How to build a wedding budget

I've seen budgets come up quite a bit recently, so I thought I'd throw in my two cents for those of you who are at the beginning of your planning. Using this method we were able to stick pretty honestly to our budget so far:

1) Before you set a total "budget" number decide what will be included in that number.

2) Then get a quote from 2-3 vendors in each category to get an idea of what is to be expected in your area. Our budget categories are as follows:

a) Reception
b) Attire/Beauty
c) Ceremony
d) Flowers/decorations
e) Music
f) Photography
g) Stationery
h) Transportation/Lodging
i) Favors

3) Then set your budget from this information. At this point you'll want to sit down with both sets of parents (or whoever else ) is going to help pay and get an idea of what they will contribute. This will help you determine what (if anything) you and your fiance will have to save.

4) Include tax, tips, delivery/shipping cost in all your budget items because this is a fast way to blow your budget. I can't stress this enough! If you had these percentages factored in from the beginning you'll be much better off.

5) Put it all in one place (I used excel b/c I heart excel). Once you have an idea for each category -- fill in the expenses as you start to make commitments so you can see where you may have to cut back.

I hope this helps some of you who are just starting to plan! If you are successful you might just have enought money left over for this:

Fresh Flowers...

Not only something that (most) every bride wants at her wedding, but the best way to describe our fantastic florist Dana (owner/designer) of Fresh Floral Design Studio in Shoreham, Vermont. This is one of the few vendors that I was very picky about mostly because I didn't know exactly what I wanted. I know that sounds confusing, but I interviewed one photographer (after poring through hundreds of websites), tasted one bakery's cakes, but to decide on a florist I met with three -- all in one day!

When you're planning your wedding 300 miles away you have to get as much done as possible and be very decisive. I'm ok with the first thing, but the latter is a little more difficult for me.

So I made appointments with three well respected Vermont florists. The first was a mother/daughter team with tons of experience, the second was someone who studied in NYC and was just starting her Vermont business (Dana), and the third had a TON of experience, a store front and a slew of knot raves.

The thing that made Dana stand out for me was her creativity, style and her communication style. As I've mentioned before, I'm a very visual person. I didn't know a lot about flowers so I knew I wouldn't be able to walk into a floral meeting and say "I want these 4 flowers in this accent color, blah blah blah." Dana's first questions were about the rest of the wedding and my personal style. Then she went through a series of images she'd either torn from magazines or images of her own work in contrasting styles. It felt slightly like a psychology test, but she asked me to just "react" to each image.

You can just tell what a kind and calm person she is from her picture.

From here we were able to nail down what my floral style would be and she could put together some ideas. The other two florists sent me a written proposal with names of flowers they suggested and prices. Dana sent me a link to a private page on her website dedicated to visual ideas she had in mind for us! Perfect. I was able to see what she had in mind, which when you're talking about floral design, really is the most important thing.

So here are some of the first images she sent me with her notes:


The bridesmaids' bouquets would be larger versions of these bundles (quite a bit larger.) These bundles would go at each place setting. We were trying to keep the budget low, and dried lavender would be less expensive. We opted for fresh flowers for the girls, but the bundles will go on the place settings with my "mini-moo" cards tied to them!

The inspiration for your bouquet, but yours wouldn't be as leafy. This one has freesia, stephanotis (we would sub bouvardia) and ranunculus. I would leave out the mini calla lilies (very expensive flowers!) and add waxflower (see picture below.) Not only did she know I HATED calla lilies -- it worked out because they are too expensive! Score.

Freesia boutonniere Love them!


Here you can see yellow, white, and lavender freesia (top row) and white
bouvardia (bottom row, left.) This was to give me an idea of the shades of yellow and purple of each variety of flower.


Yellow ranunculus just in case you like it...it's a strong yellow like the freesia and yellow tulips. I began wanting pale yellow, green and cream (I didn't have purple in mind). But when she showed me the vibrant shades of yellow in the flowers I loved we decided to cut the yellow all together and go with purple -- lavender and tulips mostly.


Small square plates would be filled with dried lavender bloom and floating votives would be in the center in glass holders.

From here we went back and forth for weeks about details with more photos until I was totally happy with what we'd chosen! I feel totally confident now that I will LOVE what I see when she delivers the bouquets, when I walk into the church and when we arrive at the reception.

If you're getting married in the Vermont/New Hampshire area I HIGHLY recommend you contact Dana at Fresh Floral Design Studio!! Get a sense of how "it all comes together" on her website.

The Inspiration Board "bug"

I got the "inspiration board" bug after frequenting another wedding blog -- "Style Me Pretty." I just loved the idea of having a whole "look/style" for a wedding in one place. Really gets the creative juices flowing!

So I put one together and decided to email it to her and to www.weddingbee.com (which I tear through every day). Why not? And to my surprise they both liked it so much it was posted on both blogs! Here it is on "Style Me Pretty" (click HERE) and here it is on weddingbee.com (click HERE).

So I figured if it was good enough for "real" [aka: well read/followed blogs] then it was good enough for me!

Here it is:

My fiance and I met when we were 5 and 6 years old. He was a cub scout and childhood friend of my brother's. Fast forward to my last year in college. He developed a crush on me -- I wasn't interested. Three years later, after a long friendship and friends who really wanted to see us get together -- it just clicked.

We live in New York City but have decided to invite 60 of our closest friends and family to Burlington, VT for a great weekend! I can't wait for September 8th.


Top left: Lovely brown brocade pattern that appears through out our stationery.

Top center: Cynthia Rowley shoes that tie in with my short Romona Keveza Legends gown

Top right: Aquamarine and diamond earrings which were a college graduation gift from my grandmother who passed away a week before my graduation. We were VERY close. This is my way to have her with me, my something old and my something blue.

Center left: A lavender bundle which inspired our place cards. We will have "mini moo" cards attached with our engagement photo on one side and the name of the guest calligraphed on the back. (see them HERE).

Middle: Inspiration for my custom wedding ring to fit perfectly with my engagement which was my mother's.

Center right: Inspiration for my marzipan pear wedding cake (see Marzipan Pear post)! So excited. This also inspired vases filled with pears at the center of each of our 3 long tables at our restaurant reception.

Bottom left: The Church Street Market place in downtown Burlington, Vermont where we're hosting our "destination" wedding (from CT/NYC). We will walk with our guests from the church around the corner to the restaurant for cocktails on the marketplace and then head upstairs for dinner.

Bottom center: The stunning Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. The inspiration for my short Romona Keveza Legends gown.

Bottom right: Inspiration for my brown and almond Ann Taylor bridesmaids dresses. This was the first color inspiration for the whole day.

Wedding dress budgeting...

A Note about budgeting for a wedding dress: Don't forget that there are other costs involved than just the sticker price of the gown.

Other costs of your bridal look include:

a) Fittings, which can be 15% or more of the gown
b) Tax (which can sometimes be avoided by shipping out of state -- but then there are shipping costs)
c) a veil
d) shoes
e) a bra for the dress (can be anywhere from $70-$150 I found)

Although my gown was $1,770, I budgeted $2500 which is about what I ended up spending as follows:

Romona Keveza Gown: $1,770
Pattern change (opening the cup): $300
Alterations: $200
Tax: $173.36
Subtotal: $2,443.35

Long-line Bra (from Bra Tenders): $99
Veil (from Rose's Bridal): $50
Shoes (from zappos.com): $180 (a wedding gift from a friend)

Grand Total: $2,772.36

Actual cost to me minus the shoes: $2,592.36

This is just a little over where I said I'd planned on being, so I was very happy. But notice the whole look cost just over $1,000 more than the gown itself.

Wedding dress shopping...

Shopping for a wedding dress can be the most exciting thing you've ever done (after getting engaged to the love of your life that is). But it's not easy -- that's for sure. NYC brides have an amazing number of option, but where to start?

1. I'd highly recommend you start by pouring through bridal magazines and websites. The knot.com has a place to view many gowns by designer, price, neckline or silhouette. Just tear things out that you are drawn to -- for the shape, the fabric, the neckline -- whatever. No limits!

2. Most people will tell you to set a budget first and then start looking with that in mind. If you have self control, and the budget is a reality, I say forget it! Start by "dream dress" shopping. Try on all prices and shapes of dresses to see how they feel on you. You can love something in a magazine that will look terrible on your figure and be surprised by something you wouldn't expect to love. Don't have "the dress" set in stone in your head before you start trying gowns on. I began thinking I wanted a romantic dress with lace and it couldn't be strapless (see below -- my gown = no lace and strapless)!

3. I started with the NY Magazine's Wedding Guide. They have a pretty comprehensive list of Bridal Salons in the city and it was a great way to start planning.

4. I went to salons that carried dresses I knew I couldn't afford and tried on very expensive designer gowns: Reem Acra, Carolina Herrera, Monique Lhuillier etc., as I knew I'd never get the opportunity to do this again! Then I also went to places like Kleinfields (which was not a positive experience to be honest) and RK Bridal (which was overwhelming).

I tried on the following dresses (all across the boards in style and price):



Angel Sanchez



Carolina Hererra



Monique Lhullier



Le Spose di Gio

5. Then I got back to reality and went back to Mark Ingram's Bridal Salon where I began. I ended up buying the least expensive dress they carried (at $1770), but I LOVED it! Here is what I ended up buying -- a short Romona Keveza gown:



Mark Ingram's gowns usually start at $3,000, but if you're not looking for amazing detail and expensive lace, you might be surprised -- I was!

Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier
110 East 55th Street, 8th Floor
NY, NY

By appointment only -- call 212 319 6778.

NYC Brides - Carolina Herrera Trunk Show

Mark Ingram's Bridal Ateiler, where I got my wedding gown, is holding a Carolina Herrera Trunk Show on July 5, 6 and 7. It's by appointment only, so if you've been dreaming of a CH dress, now is your chance and they usually offer about a 10% incentive to buy at the show. See below for more info (click to enlarge):



Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier
110 East 55th Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY
To schedule an appointment 212-319-6778

PS. I'd HIGHLY recommend my sales girl Anju. She has been amazing to work with -- very honest, kind and gentle. I NEVER felt pressured to buy my gown and that's one of the major reasons I did in the end. LOVE HER!

Mother of the Bride Dress

Well after two full weekends of shopping over the past few months my mother and I finally found her a dress this past weekend! Hooray! My mother is petite and very fashionable but has her own style. It would just not do to have her in a typical "mother of the bride" outfit. We went to every department store in NYC and finally found "the dress" at Bergdorff Goodman (on sale thank goodness). I only have a quick shot of her in the dress with a camera phone -- I promise to take more later.

My mother in her dress:



I wish I was more help, but my mother doesn't shop on line. She hates shopping at all really so it was a challenge to even get her to stop being cranky long enough to get in and out of options! But we finally did it :)

Was this a difficult task for you too? Anyone else with lovely petite fashionable mothers? Where did you get your dress? Feel free to post pictures to share to help others with this!

Fruit of the month?

So the challenge of what to get my parents (let alone my future in-laws) as a wedding gift has been driving me nuts. My parents have so much "stuff" and I know they don't need anything else to collect dust. Then it came to me...every year around the holidays I get them amazingly yummy Harry & David royal riviera pears.



Ah ha I thought -- Fruit of the month club for a year! That's it :)



I was feeling very smug over the weekend when my mother was talking about what to get a couple for their wedding (my brother's best friend from high school) and she thought "fruit of the month club" but they don't have a doorman at their apartment so that wouldn't work too well. I just smiled and nodded feeling very accomplished!

Invitations arrived in 2 days!

I couldn't believe it when I headed home for the BBQ this weekend that the invitations that I mailed on Thursday arrived two days later (on Saturday) to many of our Connecticut relatives. That means that everyone will have our invitation in their "hot little hands" by the end of the week for sure (even the one that flew to the Caribbean)!

I can't WAIT to start getting the RSVP's back -- this is more exciting that I anticipated for sure. The closer we get the more real it feels and I can't wait for September 8th! Just a quick reminder of what I'll be getting in my mail box:



I'll keep you posted on the responses ("accept with pleasure" vs "decline with regret").

BBQ welcome

Today my future in-laws hosted a BBQ at their house to introduce me to my future father-in-laws side of the family. Some of my fiance's uncles he hadn't seen in going on ten years, so this was a big family gathering. Because they aren't very close non of them will be attending the wedding, so it was nice to get to meet them all in a casual setting. I had a really nice time and was glad to meet many members of my fiance's family.

There were also a number of my future mother-in-laws family there all of whom I've gotten to know quite well over the last two years. My fiance's aunt and uncle gave us our first wedding present at the BBQ because she just couldn't wait. Apparently she bought it in March and because the BBQ was in our honor and she got our wedding invitation in the mail yesterday, she figured why not!

So I present to you our first wedding gift:



Oh yes, that's right! The coveted Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer! I'm SOOOO excited. It was very generous. The bargain hunter in me hoped she'd gotten a great deal on it. My fiance assures me she did as she had him take it of our Crate & Barrel Registry months ago. So excited.

My first fitting!

Yesterday afternoon I went to Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier in NYC for my first dress fitting. My sweet sales girl Anju was there with me and made me feel so comfortable as always. It was such a great feeling to have MY dress on in my size. It needs a few minor alterations to the bodice but the skirt is perfect.

My dress is a Romona Keveza from her Legends Collection. I brought my shoes (Cynthia Rowley's Trilogy), my veil (from Rose's Bridal) and my earrings that I'll be wearing to get the feeling of the whole look. So without further ado -- here are the photos from the first fitting session.

My dress hanging (it's a top and a skirt)



The front of the dress with the shoes, veil and earrings



The back of the dress (with my fitter Melissa in the shot). This is my favorite shot because you get the back with the veil, and the front and side in both mirrors.



Close up of the back. I had the buttons arrive separately because they were heavy enough to pull the zipper cover (not sure if this has a name) open so you could see the zipper. I didn't want that, so we decided to have them put the buttons back on, as it's a nice detail, on the other side to obscure the zipper. No one will know but me, the seamstress and now all of you! In the picture there are a few pinned so you can see what it will look like.



And for those of you who are interested, here are pictures of the earrings and shoes:





The earrings were a college graduation gift from my grandmother (who passed away a week before my graduation) and the shoes are Cynthia Rowley Trilogy from www.zappos.com. Note the signature blue soles. So my earrings and my shoes are my "something blue."

So, what do you think ladies? Anyone else a short dress bride? If so was it your first or second wedding? I know the short trend is very popular among subsequent marriages, but I wasn't sure about a first (and last) time bride like me!

Wedding dress inspiration

My wedding dress inspiration came from one of my favorite acrtresses of all time -- Audrey Hepburn. When I was a kid (who am I kidding -- I still do) I watched her movies over and over again -- Sabrina, Roman Holiday, My Fair Lady, Charade, Breakfast at Tiffany's etc.

Well in her movie, Funny Face (1957), she wears the sweetest wedding dress -- a la a Degas ballerina. I had forgotten all about this until I showed the picture of my dress to a dear friend of mine. And she said "Ooooh...so perfect -- it's so Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face!" I rushed home to remind myself as it had been years and did a quick google photo search and sure enough, she was right.

Here is what I found:





My first dress fitting is this afternoon (actually in an hour so I HAVE to jet). I'll be sure to post pictures of the fitting. My gown from is a Romona Kevaza Legends Collection.

Our invitations are finished!

Just before the post office closed yesterday I brought our invitations to be mailed! I only had 43 of them so I asked sweetly if I could have them hand cancelled. The tired PO worker thought for a second and then handed me the stamp and ink pad and said, "Here -- you can do it yourself." It wasn't a nasty tone, just she didn't want to do it, but had no problem having me do it. I'm sure it broke all kinds of union rules, but yippee for me! SO, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on invitations and how I managed to keep within my budget without DIY.

I knew we didn't have enough money in our budget to have our invitations custom designed/made, so I started looking at on-line resources like mygatsby.com and others. I was discouraged because I was looking for something with style and an old fashioned feeling (vague I know, but I knew I'd know when I saw it) that wouldn't break the bank.

Then my mother happened to mention to me that the daughter of a colleague of hers designed wedding stationary for a living and I should check out her website. That is how I found Aimee at Creative Montage (www.creativemontage.com). It turns out she has about 25 beautiful "pre-designed/packaged" invitations and that's when I found "the one!" It's their "Brooke." And here it is:

Our Save-the-Date that we mailed in January:



Hooray -- our invitations arrived on April 30th! And this is what I saw when I opened the box:



Invitation:



Close-Up:



RSVP Postcard:





Reception Card:



And finally, the Thank You card:



Creative Montage's prices were competitive with MyGatsby.com, but I found her designs to be fun, varied and classy. I'd highly recommend her! And if there is an item or color you don't see -- ask her and she'll be happy to accommodate you!

She also offers great monograms (5 for $15 -- now there's a wedding bargain). She has over 100 to choose from and you can use them for all your fun DIY projects -- favors, Out of town bags, menus, programs -- really the sky is the limit.

So how did you handle your invitations? "Pre-packaged" from an on-line company, custom by a local designer, DIY?

Big "wedding" week

Yesterday my fiance told me we had 80 days until our wedding and he could "hardly wait now that it was so soon!" Very sweet to see him grinning from ear to ear. This week is a big wedding week for me.

Yesterday I picked up my veil from Rose's Bridal on West 39th Street in NYC. I ordered it a month ago to have it in time for my first dress fitting this Friday. I was a little difficult working with her -- I called a few times and it was as if she had no idea who I was and was asking me what my veil looked like so she could find it. What?? Was she going to go pick one out of the back that "looked like mine?" It was supposed to be custom. But, when I did finally get there to pick it up it looked fine. I wanted a super simple elbow length two layer veil with no trim at all and I got just what I wanted but I felt like I had to nag her to make sure it would be ready. Here is a picture of me in a sample length -- my veil is similar just without the trim.



Yesterday's other project was to pick out map/directions card up from Alphagraphics on 5th Avenue. In typical "only a bride cares" form I bought extra card stock (100 pages at a $1 a pop mind you) so that all my DIY projects (map, menu, program etc) could match the invitations cream textured card stock. I know -- it's insane, but I wanted it! (haha). The first round of the maps failed (FBIL offered to print them on his work printer and they looked terrible). Then I decided to just have them done professionally. Well they were even worse! It turns out that you can't print from a laser printer onto textured stock. So there I was down 30 pages (and $30) of my lovely card stock. Turns out they had a flat paper called "natural white" that was pretty darn close, so I just let it go and let them use it. They felt so bad they didn't charge me at all. Score free map/direction cards.

So -- our invitations are all ready to go out -- stuffed and sitting on my desk. But now I'm nervous they will weigh more as this new paper was heavier. I'll wait to take them to the PO to measure them so I don't have all my beautifully hand calligraphed (yes I know it's not a word, but it should be) invitations bounce due to lack of postage! Eek. Here is our envelope and RSVP postcard with our custom Zazzle.com stamps.



And tomorrow -- perhaps the most exciting thing -- My mom is coming into the city and we're going to the Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier for my first dress fitting. I have to highly recommend Mark Ingram's for NYC brides. The salon is lovely, intimate and calm. You never feel rushed or pressured. My sales girl, Anju (do call her if you go), has been so helpful from our first appointment. Their gowns start at around $3K but she knew that was more than I could afford. Then she brought out a skirt and top from the Romona Keveza Legends Collection and I fell in love. AND -- it was under $2K! Could it be? Before I show you the terrible camera phone image of me in the too small runway sample, I'll tell you -- it's SHORT! **and the crowd gasps** I am a very petite girl (5'0") and it is so "me."



First fitting is tomorrow -- to be continued (with pictures I promise).

Marzipan Pears!

I am a very visual person and it's helpful for me to see images to guide me in creative decisions. But sometimes an image is just what you're looking for! When I first started planning my best friend/bridesmaid insisted I get a note book (she called a "look book") for me to save ideas/images etc. So as I was looking through a wedding magazine I came across the JC Penny Wedding Registry ad (I'm sure you've all seen). Well in the fall it featured Leann Rimes. Then I looked closer and saw her cake and immediately tore it out.

Here it is:



I was sold -- down to every last detail. The marzipan pears, the brown vines, the purple and white flowers -- all perfect with our color scheme. So I brought this photo to our baker and said "make me this!" She said she could but she didn't make marzipan. "If you can send me the pears we'll be all set." So I consulted google to find a company based in the UK called "Marzipan World." The website is a little clunky, but the product is amazing! I ordered a sample (9 pears) to see what they looked like and tasted like (as my fiance LOVES marzipan). Well....he couldn't even wait to try one before I took a picture.

Here they are:



They have marzipan fruit, veggies, acorns, chestnuts...even sea urchins! Here are some more examples of their fantastic offerings.

Ruby Apples:



Strawberries:



Seashells: (made me think of Miss Corn's Rhode Island wedding)



Check out their website for more options. They also make wedding favors.

www.marzipanworld.com

Cousin's wedding last weekend

In mid June we went to my fiance's cousin's wedding. The groom (FI's cousin) was marrying a beautiful girl whose family lives in Montreal, Canada, so off to Canada we drove Friday after work. The bride wore a beautiful Vera Wang gown and the groom wore an Armani suit. The bride is a evening purse designer so of course she made her own beautiful purse. The tented reception was held an hour west of the city on the grounds of an old mill, Au Vieux Moulin de Rigaud.

I wanted to share some photos of the details of the lovely day. (Click photo to enlarge).

1. Bride's bouquet and purse(which of course she made)



2. Seating card/guest book table



3. Table set-up/flowers



4. Close up of flowers



5. Bride & Groom - (note the cage veil)



6. Back of Vera Wang gown at the alter - also a good shot of her silk hair flower.



It made me look forward to our wedding in September even more!