THe dress was half off at the thrift store. I think it cost $2.50 (which, of course, I thought was exorbitant for a thrift store).

And yes, Yoda was touched. We never did get that reciept though. I guess its because the ceremony was free. FREEEEE!!!!

My friends favorite gift ever was this box of seasonal cookie cutters my mom got her - complete with Mom's cookie recipe & the cookie cutter my friend always admired.

http://www.thumbprintkids.com/pages/detailpages/caketoppers/Shea.htm

In your opinions, what is the best method to paying for a wedding? We both know our parents aren't going to be able to contribute a whole lot for a wedding so we will be paying for it ourselves, mostly. I mean, did y'all deposit money into a joint "wedding" checking account, take out a loan (ack!)?

Just curious for furture reference... ;-)

We bought an invitation kit so we could do our own invitations, saving money, blah blah blah. Today, I go to start addressing them all, and that's when I finally notice that there are no inner envelopes, only the outer ones. Is it tacky to send them out that way? Am I going to have to write all names on the addressed envelope? How do I put the "and guest" part on if there is no inner envelope?? If I have to go out and buy a new set of inner/outer envelopes (which are surprisingly hard to find, by the way) it's going to be almost as expensive as if we'd just ordered the damn things in the first place.

I put who was invited on the outside envelope as part of the address: "Michael, Prince, Blanket, and Prince Jackson." Or, when there were more than one surname: "Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Wonder Woman."

Personally, I can't imaging anyone being offended at the lack of inner envelope in this day and age, unless you are having some 'society wedding.' (Since you're doing your own, I'm guessing no.) If anyone scoffs at the inner envelope absence, I would just say "We tried to be ecofriendly by using less paper."

Edited to add: It's so rare that anyone gets ANY paper mail these days, other than bills and credit card offers, I think people are so excited to see someone else's handwriting, the envelope thing will be a non-issue.

So, we had the actual card invite, the response card/envelope, and the wedding itinerary and guest guide that I designed, and maps. I laid down the itinerary first, face up with the maps inside. Then, I put the response card/envelope on top of that. Finally, I placed the invitation upside down on the pile. This way, it was blank on the front. Then, I took a ribbon and tied around the middle of the bundle with a little tag that had the person's name(s) & Guest.

Everyone raved over how unique it was, and some people even commended me for saving an extra envelope.

And since I can't seem to make a pretty link today they are at www.geocities.com/kmtrebil
and are under the pictures link.

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Originally posted by greschya:
"Michael, Prince, Blanket, and Prince Jackson."

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I just laughed my ass off at that.

quote:

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Originally posted by Melissa55379:
One of my friends is getting married and she is looking for ideas to engrave inside her husband's wedding ring. Does anyone have any ideas?

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But, anyway, here's what I am envisioning: White tableclothes on picnic tables in an outside pavilion. Potted gerbera daisies on the tables, and in my bouquet if I decide to have one. White sundress. No attendants. I don't know how to dress Phil - khaki's and a white oxford? Ideas? White christmas lights possibly strung in the rafters, or those pretty japanese lanterns? Short civil ceremony. (Greschya, I really liked yours.) Picnic food after (though I'm not sure how that will work, if we want to grill our own or have something catered.) Hopefully some kind of speakers playing mp3s, but no dancing. Volleyball, crocquet, horseshoes, frisbees.

Any ideas? I'm way open to suggestions!

Also:
-How far in advance do we need to order wedding rings?
-How do we actually start the ceremony, if I'm not going to do the whole "arrive in a limo, walk down the aisle" thing?
-What are everyone's thoughts on a 4th of July wedding? Would you be annoyed to go to a wedding on that day? Are most people off July 5 this year because the 4th is a Sunday, or just my cushy job?

quote:

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Originally posted by kellyrae:
-How do we actually start the ceremony, if I'm not going to do the whole "arrive in a limo, walk down the aisle" thing?

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On this specifically, we actually rafted up to the spot by the lake where we had the ceremony. We also had bamboo mats laid out like an aisle. We didn't have attendants but nominated 2 friends to coordinate the crowd, so they were briefed to shake their marracas when we appeared on the raft and stop when we stepped onto the mats. It worked out pretty well for us.

So maybe just have a decorated zone that your entering marks the beginning of ceremony? Maybe have a table/altar kind of thing with candles and light them to signal the start? Maybe a bullhorn? Maybe sparklers?

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Originally posted by crowjoy:
Maybe a bullhorn?

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Mine is going to be at my dad's house, he has a huge lawn with woods all around... Open, yet concealed from the neighbors. So now we're debating about the time of day, and whether we're going to rent tents or not. It's going to be pretty casual, with lawn games instead of dancing we're thinking. We're still trying to decide what sort of food we want to serve, and when. Right now we're also talking to officiants.

As far as the date, I have it off, but I'm a teacher. Hee. Not sure about others, but for those that really want to be there, the date won't be an issue. (unless you make it one, really.) Ours was on a Friday afternoon, my nieces got to skip school (whoohoo) and even with 6 weeks notice, about half of our guests traveled from out of state to be there.

I really, really can't stress enough how everything just came together, even with a short engagement and a simple plan. ANything I thought might draw criticism, didn't. My main plan was that I may not be following tradition, but I kept to etiquette -- formal paper invitations (well, not formal in design, they had spiders on them), formal thank yous, etc. etc. and everyone loved it. Actually, we still hear about it from guests as being the 'best wedding ever' because it was so relaxed and laid back.

So, don't stress too much.

OH, and ms. spreadsheet queen -- I made an excel spreadsheet with all guests names, addresses, when their invite was sent, if they RSVPed, what menu choice they selected, if they gave a gift, and when the thank you went out, all those details. Very helpful.

ETA: RIngs -- I think it depends on the jeweler, or types of rings you want. Ours were off the rack, basically. Dave's was a simple whitegold band, mine had to have diamonds and a curve to accomodate my engagement ring. They had to be sized, and were ready within a week of us walking into the store.

If you want a certain design/er, or something beyond basic, I have no idea.

quote:

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Originally posted by crowjoy:
Chi, did you change your plan to Vegas or is that a figure of speech (your Vegas dress mentioned in the dust thread...?)

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Its Vegas baby, February 21st (oh well to the Friday the 13th wedding...). Its even being webcast LMAO (12:30 vegas time, 2:30 central time, 1:30 crowjoy time :P). So if you're bored that day you can hang out at www.vivalasvegasweddings.com go to webcam and main chapel.

Bought my dress tonight right off the rack($199) and it is actually the dress I've always always always wanted (well since I grew out of my 1980's inspired bedazzler kick). Very very simple, A line, tank with a train. I'm going to get little white ballet slippers for shoes. Now I just have to go get it hemmed and cleaned.