#433: "what are your favors?"

i was asked this question over the weekend.

and i didn't have an answer.

if i had space in my budget, i would have definitely thought a lot harder about what to give the guests as a parting gift. but i didn't. plus, i felt like a lot of favor ideas were done and done again. and what's unique about that. so i had kind of stopped thinking about it.

but now i'm seriously considering this whole favor thing again.

because i thought of something.


via lawrys.

why salt?! oh, i don't know. maybe this?

besides, couldn't everyone always use some extra spice? natch.

#362: $5.75 each.

complete instructions at once wed

this is a fab two-fer. table numbers that also encourage guests to share thoughtful (and hopefully some high-larious) words of wisdom with you and your hubs.

i'd take pictures of the best (read: witty) messages and ask the photog to include them in our album. or i'd create a collage of torn-out pages and turn it into a framed piece of art for a room in our home.

WWYD?

#359: i eat crap.

my diet is shameless. or more like...shameful. i consume more fried foods per year than probably all of you combined. exaggerating i am not. and i don't do it for the convenience or the cost. or even the nookie. i'm just truly madly deeply addicted to grease and lard.

one of the things i try to eat more of these days to counteract my addiction is...cereal. granted, i prefer the sugary kinds...but cereal (even the sugary ones) is quite good for you. especially compared to country fried steak and eggs (which is what i had for breakfast today)...and especially these days, with a lot of brands focused on fiber (definitely could use more of that if you know what i mean) and protein.

so. when i saw this little project, i could almost hear my heart asking me to be kinder to it. have i found my motivation to say no to bad foods? eh, probably not. but i do think this project could potentially strongly motivate me to eat more cereal. and i think we can all agree that a real breakfast can only do a body good.

now. if only i could come up with something brilliant to put inside the box...



craftzine via elizabeth anne designs

#334: hello.

found these via brooklyn bride .

these placecards are about a buck a piece.

or...you could load another DIY onto your list and use these at about $0.04 each.

#265: magic word.

did someone say bulk? oh hey hey! thanks miss hydrangea!

enter: the dollar tree. so i did some browsing and found a couple of goodies for you.

if you live in a rainy place:

dollar umbrellas.

if your wedding is outdoors:

dollar sunglasses in various styles. (this would be friggin brilliant, and a fab photo op!)

#259: muffin top.

two loverly ways to include the itty bitty muffins in your wedding.


from glamour this!.


from knottie green gelato.

#224: doing good.

hot diggity, readers! thanks for all the sweet info on the photog post! i looked at some of the sites you suggested and voila, came across this picture. (great picture, don't you think? packages start at $800. i know. w.o.w.)


photo by aaron almendral.

favor and charity rolled into one? i dare say yes. i think this is such a fantastic idea. on a rather self-indulgent day, it's a great reminder to have one foot on the ground and be grateful for everything we are and have.

there's 'livestrong' of course...but i've also seen pink bands, red bands, blue bands, purple bands, etc. all supporting various causes. it could also be used as a paperweight for place cards with some ribbon or in pretty see-through pouches.

cheese warning: inspiration rocks and all of your suggestions frequently inspire me. i may not be able to write about them but i read ALL of your comments, sometimes over and over again (OCD), and always explore the possibility of your ideas. thank you.

#220: ferrero steal my heart.

i don't know a SINGLE person who doesn't like these bits of yummy. what a great (and economic!) favor/place card idea.


from knottie pbell

#203: just because.

again, from matthew mead. i'm sooo making this. anything with the word chocolate and the word silk...is equal to...heaven.

#195: there's just something about donuts.

recipe here.

oh happy day featured this recipe of homemade donuts. gosh. they look so good, don't they? i'd make them for the day of...so the bridal party could nosh and be giggly from the sugar high.

#193: so fresh.

i went to the farmer's market this weekend and got coffee. what was out of the ordinary is that they had this set up of drip coffee for each individual cup. it was way cool. and it got me thinking. i love coffee. and so does the bf. we LOVE coffee.

i'm sure your local farmer's market features such a coffee vendor. what i would do (or what i should have done) is ask if they'd be willing to work a wedding for an hour or so. no big machines, no fancy gizmos...just their drip set up, their yummy coffee, and different milks and flavors. i'd be willing to pay for that kind of service as it would be my pleasure to get everyone caffeinated.

plus, 1 hour of no-machine no-nonsense coffee-making along with free advertising for a local vendor would be a rather economical (and fun!) option compared to a full-on coffee stand with tons of whirring and gadgety things...no?

#176: fabric ideas.

joann's fabrics

i'm showing you purple (imagine pairing this underlay of sorts with yellow ware like tinted vases with floating candles or a cupcake stand with yellow cakes or wine/vintage bottles with random yellow flowers) but black lace could also create a very mod vibe.

$5.59 sale price. and with a name like 'casa lace', it's all the more lovely. it's 58" wide. using very rough guesstimation, i'd need 36" squares per round table. so i'd purchase 10 yards. the extra fabric? i'd spiff up very simple invites, wrap favors, decorate menus, pretty up homemade BM bouquets.

#162: less is more.

from brooklyn bride.

bright green apples are so pretty, especially with such a stark background. so are pomegranates. or any fantastically colored roundish fruit, for that matter.

but...then it got me thinking. guess what you could do with apple centerpieces. especially bright green granny smiths...that you can't really do with any of the other fruits...or you could but it wouldn't make as much sense.

you could hand out mini jars of caramel or gooey chocolate as favors for folks to take home and dip apple slices in.

what do you think?

#156: a lil' bit o' chalk.

from small place style

i can't find any on the ikea website, but i know they have uber cheap wooden frames. get yourself a little chalk paint and what do you get? whimsical place cards...or favors...

#149: no, really?

i'll be honest. at first, i thought it was a brilliant idea. then i gave it a little more thought and decided it was a terrible idea. and then i thought about it even more...and flipflopped halfway. so now, i'm rather neutral. i think if i had the time to brainstorm, and could actually come up with real and creative uses for this shtick, it could turn out to be a fine idea...and a great alternative for candles.

brief search indicates about $0.20-$0.30 per stick.

what do you think?

#147: don't laugh.

but i found this tool through not martha.

it's called...the rasterbator.

HAAAAAAA. uh.

suggestions for use...

*guestbook
*table numbers
*gifts

anyways, it's free. let's think of SOMETHING!

#144: more tips.

Leigh Miller Photography

after i mentioned knottie greengelato in the previous post, i took the time to read through her profile. and boy, am i glad i did because i found some great tips. plus, i was reading through her blog and discovered that she's the super creative gal who hosted a fantastic bridal shower party that i had seen featured a few months ago on hostess with the mostess! small blog world.

here are the tips that gave me some fantastic lightbulb moments:

Bridesmaids dresses- BCBG Warehouse
One of my bridesmaids friends works at BCBG headquarters and she hooked me up with a free pass to their warehouse store for employees and their friends. The dresses are gorgeous in person and get this, were only $30 each! They have periodic sales to the public…the next one is on December 9th- it’s definitely worth going to (and waiting in line for). I was able to find 6 dresses in their exact sizes.

Favors- Papermart and 99 Cent Store
To my surprise, I found out that papermart.com was located in Los Angeles! I was able to pick up my favorboxes- 200 for like $50. I filled the favors with rainbow tootsie rolls from the 99 cent store.

Votives- Walmart
I did my research and walmart has the absolute cheapest votives- a 24 pack for only $4.99. The wick is right under the rim of the glass, which meets most fire hazard standards.

Cocktail Hour food and alcohol- Koreatown & Costco
I actually had Korean food during my cocktail hour in order to appease the Korean guests. I had dduk (ricecakes), fried shrimp, little veggie wrap things, potstickers, mini chicken things, a fancy fruit platter, and some other items. My mom did extensive research to find the best appetizers that would not be too crazy Korean and visually appealing. My caterer allowed outside food since it was “ethnic”. I saved a lot of money doing this, considering that SAG charges 2 bucks per potsticker!! I also purchased all the alcohol at Costco. This saved SOOOO much money

Rentals- Mary’s Rentals, La Puente 626.855.0209 Mary’s Rentals is one of the best deals I found. They are a small mom and pop rental company in East LA and their prices are the lowest I found. Their rental list is not as extensive as the bigger companies, but I was able to get most of my items via Mary’s. They also didn’t charge me extra for satin champagne overlays since another bride had just special ordered them for her wedding. Great personable service.

Rentals- Event Professionals Mary’s didn’t have wood chairs so I ordered natural brown wood ones at Event Professionals for only $1.50 each! That was at least a dollar cheaper than I found elsewhere.

her tips also give insight as to what the venue will allow. i love that she was able to purchase her own alcohol! plus, she was able to rent her own tables/chairs/etc which most likely saved her some money. granted, her wedding was at the overall more expensive SAG (santa anita gardens) venue Villa del Sol D’oro. but still...perhaps if she was able to rent her own ware and purchase her own alky, it'd also be allowed at SAG's other, more economically-friendly featured venue, Prince Erik Hall? hm...

#137: flower power.

diy bride posted some great tips for those brave enough to attempt diy flowers. she also posted where to get bulk flowers.

i'll be referring back to this list so as to cause myself the least amount of grief when i diy my own.

#117: do you like it?

from perfectbound

this centerpiece is so simple but somehow, it works and the table doesn't look too bare or cheesy.

maybe it's all the colors?

if this were my ta-dow, i would also set up cakestands with cheese/fruit or arrange favors in between the vases to give the table a little more eye candy.

from MS linked from the preppy wedding

#92: size matters.

"manolo for the brides!" posted about unique cakes. but in her post, she also had a link that sent me to this:


http://manolobrides.com/2007/02/22/scale-it-down/

mini cakes! how brilliant. they're not as played out as cupcakes (+1 point), they're so gorgeous (+1 point) AND...apparently they taste just as divine (+1000 points). if you pool the funds for dessert, centerpiece, favors and wedding cake together...this could be a really unique and memorable part of your wedding. i'm especially drawn to the idea because i've been trying to figure out a way to avoid cupcakes but use something like them. and...i think the theme of my wedding (as a reminder, i'm not yet engaged!) is going to revolve around FOOD. basically, unless the mini-cakes are $20 each, they hit the mark quite well. i'm so pleased.