Wedding DIY: Candy Buffet (Part I: Buckets)

This is Part I of our two part candy buffet series. Part II is here.

A Bride On A Budget received some items for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions, and additional items belong to ABOAB.

We were setting up a candy buffet at my apartment a few days before the wedding. I needed to get everything set up, counted, labeled, and numbered so that the buffet could be set up the way I wanted at the reception.

"Why are you doing a candy buffet anyway?" my dad asked.

"Because it's the trendy thing to do," I said.

It is. Candy buffets are really trendy and they're not something that was popular a decade ago. There are tons of ways to do candy bars because they're still new, but most of the candy buffets I've seen focus on glass apothecary jars. And those are fine, but to me, they're so rigid and formal -- completely the opposite of a candy buffet. Plus, they're expensive (and slightly useless after the wedding). So I wanted our candy bar to be something different.

We had a beach-themed wedding and our wedding favors were a silver galvanized bucket that was decorated and filled with wedding buttermints. I wanted our candy buffet to parallel the favors and keep with the beach theme.

So instead of glass apothecary jars, we went with silver galvanized buckets, plus some smaller hibiscus flowered buckets (which matched the hibiscus flowers we had on items in the welcome bags and on our invitations).

We ended up getting the following items from Oriental Trading for our wedding candy buffet:

4 Large galvanized pails
1 package Large galvanized buckets (comes as a dozen)
1 package Hibiscus beach play sets (comes as a dozen)
3 packages Clear gift bags (comes with 50 per pack)
1 package Purple candy sticks (comes as 80 per pack)
1 package Purple filled candy straws (comes as 240 per pack)

The reviews of the hibiscus play sets said that they were small, really small. But I didn't listen. Each bucket set came with four tools, including shovels and scoops. I thought that shovels would be so much cuter for the buckets instead of plastic candy scoops. I never thought that the small buckets would have really small scoops. The scoop was almost exactly the same size of my ring finger.

I put some candy in the bucket and then tried to size the scoop and shovel. The shovel was okay with me because I knew that the candy would be higher and this would be fine. But the scoop was too small. I needed to use it only for the bucket sets.

My kitten, Totes McGotes, agreed.

So I decided the shovels would be for the silver buckets and the scoops would be for the hibiscus ones. There was also another major difference between the two: wrapped candy would go in the galvanized buckets and unwrapped candy would go in the plastic buckets.

The galvanized buckets aren't food safe, so they needed wrapped candy only (or, small secret about tomorrow's post: we actually lined the medium buckets with plastic bags so that we could put unwrapped candy in them and not worry about anything).

I realized that's why people use apothecary jars. They're glass so they're food safe.

But I was slightly stubborn when it came to wedding planning. I wanted what I wanted and was going to make it work. So silver buckets that are very beach wedding oriented. Yup, that's what I was doing.

Tomorrow's post is going to be about candy and candy buffet math, but I did want to mention the candy that Oriental Trading sells. If you don't want to sit and think about what you might potentially need, you can pick up a candy buffet assortment pack. Choose from blue, pink, purple, and white. It's $69 for nine pounds (and, according to my candy bar math that says you need four ounces per guest, that's enough for 36 guests).
If you aren't using one of those four colors as your main wedding color, don't worry. Oriental Trading's candy buffet page shows that you can pick up candies in virtually any color. Choose a color and you will see every candy that is available in it. There are lollipops, gumballs, fortune cookies, even chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Even better, those sunflower seeds (plus many other products) can be personalized for free.
If you don't like the plastic bag approach (it's what I liked best), you can go with organza bags, takeout boxes, or super cute bride and groom satin and tulle favor bags. Whatever the style of your wedding, you can find something that works. Just don't forget about a way to close your containers. Ones like takeout boxes come with a folding top, but bags need something like stickers (that's what we did) or ribbon. You can get both from Oriental Trading. Everything at Oriental Trading is really high quality and really low price, so you can pick up everything for your candy buffet for less than the cost of a couple glass apothecary jars.
BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you prefer glass apothecary jars for wedding candy buffets or do you think other containers work?

I Can Now Add Published On Time.com To My Resume (And some really helpful wedding planning tips)

I get a lot of emails from brides who are asking my opinion on budget-savvy wedding planning. I absolutely love helping them out.

The other day, I got an email asking for budget wedding tips. But it wasn't from a bride. It was from Money.com, the website for MONEY magazine, which is published by Time, Inc. (Time.com online). Last week, my tips appeared in a trio of articles on the sites. Two of the articles have eight tips and the third has seven. In case, you didn't see the articles and my tips, I wanted to share them below. I'm leaving the tips numbered, in case you go back to the full article and want to find mine among the others.

From 8 Ways To Throw a Memorable Wedding for Less, published on June 25, 2014:

2. Stay Away From the Peak “A day in June will command a higher price than a day in January. If you are able to keep your date flexible, you should be able to save between $1,000 and $1,500, or even more if you opt for a weekday instead of weekend. Because it’s an off-peak time, you may also be able to get a lower rate for some vendors, like a wedding band. Your guests may also thank you for the winter wedding, as airfare and hotel rates for on off-season destination will be lower as well.” — Lisa Sokolowski, A Bride On a Budget

5. Don’t Be Shy About Borrowing “Most venues host events other than weddings and may have items in storage for those occasions that you can borrow for free. My wedding was beach-themed and for the centerpieces I wanted hurricane lamps with floating candles. When I described what I was picturing to staff, they brought almost the exact same centerpieces out of storage and let me use them. Another friend wanted string lights, and when she asked the venue for recommendations on where to rent some, they already had them in a closet.” — Lisa Sokolowski, A Bride On a Budget

8. Think of Everything “When you book a venue, be sure to find out what ‘extras’ are included. The ‘cheapest’ venue might come without tables, linens, silverware, and many other items that you will need to rent. A full service venue can save you money—and save you from having to coordinate multiple vendors. A friend rented a beautiful courtyard and loft. But the outdoor courtyard had no lighting, a problem for nighttime dancing, and the venue only had seating for 80, despite fitting 120. So my friend needed to rent lights and seating for 40. What had initially seemed like the best deal quickly became as costly as other venues.” — Lisa Sokolowski, A Bride on a Budget

From Wine and Dine Your Wedding Guests for Less, published on June 25, 2014:

4. Add Your Signature “If you decide to have an open bar, you can limit what is available. You can restrict it to beer and wine only, or add house liquors. If top-shelf liquor doesn’t fit your budget, don’t serve it. Your guests won’t mind. If a complete open bar doesn’t fit in your budget, consider beer and wine plus a signature cocktail. Name it after the couple, incorporate local flavors, anything can make it really unique. And, if all else fails, close the bar for an hour during dinner and save yourself a bunch of money.” — Lisa Sokolowski, A Bride On a Budget

7. Skip the Steak “Many sit-down weddings give options for entree choices, and one of those is almost always steak. Don’t feel pressured to serve a filet mignon over a prime rib. The filet option can add around a $10 per head cost, regardless of if your guests choose it. Make delicious choices for the cocktail hour and your guests won’t even think about the cut of meat at dinner.” — Lisa Sokolowski, A Bride On a Budget

From Say Yes to a Cheaper Wedding Dress, published on June 27, 2014:

2. Score the Store Sample “If you can find a discontinued dress, you will get an even bigger savings. The shop has to get rid of the sample since they can’t order the dress after discontinuation. So you are doing the shop a favor by taking it out the door. These dresses have often been tried on before, but so has most of the clothing you buy in any store, so that shouldn’t be a deterrent.” — Lisa Sokolowski, A Bride on a Budget

7. Go In as a Group “Many of the major tuxedo stores will offer a group discount, and often the groom will get his tux for free with a certain number of groomsmen rentals. Be sure to ask about these discounts before ordering. Also, associates will add all accessories at the time of rental (cufflinks, pocket squares, shoes), but not all of them may be required for rental. Ask if anything can be removed. Your groomsmen might all have their own black shoes and can save money by not renting them.” — Lisa Sokolowski, A Bride on a Budget

BRIDAL BABBLE: Which of my tips is your favorite?

Wedding DIY: Homemade Card Box

If you follow A Bride On A Budget on Twitter, you heard me complaining about a card box. I don't know why, but it was the one thing that I just couldn't decide on.

I had suggestions from friends: lanterns, bird cages, all the trendy ideas that are getting passed around right now. But none of them seemed to fit.

My mom and I went to the store the Tuesday before the wedding and we ended up in Michaels. "I'll just make you one," she said, picking up a wooden treasure chest. She had starfish and seashells and was ready to go.

"No," I said. "I'm not spending any more money and there's just no time to make one." That's as bridezilla as I got during wedding week. Honest.

We walked around the store and found these cute travel boxes. They're meant to hold your souvenirs. There were a bunch of designs and I originally picked up a purple one. But my mom saw a white one. We picked it up for $3.99 (would've been less if I had remembered a coupon) and brought it home.

Homemade Card Box

What You'll Need:

• Box (This is a traditional box. It has a top and a bottom, and the lip overlaps.)
• Ribbon
• Glue dots
• Image for the top of the box

What You'll Do:

• My mom gave the box to my dad and he cut a slit in the top and bottom of the box, making sure they aligned when the top of the box was over the bottom. He cut from the larger side of the box so that any oversized cards would fit with ease. 
• My mom then cut out the palm tree from our wedding programs and glued it to the top. 
• I had a spare piece of ribbon from a Bed, Bath & Beyond gift (lucky for us, the ribbon with the gifts is purple and I saved some just in case. Gotta save when you can.). She affixed that around the "closing" area of the box with glue dots so that the box couldn't be opened easily.

And that was that.

It was so fitting, matched perfectly, and was another way to use our programs that I absolutely loved so much. Plus, it was so sweet because my parents worked together to make this homemade card box for us.

The cards fit perfectly in our homemade card box and the box was useful but not overbearing. You can't ask for more from a $4 last minute project.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What did you use as a card box?

Wedding Morning Mimosa Bar

If you love this Wedding DIY: Morning Mimosa Bar recipe, be sure to Yum it here: Yum

This post and recipe is for ages 21+. By reading on, you affirm you are 21 or older.

When we were planning the wedding and all the day of logistics, I knew I wanted to get ready at home. Our apartment is huge when it's just me and Pete. I wanted all the girls, plus my parents, to come here and get ready. Then, I wanted the photographer and videographer to come here and take photos and video. And then, because everyone was getting ready here, the salon sent three techs to the house. So, when everyone was here, it was 15 people.

The apartment got small quick.

I originally wanted to get bagels for everyone for breakfast since everyone was meeting here starting at 9 am, but my mom said that they would be having breakfast at the hotel before coming here. And since my friend brought me the most amazing cheese danish all the way from my favorite bakery in Pennsylvania, I was good too.

But I wanted something special for the girls, so I put together a mimosa bar.

Wedding DIY: Morning Mimosa Bar

I already had wine charms for the girls. So, I stopped by the dollar store and picked up cute wine glasses for every bridesmaid, plus my mom, and added the wine charms to the bottom.

If you wanted, you could make glitter wine glasses for each of your bridesmaids too.

Truth be told: If you have enough matching wine glasses in your home, you can just use those. I envisioned everyone taking their glasses home with them, but they all stayed here and we ended up with six new wine glasses. Which is fine.

My parents actually ran out for me the day before and picked up two bottles of champagne and a large bottle of orange juice.

Small lesson: Make a list of all your last minute things that need to get done. Then, when someone calls you and asks what you need, don't say, "Nothing." Read them your list. There's a good chance that they will be able to pick something off your list and accomplish it for you. That's exactly how my parents ended up picking up the stuff for the morning mimosa bar. And that's exactly how I kept my sanity with 48 hours until "I Do."

I set up the beverages in the back, put the glasses and wine charms in the front, and told the girls to help themselves when they got here.
My mom wanted a straw because she already had lipstick on and didn't want to ruin it. We had plain straws, but what's the fun in that? I had Hibiscus Parasol straws left over from a party last summer, so I gave one to my mom. Next thing I knew, everyone had one.
I was in the guest bedroom getting my hair done, and the girls kept walking in and out with their personalized wine glasses filled with mimosas. We had three stylists here to do hair and makeup, which meant that at least four girls were left out of that room. And, I found out later, the four rotated and sat in the living room enjoying mimosas. It was a great bonding time for them, and just a cute little extra to spoil my bridesmaids. 
And you should spoil your bridesmaids. These are the most important women in your life, the ones who are standing next to you during the biggest day of your life (so far). They are paying for dresses, for shoes, for showers, for anything to make your planning a little bit easier. The least you can do is catch them off guard and spoil them -- especially if it's something as simple as champagne and orange juice in wine glasses (cheap for you, a big deal for your wedding morning -- no pun intended).

Classic Mimosa Recipe

What You'll Need:

• Champagne
• Orange juice

What You'll Do:

Mix three parts champagne and one part orange juice.

Serve.

Mimosa Twist Recipes

Apple Cider Mimosa: Apple cider (instead of orange juice) and champagne. This is the perfect fall wedding mimosa. If you want to get really fancy with this, wet the rim of the wine glasses, then dip them in pumpkin pie spice for an added fall touch.

Lemosa: Lemonade (instead of orange juice) and champagne. Most lemosas are garnished with a slice of lemon and have blueberries dropped in. Use frozen blueberries if you're getting ready on a hot morning to keep the drink cool.

Megmosa: Grapefruit juice (instead of orange juice) and champagne. A Megmosa is often garnished with fresh raspberries. You can go with frozen raspberries if it's hot out or if it's not raspberry season.

Pineapple Mimosa: Pineapple juice (instead of orange juice) and champagne.

Poinsettia Mimosa: Cranberry juice (instead of orange juice) and champagne. It's the perfect winter wedding mimosa.

Pomegranate Mimosa: Pomegranate juice (instead of orange juice) and champagne. A Pomegranate Mimosa is often garnished with pomegranate seeds.

Sherbet Mimosa: Use a scoop of orange sherbet (instead of orange juice).

Sunrise Mimosa: Add a splash of grenadine to a classic mimosa. The color splits so there's red on the bottom of the drink and orange on the top half, which looks like a ... you guessed it ... sunrise.

Watermelon Mimosa: Watermelon juice (instead of orange juice) and champagne.

Cute Mimosa Glasses

When I put together our Morning Mimosa Bar, I used stemmed wine glasses since I had the personalized wine charms to add to them.

But, a traditional mimosa glass is a champagne flute.

Our five favorite cute wedding themed mimosa glasses are:

• Personalized Brides/Bridesmaids Stemless Champagne Flutes
  Personalize them with your and your bridesmaids names, roll in the bridal party, and the wedding date
• Rose Gold Champagne Flutes
  The bottom of these look like a rose and it's gorgeous.
• "Cheers" Flutes
  Each champagne flute has the word "Cheers" written across it.
• Gold Rimmed Champagne Flutes
  They have gold around the rim and the word "cheers" around the flute.
  
• Miss To Mrs. Champagne Flutes
  These gold-rimmed champagne flutes have the words "Miss To Mrs." written across them.

BRIDAL BABBLE: How do you make your mimosa?

Review: Wedding Programs From MagnetStreet

A Bride On A Budget received these programs for review. All thoughts and opinions belong to ABOAB.

In order for us to get married in the church, there had a series of meetings we needed to have. There was the initial meeting with the church's wedding coordinator, a full day of marriage prep at a neighboring church, a meeting with a married couple in the church, and a meeting with the priest who was saying our mass.

At the meeting with our priest, the first thing he did was show us programs from other weddings. He liked the wording in one of the programs but hated the size (because it wouldn't fit in a man's pocket properly). He gave us another program because it contained a lot of information about the church and the priest thought we might want to add that since it was recently given the distinction of a Basilica.

So that solidified it.

We needed wedding programs.

I hadn't really thought of them during the planning process. I knew they were something we could hold off doing until the very end … and I left them there (along with the menus. Nothing was contingent on printing programs so I knew I wasn't holding anything back by taking my time with them).

I checked out MagnetStreet's website. I had heard great things about the company (I'm pretty sure my friend who was married two years ago used them) but I had never personally ordered from there so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I went to the website and was really impressed. You could sort by product, and that included sizes and types of programs. Because of our priest's comment, I knew I wanted to pick a tea length size (that's about 4x9, perfect for pockets). MagnetStreet actually had a ton of choices of tri-fold tea length programs, which was great. Programs require so much text but I was excited to see a tri-fold option because I knew I could fit everything we needed but still have spaces for blank sections.

After deciding on the size, I was able to filter by style. That part was easy. Beach wedding requires beach programs. (You can also filter by color or collection if you don't have a theme).

  

I absolutely fell in love with the Sunset Silhouette programs. The default colors didn't matter (although they were green, tan, and white). What MagnetStreet allows, which is a huge plus for brides, is that you can customize almost anything to your wedding colors. Ours were eggplant, lilac, and silver, so I changed the entire background of the program to silver and made the silhouette a dark purple. I used a pop of white on the cover and a little tan on the inside (because lilac was just lost on the silver background and tan and sand and beach all seem to work). It was so easy to just change the colors. There are a bunch that you can just select by a simple click, but if you know HTML and have a specific color code in mind, you can translate that to saturation and have a color that absolutely matches your theme.

Editing was super easy. I just typed in the information and positioned it where and how I wanted. I took a few days to work on it and just saved it in my account every time. When I was ready to work on it again, I just could pick up where I left off. That was really, really helpful for us because we ended up having a last minute personnel change. It was so easy to just go into my saved program, add a second ring bearer, and resave it.

You then choose what paper you want them printed on: Premium Smooth, Fine Linen, Pressed Texture, and Luxe Pearl. Different papers mean different prices though. Premium Smooth is the base price, Fine Linen and Pressed Texture are 10 cents more per program, and Luxe Pearl is 15 cents above Premium Smooth. You will get a price break if you order multiples (although you can order just one for $10 so you can check it out and that $10 will credit towards your final purchase).

Premium Smooth is a smooth, matte paper with an eggshell finish. Fine Linen is textured to appear like a linen fabric. Pressed Texture is a matte paper with very distinct texture (great if you're going for a handmade or watercolor look). And Luxe Pearl, which we went with, is imported from Italy and gives a pearl texture to the paper. I hadn't seen it prior to ordering, but I figured Pete is Italian so that was a nice throw to him (even if my parents were the only guests who knew it was Italian paper).

When I finally decided on the type of paper and made our last minute correction, I was ordering fairly close to the wedding. MagnetStreet assured me that my programs would arrive in time – and they arrived earlier than expected.

Thank goodness for that because when they arrived, we needed to “assemble” them. Okay, assembly only means folding on the creases. Even my dad commented on the ease of folding. It took nearly no effort to fold on the given lines. And if you look at the photo above, you can actually see the distinct creases. It was so simple to just fold in one side, fold in the other, and be done.

After we spent Tuesday morning folding, though, the programs weren't flat.

So my dad had an idea of piling books on top of the programs so they would lay flat. We started with one small book but eventually, we had six picture albums and two heavy books on top of the programs. It worked. By the time we were bringing them to the church on Saturday afternoon, they were so flat, it looked like we had taken an iron to them.

The programs were gorgeous, by the way. They had an iridescent pearl shine to them, which really made the silver and white pop. The purple was a little muted, which was good because it made the shine of the other colors seem so special. Inside, the majority of the text was purple and the background was silver so it was just gorgeous. Not that I'm bias, but these were the nicest wedding programs I've ever seen. Most are on printer paper or cardstock, but this Luxe Pearl was something special that I've never seen before. Absolutely worth the extra 15 cents per program (especially since that's only an extra $15 per 100 programs. And when you're spending so much money on your wedding anyway, you won't notice an extra $15 from your budget, but you will absolutely notice how much more regal your programs are).
I saved two programs for myself so that I could frame them. If you look at the program photos above, you can see how the program laying flat really does look like a beach scene with our names and date on it. It looks like art. I actually like them so much that I'm going to purchase a large frame, put both sides it in, and hang it on the wall. Honestly, there are so few keepsakes from your wedding that you can actually keep and display permanently. These gorgeous programs are ones that you really can display and enjoy for forever.
BRIDAL BABBLE: Did you make wedding programs?

Five Things No One Tells You About Your Wedding Day

Our wedding has come and gone and I have so many posts and so many pictures and so many things to share with you. It was amazing and perfect and everything all went wrong, simultaneously, and I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

The memories will be there forever, but the lessons are things I might forget over time. So, before I do, I needed to write a post about the five things no one tells you about your wedding day. These are in not in order of importance, but in order of how things will happen.

Five Things No One Tells You About Your Wedding Day

1. Everything will go wrong. Seriously. And no one will know but you.
When I was planning, I was told by a lot of people that everything will go wrong. And I didn't want that to happen. So I accounted for everything. I had a sunscreen bar so no one got burned. I had a flip flop basket so no one had to walk in dress shoes on the beach. I labeled everything. Numbered everything. Had three pairs of shoes for myself. Worked out timing with all the vendors. And first thing in the morning, when my mom and a few of the girls were supposed to be here at 9am to get their hair and makeup done ... no one was here but me and the three stylists. But you know what, they got here at 9:10am and everything was fine. Everyone looked beautiful and we got to the church with time to spare. Not one guest knew that we started late that morning.

And when we got to the venue and I looked at the ceiling, there wasn't a single paper lantern hung, despite the fact that I brought 24 over to the venue and asked more than once that they be hung. And you know what? Not one single guest asked me why the lanterns weren't hanging. The little stuff that went wrong or was missing, it was all tick marks that I went over after the reception. So many things weren't the way I intended them to be. And not one single person noticed -- not even the people who knew of every single planned detail, not even Pete. I was the only one who noticed ... and it was fine.

2. You will not eat (and you might not even see the food).
When we went for our tasting, the food was amazing. Ever since February, I was dreaming about sitting down and enjoying the Chicken Oscar entree. I'm still waiting. During the cocktail hour, we were outside taking our beach photos. During dinner, every time we sat, someone either wanted a photo or wanted to talk to us. By the time Pete and I were both sitting at the table to eat, we each had two bites, looked at each other, and said despite starving, we couldn't eat. It's a mix of nerves, adrenaline, and the fact that you haven't eaten all day. You're so hungry that you're not hungry anymore. Our banquet manager packed entrees and crab cakes for us ... but two days later, mine is still sitting in plastic wrapped Styrofoam boxes in the fridge. I ate three chicken fingers and some watermelon for dinner yesterday and that was the most I've eaten since Wednesday. In the car yesterday, someone said the hummus was great. I didn't even know we had hummus. We didn't choose it at our tasting but somehow, it just magically appeared during the cocktail hour. I didn't even make it into the lounge where the cocktail hour food was. I didn't see anyone passing around hors d'oeuvres. I swore up and down that I was going to be the bride who ate at her wedding because all the food we selected was amazing and I wanted to have it. The food was amazing ... but I still didn't get to enjoy it that night.

3. Most dresses have a strap under them so you can hold onto the bottom of your train.
When I bought my dress, it fit perfectly. I could have sworn the dress was made for me because there was not one part that had to be altered. I bought a belt I loved and needed that to be sewn in. And I needed a bustle done. And that was it. I kept it un-bustled through the ceremony, through all our photos downtown, and through our beach photos. After we were announced, we did our first dance and Pete stepped all over my dress. Then we did a group dance. Then I danced with my dad. Then we had my parents dance to their wedding song. And then I went straight up to my mom and asked her to bustle my dress. It held for a few hours until the train caught on someone's chair and the hook of the bustle popped. I was trying to lift my dress and walk around like everything was fine (prior to that, my dress got completely dirty on the bottom from beach photos, a bit of the dye from my shoes turned the underside purple in spots, and I noticed a hole in the bottom). My family friend Heidi came up to me, lifted up my dress, and handed me a strap that she proceeded to put on my wrist. I carried the train on my dress that way the rest of the night and it was perfect. I had no idea it was there, so thank goodness for her.

4. You need that one random friend.
During the day, my bridesmaids and parents were around to help me and Pete's groomsmen were around to help him. But at the end of the night, they had all taken the shuttle back to the hotel, leaving me and Pete in the ballroom with a lot of stuff (decorations, left over favors, gifts, our cake topper, food, two guitars, etc.) and no car to put anything in. There was no way all that was coming back to our hotel room with us. In swooped my friend Danielle and her husband Rob. They helped pack up everything, brought all our stuff to their car, and brought everything but the top tier of our cake back to us the next day (they offered to keep our cake in their deep freezer for us for the next year because our apartment freezer is just small and doesn't have room for a six-inch cake -- especially since it has a few gallons of ice cream in it right now). At the end of the night, it was just us and them. She even came upstairs with me at the end of the night to help me unlace my dress (because it was impossible to do on my own). If not for them, we would have had to take boxes and boxes of stuff back to our honeymoon suite, unload it, bring a cart back to the bellhop, and then load everything up the next morning. Plus, I'd probably still be in my wedding dress. "The one thing no one tells you," Danielle said at the end of the night, "is that you need that one random friend who will help you."

5. Your wedding night is not the most romantic night of your life.
By the end of the night, you are tired. He is tired. You've been running on fumes, your guests have been filling one (or both) of you with shots from the bar, and you have no food in you. You've been mingling and dancing and talking and taking photos and talking to vendors and doing anything but sitting down. There may be an after-party, and if there is, you're sorta required to go -- regardless of how early you actually woke up to start getting ready (and regardless of how many hours of sleep you did or didn't get the night before). When you finally see a bed at the end of the night, the only thing you want to do is sleep in it. Consummating your marriage is not a thought in your mind. Most couples don't do anything but sleep, and others force themselves into something other than sleep just because they don't want to be that couple that passes out at the end of the night. But you know what? You have the rest of your life to have a "wedding night." On the actual night, just go to bed (plus, by the time you get there, it's most likely the next morning anyway).

BRIDAL BABBLE: What else did no one tell you about your wedding day?

It's Like Rain On Your (Almost) Wedding Day

People keep asking me if I'm nervous. I keep saying that I'm not. And then I say, "Maybe tomorrow." But then I wake up the next day and I'm still not nervous.

All but one person has asked if I'm nervous. And that one, he asked if I was excited. And I told him that I am, but everyone thinks I should be nervous.

Nerves get you nothing but gray hair. Nerves don't fix flight times and nerves don't make more food if you run out. Nerves get you nowhere, so I'm not nervous.

Plus, in the morning, I'm marrying my very best friend in the whole world and then we're having a party with our family and friends.

Nothing to get nervous over.

Except maybe some rain.

I went to Walmart to run a quick errand and came out to a monsoon. That's an exaggeration, but it sure didn't feel like it to me, who went out without an umbrella.

I waited under the awning with a few other customers before I finally just decided to go for it and walk to my car. I would have loved to run, but I was in flip flops (ones that actually caused me to slip -- not fall -- when I walked into Walmart and I didn't want to take any chances. Broken leg the day before the wedding is not on my To Do list).

I told myself it's just like taking a shower with your clothes on. And I started my stroll.

It's nothing like a shower. My showers are hot and refreshing. This was cold. Really cold. Like "hold my arms tightly against my chest and freeze if I move them" cold.

The drive home is usually six minutes, max, and it took me a solid half hour. I couldn't see the road, couldn't see any cars around me at all (although headlights often gave them away), and I contemplated pulling over. But spending part of my last single night pulled over on the side of the road waiting for the rain to stop also wasn't on my To Do list.

I got home and the rain hadn't let up. So I got out of the car and walked up four flights of steps getting pelted with cold rain. Then I took this photo (and realized that I have a "rain" face).
And I envisioned rain on my wedding day. I thought about my shoes from David's Bridal that are dyed and not waterproof. I thought about all the beach photos I want to take that might not be perfect. And then I  remembered the post I wrote last week, the one that says you can't worry about the weather.
Being nervous that my weather app shows nothing but rain as far as I can see tomorrow won't change the forecast. Stressing won't change the fact that weather.com is saying that at 2pm, when I am set to walk down the aisle, it will be 90, it will feel like 100, and there's a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms. Because you know, that also means there's a 50% chance there won't be any. I like my odds.
BRIDAL BABBLE: Were you worried about rain on your wedding day?

Tears Of Joy Envelopes (And free printable)

My wedding twin Kristiana was chatting today about Tears of Joy envelopes. They're an idea I had considered for our ceremony but let go by the wayside. Same with the confetti envelopes I wanted to attach to our programs (except I have the confetti so I need to figure out something else to do with that now).

I told Kristiana that I would take a shot at making printable for her in case she did end up with Tears of Joy envelopes. Right now, I can't DIY anything else, but I did have a little time to design stuff online. That seems to be the only thing I have any time for.

Her colors are coral and Tiffany blue, so I made her two options in her colors (now, if she uses them, that's up to her).

I made them the size of labels she has so if she does use them, stick a tissue in a glassine envelope and affix these poems on the front. Easy.

Since I had the files open, I figured I would just tile them in neutral colors in case anyone else wanted to use them. They are optimized to print on a 4x6 page, so they end up being 2x3. If you want to use them, just right click to save them to your computer. Then, print, cut, and make your envelopes.

Feel free to cut off my watermark before using them at your wedding, but I have to put them there in order to protect them on Pinterest.

We have a few other wedding printables available for free, too. They're all listed below:

• Bridal Shower Word Search
• Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Mix Favors
• Be Wise, Don't Drink & Drive Owl Printable
• Lucky Duck Wine Rehearsal Dinner Gift
• DIY Bridesmaids Cards
• DIY Thanks A Latte Coffee Wedding Favor
• Honeymoon Packing Checklist
• DIY Bridesmaids Wine Bottle
• Famous Couples Bridal Shower Game
• Thank You For Being My Groomsman Cigar Gift
• DIY Wedding Sparklers & Free Printable Tags
• Bridal Bingo

BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you plan on making Tears of Joy envelopes?

I Just Stumbled Over The Show Bridalplasty (and I'm sick over its definition of "perfect")

I work at home and my sole co-worker is my kitten Totes. He's good company, but he's not that great for conversation (obviously, it's extremely one sided). I like to have noise while I'm working, so I stream really bad reality television on Netflix. I've run out of episodes of Hoarding: Buried Alive, so I've moved on to Bridalplasty.

Have you heard of it?

Bridalplasty aired on E! from late 2010 into early 2011 (yes, I'm late to the party) and it seems like this trainwreck hasn't made it back for a sophomore season. It takes a dozen engaged (or married) women, puts them in a house to compete against each other, and the ultimate winner gets a dream celebrity-style wedding. Great. Who wouldn't want to win that? Along the way, though, brides-to-be win plastic surgeries of their choice.

In the premier, you see the doctor drawing all over these women, showing where he needs to nip and tuck. There are some skinny minis on this show with flat stomachs, but the doctor found a way to draw circles around their nearly-defined abs to find places for liposuction.

Throughout the season, you see beautiful girls getting new noses and boobs and teeth and lipo. To make them perfect, the show leads you to believe. When someone is voted off, host and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler tells them that they won't be having the perfect wedding.

It's making me sick.

Believe it or not, this is her "before" photo.

I'm here, eleven days from our wedding, fully aware that the way I look is the way I'm gonna look. I'm not going to drop a dress size in eleven days. My face is still going to be round. My biceps aren't going to magically grow muscles. This is who I am right now, eleven days away from our wedding, and this is who I am going to be and how I'm going to look when I walk down the aisle.

But Bridalplasty is making me feel like that's not good enough, that I have imperfections I shouldn't embrace. It's ridiculous. A bride should feel her prettiest on her wedding day and this show is magnifying the fact that people aren't perfect.

It's horrible.

On the second episode, one of the contestants, Jessica, was voted off before getting any surgeries. She said, "I may not look perfect but if you get to marry the person that you're meant to spend the rest of your life with, it's gonna be perfect."

And that's what's important. Your wedding is going to be perfect because you will be walking down the aisle and meeting your perfect person at the end. Perfection has nothing to do with the color of the napkins you pick, the first song you dance to, the number of guests you have, or what you choose as a cake topper. A perfect wedding has nothing to do with a number on the scale. Because you know what? The next morning, when you wake up, that number on the scale will be the same, but you won't be. You will be someone's spouse, your soul will be fused with another's, and you will, for all of eternity, be one half of a whole. You will have your best friend by your side for the rest of your life. You will have a playmate who will always hang out with you, will forever be your plus one, and you will know that there will always be someone to sit beside you (both literally and figuratively). You will be blessed with someone who will love you unconditionally, no matter what. You will have someone to snuggle with, someone to grow old with, and someone to raise a family with (either just you and him or with children or furbabies). And that's what's perfect, and that's what's more important than a little jiggle under your arms.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What part of marriage is more important to you than a number on a scale?

Wedding Weather (And why you can't stress over it)

About a week ago, we were out and it started to rain. And I got nervous. It was a Friday night and I was hoping that in three Friday nights, it wouldn't repeat. See, three weeks from that day is our rehearsal dinner. We rented a park and I would hate for it to rain.

But a ten-day forecast doesn't show three weeks out, so I said a prayer and forgot about the weather.

Today, my friend Dan sent me a text: Lisa does it always rain by you?

So I checked the weather.

Uhhh ... that looks bad. Really bad.

We live in an area where there's always a chance of rain, but it doesn't rain often. Right now, I'm looking outside at a completely gray sky. It looks like the rain is going to start flowing at any minute.

At first when my friend mentioned the weather, I got nervous. Our reception is at the beach and we are paying top dollar for a beach venue. Almost all our guests are coming from New York and we want them to experience the beach. But if there's a thunderstorm, they just can't.

But, no matter how much I hope and pray, I can't change the weather. It's going to do what it's going to do, and the weather doesn't care that I have a beach reception. The weather doesn't care that my dyed heels can't get wet. The weather doesn't care that I don't have an umbrella for all my bridesmaids to fit under. So I can't care either. If it rains, I'll keep singing that line from Ironic -- it's like rain on your wedding day (which is not ironic at all, and, ironically, the majority of the lines in that song aren't ironic either).

This is how you avoid being bridezilla. You stress over the things you have control over and can fix -- and you fix them. And you understand that there are things out of your control -- like wedding wedding -- and you disregard them.

The weather is gonna be what it's gonna be. And all you can do is pack an umbrella in the limo and hope your new groom is romantic enough to hold it over your head in case it does rain.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other elements of wedding planning are out of your control and shouldn't be stressed over?

My Engagement Ring Is Back

We went to the jeweler yesterday to pick up my wedding band. I was so excited because it was the first time that I had seen it in real life. I put it on and locked it right into my engagement ring. I flipped them over to look at the bands ... and it was a clear indication that my ring needed to be replated.

My ring is white gold because I am not a fan of yellow gold. If you don't know, gold is naturally yellow. In order to create white gold, it's plated with rhodium. Rhodium (which is a metal) doesn't tarnish, but it will wear out. It can happen from normal use. I know this, so I'm super careful with my engagement ring. I make sure to take it off before I shower, wash my hands, or do the dishes. But I do sleep with it and just live my normal life with it on.

I noticed the yellowing, but never wanted to part with my ring. Replating should happen annually or so. If you bring it to the jeweler where you bought your engagement ring originally, they should replate it for you and not charge you (but don't expect it). If you bring it somewhere where you didn't purchase your ring, they will most likely charge you because rhodium is not cheap. I've had my ring 21 months and have never been without it for longer than a few minutes.

But when I compared it to my wedding band, I noticed the difference. So I left it at the jeweler to be cleaned. I kept telling myself that it was so my wedding photos will be absolutely perfect ... but I felt so naked. It's not just me. I brought it up on A Bride On A Budget's Facebook page and I'm not the only one who misses her ring when it's gone.

But it's back.

I just went to the jeweler and picked my ring up. They polished it, replated it, and it sparkles. I looked at it as soon as I walked outside, and it just sparkles. While I was driving home, I kept looking at it at every red light. It was exactly the way I acted when I first got my ring.

It's perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Part of me feels like I should put it in a box until the wedding so it stays perfect, but 25 hours without my engagement ring sent me into a panic. I kept forgetting it wasn't supposed to be on my finger and kept getting nervous that I lost it down the sink or in a toilet. There's no way I can go two more weeks without it, but it would sure be pretty if I could.
BRIDAL BABBLE: Have you ever been without your engagement ring?

Review: Personalized Wedding Maps & Invitations From CW Designs

Pete and I are from New York, and 90% of our guests are also from New York. But our wedding is in North Carolina, where we live now. I had a fleeting thought that we would plan the wedding up north, but it was too hard for me. I couldn't fly there every time I wanted to see a venue or had a tasting, so it would have been me relying on my mom a lot. And I didn't want that. I wanted to plan our wedding and have Pete be an integral part of that, I didn't want my mom to have to plan it.

So this has turned into a destination wedding ... for everyone but us.

In my mind, it isn't a wedding, it's an event. And it's a chance for us to introduce our friends and family to our new town. We have had a few visitors (in fact, last summer we ran a hotel here), but not everyone has gotten a chance to visit. So I wanted a way to introduce them to our town without actually sitting them all down and putting on a PowerPoint presentation of some sort.

A map of the area added to the wedding welcome bags are a perfect (and more realistic) alternative. If you have a visitors bureau in your city, you might be able to receive free maps and brochures for your wedding welcome bags but those can be very ad heavy and generic.

CW Designs has an alternative to that. Carol and Jeremy actually design personalized wedding maps. They are absolutely and completely personalized.

How?

You go to Google Maps and create a map with the locations that you want on the map. Once you select those, you'll send a link to Carol. That will show her the size of the area that you want covered in your map, plus it will show the locations that you want highlighted. You definitely want your ceremony and reception site(s) on there, but other than that, everything is up to you. Consider hotels, places you like to dine, museums, and other places of interest. The only thing stopping you is your imagination.

CW Designs is based in Chicago, but location doesn't matter. Because Google Maps can map anywhere in the world, you can have a map created for anywhere. As long as you provide CW Designs with the necessary info, they can work their magic after that.

What's really great is that you get unlimited edits. So if you forgot a location initially, no problem. You can add it on. If there is a champagne glass graphic at your venue but you would like a wedding cake instead, it can be done. If you realized you spelled a restaurant name incorrectly, it can be fixed. CW Designs wants you to be absolutely happy with your purchase, and it will be worked on until you approve it. Keep in mind, though, more edits means more time, so if you are thinking about this, don't wait until the last minute.

You can have the back blank or you can add an itinerary, directions, a thank you note ... anything you can think of.

What is very cool is that the back of your map will be completely customized to match the front of your map. You can provide CW Designs with your wedding colors and those can be incorporated into your map, both on the front and back. If you have a theme for your invitations, the map can be customized to match that as well.

Really, these are about you and your fiance. So if you have anything that you want incorporated, make sure to communicate it.

But CW Designs goes beyond just personalized wedding maps for your welcome bags. You can actually use these for really unique Save the Date cards too. You can work with CW Designs to create your entire invitation suite (everything from stamps to tote bags can be customized).

You can check out prices and ideas at the CW Designs Etsy shop. You'll be able to see some of the designs Carol has done, although they're not all there (she has designed over 550 maps!).

The maps are amazing. I can't even put into words how very cool and unique and special they are. They are very "you" and are a complete reflection of places that are important to you. Plus, they are so bright and happy and colorful.

I had such an issue choosing wedding invitations because so many of them were so rigid. I didn't want that for us. Yes, we are having a very classy affair. It's formal in that we are expecting everyone to dress up and we are serving a (delicious) sit down dinner. But it's not stuffy. Pete and I are both generally really relaxed, easy going people who just like to have a good time. Everyone who knows us knows how we are, and they have seen that reflected in our Save the Dates and our wedding invitations.

These personalized wedding maps, they give off that same vibe. There is no way to look at them and not smile. They just make you happy. And that's how every aspect of weddings should be. These maps are nothing short of perfection and a great reflection of wedding joy. Your guests will absolutely enjoy these and keep them a lot longer than those free maps from the tourist bureau. Plus, these are incredible for your wedding scrapbook. I love CW Designs' style and I can't say enough nice things about the designs.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Today's #BridalBabble chat (at 4pm EST) is actually with Carol and Jeremy of CW Designs. Will you be joining us?

I Received An RSVP From The President (He isn't coming, but check out what he sent)

If you remember my post from the other day, RSVP cards have been a headache. It turned into a bit of hunting people down ... and we are actually still waiting for a few RSVP's.

You know who isn't outstanding? President Barack Obama. I was actually really shocked when I went to get the mail yesterday and there was an envelope with The White House as the return address. I mean, I did invite the President to our wedding (you can find out how to do that here), but part of me didn't expect a reply.

The Commander-in-Chief will not be at our ceremony, however, we received a really nice note back. It was just under five weeks since we sent it that we received a reply.

You can't see it in the photo, but there is an official seal embossed above the text. The card is signed by Barack and Michelle Obama. Well, maybe not. I was looking online and found other people who received an RSVP from the president ... and the dot over the "i" in Michelle is running rogue on all of them. So maybe it's a stamp, but that's okay with me. It's still a very, very cool keepsake. And since it arrived before our wedding, I might get a chance to frame it and display it at our reception.

If you want to send an invitation to The White House to see if you'll get an RSVP from The President and First Lady, you can address is to:

Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama
The White House
Greetings Office Rm. 39
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500

BRIDAL BABBLE: Did you get an RSVP from the President?

Dress Fitting Day (and the moment of truth)

I work fourteen hour days in front of a computer, sitting and blogging and existing seven steps from my refrigerator. When we moved to North Carolina and that became my status quo, I gained a little weight. Nothing crazy, but I just wasn't where I wanted to be.

But I'm one of those people who sit and eat ice cream when I watch The Biggest Loser. And I understand when I see those people binge eat and not do anything active afterwards. I'm not huge like many of them, but I'm just as lazy.

When we got engaged, that didn't change. I didn't have a dress and I knew I had nineteen months before the big day, so I wasn't in any sort of rush.

And then, in August, I went dress shopping. That's a whole different post for a different day, but I went and the dress fit perfectly, so I was told to lose ten pounds.

Ten pounds?

I had never even tried to lose one pound ever in my life, so ten sounded ridiculous.

When I tried the dress on a second time that day, she told me to try and lose five pounds instead. But still, five sounded impossible.

I got home, weighed myself, realized I was more than I had ever been in my life (and ever wanted to be) and that was that. A few times after, I would walk the park or do a little cardio at the gym. My mom told me that once January hit, I would start to get in shape. I thought so ... but January came and went and I had been in the gym maybe four times that month (with three being that first week).

And then Lent came and I gave up chocolate and I thought I was doing much better swapping chocolate bars for butter pecan ice cream (okay, I knew I wasn't doing myself any favors, but I wasn't eating chocolate so that was a step).

But my weight was still not where I wanted because eliminating chocolate and doing nothing else doesn't exactly drop any pounds. So with about two months to go, I started making myself walk two miles every afternoon. It's not much, but it's a start.

That picture is proof that it was still chilly when I started this.

The first week of May, my wedding twin told me about an app called My Fitness Pal. It tracks your calories and was a really conscious way for me to see just how much I was eating. It forced me to measure my food and I realized my serving of butter pecan ice cream was double or triple what the actual serving size is. And the amount of caramel syrup I put on top is quite a few servings.

It also taught me that one delicious Ferrero Rocher chocolate is 73 calories. That's one piece. I eat three at a time. So over 200 calories of chocolate in about a minute. Can't do that when you're only supposed to have 1,200. But this is all stuff I wasn't consciously aware of until I started using the app.

So I'm about four weeks into the app and trying to walk three times a week. So far, so decent. I'm not going to say good because I've definitely skipped more days of walking than I should, but my calories have been on point (even that one cheat day that we went to a concert and one-third of my calories were Cool Ranch Doritos).

Last time I was on the scale, it said I had lost eight pounds. But ... that was coming from a scale with a low battery, so it could be completely inaccurate. I mean, it would give me one weight, and then I would step on again and it would give me a lower weight. I would step on two more times and it would always give me the lower weight, so that's what I went with.

Pete said I look exactly the same, so who knows. What I do know is that my scale told me yesterday I weight 62 pounds ... because the battery is basically dead. And it's not traditional batteries that it takes. Nope. It needs a watch battery. And I don't have one of those lying around.

I'm nervous -- super nervous -- because I'm bringing my dress in for alterations today and it will be the first time I'm putting it on since the day I bought it. I think I am basically the same size (except for, potentially, eight pounds) so it shouldn't need to come in on the sides. I'm hoping it's just the bustle and a belt getting sewn in. It shouldn't need a hem and the sides shouldn't need adjusting. But the consultant was a miracle worker with the corset back and zipped me up like a pro. So who knows if that magic will happen again today. If not, the dress won't fit, it will have to be altered more than I'm expecting, and I have no idea if that's a project that can be done in less than three weeks.

Because, yes, we have less than three weeks to go. Seriously, I'm becoming a Breatharian (okay, not seriously because I love food too much, so my dress really just needs to fit).

BRIDAL BABBLE: Have you tried to diet for your wedding?