Before the Wedding

The true "before the wedding" was a week of last minute projects and a really messy house. All along, I had told myself that I wasn't going to get too wrapped up in wedding projects because it was silly to spend so many more hours prepping for a five hour event. So, of course, I procrastinated a lot and had a pretty big last minute to-do list. My wedding week schedule went a little like this:

Monday/ Tuesday- go to work then come home and work on the programs, menus, and escort cards

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday- take "vacation time" to work on wedding projects including buying last minute accessories and makeup, prepping the linens (of course we bought instead of rented), doing the flower arrangements, and printing more stuff

Saturday- rehearse, rehearsal lunch, MORE last minute projects, pack for the weekend away, and spend time with family from out of town

 

Nate and I decided to be traditional and not see each other before the wedding ceremony- I guess I liked the idea of creating a once-in-a-lifetime-exciting-moment. He said afterwards that he felt like crying when he saw me... so I think it worked! Lucky for my wallet, my mom had rented a hotel suite for family to get together the night before the wedding and let me stay there the night before along with my cousin (the hairstylist) and sister (the maid of honor).

When the big day morning came, I woke up alarm-free at around 5:45 AM and watched the sunrise over Austin from my amazing free suite :). I had a few last minute thankyou escort cards to write (more on that later) and got a head start on my makeup while I waited for everyone to get ready to go over to the venue. I did hire a DOC (day of coordinator) to handle all of the little things ($250), but because I'm a control freak for some reason, I was dying to get over to the venue to make sure everything was going smoothly. Once we arrived, I unloaded my car full of decorations and did a quick review of where everything should have been set up and felt better instantly knowing that things were okay. From there, I went back to my bridal room and finished getting ready...

 No, I'm still not sure how I got talked into doing my own makeup. It might have been the fact that I knew I had my cousin there to back me up... or it might have been my cheap side thinking about how I could spend roughly the same amount as a pro would charge on some new products AND get to keep them. Best decision of my life? Probably not, but I'm definitely not regretting it as I sit here wearing my wedding makeup as I type this.

Oh, but as I sat around bra-less in shape-wear and short shorts, Nate was out in the hall right by me getting his hair fixed up:

The photographers were going in and out taking pictures of details, the guests, and Nate and I was getting really antsy again wanting to be ready... so I started putting my wedding dress on a good five minutes earlier than the photographer wanted me to. Lucky for me, she happened to walk in right as we were finishing up:

 

I'm going to need to pause and make a plug for Hollywood Fashion Tape and dresses with straps. Once my dress was on, it was on and I didn't have one worry about things moving around on me during the day (although, I do wish I knew to put some tape in the back because there are several pictures of the back strap creating back fat- boo!).
 

Oh, and I have to mention how unbelievably perfect the choice to have a one person bridal party was (for me). I was so thankful not to have a bunch of people calling me with questions (the ones from my sister and mom were enough!) beforehand... plus, I'm sure the room would have felt claustrophobic with anyone else. Having my cousin as my hairstylist ($0) was a complete bonus because she was, of course, fun to be around all morning.

 

After a few more tweaks to my look, I was good to go around 5-10 minutes early and sooooo ready to get the show on the road. Yes, I was beginning to get a bit jittery (seeing the picture brings it all back!), but I also didn't want to make my guests wait too long outside... in July... in Texas (yep).

We'll get to that next!

You're Invited!

I have my pictures and my sanity back so it's time to begin wedding recaps!

I'll start by sharing a professional picture of a completed wedding invitation and a quick budget breakdown:

Budget Breakdown:
60 square Anna Griffin invitations via Rue La La: $126.95 ribbon included
Postage for 45 @ $1.08/ invite (additional cost because they were over-sized): $48.60
We handed out several invitations to people who either lived in our neighborhood or that we saw the week that invitations were sent.
Additional cardstock and emergency envelope (after Hugo destroyed one): $9.87
Printing fees: $0 We printed them on our own printer and never had to replace the cartridge.
RSVP cardstock and corner punch: $0 I already had these supplies.
Calligraphy: $0 As imperfect as it was, I just hand addressed each envelope with my own cursive.
Total: $185.42 or $3.09 each
Obviously, I didn't go as thrifty as I could have with the invitations, but with so few invites to send, I knew this would be a good opportunity to make a big statement without becoming a budget buster.

And before we go into more details on the day, I think I should warn you about a few plans that changed after I blogged them:
*We went way off plan with the hair. My cousin, a hairstylist, offered to do my hair for free (score!) and along with my mom and sister, convinced me to wear my hair down. Oh, and due to last minute scheduling issues, we didn't even have time to practice before the wedding.
*I went with DIY makeup...
*I skipped the frozen drinks, but ended up with three options.
*My "colors" ended up being  pink/ coral/ seafoam/ yellow/ white... basically a mix of things I found on sale that I thought would coordinate with the stained glass windows in my venue.
*The "you don't have to give us gifts" thing worked out pretty well. We received a few presents, some gift cards, and checks, but also raised about $1,500 for our charity. Most importantly, people just ended up doing what they felt comfortable doing.
*I didn't go for a bow and my alterations cost almost as much as my dress.
*They got coffee (and Frappuccinos!).
*I paid for everything and counted every penny... except for the last minute aisle decorations that my mom had to have.

My total came out to $11,637.87.  
Of course, I'll break it down much more later.