Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Review: SHMILY Coins

A Bride On A Budget received this item for review. All thoughts an opinions belong to A Bride On A Budget.

Do you remember when I was telling you about the cow Pete and I hide? Well, I hid him under Pete's hat on his dresser and I thought it would be a cute peek-a-boo when he put the hat on ... except he grabbed it in such a hurry that he didn't see the cow and unintentionally flung him behind the dresser, where he's been stuck for weeks.

Apparently, we are not the only people who have an idea to hide stuff so your loved one knows you're thinking about them.

I recently found out about SHMILY coins.

shmily

These are wooden coins, about the size of a half dollar, with the acronym SHMILY and a heart printed on the front. In case you haven't figured it out, it stands for See How Much I Love You.

The idea is the same one we're using for the cow. Hide it where your loved one will find it, making them feel loved.

It's a great idea, especially for engaged couples like us. Pete can't get me flowers all the time to tell me he loves me, but he can sure hide this coin around.

You can buy ten SHMILY coins on Amazon for $12.49, making them about $1.25 each. Very budget friendly.

shmily

Then, you can hide it places like close to the beer so your husband, fiance, whoever, can find it when he grabs a beer after a long day.

shmily

Or on the Keurig so he finds it with his morning cup of coffee.

shmily

Or in the bathroom ... where he's sure to go (wow, no pun intended) after that beer or coffee.

The creator based these coins off her grandparents' story, who would write SHMILY all over the place for each other to find. Write it on a shower door, draw a heart with lipstick on a car window, leave a note on your loved one's lunch box. These are things that take no more than one minute of your time (depending on how long it takes you to walk to wherever you're writing it) but makes a ton of difference.

During the wedding planning process, your stress level is high. Believe me; I know. I had my first official wedding breakdown the other day. Stuff like this, it's the pause in the wedding process, the reminder that someone loves you more than anyone else in the entire world, and wants to spend forever with you. And that is the reason you're getting married in the first place. It's not for the white dress, the dinner, the party. It's for the promise to hold and honor and respect and love forever. It's to say to someone, "I love you so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, that I can't and don't want to, spend any days without you."

It's to say: See how much I love you.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Where would you hide these coins?

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Freebie: Just Married Sign

How are you announcing your marriage?

How about tin cans with string that wake up the neighborhood? Do people do that or is it a noise violation? It would be pretty terrible to get a fine for that but you just got married so technically you might have a new name, but it's the weekend and your change of name won't be processed until Monday and what name do you give the cops?

Sounds complicated.

What about a "Just Married" sign on the back of the car? That's quiet and harmless ... and right now, it's free.

My friend Carla just told me about this.


Yup, that's Flo. From Progressive (who shockingly, was nowhere to be found when I got a quote the other day ... and neither was the comparison pricing that the commercials rave about all the time. I just got an expensive quote. Nothing else. Of course Progressive was gonna be expensive, Pete said after I was complaining over just how expensive it was. But, Flo said ... was my rebuttal).

Anyway, Progressive might be giving out high quotes, but it's also giving out free just married signs. The site ran out of ones that they will send to you, but you can click that link and print your own. Then just hand write your names and date.

If you'd rather just buy one, this Just Married car sign is super adorable (and inexpensive).

BRIDAL BABBLE: Does hanging cans off the back of your car qualify as a noise violation?

Thursday, February 14, 2013

DIY Wedding Favors: Peeps Valentine's Style

Peeps provided the Peeps for this post. Additional items and all thoughts and opinions belong to A Bride On A Budget.

It's Valentine's Day, so I figured I would come up with a favor that incorporated some Valentine's Day candy (and, yes, leftover Christmas chocolate).

Peeps Wedding Favor

Peeps Wedding Favor

What You'll Need:

Heart-shaped Peeps
Chocolate kisses or chocolate candy melts
Cellophane in your wedding color (I had blue on hand, so I went with that)
Twist ties (I'm not sure you can see, but I used silver ones)
Plastic bags

What You'll Do:

Peeps Wedding Favor

Unwrap the chocolates and put them in a microwavable bowl. Microwave them and watch them really carefully. You can opt to do this in a double boiler as well, which is more time consuming but offers a smaller chance of searing and starting over.

(Small aside: I would actually suggest using chocolate candy melts instead. They're more forgiving, won't scorch, and are just easier to work with.)

Peeps Wedding Favor

Dunk the Peeps into the chocolate to coat one half.

Peeps Wedding Favor

Or dunk a corner. Or drizzle via a plastic bag (put the chocolate in the bag, cut off a tip, and pipe it). I varied my chocolate applications, but you can make yours all uniform if you'd like.

Peeps Wedding Favor

After the chocolate has hardended, place the Peeps in the center of the cellophane.

Peeps Wedding Favor


Pull up the sides.

Peeps Wedding Favor

Twist tie it together and voila, beautiful favor. Having this sit at every place setting at your wedding will look gorgeous. Plus, if you choose a thicker cellophane, you actually can't see inside so it's a nice surprise for your guests.

Peeps Wedding Favor

If you're not in the mood to fiddle with cellophane, you can always just make them and display them in the tray they come with. Be sure to leave a few as is in case you have some non-chocolate eaters in the bunch.

Ask your guests to grab one on the way out or put them in the dessert table.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What do you think of food as a favor?

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Confessions From The Fitting Room: Part II

fitting room

I had a dress fitting last month for my cousin's wedding. As I'm waiting for the woman to come pin me, I hear a little boy with his mom who is trying on a dress and the kid says, "I think you're going to look like a crocodile."

Words of advice: NEVER buy dresses that make your bridesmaids look like crocodiles.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Did you see my first fitting room confession?

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Pin Of The Week: Days Til She's Hitched Bridal Shower Sign

When I plan the wedding, I will have complete and total control of almost everything. The bridal shower, well, that's pretty much out of my hands.

Doesn't mean I'm not pinning bridal shower ideas on Pinterest though, including this week's Pin of the Week.

bridal shower sign
Photo Credit

I. Love. This.

You can totally make this sign, which I found at The Bridal Detective. Have a sign outside of the bridal shower that is a countdown til the wedding. By the time the shower happens, the wedding date will definitely be set, so as long as you have a bridal party that can count, this sign should be easy.

If you're not artistic, you can always do this in the form of personalized wedding napkins.

personalized wedding napkins

You can order them here with all your own customizations. Choose the colors you want and add your own text. Sure, traditionally these say the couple's name and wedding date, but most of these napkins will give you two lines of text to write whatever you want. Nothing's stopping you from writing: "55 days until the Miss is a Mrs." or something similar.

These are the sort of personal touches that I just absolutely love.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What personal touches would you like at your shower?