Winter Wonderland

As I'm sitting here in my house, looking out the window at the 30 inches of snow, I can't help but wonder "what if I were getting married this weekend?"  Some friends of mine got married this very weekend last year and it was unseasonably warm (about 65 degrees!).  This year, unfortunately, people who planned their wedding on this weekend will most likely have to cancel. I can't even see my car right now, never mind go outside in wedding attire.  You'd have to be decked out in a complete snowsuit to get out in this!  I should also mention that I'm not in Maine or Utah or one of these places that snow like this is to be expected.  I'm in Maryland.

I thought this would be an interesting discussion.  Have any of you thought about a back up plan if you had to cancel your wedding for unforeseen circumstances?  It would be a good idea to discuss these potential bumps in the road with your vendors and write it into your contract.  Of course, they're going to have to charge something to compensate for reserving that time slot, but maybe they would be willing to work out some kind of a contingency plan with you so that you wouldn't lose all of your money.

On a weekend like this, it's possible that all wedding plans could be completely ruined and those people who traveled will not be able to turn around a few weekends later for a re-scheduled event.  You may want to consider having a considerably smaller event a week or two later at your own house.  Although this would be very upsetting to the bride who has dreamed of a certain kind of day her whole life, it is good to be prepared.  If it's any consolation, a wedding is about the 2 of you, and your closest family and friends are supposed to be there to support you.  The big reception and all the glam are fun and wonderful, but they're not the most important thing.  In a situation like this, although not ideal, you can really focus on the true spirit and meaning of a wedding.

January Wedding Centerpiece

Thanks for your patience while I was recovering from an unexpected c-section.  I had a baby boy on November 22, 2009: Niall Patrick McCullough.  He was 7 pounds, 3 ounces and 21 inches long.  After a very long, grueling 6 weeks of recovery, I was finally able to start getting back to my normal life.  It has now been 9 weeks and everything is going great.  Niall is finally down to 1 feeding in the middle of the night, so I'm feeling a little more rested.  I'll be trying to post  something once per week, but please be patient with me these next few months!

This wedding centerpiece tutorial video will give you ideas for budget friendly centerpieces that don't involve flowers.  Very unique and great for winter weddings!




For more budget wedding ideas, visit my website- http://www.budgetwiseweddingmd.com

Baby Time??

Ok, I'm getting really antsy here.  The baby is due tomorrow and I've felt absolutely nothing!  I'm starting to wonder if I'll be one of those unlucky ladies who is a good week or two late.  I sure hope not :(

Anyway, I will be taking some time off after the baby is born, but I'm looking forward to getting some great ideas together for the winter wedding season to share with you all. 

Have a great Thanksgiving and I look forward to connecting again soon!

Battle of the Seasons

Whenever budget comes up in weddings, you're most likely going to consider altering the time of year and time of day.  You'll often get quotes of more than $40 savings per head if you go off-season or early in the day.

But what does this mean for the most important day of your life??  Are you willing to give up the beachside wedding for a wintery wonderland?  This, of course, is something you'll have to think about.  If you are able to embrace a change of theme, you could really make this budget friendly option work in your favor.

The other option, as previously mentioned, is to have a brunch wedding instead of dinner.  Imagine the savings if you combined off-season with early in the day!  If you're not willing to stretch that far, just consider one or the other.

Winter Wonderland:

Ok, this may not sound ideal, but I really think you could take this theme and run with it.  How nice would it be to have a completely unique wedding?  Everyone has been to a summer or fall wedding- dare to be different!

You could make the setting really elegant with shimmering white snowflakes and silver accents.  You could have a signature drink such as spiced wine, hot cocoa with bailey's/ amaretto, or spiked eggnog.

You will also be able to save a lot of money on decorations by going with poinsettas, seasonal berries and pine tree greenery.  Accent tables with wintery candles for that extra touch.


Photo Credit: Weddzilla http://blog.weddzilla.com/2009/09/diy-winter-wedding-centerpieces.html

Brunch:

I'm usually not impressed with the typical wedding reception dinner- a bland chicken, some green beans and a couple of roasted potatoes.  The idea of getting really creative with brunch options is very exciting to me.

For a brunch themed wedding, you can really save a lot of money on food but still keep it interesting.  Think fruit, muffins, sandwich station (lunchmeats, rolls, cheeses), an omelette station, pasta salad, etc.  And a cake would likely be too heavy for an early reception, so you could go with warm cookies and brownies for dessert.  For alcoholic beverages, you don't need to get a lot- just focus on mimosas and/or screwdrivers as your signature drink.

I know that a lot of brides dream of their wedding day from the time they are a little girl, but try to think outside of the box if you're on a tight budget.  Good luck!

A little break for my little bambino

I have to bust my husband's chops for a sec... he was a premie (6 weeks early) so give him a break, but what a funny looking newborn!  What does this mean for our baby??  It's like everything on his body is premature except his fingers.  Those things are longer than a 6 month old's!

It looks like this will be my last post for about a week or two- my due date is November 14 but I've been feeling like it's going to come sooner. The baby moves around like a circus freak in there! If I'm not tied up to a hospital bed next week, I'll be posting, but I just wanted to give a heads up :)

Matt and I decided to be surprised about the sex of the baby, which has been driving us and everyone else nuts. We really have no idea what it is, but I think I'm going to be really happy that we held out. I can't imagine a bigger surprise in my life. It's truly one of the only real surprises you can experience, so I figured I better do it at least for the first one.

I'm an only child, so I've always wanted a huge family. Growing up as an only child can be very boring, but it also made me very creative. I remember playing in the basement by myself picking up fake phones making fake hotel reservations and cooking fake food for my fake children. See, it's very sad! I'm thinking I want about 6 kids- just total chaos. A bunch of little animals running around jumping on top of each other and I can't remember their names, etc. It sounds so fun to me.

I just started packing my hospital bag, we still haven't installed the car seat and I'm completely trying to avoid thinking about the horror of labor and delivery. I'm just going to keep my eyes on the prize- once it's all over and I'm holding the little guy or gal. It's so crazy to think that in the next 7 days, I will have a little baby in my arms. I can't believe that it looks like a full, real baby inside of my stomach right now. I've always thought of it as this little alien. I can't wait to post pix- but I've heard that newborns are very funky looking (as demonstrated in the pic above)!

Ok, I know this was completely off topic from weddings, but hey, weddings often lead to babies so I hope this will give you something to look forward to!

What could I do with all that money??

When you're stuck on a tight budget for your wedding, it can be somewhat of a downer. Going with the "glass is half full" state of mind, I thought I might list some motivators for all the good things about keeping your wedding costs from spiraling out of control. Think about what that money you saved could be put toward...

1) Credit Card Debt- whenever I can't pay off my full credit card bill at the end of the month, it looms over me until I finally can... except it usually just gets worse and worse. Once I let myself go $100 over, the next month I seem to be in $200 debt and it spirals out of control. Think about the headache if you had a bunch of wedding charges lingering on that credit card :(

2) Student Loans- you can never start paying those off early enough. The sooner you start pitching in toward that, the sooner you will be able to relax.

3) A Down Payment- what better way to start off your marital bliss than by having a house of your own? My husband and I were able to save up enough money to put a good down payment on a house and our monthly mortgage is actually cheaper than most of our friends' rent.

4) Completing your registry- this is something that is often forgotten by newlyweds. Once the party is over, you may have 20-30 items that you really need for your house/apt that were never purchased as gifts for you. You'd be surprised how expensive it can be to complete that registry- even after you narrow down the needs from the wants.

5) Your sanity! Like I said before, debt can really get inside of your head and make you feel trapped until you're finally able to pay it off. Your wedding is a truly amazing, once in a lifetime event, but you can certainly pull it off without putting that kind of strain on your first few years together as newlyweds. Be creative and enjoy figuring out ways to make it work as an affordable event- you'll be happy you did once the honeymoon is over :)

Budget Wedding Flower Fix- October

This quick how-to video will walk you through an easy fall-themed wedding centerpiece that costs less than $20. Enjoy!