Christmas can help you save money on your wedding

Christmas is a great time to buy decorations for your wedding, even
if it takes place in March, or any other month for that matter. No
I'm not talking about using red and green garland to decorate the
cake table. What I am talking about is using decorations that don't
look like traditional Christmas items.

For example: I went to Pier One and found some adorable fish
themed Christmas tree ornaments. Each was a different fish shape,
about six inches across, with glitter and sequins. The colors were
dark blue, light blue, aqua and white. If I were having a beach
themed wedding these would make darling center pieces placed in a
fish bowl with salt in the bottom to mimic sand and a few shells.
That's how I used them in my bath room.

If you're planning a winter wedding perhaps you're thinking of a
wonderland theme. Snowflakes could be attached to silver spray
painted branches as centerpieces. Strung on fishing wire and hung
from the ceiling they look like they're floating gently down to
earth.

Christmas mini lights go on sale after Christmas and white lights
look very romantic. String them over arches. Use battery operated
lights to decorate the cake and gift tables. Please battery
operated lights in frosted glass vases. Intersperse them through
greenery.

You've probably noticed that colors other than red and green are
popular for Christmas. One year purple and pink were the must have
colors, another year blues from baby blue to navy were all the
rage. The popular colors show up in ribbons and bows as well as
tree decorations. Pick up wire edged ribbon now on sale if you can
find your wedding colors. Beautiful fluffy bows can take the
place of more pricey flower arrangements at the end of the church
pews on the aisles.

Candles are huge at Christmas. Votives, votive candles, tapers,
and pillar candles in white, off white, red, and of course green
are available at reasonable prices. Candles in a pretty votive
candle holder can be used as a wedding favor for your guests.

Good places to find decorations at great prices are drugstores and
big box stores. Unusual decoration can be found at import stores
and boutiques. Don't forget craft stores and of course shop online.

Look at Christmas decorations through new eyes and you just might
find that perfect accent for your wedding or favor for your guest.

Until next week.

Dee Power
Weddings on a Shoestring Budget

Soulmates

Ok. All you brides-to-be out there. Meet Soulmates. Ingenious ideas or hideous heel appendage? Would you outdoor brides wear these? Or hand them out to guests?

Anyone wish they trademarked these things?

Update on Rue la la

Here's an update on Rue la la girls. From now until December 31, if you do the following, they are going to give you a 10 dollar credit to use for their sample sales. Do I need to mention that the John Hardy boutique is up and running this morning AND shoshanna starts tomorrow? And by doing this, you automatically are invited to join the fun, so I am going to stop manually adding those of you who commented on the last post.

Here's what you do:

1. Go to www.ruelala.com/gift
2. Enter my e-mail: preppywedding@hotmail.com

And WOWSA. You get a 10 dollar credit.

Thanks to our friends at rue la la.

Great Bridesmaid or Christmas Gifts

UPDATE:
The Vera Bradley code is no longer working. I hope lots of you got some deals before they pulled the plug. As for rue la la, let me know if you're interested and I will invite you!

Don't know if you gals are looking for cute bridesmaid or Christmas gifts this year, but Vera Bradley has an awesome sale going on right now.

Cosmetic bags for 12 dollars (and an extra 50 percent off)
Belts for 5 dollars (and an extra 50 percent off)
Duffels and purses for as low as 15 dollars (and an extra 50 percent off)

Go here now to order friends!

Here's the details on the free shipping and extra 50 percent off:
Additional 50% off clearance with code VBMILITARY and free shipping on orders of $100 or more with FreeShipDec (the free shipping code expires today).

Also, are you girls members of Ruelala? It's a members only site that is like one big sample sale. Today is the Kate Spade sale and the next sales will be David Yurman and Shoshanna. Some awesome deals there too. If you are interested in being a member, just leave your e-mail in the comments section and I will send you an invite!

Too Funny!

Wedding Designer

This is so funny! I never really thought that my career would become a video game, but here we are. I saw this on Amazon and decided to a search on this game - out of curiosity and of course procrastination from doing other things!

In my search I found what Sasha Souza had said about it: "Ninetendo's new game for DS is Imagine Wedding Designer. Hahaha. Cause, yeah, sometimes my job is just like a video game only without the cheat codes."

Oh so true!!

Venue Spotlight

Hello Blogger World!

I've decided I would try out something new to blog about. I want to do some "spotlights" on venues in Central Texas and beyond and possible featuring other vendors as well.

My first spotlight is..... Laguna Gloria in Austin, Texas!

This venue is absolutely beautiful and one-of-a-kind! I love the convenience of being so close to downtown but also far enough away to avoid some of the commotion that can occur in Austin. You can also chose to have your bridal and/or engagement photos taken here as well. I always jump at the chance of doing weddings here. We've done a few dozen at this location and each time its always a different look and feel. Below are some pictures that I found - either from our events or from the lovely search function of Google!

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This is the front part of Laguna Gloria. I usually like to add a sign-in table here to direct guests to go through the gate.

We've done a lot of fun things on this front gate from floral wreaths, hanging flowers and amazing lighting to create that unique and welcoming feel.











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I call this the "side lawn" or "sculpture garden". I love this part of the grounds because its one of the flatter parts and its a great spot to have dinner and dancing. You can add at tent and a dance floor here - and my personal favorite - hanging lanterns or chandeliers, flowers, candles or all of the above!











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The Amphitheater. This is probably the most popular spot to hold a ceremony at Laguna Gloria. I love the beautiful water background and the very natural feel of it all. There is even a boat dock nearby that one of my couples did the exit from - sailing away into the sunset!




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The "Temple of Love"

This setting is also very lovely and a little bit of the trek from the main grounds. It makes a really intimate setting for your vows. If space allows - I highly recommend this setting.

Engagments!

Engagement photos!!!

I definitely encourage couples to take engagement photos. Couple of reasons - 1. Get to know your photographer. This makes it less awkward when they show up on the day of and you have this person(s) in your "personal space". Its definitely beneficial to develop that level of comfort prior to the big day. 2. I think its just nice to have some great photos of you and your honey in your non-weddingy attire.

There are so many great spots to have your pictures taken. Laguna Gloria is a popular. Also, there are some cute funky spots like Road House Relics or the side of the Austin Convention center. I think its truly important to pic a spot that reflects your personality. Your photographer will have some great ideas and maybe some secret spots to share with you.







Mary Amanda and Ross are getting married in February at Barr Mansion in Austin. I honestly can't get enough of these two! The wonderful Sarah Q did their fun photos and my lovely sister did her hair and makeup.

The Wiregrass Weddings Divas!

The wonderful group of women that is behind Wiregrass Weddings went to jail the other day! The Old Coffee County jail in downtown Elba, Alabama served as the backdrop for our meeting with friend and awesome photographer, Mike Moseley of Moseley Photography and Design. Mike took some great pictures of my "divas" and I just wanted to share the pictures of my awesome staff with you all and at the same time, fill you in on the whole wedding program process!

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ANNA

This is the only picture that Mike didn't take!!! Anna was sick the day of our photoshoot and this is my attempt to copy Mike's true gift as a "real" photographer!!

Anna writes up all of the orders by creating a folder, a "paper to pull" tag, a "ribbon to cut" tag and adding it to our order tracking worksheet (where we track all of the orders). Then she does the first rough draft of the wedding program.

She is the proud mother to Smoke, the weimaraner, and Bentley, the dauchaund.

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LYNDSAY

Next, Lyndsay "tweaks" the wedding program and prints out a copy to be proofed. Lyndsay also stays busy at the end of the process, as she is the one that prints the wedding programs and bills each customer.

Lyndsay enjoys creating new things, so if you have any special requests or projects that you would like to tackle, she's your girl! She's also a "pageant nut", so if you need anything printed for a pageant, call her!

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SYLVIA
After the wedding programs are typeset, they go to our resident wedding expert and former English teacher, Sylvia, for proofing. Sylvia is also a pro at operating our ribbon cutter and she cuts all of the ribbon with the hot knife cutter to give it a finished edge.

Sylvia lives right across the street from Wiregrass Weddings with her husband, Jack. She's a champ at remembering each holiday and birthday and is quick to bring a wonderful, homemade cake to celebrate. She is very active in her church (Whitewater Baptist) where she serves as the Vacation Bible School Chairman and a Sunday School Teacher. She is also employeed part time by Moseley Photography and Design.

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KERRI (with two r's)

After proofing, Kerri is in charge of making all of the changes to the wedding programs and then sending the first draft to the customer for approval. She makes all of the changes requested by the customer and gets the orders ready to print. Kerri also handles most of the UPS for Wiregrass Weddings.

She is an avid animal lover and has two cats and two dogs and has plans to pursue a nursing degree in the near future.

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KERI (with one r)

Once the programs have been printed, Keri and Maria (see below) handle the assembly, with the rest of the crew pitching in as needed. They cut, fold, punch and tie to ensure that each program is just perfect! Then they box, stuff, tape, measure and weigh to make sure that they arrive to each customer safe and sound.

Keri is also employeed part time with UPS and is an active member of her church, First Assembly of God.

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MARIA

In addition to her job duties listed above (see Keri with one r), Maria and Keri also help with keeping our paper supplies in stock. They also both help with random projects such as direct mailing and website maintenance.

Maria is married to her husband, Kevin and is mother to Kendallyn and Kaeden. She serves as the youth pastor at the same church, First Assembly of God.

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LAURIE

Then there is me, Laurie. I'm in charge of vacuuming up the paper punches all over the floor after a hard day of work. I also pay the bills. Other than that, I just help out where I'm needed.

Right now, we all work out of my home, where I live with my husband of 10 years, Jim and our two kiddos, Brooke and Bradley. We are in the process of completing a new building, which we hope to by occupying in the next couple of months.... I'll update you all on that in the next blog!

'til then...

~Laurie