everybody move to the back of the bus: wedding day transportation idea

{via snippet and ink}

{via once wed}

{via elizabeth anne designs}

looking for an affordable transportation option for you & all your pals?

how about a classic yellow school bus?!

for our wedding, the hubs & i went with a yellow beauty from my hometown's school district. in addition to falling within our budget, it was youthful, fun and made for some great photo ops! not to mention, if you compare to other modes of transportation, it's a HUGE way to save a couple hundred dollars.

one of my many favorite moments is the bumpy ride home to our little inn at the end of the night.

white + dress = wedding dress?

{via anthropologie}

{via lilly pulitzer at saks fifth avenue}

{via saks fifth avenue}

{via j.crew}

{via trina turk}

{via trina turk}

everybody divvies up their wedding budgets differently. some people could care less about flowers, so they put that money towards an 8-piece band. others may splurge on a photographer & videographer, but hold back on the hors d'oeuvres and open bar. it's really important that you and your partner are on board with what matters most to each of you on the big day.

while the wedding dress was definitely an important element for me, i simply couldn't fathom spending thousands of dollars. i did a lot of searching and was finally able to find a melissa sweet bridesmaid dress that had been reproduced in ivory (originally in black). the fact that it was a bridesmaid dress helped bring the cost under the 4 figure mark, which was a dream for me.

if you're looking for a little help in breaking down your budget, i suggest this incredibly handy worksheet by real simple. these guys really do help make life a little simpler.

enough about me, let's talk about me: all wrapped up in your wedding day plans?

{via someecards}

it's totally normal to get wrapped up in all that is your big day.

heck, i know i did.

and i am often guilty of asking an engaged gal every detail about her big day down to the nitty gritty. but i think this card sums up what most other people think when a bride-to-be starts gabbing about seating charts, mother-in-laws and flower arrangements.

so, if you ever find your bridal thoughts falling on deaf ears, hit me up!

i love this stuff.

hello summer, i love you

{via we heart it}

{via offbeat spirituality}

{via elevate the ordinary}

i want to lay in a field, jump in the ocean & swing like a monkey.

I

LOVE

SUMMER

all signs point to: homemade wedding day signs

my parents were nice enough to collect the driftwood for these signs at the beach in our town. we threw on some twigs as posts, topped it off with black paint & mad calligraphy skills (thanks, dad!) and had ourselves a couple of rustic signs!

in addition to being cute & free, they were also quite helpful on the day of our wedding.

(although maddie, my golden, looks a little confused in the last picture)

yes please: customized wedding dress hangers

{via lila frances}

a

d

o

r

a

b

l

e

i want one.

digital age: modern photobooth for your wedding day

{via mark van s}

if you're unlike me and have a few thou' hanging around, then this would be an awesome addition to your wedding day. definitely one of the coolest, modern-day photo booths i've seen. it instantly projects your picture up on a screen and creates a slideshow as pictures are added. not only that, but you can have prints produced as pictures are taken. great take home favors for your guests!

this will cost you a pretty penny, but it really is oh so pretty.

i tried to budget this into our wedding day, but it just wasn't happening. if you cut out a photographer and use this as your sole way of capturing the day's events then, perhaps?

*sidenote, i was introduced to mark van s' work over 6 years ago when i booked him for my company's annual sales meeting. it was a HUGE hit. great way for people to loosen up & get goofy. plus, the black & white quality is extremely flattering.

when the moon hits your eye: not your average wedding day cuisine

{via ct bites}

{via big green truck}

so i was telling my mom about the big green pizza truck and how cool it would've been for our rehearsal dinner or wedding. she got mysteriously quiet on the other end of the line. apparently she had suggested it to me, but i was too busy thinking about plantable favors and completely & inadvertently missed it. oops.

i'm assuming the silence was her calculating the thousands and thousands of dollars we could have saved if we went this route. sorry, mom & dad.

but seriously, how cool would this be for a casual rehearsal dinner or down-home wedding?

to really save money you could ask your guests to BYOB. if everyone brought their own bottle, not only would you keep the budget down, but you'd have a pretty rowdy group of wedding guests!

know anything like this in your neck of the woods?

so cute i could eat it: adorable treats for your wedding, shower, or any old party

{via bakerella}

while our wedding day was pretty darn glorious in my book, a tiny part of me wishes we had set up a pie table. i know, minute detail and silly to even dwell on, but i get a little pang in my side anytime i see one now at a wedding.

then today i came across these ridiculously cute pie pops and realized, even if i had had homemade pies at our wedding, i would be wishing we had these pie pops instead! : )

for all you DIY brides and baking queens, go here for step-by-step instructions on how to make these yourself!

put it in writing: negotiating your wedding vendor contracts

{via us history}

as lovey dovey as weddings can be, sometimes you need to get down to the nitty gritty business.

some vendors slide over a contract, expect a signature & they're on their way. i highly recommend reading between the lines & making sure you're the ones coming out on top.

one example: some bands have different lead singers they rotate depending on availability. you might have picked a band based on one singer and have a different one show up the day of! see if you can get the band to put the name of your desired lead singer in the contract. try to make it official.

any other contract/negotiating tips?

101 reasons why nyc rocks the clock

{via matt lehrer & ny mag}

i heart that ny mag put together this amazing list of the 101 best sandwich joints in the city. even better, someone plopped them all on a map!

start eating people!

*ny mag included the best in la, sf, philly, boston & chicago too so be sure to check it out

going to the chapel?: where to exchange vows on your wedding day

{via juxtapose gallery}

church or not to church? that is the question...

no matter your religious affiliation, there's always a chance you'll run the risk of upsetting someone if you get hitched outside your place of worship.

so how do you please everyone?

well, simply put, if you've planned a wedding you know pleasing everyone is nearly impossible.

my humble opinion is to make sure you & your mate are happy with each & every decision. it's always nice to keep your family's opinions in mind, but at the end of the day, you two need to be happy. whether that's up at an altar, out on a boat or up in a hot air balloon.

any unique ceremony locations you'd like to share?

al fresco: entertaining outside

{via real simple}

{via real simple}

as i live in a little apartment in the big apple, i'm currently dreaming of an outdoor gathering a la the pictures above. tea light candles, a few fresh flowers and a couple bottles of wine would make a pretty stellar night in my book. for us new yorkers, unless you can jet out of the city on the weekends, these al fresco evenings are reserved for the park or, if you're lucky, a rooftop.

now that the weather is nice, i think it's time to put a lil' outdoor wine & cheese party in motion. not one of those stuffy wine & cheese parties. (no offense to any aficionados). everyone can bring a bottle of wine and a type of cheese that pairs well with it. no notecards or tasting comments, just a lot of wine & cheese consumption. or better yet, perhaps a beer and/or whiskey tasting per the request of my love.

all natural: helpful cheat sheet for buying organic

{via my paper crane}

i simply thought this cheat sheet was too darn cute not to post. oh yeah, and super helpful. i love me some organic food, but i sometimes find myself picking up a non-organic veggie or fruit and thinking, "how bad could this possibly be?" now i know.

p.s. i realize this doesn't have much to do with weddings or planning a party, but c'est la vie.

friend of the farmer: going straight to the source for your wedding day flowers

{photos via afterglow photos llc}

my father started a farmers market in our small new england town a couple years ago. as a side note, i highly recommend any go-getters out there to do the same in your small (or big!) town. back to my point, one particular farmer grew gorgeous wildflowers, the kind i had always envisioned at my wedding. it was a no brainer really. we didn't do a run through or any fancy table setting previews. i simply gave her the mason jars i had been hoarding and she showed up the day of with gorgeous arrangements.

go straight to the source, it will save you money and you'll have a much more personal experience.

check out the blog & beautiful work of windham gardens (especially you new englanders!)

it's personal: creative, customized wedding, engagement or shower gift

{via bettula}

nowadays it seems as though ca$hola is the desired gift of choice at weddings, engagement parties, showers and every other festivity we manage to cram in prior to the main show. while i'm mostly on board with the trend, i still think it's nice to put in a little extra effort. or atleast pay someone else to put the effort in for you. etsy is a wonderful place to find unique, homespun personalized gifts that you can pretend you made yourself.