wedding gowns enzoani image
Q. My wedding is in less than 3 weeks. I have just got my dress back from the dressmaker, it's a perfect replica of Enzoani dress. But I'm really nervous it looks too casual and simple. Has anyone out there experienced this feeling ?
Answer
i don't think i would be announcing to the world that you had your dress maker steal and knock off a couture gown design. it is done all the time, but people don't say so in such a public forum.
i don't think i would be announcing to the world that you had your dress maker steal and knock off a couture gown design. it is done all the time, but people don't say so in such a public forum.
A wedding on a budget?
ashley
My fiance and I want to have a wedding on a budget... Although, it seems like having a "budget" wedding could be quite the task. I've done some research and found out that the average wedding is about $25,000 and is increasing about $2,000 each year! Wow! The only way we could afford a $25,000 wedding is if we charge everything... my fiance is the anti-charge man and is very frugal about what he charges... I would hate to have a wedding that would take us years to pay off. I've checked out some packages one of which seems to suit us and is about $13,000... it includes the ceremony, reception, food for up to 150 guests, and 14 rooms for a bed and breakfeast for 40 out of town guests. Being that most of our family is from the north and we are in the south it is VERY important to us that we accomadate out of town guests... this is a daunting challenge. I want to either supply the room OR airfare for our guests--both would just be overwhelming! $13,000 is a bit out of our league however it seems like the only package that suits our needs. Has anyone have a wedding on a budget? About what was the budget you were working with and what did you do to make it work!? I've heard of people having fantastic weddings for about $5,000 although I don't know HOW that is even possible. One thing is that I absolutely want to have a nice meal at our reception... not just appetizers. The meals do not have to be extravagant but I feel if we have guests coming from 1,000 miles away that we should provide a substainal meal... and the meals seem to be the most expensive part of our wedding!!! If anyone has worked a wedding on a budget, I'd love to hear suggestions and get ideas of what a reasonable "budget" is... Thanks :)
Answer
I am getting married by the end of this year if all goes well. My biggest tip is don't go with any "wedding vendor" and to hopefully have friends/family that love you enough to offer their services!
Our projected budget was less than $5000, no, actually more like less than $3000 if we can. We expect about 250 guests.
Here is a brief summary:
- DJ...free!
(My friend who is a DJ is gifting me his services.)
- Cake...free! And $14
(A relative who bakes is gifting it to me. That will be the main cake. Since me and a few of my relatives have celiac I also need gluten free, so I will pick up a smaller GF chocolate "supposedly grooms but really brides" cake that will be next to the big one on a stand my guy's making me.)
- Venue...less than $600
(The ballroom of a local university. I live in a big city so this location is in a suburb about 20 minutes away. Also my uncle got me a "connection" who reserved it for us at a discount since she is an employee of the school. Even without the discount, the place is about $1000, and it is not listed as a wedding venue anywhere, although it is certainly elegant enough. Also, no required caterer!)
- Food...catering by Jason's Deli, less than $8.00/person
(Our biggest "splurge" but we made it work. Not only is Jason's fresh/healthy/organic and have GF options for me and my family members!!! But they are affordable and you don't have to book them months in advance. Even if we choose a hot meal, we found that instead of serving the meal on a 12" restaurant size 1" deep plate, which no one finishes anyway, we'd serve it on 8" flat plates and can get 3 meals out of 2 restaurant portions! Jason's will do this if you ask because they usually have to plate your meal anyway.)
-My wedding gown...free!
(My mom is gifting me my dress, since she gifted my sister hers when she got married. Her limit was up to $500, so anything above that I'd have to pay and anything below she'll give me the difference for my wedding. I scoured all the bridal salons and online preowned sites and found nothing to my liking and my price range, so she offered to sew my dress for me, since she's made my clothes/dresses since I was little. We even checked discontinued gowns and clearance gowns and although those were gorgous and more affordable I am just too picky for my body. Guess I'm too used to things being made for my body, and also my mom taught me very well how a good dress is made and not many that I saw made the cut. I found my dream dress by Enzoani with some "redesigning" to my tastes and comfort and we both really love it. My mom helped me find a pattern of a veil I like and will help me make it. My sister makes beaded jewelry { tuilpsfortutti.etsy.com } and she offered to gift me any beads for my gown as well as any beads for my jewelry which she will custom make to my tastes and liking; she really wants me to splurge and pick Swarovski crystals.)
- Decorations for 30 tables...handmade, price unknown but so far less than $200
(My friend just got married and is lending me the vases she used. In this case Marthastewartweddings.com is my best friend, as well as the DIY archives at oncewed.com. Most everything will be hand-made and I was leaning towards tissue paper flower centerpieces and small LED candles since we can't have open flames at our venue. Me and my sister are very handy, but I am lucky enough to have great friends who offered me their help too.)
-Photography...to be determined
(We plan on hiring two photography majors from UT based on recommendations from their professors. It can count as credit for them, we'll write their professor a review, they can use our images in their portfolio but we get to keep everything they shoot since it will be digital and as college students they can earn some cash.)
-Extras
I went to BigLots and dollar stores and found a whole stash of loot. LED tea lights for one quarter what they cost online. Also a whole stash of really great Martha Stewart Weddings stuff; I had seen it the week before on clearance at Walmart and went there and it was even cheaper than Walmart. We got a big scrapbook that we're going to use for our guestbook for $2.00. It is eyelet print and I just have to add a bit more decoration to jazz it up a bit.
The only splurge I really want is to have real flowers just on the bouquets - 1 bridal, 4 BM, 1 Jr Bm, and maybe something for my 2 flower children. My friend found me a source who can get me honest pricing for that so depending on how our finances are I might splurge and get a few real flowers and mix them in among the tissue paper ones.
Favors I still haven't decided. There are some great online craft sites and my best friend is the weekly Hobby Lobby online coupon, sometimes up to 40%. So if I have to print out multiples of those and go to the two Hobby Lobbys nearby everyday with as many people as I can bring with me that week just to buy one things at time I will!
Our colors are clover and lilac and we want a nature-y theme with a vintage vibe so we will see.
Pretty much just think outside the box; you don't need everything magazines and websites tell you you need.
Aside from gifted items, no one is helping us pay for anything. His family is being especially stingy and the sum they did offer a few months back they have since taken back, claiming they don't have any money.
So I do see this wedding as a challenge, a money challenge where we hopefully triumph.
I am getting married by the end of this year if all goes well. My biggest tip is don't go with any "wedding vendor" and to hopefully have friends/family that love you enough to offer their services!
Our projected budget was less than $5000, no, actually more like less than $3000 if we can. We expect about 250 guests.
Here is a brief summary:
- DJ...free!
(My friend who is a DJ is gifting me his services.)
- Cake...free! And $14
(A relative who bakes is gifting it to me. That will be the main cake. Since me and a few of my relatives have celiac I also need gluten free, so I will pick up a smaller GF chocolate "supposedly grooms but really brides" cake that will be next to the big one on a stand my guy's making me.)
- Venue...less than $600
(The ballroom of a local university. I live in a big city so this location is in a suburb about 20 minutes away. Also my uncle got me a "connection" who reserved it for us at a discount since she is an employee of the school. Even without the discount, the place is about $1000, and it is not listed as a wedding venue anywhere, although it is certainly elegant enough. Also, no required caterer!)
- Food...catering by Jason's Deli, less than $8.00/person
(Our biggest "splurge" but we made it work. Not only is Jason's fresh/healthy/organic and have GF options for me and my family members!!! But they are affordable and you don't have to book them months in advance. Even if we choose a hot meal, we found that instead of serving the meal on a 12" restaurant size 1" deep plate, which no one finishes anyway, we'd serve it on 8" flat plates and can get 3 meals out of 2 restaurant portions! Jason's will do this if you ask because they usually have to plate your meal anyway.)
-My wedding gown...free!
(My mom is gifting me my dress, since she gifted my sister hers when she got married. Her limit was up to $500, so anything above that I'd have to pay and anything below she'll give me the difference for my wedding. I scoured all the bridal salons and online preowned sites and found nothing to my liking and my price range, so she offered to sew my dress for me, since she's made my clothes/dresses since I was little. We even checked discontinued gowns and clearance gowns and although those were gorgous and more affordable I am just too picky for my body. Guess I'm too used to things being made for my body, and also my mom taught me very well how a good dress is made and not many that I saw made the cut. I found my dream dress by Enzoani with some "redesigning" to my tastes and comfort and we both really love it. My mom helped me find a pattern of a veil I like and will help me make it. My sister makes beaded jewelry { tuilpsfortutti.etsy.com } and she offered to gift me any beads for my gown as well as any beads for my jewelry which she will custom make to my tastes and liking; she really wants me to splurge and pick Swarovski crystals.)
- Decorations for 30 tables...handmade, price unknown but so far less than $200
(My friend just got married and is lending me the vases she used. In this case Marthastewartweddings.com is my best friend, as well as the DIY archives at oncewed.com. Most everything will be hand-made and I was leaning towards tissue paper flower centerpieces and small LED candles since we can't have open flames at our venue. Me and my sister are very handy, but I am lucky enough to have great friends who offered me their help too.)
-Photography...to be determined
(We plan on hiring two photography majors from UT based on recommendations from their professors. It can count as credit for them, we'll write their professor a review, they can use our images in their portfolio but we get to keep everything they shoot since it will be digital and as college students they can earn some cash.)
-Extras
I went to BigLots and dollar stores and found a whole stash of loot. LED tea lights for one quarter what they cost online. Also a whole stash of really great Martha Stewart Weddings stuff; I had seen it the week before on clearance at Walmart and went there and it was even cheaper than Walmart. We got a big scrapbook that we're going to use for our guestbook for $2.00. It is eyelet print and I just have to add a bit more decoration to jazz it up a bit.
The only splurge I really want is to have real flowers just on the bouquets - 1 bridal, 4 BM, 1 Jr Bm, and maybe something for my 2 flower children. My friend found me a source who can get me honest pricing for that so depending on how our finances are I might splurge and get a few real flowers and mix them in among the tissue paper ones.
Favors I still haven't decided. There are some great online craft sites and my best friend is the weekly Hobby Lobby online coupon, sometimes up to 40%. So if I have to print out multiples of those and go to the two Hobby Lobbys nearby everyday with as many people as I can bring with me that week just to buy one things at time I will!
Our colors are clover and lilac and we want a nature-y theme with a vintage vibe so we will see.
Pretty much just think outside the box; you don't need everything magazines and websites tell you you need.
Aside from gifted items, no one is helping us pay for anything. His family is being especially stingy and the sum they did offer a few months back they have since taken back, claiming they don't have any money.
So I do see this wedding as a challenge, a money challenge where we hopefully triumph.
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