Posted Monday, January 11, 2010 12:17 AM
I was looking over what (few) things we've committed to so far + estimated costs of other things and was shocked at how much money it totaled already. And this estimated total doesn't even include such things as FH's tux rental, gifts for attendants/parents/significant other, wedding bands, flowers, reception decorations, etc.
FH and I have decided to further cut back our expenses. We weren't planning on wastefully spending money on the wedding anyway, but now we have to be even more careful. We decided to forgo the save-the-dates and professional videographer. I'm also considering taking a more DIY approach to the invitations. I can already tell from looking at the numbers that a couple hundred dollars could be saved. I'm just not very confident in being able to get everything printed and cut right. Hopefully, I'll feel different after I receive the sample paper I ordered and give them a try. I'm sad about no longer having save-the-date cards. I really liked them, and it took me a lot of work to convince FH to agree to them. haha ^^; As for the video, we'll just ask a family member with a video camera to tape the ceremony and pieces of the reception. I know the quality won't be the same, but I would rather save the $800~$1000.
Update:
- FH and I have gone over the photographer contract, asked questions, and have received answers. (She is very, very quick to respond!) All I have to do now is print it out, fill it out, and send it in with the deposit.
- Need to schedule an engagement session with photographer. (February? March?)
- FH and I both want our engagement session location to be the university where we met. We've come up with a list of places at the school that are important to us and will hopefully make for good shots. I'll be visiting the school in the next few days to take some pictures of these sites myself and see how they look.
- Haven't completed my DJ comparison worksheet. Need to make some calls to fill in missing information.
- Bakers did not get back with me about the cherry blossom branches and blossoms. I'll need to call them this week to get some prices.
- Another meeting with our priest on Tuesday. We'll be asking if we can sign up for Pre-Cana.
- Reception site hasn't answered my e-mail about table and chair dimensions. Need to follow up with phone call.
- Need to compare linen and delivery prices of different rental places
- Call salon about pricing for hair trials
- Need to visit a flower shop to get a feel of what flowers I want in the wedding and find a florist!
Posted by
AriNhan
Filed under: checklist, budget
Posted Thursday, January 07, 2010 12:40 AM
As mentioned in yesterday's post, FH and I were scheduled to visit 2 more bakeries this morning. We first went to Creative Kitchen. They had strawberry mousse filling that was yummy, but the prices quoted to us were expensive. We were told it was because creating the flowering branch would be so labor intensive.
On a side note: Creative Kitchen is not only a bakery/caterer but also a store. They sell all sorts of neat kitchen utensils, dinner ware, and other nifty stuff. Right as FH and I were leaving the place, I saw a heart shaped, shaggy rug made from strips of red, pink, and white fabric. I liked it so much I (almost) immediately decided to get it. I've decided to save it and put it away for now. FH and I will start using it, probably as a mat in the kitchen or bathroom, after we're married!
The second baker today was a local Harp's store. The prices quoted to us were less than what we were quoted earlier but still more than I wanted to pay for the cake. Again, the reasons were because of the fondant and labor for making the blossoms and branch. We weren't able to do a taste testing today, so if we are still interested in Harp's, we would need to schedule another meeting with them.
Both FH and I like to have strawberry in the cake in some form, whether it's the cake (sponge), filling, or both. We're most likely going to stick with white on the outside so no strawberry there, except my sister/MOH suggested making the outside a dark blue so the cherry blossom pink would stand out against it and we would be able to incorporate both of the wedding colors. I'll have to see what FH thinks about that and if it's not poisoning to use so much food coloring as I would assume you would need to color the whole cake.
Another suggestion from MOH was to just have floating blossoms all the way around and not have the branch. That would reduce the amount of fondant used, work done by the baker creating and shaping the branch, and hopefully reduce the price of the cake. I think it's a good idea.
Posted Tuesday, January 05, 2010 11:16 PM
Today, FH and I went cake taste testing at Paul's Bakery and Confectionately Yours. We have favorite flavors narrowed down at each location but price-wise, Paul's is more affordable. We still have two more appointments (one taste testing and consultation and one consultation only) scheduled for tomorrow. We'll see how they go. Hopefully, we'll be able to make a quick decision. Unfortunately, we did have a few questions from today that still need answering, so we need to hear back from the bakeries before we can make the final decision.
We're planning for a cherry blossom branch and floating blossoms on the cake. Here are some links for an idea of what we're wanting for our cake: cascading branch and floating blossoms and a more realistic looking branch (you can see more of the details here). We like the cascading shape but want it to look more realistic while also having the blossoms decorating the sides as if they were blowing in the wind. As for the shape of the cake, we're still trying to decide between square and round but are leaning towards the round. We're aiming to have 3 tiers with possible risers between each tier. The outside of the cake will most likely be white so the pink of the cherry blossoms would look good against it while also keeping with tradition. Personally, a non-white wedding cake doesn't seem to look quite right.
We are not planning on having a groom's cake, and I think FH is a little sad about that.
Posted Tuesday, January 05, 2010 12:22 AM
...that feeling I mentioned last post didn't last very long, as you can tell. Oh well! I'll just post when I do feel like it (like now!) and have the time (which I actually don't).
Here's what's happened since the last post:
- Meetings with the priest
- Bridal party is chosen
- Church is booked but deposit not paid (need to do that...)
- Reception site is booked and deposit paid for renting the day-before and day-of (if we didn't book the day before and another event got booked, we would only be able to go in the morning-of to decorate for the reception. so we went ahead and booked for both days.)
- Reception site provides the catering so no need to find and book a separate caterer though food selections have yet to be made
- Wedding dress is ordered
- Wedding shoes were gifted to me from my sister/MOH
- Working on making my own headband (will need to blog separately on that)
- Debating whether to make own veil (which has proven to be more difficult that I thought) or just go ahead and buy it
- Bridesmaids' dress is selected though not yet ordered
- Save-the-dates were selected and about to be ordered but due to budget concerns, decided not to have them
- Invitation style is selected
- Photographer is chosen and booked but deposit not yet paid (need to go over contract with FH and pay deposit)
- Comparing DJs and videographers
- Will be taste testing cakes with FH tomorrow and the day-after
- Not making progress elsewhere
We're moving forward, but there are still many things that need to get done. With exactly 5 months and 3 weeks to go, I'm getting anxious that we haven't made more progress.
Posted by
AriNhan
Filed under: checklist
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 7:32 PM
I have never been one to post things online but the (little) progress we've made in planning for the "big day" and reading other wedding blogs have made me feel like posting something myself. We'll see how long this feeling lasts. ; )