Addressing Wedding Invitations

Getting ready to send out your wedding invitations means that the wedding is getting closer!

I knew I wanted to do my own addressing of envelopes to save money. I first was going to handwrite on the envelopes, but I was short on time and knew that trying to tackle addressing all 100+ envelopes was going to be somewhat aggressive (especially when I already had a million other things to do). I also remember how long it took me to handwrite the save the dates, which I did staggered over the course of a few weeks. I decide to go with clear labels, but sometimes I’ve seen them and they’ve looked just okay.

I knew it would all come down to the font choice and design for the labels. I picked a pretty script font for the names (Jellyka Delicious Cake) and paired it with an all-caps serif font that I previously had (Trajan Pro) for the address. I also used the same script font for the numbers in the address (street number, apartment number, and ZIP code).

I wanted to use larger labels because the envelopes were 5” x 7”. I went to Staples and bought the Avery Clear Easy Peel Address Labels (size 1 1/3” x 4”) for $12.99. I formatted the labels on Microsoft Word (make sure to use one of the templates), then printed them out. Make sure to do a test run on regular paper before printing on the labels, just to make sure it lines up correctly. Also, make sure to check that the ink has dried completely on one sheet of labels first, or else it’ll smear once you try to put the label on the envelope.

They actually turned out better than I expected! And it was cheap. And it saved me an incredible amount of time. And they still looked professional (which was my biggest concern). I was able to stuff and affix the labels for all of the invitations over 2-3 days. And even better, I can reuse them again when I do my thank you cards. Win, win!

Saving on Bridesmaid Dresses

When I was getting ready to look for bridesmaid dresses, I knew that 1) I wanted them to be full-length and 2) I wanted them to be affordable (less than $200). There were a few things I didn’t know as well - the color, the fabric or material (I’ve always loved chiffon but wasn’t sure until I saw other fabrics in person), and the neckline (sweetheart looks good on everyone, one shoulder is always pretty and simple, and I love little sleeves on dresses!).

I remember that for my friend Stephanie’s wedding a few years ago, her sister, Erin, had ordered our bridesmaid dresses online from Netbride for a significantly lower price than you’d find in most boutiques. It sounded like a great idea and right up my alley (I am all about efficiency and doing everything online) - though, the thought of purchasing something as important as the bridesmaid dresses on this world wide web scared me!

When I went to their website, it didn’t look as professional (and if you’re into websites and design, I can tell you a number of things they can do to improve it). It definitely made me uneasy thinking about potentially ordering all eight of my bridesmaid dresses from there.

So I reached out to Erin to get more information. She said that not only did she get Stephanie’s bridesmaid dresses there, but she also got her wedding dress there as well! And she raved about how amazing and legit it was. I kept that in mind as I started to look at dresses with my bridesmaids.

After we had found “the dress,” I decided to submit a quote for that specific designer and style number, which they carry almost every bridesmaid designer you can think of. I received a response in less than 2 days and the price was lower than the stores I had checked - the quote was for $175 and most places ranged from either $200-$275. Another plus: no sales tax!

After talking to Erin and reading some of the thousands and thousands of testimonials - I decided to go for it. And I’m so glad I did! The service was far beyond what I expected.

They sent me an email to confirm my order, called and left me an email when my card number didn’t go through (issue was resolved in a matter of minutes), sent me a handwritten card to thank me for using their service, and the order arrived a little over a month before the estimated delivery time. So now, I am going to be one of those people recommending this place to everyone - it’s great! And even if you can save $50 per dress, it’s still a steal.

And just a few helpful hints:

• Try and pick from designer’s colors first BEFORE the dress style. I did this the other way around and found a dress I loved, but didn’t love any of the colors offered in that style. Me and my bridesmaids had already decided on the dress and I was THIS CLOSE to placing the order after “settling” on a color, but had second thoughts and backed out. Luckily, all of the girls were so supportive with my small breakdown and we were able to find another dress after I checked out designer’s color swatches first!
• Order swatch samples from the designer’s website before you place your order. That way you aren’t surprised with the color when you receive the dresses! If you look at the color of my bridesmaid dresses on the designer’s website, they don’t look anything alike! Swatches can be a bit pricey ($15 per swatch from where I purchased from) and the size is 5” x 7”, so it can be hard to get the full effect of the coloring, but still worth it!
• Make sure to order all of your bridesmaid dresses at once, that way they all come from the same “dye lot” and are all the same color. If you order a few dresses at one time, then another at a different time, they don’t guarantee that the colors will be exactly identical. 

My girls loved their dresses and they turned out amazing and looked great on everyone!

Bridesmaid Dress Style: Dessy Collection 2834 in Taupe
Bridesmaid Necklace: Francesca’s Collections

Say Yes to the Venue

YOU’RE ENGAGED! Now it’s time for one of the biggest steps in your wedding planning (besides searching for THE dress!) - venue hunting! When you begin your search for the perfect venue, there were so many things going on in my head. I’d heard and read (on so many blogs!) that people just jump into locking down a venue because they love a place, and they forget about the little things that are just as important.

Here Comes the Bride

Once I was engaged, one of the first things I did was pull up my secret folder I had buried on my computer of wedding dresses and styles I loved! And honestly, what girl doesn’t do that? I seriously blame Pinterest. I started going through and printing out dresses I wanted to try on while I was at work, bookmarking magazines, sending a bajillion emails to my sister, watching too much of "Say Yes to the Dress," and dreaming of THE DRESS. It was pretty bad. I was a little crazy.

I started to make appointments once we finalized a venue, and then it was game on. I knew the basics (do your research, know your budget, think about your wedding theme, etc.), but there were a few other things that were not in the back of my mind as I was trying on dresses.

Here are a few tips to think about once you begin your search:

For your FIRST dress, try on something you know you will like. It doesn’t have to be the one that you’ve been eyeing in magazines or something unique, just anything you know that you will love yourself in. Almost like a “safety” dress. You don’t want to hate the first dress you try on for the biggest day of your life! I tried on a simple taffeta strapless dress, and I loved it so much, I was contemplating just getting it. And on a side note, my wedding dress wasn’t even close to what I first tried on.

Check out dates for upcoming designer trunk shows. At wedding dress shops that are doing trunk shows, sometimes they offer amazing discounts for the dresses featuring that designer. If you already know which dress you want and a shop is having that designer’s trunk show, take advantage! The discounts sometimes were up to 25% off!

Try to schedule two appointments in one day, but don’t overdo it. If you’re in that mood for trying on dresses, it doesn’t hurt to try and schedule two appointments for that same day. Just don’t kill yourself over it! It gets exhausting, and sometimes, the more dresses you try on, the more frustrated you’ll get. Everything starts to blend together and you start to forget what you like. I had booked three appointments one day, and at the last shop, nothing was really standing out. I ended up being in and out of there within 30 minutes - and honestly, it was just because I wasn’t “feeling it” anymore. The dress could’ve been there but I was too overwhelmed to try anything else on.
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Don’t forget about the extra charges. When looking at the price of the dress, just remember that you’ll have to add tax + potentially hemming/bustle charges (depends on the style of your dress). And after you get the dress, don’t forget about alteration costs and a veil (if you are getting one).

Ask for a discount. Every place we went to, they were willing to offer about 10% off most of the time because they want your business. If you find a better price for the same dress, but you want to buy it from a different store because maybe you liked the customer service better there - mention the price difference. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Check your payment options. We had to put 75% down, and pay the remaining 25% when I went in for my first fitting.

Be aware of how long dresses will take to get made (varies per designer). When I started looking in November for my wedding the following September, one dress that I was on the verge of buying said it would take about 9 months (most take 6 on average) - which means I would have received it in August! Factor in alterations, etc. - that was really cutting it close. I realized I wasn’t dying to have it, then it wasn’t the dress. Some places will almost bully you into buying the dress, so don’t give in to them!

Ask if you can take pictures! Chances are, the answer is no. But you never know! And if the answer is no, then do what I did and my dad secretly filmed me when I came out of the dressing room using his Flip video camera. Granted some shots are of the floor or in his pocket, but at least I had something to look at afterwards

Who's Invited to the Wedding?

Weddings are so, so, so expensive! You can only imagine how tough it is for a bride who is on a strict guest list number figure out who and who doesn’t make the cut. People sometimes forget that bringing a guest to a wedding means more $$$ in the bride and groom’s eyes - so don’t be offended if you don’t get that +1 to your family or friend’s wedding.

Our rule was simple: If you weren’t married, engaged, or in a serious relationship at the time we drafted our wedding guest list, then you wouldn’t get the +1. We didn’t want to go back and forth if someone started to date someone a few months before the wedding because if we let that person, then we’d have to let this other person, and so on. I’d rather invite someone that I knew who was on the “maybe” list than a significant other of someone that I’ve never met before. And never ask someone if you can bring someone if it’s not clearly stated on the envelope or reply card - that just puts the bride and groom in an awkward spot (unless it’s an honest mistake).

To specify if our guests were allowed to bring someone to the wedding, we first worded the outside of our invitation as the following:

• Mr. and Mrs. John Smith (married couple)
• Mr. and Mrs. John Smith and Family (married couple plus family)
• Mr. John Smith (single man)
• Ms. Jane Doe (single woman)
• Mr. John Smith and Ms. Jane Doe (engaged or serious relationship couple)

We never put “and Guest” on the envelope because it felt very impersonal. And because we did know (most of) the people that were coming to our wedding and/or guests that people were bringing, we just listed out their name instead.

Now for the reply cards, we wanted to specify even more clearly the number of people that were invited. That way, there would be no guesswork if they were allowed to bring someone or not. I had seen different cards where there would be an option along the lines of “___ seats reserved for your party.”

So, for the “yes” option, we added the “of ___” so they knew how many seats were reserved for them. For our responses, we didn’t want to do the traditional “accepts with pleasure” or “declines with regret” - they both sounded so formal and so unlike Josh and I. Instead, we did:

• ___ of ___ will be joining the party!
• ___ Sorry we can’t be there - we’ll be celebrating in spirit!

Just another helpful tip people have mentioned to me to deal when dealing with all of the incoming replies - number the back of your RSVP cards to trace it back to an invite on your guest list! I heard that there’s nothing more frustrating then getting a reply card back that people are not coming and trying to figure out who it is.

Happy guest listing!

Wedding Tips for My Bride-To-Be's

Now that my wedding is over and because so many of my close friends have recently gotten engaged, people have been asking me for any tips or helpful hints. So, I compiled this little list of things that I've learned from my experience so far that I wanted to share!

If you like them, book them. There are all these guidelines for when you need to book things and so on. I got in touch with the makeup artist that did my friend Jenna's wedding to see what her availability and pricing were. It was pretty average from what I researched around this area. I emailed her, she said she was available - so I booked her for my September wedding. In January! Even before I booked a DJ or caterer. But you know what, one less thing I have to worry about later!

Everything requires a deposit. If you find someone you like, but you're worried about the deposit to book them, always ask if you can either split up the deposit or set up payment plans. Most of the time, people are pretty flexible if they know you're committed. Some may be stricter, it just depends. We were supposed to put 50% down for our wedding planner, DJ, and photographer, but we could only at the time commit to 25%. So we did 25% when we signed the contract, and then the next 25% 3 months later - so it's not a huge hit on your bank account.

Hire a day of coordinator. Even if you're not planning on getting a wedding planner, I suggest at a minimum hiring a day of coordinator. You need someone there to make sure everything is running smoothly and that all the vendors are where they need to be at the right times. You are going to be doing 1,000 other things that day and I highly, highly recommend hiring someone because it will make your life so much easier!

Print out all of your contracts and save all of your email communications. I have a huuuuuuugeeeeee binder with all of the information of each vendor, contract information, all of their proposals, and any receipts from online payments/check images. Your other vendors will probably ask for information about other vendors, so start compiling a list of all of that information as soon as you start to lock down vendors.

Make a timeline of all your wedding vendor due dates. This was something I did once all of the big vendors were set. I ended up making a table of all the due dates and balances for all items related to the wedding on a per month basis. It was helpful to visualize when things were due, how much we had left to account for, and also made me realize that 70% of remaining balances were due 30 days prior the wedding. August will be a tight-budgeted month!

Do as much as you can, but don't overdo it. Be practical and know what your personal limits are. I have all these great ideas in my head of so many DIY projects I want to do - but thinking about time and money, some of it just won't happen. Don't compare yourself to how far along other people are in their wedding planning - you will eventually get there! And ask family and friends for help on little things you don't mind sliding off your plate. If you know me, you know I am a PERFECTIONIST when it comes to these things. I'd rather do everything on my own - but sometimes, it just doesn't work that way!