Category — Tips

It’s been a long journey of wedding planning, and I know what I’m going to look like, what the table centerpieces are going to be made out of, what the cake tastes like and what music to walk down to.  But.. who’s going to tell me what actually happens on the wedding day? What do I do with my bouquet? Where do I keep the rings?  Do I cut the cake after the dance? All these small questions will keep you clueless and sleepless. So I thought I’ll help all the DIY brides out there to know exactly what will happen on the day of your wedding.  Get these small tasks situated in advance so you don’t have to think or stress about a thing on your beautiful wedding day.

>> Wedding Day Timeline Guide Sample <<

Screenshot:

**Please note that this is only a sample of what I used for my wedding, every bride will have different timeline, program schedule and cultures.  My wedding invitation time was 5:30pm, but I planned to start the ceremony at 6:00pm, knowing that people will be late, and it would have been difficult to sit all 250 people in 30 minutes.  I had the MC, officiant, bridal party, the groom all walk down the aisle to an upbeat music like a fashions show, to keep things entertaining. I also had the staff close the door and guide the late arrival guests to the side room when the ceremony starts, so that I’m not interrupted while walking down the emotional aisle.  But this is optional.

Please feel free to comment me on what other important information I’m missing!

I’d like to introduce you to Rosie from mytrueblu.com!  She is our guest blogger for today.  MyTrueBlu is a wonderful website dedicated for the bridesmaids and close friends of the brides.  She gives advices, tips, design ideas for what the bridesmaid needs guidance on.  From bridal shower, bachelorette party planning, bridesmaids dresses, makeup tips, to how to be an awesome bridesmaid, myTrueBlu covers all that you need to know to make your bride friend happy.  Check her website out, and share it with your bridesmaids and friends!  Here’s a few important tips from MyTrueBlu how to be a great bridesmaid by NOT doing these.

5 Things NOT to do as a great bridesmaid

Being a bridesmaid in your bff’s wedding is such an exciting role. Along with planning
the pretty details of her wedding the bride-to-be will be under a major amount of stress.
Knowing what you can do to reduce her stress level is extremely important. The bride
will look to you for emotional support as she prepares for her big day. Here are 5 tips
you should avoid in your role as a bridesmaid.

1. Ignore the bride-to-be
The last time the bride-to-be has heard from you was at her engagement party. We all
lead busy schedules, but if being part of her bridal party conflicts with your schedule, it
needs to be communicated. Avoiding her calls, not responding to emails, and skipping
out on meetings will only lead to bitterness and frustration. It’s always best to discuss it
early on.

2. Forget important dates
Dress fittings, rehearsals, and the bridesmaid brunch are just a few key dates you’ll need
to remember. Being late or not showing up is majorly time consuming on the bride-
to-be’s tight schedule. If you know ahead of time of a scheduling conflict, inform her
immediately.

3. Constantly Complain
You know that nitpicky never can please friend that’s overly opinionated? She doesn’t
like the dress, doesn’t want to participate in anything, the wedding is a major financial
burden, and the list goes on. It’s always nice to voice your opinion as long as it doesn’t
agitate the bride. If being part of the bridal party is a major stress, reevaluate your
decision.

4. Fight with the other bridesmaids
You’ve met the other ladies of the bridal party and not too keen with some of the other
personalities. Getting along or at bare minimum being cordial to the other ladies is
extremely important. Creating tension with the other bridesmaids can and will stress
out the bride-to-be. So please do play nice and get along for the bride!

5. Invite guest to her wedding
This is an obvious, right? It’s never okay to invite guest to attend your friend’s wedding
without approval. If you’re unsure of the details on your invite notify the bride-to-be to
avoid any unnecessary tension.

Being a bridesmaid is secondary. Be a friend first and you’ll do great in your role for
her big day!

What are some ways to save money on your wedding?

The great thing about getting married in this generation is that there are not much traditions to follow!  You get to create your own traditions, and everything you want goes.  The most popular weddings you see today are the ones that goes outside the box.  And also are ones that are very cost efficient.  So here’s 100 fun ways to save money on your wedding!

Reception + Ceremony.
1. Pick an off wedding season.
2. Have an intimate wedding.
3. Have a wedding in your backyard.
4. Have the ceremony and the reception at the same place.
5. Do a lunch reception.
6. Do an afternoon wedding with hors d’oeuvres and finger food.
7. Have the wedding at your church.
8. Consider having a wedding on a day other than Saturday.
9. Ask your friends to be the servers.
10. Ask your pastor or someone you know to conduct the ceremony.
11. Have a big afternoon ceremony with desserts, and then have a separate intimate reception.
12. Find a venue with open catering services.
13. Find a venue where you can bring your own drinks.
14. Stick to the time schedule to avoid overtime fee.
15. If you’re planning on walking down the aisle at 6pm, send the invitation for 5:30pm.
16. Look for all inclusive venue that includes tables, chairs, linens, flowers, lighting.

Decorations + Stationery
17. Shop for vases and decorations at a thrift store.
18. Use favors a part of the table decorations.
19. Use candles as your decorations.
20. Gather decorations from Craigslist and garage sales
21. Buy flowers in that season
22. Find non-floral decorations like candles and lanterns and tissue paper flower.
23. Print your own invitations
24. Save your postage fee by emailing your save the dates.
25. Utilize Facebook Invites and save the dates.
26. Use Christmas lights to give it a romantic setting.
27. Make a website for RSVP, or do email RSVPs.
28. Make paper flowers for decorations.
29. Send out postcard invitations to save money on postage/envelope.
30. Do you really need flowers? How about some pinwheels?
31. Use the ceremony flowers for cake table at the reception.
32. Print your own menu, program, seating chart.
33. Buy flowers at your local farmers market.
34. Skip the individual menu and print one big menu at the reception entrance.
35. Fill up big spaces with balloons
36. Print out the table numbers and frame them.
37. Spray paint beer bottles and spaghetti bottles for vases.
38. Find chairs, ribbons, table covers at party shops that have nothing to do with weddings.
39. Incorporate fruits as part of decorations. (Ex Pomegranate, figs, lemons, etc)
40. Consider long rectangular tables over round tables, to use less table centerpieces.

Entertainment
41. Get a smaller band.
42. Get a DJ who does reception + ceremony.
43. Skip the band and have a friend to make a playlist on the laptop for reception.
44. Have a friend help you play the exact song for the ceremony.
45. Avoid buying things that has “Bridal” or “Wedding” in the title. You can find it cheaper somewhere else (for ex. Sparklers)
46. Have a college music band perform at your wedding.
47. Negotiate with your photographer’s fee by reducing their hours.
48. Find a student photographer or a friend.
49. Ask everyone with a DSLR camera to bring them, snap them, and then email it all to you.
50. Make an Instagram hashtag and ask people to tag it.
51. Find an outgoing friend to be an MC for your wedding.  You might be able to skip on printing the program.
52. Ask a friend to sing for you.

Food + Drinks + Gifts
53 Have a 1 or 2 tiered small wedding cake, and have a larger sheet of cake hidden in the kitchen for serving.
54. Do a cash bar only.
55. Do 1 or 2 hour open bar, the rest of the night cash bar.
56. Give out a favor per couple, not per person.
57. Have the favor double as an escort card.
58. Use fresh flower cake decorations, not fancy sugar flowers.
59. Make your own cake topper or cake decorations.
60. Have a buffet instead of a seated dinner.
61. Buy your own drinks and alcohol.
62. Ask a friend to bake you a simple cake.
63. Do cupcakes instead of a cake.
64. Did you know your local grocery store have great deals on cake?
65. Buy drinks and alcohol in bulk for a discount.
66. Find a liquor store that accepts unopened left over returns.
67. Don’t think you HAVE to have favors! You can skip them.
68. Instead of favors, have a candy station where they can scoop their own needs.
69. Have a potluck for reception!
70. Do a one layer small cake, have a fake cake multiple tiers on the bottom.
71. Do minimum size cake, and have a big cake stand.
72. Skip the liquor; just have beer and wine.
73. Think about not having alcohol at all.
74. Ask your baker to use butter cream frosting instead of fondant.
75. Make something for the bridal party gifts.
76. Ask your catering company to only fill champagne one or two thirds of the glass.
77. Offer champagne only for toasts.
78. Serve non-fancy food like tacos, mini burgers to keep it fun and light.
79. Ask your caterer to make a special menu for kids that’s more affordable.

Attire + Beauty
80. Make your own garter.
81. Buy a used veil.
82. Rent your dress.
83. Do your own hair and makeup.
84. Do facials at home with homemade ingredients.
85. Buy discount shoes or regular white/ivory shoes.
86. Borrow things from already married friends.
87. Reduce the number of your bridal party.
88. Rent tuxedos.  Usually the groom can get his for free.
89. Look through your dad’s closet for bowtie, necktie and cufflinks.
90. Think of carrying a single flower like calla lily for you and the bridesmaid.
91. Buy a used wedding dress.
92. Wait for wedding dress sales
93. Find a sample sale for your wedding dress.
94. Buy a dress off the rack (Some boutiques offer discounts)
95. Have fresh flowers in your head instead of a veil.
96. Wear a mini wedding dress with cute colorful heels.
97. Borrow jewelry from friends and family.
98. Get your nails done at home.
99. Buy a dress that comes with a corset.
100. Consider other white, off white dresses that are for bridesmaids or other formal occasions.

Also check out these posts:

+10 Steps to a Successful Low Budget DIY Wedding

+10 Things Not to do Before the Wedding

1) Do not tan

I would stop tanning at least 2 months before the wedding.  Tanning always differs on your body condition, strength, frequency, tanning oil etc, so you just don’t know how it’s going to turn out.  If you feel like you’re too pale, start tanning in small increments and stop 2-3 months before the wedding for it to settle into a nice bronze tone.  I would skip on ANY spray tanning from the day you’re engaged, unless orange skin on white dress is your theme.

2) Do not try new products

This is not the time to try new products! Don’t change pills, detergent, shampoo, facial wash, soap, lotion, etc.  Stick to what you know, and just concentrate on the regular ritual.  Buy a facial mask that you know works for you, and buy enough until the wedding day.  Don’t be tempted to use the mask that one of your bridesmaid brought you for a slumber party.  I would not introduce any new products at least 2 months before the wedding.

3) Do not drink wine, coffee or eat dark colored food.

You want your teeth pearly white, not like your Uncle’s cigar stained teeth.  Invest into teeth whitening, or at least whitening strips at least one month before.  It takes awhile for your teeth to be pearly, so earlier you start, the better.  Avoid coffee, red wine, blueberries, high acidic food, black tea, dark colored soda, tobacco products, popsicles, etc.

4) Do not change your hairstyle

You may want to get hair treatments to get it looking shiny and healthy, but try to not dye your hair, perm your hair, straighten your hair or give it a drastic hair cut.  Your hair will be the best to stylize on its most natural state.  Just get it trimmed if you have to, and always tell the hair stylist that you’re growing it out for the wedding.  One month before the wedding, consult the hair stylist and get it trimmed so that it will be perfectly settled for the day.

5) Do not get facials near the wedding

2 months before the wedding day, stop getting strong facials like microdermabrasions and chemical peels.  We want to get rid of spotchiness, redness and any peeling.  What you do everyday at home is enough facials for you if you started early.

6) Do not eat salty + greasy food

One week before your wedding, cut down as much sodium as you can.  Since sodium carries 50 times its weight in water, you’ll notice that you are 2-5 pounds lighter and healthier on your wedding day.  Watch your skin glow too!

7) Do not try waxing for the first time near the wedding

If you don’t regularly get bikini wax, don’t try it before your wedding.  If you’re planning on getting a bikini wax for the wedding, make sure you start at least 3-4 months before so that your skin gets used to it.  You don’t want any major pain, swelling, redness, and irritation on your wedding + honeymoon.

8) Don’t forget to drink water!

This might be the most important tip.  Water alone can give you the best facial.  It will clear up your skin, and get your hair shiny.  During the rehearsal dinner, try to not drink as much wine & champagne, and get some water in between each toasts.

9) Do not stay up too long

I know you have your last minute preparations you need to do for tomorrow, but get your beauty sleep!  Make someone else do it for you.  If you’re not regularly on sleeping pills or Nyquil, don’t try it for the first time.  People react to them differently, you might feel sluggish on your big day.

10) Do not do put on anything on your wedding day

Sure, you have to pass by hundreds of people in order to get to your make up artists and hair stylist, but try to skip all of your regular day-to-day preparations for just one day.  Shampoo your hair with minimum conditioner, wash your face, apply basic toner and lotion.  Do not put sun screen, moisturizer, concealer, foundation, BB cream, eyeliner, nothing! Don’t put oil in your hair or your regular treatment cream.  Try to air dry your hair.  Do not put on a bra, you want to avoid any pink indentations on your shoulders and back.  Don’t put on your contacts until you get to the make up artists, you want to keep your eyes moisturized as much as possible.

Also check out:

+100 ways on how to save money on your wedding

+10 Steps to a Successful Low Budget DIY Wedding

I’m soooo thrilled to announce that The Little Canopy will be attending Wedding Day Hooray on 2.16.2013!!  Organized by the Indie Craft Experience, Wedding Day Hooray is a curated, crafty, artsy wedding marketplace where all these awesome artists and vendors come together to provide the future brides their best decorations and wedding services available.  I’ve attended several shows they host at Ambient Plus Studio, and never imagined I’ll be attending as a vendor this year.  It was a last minute decision since there are only limited space, and I was surprised where there was a space available for me.  It’ll be my first show so I’ll have a lot of awkwardness and unpreparedness, but nevertheless I’ll learn a lot, get inspired and meet great people at this show.  Mark your calendars and come find me!

I’m listed as a vendor with the above picture on their website. yay! Checkout other vendors that will be attending the show here

Photosource Wedding Day Hooray

Are you planning your own wedding? I set out a basic guideline for your own wedding planning 101.  I geared it to a low budget, affordable DIY wedding since that’s what I had to go through.  Just remember, it’s going to be a beautiful, fun wedding day whether or not you have the programs printed or not! Just enjoy the company of your loved ones!

1. Guest list. 

First thing when starting your wedding planning is your guest list! In order to find out how much money you HAVE to spend vs how much money you can spend depends all on your guest list.  And don’t say ‘Oh we’re just going to have a few family and friends for our intimate wedding.’ because it’s never a few, and unless planned in advance, it’ll never be an intimate wedding.

– Make a list. (Family. Bridal party. Bestest friends. Friends. I-bump-into-them-often. Co-workers/Business relations.)
-Start counting how many family members will be attending.
-Start counting the bridal party and the bestest friends.
– Don’t go through Facebook to make your list. Make your list from your head!
-Give your friend list to your partner and see if they know of them or have met them during the last year or two.
– Make sure to count all the plus ones.
-My rule was, if I haven’t heard of or met this person within the 6 years we have been dating, we can move them to the maybe-invite-when-we-have-space list.  Vice-versa for my friends.

2.  Budget.

Talk amongst yourselves to see how much you want to spend.  Don’t look at how much things costs at the moment, but just write down how much you’d be comfortable spending (without going into debt).

-I know average wedding is about $27K, but there are $3000 weddings as well. >>20 Real Weddings Under $8K <<
-Don’t let magazines brainwash you into spending out of your comfort zone.
-Use a wedding budget calculator. >>Download<<
-Ask parents for help on top of your budget.

3. Venue & Food

Now this is the biggest chunk of your budget.  Finding a venue and caterer with flexible policies at a low rental rate is very challenging.  Some venues only allow a certain caterer, and some venues have nothing to provide you but the space.

-Look into backyards, churches, public parks, gardens etc.
-Have finger foods, food trucks, or even just cocktail hours and desserts.
-Have a wedding after lunch, to keep it light.
-Have a full ceremony, and then have a separate intimate reception with family members and friends.
-Make your own cake and cupcakes, or ask a friend!

4. Attire

Finding a wedding dress might be the most fun part of the wedding planning.  For a low budget wedding, this might become a little stressful, finding a dress within budget.  It’s so easy to go over budget in wedding attire.  You feel like you need a dress, shoes, veil, garter, jewelry etc etc.  But look through wedding blogs and magazines.  A lot of brides are finding alternatives to accessorize themselves, and so can you.

-Get a vintage dress, a cute mini dress, wedding dress off the rack or even used wedding dresses.
– Make your own veil, or wear a birdcage veil instead.
-Skip it all and have some beautiful fresh flowers in your hair.
– Wear hand me down jewelry, or very minimal jewelry.
– Ask a friend if you can borrow their bracelet and earrings.
-Be bold and wear a bright red heels that you already own.
-Make your own garter.  Do you think the guy who catches it frames it and keeps it displayed?  They don’t know the difference.

Find a list of bridal boutiques in Atlanta >> here <<

5. Stationery

Save-the-dates, invitations, RSVP, thank you cards, menu, program, guestbook, name cards, seating arrangement chart.  WOW I thought there was only invitations!

– You don’t have to do all of them.
– Do a Facebook private invite Save The Date.
– Print your own invitations or at a local printing place.
-If you’re not very artsy, buy one of those ready made templates on Etsy and take it to a printing store.  If you don’t know where to look contact me! I’ll get you a quote at my printing place.
– Think of doing postcard invitations to save on stamp fee.  Also, think of just handing them out to your close friends.  This way you don’t have to spend much on stamps.
– Do an email RSVP.  Most likely, half of them you’re going to have to contact directly anyways.  I did mine one by one.
– Print your thank you cards as well, or buy a bulk online that already says thank you.  Again, think of postcards.  Postcard stamps are cheaper when done in bulk.
– Menu. Optional.  You can keep them excited guessing what the food will be.  Or you can just print them, cut it and leave them on each plates.
– Program. You can skip this as well, or print them yourself.  I had a program, but I think our MC took care of all the events.
– Name Cards.  This one is optional as well.  Your guests are going to be sitting wherever anyways within that table.
– Seating arrangement.  This one is optional as well, as long as you have someone finding their name on the list for the table number.  I printed out two sets of seating arrangement with names and their table number, had two friends help people seat themselves.

6. Decorations

One thing to remember is that just because it’s handmade by you, it doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest.  Sometimes it’s just easier and cheaper to buy them in bulk.

-Lighting does everything.  This is probably the only thing that you need. Get lots of candles! Christmas lights does wonders too.
– There’s nothing wrong with silk flowers, paper flowers and no flowers.
-Think of minimum decorations.  Keep it romantic, artsy, rustic and vintage!  Sometimes weddings with minimum decorations say more than too many things going on.
-Tissue pompoms, paper flowers, ribbon tassels, buntings, balloons, etc

7. Photography

If you’re going to splurge on one thing, it should be photography.  It’s what you keep for the rest of your life, and it’s what remains.

– If you have a friend or family member that’s really good at photos, ask them.  Try to have at least 2 photographers.
– Ask all your friends with DSLR camera to take photos and send them all to you.
– If you’re hiring a photographer, compromise by cutting down the hours.
– Save all the facebook, iPhone, Instagram photos and make a collage.

8. Favors

Favors can be optional but it can also be as simple as a printout of a photo of you two.  Just something small, something thoughtful.  You can skip the individual favor by making a candy station and asking your guests to take some candy on the way home.  Make them a love song CD. Print out a poem.  Make them a paper crane with their names on it, so on.

9. Music

If you know someone who can play an instrument, or DJ, please ask them for help.  Otherwise make a playlist on your laptop and play it all night.  Have a friend help you with the volume and the songs when you walk in.

10. Drinks

-Keep the alcohol minimum, or none at all.
– If you do a day wedding, chances are you don’t need heavy liquor.
– Buy your own alcohol.  Go find a liquor store that you can buy bulk at a discount pricing, and ask if you can return the rest if it’s not open.
– Do a cash bar.
– Do a minimum open bar and the rest cash bar.

Also check out these posts:

+100 ways on how to save money on your wedding

+10 Things Not to do Before the Wedding

I was debating what kind of wedding themes and tips I’d like to share with you for the first blog post of 2013, but instead I decided to share a little new year resolution of mine.  I came across And Then We Saved blog by Anna Newell Jones awhile back, and I was so intrigued by her devotion to get out of debt in a couple of years that I kept reading her blog from beginning to the end.  Although I’m not in a huge student loan debt, nor do I have shopping sprees, I do want to start saving money for the rainy days, future business investments, more craft projects, baby/college funds and also donation for my choice of charity.  Also since we just bought a house, there’s unlimited things I want to do for it.  I sat down with my husband yesterday to do our budgets for the future, and told him about my new plan.  I’m thinking of putting him in the Spending Diet first, while I go on the Spending Fast.

I think the most challenge for us is eating at home every day, every week, every month.  We usually go eat out 3 dinners out of the week, giving me a break from cooking every other day.  That also means I’ll have to start going to grocery stores more frequently, which is probably the biggest problem of me not cooking everyday.  So for this month January, that will be my goal.

Also, we’re going to start paying by cash.  Every pay check we get, we’ll deposit, take out our budget in cash for food + gas, and only spend that much.  Whatever we get left over will go into paying the card.  And the money we get from any side jobs, we’ll keep 10% for our allowance (that way we have some incentive to try harder), the rest will again go into paying the card.

Who’s with me?
🙂

Here’s a cool infographics I found from Divine Caroline that I wanted to share.  It shows what other brides and grooms are going through, roughly, average.  This I believe is from 2011, but I doubt the numbers has changed much since.  Average wedding cost is $27,000, average bridal party is 4 each.  Enjoy!

Things you must have in Bride’s or Bridesmaids’ Emergency Kit

1. Advil
2. Band-aid (Louis Vuitton Bandage)3. Safety Pin
4. Nail Polish (that the bride is wearing)
5. Double side tape
6. Super Glue
7. Breath Mint
8. Tide To Go
9. Visine (or extra set of contact lens + solution)
10. Eyelash Kit (tweezers, eyelash glue, extra lashes)
11. Sewing Kit
12. Oil Absorbing Sheets
13. Bobby Pins
14. Hair Spray
15. Emergen-C

These are the basic kit.  I ended up using Advil, band-aid for the back of my heel, safety pin for the veil, double sided tape for the top of my dress, Visine, the eyelash glue for one of the girls and of course, breath mint! Try to not take gum, because you might forget to spit it out and be stuck with it during the ceremony, and have an awkward smile.  Lol! A lot of these you can find it for 50 cents-$1 at CVS or Rite Aid in the traveler’s section.

Other things that you might also want to add:

-Matching makeup
-Chocolate or Candy
-Water
-Deodorant
-Tissue
-Wet Wipes
-Lotion
-Tampons
-Umbrella
-Lint Roller

Handmade wedding invitations and stationery can be fun and very affordable.  And what’s the most important factor for a successful handmade wedding invitations? FONTS.  Fonts alone can tell a theme, story, image, and a lot of logos are based on fonts.

It took me a while to put this together… but here it is! FREE 40 wedding fonts for DIY Weddingers from dafont.com.  Remember although most of them are free for personal use, make sure to read their policy.  Some of them are donationware, so if you can spare a few bucks for the author I’m sure it’ll be much appreciated.

I’ll try to update more fonts from other font websites down the road.  These are all from dafont.com

1. Channel by Måns Grebäck
2. Coneria Script by Måns Grebäck
3. Mardian by Måns Grebäck
4. Sverige Script by Måns Grebäck
5. Contribute by Fontscafe.com
6. Commerical Script
7. Mirella by Intellecta Design
8. Scriptina
9. Bluemin Ralph
10. Quickier by Måns Grebäck

11. Brain Flower by Denise Bentulan
12. Jenna Sue by jennasuedesignco
13. Cinnamon Cake by Brittney Murphy
14. Ice Cream Sandwich by Skyhaven Fonts
15. Just the Way You Are by Kimberly Geswein
16. The Only Exception by Kimberly Geswein
17. Stars from Our Eyes by Kimberly Geswein
18. Sweetie Pie  by Ammy K
19. Strawberry Avalanche by Skyhaven Fonts
20. Dandelion in the Spring by Brittney Murphy

21. The Dead Saloon by gwizsk
22. Western by James L. DeVriese
23. Duality by Typodermic Fonts
24. Showguide
25. Anderson Four Feather Falls by Steve Ferrera
26. Bosox by Lee Gordon
27. Hoedown by Dieter Steffmann
28. Western Swagger by KC Fonts
29. High On Fire by Billy Argel
30. Coolock Black by Squack

31. Copasetic by Nick’s Fonts
32. Skyliner by Skyhaven Fonts
33. Dymaxion Script by Nick’s Fonts
34. Riesling by Bright Ideas
35. Budmo by Typodermic Fonts
36. Carrington by Bright Ideas
37. Lemondrop by Lauren Thompson
38. Airstream by Nick’s Fonts
39. CM Chipped Paint by Christopher Means
40. Hamburger Heaven by Nick’s Fonts