Wedding Day Timeline

It may not be exactly as the day pans out, but having a single timeline that everyone who is part of your wedding can see puts everyone on the same page. Here is what mine looks like:

Our Wedding day timeline

9:00am – Girls / Moms arrive at the apartment to get ready. Hair / Makeup from 9 – 12.

12:45pm – Buses start rotating from reception site to Church

1:10pm – Bus pick up at Bride’s apartment and go to Church

1:30pm – Ceremony begins at the Church

2:15pm – Ceremony ends

2:20pm – Buses rotate from Church to reception site

2:30pm – Bridal party off for photos

4:00pm – Reception begins

4 – 5pm –   Cocktail hour, Bridal Party freshens up in Bridal Suite

5:00pm –    Guests enter the ballroom, pick up placecards
Begin “Special” Playlist, starts with light Jazz songs while people are entering

5:10pm –    Bridal party entrance with introductions

Couple entrance with introductions

Bride and Groom first dance
Invite wedding party / parents to a second dance

Seat for dinner (Switch to Dinner playlist)

5:30pm –    Dinner begins (pause music)
Blessing
Best Man speech
Maid of Honor speech

6:00pm –    Cutting of the Cake (Switch to “Special” playlist)
Father / Daughter Dance
Mother / Son Dance

6:30pm –    Dinner has ended
Regular dancing begins (Switch to “Early Dancing” playlist)

8:00pm –    Switch to “Late dancing” playlist

9:00pm –    Reception over, guests pickup favor

9:00pm – Reception ends

9:15pm – More night photos with photographer

Do it yourself Programs and Placecards

ABostonBride’s been a busy lady. I had a wonderful engagement photo session this past week (more on that in the future) and I’ve been wrapping up details on the gift bags/hair stylist/music/you-name-it.  I’ve also been having the most fun making programs and placecards believe it or not. I really wanted to keep with the theme set in our invitations / favors (read about that here). So here’s what I did:

1. I took the sheer enclosure from the invitation, opened it up, and scanned that into an image with a red paper behind it. What that did for me is create a graphic pattern I could use with the programs and placecards that matched the invites, yet started to break into the fun red color I have for the bridesmaids. The header on my blog is made from the pattern.

2. With that, I created a layout in Photoshop that is 4″ by 10″, the program length and height I wanted. I added the pattern, created a red band that matched the David’s Bridal Apple Red (copying the color swatch on their website), and then took the same “ALS Script” font we got from 1001 Free Fonts (which we also used in the invitations) to build the image for the front of the program.  Once we had a front we liked, I doubled the width of the canvas in Photoshop to 8″ and basically copied the front to the backside, removing the names and changing the Church/Place/Date to a thank you message.  After that, I exported it to a jpg and mailed it to Kendall Press who printed them on cardstock for a really reasonable price (less than print yourself at Staples).

3. We’re working on the text and information for the inside of the programs, but we’re basically creating a 2 column layout in Word and using the fonts we used in the invite (ALS Script as mentioned above and another more standard font called Candara).  We’re making the layout printable at home in black ink so we don’t need to have that professionally done.

4. For placecards, I thought about doing calligraphy work again like I did for the envelopes, but I like the consistency of the printed font for the smaller space that a placecard has. To tie it into the theme, I once again took my pattern in Photoshop and replaced the color with the darker red.  I also took the scrolling border from an image on our wedding website (thanks to the Knot) and matched it to the color of the pattern. I then added the names and table numbers in our script. As an added fun touch, since these are foldover, I printed a cow, chicken, or kid cartoon icon on the back folded part so the servers know what to serve.  They run about 4″ x 3.5″ folded, 4″ x 7″ flat each, so we can fit 6 on a standard 8.5″ x 11″ sheet. Once all the seating is figured out, we’ll send these over to the professionals to get printed as well.

In total, we’ll probably have spent no more than $50 on this project, which is a real steal for 80 – 100 people!

Swallowing the David’s Bridal Pill

(Image from RackedNY)

ABostonBride has lots of friends who have used David’s Bridal to cover all their bridal needs and have had good experiences with them. You can’t beat the fact that they are located all over the place, so bridesmaids everywhere can look at and order dresses without being near you.  The same is true for Men’s Wearhouse. If your bridesmaids and groomsmen are spread out geographically, these are great options.

ABostonBride, however, chose to get her dress at the Filene’s Basement Running of the Brides sale for a great $250 price tag. David’s had lots of great styles, but they can be moderately expensive for what you get.  $700 may not seem expensive for a wedding dress, but the styles have become very common. I’ve been to 2 weddings with the same exact style…2 years apart!

David’s offers so much in one place, which can be convenient for the busy bride. On the other hand, I’ve gotten my veil, shoes, and other accessories from online places and other stores for significantly less than what David’s charges.

In the end, I decided to use David’s and Men’s Wearhouse for only bridesmaid and groomsmen wear.  I like having a more unique dress, but having a common color for the bridesmaids helped a lot. For example, all the wedding vendors we talked to knew exactly what David’s Bridal Apple referred to – from the tuxes to the florist to our cake baker – and that kind of consistency really helps. So maybe a David’s dress isn’t in your cards, but for bridesmaids dresses, it certainly seems the way to go!

Help us create the perfect Boston Guest Welcome Bag

I’m still looking for ideas for my Boston wedding hotel guest welcome bags. Fiance and I were talking and we thing going with edibles is the way to do it. You know the BostonBride is budget conscious, so here are some ideas she’s exploring:

• Plain old bottled water. Nothing beats a few bottles of free water when the hotel tries to charge you $5 for some!
• A couple bottles of Sam Adams!
• Boston Baked Beans. The candy! For $5, you can get a box of 24 small boxes.
• We’re thinking about Necco Wafers too, though not sure people will get that they are originally a locally made product. They are quite more expensive at $32 for 36. I’ve seen the mini rolls on eBay for $5 for 30ish.
• Boston Tea Party Tea

Any other ideas? What would you appreciate most if you were an out of town guest?

Cheap do it yourself wedding invitations – 50 for $20!!

I couldn’t believe it either. In my opinion, invites are not *the* most important part of your day as the stationary shops want you to believe. They are an accessory that sets a style and theme for your wedding, an accessory that most people will throw away.

I wanted an invite that was pretty and went with our theme, but I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars. I *really* wanted an enclosure, as I knew I would have to put some additional details in our wedding. EBay to the rescue! I found this great invite on eBay for less than $20 for 50 invites & response cards – and it included a pretty band to enclose the invite and additional pieces!

When I got the set in the mail, I saw some things that are hard to tell in the picture on eBay. First, the band had an iridescent glitter that I hated. I also wasn’t a fan of the chintzey bow. After brainstorming ideas on how to achieve a more elegant look, I decided to flip the band inside out, having the glitter face inside and pretty design still show up outside. (Notice the header on my blog is a scan of the same design….very cool!)

Here is what it looks like:

It’s hard to tell but the enclosure band has an ivory printed design that is also on the border of the invite and the response cards.

I printed them on my computer which worked great. I found a pretty font I liked and used the free Wilton print Word templates to build my invite. Here is what it came out looking like, minus a few details we cut from the picture:

The outer band covers all the text and also encloses the additional information sheet (which is an 8.5″ x 11″ resume paper folded in half with print on both sides, also made with Word) that fit perfectly with the invite.

The response cards and envelopes have a similar look and are also tucked inside the band. Finally, I hand addressed the envelopes with my own calligraphy pen to give it an additional enhanced look and used see through printed labels for the return envelopes and return address labels.

Since I did the envelopes by hand, I messed up a few too many and ordered an additional kit from eBay. With all the additional paper and enclosures, I used the material to build our favors as well.

We decided to go with a CD of our favorite mostly romantic songs. We have a Lighscribe enabled DVD burner, which we used to make these neat scribed labels on the DVDs with our picture and playlist:

We got 50 of them for $35 online, and the Lightscribe template software is free. This takes awhile, as each DVD is about 15 – 20 minutes to burn. Then, we burned our playlist, including a custom greeting we recorded and added to to beginning thanking our guests for coming.  We created pretty enclosures using the invitation kit from above and cheap white CD envelope sleeves (we got 100 for under $10 online also).

As you can see here, I opted to keep the iridescent glitter on the outside to make the set more fun and I did use the chintzey ribbon here to add detail. We used the round gold labels that came with the embosser we bought previously here. Due to the glittery surface, we needed to use a little Elmers glue to keep the sticker on properly, but in the end they look great. We did need to trim parts of the enclosure, given they aren’t the same size as the  invitations, but it worked great. We’re going to use the remaining blank invites for placecards, which I will also write out myself.

Wedding Venue Find! Back Bay for only $1300?

I’ll start with the verdict:

Verdict: If you are looking for a reception site that is elegant but not over the top, have a wedding that is about 90 people, and are willing to provide your own caterer and rentals, the Goethe-Institut in Boston is a real steal at only $1300 to rent.

I have not found an elegant venue in Back Bay to rent for anything close to this price. I was floored when I called up the events coordinator and found out that for a Saturday evening affair we could rent the entire main hall (including kitchen) for $1300. Where is this lovely find? 170 Beacon Street, close to Clarendon Street.

The Goethe Institut of Boston is a German cultural organization with a lovely venue. On the outside it’s an old Back Bay townhouse with pretty steps for your wedding party shots. In fact, that’s how I found it. I was driving by and saw a wedding taking photos on the steps. Inside, there is a room that seats about 90 people comfortably (though I believe they claim to seat up to 100), and it has wonderful tall ceilings and details that are typical of the townhouses nearby – antique lights, beautiful staircase, detailed wall adornments. There are some marks of time – cracks in paint, etc – but I have found such marks in many places, even the luxury hotels.

I was planning to use this venue for my wedding, as it fit the right size crowd for us. Iris, the coordinator, was very helpful. She showed me the full size kitchen that the caterer could use to set up and the side room that can easily be used for buffets or other setups like a bar. They have about 10 tables of 4 which you can use and chairs to go with them, so if you plan to have more than 40 people you will need to rent tables – and everything you use during your reception.

The only reason why I didn’t go with this site was not because of the venue.  It was the cost of additional rentals and catering. I haven’t researched as many caterers as I have hotels, and when I spoke with a caterer on the phone about expenses, the budget went out of control (renting tables, chairs, glasses, plates, silverware, and then staff costs – we didn’t even talk about the food / drinks when I decided this was too much!). I’ll be doing a separate write-up on that experience.

For further information about this venue, please contact Iris Alcorn at:
Tel. +1 (617) 262-6050 ext. 10
info@boston.goethe.org

Save big money by DJing yourself

After hearing someone tell me $2,000 was a reasonable amount to pay for a good DJ, I decided we were going to DJ this wedding ourselves. First of all, we’re music junkies and have tons of digital music. Second, I used to occasionally DJ in a bar. Third, I’ve been to tons of weddings where I don’t remember the DJ saying much more than the wedding party intros and some general events through the night. So our plan of attack is to use the piped in stereo system our reception center has to offer. It sounds easy at first, but there are many considerations to this approach:

• Developing a dinner playlist and a dancing playlist. This is the fun part – getting to choose all your songs! We really can’t predict the exact moment our dancing will begin, so the playlists we are creating are large enough to cover the time. I suppose we could also loop a playlist as well.
• MCing reception activities. We’re recruiting an outgoing friend to announce our entrance to the reception. We’re hoping he won’t mind performing other MC duties, like “And now ladies and gentlemen, the cutting of the cake…” kinds of stuff.
• Switching music. We do plan to have an entrance song, a first dance, and then mother/son, father/daughter dances. In order to do this, we’re creating a 3rd special songs playlist which our MC will switch to when we’re ready.
• Test run. We will listen to our playlists in full before the wedding to ensure the music is issue-free. We will also get into our reception site beforehand to test our iPod docking and playing skills.
• Backup. What to do if the iPod croaks night of? Luckily the reception site also has a 5 disc changer which means we’ll be prepping those in advance as well!

So, it is a lot of work, but in the end it saves us $2000 and that is fabulous. Plus, we plan to use the music to make CD favors for our guests with personalized messages! Well worth it I think!

Running of the Brides Boston 2009

The BostonBride (BB) loves a happy ending, and there were plenty of those yesterday at the Running of the Brides Boston. Since you, dear reader, know that the BB can’t resist a good deal, she went to this famed event in search of her own gown with a rockstar crew of her Maid of Honor and her MoH’s mom and aunt.

The Running of the Brides is an annual sale put on by Filene’s Basement, home of designer shopping at massively reduced prices. It’s a sale so big, they don’t use their local stores (their flagship store is being reconstructed, but there are other FB’s around). It’s actually held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. Women start lining up the night before, sleeping in tents, to be first in line.

At 4:30 am, the BB took a stroll past the Hynes Convension Center where the Brides-to-be were forming. The line was stretched from the front door of the Hynes all the way down Boylston Street to Dalton Street. And there were 3.5 hours to go til opening time! The BB met a fabulously dressed crew sporting white tophats, Dunkin Donuts coffee, and “MOVE…bitch on a mission” t-shirts.  Many clans dress alike to identify themselves among the ridiculous frenzy inside.

Not one for cold windy mornings, the BB took her crew to a local diner and returned at 7:45 🙂  We returned to find the line had moved inside and was now wrapping around the long hallways in the Convention Center.

The BB was so far from the front door she never thought she’d get a dress. But alas, that is what you get for showing up 15 minutes before opening time, right?

The BB and her crew ran through the doors at a few seconds past 8, after the long line poured in. One of us scored a dress thankfully, which began the bartering and exchanging that occured for the next 30 minutes or so. It all begins with a bartering dress.

Once you have a dress you can trade. The BB and her MoH both scored dresses from passers-by who were looking to exchange. Rock on!!! After the jumping up and down and screaming with delight, another ritual frequently occuring that morning, we were out and walking home by 9am!

So what became of the women who camped out? Well our Bitches on a Move were featured in Boston.com’s gallery (worth checking out to see the chaos):

Yay BitchyBride!! We love your saas. Some brides though were real bitches, and to them we say poo on you. Like the bride who turned her mirror away from the BB when she tried to catch a glimpse of “THE-Dress”. Another mirror owner lent hers and we say thanks to you for it!

There were some nice people there – like this nice lady who was near us, lent us her mirror and joined in the good naturedness of dress finding! You rock! This photo is also from Boston.com’s gallery.

In sum, here’s the Boston Bride’s tips for a less stressful day at RotB:

1. You don’t really need to get there super early. The BB went back to the sale at 4pm and the place was neatly PACKED with dresses and smart buyers who waited until the chaos was over. She found 10 more dresses she would be happy with, although she loved her first dress.

2. Be nice to others and you will find your dress. Ok, I can’t guarantee that, but it makes for a more pleasant experience for everyone.

3. Bring people you love with you and when you find that dress it will feel even more special! Plus its fun to jump up and down with delight when you do find it!

4. Screw waiting in the cold. Go to breakfast.

5. Don’t have over the top expectations. We saw more than one unhappy bride walking out of there, several who were camped out in matching garb. There are so many great dresses; be open minded for a discount dress (every dress I tried on was $250).

This Michigan Bridge is Super-Budget-Saavy

While the Boston Bride may have her city wedding plans, she can surely appreciate the amazing do-it-yourselfer attitude of this country bride! She pulled off a 300 person wedding for only $10K (including honeymoon!).

Rock on Jenny!

Her wedding & photos

More details

Buying an Engagement Ring?

SmartMoney posted some tips on how to get the most sparkle for you buck. Here’s the full article on buying diamonds online and some of the key tips.

1. Buy shy. Diamond prices jump at the one- and half-carat marks, says John Baird, diamond and jewelry expert at BlueNile. You can save hundreds of dollars if you find a diamond that’s just shy of that mark — say 0.95 carat rather than a one-carat, or a 2.44 rather than a 2.5 — while the difference in size is imperceptible. (If you’re spending $10,000, you can save around $200 or $300, Baird says.)

2. Leave some color. Find a near-colorless diamond (G or H on the color scale) rather than a colorless (D, E or F on the color scale). Very few people are able to tell the difference in color — even though the price difference is significant.

3. Be clear about clarity. The rarest and most expensive diamonds — and those highest on the clarity scale, are “flawless” and “internally flawless.” They’re followed by “very, very slightly included” (VVS1 and VVS2); “very slightly included” (VS1 and VS2); “slightly included” (SI1 to SI3) and finally, “included diamonds” (I1 to I3). (The term “included” means imperfections.) The best value is in VS2 stones, which have slight inclusions visible only under 10X magnification. Once you get in the SI range, you may be able to see those cracks, and with I1 and lower, you’ll likely see your ring’s inclusions every time you look at it, Benowitz says.

4. Avoid ranges. Some retailers, like Overstock.com, list a range for a particular stone’s measurements. For example, we recently pulled up a $3,599 diamond and were told it might range from 0.95 to 1.10 carats in size, have G-H color and I1-I2 clarity. Needless to say, getting the 0.95 H I2 stone will be a bummer compared to the 1.10 G I1, not to mention the difference in actual value.