I’m sure everyone out there knows what I’m talking about when I refer to “The One.” Yes, that mystical and emotion packed dress that you wear on the most important day of your life.

When we first got engaged, the first thing I wanted to do was go dress shopping. With a 6 month engagement, I knew I was already in a bit of a time crunch. Depending on what time of year you place your order, wedding dresses can take up to 4 months to come in and there also needs to be enough time for fittings as well. So I knew the sooner I ordered my dress, the better.

Fortunately, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for. As you know from my last post, I’m pretty traditional. I didn’t want anything with embellishments (i.e. sequins, jewels, embroidery, etc. but I wasn’t opposed to lace) and I preferred a sweetheart neckline (because, well, I’ll take all the help I can get in the bust department). I knew the best fit for my body type would be something with a full skirt, like an A-line or a ball gown that came in at my natural waist. Something kind of along these lines:

Melina by Amsale

Also, after deciding on the budget, I knew that I couldn’t spend more than $1,000 on my attire. This included dress, alterations, and accessories like veil, shoes, and any special undergarments. I know you get what you pay for when you buy a $7,000 couture dress. And I definitely think that anyone hand-stitching a million sequins onto a dress should get paid for their hard work, but I knew that wasn’t something I could afford. Although I have to say that I loved looking at those dresses! Here are some of my fave “never-in-a-million-years-could-I-ever-buy-that-dress” dresses:

Grace by Christos

Desiree by Christos

Seriously, if money was no concern, Desiree is the dress I would get. But it probably costs more than my entire wedding!

And then one day I ran across the dress line, Wtoo. Wtoo is the more budget-friendly line of Watters, all of the dresses retail for $1500 or less and a lot of their dresses are less than $1000. After perusing the website, I saw it and I knew, I saw the dress for me. I couldn’t wait to go try it on. Fortunately, a local bridal store carried that particular dress and when I asked how much it was, they told me it was $675. Yes! Totally within my budget and with room for accessories and alterations!

My Mom was able to meet me at the store the weekend after I got engaged, ( I wish my bridesmaids could have been there too, but none of them live close by) and I’ve watched enough Say Yes to the Dress episodes to know that the least amount of people there, the better. I was allowed to have 3 dresses at a time in the dressing room, of course I was going to try on the Wtoo dress, and my Mom suggested that since I had been so specific about the kind of dress I wanted to get, that maybe I should try on something kind of different, to make sure that what I thought I wanted was really what I wanted.

I decided to leave the Wtoo dress for last to try on (you know, kind of like dessert), the first dress I tried on was an A-line dress with lace cap sleeves and lace on the skirt. It was a pretty dress, but it did not look good on me at all. (Sorry no pictures, I didn’t think it was worth it since I knew there was no way I would get it). The second dress was a strapless ball gown with a whole lotta bling! I liked the silhouette, but I busted out laughing when I saw myself in the mirror, it was SO not me. If I walked down the aisle in that dress, Geoff would have thought I had lost my mind.

Finally, I tried on the Wtoo dress, after seeing myself in the mirror, it took me 5 seconds to say “This is my dress. This is ‘The One.’” Thank goodness my Mom agreed! (I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t liked it). Seriously, other than saying yes to Geoff when he proposed, finding my dress was the easiest, most stress-free part of my wedding!

Of course I can’t show you my actual dress, but it looks similar to this one:

Roxanne by Watters

(Oh yeah, it totally has pockets!)

Next week I’ll tell you about how my accessories hunt is going. Would you believe that it’s been harder for me to find shoes for my wedding than it was to find my dress?!?!

Laura

_________________ Thanks for reading The One from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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I hope you started singing that like Tevyeh from Fiddler on the Roof because that is totally what I was going for.

As I’m sure you know, there are a multitude of wedding traditions out there. Traditions can come from a person’s religion, culture, where they live, or they can even be unique to a particular family.

Being from the South, I think there is even more emphasis put on tradition, and that works for Geoff and I since we tend to be a pretty traditional couple. “Unconventional” is definitely not a word that would describe us! Here are some of the traditions we are planning to incorporate at our wedding:

The Groom’s Cake

I think this is something that was started in the South, but it seems to be getting more and more popular in other places. This is a cake (usually chocolate) that is traditionally a gift to the groom from the bride. The cake is usually decorated to reflect the groom’s personality. It could be a hobby, a favorite sports team, etc. (It doesn’t have to be a red velvet armadillo!) I’m surprising Geoff with his groom’s cake, he doesn’t know what it’s going to be, but I know he’s going to love it!

For the Star Wars Fanatic

Photo courtesy of: The Uncommon Cakery

For the gaming Groom (actually, Geoff would love something like this, but I don’t think so)

Photo courtesy of: Creative Cakes

Or maybe he’s a sport’s fan

Photo courtesy of: Maxie B’s Bakery and Dessert Cafe

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

I think everyone is probably pretty familiar with this tradition. I’m planning on wearing the pearls my Mom wore on her wedding day as my “something borrowed.” My dress will be my “something new.” I’m planning on ordering a blue garter from etsy for my “something blue,” and I want to find some vintage ribbon to tie my bouquet as the “something old.”

A Moment of Prayer

This is another popular tradition in the South, but I’m sure it happens elsewhere too. Before the ceremony, the bridesmaids and female family members gather around the bride to pray and ask God’s blessing on her and her future husband and their marriage together. (If you do this, make sure you have tissues handy!)

Photo courtesy of: Brooke Courtney via Southern Weddings

Like I said, Geoff and I like traditions and incorporating them into our wedding, but there is one big tradition that we are throwing out the window!

The First Look

I always thought the first time I would see my fiancé on my wedding day would be when I was walking down the aisle. But we have actually decided to see each other before the wedding! As my wonderfully sensible husband-to-be pointed out, we don’t want to make people wait a long time to start eating while we’re taking pictures. So we’re planning on taking pictures of us together and with our bridal party before the ceremony, so afterwards we will only need to take family pictures which shouldn’t take more than 30-45 minutes.

At first, I felt a little uneasy about changing such a big tradition, but I think this is the best option for us. We tend to be rather private anyway, so I think I will like seeing him for the first time just the two of us, rather than in front of everyone.  Well, the two of us and the photographer I have to admit, I love “first look” pictures! Don’t you?

Photo courtesy of: Sara and Rocky via Style Me Pretty

So what about you? Are there any traditions that you are definitely making a part of your wedding or are you making your own traditions?

_________________ Thanks for reading Tradition! from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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I am so blessed to have 5 totally awesome girls that will be standing by my side on my wedding day. Truly, I couldn’t ask for a better group of friends and they have been very patient while I have been trying to make a decision about the whole bridesmaid dress situation.

I was in my friend Natalie’s (who also happens to be one of my bridesmaids!) wedding last year and she had us pick any dress we wanted as long as it was in her general color scheme of pink/coral/fuchsia. I think the dresses looked great together.

Photo Courtesy of Studio 563

That’s me on the far right, the Bride, Natalie, is one of my bridesmaids, and my MOH, Katie, is the one on the far left

There were so many pro’s when going this route:

• We were able to find a dress that was comfortable for us and fit our particular body type
• We were able to pick dresses that we actually WOULD wear again (I’ve worn mine twice since the wedding)
• We were able to spend as much money as we wanted. (I was able to find mine on sale for $50 at J.Crew)

After having such a good experience with this method of choosing bridesmaid’s dresses, I decided that I would do the same for my own bridesmaids. I’m trying to be as budget conscious for them as I am for myself, since 4 of the 5 are traveling from out of state to be with me (seriously, they are the best!), so I thought they would appreciate being able to choose how much they wanted to spend on a bridesmaid’s dress.

So I sent out an email to everyone and told them that they could choose any dress they wanted, with these parameters:

1. It was navy in color
2. It was not floor length
3. They would send me a picture of the dress and I could have the final say

I was going for something kind of along these lines:

Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Eileen, via Wedding Chicks

I really liked the look of the different navy dresses, but when Geoff and I decided that the groomsmen would all wear navy sport coats (after he completely nixed my idea of them wearing khaki suits because he said they would all look like they were deputy sheriffs *insert eye roll here*). I realized that it might be a whole lotta navy going on.

So I went to Plan B, I’m still letting my bridesmaid’s choose their own dresses, but now I want them to find dresses in a neutral color palette. Like these:

Photo Courtesy of Jaclyn Davis Photography via Green Wedding Shoes

Photo Courtesy of Elisa B Photography via Southern Weddings

Fortunately, since it’s still kind of early in the planning process, none of my bridesmaids had bought a dress, so it wasn’t any problem to change the color. I really do like the look of neutral’s, but my only concern is that I’ve only seen them done for Spring and Summer weddings. I’m worried that it might look out of place for a fall wedding. What do you think?

Laura

_________________ Thanks for reading A Bridesmaid’s Story from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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So you might have seen in my bio that I describe myself as a “DIY bride” and that is very true, I love crafting and always have. When I was a little girl, I always wanted to “make” something, even if it was just out of sticks and yarn. So when DIY started to become a popular theme in weddings, I was stoked! It was totally the kind of feel I wanted for my own wedding and I know that it can be a lot cheaper to make things yourself.

But when I sat down to list all of the things I wanted to DIY, I got a little overwhelmed. Here’s the list:

• Custom corn-hole boards
• Cake bunting
• Dessert buffet banner
• Guest mad libs
• Painted glass bottle centerpieces
• Save the Dates
• Invitations
• Straw flags
• Guest welcome bags
• Cookie bar
• Tears of joy packets
• Wedding arrow sign
• Boutonnieres
• Photograph wall
• Reception garlands
• Moss letters or wreaths (for church doors)
• Tissue paper flowers
• Programs
• Family photo display
• Message on groom’s tie
• Photo booth/props
• Throw pillows
• Quaker marriage license

Are you overwhelmed for me? I know it’s a lot and I kind of had to give myself a reality check. Although it is difficult for me to admit, I have been known to not follow-through and complete projects. I start out so well-intentioned! But I just kind of lose steam along the way. So I commenced with the P-word again, no not panic, PRIOROTIZE!

I split all of these DIY to-do’s into 3 categories: “Mandatory”, “Important”, “Bonus.” There are some things on that list that I have to do for my wedding such as the invitations and programs.

Then there are other things that are really important to me to have at the wedding such as garland to decorate the reception tent and the marriage license that I want guests to sign in lieu of a guest book, kind of like this one:

Photo courtesy of OrleansPaperie

And then there are those “would be nice to have that” things like the custom corn-hole boards and straw flags. Things that aren’t vital but the little details that make a wedding so special. So now my list looks like this:

MANDATORY!

• Save the dates
• Invitations
• Cake bunting
• Cookie bar
• Boutonnieres
• Programs
• Family photo display

Important

• Dessert buffet banner
• Guest mad libs
• Painted glass bottle centerpieces
• Guest welcome bags
• Photograph wall
• Garlands
• Tissue paper flowers
• Photo booth/props
• Quaker marriage license

Bonus

• Custom corn-hole boards
• Straw flags
• Tears of joy packets
• Moss letters or wreaths
• Message on Groom’s tie
• Throw pillows

So it still has everything on there, but this helps me focus on the most important things first since I sometimes get distracted by the details.

Hopefully I’ll have some DIY tutorials coming up in the next couple of weeks!

Any advice for undertaking massive DIY projects?

_________________ Thanks for reading I’m Down with the DIY from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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I know you’ve heard it before, in this technological age, having the world at your fingertips in a matter of minutes can be both a blessing and a curse. I find that especially true in regards to weddings. There are numerous wedding magazines out there and I must confess, wedding magazines are one of my top 10 favorite things (remember?). No really, I took a picture of my wedding magazine collection to help you better understand.

In my defense, I have been collecting them since I was 13, so for fourteen years worth of magazines, it’s not too bad, right? I don’t know, maybe I’m just deluding myself

But maybe you’re like me, maybe you have lots (hopefully not as many as me) of wedding magazines, maybe you follow multiple wedding blogs (I’m at 25), or maybe you too get sucked into that time vortex known as Pinterest.

There are millions of wedding ideas at our fingertips and I’ve found that it is really easy to get overwhelmed with the details and not focus as much as I should on the big picture. For example, I know exactly what I want for my cake topper, but I haven’t even found a caterer yet!

In his book, The Big White Book of Weddings, the one and only David Tutera gives this advice with regards to the details, “The biggest mistake I see brides make is when they jump right into the details, the plans, and the purchasing before even pausing to think about the overall picture. It’s like running a marathon without pacing yourself, and on top of that, it’s like not stretching before you take off!”

Now I am thinking about my big picture, it doesn’t have to be something as precise as picking a “theme,” but I’m thinking about the feeling I want my guests to have when they leave, the emotions that I want them to take away with them. Once I focus on that and finish working on the big things, then I can start thinking about the details but thinking about them in light of how they contribute to the wedding as a whole.

What about you? Do any of you have inspiration overload? How do you handle it with planning your own wedding?

_________________ Thanks for reading Inspiration Overload from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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So far, the reception venue has been the most problematic/stressful part of my planning process. When I first started my venue search, I found that there are actually a lot of nice venues around here. Like most southern cities, there are old antebellum southern mansions that have been turned into Bed and Breakfasts that are a popular place to have a wedding. Also, with the rustic barn weddings that are so popular now, there are new barn venues popping up in all the small country towns that surround Greensboro.

Photo courtesy of Belmont Estate, Reidsville, NC

Photo courtesy of Starlight Meadow, Burlington, NC

But when I started pricing these places, I came to the realization that it is just not possible with our budget and guest list. Most of the venues are all-inclusive (tables/chairs, linens, food, etc) which can sometimes be a good thing, but when the cost amounts to 75% or more of my budget, I had to realize that the all-inclusive route was not for us.

The church where we are getting married is kind of out in the middle of nowhere, so it has been very difficult for us to find some place for the reception that is 1) in our budget and 2) less than 30 minutes away from the church. My first thought was to have the reception in the church Fellowship Hall, but when I took a look at it, I realized that it just wasn’t big enough for our 125 person guest list (but I wasn’t too torn up about it, it was UG-ly!).

So then I started looking at anything else in the area that might work, the local state park, community centers, other church Fellowship Halls. Finally, I found something that could work. A church about 25 minutes away had a large, relatively new Fellowship Hall that I could rent out. After searching for 3 weeks, I jumped at the chance. But the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I started to feel. Yes, it was nice, everyone could fit, it was within my budget, but it wasn’t what I had always wanted.

This is what I had always had in mind:

Photo courtesy of Southern Weddings

An outdoor reception with a tent set up and tables and chairs underneath. That’s the kind of reception that I always wanted, but I didn’t think it would be possible with my budget. However, after a pep-talk with my Mom and Geoff, I finally came to this conclusion: this is only going to happen once, now is not the time to settle. I didn’t settle with my man, I shouldn’t have to settle with my wedding. So we’re looking at having a tent set up on the lawn behind the church. Now, everything isn’t completely squared away yet, I’m still not sure that the lawn will be big enough for the size tent that we need, so we might have to look elsewhere for a space where we can set up a tent. But ever since I decided that this is what we were going to do, I have felt such a sense of relief.

Although on one hand I am very relieved, I am also well aware that this will in all likelihood put me over budget, which I was trying so hard not to do. I am going to try my best to make sure that it doesn’t go too far over budget and I am willing to skimp in other areas to help cover this cost.

The most important thing I have learned so far in this planning process: it’s all about compromise. Finding out where you are willing to compromise and where you aren’t. And this was just one of those areas where I wasn’t willing to compromise.

_________________ Thanks for reading Venue Part 2: Reception from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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So I’ve got less than six months to put this wedding together, Find a ceremony and reception venue, was number one on my list of things to do.

First, we had to determine in what town we wanted to get married. We knew we wanted to get married in NC (remember my list of favorite things?), and we quickly decided to stick to the city of Greensboro (where we both live) or the surrounding area. Geoff has lived here all of his life, but I am not from Greensboro originally, my family lives about 2 hours farther east. I briefly considered getting married back home, but I thought it would be too much of a hassle to try and plan a wedding from two hours away. I would have to do a lot of traveling to meet vendors, visit venues, etc. And with gas getting so expensive, it just didn’t seem very budget savvy.

Ceremony Venue:

I have always wanted to get married in a church. I imagined walking down the aisle in my big white dress on the arm of my dad. Making my way toward my future husband as the music fills the sanctuary and the sun shines through the windows and the birds sing. (Ok, the birds don’t have to sing, but everything else is how I pictured it!)

Being in the Bible belt, you wouldn’t think it would be that difficult, would you? But I’ve been a little particular about the kind of church I want to get married in. First and foremost, I want a center aisle to walk down. I don’t know why this is such a big deal to me, but I am unmoving on this point. Second, I want a church that is pretty on the inside and the outside. I know it’s superficial, but I love those old brick churches with the tall steeples and the big front porch with the pillars. I definitely want to take a group shot of all the guests that are at the wedding and I think doing that on the front steps of the church would be perfect!

The church where Geoff and I met and where we still attend was never a consideration. Not only did it not meet my outward qualifications, but the sanctuary fits 1,500 people, much too big! Not the kind of place for an intimate wedding.

I was able to find a couple options, but there always seemed to be some kind of problem. No center aisle, already booked, too far away; but the problem I ran into most: “we don’t do weddings for non-members.” I can’t tell you how often I heard that statement while trying to find a church, so much in fact that one day I just had to lay my head on my desk and weep for a few minutes because I didn’t think I would ever find a place to get married. I guess I can’t blame the churches, it seems like they were burned too many times by strangers who didn’t respect the building or the rules of the church, so they had to make a blanket rule of no non-members. But I have to admit, I don’t like being punished for other people’s bad choices.

Pretty church, but no center aisle!

Photo courtesy of Clark Berry Photography

I work right down the street from this church and I love it! But they don’t allow non-members to get married there.

Photo courtesy of Jamestown United Methodist Church

But perseverance paid off and I was finally able to find the perfect place. I don’t have a picture of the inside, but you’ll just have to trust me, it’s lovely. Because it’s so nice on it’s own, we won’t have to spend much money on decorations. If anything, I’ll probably just have a flower arrangement of some kind at the front. Rental fees for the rehearsal, wedding, and a sound technician come to $400. That’s roughly 5% of our overall budget, not too bad!

This is where we’re getting married!

Photo courtesy of Southeast Baptist Church

I’ll tell you all about my quest for finding a reception venue in my next post.

Do any of you have tips for finding inexpensive ceremoney and reception venues?

Laura

_________________ Thanks for reading Goin’ to the Chapel… from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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Hi Everyone,

I just want to start by saying that I am SO excited to be here and be able to write for Budget Savvy Bride!

My name is Laura and I am 26 years old, and an administrative assistant at a community college. My fiancé’s name is Geoff; he is 33 and a high school history and civics teacher.

 We met each other in our church single’s group more than three years ago. I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight necessarily, but I did think he was really cute! (I mean, just look at him!) As I got to know him over the next few months, I discovered that he was also kind, generous, considerate, and really funny. Yeah, I really liked him, I couldn’t help myself! I even told my friends “this is the kind of guy I could see myself marrying one day.”

However, as the most eligible guy in our group full of girls, I wasn’t holding my breath for any kind of reciprocation. But he must have seen something he liked, because we started dating a few months later. We dated for a little over two years and two weeks ago he asked me to be his wife. Of course, I said YES!

To help you get to know me a little bit better, I thought I would give you a list of the Top 10 things I love most.

1. Jesus

2. Geoff

3. My engagement ring. (Seriously, isn’t it gorgeous!?!)

4. Family and friends (Yes, I ranked my ring higher than my friends and family, but really I love them about the same )

5. Coke Zero (“Hi, my name is Laura and I am addicted to Coke Zero.” Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?)

6. The state of North Carolina. (I am NC born and bred and I love it more than any other place on earth.)

7. Martha Stewart. (I love all things Martha Stewart. Have you seen her craft room? There have to be rooms like that in heaven.)

8. Kitchenaid Stand Mixers. (My roommate has one and I really hope we get one as a wedding present. They are AWESOME!)

9. Wedding Magazines (Oh, you have no idea. I’ll post more about this later.)

10. DVR (In my opinion, the best thing since sliced bread. What did we do before this?)

Now, for wedding details;

When: October 20, 2012

Yes, just a little less than 6 months away!

Number of Guests: 125-150

Not quite sure yet about how many we’ll invite, we both come from really large families. But we’re definitely going to try and keep it under 150.

Budget: $7,000

My parents are contributing the majority of the funds and Geoff and I will be paying for misc. expenses as they arise.

One reason we’re trying to keep the cost low is because we’re probably going to have to buy a new vehicle soon after the wedding and we know it would be more prudent to save for that than spend the money on the wedding.

But just because we’re cutting back on budget doesn’t mean we’re cutting back on awesomeness! My goal is to prove (to myself, mostly) that even though our budget is tight, we’re still going to have a fantastic wedding.

I’m so excited to begin this journey and I’m so glad that y’all are along for the ride. I gladly welcome and thoughts or advice!

_________________ Thanks for reading Let’s do this thing! from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Looking for more budget savvy weddings? Visit our Real Weddings gallery! Need to find some DIY projects to save you money and create beautiful details? Check out our DIY project gallery! Connect with The Budget Savvy Bride on the web: Pinterest :: Twitter :: Facebook ::