bridal budget breakdown.

[Warning, this post is for the Type A's. But I've thrown in some photos to make it look prettier : ) ]

I've been meaning to do this for oh...two years, but here I am doing it now! You're welcome. If you care. I still get nauseous when I think about the"average American wedding"cost.  I thought we were awesome and incredibly amazing and only spent roughly $1,000 on our special day. But I went over the expenses today to really see what we spent. While it's about two times what I thought (I still don't like counting the rings as part of the "wedding"...) our whole wedding - with over 300 guests - was still under $3,000. I'd say I can still pat myself on the back!

How did we do it, you ask?

Necessity.

We were are broke and in love.
Our parents didn't have that "wedding fund" waiting for us.
We didn't want to go into debt from our wedding. (Student loans are enough!)

So, we I sacrificed let go of some of my teenage wedding fantasies and did what was practical but still would make me happy. Such as getting a dress from China, making everything I could, choosing disposable tableware instead of renting, getting bulk flowers from Costco, and having a "potluck" style buffet.... can you imagine how much it would cost to feed over 300 people?!

Here it is, it's pretty rough still, but I always rounded up, so if anything things were less than what they say. 

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*Includes tableware, place settings, centerpieces, Costco flowers, peacock feather, candy table jars, Photobooth props, etc... 

** Items in ( ) were paid for by either family or wonderful friends
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And if you're the type who likes to know...

Where I got stuff from : )

Save On Crafts

The Feather Store (I think this is where I got them from...)

IKEA

Dollar Tree

Party City

Iron & Honey (Etsy)

The White Bouquet (Etsy)

The Pretty Petals (Etsy)

Boxed-Gifts.com

Lightinthebox.com

Costco.com

...and Craigslist and some awesome thrift stores!

Here's to being crafty, frugal and awesome!

d.i.y. boutonnières

As promised, here is a quick tutorial on how I made the boutonnieres for my wedding! This is what they looked like:

Gather all the needed supplies

- glue gun
- thin ribbon ( $0-$2 )
- skewer stick ( $1-$2 for bunch )
- peacock feather - 1 per boutonniere ( >$1 if bought in bulk )
- fake petal (or some other object for the back part) ( $1-$4 )
- florist tape ( $1-$2 )
- spotted feathers (some sort of owl, I believe) - 2 per boutonniere ( $1-$4 )
- a 'bud' (or something to act as a centerpiece, maybe a jewel, etc) ($1-$3 )
- pin backs ( $2 )
+_______________________
Total: Less than $10

This is what I had for the backing and the 'centerpiece'. It's made with some sort of paper (bought from saveoncrafts.com (best place EVER), but here's where you can be creative. (You could also just use another feather with a contrasting color.) I plucked it apart and used one petal for the back part and one bud for the center.

Cut your peacock feather into desired shape. I like mine clean cut. Leave about and 1 1/2 inches of the stem to work with. You may want a few feather to pratice cutting the feathers. Sounds silly, but they can be a bit feisty.

Cut a three inch piece of your skewer stick and hot glue it to the 'back' side of you back piece (mine being the paper petal)

Flip it over and glue the peacock feather to it. Position it to where the 'eye' is centered on the backing.

It's okay if there's some glue residue. It will get covered up!

Position one spotted feather into place and glue it down. It was easiest for me to glue the whole feather and then trim it.

Trim that baby up! I put it more on one side so in the end it would flank the peacock feather.

Do the same with the other feather. Trim it up and admire your "hard" work thus far!

Next, hot glue your centerpiece down! Here I used one of the buds of the paper flower.

Wrap it all up with florist tape starting from the base where the feathers are going down.

Then you are going to do the same thing, but with the ribbon. Hot glue a dot or two at the top to get started and add some dots as you wrap down.

Mine weren't perfect at the ends, but that's what gives them character : )

Viola! You are done!
*** To attach them to shirts I simply attached a pin back to the back of the stem part and it was ready to wear!

(These can be purchased at any craft store)

I added a couple more feathers for the Groom's : )

And that's it! Easy as pie. Or at least cake from a box ; )