Friday, April 29, 2016

Bridesmaids Gift Idea: Knot Jewelry

I'm a huge fan of puns. If you remember, our engagement party favors had personalized peppermint patties that said "mint to be" on them. Knot jewelry to thank your bridesmaids for helping you tie the knot absolutely falls in line with my favorite puns.

I figured I can't be the only one who has had this idea, so I went through a bunch of items and picked out my favorite knot jewelry pieces (so you don't have to search; you can just shop).

knot jewelry

Bridesmaids Gift Idea: Knot Jewelry



BRIDAL BABBLE: What is your favorite knot item in the list?


Looking for more bridesmaid gift ideas?


Check out our Top Ten Bridesmaids Gift Ideas.


flip-flop-wedding-basket



Thursday, April 28, 2016

Tricks For Ordering Dresses Online

Azazie sent this dress to A Bride On A Budget. All thoughts and opinions belong to A Bride On A Budget.

I'll be honest: Wedding dress shopping made me feel fat.

In real life, I wear a size 0 or 2 in clothes with numbers, and XS or S in clothes with letters. In dresses, I'm generally a 4. So when I went wedding dress shopping and the consultants were pulling 10's and 12's, I silently laughed to myself. They must be due for an eye exam, I thought.

Oh no. When I put on those dresses and they fit (some with the help of a clamp in the back, some without), I silently cried to myself. I felt fat. Really fat. And when a consultant pulled my eventual wedding dress and told me it was a European cut so it was a size smaller than American dresses ... and that my dress was the only one of its kind ... and a European size 8, it took all the prayers I could muster (plus some clever handiwork by the consultant) to get me into it.

And then she told me to lose ten pounds.

That's not exactly the feeling you want to have when you're trying on dresses for the day when you should feel most beautiful.

I got over it, lost a couple pounds before wedding day, got into my European size 8 dress (and, with the help of a friend, got out of it), and felt beautiful. I look back on photos and I just really love my dress -- regardless of what size the tag says it was.

But, had I been shopping online for a dress and not in stores, I would have bought a size 4. I would have never in my wildest dreams thought to order anything larger because, in real life, I'm not larger. But wedding dresses -- and bridesmaids dresses too -- they make their own rules.

So dress shopping online can be scary -- especially because you're not buying some cheap department store dress with a coupon. You're spending quite a bit of money and many online sites have a non-existent return policy. Plus, many sites that sell wedding dresses have a long lag time, like three to four months oftentimes. So if you order the wrong size, you don't have time for an exchange even if that was a possibility.

For someone like me, it's all too nerve-wracking.


And that's why I really am a fan of Azazie. The online dress shop has a ton of dresses, but that's not the best part. It also has a sample program. Right now, it's available for bridal gowns and will return this spring for bridesmaids dresses. You choose up to two bridal gowns, try them for a small fee (which covers shipping), and then return them within a week. It helps to see how the dress fits and really helps to determine what size you need.

Keep in mind, if you're between sizes, it's easier to suck up your pride and go up a size than suck in your stomach and go down a size.

We got a chance to order the Nadia dress in spa. I ordered up a size because I have a wide rib cage and dresses are often tight on me there, making it hard to zip. If you're unsure about sizing, you can talk with a specialist at Azazie. I did, but I'm stubborn and still ordered a size up ... and then had to get it taken in. So the lesson, really, is listen to the people who do this for a living. They know what's up.

The dress itself is beautiful. It came in a dress bag, which is especially great if you're traveling to a wedding. The dress bag will keep it safe.

Now, just a few facts about ordering dresses online, in case you're considering it:


Tricks For Ordering Dresses Online


  • Not all dresses are created equally. Just because you are a size 4 at one store doesn't mean you are at another. Look for a size chart on each website to make sure you are ordering a dress that fits.
  • Not all dresses can be returned. If you are hesitant about ordering, check out the site's return policy. Some have one, some don't, some have one for certain items only.
  • Be sure to use a secured site only. If you're paying by credit card, you want to make sure the website is secured. Look for a little lock in your web browser. You want to make sure your payment method is secure and won't be stolen.
  • Try and get a swatch before ordering. If you can get a swatch first, get one. You'll be able to see the color and fabric before, so you know if it's what you want or not.
  • Order with time to spare. Dresses take time to make, and you want to leave enough time for the dress to be created -- and then altered by your local seamstress if you need.


BRIDAL BABBLE: Did you order your dress online? Tell us your story in the comments.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Ten Tips To Help You Stay On Your Wedding Diet

I don't diet. When I found my wedding dress and my consultant told me I could lose ten pounds, I probably gave her a little side eye. She dropped it down to five pounds, but that was still five pounds more than I ever tried to shed in my life. I've always been skinny and I've never had to count calories. But I wanted my dress to be perfect, so if five pounds was the answer then five pounds was gonna happen.

That meant sticking to a wedding diet, though. Awful, right?

If you want to look like the best version of yourself on your wedding day, I totally support that. I would never support trying to lose a few hundred pounds before the big day because, honestly, you'll look like someone else in your photos (and, well, if you do have a few hundred pounds that you think you could lose, you'll probably want to consult a doctor about that. I can't -- legally or realistically -- help you with that journey).

But, if you're on a wedding diet and need a little bit of help to stay on it, these tips are here for you.

Is a wedding diet daunting when you think about it? You can get ten tips to help you stay on your wedding diet from www.abrideonabudget.com.

Ten Tips To Help You Stay On Your Wedding Diet


1. Don't buy crap.
If you don't buy it, it won't be in your house, and you can't eat it. I follow this line of thinking every time I'm at the grocery store. Sure, a bag of chips looks great, but if I buy it and bring it home, I'll eat it. My willpower is not strong. If I leave it in the store, I'm leaving the temptation behind too.

If you really want to snack, buy healthier options. Find healthy snacks that you really enjoy and make sure those are in your pantry -- especially if you have a roommate who is bringing home delicious cookies.

2. Drink water.
Sometimes, when you feel hungry, you're just thirsty. I'm not sure how it happens, but it's a thing. Seriously. You can Google it. So when you're thirsty, before you grab a snack, grab your bottle of water. Drink some water and then wait. If you're still hungry after a bit, then you were hungry. But if the water subsides the hunger, your body was just confused. And if that's the case, you just added zero calories to your day but still filled up.

3. Use an app.
If you track your calories in an app, you'll feel guilty about that piece of chocolate. Trust me. Every time I logged mine into an app, I felt like it was judging me. Three Ferrero Rocher chocolates were 219 calories and I feel like the app was like, "Are you planning on having more calories from chocolate today than from breakfast?" So just having that in my mind, knowing I would have to log the chocolate, it made me stop snacking on it. Instead, I would portion control Pepperidge Farm Goldfish or strawberries.

4. Buy fun size chocolates if you really need a fix.
I'd be lying if I said wedding planning didn't make me want to indulge. But if I did, my vice was one fun sized Nestle Crunch bar. I got my fix and didn't ruin my entire day. If you need to curb a craving, do it with a small dose of whatever you're yearning for.

5. Use the buddy system.
If your fiance is eating some delicious looking pasta swimming in cream sauce, your grilled chicken won't compare. You'll dip a bit of garlic bread into his sauce and one bite will turn into a plateful. Trust me, it will tempt you. But if he is also having salmon and spinach for dinner, it'll be easier to stay on track.

6. Cook at home.
And if you're trying that buddy system, try it at home. Instead of having date night at a restaurant, cook at home. It'll be fun to do it together, plus, you'll know what's going into your meals. Food at restaurants taste good, but so many of those yummy entrees are made in tons of butter. You don't really want to be that girl who is asking the waiter to ask the chef to change the cooking method just to suit your new diet. It's much easier to just do it yourself.

7. Brown bag it. 
Keep chicken and salad in the house and use it to make your lunch the night before. That way, you're not getting fast food on work days. If you're running around planning your wedding and, in a pinch, you need to grab something on the go, you can ask your trusty app. It will actually give you the healthiest option at each fast food restaurant so you can at least make a good decision.

The same goes for breakfast. With some fast food joints serving all day breakfast, it's tempting to grab it on your way into the office. Instead, make yours at home. Pete will make us smoothies before he goes to bed and we have them for breakfast the next morning. By planning ahead, you can make better decisions.

8. Don't drink your calories. 
Beer, soda, mixed drinks, they all come with a lot of potential calories. If you can drink water instead, you won't be drinking your calories away. If you're not a fan of water, you can always try to add something like low-calorie Crystal Light. And if you want a soda when you're out, order a diet soda.

9. Weigh yourself every day.
I know the almighty they will tell you not to weigh yourself every day. But I disagree. A lot. You need to know where you're at and if the changes you're making are working. If you wait a week or two between stepping on the scale, you could have been unknowingly gaining weight. And you won't really be able to pinpoint where the gain is coming from. Or, on the opposite side, if you're losing weight, you won't know what is working. So, investing in a good scale and getting on it often will really help you to know where you're at.

10. Limit your ketchup.
Did you know ketchup has more calories per ounce than soda? When I heard that, it just blew my mind. It's just empty calories. Other condiments can be too. So be aware of what you're adding to your food. If you like bagels, try olive oil instead of butter. If you get a salad and need dressing, have it on the side and dip the prongs of your fork into the dressing before stabbing your salad. You'll get the taste of the dressing with way less calories.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other tips do you have to help brides stay on their wedding diet?

Monday, April 25, 2016

DIY Personalized Beach Pail Ring Bearer & Flower Girl Gift Idea For A Beach Wedding

The trouble with being in my wedding party was that sometimes, I would bombard you with crazy questions. And I expected you to have these magical answers that will solve everything.

My friend Michelle got used to this ... and she was quick with the absolute perfect answer. I asked her opinion, she gave it to me, it was perfect, and I didn't have to stress about that aspect of the wedding anymore.

Take, for example, when I asked her: What kind of gift you would give a ring bearer?

She immediately answered, "idea" with the Etsy link to the following photo:

Do you need a ring bearer or flower girl gift idea? Definitely check out these cute personalized buckets that www.abrideonabudget.com wrote about.
Photo source: DeLaDesign on Etsy
Oh my gosh, I was in love.

We had a beach themed wedding, and our reception was on the beach, so since our young ring bearer did come to the reception, this could keep him occupied. After the reception, this would keep him occupied for the week he was here with his family on vacation (because we do live at the beach).

You can personalize it with the child's name, favorite sea animal, and the words ring bearer. You could also add a set of rings somewhere too.

I would definitely head to the dollar store to pick up some sand toys to add to it, just to keep your ring bearer more occupied. But, really, this is perfect.

Michelle knew that our colors were eggplant, lilac, and silver (with pops of white) so she told me to get a white bucket because a little boy might freak out over a purple bucket.

Good to know.

If you are looking for an idea for a young flower girl, this would work too. Instead of a sea creature on it, you could put a flower. Or maybe a starfish.

I would definitely advise that you find a professional to create this for you. The bucket, if you can't tell, has vinyl cut and stuck onto it. It's not paint (which would peel). If you don't have a Cricut machine, I wouldn't try this at home. You can order from DeLaDesign on Etsy.

If you are going with a DIY, my mom suggested that getting a nicer bucket than what the dollar store sells. They have dollar store buckets at the school she worked at and she said they do not last very long. And this is something we'd definitely like to last.

So, if you are planning to DIY it here's a super quick DIY tutorial:

DIY Personalized Beach Pail Ring Bearer & Flower Girl Gift Idea For A Beach Wedding


What You'll Need:

What You'll Do:
  • Affix the sea creature sticker(s) to the sand bucket.
  • Spell out the child's name in stickers and affix those above the sea creature.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What ring bearer and flower girl gift ideas do you have?


Planning a beach wedding?


Check out our Beach Wedding Invitation Ideas.


Beach Wedding Invitation Ideas



Wednesday, April 20, 2016

A Bride On A Budget Wedding Planning Survival Kit

This A Bride On A Budget Wedding Planning Survival Kit is sponsored.

The first time we went to a bridal expo, one of the vendors asked if we had our venue yet. "I have the groom ... but that's it," I joked.

Honestly, though, that wasn't it. I also had a notebook with designated sections to write down information about each vendor. I had a section for venues, one for flowers, another for cake (because cake was most important to me!), on and on. Each vendor had a page and I would furiously jot down anything useful.

I ended up keeping a second notebook at home with a list of everything I needed to do and crossing things off as I went along. So, as I designed the A Bride On A Budget Wedding Planning Survival Kit with items from Expressionery, I knew notebooks had to be on there.

In fact, everything you as a bride (or maybe your bride, if you're a bridesmaid) could need is in the kit ... except the groom. You have to find him yourself.

Wondering what to buy your newly engaged friend? A Bride On A Budget curated a Wedding Planning Survival Kit at www.abrideonabudget.com. She personalized all the items for a new bride-to-be too, so that will help you when you're deciding what to write on your gift!

A Bride On A Budget Wedding Planning Survival Pack


Pink Jute Zippered Wallet

This wallet is adorable. I love the feel of the jute cording and the zipper is great (one of my biggest gripes in life is a crummy zipper).

There are three sections inside, plus a zippered pouch, credit card slots, bill holders, and a small outer pouch. This wallet would be a good place for a bride to keep the business cards she collects at wedding expos (and it matches the pink and gold theme I'm going with).

Plus, it's a just a great wallet so your bride could use it after her wedding. Everyone will think it's just a cute wallet, but for her, it will be a reminder of her wedding planning. So sweet.

Wondering what to buy your newly engaged friend? A Bride On A Budget curated a Wedding Planning Survival Kit at www.abrideonabudget.com. She personalized all the items for a new bride-to-be too, so that will help you when you're deciding what to write on your gift!

Address Stamp

If you read my post on 5 Times You'll Wish You Had A Stamp During Wedding Planning, you know how much I love personalized stamps as a gift for engaged couples.

The short version: This stamp will get used at bridal expos, on save the dates, thank you cards, engagement party and wedding invitations, and RSVP's. It's much easier to stamp a return address every time instead of handwriting it.

Plus, you'll get a lot more mileage out of a self-inking stamp than traditional address labels (which usually come in a sheet of 24 and by invitation 25, you have to order more).

Wondering what to buy your newly engaged friend? A Bride On A Budget curated a Wedding Planning Survival Kit at www.abrideonabudget.com. She personalized all the items for a new bride-to-be too, so that will help you when you're deciding what to write on your gift!

To Do List Large Notepad (in cabaret) Personalized with to-do list / FOR OUR WEDDING

I was very in control of planning our wedding. I mean, I do run this wedding blog for a living so I know more about wedding planning than any one person should.

So when my mom or maid of honor or Pete would ask me what they could do, I didn't really have too much to delegate. That is, until wedding week when I was delegating as much as I could (I asked my parents to pick up champagne and orange juice for mimosas; I asked my maid of honor to scour dollar stores for blue gift bags because I needed six and the store I went to only had three; I asked Pete to print out shuttle information cards that I designed for our wedding welcome bags).

I was just texting out tasks, but it would have been so much cuter to have used this notepad. Plus, the afternoon before our wedding, I wrote Pete a schedule of what was happening, what time it was happening, and who needed to be there. It would have been great to use this paper instead of just a plain sheet of notepad paper (especially since he still has it almost two years later).

Floral Overlay Folded Notes (in blush) Personalized with FROM THE FUTURE MRS.
 
I personalized the entire pack to be pink and gold because I'm sort of obsessed with the combination of sweet and regal. And every item is personalized perfectly for the bride-to-be, like these thank you cards. They're "From The Future Mrs.", which means a bride will be able to use them throughout all her wedding planning. They're great for a quick thank you for any unexpected gifts or one to her mom and maid of honor after her bridal shower.

With most Expressionery products, you can personalize them as you wish. I made all the items in this kit pretty generic so they will work for any bride-to-be. If you are tweaking the pack yourself, you could change this to say "From The Future Mrs. Smith" (or whatever your friend's new last name will be, if she is changing it).

Classic Pin Dot Notebook (in blush) Personalized with WEDDING NOTES
 
This is the perfect notebook for a bride to carry with her to bridal expos and wedding appointments. It's compact enough to fit in her purse (especially if she's like me and still carries around oversized hobo bags in hopes that the trend never fades).

The cover of the notebook is flexible, in case it needs to move out of the way of a water bottle that gets tossed in her purse, and the cover is laminated ... just in case said water bottle decides to leak all over.

The gold dots on blush background is very Kate Spade-esque, without that extremely high price tag. I think that's part of why I was really drawn to the style of the cover. Plus, the pages are collage ruled (my favorite!), giving the bride enough space to write everything down -- because there is a lot to write.

And finally ...

Wondering what to buy your newly engaged friend? A Bride On A Budget curated a Wedding Planning Survival Kit at www.abrideonabudget.com. She personalized all the items for a new bride-to-be too, so that will help you when you're deciding what to write on your gift!

Best Day Ever Photo Collage Mug

I'm so in love with the best day ever mug. We had a similar personalized mug once, but we dropped it and the handle flew off. We never replaced it ... until now.

I filled this one with my favorite photos from our wedding, but let's think engagement gift for a minute. Every woman I know has texted (and shared on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) a photo of her, her boyfriend turned fiancé, and her engagement ring -- usually with the caption "I said yes" or "He put a ring on it." You'll probably get that text, but, if for some reason you don't, you can always save her photos from social media and use them to make this mug.

Chances are, she'll say her wedding day is the best day ever but until then, proposal day will be. So making her this mug, which will be filled with seemingly endless cups of coffee (maybe wine) through her time of planning, is perfect.

The only thing you'll have to add to this that Expressionery doesn't sell is a pen. I'm thinking a long pen with a large pink poof on the top (a la Cher from Clueless), more for show than function, but you can add a simple gold pen instead.

Eventually, this pack will actually be curated right on Expressionery's website for easy ordering. For now, though, you can click on any of the links, use our personalization as a guide, and create your perfect pack. Be sure to add any items that your bride will love.

Plus, you can get 30% off personalized stationery with the code ENJOY30 (for a limited time) or 30% off a full price item with the code GIFTS30 through June 30.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other items would you include in your wedding planning survival kit?

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Wedding Advice Cards

I wanted to do something a little different and interactive at our engagement party. So I decided to make wedding advice cards. Where I got the idea is a mystery, but they were such a hit!

Looking for an engagement party game? Check out these wedding advice cards from www.abrideonabudget.com. You can get them for FREE there too!

We printed them out, set them at the welcome table, and had a glittered box with the words "Wedding Advice" written on it. We had a few pens out and our guests wrote on them on their way in (or out) of our party.

I made three different cards. One was blank, one started with "NEVER" and one started with "ALWAYS." Our guests were able to choose one of the three.

Some of the answers we received were funny, like, "NEVER is Lisa wrong." And others were serious, like taking time to enjoy our wedding day. It was really a fun way for us to have a "guest book" at our engagement party, but also to just get some tips for the wedding planning process.

I had originally planned on laminating them and displaying them at our wedding, but I decided to just keep them for ourselves.

If you love the idea, you're in luck. I actually redesigned these cards so that they will fit any engagement party. The ones I made for us had our names on them and the date of our party. I removed those for you.

Looking for an engagement party game? Check out these wedding advice cards from www.abrideonabudget.com. You can get them for FREE there too!

All you need to do is right click the image above and save it to your computer. The wedding advice cards are formatted for an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, which is standard home printer size. As long as you have ink in your printer, you can print these at home. Then, just cut them with a paper trimmer and bring them to your engagement party.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What advice would you write on these wedding advice cards?

Monday, April 18, 2016

The Ultimate Guide To Wedding Thank You Cards

A Bride On A Budget was sent these cards for review. All thoughts and opinions belong to A Bride On A Budget.

We were fortunate that a ton of our friends got married before us. We were able to go to their weddings and see what we liked (and didn't like), what worked (and what flopped). We were also able to get a ton of thank you cards before we had to think about ours.

One of the thank you cards was from my friend Nicole. Her card was actually still sitting on our fridge until we moved. Why? Because it was pretty much the epitome of the perfect thank you card. She got married over four years ago and, in that time, we've been to countless weddings and gotten just as many thank you cards. And the only one that was still on our fridge was Nicole's.

So when it was our time to do thank you cards, I knew I had to use a few of her tips and tricks so hopefully, years later, people would still have our thank you cards.

Writing your thank yous? Before you do, you NEED to read The Ultimate Guide To Thank You Cards from www.abrideonabudget.com.

I learned a lot about thank you cards, more than you would expect actually. But that's how it went with every aspect of wedding planning. So, to help you, I've put together The Ultimate Guide To Wedding Thank You Cards.

The Ultimate Guide To Wedding Thank You Cards


Writing your thank yous? Before you do, you NEED to read The Ultimate Guide To Thank You Cards from www.abrideonabudget.com.

1. You have six months to send them.
With wedding thank you cards, you actually have up to six months to send them before you're "late" on them, especially if you're adding your own photos. In some cases, it can take up to three months before you'll get your professional photos back from your photographer. After that, you'll select the ones you want for your wedding thank you card, order your card, and then find a night (or weekend) to sit down and write them all. It takes a while and your guests understand that. Anything longer than six months post-wedding gets a little dicey, although you should try to send them out within 12 weeks.

If you're not including photos, you should send them out as soon as possible.

2. Send a thank you card to everyone who attended your wedding and anyone who sent you a gift.
You had a wedding and you invited people to celebrate with you. You didn't invite people so that your wedding would turn into a fund raiser. Yes, many of your guests will give you a gift but they don't have to. Sometimes, their presence is just their present. And that's okay. But you still have to thank them. No, you're not going to send a card saying, "Thanks for nothing" because that's rude. You will, however, want to send them a thank you card saying, "Thank you for making the trip to our wedding and spending our special day with us. It meant so much to have you there." Because you know what? In life, someone's time is worth more than their money and if people took the time to celebrate with you, you should be grateful.

There are guests, though, who won't be able to make your wedding. Maybe they're busy, maybe they're unable to travel, maybe they just don't like weddings. Who knows. But sometimes, those guests will send you a gift anyway. And that's really, really nice of them. You need to thank them, of course, but you can wait until you're sending out everyone else's thank you cards. That's especially nice if you use photos because those people missed seeing you in a wedding dress and your groom in a tux, so photos on your wedding thank you cards allow them to see just how amazing you looked.

People who just send back your RSVP card, decline your invitation, and do not send a gift, are the only people who don't get a thank you card.

Writing your thank yous? Before you do, you NEED to read The Ultimate Guide To Thank You Cards from www.abrideonabudget.com.

3. Choose photos that represent your wedding.
We got married downtown, took photos on the courthouse steps and near the water, had a beach reception, and a huge part of our wedding was Pete getting to play a song with our wedding band (and I bought him his dream guitar as a wedding gift to play during that song). I picked a photo from each of those parts of our wedding to go on the thank you card. I didn't pick anything from the church, but they were more serious and I wanted photos that showed more personality. Our guests who missed the wedding were able to see what happened. And all the photos, actually, were taken during private moments that were (almost) just us and the photographers. So even our guests that were there didn't see these moments until the thank you card. When I look at the photos, these are the moments that I feel capture our day beautifully. They were all selected very purposefully and I think they do a great job.

4. Stick with your theme.
If you have a color that you used throughout your wedding, continue that with your wedding thank you cards. Our colors were eggplant, lilac, and silver, so I made sure to use those colors everywhere we could. Our favors were silver buckets with purple ribbon (which my mom made). We used silver, eggplant, and lilac in our programs and in our thank you cards. Actually, our programs are also from MagnetStreet (you can check out a full post about them here). I made sure to use the same colors when we designed the thank you cards. MagnetStreet makes that really easy, so it works to your advantage to order your entire stationery suite from the same company. You don't have to order them at the same time, but the same store means the same colors and everything will match.

Plus, if your entire wedding was focused on black and pink, you don't want to all of a sudden introduce yellow at the last minute. Your thank you card is the bow on top of your wedding. Tie is nicely and make it cohesive.

Writing your thank yous? Before you do, you NEED to read The Ultimate Guide To Thank You Cards from www.abrideonabudget.com.

5. Include a personalized photo in the thank you card.
This is something Nicole did that I absolutely knew we were doing. Her photographer took a really nice photo of my family and extended family during her cocktail hour. I remember him taking the photo and thought it was great ... although I figured there was a chance I would never see it. I did see it ... in our thank you card. That photo is hanging on our fridge too, years later.

When we were sending out our cards, I made sure to find a really nice photo of everyone I could. There were a few people who just weren't in a single photo and some who were just in the background. So in those cases I either skipped a photo or, if it was a couple, I sent a nice photo of at least one half of the couple.

What I wanted to do, but didn't and wished I did now, was to set up disposable cameras near the escort cards and ask everyone to take a selfie when they walked in. That way, I would be sure to have a photo of everyone. But, really, not everyone signed the guest book (which was between the escort cards), so you can't expect that everyone would have taken a selfie either. Honestly, you're not going to get everyone, but you can try.

6. Hand write a personalized note in every card.
I know, it sounds so easy to have a generic message printed inside your wedding thank you cards and sign your names (or heck, even have your names printed too). But no. Just no. Your guests spent time and money to come and spend your wedding day with you. The least you can do is write them each a personalized note, thanking them for their generosity.

From the start of our wedding journey, I involved Pete in the card process. He helped me address and stuff our engagement party invitations. He wrote half of the thank you cards after the engagement party, the shower and again after the wedding. And he helped me stuff and stamp our wedding invitations too.

The way we did our shower thank you cards was simple. I wrote pretty much everything, and then Pete added an ending sentence or two (like, "Can't wait to see you in June!" or "So sad we won't be seeing in you June!") and we each signed our own names. The shower was thrown for me, so it was my responsibility to write most of the card but the gifts we received were half mine and half Pete's, so if he was sharing the gifts, he could share the card writing.

We followed a similar pattern with our wedding thank you cards (and our engagement party thank you cards too). We had a (pretty much) generic way to start almost every card and then a way to finish every card. So we each started half the cards with the salutation and the first sentence, then we traded cards so I would finish the ones Pete started and he would finish the ones I started. Then we both signed our own names. It was half the work, since no one had to do all the cards, and a nice way for us to spend time together.

Writing your thank yous? Before you do, you NEED to read The Ultimate Guide To Thank You Cards from www.abrideonabudget.com.

7. Buy a stamp or an embosser.
You're going to hand write your wedding thank you cards; you don't want to hand write your return address on every single envelope. I'm not a fan of address labels, honestly, because they're finite. You order a specific number of them and you have that many to use. With a stamp or embosser, you sort of have an infinite amount of uses. So far, from one ink pad, we've done our save the date cards, wedding invitations, thank you cards, and our first Christmas cards.

I absolutely love our stamper and it's been clutch for everything except our thank you cards. We ordered the luxe pearl cards from MagnetStreet, which is basically a really beautiful Italian linen paper that has a gorgeous shine to it. They're not flat matte cards. They have a heavy weight and appearance that is well worth the extra money. The luxe pearl cards comes with a matching shiny pearled envelope too. It looks beautiful in the mailbox ... but didn't mesh so well with our stamp. The ink never dried. We ended up using extra clear address labels on top as a sticker and that worked just fine, but we wouldn't have had this issue with an embosser. So your better bet is an embosser since you don't know what paper type you'll choose for everything. Whatever you choose, invest in one of those. And, if you make it like ours (sans last names) you can continue using them even after you're married.

8. Remember to add a stamp.
I know, that's such a silly reminder but you do have to stamp these. And if you order "small" cards (or even large ones), they have to be hand sorted so you'll need to add extra postage to them. If you don't, your guests will get a note from the post office that they owe some money in order to get their thank you card. Save yourself the phone calls (because people will call if you don't put enough postage) and make sure you put a stamp -- in the right amount -- on your cards.

Writing your thank yous? Before you do, you NEED to read The Ultimate Guide To Thank You Cards from www.abrideonabudget.com.

Designing our wedding thank you cards from MagnetStreet was really simple. I was able to scroll through the options and choose the one I liked best. The Sketched In Love thank you card was originally shown in blue hues, but I was able to change the colors, the font, the text, and (of course) the photos. I uploaded about 15 photos and was able to easily select and deselect photos to see what fit best.

When I was done designing them, the edge of one photo bled onto the back of the card. I absolutely didn't want that to happen, so I put a note in the "special request" section and asked a designer to fix that for me. Before the cards were printed, I was sent a proof of my order. The cards were designed exactly as I wanted (with no photo bleed). It was really great to be able to review them, especially since thank you cards are an expense. You don't want to spend a ton of money on something that isn't exactly what you want.

Our thank you cards from MagnetStreet came packaged in a really pretty white ribbon. It felt like I was opening a present, which was nice. They didn't come folded, which I suspected would happen since that's how our programs arrived. Folding them was easy, though, so no worries there. They felt really nice and high quality when we opened them, so I was so happy. We didn't want any moment of our wedding to feel cheap and I knew MagnetStreet wouldn't let us down.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other tips do you have for writing wedding thank you cards?

Thursday, April 14, 2016

DIY I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs #GIVEEXTRAGETEXTRA #Walmart #ad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GIVEEXTRAGETEXTRA #Walmart #CollectiveBias

I'm old. How do I know? Because I'm from the generation that completely missed out on promposals. You've seen them? It's when a boy takes a girl to the aquarium, then holds a sign that says, "Whale you go to prom with me?" And then they both post the photo on social media because if it's not on Instagram, it didn't happen.

Me? I called the boy I was dating and asked him if he was free the day of prom. See, he was a year behind me in school and couldn't ask me to my own prom. So I called, asked, he said yes, and prom was amazing. I have pictures in a box somewhere to prove it.

When I asked my friends to be my bridesmaids, I wanted it to be something special. I didn't want just a phone call. These are the women who have been with me through thick and thin during life, would stand by my side on my wedding day, and would help me plan my special day. A phone call just didn't seem like enough.

If you agree, and you're looking for a fun way to ask your friends to be your bridesmaids, I have a super fun tutorial for you: DIY I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaids gum packs!

How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!

DIY I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid gum packs


How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!

What You'll Need:
  • Extra® Gum Spearmint 35-stick package
  • I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaids free printable (at the end of this post)
  • Tape
  • Paper trimmer

What You'll Do:

How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!

Head to your local Walmart and pick up the new Extra® 35-stick pack. You can find it by the register in either Spearmint or Polar Ice®.

It comes in durable, recycled packaging, which is very cool. If you're only heading to Walmart for these, you can just throw them in your purse and not take a plastic bag (which is what I try to do if I forget my reusable totes or if I'm grabbing small items only). This plastic package won't get crushed by any of your purse's contents or ruined if a water bottle in your purse has a loose top and leaks (which actually just happened in my laptop bag last week so I'm hyper-conscious of this right now).

How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!
How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!
Print out our I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaids free printable. What's great is I formatted these printables to fit on an 8.5x11 sheet of printer paper so you can print them at home. The colored portion fits perfectly on the Extra® Gum 35-stick packages so you really just have to print and you're ready.

To save the wrapper (gum pun totally intended), right click either image above and save it to your computer. Then, print it whenever you're ready to use it.

How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!

Using a paper trimmer, cut the whites off the sides of the I Chews You wrapper.

How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!

Wrap it around your Extra® Gum 35-stick package and tape the back. Wrap the other side and affix that with tape as well.

Continue until you have one for each of your bridesmaids. I made the printable in two similar but different designs so you could alternate.

How are you asking your friends to be your bridesmaids? Check out these ADORABLE I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid Gum Packs from www.abrideonabudget.com. They come with a free printable too!

Give it to your friend as you ask her to be your bridesmaid. I'm sure she'll love it. And, if she's nice (and I'm sure she is or you wouldn't choose her to be a bridesmaid), she'll share some gum with you.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you make these DIY I "Chews" You To Be My Bridesmaid gum packs for your friends?

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Get A Free Wedding Sample Kit From Minted Weddings

Have you heard of Minted?

It's actually the website we used for our Save the Dates (which you can check out here). The quality was amazing. So many people texted or called to tell us how impressed they were with them. We ordered magnets and the thickness was astounding, plus, it had a matte (not glossy) finish that made them look expensive. You have to see them. Or, at least, see what Minted can do. Right now, you can check it out for free.


Planning your wedding? Deciding on wedding stationery? You can get a FREE wedding sample kit from Minted Weddings. Find out how at www.abrideonabudget.com.

Just fill out your information here and you'll get a sample pack with five invitations, plus swatches of Minted's premium paper.

The pack is standard, so you won't be able to choose the ones you want like Wedding Paper Divas allows, but you will get five very different designs, so that will help you figure out what your options are.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Did you request your wedding sample pack?

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee

This post is written by Pete. For all his posts, check out this link.

In today's post we're going to revisit our old friend: the wedding registry. More specifically, particular gift ideas for a wedding registry. People love Top 5 or 10 lists,   right? Shoot man, I know I do because it saves me a lot of work when I'm lost and clueless and trying to think of a gift idea.

One of the truest quotes I've ever read is "Hell is other people." One of the best ways to deal with the stress of having to interact with other people is coffee. I don't know about you, but if I don't have coffee FIRST thing in the morning, there's a good chance I'll strangle the first person I see at work. Okay, so without further mindless rambling by me, I present to you the Top 5 Registry Items For People Who LOVE Coffee.

LOVE coffee? Getting married? This post is for YOU! Check out the Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee by www.abrideonabudget.com.

Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee

LOVE coffee? Getting married? This post is for YOU! Check out the Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee by www.abrideonabudget.com.
A Bean Grinder


1. Bean Grinder.
I put a bean grinder at number one because as far as I'm concerned nothing beats a cup of coffee made from beans you just freshly ground yourself. It's akin to using pre-ground black pepper versus grinding peppercorns yourself. There's just no comparison. I know, I know, who the hell wants to grind their own beans, right? Ugh, just one more thing to do in the morning when you're already running late because you thought it'd be a good idea to try and squeeze in just one more episode of House Of Cards before heading out the door. Well good news! It's freaking the fastest and easiest thing on earth to do. I don't know of any other situation in life where such minimal effort reaps such monumental outcomes. The one we have is cheap, simple, and durable. I like it so much in fact, that I'm going to buy a second one to use solely to make spice blends using whole spices.
LOVE coffee? Getting married? This post is for YOU! Check out the Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee by www.abrideonabudget.com.
Good Coffee Beans
2. Good Coffee Beans. 
You've heard the adage "garbage in, garbage out" right? Well same for coffee. If you're using cheap crappy coffee, then guess what? Yeah, you're gonna be drinking liquid garbage. Sadly, I think so many people are just so used to drinking big brand coffee that now comes in gigantic buckets that they have no idea what they're missing. Just pay a little extra on good beans and re-read number one. You'll be glad you did.
LOVE coffee? Getting married? This post is for YOU! Check out the Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee by www.abrideonabudget.com.
A Funny Coffee Mug
3. Funny coffee mug.
Now that you're gonna be drinking "next-level-delicious" coffee, you've gotta have a funky and funny coffee mug to drink it out of. I'm not talking one of those misshapen, overpriced, abstract-art looking hipster mugs that tip over as soon as you place it on a flat surface. I'm talking a functional and cheap mug that reflects your personality.

LOVE coffee? Getting married? This post is for YOU! Check out the Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee by www.abrideonabudget.com.
French Press
4. French Press. 
If you haven't drank coffee that was made in a French Press, you're missing out on an awesome experience. I don't know how it does what it does to produce the flavor that it does, but it's super delicious. It makes your coffee taste more "coffee-ish"... that makes almost no sense and sounds completely ridiculous, but it's the best way to describe it. We've got one and I can tell you from personal experience that they're not expensive to purchase and are simple and easy to use. It's my favorite coffee-brewing method. As an added bonus, a French Press is perfect for brewing cold brew coffee. Please tell me you've tried cold brew ...

LOVE coffee? Getting married? This post is for YOU! Check out the Top 5 Wedding Registry Items For People Who Love Coffee by www.abrideonabudget.com.
Good Travel Mug
5. Good Coffee Travel Mug. 
In the colder months, a warm cup of coffee in the morning is essential -- and something to look forward to. If you want the experience to last for as long as possible, then it is definitely worth investing in a good coffee travel mug. That way you'll be smiling all the way to work, and heck, maybe even at at work, til you've taken your last sip.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Which of these registry items for people who love coffee is your favorite?



Really love coffee?


Check out our Thanks A Latte wedding favors.


Coffee lovers wedding favor



Monday, April 11, 2016

DIY Happy Trails Trail Mix Wedding Favor

I've always loved the idea of a late night snack at the end of your wedding, something to send the guests off with for them to enjoy during the car ride home (or in the hotel room before they pass out). I also love puns. A lot. More than most people probably should.

So these are perfect.

You should DEFINITELY send your wedding guests home with a late night snack ... and these Happy Trails trail mix wedding favors from www.abrideonabudget.com are PERFECT.

I made trail mix for guests to grab when they're leaving at the end of the night. Plus, it was so easy and so cost effective.

And tasty. Don't forget about that.

You should DEFINITELY send your wedding guests home with a late night snack ... and these Happy Trails trail mix wedding favors from www.abrideonabudget.com are PERFECT.

Happy Trails Trail Mix Wedding Favor


What You'll Need:

What You'll Do:

You should DEFINITELY send your wedding guests home with a late night snack ... and these Happy Trails trail mix wedding favors from www.abrideonabudget.com are PERFECT.

Fill your bags with small handfuls of your items. Realistically, you can make anything into trail mix although, traditionally, it's peanuts and raisins. I have friends with nut allergies and Pete's not a fan of raisins, so that combo was out.

Try to get a mix of sweet and salty, and you're good. Personally, I like Cheerios because they're cheap (especially if you can catch a sale or just pick up the generic in bulk) and they take up a lot of room. If you choose all very small items, like granola, it will cost you more to fill the bags.

You should DEFINITELY send your wedding guests home with a late night snack ... and these Happy Trails trail mix wedding favors from www.abrideonabudget.com are PERFECT.

If you can lay the bag flat and have one layer of items, you've filled it enough. You don't want to overstuff them. This isn't breakfast for the road, just a cute little parting gift. It shouldn't be a huge expense (and it will be if you fill each bag to the top).

You should DEFINITELY send your wedding guests home with a late night snack ... and these Happy Trails trail mix wedding favors from www.abrideonabudget.com are PERFECT.

Fold over the unfilled portion and tape it to the back. My bags ended up being one-third filled and the rest of the bag was folded over.

Affix the sticker on the front of the bag. I thought about using it to close the back, but then your display would show the edge of the bag. 

You should DEFINITELY send your wedding guests home with a late night snack ... and these Happy Trails trail mix wedding favors from www.abrideonabudget.com are PERFECT.


I used square address labels that are 2x2, which is perfect for one-third of a sandwich bag. See, most DIY items are about presentation. Sure, you could grab a pack of address labels from the store and print them yourself, but that rectangular shape won't take up enough real estate on these bags to make them look good.

That's the thing with DIY. You don't want to run the risk of it looking cheap (and print at home address labels will run that risk). Speaking of labels, you can get a free set of address labels from Shutterfly. Just create yours (to say happy trails, of course, instead of an address), and enter the code FREELABEL at checkout. Your labels will be completely free. You have until June 30, 2016 to use the code. Now, back to the tutorial ... 

You should DEFINITELY send your wedding guests home with a late night snack ... and these Happy Trails trail mix wedding favors from www.abrideonabudget.com are PERFECT.

Sixlets (which are candy-coated chocolate-flavored candies, if you don't know), come in a variety of colors. I used the Spring mix because it's colorful and gives these trail mix bags a little pop. You can buy these in bulk in any color you want.

It took me under a minute to make each. If you set up an assembly line where each person have one job (one person to each trail mix item, one to close the bags and make sure the air is out, and one to affix the sticker and tape), you could knock these out in no time. Just make sure your venue has an exit table or can turn over the welcome table to place these, and have your DJ or band make an announcement that these are available to guests.

Trust me, your guests will be talking about their trail mix the next day.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What would you put in your trail mix?