the comments, and we can add them to the wiki for you!
Can I tell you a secret? I’ve never planned an event in my life (unless you count a friend’s birthday at a local restaurant as “event planning”). And I don’t know what I’m doing. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.
Often times, I feel genuinely out of my league when reading through the posts of other bees or looking at weddings in magazines or online. Picture-perfect brides remind me of that girl from one of my college English classes. She always had the correct answers, and her nail polish matched her shoes. Next to her, I felt like the awkward girl in the back of the classroom who needed to borrow your pen and wasn’t caught up on my reading. I was always one step behind.
I care about wedding planning (or I wouldn’t be blogging about it), but I’ve got to be honest with myself: I’m a big picture type of person. Ask me what marrying Mr. G means to me, and I could probably write a novel about it. Ask me if the groomsmen’s ties should be matching the bow on the bridesmaids’ dresses, and my indecisiveness takes over.
I have general concepts of what I want everything to look like and how I want the day to run. But, now it’s crunch time.
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On the to-do list (which Mr. P is always monitoring) was to get attendants their accessories. Last night we stopped in to Macy’s on our way home from work and got a good deal on some ties for the guys. We weren’t too picky. Just something in pale gold or Champagne. And we found them–on sale even–for $25 each. Solid.
And last night I made an offer on eBay for three of these brooches for the BMs dresses, and won.
‘Tis the season to get engaged! And Sunnie has a beautiful ring on her hand to prove it. As you’ve probably seen from past brides and bees (including yours truly), Filene’s Basement ROTB is all the rage. Sunnie and I are heading to Filene’s this Friday to try our luck at finding her dress. I’m not the aggressive type, so thankfully, we’re going after the morning stampede.
Check out the prep tips from the ever-so-lovely, Miss Latte, and please learn from my experience and resist the temptation to pig out on multiple dresses. Yesterday was my pathetic attempt to sway Sunnie into wearing one of them. Mission failed, but we did get some cute pictures of her trying on her first wedding dress! Congrats girlfriend!
Excuse the mess! Spring cleaning is well underway!
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Hi hive! We’re ringing in the new month with our newest bee! Say hello to Miss Papaya! Her outdoor wedding in Palm Springs sounds like it will be hot like fire!
Miss Papaya, Palm Springs
Age & Occupation: 22, Preschool Teacher
Fiance’s Age & Occupation: 37, Neurosurgeon
Engagement Date: 12/12/06
Wedding Date: July 2009
Venue: Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage
About Me:
My FI and I met under interesting circumstances; he performed surgery on me when I was 18! We got engaged a year later, and I’m so excited to marry the man I love in July! We’ll be hosting a lavish affair for 2000 of our closest friends and family who are flying in from all around the world. Our week long festivities will include sightseeing excursions in the Palm Springs area, a rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and a day after brunch. I love my maltipoo Muffin, shopping, Sex and the City, being a girly girl, and of course, Mr. Papaya!
I think by now most of our guests have received the invitations (I’m not sure why I’m worried about it, because none of our guests read the blog anyway).
Can I just say one more time how much I love these invitations?
Let’s start with the inner envelope, which was kind of an afterthought.
I so wish that my handwriting were that neat and tidy. This is my new favorite font, Joe Hand 2, which I downloaded from dafont.com. Twilight readers will recognize it; it’s Alice’s handwriting!
I decided after our invitations were completely designed and everything was purchased that I really wanted inner envelopes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an inner envelope that would fit in our tea-length invitations.
So, I improvised.
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Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
My fabulous aunt and MOH (Mizz K) volunteered to host a bridal shower for me in a couple of weekends. There were a few date snafus, since they are both busy bees (pun intended) in their own lives, but with the date sealed and addresses finalized, the shower is on! I’m super excited about this, because there are some people I haven’t seen in forever that I can’t wait to hang out with for a few hours!
To thank my hostesses, I am giving them a few simple little gifts. Surely no gift can show them how much I appreciate them doing this for me, but it’s a start. 
I purchased a few handmade soaps from The Anderson Soap Company on Etsy. While I haven’t used the products, the reviews are great and the scents are awesome as well!
Image source
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Reader jenandnels is selling a Monique Lhuillier wedding gown. It is style “Vamp”, size 10, 100% silk charmeuse with delicate bead and rhinestone detailing below the bust. This gown was a sample, and recently cleaned and never worn for a wedding. Make an offer!
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Other great items for sale:
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Like, seriously. Ever.
We’ll be using this bathroom — which is located on the second floor of the F.U.E.L. House — as the women’s room. Two single bathrooms downstairs will be for our male guests, and bridal party members will have access to a small sitting area and restroom, also on the first floor.
(I plan on making signs for the doors of each area, so our guests aren’t confused! And yes, I realize the first interior look I’m giving you of our reception site is a bathroom — but I just think it looks so amazing!)
I’ve read up on bathroom baskets, but my issue isn’t what to include… it’s what presentation to use!
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A while back I posted about our experience taking the FOCCUS survey. This past weekend, we completed the last step in order to get married in the Catholic Church by attending Pre-Cana class.
Some of you might be wondering what Pre-Cana is. Before attending, Pre-Cana was always a mystery to us, and a lot of other couples we know who have gone through it. According to Wikipedia:
Pre-Cana is a course or consultation Catholic couples must undergo before they can be married in a Catholic church. The name is derived from John 2:1-12, the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine.
Approaches to Pre-Cana vary among Catholic dioceses and parishes. Often six weekly sessions will be led by a priest or deacon with support from a married Catholic couple. Common topic include: compatibility of the couple, basic principles of Catholic marriage and family life (namely theological meaning of marriage), conflict resolution within marriage, rules the couple is accepting to follow (including, but not limited to, natural family planning).
Now that you have the Wikipedia definition, I’ll tell you a little about our experience.
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Last time I met with Ashley, my hair/makeup artist, I didn’t do my homework. I wasn’t sure what I really wanted, so we played with a few styles. After some careful consideration and few hours lost surfing the web, I think I finally know what I’m after.
I’m thinking of having a low ponytail pulled to the side, with sweeping bangs in front to hide my crazy hairline. I don’t want something that looks “done”. I’m looking for something pulled together, but slightly messy. If a hair or two falls out of place on the big day, I want it to look like it was meant to be that way. I also want my hair to have some body.
Here’s what I’m thinking…
I just had to share this advice I got from a reader, Jen, who left neither a blog link nor email, but to whom I am indebted.
Due to factors beyond our control, my husband and I had only about two months to plan our wedding — the whole thing! This meant that my dreams — both for a few expensive splurges and for DIY-simple (which can often require more planning/time than the ready-made store-bought things) — all had to bow to The Possible.
What budget-friendly reception venues were still un-booked at this point? I took the first one that offered the time-slot I wanted. What dress under $300 did I fit into without needing alterations? I bought it, although the style wasn’t “perfect”…
This was annoying and upsetting during the planning phase… but ultimately freeing. On the wedding day, I knew I’d done the best I could with the time & money I’d had… and that freed me (usually a such control freak) to let go.
As a result, my personal advice to all my soon-to-be-married friends is: don’t just budget your money… budget the time you let yourself plan. Even if it’s something “cheap” or a “minor detail” giving it too much time will make it expand until it feels like a “big deal”. Save yourself the emotional explosion.
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Hey Hive! I’m looking for some suggestions.
One of my friends is luring me to the city (NY) this weekend with promises of underground martini bars, and I am hoping to pick up some wedding-related items and supplies while I’m down there. I’ve been told to check out Jamali Garden for my ’floral desires’. I’ll definitely be picking up one (maybe a few) of these:
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A few months after my dress appointment in New York, I had a trip to Los Angeles planned. I knew I had to take it seriously–plan out appointments, set up dress try-on dates with my bridesmaids and mom–so I started combing through TheKnot.com’s dress pages. When I saw something I liked, I’d note which stores sold it in LA and try to find stores that sold multiple designers I liked. Schlepping across LA, circling blocks looking for addresses, and finding parking can get extremely tiring, so I tried to spread out the appointments as best as I could.
A little dress shopping in LA, anyone?
(source)
Now that you’ve made your embossed envelopes, it’s time for the more important part… the cards that will actually tell your guests which date to save.
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