What Will He Wear?

So I picked this out for my FI online from MW, and guess what?
The pattern is called TUSCANY!!
It's in ivory of couse, to match my dress.

That being said, he is very picky and he wants to see it in person. He mentioned wanting to wear a black suit and tie and ivory shirt. Either way he can still rock the Tuscany Pattern!

 
Black, white, and ivory colors are available in most patterns. However colors are usually only available in one. My FI wants the groomsmen to match the bridesmaids dress, which is the color Regency from DB. The only pattern that color is available in is........Tuscany!! It's just meant to be.

The FI didn't like the idea of a vest....but they will have to wear it, since the length of the ties are made to go under a vest....it will look extremely funny when one of the groomsmen, who is over 6' tall, comes out wearing what will look like a "mini" tie (neither of us like bow-ties) So vests for the GM it is! FI can do as he pleases. however they can have a jacket that comes up higher so the vest doesn't even show. Problem solved.

On that note, one day I stopped in MW to just look around. And the lady who was there could not believe that I didn't want to make any final decisions without him. In fact when I said "well, it's really up to him whatever he wants to wear." Her mouth dropped.

What is up with the bridal mentality of "It's MY day"

Umm....I thought it was supposed to be our day?
Even though we may disagree on some things we should both have a say on our wedding day.

Isn't that what marriage is all about? Making decisions together to build a life you both enjoy?
I don't want a wimp of a husband. He should WANT to be with me.

That being said I will see what he wants to do with a suit/tux rental.

He did mention that he doesn't like boutonnieres and we will probably make pocket squares. His will be ivory and the groomsmen will probably have a patterned fabric that matches the color Regency. Or maybe ivory and green to match the BM bouquets? I hope I can find a Tuscan looking pattern, an abstract viney pattern would be perfect!

I think it would be super cute and unique.
First, I have to get the future hubby's APPROVAL :)

THE Dress!

Even before we got engaged I looked through thousands of wedding pictures online. I read about what looks good on my frame...I'm 5'2 so certain dress styles swallow up my tiny frame. That narrowed my silhouette down to A-line, Empire Waist, and Sheath. Which is totally fine, given that I don't really like the others :) My neckline was definitely strapless, color was ivory because of my olive tone skin,  I wanted full length, and the train was debatable. My criteria was a simple dress with detail on the bust, easy!

That being said, I grabbed my sister MOH and headed off to DB with my list. The sales rep had me bookmark dresses I liked in the magazine and she picked them out. I told her I was on a budget too. I tried on about 10 dresses and loved about 8 of them. There were about 3 under $200 that I liked! However I "splurged" and went for the second dress I tried on, since as soon as I walked out my sister and I both said "This is the one!" The dress was originally priced at $500, I had a promotional discount of $50 off, and I opted for another $50 off without the train, so it came to $399!

I figured, even though I liked the train I would have to pay for bustling to add on another $50-100 (which may I add, I do not like the look of) It's beautiful without the train anyway :) Because I'm always looking to save money I almost went for one of the $199 dresses, however they did not come in a petite size so I would have to get it hemmed, which after the alterations would bring it up to $300. My sister told me to spend the extra $100 and get the petite, train-less dress of my dreams. Thanks Natalie!!!!

Instead of renting a slip I just bought one there for $41.65. I got the Fit-n-flare slip since I didn't want it to poof out as much and...because it was cheaper (not wearing it in the picture)

I bought a blusher veil for $17 to wear on the back. I like the seem-less way it just fades into the dress. I made a compromise with the FI on this one. I actually wanted a more traditional approach to wear a blusher in front of my face, but the FI wanted to see my face. I assured him he would still be able to since it's see-through but he wouldn't budge. He also likes my hair naturally straight but I told him I was curling it for wavy hair, since my hair NEEDS body for pictures. So I made a deal: I'm wearing my hair the way I want, but I'll wear a veil in the back for you honey. It's all about compromise!

 

(ignore the stupid face my sis took the picture mid-smile)

So after taxes I got my dress, slip, and veil all for 485.11! I'm super happy about it!!!

FYI this dress style is Empire Waist and is flattering on ANY body type! 

My sister tried on the BM dress, and loved it. It's on sale for $99.99 So we are all set!
The great thing is that it's the same chiffon material as my dress and it has the matching pleating on the bust. The halter straps set it apart from the gown, so we won't be too matchy-matchy. They can wear any neutral strappy heels they already have.

 

Wow who would have thought we'd get it all done on our first trip to a bridal salon?! YAY!


*TIP* DB has these great color swatches for $1 of any color of the Bridesmaid dress. I got a regency swatch and I can't stress enough how helpful it is to know the exact shade of the dress color when coordinating other things.

I carry it around with me.......all. the. time.

Budget Breakdown

This is my rough breakdown of how much I have spent/will be spending in each area of my wedding. I will do an individual post for each category with pictures and more details on how I saved money!

820 Ceremony at my parish church St Ignatius
250 Church fee for parishioner (twice as much for non-parishioners)

75 Celebrant offering

50 Sacristan fee

200 Organist fee

125 Cantor fee

80 Pre-Cana preparation

40 Marriage license

3,500 Reception at the Knights of Columbus Hall

300 Security Deposit

700 Facility Rental- 4 hours
1,500 Open Bar
400 Paying sisters' high school friends to be the wait staff

FREE Catering (friends of the family catering as a gift)

FREE Cake (aunt is paying for the cake)

100? Favors (not sure if we are having favors)
220 Linen Tablecloths

200 Disposable utensils and dinnerware

$67.47 The Knot: Personalized Beverage & Lunch Napkins (200 each)

2,000 Rings

2,000 estimated amount FI spent on engagement ring, marriage bands, engraving

850 Attire

399 DB: Dress (no train)

17 DB: Veil

41.65 DB: Slip

27.46 DB: Sales Tax

1 DB: Color Swatch of Bridesmaid Dress

5.29 Michaels: garter

12 ROSS: strapless bra & underwear

29 Headpiece

50? shoes

FREE jewelry: borrowing

100 hair and makeup- friend volunteered to do for free, pay for $haircut and $makeup.

160 or FREE? MW tux/suit rental

15 Jo-Ann Fabric: handkerchiefs

600 Flowers Centerpieces and Decor
242.50 Afloral.com Silk Flowers

24.34 Jo-Ann Fabric: basket for flower girl, satin for DIY BM gifts and ring bearer pillow, chalkboard paint for signs

10 Michaels: clearance candles (approx 30 candles)

FREE collected assorted wine bottles

101.76 Dollar Tree: 2 cases of assorted artificial grapes (96 bunches)

50+ Dollar Tree: flowers, supplies, décor

80+ Goodwill: flowers and décor

18 Yardsale: trinkets

 

500 Music
500 Professional DJ for 4 hours during reception- ½ off since he is friends with my mom

900 Studio Blue Photography

795 One photographer for six hours (originally 1,240)

75 Additional Print Package (originally 150)

50.63 Tax

-26.10 discount for paying in full

190 Stationery
40 for 80 Invitations & response cards

50 Michaels: cards and stamps (DIY TY cards & a few mailed STDs)

FREE online STDs
100 stamps

465 Gifts
65 Bridesmaids and parents- Michaels: wooden boxes, stencils, paint for DIY gifts

100 Groomsmen gifts- currently undecided
300 Gift cards for caterer's service

0 Transportation

FREE: using our own vehicles and possibly borrowing a nice getaway car

10,000 TOTAL

*TIP*  I find it's very important to keep track of all purchases even the $10 ones...they can add up pretty quick. Find your own payment tracking system that works best for you.

*Don't Forget* taxes gratuity, and hidden fees. This can easily be another 1,000!

Budgeting

First thing's first, what are we working with?

We are paying for our own wedding, and at 24 we don't want to take out a loan for one day. Although the day is extremely special, we decided it wasn't a smart idea to spend all of our money, only to have a stressful first year of marriage. We figured it was more important that we would be able to financially support ourselves once we were married rather then spend all of our savings on the wedding only to cause more worries about the future.

 

That being said, we decided on spending 10,000 on the wedding. This is a rough figure, so if we end up under-great! If we end up going over a little-well, that's okay too. Basically it's our way of saying we are not going to spend the "typical" amount of 20k+ on our wedding.

 

It's a special day, yes. But I think so much emphasis is put on this ONE day; rather than how important every single day AFTER the wedding is too! How it's about building a life of love together. I don't want to seem like I'm undermining the sacredness of the day. I just want to put in perspective that the wedding day should be celebrated and enjoyed since it is the BEGINNING of a life together. But putting all of your focus and spending all of your money on the beginning of a journey, is well, stupid. You need to make sure you have enough for the entire trip! 

 

Now you know my perspective. So I'm always looking for deals, ways to spend less money, but please do not think I don't value this day. I value the idea that we are preparing to spend the rest of our lives together. And I'm trying to be reasonable with money. 

_______________________________________________________________

 

My fiance will not tell me what he spent on the engagement ring! He wants the matching wedding band to be a surprise too. I told him I didn't want anything huge or really expensive. The ring he picked out was perfect! I'm sure the wedding band will be beautiful as well. Since I don't know how much all 3 rings will cost together I just put a guess of 2,000.

This is a generic Budget Worksheet from About.com

My Total Budget 10,000

Expenses	% of Total Budget	% Estimate	Actual Cost
Ceremony Location fee, officiant fee, marriage license, musician's fees, ring pillows	3%	300	800
Reception Reception Site, Food, Drinks, Rentals, Cake, Favors	48%	4,800	4,000
Attire Dress, Headpiece/veil, undergarments and hosiery, shoes, accessories, jewelry, hair and makeup, Groom's Tuxedo or Suit, shoes, bow tie, cuff links, studs, suspenders	10%	1,000	800
Rings His and her rings, engraving	3%	300	2,000
Flowers Ceremony, bride's bouquet, maid-of-honor and bridesmaid bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres, centerpieces, flower-girl basket	8%	800	500
Music Ceremony Musicians, Band and/or DJ, cocktail hour musicians, sound system rental	8%	800	500
Photography Photographer and Videographer's fees, albums, additional prints, disposable cameras for candids	12%	1,200	900
Transportation Transportation for wedding party, guest shuttle and/or parking attendants	2%	200	0
Stationery Invitations, response cards, thank you notes, postage, calligraphy, guest book	3%	300	300
Gifts Bridesmaid and groomsmen, parents, welcome baskets for out-of-town guests.	3%	300	200

Start Keeping Track

This is where I'm going to keep track of my wedding planning experience to both keep me organized during the process and a way to look back on my life pre-husband! If anyone happens to come across this blog I hope it will serve as a helpful guide since I will express my satisfaction and disappointment in all that comes along with planning!

We Met: April 2010

Got Engaged: September 2011

To Be Wed: April 2012

I'm so excited! The first month of engagement was actually a little stressful when it came to planning, which is why I'm starting the blog now, that I have a little free time. With a deadline of 7 months (at the time) I had to get a lot done in terms of booking in that first month. Me and my fiance have had our fair share of arguments thanks to planning! But now after most the big things are taken care of, I feel like it's going to be more of a fun process from here :)

We both know what we like and dislike when it comes to colors, style, traditions...etc...but the bottom line is can we get what we want? In other words, can we afford it? Trying to find inexpensive resources takes time and effort, thankfully things kept falling into place and friends of the family began coming out of the woodwork! Even after other family members have disappointed us. All in all, I guess what's meant to be will find a way, and now that (I hope) I have pushed through the hardest panic part of planning I can get busy with DIY projects!