awesome tool

On twitter today I saw a link to this very helpful tool from Real Simple. Awesome!


Wedding Wine & Liquor Calculator

Based on this tool, here's what Real Simple suggests we need for our 100 person wedding.

100 Guests
Red Wine: 12 bottles
White Wine: 12 bottles
Champagne: 20 bottles
Beer: 120 bottles
Vodka: 4 bottles
Gin: 2 bottles
Rum: 2 bottles
Bourbon: 2 bottles
Scotch (blended): 1 bottle

...Lord knows we're going to have PLENTY of liquor. We're doing a keg for the beer, which is the equivalent of 160 bottles. Perfect. My plan is to hit up the 5 cent wine sale today at Bev Mo to look for some Wine & Champagne options. Cheers! :)

Well hello there...

Yikes, looks like I haven't been here in a while, which is okay. I guess that means I've been busy busy --

Last weekend I went to San Diego to visit some friends, and three of us took the Amtrak to San Clemente to do some "research" for the wedding. It was amazing. We ate at Beach Fire Grill on Avenida Del Mar, where we're having the Rehearsal Lunch. We'll be having a lunch, rather than a dinner, because our wedding is on a Sunday. Therefore, there's a wedding going on that night so we have to rehearse at noon. Which means lunch! Yum!

We drank Zangrias - uhmm YUMMY -- made with Strawberry Vodka & Pinot Noir among other delicious things. I had a salad with chicken and goat cheese, Laura ate a chicken sandwich and side salad, and Kristin had steak tacos, which I was mildly obsessed with. Also, I have to say that Chris, the manager has been great. The ability to answer an email in an appropriate time is definitely underrated. I'm definitely looking forward to having our rehearsal lunch at Beach Fire.

From there, we ventured out to a few local bars to continue our "research". One condition of our venue is that we're out by 10:00pm, so we definitely need a location for an after party. We went to Goody's (which Kristin & I realized we had been to before when we walked in), definitely our kind of place. Dive bar...cheap drinks...pool...Wii...darts...dance floor...giant Captain Morgan in the corner...awesome. Looking forward to giving this place some business with our craziness. See ya Labor Day weekend!

Here we are...with the Captain at Goody's.

And here Kristin & I are waiting for the train...

I love you girls. SOOO much fun :)

shoes!

Well, at this point I have most of my accessories figured out for the day...bracelet (christmas gift!), necklace borrowed from my mom (something borrowed!), earrings (I know what I want but haven't found them yet, hmmm...), and my hair piece.

Other than undergarments, to be tackled at a later date and probably in private, I am yet to find my SHOES!

For my dress, since I'm somewhat normal height, I need to find 3" to 3.5" heels - 3.5" preferably. This way I don't have to have my dress hemmed.

Here are some I've seen so far in the SAVE and SPLURGE versions. Just like your dress, you don't need to spend a small fortune for something you're going to wear once. Look amazing in an almost replica without the brand name for less than half the price. LESS THAN HALF! That's just crazyness...Nina at Zappos - reasonably priced - $99.95

Splurge version - Badgley Mischka from Piperlime - $215
RSPVP also at Zappos - only $89


Bagdley Mischka at Piperlime - $215! Do they not look almost EXACTLY the same?!?
Another Nina at Zappos - $89
Kate Spade - Nordstroms - $285

I will find more...to come in another post...I'm determined...

master timeline

I found this fantastic article on DIY Bride on creating a master timeline to streamline your day and plan so everything goes perfectly...

A timeline will be the single most important document you will create for your wedding. Without a realistic timeline, your wedding may have unforeseen challenges and actually create more work for you (or your family) on your big day.

As a wedding planner we create one master itinerary for our couples. The only time they will see this master plan is before the wedding. This document will include both wedding party information and vendor information (which we like to call a production schedule). We personally like to color code because at the wedding any member of our team can easily glance at the itinerary and know immediately which tasks apply to vendors vs. wedding party. This may be an option you would like to consider, because it is important to understand both vendor needs and personal needs when planning your wedding day.

Before we begin there are key vendors that you need to contact to know their schedule needs.

1. Your Photographer – knowing when he/she wants to begin your pictures is very important (taking into consideration if you are getting all your photos done before the wedding or some before/after your wedding). You’ll also want to check the length of time you contracted them for to be at your wedding so you won’t schedule events after they are suppose to leave.

2. Caterer – have a detailed conversation with your caterer to understand their needs for setup (for instance; if you are providing rented linens they may want those a day before your wedding so they can set your tables). You will also need to know how long it will take to serve your wedding guests so you can appropriately gauge the timeline at the reception.

3. Florist/Decorator – they will need to know all the setup times that they can get into the reception venue and church as well as break out times. Remember if the reception venue says that you need to be out of their facility by midnight, you can’t end your wedding at 12:00am. You’ll have to end earlier so all decorations, personal items and your entertainment has time to breakdown and remove their items.

4. Hairdresser/Makeup Artist- this person is important because you’ll get information as to when to start your wedding day and know how long it will take to be ready to get to the church to start pictures. More often, the entire wedding party is joining you, so we see entire wedding parties starting their hair/makeup at the salon at 8am in the morning so they can all be done to make to the church for photos.

Creating the Timeline

So let’s begin. Always start at the start time of your wedding and work backwards to figure out the timeline at the beginning of your day. Let’s say your wedding ceremony starts at 1:30pm (that is what is printed on the invitation). That would mean that you need to have everything done (photos, décor, etc) by half an hour before hand. So 1:00pm because the “starting time” for your wedding for all the vendors and wedding party.

Now you will work your way backwards from that point, beginning with start time and finish time for your photography and then to your hair/makeup. You’ll want to be sure to schedule setup times for your cake, caterer, entertainment, reception decorating, bartenders, and caterer.

We like to create timelines that are in 15 minute increments. Understanding that may not always be possible or realistic, but it is always a good idea to “pad” your timeline with extra minutes. For example, if it takes 20 minutes to get from your hair salon to the church, then simply allow 30 minutes in the timeline.

It will read:

10am Girls conclude hair appointments and leave for the church

10:30am Girls arrive at church to dress

11am Photos begin for bride (insert your name), bridesmaids and bride’s family

11:30pm Groom (insert real name), groomsmen and ushers arrive at church, dressed

It is our experience that weddings take a life of their own and sometimes you are ahead of schedule and then behind schedule, and then suddenly on time! It’s no big deal…it all works out in the end, but you can’t foresee one of your bride maids taking longer on their hair or a flat tire. The one constant will be the time you actually walk down the aisle, especially if you are having a church wedding. Priests and Pastors like to start ON TIME, because there may be more activities going on in the church after your wedding (confessions, mass, etc).

After the wedding you’ll want to estimate how much time it will take to complete the ceremonial activities. For instance, 300 guests and you want to do a receiving line? Let’s calculate, if it took only 30 seconds to greet every guest it would take 45 minutes! You may have backed yourself into a corner for post wedding photo opportunities.

In the timeline, you’ll want to include every single vendor you have contracted. You will want to have an arrival time and a departure time. This allows you to look at your wedding on paper and you can literally walk yourself through the day.

Finally when you have completed this master itinerary document (don’t be surprised if it is 5-6 pages long), you’ll want to remove most of the vendor information and downsize it for the wedding party to distribute at rehearsal. Your bridesmaids don’t need to know when your cake is going to be delivered at the reception venue.

You will want to include these important times for everyone:
start time Hair/Makeup
start time Arrival at Church
start time Starting time for photos: (break it out for wedding party/parents, grandparents, children, extra family members. Usually it is not necessary for grandparents to show up 2 hours before the wedding for photos).
est times General flow of the day for special events; toasts, dances, cake cutting, etc.

Finally when you have completed this beautiful master plan of your entire day, give it to someone else. NO BRIDE should be ever be holding her wedding day itinerary. If you are not hiring a wedding planner or coordinator for your wedding day, then ask a family member or friend to implement your plans. But it should NOT be a person in your wedding party. That’s right! Your MOH should be with YOU, helping YOU…not running around contacting vendors or answering the hundreds of questions that happen during a wedding.
Plan on!

This article was submitted by the uber-fabulous Saundra Hadley.
Saundra is owner and event engineer with planning…forever events

registering!

Well, we began our registering during our Holiday vacations. I of course loved it, and lets just say he only "liked" it :) No, but it really is kind of stressful. Especially for my fiance and I, since we're not living together until after the big day, we really don't have much. Which means we're hoping for all necessities as wedding gifts.

Here's our run-down as of now...

We have registries set up at Crate & Barrel, Macy's, and Bed, Bath & Beyond. We're inviting around 75 couples/single people to make around 100 guests. They suggest we register for around 150 gifts to accommodate for showers, etc.

So far we have...

29 items at Crate & Barrel
16 items at Macy's
32 items at Bed, Bath & Beyond

...for a grand total of 77 items!

Yikes! We have some shopping to do!!!

flowers

My mom and I are making a trip to San Clemente sometime this week (tomorrow hopefully!) to meet with our florist, among other things. The florist we're heading towards is Downtown Flowers, a local San Clemente florist. I've seen her (Krista) featured on Style Me Pretty, and think she does beautiful work. I'm so excited to see her ideas - and she fits within our budget! Score!

Here are some ideas I L-O-V-E...

These obviously aren't my colors, but I love the idea. It looks very vintage chic! Love the succulents, different shades of roses, and I am swooning over those deep purple flowers thrown in there.

One of my favorites is hydrangeas. I've always dreamed of having lots and lots of hydrangeas at my wedding - and did you know they're beautiful dry also? Love these classic white, and the greens.
I'm not sure what these are called (anyone?), but I've been seeing more and more of them in bouquets lately. Pretty cool!

Succulents! They add such a unique, almost rough, feel to a pretty-pretty bouquet. I think it's a great way to add greens without being so cliche. Beautiful!

caterers, djs, oh my!

Booked our DJ today. Here he is in action, Emiliano! :) We're going with "Fly By Nights" DJs because they were the most affordable I could find, but at the same time giving us everything I need/wanted. They're going to be there an hour early to set everything up, including music for the ceremony and reception. I chose this guy here because I like how he mixes all the music together! Check him out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYtjhlQ4D98

I also got really excited (see how the little things excite you while planning a wedding) when I saw this picture of the buffet recently on our caterer's blog, Jay's Catering. This is just like the one we're going to have! So pretty!

We're still deciding on the chairs we're going to have. Our catering package comes with these chairs shown, but we're thinking of upgrading. Help! Ideas?

We also set our date for our engagement shots with our photographer, He & She Photography, which I'm SO excited about! January 7th!

more ideas from martha...

I was trying to think of a fun idea for guests to "send us off" from our ceremony instead of bubbles, bells, petals or rice...I saw this DIY flags that I thought were really fun. How hard can this be? I love the sheer fabrics....
I found this on Martha too, cute idea for escort cards. Fabric inside frames with the numbers pinned inside. Love it!

inspired by martha

So you may or may not know this, but I have a major girl crush on Martha Stewart (I know, pathetic). She is just so classy (minus the whole prison thing) with the perfect mix of crafty-do it yourself-ness. Does that make sense? Haha.

I saw these today while browsing Martha Stewart Weddings (no need to buy the glossy magazine, browse for FREE). Such great ideas to add to the list...yikes, do I like too much??

I am loving the top right STD (woah, weird) with the finger and string. It'll fit perfect with our invite look, maybe with a picture on the back? Hmm...ideas are flowing.


I'm also loving this guest book featured from a wedding on Martha Stewart. Their whole them was elementary school because the bride & groom met when they were kids. Looks so cute. See, you can do anything and class it up. I already purchased my polaroid online, just waiting for it to come in. I found a "like new" pre-used camera on amazon for around $17. I just need to find the film, and I love this idea of placing the photo corners in the book for guests to place their pictures in. I was wondering how I would go about having everyone stick their picture into the book...problem solved!

more stuff i like...

wish tree

Okay, I may just like way too much stuff that I see. Love this idea of a wish tree. Photo booth (which I'm in the works of planning) and a wish tree? Too much? What do you think?

Here's a link to Here Comes the Guide - a tutorial of how to make your own! Lovely!

cute wedding from smp

I saw this wedding on SMP that had such amazing diy ideas. Almost all her vendors were ones from etsy. Some ideas I loved:

yummmmy!

Should I be worred that I am noticing a lot of dessert posts lately on here? Probably because I rarely eat a dessert these days (other than Fro Yo, which barely counts). I love using the "wedding diet" excuse with people.

These pictures were sent over by my event coordinator from our catering company. I had told her how we didn't want a wedding cake (WHAT? YES --- NO CAKE!!) and she sent over some amazing other options.

ohhh-emmm-geee

Holy fantastic idea - who doesn't love a doughnut? And yes, I'm now officially blogging while at work (shhh...don't tell).

escort cards...{place cards}

I read recently, probably in my new Mindy Weiss Big Wedding Book, that technically "escort cards" were used so male guests would know who they were escorting to their seats. The cards we put out so guests know where to sit are called "place cards".

I thought these were cute, and totally DIY-able. Maybe I'll have a sign on the table with these luggage tags about "traveling to your seat" or something totally and completely cheesy :) .

Here's another cute vintage luggage tag which I like...love the ribbon and metal...

table decor

So not only do I enjoy doing this because friends say nice things to me like how much they enjoy reading - which is lovely - I like to use this as a way for me to document things I like during this planning process.

I had a vision in my head from the beginning about table decorations and numbers. While blog browsing today I found these pictures on With This Ring... that fits my vision perfectly. I love the numbers, the framed menus, the simple flowers, antique-looking votive holders...

casa romantica

I was very excited to see featured on our caterer's blog, Jay's, our venue in an article, calling it the "Jewel of Orange County"...check it out!!

cocktail time!

Something I've been considering lately is how we're going to approach the cocktail/bar situation at our wedding. The caterer we're hiring is allowing us to bring our own booze (HUGE money saver), which was really important to us, especially since both my dad and brother are in the liquor business (cocktails at cost!).

I've read over and over that another way to save money and personalize your wedding is to have signature cocktails, along with beer and wine. I love this idea - and think it would be easier than trying to guess how much of each mixer, liquor, etc. to buy.



How delicious does this one look? Perfect for fall - it's an apple pie cocktail! It's made with agave nectar, apple pie spice, lemon juice, and apple vodka (they make apple vodka?)



Yummm...pink grapefruit mojito? Made with mint, lime, simple syrup, rum, grapefruit juice, grapefruit liquor, and sparkling water.

An idea I love that I might adopt for our day is having a cocktail menu themed "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue". I've seen classic cocktails for the "old" - like a gin and tonic; A "new" cocktail like a mango martini; "something borrowed" could be from a family member's past or best man/maid of honor's favorite drink; and "something blue" could be a blue cocktail like a Blue Hawaiian...

Hostess with the Mostess has tons of creative cocktail recipes - from a vanilla pumpkin pie martini to a strawberry peach daiquiri!

Another great resource is The Knot, you can search for cocktails by season, color, or watch a slideshow with lots of yummy drinks.

Bottoms Up! Cheers!!