Archive for April, 2008

Apr 2008

This from Nicole, who's planning a wedding that makes me want to hug her (and who's antique engagement ring is very similar to mine, even!):

-our number one priority should be an amazing and unique reception venue, that no one has been to before, that leaves our guests breathless. if this kind of venue isn't in our budget, we should cut guests from our list.

-our number one priority should be an incredible photographer, who shoots magazine-worthy photos, and will photograph our wedding in a fully artsy and MoMA-worthy style. if our budget doesn't support such a photographer, cut guests from the list so that it does.

Girlfriend, I hear you. I'd rather have all our friends and loved ones delicately nibbling peanuts out of the palms of their hands, then have five people with us eating steak at the plaza. But that kind of thinking isn't going to land me in a wedding magazine, now is it?

Posted in: Meg's Thoughts, Planning, Planning, Sass, Weddings | 7 Comments »

Apr 2008

Family Style, and trends…

So, we've been thinking about serving our food family style instead of buffet style, because most of all we want our wedding to be a big celebration of our various communities, all under one roof. And what is more communal then passing around food? It's funny though, because family style food is suddenly *the* trendy way to go with weddings, so we're grabbing on to the cultural zeitgeist a bit, which doesn't bother me at all when its such a good idea.

What does tickle me is that family style seems a bit trendy in a 1970's The Dinner Party sort of way... (though we were thinking, achem, plain plates).
Continue reading Family Style, and trends…

Posted in: Meg's Thoughts, Planning, Weddings | 4 Comments »

Apr 2008

Thoughts from the world the wedding websurfing:

Your wedding is not going to be perfect. The sooner you come to grips with that, the more fun you are going to have enjoying the day exactly the way it is.
Instead of trying to be one-of-a-kind unique, just try to be yourself. There may actually be a reason that no one in the history of the world has used orange, puce, and teal as a wedding color palate before. (Except you dear reader, if those are your colors. I'm sure you'll style them in a unexpected way. But from me to you, you might want to buy your bridesmaids a drink.)
Instead of trying to make your wedding memorable, just try to make it happy. I've been to vividly memorable weddings. Trust me, you don't want to have one.

Posted in: Manifestos, Meg's Thoughts, Personal Thoughts, Weddings | 4 Comments »

Apr 2008

Welcome new (and thrifty) readers!

Oh how exciting, and hello there new readers! I came home to a rash of new comments, and discovered that the lovely and inspiring A $10,000 Wedding did a post about my little blog! Practical and thrifty weddings unite! We can have one really great party (but I'd bring your own a flask). Anyway, I spent years as a non-profit event planner, and now I'm planning my own wedding, and blogging about all of the beautiful and slightly nuts things I'm finding out in bride land. I'm not going to lie, I'm spending a little more then $10,000 on my wedding, but in my defense, I live in San Francisco, and it's EXPENSIVE here. I'm spending $10,000 in Kansas dollars.

In other news, I'm launching a collaborative project later this week, so check back. It's going to be exciting, and I'm going to need your help.

Posted in: Entrepreneurship, Meg's Thoughts | 4 Comments »

Apr 2008

It’s pretty… and over my pink limit, I’m afraid.

I don't have much to say about this picture, except, um, I like it, this is the mood I'm going for. And David won't let me get away with this much pink. It's not ever going to happen.

Basically, I just like to post something pretty every day. Now you know my motivations.

Photo via {frolic}

Posted in: Meg's Thoughts, Weddings | 4 Comments »

Apr 2008

Wedding Budget Wendsday: Creating a Line-Item Budget

I think the first and most important thing you should do for a budget wedding is, well, put it on paper. I know that sometimes people are a little scared of budgets, and would rather not look at the money too closely, with the hope that you can just MAKE the money stretch far enough. My event planning experience tells me that doing that is just going to put you way over budget. This is something I want to continue talking about in more depth, but here are some tips stemming from years of working on events that never had enough money:

Events almost always go over budget, usually by 10%-20%. If you can, plan for this. Depending on your personality either budget 10% below the amount of money you have, or make sure each line item contains 10% wiggle room.
Wedding budgets provided to you by the wedding industry are way more complicated then you need or can afford for a simple wedding. The budget on The Knot has 38 categories! When you see things on your budget like hair & makeup, seven different flower categories, favors, limos, and pre-wedding pampering, its hard not to start thinking that you need to have all these things. You don't! Simplify, simplify, simplify. Figure out what you care about the most, and then start brutally cutting items off the list. If you have extra money you can always put things back on the list later. And no, you don't necessarily have to cut guests. For us, at least, we'd rather have more people eating chicken (or heck, cookies and punch), then less people eating steak.
Don't be afraid to say "We can't afford that." The wedding world, in a genius of marketing, has made it really shameful to say that you can't afford something for your 'big day'. The message is: "Don't you want the best day of your lives? Don't you really love each other? Then you need the best!" I'm here to tell you that you absolutely do not need the best. You need good enough. What you DO need is joy and love aplenty. The rest is just icing. So don't be afraid to look people in the eye and say "We can't afford that. What are our options?" Which brings me to my next point:
Don't be afraid to negotiate with your vendors. Negotiate kindly and respectfully. Remember that you are asking people to bring their prodigious skills and talents to help celebrate a joyful day in your life. But that said, all packages are guidelines, and there is often room to cut corners. I've had these conversations with managers of huge hotel ballrooms, with tiny wine stores, and with photographers. Listen to what your vendors need. Maybe they can charge less if you only have chicken, or if you have your wedding at an off-time, or if you make it an hour shorter, or if you let them use your photographs for promotional use. See if they can meet you halfway. In the end, you probably don't want want to work with a vendor who doesn't have flexibility anyway.
Keep up your end of the bargain. If you've negotiated a vendors prices down, make sure you earn that discount back karmically. If you were a vendor, would you want to work with a disorganized, needy, demanding client? Would you want to work with said client for less than your normal fee? Um. Right. Keep that in mind.
Talk to your friends and family. Figure out what their skills and talents are. You don't want to force people to do things for your wedding, but they may have skills that they want to contribute. We are finding that our friends have skills that we never even knew about, and we are thrilled that they are offering to help out. It makes our wedding more of a community celebration.

What other tips to you have? Continue reading Wedding Budget Wendsday: Creating a Line-Item Budget

Posted in: Budget, Planning, Planning | 8 Comments »

Archive for April, 2008

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