Invite Reveal

It's been almost a week since we sent out our invitations, and since I'm already getting responses, I'll go ahead and give you a peek at them! Now if you remember anything about Mr. S and I, you will know that we work together for a company that designs and prints greeting cards. Needless to say, we had no problem designing and printing our invites.

Invitation - personal image

Response Card - personal image

Outer Envelope - personal image

I chose not to have Mr. S print them on the formal wedding stock they have in the print shop. I also chose not to have them printed in thermography, a printing process that raises the ink on the paper. I don't really have an explanation as to why I did not want to use these options, when they are so readily and easily available to me. The only thing I can think of, is that those types of printing make me think of traditional, formal weddings. And our style is nothing like that. So instead, I chose to print the invitation and response card on Stardream Crystal paper, by Gruppo Cordenons. Their Stardream line is one of my all-time favorites to use for so many things. The Crystal paper is an iridescent white stock, that can look anything from white to silver depending on the angle you view it from. Luckily for me, I have many contacts in the paper-buying world, and was able to get a pack from my favorite paper rep for free! Just one of the many many perks to being in this business :)

A close-up of the paper stock, with added contrast so you can see the iridescent effect - personal image

The envelope is just plain white. No liner, nothing fancy. I used the data-merge function in InDesign to lay out the names and addresses, which pulled the guests' information from my guest list spreadsheet. I also printed our return address on the back flap.

Finally, I chose the USPS's Vintage Seed Packet Forever Stamps. The USPS has some really nice "weddingy" options when it comes to stamps, but my love for gardening and flowers won over the traditional roses and hearts.

Vintage Seed Packet Forever Stamps - image courtesy USPS.com

Grand total spent on our wedding invitations: $46.00 for the stamps. Yes, that's it. I could have gone all out and done some really neat designs, pockets, layers, etc. But even with my connections we would have spent at least $200 or more on something like that. In my mind, it just wasn't necessary.

You may have noticed that our response card doesn't have an envelope. That is because I chose to do an online RSVP for our guests. After reading mixed reviews from other brides who have used this process, I decided to also give guests the option to call me directly to respond. Many of them already have our contact info anyway, so sending a quick text or making a call doesn't seem too out of the ordinary for most of them. I've already received back 24 "yes" and 6 "no" responses. So at this moment, we are at a 75% acceptance rate. I'll keep you posted on those numbers through the next few weeks.

Until next time, happy planning, and keep it frugal!

Miss Spaghetti

Petal Picking

As I mentioned in my last post, my next task is to pick some gosh darn flowers. Being the DIY freak that I am, I immediately wanted to do my own bouquets with artificial flowers (they don't die) and they are cheaper than real flowers, or so I thought. Once I started pricing out the two options, I began to realize that real flowers weren't so far out of my price range. I have yet to look at the local flower markets, but I'm really intrigued by some of the options for buying flowers online.

Once site I found is Fifty Flowers. I've read some good reviews about this place and I was especially excited when I found my beautiful white and lavender Dahlia on there!

Pink Lavender Button Dahlia flowers - Fiftyflowers.com

Yes, it looks pink. It's actually lavender, thank you very much. I LOVE how the petals fade from lavender to white inside. And the availability? Starts in June. Oh yeah! You can get 30 stems for $129.99 shipped. This, however, would only make about 2 bouquets, based on the amount used for my inspiration:

Dahlia bouquets wrapped in lily grass - Flowers by Shirley

My other fave flower? Ranunculus.

Ranunculus Flower - Fifty Flowers

Problem is I don't see any online in "our" color - lavender. And the price? $239.99 for 100 stems. A bit over my budget of $200. It's not out of the question, but I'd rather have some purples in there!

Now for the artificial options...

I found these pretty white and dark purple dahlias online:

Artificial Dahlia Stems - Afloral.com

But at a price of $5.29 per stem, it's actually cheaper to buy the real ones!

Conclusion: I love the lavender and white in the flowers. I like a soft and romantic look for the bouquets. I guess I'm not so particular as to "need" a certain type of flower, as long as it fits my colors and vision. Is that too much to ask? ;)

I have yet to check out the local pickings (hopefully this weekend). So we'll see what I can find. Anyone know of a particular kind of flower that might be what I'm looking for, that also wouldn't break the bank? How did you pick your flowers?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

A Productive Weekend

Happy Monday! I've been feeling pretty lazy lately in the wedding planning department, so this weekend had an extensive plan to get some shiz done:

• Bought the Little Noodle his wedding apparel-I couldn't believe how closely the shirt color matched to the groomsmen ties and bridesmaid dresses! $25 at good 'ol JCPenney. Can't beat that price, especially when he will probably only wear it the one time.

Boys 4 pc Suit Set (shirt, vest, pants and a cute little clip on tie) - JCPenney

• Bought the groomsmen ties and Mr. S's tie. I had a coupon for 50% off accessories at Men's Wearhouse, but they were on sale buy 1 get 1 free anyway, which ended up being the same price in the end.

The Groomsman's Tie - $10 on sale at Men's Wearhouse

A similar tie to Mr. S's (no pic available online of the actual one)-$20 on sale at Men's Wearhouse

• Finished our registry at Bed Bath & Beyond. I had already started it online (so convenient!), but I wanted us to go in to pick out certain things, like towels and sheets. I'm pretty picky on the softness and texture for stuff like that. As a prize for Mr. S being so patient and helpful as we ran through the store scanning things (I don't think many guys actually enjoy that), I bought him one of the items off the registry that he was really wanting...

Calphalon 2 Piece Egg and Omelet Utensil Set - $11.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond

You see, he likes to make scrambled eggs, but he only likes to use a fork, which is NOT acceptable on non-stick pans! I found these for him, and used a 20% off coupon. Now we're both happy :)

On the schedule for next weekend: buy a grey dress shirt and black vest for Mr. S to try on. MOH K and I are working on the guys apparel, and I really need a visual to see if it's going to work. More on that next time! Also, we are going to stop in at a couple local fresh flower markets to get some ideas and prices for bouquet flowers.

What wedding shtuff did you accomplish this weekend?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Let The Music Play

In other words, we've found our DJ! We met with Mike from Studio 616 on Wednesday. I can't say enough about how helpful he was with figuring out what we really need for a DJ. Remember when I talked about their DJ & photo booth package? Turns out we didn't really even need or want the photo booth, and Mike worked with us to create a package that was in our budget, but also gave us enough time for the DJ to be there for the whole event, ceremony included!

Even Mr. S, who is pretty hard to win over, was ready to sign him right then and there. So to everyone who is looking for a DJ in the Grand Rapids area, check them out!

Now that we have the tunage figured out, my next task is the flowers. I'm still on the fence about whether I want to go with real or artificial, and whether I want to DIY or let a pro handle it. So basically all I know at this point, is that I want some pretty purple flowers ;)

I love love love the look of an all Dahlia bouquet, but sadly, they will not be in season for my June wedding.

So delicate and natural! Dahlias wrapped with lily grasses. Image courtesy of Flowers by Shirley blog

I've asked a couple local florists if they have any other suggestions that might be a similar look. My budget will definitely play a factor, since I don't want to spend more than $200. I actually don't want to spend more than $100, but considering everything I need, I've accepted that I have to plan for a bit more. I need:

• 1 bridal bouquet
• 4 bridesmaid bouquets
• 1 grooms boutonierre
• 4 groomsmens boutonierres
• 2 dads boutonierres
• 6 mother/grandmother corsages

If anyone can do all that for under $100, sign me up! I'm pretty confident I could do it myself if I find the right flowers. I've heard Costco has a good variety and pricing. And there are a few fresh flower markets around here that we might have to stop in and check out this weekend. Did anyone else DIY their flowers? Any tips or regrets?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Feelin' Oh So Crafty

MOH K's Bachelorette Party is this Saturday at my house. I'm pretty prepared (aka: still hustling to get my house in order after having our tub and bathroom sink snaked Sunday and having black crap spewed all over the door and walls and toilet and floor...but hey at least the drains work now!). My bathroom is not even technically a bathroom, it's a commode. It's a closet filled with toilet, sink and tub. Seriously, it's tiny. But I take pride in finding ways to make it seem organized and not a complete mess. There is a white shelf thing over the toilet (like a toilet armoire) that is just shelves, no doors to close. So everything on these shelves is visible ALL the time. It drives me nuts. I wanted to get some of those fabric drawers like the ones that go in the little cube cubby hole organizers. But they were too big. And also upwards of $10 each. Ya right! So I set out to find a way to make my own.

I started with some random boxes that were headed for the recycle bin. Then I printed some cute designs on paper to wrap them in. I really didn't have a true plan in mind as far as what size, or how the paper would actually look when I wrapped it. So I started folding and cutting and just seeing what I ended up with. To my surprise, the first one came out pretty darn good! I began wrapping the paper around it, secured it using some handy dandy Scotch tape, and threw it up on the shelf to admire my handy work. Other than the box being a tiny bit warped from being smashed in a bag, it looked mighty good! I took some random crap that was on the shelf and put it in my new "deco box" (that's the official name I came up with) and the shelf looked better instantly.

Having had such success on the first try, I set out to make one to hold the washcloths that up until now just sat awkwardly on the shelf. No, I don't even have a linen closet. Pathetic. Using a cereal box, I folded and cut and used the stack of washcloths for sizing. Once I had something to work with, I wrapped it in a different pattern printout. It was a little more rickety than my first one, but looked good nonetheless. I plopped that thang on the shelf, put my washcloths in it, and stood in amazement at myself for actually following through with a craft project, and being happy with the result. I made Mr. S immediately pause his Xbox game and get up and take a look. He was thoroughly impressed, of course.

Now the next one I actually took the time to take some pics while I was working. This one was designed to be a q-tip holder with a flip-top lid. Yes, I am that OCD that even the q-tip box doesn't belong on the shelf...so here's how it went down (all pics personal):

I started with a box that I cut down and reassembled to make it fit some q-tips (hint: use actual q-tips for measuring)

Next, I cut the top off a baggie and placed it inside the box. I thought this might be more sanitary since q-tips go in your ears. I used a glue-tape-dispenser that kind of looks like a whiteout pen to adhere the top of the baggie to the box.

Then I wrapped the box with the printed paper. I chose stripes for this little guy.

And here's a pic from the front with the baggie.

Next came the flip top lid. I cut a single piece of cardboard to fit the top, and then folded another little piece to make a hinge. Glued that puppy onto the inside of the box, and the underside of the lid.

Ta-da! My new q-tip holder deco box with the lid closed, and also finished with q-tips inside it.

The moral of the story is, sometimes you just have to try something to really know if it's going to work or not. I honestly did not think I'd make it happen, just because I often have these little craft projects that end up being half done and stuck in a box in the basement. But it was worth a shot, and it ended up working out just fine!

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

I'm Etching, Baby!

So you remember my post a while back on how I wanted to etch my own glassware for Mr. S and I to use at the wedding? Well...I finally got a minute to try it out last night, in between baking my very first batches of cake pops:

MMMMMMM! I've gotten rave reviews at our work food day today - Personal Image

More on that process in a later post. Right now I'm getting down to my first experience in glass etching. I started with the following items:

• Armour Etch Cream - $8.99 at Hobby Lobby + 40% off coupon = $5.39
• Foam Brush - around $.50 at Michael's (I bought 2 just in case)
• Contact Paper - $1 at Dollar Tree
• Xacto Knife - already had one
• A printout of what I wanted on the glass
• Gloves to protect your hands (that shiz will burn!) - Handsome FI got from work for me:)
• Glass product of your choosing

Here is what my printout looked like:

Personal Image & Design

A quick tip: I originally tried to use our monogram but the fact that there were too many loops and cut-outs made it impossible to do correctly. I created the above design and cut out the black areas instead. This allowed the uncut parts to still be connected and not just fall right off.

I laid my printout on top of a small piece of the contact paper. Using my Xacto, I cut out the black areas. When I try this again, I will print my design on thicker cardstock and cut that out, then trace the design onto the contact paper and cut it separately. I had a lot of jaggies when I cut through the printout and the contact paper.

Once I had everything trimmed out, I peeled off the backing of the contact paper, and stuck it to my wine glass. Other than it being a bit bigger than I thought, it worked pretty well. A little tough to line up though!

I think it's straight?! - Personal Image

Next, I put on my gloves and started glooping on the etching cream with the foam brush. I had read online that you really need to coat it on there good for best results. So I did.

Gloopin' it on - Personal Image

Once I had it pretty well glooped on there, I let it sit for a few. Then I noticed that it had started to drip toward the edge of the contact paper on the sides. I couldn't have that! So I started brushing it off a bit. After a few minutes of that, I decided I might as well just take it off and see how it turned out. Since I couldn't remember how long to leave it on, and the bottle had no good instructions on it, I wiped off the cream with the foam brush and put it right back in the bottle ($5.39 for 3 ounces?? you better believe I'm saving that stuff!).

Then I slowly started lifting off the contact paper. I immediately ran water over it in the sink and started wiping the excess off with a paper towel. This seemed to work pretty well. I dried my glass, and stood back to look at my masterpiece.

Ta-da! Not too shabby! - Personal Pic

Close up, you can see the jaggies from my not-so-good cutting - Personal Image

All in all, I think the first go round was pretty successful. The etching looks pretty good even leaving it on for a total of only 5 minutes or so. I'm glad I have plenty of wine glasses to practice on! For a total investment of under $8, I will (after some perfecting) have some lovely glasses for us to drink out of on our wedding day!

Did you have any DIY projects you were successful with on the first try?

Happy planning!

Miss Spaghetti

More Vistaprint Deals!!

You might remember last month when I posted about the label deal at Vistaprint. Well, it's back! And this time, there's more free/cheap deals to be had!

For a limited time (not sure how limited, since I can't find a date anywhere), you can score 6 products for FREE, all you pay is shipping. This includes the following products:

• 250 business cards
• 10 photo cards
• photo wall calendar
• ceramic mug
• t-shirt
• canvas tote bag

Just stop over here to choose your free item. Design it and add it to your cart, then come back and use the link again to add other items (if you want). Note that adding pictures, changing fonts/colors, etc. might incur extra charges on some products, so pay attention to what you select. Also note that you will pay shipping for all of these items, but I just had 4 items in my cart and shipping was just under $10 for all of it.

While you're there, you can also get 140 labels for $3.99. I uploaded my own design and they were still that price. Here's a peek at them:

Our return address labels - via Vistaprint

Also, I wanted to provide a way for our guests to share photos they take at our wedding, so I made a share site on Shutterfly. Guests can log in and upload their pictures so we can all see them. I wanted a cheap and easy way to give this info to our guests, so I used Vistaprint's free business card deal to make some cards with all the info on them. Do I need 250? Certainly not, but I can't really think of a cheaper and easier way to make them! I used one of their templates so they wouldn't charge me extra.

Photo sharing information card - via Vistaprint

At least it's a shade of purple. And the design isn't bad either. Some of the designs they have on there are, well, a little "ech". A little tip if you haven't used Vistaprint before: if you don't want text on a line, just leave the line blank. It took a little finessing to get everything on this bad boy, but in the end I'm satisfied with how it turned out! If you want to take advantage of any of these deals, I would recommend getting over there sooner than later, it's hard to say how long it will last!

Did anyone use a photo sharing site for guests to upload their pictures? What site did you use and how did it work for you?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

So Inviting

As you may or may not know, I am a graphic designer. My handsome fiance Mr. S is a printing pressman. Therefore, I feel a lot of pressure to create some amazing stationery for our wedding. The good thing is that I enjoy designing so much, that I don't mind spending a lot of time on our paper goods. The other good thing (and there really are many others) is that I have an entire print shop at my disposal, meaning a nice discount :)

The tough part for me, is spending a lot of money on something that people other than my parents and myself will just throw away after they put the date and time in their calendar. So my goal is to use typography and color to design some unique wedding stationery, without spending more than...drum roll please...$150!

How will I manage this? Partly with the help of the above mentioned discounts, and partly by cutting out things that we really don't need. Accommodations, directions, reception info, all things that will be on our wedding website. Response cards? I'm still debating this with myself, because I would love to have online RSVP. I have read mixed reviews on this, but overall I feel that the amount of money and time spent trying to get people to respond with a little card isn't really worth it, when you still end up having to track down a quarter of your guest list anyway since it's too much trouble for them to drop the pre-addressed and stamped envelope in the mail. Plus, Wedding Wire offers a free online RSVP option through their wedding websites, and I would really like to utilize that!

Now onto the design details. I LOVE scripty fonts. One of my favorites is Burgues Script (drool!). The one thing I designed early on is our monogram:

Personal Image and Design

And I'll use that font with my fave serif font, Filosofia, on all of our stationery. For our save the date postcards, I'll tease you with the engagement pic that I want to use. But I'll save the design reveal until after they are sent out...

Katy Batdorff Photography

How much do you plan to spend on your wedding stationery? Did anyone use online RSVP? If so, how did it work for you?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Bottom's Up!

Now that we've semi-decided on a caterer for our food, the subject of beverages has reared itself. Just to recap, our venue is a county park, and allows us to bring in whatever food/beverages/alcohol we like, with the exception of liquor (which we didn't plan on having anyway). The caterer we are (probably) using offers non-alcoholic beverage service at $.50 per person for each type of beverage we choose. That would include tea, lemonade, water (bottles), or fruit punch. They also offer cans of pop for $1.25 per person.

After talking with Mom S, Step-Mom S, and Mr. S this weekend, I've come up with some ideas for the whole beverage situation, so I'm going to get mathema-technical on you for a few and share my research. I've decided that providing water and a selection of pop for our guests would be sufficient since we're also having beer and wine (I'll leave that discussion for another post...)

If we do beverages ourselves...

We can provide pop in cans for much less than the caterer. A good deal on a 12-pack of pop in this area is about $3.70 including deposit of $.10 per can. If we were to provide a variety of pop, and figure about 2 cans per guest (at 150 guests), we would need 25 12-packs, totaling $92.50 with deposit. That equals out to $.62 per person.

I figured we could do without the tea, lemonade, punch, etc. But I do want to provide water for non-pop drinkers. If we went with bottled water, which I'm pretty against due to the negative impact it has on the environment, we would need 300 bottles, or 13 24-packs. I can find those on sale for about $2.50. Since there's no deposit on these, we would be paying $32.50 for water.

The other option I came up with for water would be to simply use tap water, and buy pitchers from the dollar store to put on the tables. But I will have 18 guest tables with 8 guests per table, and would probably want at least 2 pitchers per table. That would mean 36 pitchers, and $38.16 with tax for just the pitchers. I can make my own ice, and water is free, but it still looks like it would be cheaper to go with the darn bottles! Plus, someone would have to be watching the pitchers like a hawk in case they need to be refilled. Who wants to do that?!

So our grande totale for DIY beverages: $125

While some might think having pop cans and bottles of water might qualify as "tacky", I personally could care less if I were a guest at a wedding that had them. It's at a park, nothing fancy, and I really care more about people having fun and enjoying the day than worrying about what they will think of our beverage selection :)

If we have our caterer provide beverages... 

We could go with the same selections as in the above scenarios (pop and water). The water would be $.50 per person, totaling $75. The pop would be $1.25 per person, totaling $187.50.

Grande totale for catered bev's: $262.50

So what do you think, pay more for someone else to have the headache of providing all these drinks, or save the $137 and do it ourselves? Am I overestimating, underestimating, perf-estimating (perfect estimating)? Anyone out there have an experience to share? Am I just plain bat sh*t crazy? ;)

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Michael's Coupon

Fellow wedding planners-there is a new Michael's coupon available on their website. It is for 25% off your entire purchase, SALE ITEMS INCLUDED! Their normal coupons are good only on regular priced items, so pair this one with a sale and you could score some great deals!

The coupon is good through tomorrow (Saturday 9/29). Check out the details here. It does exclude clearance, and a few brands, but I LOVE the fact that you can use it on sale items. And they let you use the coupon from your smart phone as well!

Happy shopping!
Miss Spaghetti

Step by Step

If you haven't guessed by the name of my blogs, I am a bit of a budgeter. So then why, I ask you, is it so hard for me to focus on one of the most important essentials of wedding planning? THE BUDGET! I don't know why. Perhaps it's because I am so excited to get to the fun details, like decorations, flowers, etc. and see how good of deals I can get on them:)

However, I can't disagree with myself on that. Investigating the costs of things like that will actually help me to set a realistic budget. If I don't know how much a DJ costs, how can I budget for it, right? So, how important is the budget in your wedding planning? How quickly did you set one, and did you stick to it?

Happy planning!

Miss Spaghetti