The Budget Savvy Bride » Ashley

And the (Wedding) Band Played On (at the Outlets)

Ashley — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:31:18 +0000

Sometimes a great way to save money is just right in front of your face.

When I attended my first wedding event, just six weeks into our engagement, I thought I had found THE ONE. My wedding ring. A local jeweler had it on display and it was so lovely, and so delicate, and so unique… and so Ashley. Said ring, though, was a bit out of my budget. But after agonizing over this decision, and pining for this perfect circle of platinum, I decided it was worth the splurge. After all, I will look at this ring every day for the rest of my life.

While I am a big believer in living modestly, I also think it’s important — on arguably one of the most important days of your life — to treat yourself, within reason. When I first started dedicating funds to our wedding, I decided there were a few things that I prioritized, and on those items I allowed my budget enough wiggle room to get what I (or we) wanted. Because Matt and I are tying the knot in New York, it seemed obvious that far more than half of our budget would need to be reserved for our reception space and food/bar. Such is the case with just about everything in the city — space just costs more here. I’ve lived here long enough to know that.

Our wedding bands were the other X factor — I wanted both of us to get something we would love now and for many (many, many, many…) years to come. Especially Matt, and partially for selfish reasons — I am so eager to look down at his hand and see a wedding ring there. The idea of that makes me so happy.

Last weekend, while visiting my hometown for my bridal shower (hosted by my mama!), I asked Matt if he’d be willing to go to the nearby outlet center simply to get sized for a ring. After hearing me mention our wedding bands for the umpteenth time, he agreed (to shut me up? Probably.). I really only had that intention while driving there… and then it hit me. I bet we could get a pretty sick deal at the Zales outlet store… Genius! I’m not sure why it hadn’t occurred to me earlier — OF COURSE going to a jewelry store outlet would be substantially less expensive than its full-priced counter part!

So, there, my husband-to-be found his wedding band-to-be, making his wife-to-be very, very happy. We scored an incredible deal — like almost 70% off the original price kind of incredible — and it felt so good to pocket that dough that I decided to roll the dice and go on the hunt for me as well. And to continue our hot streak, I found a very similar ring to the one I fell in love with months earlier for about ONE-SIXTH of the cost! We left the store wedding bands in tow, and with about $700 of our original ring budget remaining!

#winning

Beyonce knows what’s up.

_________________ Thanks for reading And the (Wedding) Band Played On (at the Outlets) from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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I Try DIY: Paper Scroll Garland

Ashley — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:52:00 +0000

Well, I did it. I DIY’d. The bride who only planned to DIY her cake. But I didn’t do it alone! Oh, no! I enlisted the help of my maid of honor/BFF, and, eventually, my fiance.

A few weeks back, while looking for wedding decor inspiration in Pinterest, I came across this DIY tutorial for colorful Anthropologie-inspired scroll garland. The tutorial seemed really easy to follow, and after pricing out the colored card stock that I needed (recycled, of course!) at a few local stationery stores and online, trying this on my own seemed like a great budget-friendly decor option.

I started by getting the MOH, the lovely Francesca, on board and psyched. Then, I purchased my supplies.

Heavyweight paper/card stock, scissors, paper clips, stapler/staples and a glue stick… I could TOTALLY hand this!

Armed with the tutorial, Francesca and I got to work. We took a few liberties with the instructions, though. Sans paper cutter (it was far too heavy to borrow and lug home from work!), we took each sheet of 8 1/2″ x 11″ card stock (another deviation from the directions… whoops), folded lengthwise, cut, folded again, cut again. So each strip for the garland was more like 2 1/2″ or so wide, rather than the suggested 1 1/2″. No biggie.

Francesca in the folding/cutting groove. (Hi, Fran!)

After we had our strips ready, we got down to business looping and stapling and DIY’ing. But things were looking a little… off? Yes, off. We looped some more. But still… the garland looked less like garland and more like strips of paper stapled to other strips of paper. Shoddy workmanship at best.

We shook our heads. I grabbed my laptop and swiftly went to Etsy to search for someone who could just make it for me (I told you I wasn’t cut out for this!). And then, it happened.

My fiancé, who up until that point was drafting his 40th team on Madden ’13 and amusing himself with our antics, says “give me that!” Then Matt does something I never thought I’d see in a thousand years… he crafted! And you know what? He totally schooled us on making paper scroll garland.

My love, gettin’ crafty with it.

A man of many talents! Following his careful direction of “it’s not like it’s that hard!” Francesca and I were reinvigorated and owned that paper scroll garland like it was… something we owned?

Throughout the rest of the weekend, I loop-de-looped that paper like a boss. And still only finished four rows. But it’s coming along! Check it out:

Our paper scroll garland… four down, a zillion more to go!

The great thing is that now that I’m in a DIY groove, this is a super easy project to work on while watching TV, so I’m pretty confident that I can finish it before 2033… Happy DIY’ing, BSBers!

_________________ Thanks for reading I Try DIY: Paper Scroll Garland from: The Budget Savvy Bride

The benefits of shopping local

Ashley — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:17:40 +0000

What helps a couple set the stage for their wedding better than their invitations? For this reason, I was very excited to take on the task of creating an invitation for our nuptials that would give our guest a glimpse of what they would be in for on July 5th. As I’ve mentioned before here at BSB, Matt and I are all about bringin’ the fun. We want our friends and family to walk away from our wedding day saying, man, that was a great wedding! At T-10 weeks (eeeep!!), I’d say we’re well on our way to accomplishing that goal.

Although I was excited to meet the great wedding invitation challenge of 2013 head-on, I wasn’t really sure where to start. I did know that I wanted fun, eco-friendly invitations at a very budget-friendly price. While I saw some incredible creativity on Etsy, I quickly found myself overwhelmed with all of the options (are you sensing a theme in my wedding planning mentality here too?). So, I did what a lot of BSBers do to score a deal — I asked for a recommendation. Enter, August Park Creative.

August Park Creative is a local Long Island-based husband and wife design team recommended to me by our good friend Cadie (who happens to be a great local photographer in her own right!). I had a look at their Etsy shop and immediately knew that they could create the aesthetic that I was looking for. While I wouldn’t say I have an eye for design, I do know what I like. And as with the rest of our planning, I wanted a balance of feminine and masculine to reflect me and Matt as a couple. Florals and calligraphy certainly aren’t his scene, nor are they mine. Right now, I’m completely obsessed with chevron stripes, which respects that balance nicely, and feels like a good fit for a summer wedding.

Nicole from August Park Creative and I immediately hit it off via email. I told her my list of wants/needs/likes and she was completely unfazed by my zillion questions about post-consumer recycled paper and soy inks! In fact, within a few hours she had a detailed response from her printer on everything I wanted to know, and a list of vendors that she works with who could order every eco thing my heart desired!

And then there’s the design — the I love every single thing about it design! APC completely nailed our Queens boy Brooklyn girl (borough wars!) thing in a fun, light way that I think will really show our guest that they’re in for a unique wedding.

A sneak peek at our Queens Boy Brooklyn Girl RSVP cards, courtesy of August Park Creative!

What’s even better is the Nicole and Mike worked within my budget. After I’d done a bit of research, I figured out that for me to get exactly what I was looking for elsewhere would have cost me at least a third more than with APC. So not only am I giddy with happiness over their final product, but I’m excited that I could keep it local and support a small business at the same time! So heed this advice fellow BSBers — do your research, ask for recommendations and go local! There are amazingly talented designers in every city who are eager to work with couples looking to creative without breaking the budget.

The invitations will go out any day now and I can’t wait to hear what our friends and family think! Stage set – check!

I was not compensated in any way for a positive review of August Park Creative or their product. The opinions above are entirely my own.

_________________ Thanks for reading The benefits of shopping local from: The Budget Savvy Bride

DIY for the Never Do It Yourself-er

Ashley — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:33:37 +0000

I admit it — I’m not really one to do it herself. I am not a crafty person. I am in awe of crafty people. For instance, my almost mother-in-law. If she pins something to Pinterest, she will actually make it. And make it well. She’s like a MacGyver with a sewing machine. I made a pillow once in 7th grade. Other than the occasional button-to-shirt, which always looks a little bit off after, that’s all I can handle. Generally, I am of the mindset that if I have a choice between making pad thai and ordering it from a place down the street who makes it all day long and is essentially a pad thai expert, why would I risk putting the wrong amount of Sriracha in my food and potentially making it inedible. Being a New Yorker has spoiled me a bit in that way, I suppose — when literally anything can be steps from your door, you have to be pretty motivated to DIY.

Don’t get be wrong, there are plenty of things I like to do myself — like baking. I love making cupcakes and cheesecakes to rave reviews. I do make a mean cheesecake. In fact, my fiancé’s uncle once called my cheesecake better than Junior’s. And for a New Yorker, that is a BIG deal.

But, other than my mad baker’s skills, I’m pretty limited in the DIY department. Which, as a bride looking to save some serious dough, I knew could present a problem. I’ve read enough Budget Savvy Bride to know that DIYing is key to an on-budget big-wow wedding. So early in the planning process I made a list. I asked myself, what can I reasonably do myself to save money? And of all of the offers of help I’ve received from family and friends for the wedding, I should probably cash in on some of those, huh?

I started with the things I knew I could do: the cake. Actually, the idea of making my own wedding cake seemed really fun. Sure, I was probably thinking mostly about the taste-testing at the time, but I was on board with it. Since I was leaning towards doing cupcakes rather than an all-out cake anyway (there’s always tons uneaten cake on the tables at weddings when everyone is up and enjoying the party anyway, right?), I knew I could make my own (cup)cakes at a fraction of the cost of one of the many bakeries seen on the Food Network (not that those aren’t delicious because they totally are). With a few willing extra pairs of hands and many hungry mouths to help me, I could actually DIY something!

Check out this three-tiered wedding cupcake I found on TheKitchn.com!

Making our wedding cake also goes along with our eco-friendly theme, since I can choose everything that goes into them. Not to mention that few things are truly greener than DIY. With lots of Googling, I know I’ll find a recipe that everyone will love, and a DIY project I’m actually excited to take on!

Are there any other not-so-do-it-youselfers out there? What costs are you cutting out with your (perhaps limited like mine) DIY skills?

_________________ Thanks for reading DIY for the Never Do It Yourself-er from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Eco-nerds Need Apply

Ashley — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:00:48 +0000

There weren’t too many things that I planned about our wedding before Matt and I got engaged. Since we had only minimally discussed the scale of wedding we wanted to that point, I knew there were lists of pros and cons on yellow legal pads in our future.

The most important item on both sides of that page was budget. The second, though, for me (and him by default) was how environmentally friendly could we make our wedding.

The impact on the earth that my life makes has been an important issue to me for many years, and to plan such an enormous life event without considering it would have seemed very disingenuous to me.

Close friends of mine had a beautiful environmentally conscious (and budget friendly to boot!) wedding almost two years ago, and I’ve allowed her example to help shape that vision for our big day.

The other resource I’ve relied on is The Green Bride Guide. I may have had this book in my Amazon cart just waiting for the day we got engaged. And perhaps I ordered it when before then. I devoured the book in about a week. My copy is highlighted and dog-eared. There are so many great tips for creating your wedding on your budget without chastising your friends and family for not being as green as you. There are great DIY suggestions, along with other helpful websites to utilize as resources for planning your day. Through one of those sites, I connected with my fabulous wedding planner, Meena of 5th Avenue Weddings, who is helping me green this gig up.

One of my favorite eco-centric projects so far has been our gift registries. Putting on my environmentalist hat first, and my “oooooh, that’s pretty!” hat second, I’ve chosen three major retailers that have many eco-friendly/recycled/organic options. I love the items that I’ve chosen, and, if one of our guests chooses to get us a gift, I hope that they’ll notice the green theme. I like that they have some options as well.

One of my many eco picks, courtesy of WestElm.com

http://www.westelm.com/products/8657702/?fwl=1&wlitemid=8657702&wlid=kz9sf2dhdk

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How I Said Yes to the Dress

Ashley — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:45:18 +0000

I expected to like wedding dress shopping. I’m not sure why, since I don’t consider myself much of a shopper in everyday life. Occasionally I’ll get in the mood to shop, but it’s typically when I’m eating lunch at my desk and I get an email discount from the Gap. Somehow, though, I expected wedding dress shopping to be different. I was a bride! I was going to find a pretty dress! I would would be as luminescent as the sun!

That’s not at all what happened.

Like many brides, I started my search online. I perused Pinterest and repinned a few dresses, keeping in mind my body shape (curvy) and what I like to wear (no bling, lacy and simple). I fully expected to eventually purchase a dress with something covering my shoulders — I don’t have arms like Jennifer Anniston, so why would a strapless dress look good on me?

My first dress shopping experience was to one of the wedding mega stores. I went just to browse. I ended up trying on a few dresses on, along the same styles that I had pinned. The first dress I came out of the dressing room in got the reaction I was hoping for — the ooooh, you look so beautiful! But when I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see me. I saw a girl in a wedding dress, sure, but not me. I tried on a few others, and while there were a few I liked, I quickly got overwhelmed. I left the store feeling fragile, but also with a few ideas of what looked best on me in reality (strapless, who knew?).

My second shopping experience was a charity sample sale for Brides Against Breast Cancer. It’s a fantastic organization, and I was eager to walk out of the sale with a steal of a dress, and having helped to support their efforts. My maid of honor and soon-to-be aunts-in-law were my support for the sale, and despite their no pressure attitudes, I became overwhelmed even more quickly than last time. I may have cried quietly in the corner.

It should have been a great experience — the volunteers were knowledgeable and kind, and I had three women that I adore cheering me on — but I only lasted about an hour. I tried on more dresses, several of which felt like Cinderella’s sparkly fairy godmother dressed me, and all I was able to focus on was holding myself together. Despite the support I had in my corner of the penthouse, I wanted to sit on the floor and sob. I refrained.

photo courtesy of Mattel.com

(Not me.)

For me, and I suspect for a lot of other women, wedding dress shopping magnified every insecurity I’ve ever had. Body image issues, emotional issues, ev-er-y-thing. Each experience left me feeling overwhelmed at best, and on the verge of a breakdown at worst. I wanted to like it. But not only was it not fun, it was the antitheses of fun. It was decidedly un-fun. I didn’t want to panic — one of the things I promised myself when Matt and I decided to have a “real wedding” was not to allow all of the planning and the details to overtake me — but after two shopping experiences I felt like I would never find something. I would never look into the mirror and see myself as a bride. I was destined to walk down the aisle in jeans.

So, as you can tell by the title of this post, I did find something. I found THE DRESS. How? Well, I did what worked for me. I removed myself from the stressful situations — from the women I didn’t know telling me I looked oh so pretty and the Disney princess style dresses — and found the one. I followed one of my very favorite pins to Dessy.com, ordered myself a sample dress, and tried it on in my best friend’s living room. And when I looked in the mirror I finally saw it. I felt how I was supposed to feel. I let go of the other experiences and my many insecurities and finally saw what I wanted to see. ME! I said yes to the dress!

How was your dress shopping experience? Anyone else feel overwhelmed like me?

_________________ Thanks for reading How I Said Yes to the Dress from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Meet Ashley: a Cart Before the Horse Bride

Ashley — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:00:12 +0000

Hi, fellow BSBs! I’m Ashley, and I hope to entertain you over the next few months with my stellar wit and occasionally self-deprecating humor. Come, experience my trials and tribulations of planning a New York City wedding on a decidedly un-NYC budget!

A few NY-centric things before I explain why I am the cart before the horse bride:

1. My life is not, and never has been, like an episode of “Sex and the City.” It’s a common misconception from people outside of the metro area. Having said that, my life is also very unlike an episode of “Girls.” (Yes, I watch that much HBO). Not like “Friends” either, although I do wish I had an apartment as big as Monica’s. No one really does. At least no one who takes the subway every day.

2. No one I know calls New York City that. It’s “New York,” or “the city” (which typically only refers to Manhattan, by the way). All other boroughs — Brooklyn, Queens and the like — are referred to by name, but are still a part of New York City. Long Island is “the Island.” So when I refer to New York or NY, know that I am speaking of the city in the state of the same name.

3. The average wedding in New York costs about $75,000 (thanks, Google). I love this city, and nearly everything about it, but I do not have that much money to spend on my wedding. And, really, even if I did, I wouldn’t. I’m practical almost to a fault. I’ll take a down payment on a fantastic Brooklyn brownstone over a $75k wedding, thanks. I’ve been to some phenomenal New York weddings that probably cost that and more. No doubt they were amazing and I was a little (or a lot) jealous. It’s just not the best use of my time or money. It’s all about preference.

Now, where were we? Ah yes… the cart before the horse. My most amazing/smart/clever/stunningly handsome fiancé, Matt, proposed on Christmas Day. We decided we wanted to get married on a date, in 2013, that was sentimental to us. We chose July 5th, because my lucky number is seven and his is five. We’re cute like that. July 5th, though, meant that I had to move at warp speed — seven months to plan a wedding in the city where we met, where we fell in love, and that we truly love. Knowing that a lot of NY weddings happen after a year or more of planning, I started making lists on December 26th. No time to lose!

I started with the budget, looking into wedding venues, loosing track of large blocks of time on Pinterest… you know, the usual. Within a week or so, though, I found myself getting a little distracted. As in, I may have starting emailing creative geniuses I found on Etsy to create bridal party gifts. Before I have a venue for the bridal party to stand in. I’m THAT bride. The “oh, wouldn’t it be amazing if I had yellow tulips in my bouquet because I loooove yellow tulips” chick who, as I mentioned, doesn’t even have an aisle to walk down yet. I can check a good five things off my list that were scheduled for May right now. But where I’m going to host these 90 wedding guests? No idea.

Okay, so that’s not true. I have an idea. Mostly. I’ve narrowed it down from a zillion places to, like, ten. It’s progress! Onward!

(We love the Yankees. Like, a lot. Told you we’re New Yorkers)

_________________ Thanks for reading Meet Ashley: a Cart Before the Horse Bride from: The Budget Savvy Bride