# stephaniexx's wedding planning! October 21st 2014!



## stephaniexx

I neeeeeeeeded a place to keep all my thoughts together as my mind is working overtime, and what better place than BnB?!?!

Long story short we have been engaged since 15th November 2010. And now we finally have the funds to start buying and booking!

Now I don't want a grand, posh manor house wedding, we have a SMALL budget of £1500. I have a spreadsheet with all listed costs and we are doing a lot of DIY especially in the way of decorating our venue. We have a lovely function room which will hopefully be booked by the end of the weekend, and it only costs £150. No sit down meals, we're hoping to have the wedding late (like 4/5pm) and start our celebrations at 7 with a big buffet. 

We are getting married at our local registry office which happens to be a beautiful listed building, so BONUS :happydance: no extra costs! And their ceremony rooms are tucked away from the main entrance so no strangers will be walking through my wedding party :dohh:

We're booking the ceremony and giving notice on 14th May at 1.30pm :happydance: it's feeling real!

I'm keeping my list on the front page here, and I'm going to cross things off as I go!

To-Do-List

Give notice and book ceremony - 14th May 1.30pm
Book venue
Dress - my grandmother is making it :cloud9:
Cake - MIL is buying that
Flower girl dresses for my daughters
Suits
Shoes
Invites
Table linens, chair sashes, and table décor
general décor, balloons etc
Favours
Rings
Food! Good old simple BIG buffet, family are all contributing, and we're using them fancy paper plates and plastic forks :haha:

Excited doesn't begin to describe it! we're trying to keep it simple and low-key, they'll be about 85 guests (around 55 are family). I'm DIY-ing a LOT of the decoration, like making the table runners and chair sashes, making the centrepieces, etc. I'm investing a lot of the budget into decoration so hopefully it pays off :haha: Our colour scheme is ivory, chocolate and gold, and décor is going to be very rustic, shabby chic with pearls etc.

Right! Enough of the waffling and well done if anyone's actually reading this. This is now officially my wedding diary and I'm posting all my finds and ideas here rather than using a million notebooks :dohh:


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## stephaniexx

https://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/5a/25/4a/5a254a7e87039bb66e9774ac207cacb8.jpg

This is what we're doing for our favours! Filled with chocolate coloured shredded paper, champagne bubbles, and gold chocolate sweets (like smarties but gold coloured) :happydance: 

£53.70 makes 100 completed and filled bags. MIL and I are going to have a night in making them together. I actually love my MIL lol!


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## stephaniexx

We're having 3 balloons as our centrepieces, 1 pearlised ivory, 1 gold with JUST MARRIED on, and another pearlised ivory balloon covered with chocolate organza, so like this
https://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/83/a0/53/83a053ffb6c18f11f0f2150da0297269.jpg
But with an ivory balloon and chocolate sheer fabric. Tied with chocolate curling ribbon and string pearls, held with ivory balloon weights (cheap, plain favour boxes filled with marbles)

I'm using the same organza to make table runners and chair sashes, I have to buy like 9 rolls :/ but it'll only cost £28 :haha: far cheaper than buying or hiring, and luckily I'm quite a crafty person lol!

Our table décor will be two types of confetti

https://i.ebayimg.com/t/Kraft-Paper-Confetti-Hearts-Wedding-Party-Favours-Vintage-Rustic-Heart-/00/s/MTEzMlgxNjAw/z/bHsAAOxygPtS95Rk/$_12.JPG

Same hearts as the favour bags, and

https://i.ebayimg.com/t/300x-Romantic-Vintage-Paper-Heart-Shaped-Wedding-Table-Decoration-Confetti-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw/z/PRkAAMXQ74JTQEyM/$_12.JPG


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## stephaniexx

I can buy ivory table linens for 10 tables, round 120", for £95. Then I'm having them laundered and selling them on after the wedding. Luckily the venue has lovely plain cream chairs, so I'm not spending a stupid amount of money on covers, and I'm tying the sashes like this:

https://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1e/4e/a4/1e4ea4d19dcae79272d612cbc3cf695c.jpg

They will be (you guessed it) chocolate organza!

FIY I don't think chair covers are a waste of time or anything, I just don't see the point in using them if your chairs are lovely :haha: I would be hiring some cheap ones if the chairs were hideous.


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## babynewbie

Hi :wave: Sounds like it will be a fab day with all your hard work going into it! I love that your grandmother is making your dress too, how special :)


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## Felix26

Lovely. I love the organza over the balloons, fab and so beautiful. What style dress are u having made?


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## stephaniexx

Hi ladies :flower:

Well we've hit a couple bumps in the road already :rofl:

Major bump - my granda has to go into surgery tomorrow to replace his hip :nope: so my grandma will be looking after him and wont have the time (or the energy!) to make my dress. She offered to do it anyway but I told her off, I wont have her overworking herself. So my Mam has offered to buy my dress and we're going to look on Friday! I think we'll have to rush order it :haha::dohh: but never mind, problem solved.

Minor bump - we need more chairs than the function room has and so they'll be taken from another room and they wont all match, so I'm going to have to hire chair covers after all :rofl: luckily we still have quite a bit of flexibility in the budget :thumbup:

Paid the deposit on the function room :happydance:

OH's friend is a DJ and has all the gear, he said he will happily set up so music is FREEE :)

Giving notice and booking our ceremony etc on Wednesday 1.30pm, they have us pencilled in for 21st Oct already so the date is set in stone really. Then invites will be ordered Wednesday night :thumbup: Lily and Evie are both at nursery all day Wednesday so after the registry office we're driving through to the metrocentre (massive shopping centre) to go and sort OH's suit out at Greenwoods, and Dan, OH's twin and the best man, will be coming along too. I'm going to let them get on with it and take Poppy to go and smell some Yankee Candles (I AM OBSESSED WITH YANKEE CANDLES)

AAaaaannnddd that's it so far on the updates :kiss:


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## stephaniexx

To-Do-List

Give notice and book ceremony - 14th May 1.30pm
Book venue - DONE
Dress - hopefully picking it on Friday 16th May!
Cake - MIL is buying that, we have it picked out
Flower girl dresses for my daughters
Suits - 14th May
Shoes
Invites - 14th May
Table linens, chair sashes, covers and table décor
general décor, balloons etc
Favours
Rings
Food - the venue wont let us do our own buffet, but they do a great deal where we give them whatever £ we can and they just make a crap load of food with it, no £ per head or anything.


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## stephaniexx

A lot seems to be happening this Wednesday :rofl:


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## babynewbie

That's a shame about your dress, hope everything goes well with your grandads operation though. And how annoying about the chair covers! If you have a look on eBay there's lots of people in different areas that hire them for very little.


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## stephaniexx

Give notice and book ceremony - DONE
Book venue - DONE
Dress - hopefully picking it on Friday 16th May!
Cake - DONE
Flower girl dresses for my daughters
Suits - DONE, pickup 15th October
Shoes
Invites - DONE
Table linens, chair sashes, covers and table décor
General décor, balloons etc
Favours
Rings
Food

YAYYY :happydance:

Ceremony is 21st Oct 3:45pm! All booked up, got a nosey around the building and they have beautiful staircases for photos :D Need to pick our wording, inform them of witnesses, best man, etc, and choose our music.

OH and the best man got measured up and picked their suits and waistcoat colours and whatnot, paid the deposit etc; they should arrive in store 15th October!

Invites have just been ordered!

AND I got a new Yankee Candle! Happy Steph, it's been a good day :happydance:

My grandas op went fine, he's recovering and will be home some time next week :thumbup:

DRESS SHOPPING ON FRIDAY!!


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## 30mummyof1

:hi: Steph, just found you have a wedding journal :happydance: I think your wedding sounds fantastic and the fact its going to be mainly family too, we both have really small families so about 8 in total for our wedding!
Will read through from the beginning :)


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## stephaniexx

Been dress shopping and was rudely turned away from 2 shops for the wedding only being 5 months away :( BUT luckily I didn't want a ball gown or a big posh dress, and we found a lovely evening dress shop which some lovely things in and was able to order me the dress I want in ivory :) the dress we've ordered is a brand new design and the shop only received theirs yesterday (unfortunately theirs is in blue which looks awful on me haha) this is the closest image I can find, please imagine it in ivory :rofl:

https://www.belleeveningwear.co.uk/images/products/95015/1379678722_95015_009.jpg

It should arrive in store late August for my fitting :happydance:


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## 30mummyof1

Love the dress :happydance:


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## babynewbie

Love the dress it will be beautiful in ivory!


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## stephaniexx

Thank you :D

Sooooo we're changing the balloons :haha: I keep seeing standard 11" balloons everywhere and we want something a little different... we're going for a 30" balloon on each table (ivory) with a tassel made from lace, ruffle organza ribbon and pearls, so this kinda thing but with my lace, ruffle ribbon and string pearl embellishments:

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...yscaXipGWkEBZ1EbtUkfCIY-xAlJzAaXUXBrPS9hq-GpV

I wanna keep the tassels short since it's going on each table, so I'll be getting the balloons delivered pre-inflated (no fiddling with helium for me lol) and strung with standard ivory ribbon and then add my embellishments around the knot, iyswim.


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## stephaniexx

And I forgot to add my grandma wants to buy the girls' dresses! And my granda is doing great, up and about bless him :) he's walking me down the aisle, I haven't seen my dad in 21 years so he's got no chance and I don't plan on getting in touch!


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## 30mummyof1

Balloons are really pretty :thumbup:

that's sweet of your grandma, and glad your grandad can walk you down the aisle. :)


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## stephaniexx

Give notice and book ceremony - DONE
Book venue - DONE
Dress - DONE
Cake - DONE
Flower girl dresses for my daughters
Suits - DONE, pickup 15th October
Shoes
Invites - DONE
Table linens, chair sashes, covers and table décor - PAID DEPOSIT ON CHAIR COVERS
General décor, balloons etc
Favours - BOUGHT ALL THE SUPPLIES
Rings - PICKED
Food


Sooo, we've picked our rings :happydance: Plain bands in palladium (not as expensive as platinum, a tad more expensive than white gold but doesn't need to be rhodium plated every year like white gold does! Annoying!)

They'll be bought after we come back from holiday on 20th June.

Deposit is down on the chair cover hire!!!

Our venue has decided to redecorate..... so I'm having a bit of a melt down colour scheme wise, the whole building is decorated lovely so I'm not worried about awful bright tacky colours or anything I just hate not knowing what they're doing :wacko: but the owner is ringing me back today to let me know what colours the room is going to be.

I'm hoping to keep my ivory with touches of lace, pearls and chocolate. Hopefully she'll keep the room neutral and it'll be do-able.

On the bright side everything for my favours has been ordered :happydance: we're having cream paper bags (small, like 20cm high) filled with chocolate shredded tissue, mini bubbles, and ivory heart shaped chocolates. the bags will be folded over and secured with a mini peg (I swear these are the cutest little 2cm pegs I have ever seen) and the peg will hold a Just Married tag, these are the tags with jute twine:

https://i.ebayimg.com/t/x50-Wedding-Wish-Tree-Favour-Tags-Just-Married-Kraft-Card-Twine-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/HLEAAMXQPatTGgoR/$_12.JPG


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## stephaniexx

Oh, and my invitations came, they are just as I wanted, very impressed considering I got 50 personalised with all our details and colours, and they were handmade, for £15!


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## 30mummyof1

Bargain price for the invitations :thumbup:

My oh's wedding ring is palladium too, looks amazing :)


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## babynewbie

My OHs ring is palladium also, it's so nice. I only went for white gold because it matches my engagement ring.

Fingers crossed your venue is redecorated nicely!


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## stephaniexx

Thank you. I've found a platinum bridal set that I've fell in love with so I've spent all of yesterday convincing OH that I neeeeeeedddd it, so my rings are going on the credit card :rofl: he's sticking with the palladium.

All my odds and ends for the favours are arriving I'm beyond excited :happydance:


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## 30mummyof1

Same here, mine is platinum and his palladium :)


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