50% off Snapfish photo books!

Just in time for the holidays you can get 50% off on 5x7 Snapfish photo books. Offer expires November 30, 2007. Just enter coupon code PHOTOBOOK07 and the book will be $5.99 (used to be $11.99). I made a Snapfish photo book of our engagement photos for my mother and this is a perfect size for a "brag book" for your mother and mother-in-law to carry in her purse.

PS. We recently got our professional photo proofs on-line so as soon as I get a disc in the mail I'll be ready to share all the wonderful details of our wedding with you all -- I can't wait!

A sneak peak

Recently I posted about our walk from the ceremony to the reception. Today I wanted to share a short video clip of the walk as a sneak peak of our wedding day.



We are still waiting for our professional video footage from Wes Jones of Film Jones, but luckily for us, our dear friend and father of our flower girl, sent us some footage he took during the day.

This is one of my favorite clips -- we are leading all 45 of our guests up the church street marketplace to our reception at Adrianas. At the end you can hear our guitarist playing "My Romance," as we approach. I can't wait to see more footage and pictures! Like Mrs. Gummi bear, the wait is killing me!

O&CO Family & Friends Sale

I first discovered Oliviers and Co. about four years ago and my favorite gift to give are their olive oils, balsamic vinagers and tapenades. This is the perfect gift for your parents, your soon-to-be or new in-laws, or anyone you know that LOVES to cook and appreciates fantastic food. See their gift ideas here.

I'd recommend their tapendae set which includes four different kind -- Green Olives & Pistachios, Black Olives & Tomatoes, Black Olives & Capers, and Black Olives with Orléans Mustard. At $39 it is a perfect gift -- or take it apart and use them as stocking stuffers!



25% Coupon Code: OFNF25 on-line or mention this code and call 1-877-828-6620. They are also offering FREE standard shipping on all items over $75 for a limited time.

The sale is over this Sunday, November 18th!

A Different Processional

One of my favorite things from our wedding day was processing from the church up the Church Street Marketplace to our reception with all of our guests. We stopped traffic and as we approached the restaurant we could already hear our guitarist, Brendan Burns, playing "My Romance." It set the mood perfectly!

As always, click to enlarge

Strangers were smiling and a number of people said "Congratulations!," as we walked by. A few kids squealed "A bride, a bride!" It was fantastic to walk hand in hand with my new husband with all our friends and family right behind us. There was a great sense of the energy on the marketplace and what a beautiful day it was! We were so lucky -- it was sunny and in the low 70's that day. The next morning it was raining and about 15-20 degrees colder!

How are you getting from your ceremony to your reception? Do you have anything special planned? If you have the chance to walk with your guests I'd HIGHLY recommend it!

As always, credit and thanks to our photographer, Daria Bishop.

Savings and budgeting

Miss Toucan posted earlier today about a savings "account" they use -- a change jar for all their loose change! Mr. Onion and I do this as well. I had a gallon jar filled with change before we moved in together and cashed it in for extra moving expenses and it was about $400!



Our first vacation together led us to Burlington, VT, where we ended up getting married. On that trip we took a tour of the Magic Hat Brewery and we went home with a growler of what they had on tap that weekend. We kept the bottle and now put our change in it as we're saving up for our first home. They actually wrote "new apartment fund" on it at Magic Hat and we didn't notice until we got home!



And speaking of saving, last night we spent a better part of the evening dealing with finances -- budgets, health coverage, life insurance etc. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are looking for our first apartment to own. We knew what we could afford for a down payment but weren't sure about what we could afford on a monthly basis. We made an excel sheet with the following categories:

Monthly Income:
Mr. Onion's paycheck
Mrs. Onion's paycheck

Monthly Expenses:
Housing
Transportation
Insurance
Food
Personal Care
Entertainment
Loans
Taxes
Savings/Investments
Gifts and Donations

It was a fantastic exercise. Now only did it help us see we need to lower our upper price range of our apartment search to lower our monthly carrying costs, but it gave us a chance to talk about saving goals over the next 5, 10, 20 years. We decided to budget a certain amount each month from both our pay checks to be sure we can contribute the maximum to our Roth IRA each year (I have one already, Mr. Onion will be opening one shortly).

Now that we have everything in one place we can carefully track our spending and live comfortably within our means instead of being surprised by unexpected expenses we can't afford. If you'd like detailed subcategories from our budget let me know and I'd be happy to share.

What steps did you and your FH/DH take toward your financial goals? Are you thinking about the future? The most important thing I can say is be totally honest about your fiances -- your debt (loans, credit cards etc) and your spending habits so you can make the budget reflect reality. Honesty is one of the most important qualities in a marriage, and while you might have a different approach to finances, be sure to share everything so you can work together towards those goals.

Ann Taylor Beauty

I'm a big fan of Ann Taylor's clothes and shoes. I've been shopping at Ann Taylor since high school and when they introduced their petite line I was thrilled. I even bought my bridesmaids dresses from the Ann Taylor Celebrations Collection.

I just got an email today announcing this beauty line -- possibilities. I can't wait to check out these new products. You can learn more on the Ann Taylor website HERE. Great gift idea for your bridesmaids and/or the holiday season fast approaching!

Guest List Decisions

Finalizing your guest list is one of those wedding related tasks that is filled with drama for most couples. How many people for the bride's parents, the groom's parents, the bride and groom? Does who pays for the bulk of the wedding effect who gets invited? What if there is a big conflict over family members?

I had a pretty straight forward rule while narrowing down our guest list -- I didn't want to say "Thank you for coming," while thinking "who is that?!" Because we kept it small (invited 70, ended up with 45 in attendance), Mr. Onion and I were really able to share our celebration with our closest family and friends. This is not to say all the decisions were easy.

There were two people we didn't invite -- my sisters. I know -- I can hear the gasps now! Well, actually, they are my half sisters (my father's girls from his first marriage). Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say, they would take the focus away from the happy couple and my father was worried that they'd drink too much and make a scene. They are both "grown women" but have not made the best choices in their lives.

It was my father's decision not to invite them and he was the one to tell them they wouldn't be coming. Sadly, one of them just said "OK," and moved on. This is the same sister who tackled a nine year old Mrs. Onion to the ground for the other sister's bouquet once I'd caught it (ouch). The bride was married and divorced in less than a year.

So, I want to support those of you who are struggling with their guest list and whether or not to invite that questionable relative. I will say, once all excitements calms down -- it will be OK not to have them there. It's a choice I'm proud of my father for making. He didn't want to be embarrassed by them, but most importantly, he didn't want everyone's evening to be in jeopardy for fear of my sister's behavior.

Have any of your gone through something similar? Please share you stories and how you handled the situation -- I'm sure it will be a great comfort to other bees and readers to know they aren't alone.