Top Ten A Bride On A Budget Posts Of 2015

I can't believe today is the last day of 2015. That's so crazy, right? This year just really flew by. I think I say that every year, but this one really did.

See, this year, I was really trying to hold on to every moment. We're married without children, and I know this time in our life won't last forever. So I wanted to make sure that I really soaked it in, appreciate the fact that we can sleep late on the weekends and travel whenever we want (as long as we have a cat sitter, anyway).

This year, my parents retired and had a house built down the block from us. Every Sunday, I went to their house to see what construction had happened that week. It was incredible to watch. And a week or so after their house was done, Pete and I bought the lot two down from them. So for the last few weeks, I've been watching our house be built. I'm really enjoying it and really just appreciating the exciting moments and the mundane ones.

Like last week. I was watching my 94-year-old grandma and we went out to Waffle House. She said she could walk from the car to the restaurant, but she needed a little help stepping up the curb. This pair of older gentlemen were at the car next to us and jumped at the chance to help her ... and grab her booty. Seriously. When this one man helped her up, he did so by grabbing her tush. Payment for his good deed, I guess.

Realistically, did I have time to go out to dinner with my grandma every night (after shopping every day)? No, not really. I should have been working. Blogging forces me to sit in front of a computer for fourteen hours a day. And that's what I should have been doing last week as I grandma-sat. But instead, I went out to dinner every night. Because you know what? I can work anytime. I can work weekends and when the rest of the world sleeps. But what I can't do is hang out with my grandma at any time, especially just me and her.

So that was my 2015. Trying really consciously to just be present and enjoy the moments.

Your 2015, dear A Bride On A Budget reader, was spent reading old posts. Seriously. I went through our posts to find the most read from 2015. To my surprise, of the top 20 posts you read this year, only one was written in 2015. The rest were from the past.

So I have two year end wrap up lists. The first is the top ten posts read in 2015 and the second is the top ten posts written in 2015.

Top Ten Posts Read in 2015 on A Bride On A Budget

1. DIY: Twine-Wrapped Wine Bottle Centerpieces Tutorial
2. Why You Should Always Go Wedding Shopping At The Dollar Store
3. DIY: Will You Be My Bridesmaid? Rings (& My Proposal)
4. Wedding DIY: Preserving Your Flowers At Home
5. Review: Sole Serum
6. Cow On A Shelf
7. 100 Wedding Favors (Your guests will actually take)
8. Five Things You Can Absolutely Skip At Your Wedding (And no one will notice or care)
9. My Invitation Saga (and how Nicole at Glossie.ca came to my rescue)
10. Disney Princess Engagement Rings

Top Ten Posts Written in 2015 on A Bride On A Budget

1. 100 Wedding Favors (Your guests will actually take)
2. White Wedding Inspiration Board
3. Who Gets Tipped At A Wedding? (And answers to all your other wedding tipping questions.)
4. Top Ten Bridesmaids Gift Ideas
5. Hot Chocolate Spoons Favor Idea
6. Famous Couples Bridal Shower Game (Free Printable)
7. How To Properly Prepare Pine Cones For Crafting
8. Homemade Fudge Wedding Favor
9. So you're engaged ... now what? (What to do before you say "I Do")
10. 15 Cool Snowflake Wedding Favors

BRIDAL BABBLE: Which of these posts from 2015 was your favorite?

Why We Had A Live Band Instead Of A DJ At Our Wedding

I had never been to a wedding with a band before ours. All the weddings I had been at, the couple booked a DJ and I figured I would do the same.

Not too long after Pete and I were officially dating, I was sitting in his parents' kitchen with his mom. He was in another room, taking a while to do whatever he was doing, and she pulled our Pete's sisters' wedding albums.

"I didn't get involved; I let them pick whatever they wanted," she said as she flipped pages. "The only thing I insisted on was a live band. Weddings are better with a live band."

It was just a comment in passing. She wasn't saying Pete and I had to have a live band. She wasn't even saying Pete and I had to get married. She was just making conversation as we went through photos.

Less than two months after that conversation, Pete's mom passed.

When we got engaged, I knew we had to have a band at our wedding. I wasn't sure, really at all, about how to find a band for a wedding or how much one cost. I just knew that Pete's mom wasn't able to suggest anything else for our wedding, and we had to honor her one request.

Pete and I go out to see live bands a lot, probably every weekend. When we would go out, thinking that if I had loved one, I would talk to them about playing our wedding. But nothing grabbed me.

The December before our wedding, we were at a local bar for a Toys For Tots benefit. When we walked in, there was a guy singing, whose voice I really liked, but the songs were old, dull classic rock songs that I didn't like. "If he was singing in a pop band, I would ask them about playing our wedding," I thought to myself. As if my friend was a mind reader, he said to me, "You should have seen the band before this one. It was the same guy singing, but it was all Top 40 stuff."

Oh, really, I thought. I tried quick to find the name of that band, couldn't, and that was the end of that.

Three months later, we still didn't have a band to play our wedding. I had asked a florist for suggestions, but hers were so out of our budget. I was getting worried. "If we can't find one, we can just have a DJ," Pete said. But we both knew that no, a DJ wasn't really an option.

I went to a bridal expo with a friend who had recently gotten engaged and the first booth, before we actually even got inside, was manned by two members of the band Port City Shakedown. "How much do you charge?" I asked. The price was right in my budget. I wrote it down -- and had my friend as a witness -- and said I would check out the band and email the guy.

I got home, checked out the band on Facebook. Well, can you imagine my surprise when the lead singer turned out to be the guy I saw singing at the Toys For Tots benefit. And this band ... all Top 40 stuff.

Pete and I saw them play a month later and booked them right away.

From there, it was similar to working with a DJ. Just like you would work out a play list (and a do not play list) with your DJ, we did that with the band. We went through their set list and vetoed anything we wanted (I vetoed Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines; Tom Petty's Mary Jane's Last Dance ... songs based on sex and drugs that just weren't wedding appropriate in my mind). The band offered to learn two songs we wanted ... and we used that option to ask them if Pete could play with them.

I had mentioned it to the band previously (and Pete has mentioned it in his blog post here) and it just turned into one of my favorite moments from our wedding day. I mean, how many grooms actually just the chance to play at their own wedding? It was just magic and wouldn't have happened with a DJ.

And now, even eighteen months later, people still talk about our band. And we've actually been out to see them a few times too, including on our one-year anniversary. We couldn't have done that with a DJ. And, now that we've done it, I have to agree with Pete's mom: Weddings are better with a live band.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Are you planning on having a wedding band?

Simple Snow-Covered Tree Winter Wedding Favor

Oriental Trading provided the items for this post. All thoughts and opinions belong to A Bride On A Budget.

Sometimes, DIY turns into DI Why did I do this? And other times, DIY is just some super simple project that requires minor assembly on your part.

This Simple Snow-Covered Tree Winter Wedding Favor post definitely falls into the second category. They're considered DIY because you are technically assembling them but, honestly, all you're doing is very minor assembly. They're super eye-catching for a winter wedding and require minimal effort. And really, when you're planning a wedding, you sometimes just need things to be easy. And these are easy. 

Simple Snow-Covered Tree Winter Wedding Favor

What You'll Need:

• Hershey's Kisses with Mint Truffle Filling 
• Winter Retreat Favor Boxes

What You'll Do:

Open the favor box and squeeze the sides.

The bottom will actually fold itself. I told you this was easy.

Fill with Hershey Kisses. I was able to fit ten really comfortably (it didn't look empty, but it wasn't overfilled either). Personally, I think the Mint Truffle Kisses are the best for this. First, they're mint so they give that winter feeling when you eat them. And second, their wrappers have snowflakes on them. That absolutely matches your winter wedding theme.

Close the box.

Display them.

That's it.

My bag of Mint Truffle Kisses had 63 Kisses in it, so if you're doing ten in each like me, you're looking about six favors per bag (plus a few Kisses to eat while you work). Keep that in mind when you're buying the Kisses so you pick up enough.

Right now, the favor boxes are on sale at Oriental Trading, so I would definitely buy the favor boxes now, even if your wedding is next winter. You'll definitely have them for your wedding and you'll be able to save on them. And you know I love savings.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What else would you fill these winter wedding favors with?

Planning a winter wedding?
Check out our 15 Cool Snowflake Wedding Favors post.

When Should You Send Your Save The Dates? (And all your other wedding postage questions answered.)

This question comes up a lot: When, exactly, should you send your save the dates? That also expands to wedding invitations, thank you cards, and any other sort of stationery you might send after you get engaged.

Don't question it anymore. I got you. I put together this great list that answers all your wedding postage questions (and the questions you didn't even know you have).

When should you send your ... 

Engagement party invitations?

Send your engagement party invitations out one month before your party, if you're having a large, formal party. If you're doing something more casual at home, give people at least a one week notice.

Quick tip: For a casual party with immediate family only, you can get away with a phone call invite. Plus, they'll probably want to chat and hear your proposal story.

Engagement party thank you cards?

As soon as you get home from your party, write them. If anyone is generous enough to give you a gift at this (no one is required to at all -- it's sort of the only gift-free wedding related party), thank them immediately.

Quick tip: My favorite engagement party gift idea is a box of thank you cards. The bride and groom will be able to start writing thank you's right away.

Save the dates?

Sent your save the dates as soon as you set a date. Realistically, though, they should go out at least six months before your wedding date, if it's local and nine months to a year if you're having a destination wedding.

Quick tip: If you're running out of time (or having a short engagement), you can always text your save the dates.

Wedding invitations?

You should sent your wedding invitations out so they arrive three months before your wedding date (meaning, you should mail them three weeks and one week before your wedding). Make sure you put the RSVP card in the invitation!

Quick tip: Make the RSVP date five weeks before your wedding date (which means you'll receive them about one month before your wedding).

Thank you cards?

"They" say you have up to a year after your wedding to send your thank you cards, but I don't know who this "they" is because that's ridiculous. Realistically, if you are including photos, those can take up to three months to get them back. So, if you are including wedding photos, you can send your thank you cards three months after your wedding. If you're not including photos, send them out within the first month. If you need help with these, check out our ultimate thank you card guide.

Quick tip: If you're going on a honeymoon, purchase a bunch of postcards at the airport when you land. Spend one night writing thank you postcards and send them out before you head home.

Who should you send your ... 

Bridal shower invitations?

Whoever is throwing your party. That's generally your mom and maid of honor, if they choose to throw you one (they may not!).

Quick tip: Give a copy of your guest list (with addressees!) to your mom after you send your save the date cards and go over it with her so she knows who to invite to your shower.

Bachelorette party invitations?

Your maid of honor should take care of this, if she is throwing you one.

Quick tip: Work with her and your bridesmaids to put together a guest list.

How much does it cost to send your ... 

Okay, this is sort of a trick question. Without knowing the size, shape, and weight of your invitations and thank you cards, it's impossible to estimate this. But, know this: square envelopes cost extra postage. Also, oversized and undersized envelopes cost extra postage. Square, oversized, and undersized envelopes all need to be hand sorted, so it costs more to send them.

Heavier envelopes cost more to send than lighter ones, so keep that in mind when you're choosing the type of card stock to print on (a heavier card stock makes for a nicer invitation but more postage). Also, the more enclosure cards you add to your invitation, the more weight you're adding.

Quick tip: Take one, completed invitation to the postage and have it weighed before you buy any stamps.

You should keep in mind ... 

Postage prices change often. Our friends actually bought post card stamps, affixed them to their RSVP cards ... and then post card stamps increased one cent. 

BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you have any other wedding postage questions?