Comments on: Post Holiday Budget Weddings: A(nother) quick primer

By: Never teh Bride

Never teh Bride — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 19:02:51 +0000

That sounds absolutely gorgeous, Amber! Next year, I’m going to make some of those ornaments!

By: Amber

Amber — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:07:45 +0000

My sister just got married and we did A LOT ourselves. We decorated the place by putting white Christmas lights inside white tulle and wrapping it around the columns/poles inside. It looked GORGEOUS in the dimly lit room with lots of votive candles and tealights (which are super cheap).

It wasn’t in a church so the “altar” was a cloud of tulle on the floor sprinkled with rosepetals. The centerpieces were square mirrors with a tall candle and four smaller votives, with candy canes and rosepetals sprinkled around.

The wedding favors were Christmas ornaments we made by taking those clear glass balls, taking of the top, squirting red & white or silver & white acrylic paint inside, and shaking them up. Let them dry, pop the top back on and tie a bow around them. They looked great!

And I’m a graphic designer so I designed her invitations and we printed them on panel cards on a regular inkjet printer. The large invitations had a sheer red ribbon tied around them. They looked amazing as well.

DIY is a lot more work and headache, but if you have a big family that’s willing to help, it can really cut down on the costs.

By: Never teh Bride

Never teh Bride — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:14:57 +0000

Good point, Lori! I think people except food at weddings to be a little weird and often less than filling anyway…at least I do. But memories definitely last forever, so why not make sure the visual ones are beautiful. Luckily, my friends are all pretty good amateur photographers. I will - provided The Beard ever proposes - most likely rely on them to make good use of their digital cameras. Then I can make prints!

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 22:22:10 +0000

My parents had no money for a wedding; neither did my nephew and his bride. They were married by a justice of the peace–and they’re just as married as couples who have $40,000 weddings. That isn’t to say that people shouldn’t have expensive weddings, just that a simple wedding is fine.

As a former professional photographer, I would suggest closely looking at a photog’s portfolio before engaging him. A good photographer takes good-looking candid shots (of guests chatting, not chewing), uses soft lighting (no red eyes or shiny faces or hard shadows), composes shots (no trees growing out of people’s heads) and knows how to put people at ease for group photos (warm, natural smiles, not the “say cheese” variety). Given that photos will last a lifetime, and food and favors will quickly be forgotten, I’d sooner cheap out on the last two than on photos.