There is not much you can do about the food as either the caterer is going to be fabulous or anywhere under that level.
Your DJ however should have a good reputation. And there are so many out there. It is a given that your DJ can make or break your reception and you want to choose one that really knows how to read the crowd and take control of all the events. Father, Daughter - Son Mother dances. Toasts. Champagne toast and anything else you want him to do. I believe I got lucky as utilizing a guy who has been doing his thing for 30 years with a great reputation. So I have yet to see but less worried about him than I am about the food.
In a prior post I spoke of how I learned of what matters and what might not matter. Wasted money on some pre printed items and décor. Some ideas that I rid of because will save me time and probably money.
1. Name placards: Although initially they might be great and maybe some folks will actually stay at their assigned table; just by personal situation I am not sure if I have that type of disciplined crowd. Hence I will give assigned table seating. Which seat you take at their assigned table should be their choice reasonably. I.e. Although I know of two guests coming of Greece origin and thought that might be a reason to sit them at the same table, however maybe one will have a better time talking to my cousin Joe about motorcycles. Either way there is no guarantee you will stick to the table I assign you to and why waste my time printing out all those names, and placing all those name cards.
2. Monogrammed items: You will discover many things out there that you can personalize with you and your loved one's names or even pictures. Choose wisely as these are the little things that end up in the trash.
Our centerpiece vases we picked up from 'Dollar Tree'. Estimating 15 tables we bought 15 vases and paid a total of $15.00. We also purchased glass rocks in colors of the ocean from 'Dollar Tree'. We picked up three large baskets of seashells from 'Hobby Lobby' at $9.99 per basket. These should be super simple to put together. Pick up flowers day of your venue. Place them on the tables and all done. Easy, budget friendly centerpieces.
Our favor bags were typical small paper bags purchased from a 'restaurant supply' store. Yes since tis a restaurant supply store you might end up with their smallest case of 2000 bags for $17.00. The bags were then hand stamped with various cute sayings. The stamps I purchased from 'Michaels' . And you can generally go to their website and get a 40% off coupon for a shopping trip. As for the remainder of all those small bags, well my other half has a 10 year old daughter and I'm pretty sure I'll be using the rest for lunches, school events or barbecue goodie handouts for a long time to come.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
But Wait.... There Is Still a Reception to Follow!
A common thing nowadays is the whole destination wedding, and reception later. My other half still wanted to have a reception in my home town in Colorado.
On way back from Florida, we stopped in Colorado. Literally got into Denver at 7pm. Got the rental car and drove to my home town arriving about 10:30 in the evening. My cousin had food waiting for us and of course we stayed up a bit late chatting until 2am.
My other half and I had to wake to meet my Father for breakfast around 8:30am. Oddly enough my Father did not look to happy but congratulated us. He went on to talk about my step Brother's business. Something about the Government Laws and Radicalism. And then proceeded to bring up an issue between his wife, his step daughter and I.
Now this is part of the hell of getting married and planning receptions, etc. This is when the family of who is talking to who drama awakens and comes out of the woodwork. This is when you could potentially start to need a therapist. I kindly mentioned to my Father that his step daughter picked a stupid fight with me on Facebook of all places then ran away. (Delete/Block). His wife followed suit there after so kindly let them put on their big girl panties and address me themselves. STAY OUT OF IT!
We only had the one day as we would be back on the road to Denver about 1:30am that following morning to return our car and catch our 6am flight to San Francisco. By 10am we were touring a couple of hotels for our out of town guests. By 10:45am we were ordering our cake from the bakery, placing a deposit. By 11:30 we were having lunch with my cousin's before a tasting at the venue. Ok yes this does not make sense but I wanted the local chicken tacos on white more than I did to sample the kabobs for our venue.
Our venue I chose because of the patio. It's a lovely location with this open large patio with a historic water fountain. Hence it had since been taken over and been a Indian Restaurant since 2011. The only Indian restaurant within any distance from S.Colorado up to Colorado Springs. And these guys think I am stupid.
I was originally shocked at the quote of $29.95 per person as if you know my home town, this would surely be a cost for steak, lobster and domestic caviar. When the average ball room is not exceeding $18.00 per person, why would you think I am this stupid.
Plus I am familiar for what I would pay for a Indian venue in the Bay Area. Hence I gave them a much easier menu and much less than I would get if had Indian food so this is where it all begins. At this point I had given up my ballroom and I want this patio. I asked them to agree to $18.00 per person with 15% Gratuity because it was buffet style. The man I was negotiating with decided to turn and ask a server in which again I hate being bold face lied to, and I know that 18% is not standard in Pueblo Colorado but at least missing taxes and no hall fees with a cash option. It is not something would suggest that many do especially if you do not trust the venue. But I think with this option they know and I know they are being well taken care of for their time. Alcohol negotiation is another thing but again they were more than fair with me for one keg of beer. I am still seeking out some wine charges from them but thing going to tap it at wine, beer and soda. With a regular venue this would all be laid out for you in a contract. I am taking a huge risk to save money.
Well after trying what I sort of asked for and four additional dishes that I did not ask for but the younger brother got competitive with the older brother. Note to venues. Don't play games with a customer's time as it could lose you the business. I was given four other options I did not ask for but ironically one of them my cousin and husband liked a lot. So it was a go of a choice from each brother. The negotiation really did not go how I wanted but at least we got a price per person settled and a price on a keg and champagne. I must really love that damn patio!
On way back from Florida, we stopped in Colorado. Literally got into Denver at 7pm. Got the rental car and drove to my home town arriving about 10:30 in the evening. My cousin had food waiting for us and of course we stayed up a bit late chatting until 2am.
My other half and I had to wake to meet my Father for breakfast around 8:30am. Oddly enough my Father did not look to happy but congratulated us. He went on to talk about my step Brother's business. Something about the Government Laws and Radicalism. And then proceeded to bring up an issue between his wife, his step daughter and I.
Now this is part of the hell of getting married and planning receptions, etc. This is when the family of who is talking to who drama awakens and comes out of the woodwork. This is when you could potentially start to need a therapist. I kindly mentioned to my Father that his step daughter picked a stupid fight with me on Facebook of all places then ran away. (Delete/Block). His wife followed suit there after so kindly let them put on their big girl panties and address me themselves. STAY OUT OF IT!
We only had the one day as we would be back on the road to Denver about 1:30am that following morning to return our car and catch our 6am flight to San Francisco. By 10am we were touring a couple of hotels for our out of town guests. By 10:45am we were ordering our cake from the bakery, placing a deposit. By 11:30 we were having lunch with my cousin's before a tasting at the venue. Ok yes this does not make sense but I wanted the local chicken tacos on white more than I did to sample the kabobs for our venue.
Our venue I chose because of the patio. It's a lovely location with this open large patio with a historic water fountain. Hence it had since been taken over and been a Indian Restaurant since 2011. The only Indian restaurant within any distance from S.Colorado up to Colorado Springs. And these guys think I am stupid.
I was originally shocked at the quote of $29.95 per person as if you know my home town, this would surely be a cost for steak, lobster and domestic caviar. When the average ball room is not exceeding $18.00 per person, why would you think I am this stupid.
Plus I am familiar for what I would pay for a Indian venue in the Bay Area. Hence I gave them a much easier menu and much less than I would get if had Indian food so this is where it all begins. At this point I had given up my ballroom and I want this patio. I asked them to agree to $18.00 per person with 15% Gratuity because it was buffet style. The man I was negotiating with decided to turn and ask a server in which again I hate being bold face lied to, and I know that 18% is not standard in Pueblo Colorado but at least missing taxes and no hall fees with a cash option. It is not something would suggest that many do especially if you do not trust the venue. But I think with this option they know and I know they are being well taken care of for their time. Alcohol negotiation is another thing but again they were more than fair with me for one keg of beer. I am still seeking out some wine charges from them but thing going to tap it at wine, beer and soda. With a regular venue this would all be laid out for you in a contract. I am taking a huge risk to save money.
Well after trying what I sort of asked for and four additional dishes that I did not ask for but the younger brother got competitive with the older brother. Note to venues. Don't play games with a customer's time as it could lose you the business. I was given four other options I did not ask for but ironically one of them my cousin and husband liked a lot. So it was a go of a choice from each brother. The negotiation really did not go how I wanted but at least we got a price per person settled and a price on a keg and champagne. I must really love that damn patio!
The Battle of Dress Colors is Over. We are eloping!
I was pretty miffed at the drama over the dress colors by one of my cousin's. But at my age, it was enough to make me draw the line and say, 'We don't need no stinkin' ceremony!'
My other half and I were going to visit his mother in Florida in which he promised to take me to Key West to tour the 'Hemingway House'. Voila, 'Let's elope in Key West!'
This idea quite possible was the greatest idea of all. I had never been to Florida. We were going to spend two weeks there. It turned out absolutely the best decision ever as we were non stop touring everywhere from Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Boca, Miami, Miami Beach down to the Keys! Hence back to eloping.
If you plan to elope in a state you are not familiar with, yes get on the internet and find out the local laws. If we were Florida residents, we would have had to get our license, wait two weeks and take a class at your local church. Since we were not residents of Florida State; we were able to do it all same day. Just have your driver's license or Govt Issued ID in tow. Literally same hour and be on our way. The license is sent to a couple of bureaus and you get it all nice and neat in the mail at your home a couple weeks later. The cost for us vs a Florida Resident was about $30 more but overall around $90 something dollars. Again always check with the courthouse in the city/county where you plan to elope to make sure you do not forget anything. And maybe make a call to verify what you are reading is current.
My other half and I were going to visit his mother in Florida in which he promised to take me to Key West to tour the 'Hemingway House'. Voila, 'Let's elope in Key West!'
This idea quite possible was the greatest idea of all. I had never been to Florida. We were going to spend two weeks there. It turned out absolutely the best decision ever as we were non stop touring everywhere from Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Boca, Miami, Miami Beach down to the Keys! Hence back to eloping.
If you plan to elope in a state you are not familiar with, yes get on the internet and find out the local laws. If we were Florida residents, we would have had to get our license, wait two weeks and take a class at your local church. Since we were not residents of Florida State; we were able to do it all same day. Just have your driver's license or Govt Issued ID in tow. Literally same hour and be on our way. The license is sent to a couple of bureaus and you get it all nice and neat in the mail at your home a couple weeks later. The cost for us vs a Florida Resident was about $30 more but overall around $90 something dollars. Again always check with the courthouse in the city/county where you plan to elope to make sure you do not forget anything. And maybe make a call to verify what you are reading is current.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
"All Those Little Things" she said!
Some women know exactly what they want for their wedding these days. It's not like the days were you just had a wedding. Now we have themes, different bars, candy bars, games.. whatever you want. If you want to have your wedding at a ZOO or diving underwater, You can basically do anything you want these days. Get hyped up on ideas or annoyed to flamboyance by catching 'Four Weddings' on television. Which was my first mistake as I am not some 20 year old but it definitely is an interesting show of ideas.
If you have the money to spend on whatever you want, you go girl!! However for folks like me, my creativity and a good deal will have to do. I of course first started looking at the ole 'Oriental Trading' Wedding catalogs. They have a whole line of different themes of pre printed items from mints, favor boxes, cupcake boxes, napkins, cups, banners, balloons... everything under the sun. Just go to orientaltrading.com and request a catalog to be sent to your home.
Of course I initially book marked so much unnecessary stuff that had a potential $300.00 of items that I would still have to put together and or fill. A child hood chum of mine told me that she has went to so many weddings that a lot of these little things folks do not even notice, take or they get tossed by the venue. I'm not a fan of my money sitting in the trash but it also took a trek to my other half's best friends wedding in Orlando FL to make me realize what my friend was telling me was true.
My other's half's best friends wedding was held at a lovely outdoor venue. A botanical gardens location of sorts with a mini amphitheater for the ceremony. And a lovely short walk towards the larger amphitheater to where the reception began. Very cute and simple rustic. They did not have a guest book but a 'guest slice of wood'. Yes a big one from a tree you could write your best wishes on. Your names were clothes pinned to a line as to which table you were to sit at. You saw oversized games across the grass and a large candy bar as well different types of popcorn. Note to self is you have to keep a candy bar out of the day sun if outdoors. The candy did ok but the caramel popcorn started to turn into popcorn nuggets.
They also had bottles of water with personalized labels which. Yes not many went for the water as they did the open bar. Extra money but surely fun having leftover bottled water with your names on it to take home.
The centerpieces were mason jars with the gabby rustic band and knitted flowers you can get from 'Hobby Lobby' or 'Michaels' with of all flowers, baby's breath and they looked super beautiful. Who knew baby's breath, a very inexpensive type flower could look so cute as a centerpiece! Yes that idea I definitely stole.
There was also a cute little gunny sack. Inside a bottle of hand sanitizer with a heart on the bottle with the couples name. Cute for sure. My other half loves hand sanitizer. However this was one of those other items where my friends feedback was ringing in. "folks don't care about those things."
And there were a lot of little gunny sacks with hand sanitizer left behind. I grabbed a few for my honey and the sister of the groom said, "I grabbed 30. Guess I'm set." I laughed but it taught me that all those little details you spend so much extra on, might go to waste. The food, the dj and good company are going to make or break ya. A full bar with no good music might render havoc also but that's another story!
I returned to my 'Oriental Trading' catalog. 'Cute beer cozies with funny sayings. OUT. Personalized this or that. OUT.' and a lot was written off with exception of the two things I had to have for my wedding receptions favors. Playing cards and pre printed stickers thanking everyone for joining in our special day to save the ink on my personal printer;)
There is a million things you can do for your wedding depending on your budget. If you are no holds bar, don't keep reading my blog as you do not have my budget. If you are looking to low budget with big outcome. Ya gotta be creative and know where your best deals are. If you really think you want something from Oriental, sign up online for their emails as they do at least once a month have a free shipping no matter the cost option. You can inexpensively buy whatever it is you want to see in your hands and if it will work for you. Also read the reviews online on the items. Some even though a great deal do not close properly. Some are well over and above worth the deal. I have often found that a lot of similar if not same products are found at 'Michaels', 'Hobby Lobby', and 'PartyCity'.
If you have the money to spend on whatever you want, you go girl!! However for folks like me, my creativity and a good deal will have to do. I of course first started looking at the ole 'Oriental Trading' Wedding catalogs. They have a whole line of different themes of pre printed items from mints, favor boxes, cupcake boxes, napkins, cups, banners, balloons... everything under the sun. Just go to orientaltrading.com and request a catalog to be sent to your home.
Of course I initially book marked so much unnecessary stuff that had a potential $300.00 of items that I would still have to put together and or fill. A child hood chum of mine told me that she has went to so many weddings that a lot of these little things folks do not even notice, take or they get tossed by the venue. I'm not a fan of my money sitting in the trash but it also took a trek to my other half's best friends wedding in Orlando FL to make me realize what my friend was telling me was true.
My other's half's best friends wedding was held at a lovely outdoor venue. A botanical gardens location of sorts with a mini amphitheater for the ceremony. And a lovely short walk towards the larger amphitheater to where the reception began. Very cute and simple rustic. They did not have a guest book but a 'guest slice of wood'. Yes a big one from a tree you could write your best wishes on. Your names were clothes pinned to a line as to which table you were to sit at. You saw oversized games across the grass and a large candy bar as well different types of popcorn. Note to self is you have to keep a candy bar out of the day sun if outdoors. The candy did ok but the caramel popcorn started to turn into popcorn nuggets.
They also had bottles of water with personalized labels which. Yes not many went for the water as they did the open bar. Extra money but surely fun having leftover bottled water with your names on it to take home.
The centerpieces were mason jars with the gabby rustic band and knitted flowers you can get from 'Hobby Lobby' or 'Michaels' with of all flowers, baby's breath and they looked super beautiful. Who knew baby's breath, a very inexpensive type flower could look so cute as a centerpiece! Yes that idea I definitely stole.
There was also a cute little gunny sack. Inside a bottle of hand sanitizer with a heart on the bottle with the couples name. Cute for sure. My other half loves hand sanitizer. However this was one of those other items where my friends feedback was ringing in. "folks don't care about those things."
And there were a lot of little gunny sacks with hand sanitizer left behind. I grabbed a few for my honey and the sister of the groom said, "I grabbed 30. Guess I'm set." I laughed but it taught me that all those little details you spend so much extra on, might go to waste. The food, the dj and good company are going to make or break ya. A full bar with no good music might render havoc also but that's another story!
I returned to my 'Oriental Trading' catalog. 'Cute beer cozies with funny sayings. OUT. Personalized this or that. OUT.' and a lot was written off with exception of the two things I had to have for my wedding receptions favors. Playing cards and pre printed stickers thanking everyone for joining in our special day to save the ink on my personal printer;)
There is a million things you can do for your wedding depending on your budget. If you are no holds bar, don't keep reading my blog as you do not have my budget. If you are looking to low budget with big outcome. Ya gotta be creative and know where your best deals are. If you really think you want something from Oriental, sign up online for their emails as they do at least once a month have a free shipping no matter the cost option. You can inexpensively buy whatever it is you want to see in your hands and if it will work for you. Also read the reviews online on the items. Some even though a great deal do not close properly. Some are well over and above worth the deal. I have often found that a lot of similar if not same products are found at 'Michaels', 'Hobby Lobby', and 'PartyCity'.
Gowns and Gossip!
After countless calls to my Father to ask if he had read over the contract. He finally eeked out a few words when his wife was not around, "Would 2k help you out?" I told him my other half would call him eventually to discuss it. He sounded either tired or sad. That bothered me but having known his wife since I was 17, eh I figured she was upset because when it came to anything regarding me; she always had to have control through my father. Or control of his involvement with me. Especially if money was involved. I in my mind had already knew that at my age, why would I expect my father to be able to contribute even if I was his only child and my first and LAST marriage ever.
Ok well we chose a dress color and ironically the color was discontinued from 'David's Bridal'. We chose 'David's Bridal' as one of my cousins standing up is in Colorado and the other in Washington State. 'David's Bridal' is perfect as they have locations nationwide. We decided on another color in which my cousin who was to be my Maid of Honor said, "Oh. Greg said it will make our skin look flushed out with our tans. We like the color APPLE." I said. "This is my wedding. Not a burlesque show of red. BTW your husband is not in my wedding but if he will get into a gown with some high heels he can wear whatever the hell color he wants!"
We came up with a third color which all loved. And I thought I was making this super easy as let them choose whatever dress they wanted as long as in that color and satin. My cousin in Washington State was open to anything. However here we go again with my maid of honor. She called me and chose a private designer off the internet. The dress was three times the money. I could not figure out why when I give you a myriad of styles of choices, she was pushing this other designer. Aha.. good ole' Aunty Gabriella who cannot keep a secret to save her life told me, "She does not like satin." I was miffed and even more angry that had to hear it second hand. So it began to bother me. I told my other half, "Let's just elope and maybe have a dinner party in Colorado. I dunno anymore."
Congratulations! You are getting married!
So the day has finally come that you can officially call your friends and family and tell them you are getting married. Yayyyyyyy. Cherish the moment as it's all fun and games from there.
My boyfriend and I had actually been together for 8 years. So it surely was a sealed deal of good news to many we told. We had already thought about a location to do it and let go of the decision to have a small ceremony and reception in Monterey CA to my hometown in Colorado. We figured Colorado was a sane distance for those having to travel. Easier financially for family, friends and especially our venue. I come from a small town in Colorado. Or small town/city. Well lets put it this way the population there is over 100k but not yet 150k. There is only one cab company. You get my point.
So we started with the calls and the plans. Since neither of us are no spring chickens we felt a small feeling of lets at least have a couple of our closest stand up in the ceremony. My other half chose his two long time best friends and I chose my two have never stabbed me in the back, always loved me no matter what cousins to stand up with his friends. VOILA. Plans seemed perfect! My father was happy. Well at least he was at this point.
We began to call on venues, hotels and of course looking at dresses and all the hoopla for the wedding reception. The ball was rolling. Within a week I had a polished quote from a lovely ballroom at the local college in my hometown. I did not think it was lovely then but keep reading and you will learn why appreciated it so much.
It had listed every cost down to a 'T'. A place that runs a tight ship adhering to local laws I read line by line for the hourly charges for the bartender, servers, security, for the ballroom itself, food, table and chair covers included.. it when on and on. I signed the contract and had to bug my Father to get down there asap to put down the deposit. Little did I know his troubles with his wife were just about to begin.
My boyfriend and I had actually been together for 8 years. So it surely was a sealed deal of good news to many we told. We had already thought about a location to do it and let go of the decision to have a small ceremony and reception in Monterey CA to my hometown in Colorado. We figured Colorado was a sane distance for those having to travel. Easier financially for family, friends and especially our venue. I come from a small town in Colorado. Or small town/city. Well lets put it this way the population there is over 100k but not yet 150k. There is only one cab company. You get my point.
So we started with the calls and the plans. Since neither of us are no spring chickens we felt a small feeling of lets at least have a couple of our closest stand up in the ceremony. My other half chose his two long time best friends and I chose my two have never stabbed me in the back, always loved me no matter what cousins to stand up with his friends. VOILA. Plans seemed perfect! My father was happy. Well at least he was at this point.
We began to call on venues, hotels and of course looking at dresses and all the hoopla for the wedding reception. The ball was rolling. Within a week I had a polished quote from a lovely ballroom at the local college in my hometown. I did not think it was lovely then but keep reading and you will learn why appreciated it so much.
It had listed every cost down to a 'T'. A place that runs a tight ship adhering to local laws I read line by line for the hourly charges for the bartender, servers, security, for the ballroom itself, food, table and chair covers included.. it when on and on. I signed the contract and had to bug my Father to get down there asap to put down the deposit. Little did I know his troubles with his wife were just about to begin.
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