Wedding Part Two - 16 Best Wedding Tips and Photos from the Big Day!

Hi Everyone, I'm back with Part 2 of the Wedding Post with photos and 16 Tips that I hope will give
you some ideas, save some money and time! Some links are local but many are helpful checklists and ideas we found online. You can see Part 1 with the Bridal Showers and Eiffel Tower Printable.

In case you didn't know our youngest daughter Chelsea got married last Saturday to her beloved Anthony and I promised to post some photos and tips we learned along the way.

# 1. Create a budget and prioritize what you want most. Make a Wedding Binder and get quotes so you can compare pricing and services. Here are 36 Helpful Wedding Checklists from Buzzfeed covering every topic regarding wedding planning from helpful info to know or to ask. Chelsea also took photos with her cell phone of things she wanted to record. 

# 2. Get inspiring ideas and see the possibilities on  Pintrest-ModWedding for a mind boggling array of inspiration for invitations, dresses, hair styles, themes, cakes, decor, music and much more with 69 Boards and over 34,200 followers. Just be careful not to get caught up in too much frenzy and fancy perfection. Don't be a Bridezilla, be happy and celebrate your love!


# 3. Brainstorm different venue options to save money, plus these ideas are unique. You don’t need to follow the standard wedding protocol – you can make your own rules and customize your wedding in the style to suit you. Chelsea and Anthony wanted their wedding to be classy but not formal and they were very fortunate friends offered their yard which had a beautiful garden on the side for the ceremony, then they had a cocktail party in the backyard and got a Asian fusion food truck for dinner.

# 4. You can order printed invitations on Zazzle.com and some sellers on Etsy also offer 'print your own'.  I also found another company AnnsBridalBargains.com who specializes in rustic and chalkboard style custom invites at bargain prices. 

I really love this invitation and RSVP card Chelsea ordered from SmittenOnPaper and she was very happy with the quality and service.  You can order a $3.00 sample of different cards and when you choose a design, you can you pick colors, the wording, fonts and they send you proofs. 

#5. Visit thrift stores, yard sales and Craigslist to find deals on items like mirrors, glass vases, props, teapots and big empty frames (great for photo booths).  Look at this pretty mirror that her bridesmaid and wedding planner Kristy made. 

# 6. A wedding/event planner can help you save money and keep things running smoothly as they get discounted rates and know the ropes and suppliers. Chelsea is super lucky that her 2  of her bridesmaids and best friends from high school Brenda and Kristy started a Wedding and Event Planning business Ayda Productions and they were both such a huge help!

# 7. Plan to leave enough time for things. We did a lot of the set up the day before. Hair and make-up will likely take longer than you think. Here's a photo of Chelsea with her dad who gave the best Father of the Bride speech because when he started talking about our 3 daughters and I, he started crying and spoke with such heart everyone was so moved by his emotion and heartfelt words.

# 8. Find a good photographer as the photos will be the memories that last longer than all of us. We lucked out getting photographer Jeff Topham as he's friends and works with our oldest daughter Katie and they won a Leo Award for a TV episode they co-wrote, The Liquidator.  He normally doesn't shoot weddings, preferring documentary work but did it as a favor and we love his style over a formal posed look, like the cool black and white photos he sent.

#9. Consider having a video taken. We also really wanted to video tape the ceremony with their voices saying the vows they wrote, the speeches, dances, etc and we bought a new Canon Vixia HF R500 video camera the week before for less than $300.00.  I'm so happy to have all these sights and sounds  captured on video and my only regret is we didn't buy it before my dad passed last year so I could record him.

This photo was taken just before the flower girls, ring bearer and 'official dog carrier' began their walk down the garden path. The dog Otis is like Chelsea and Anthony's baby and they wanted him to be part of their ceremony but he is blind and diabetic so nephew Kason carried him.

# 10.  Be prepared for some things not to go as planned and improvise. Unexpected things will happen but take time to think what you may need to deal with for weather and other factors such as elderly guests. It was so hot and sunny on the wedding day I thought the bride might faint but a guest did twice and had to be taken away by ambulance. Happily he recovered and was discharged later.  We did have bottles of sunscreen and bug repellant. We also rented 2 big propane heaters for the evening but didn't need them. We had tents booked but were allowed to cancel with no fee. 

You can also keep a Rescue Basket in the restroom with helpful items for guests such as Aspirin, Bandaids, Gum or Mints, Comb and Brush, Hairspray, Mini Mending Kit, Tide Stain Remover Stick, List with Local Taxi #,  and other things you may think of.  

# 11. You don't have to have matching bridesmaids or dresses they will never wear again. It can cost a great deal to be in a wedding party today with all of the varied expenses and Chelsea wanted her ladies to be able to wear their dresses again. The only rule they kept was a cream or blush tone and a similar shoe style. 

# 12. Have some fun with your photos! Ham it up for the camera but also print a checklist of photos you want the photographer to take. See the links on Tip # 1.

 The bride and groom splurged and rented a Photo Booth from SmileyCheese a Canadian company. For $400.00 it was staffed by 2 people who encouraged everyone to partake in fun photos and then gave every guest a copy (like below) to take as 'wedding favor thank you'. They also sent a download link with all the photos from the photo booth at 300 dpi.

 # 13. Look at options to feed and entertain guests.  Depending on your venue you can save a great deal of money if you can arrange the food and entertainment. At the very least try and negotiate that you will provide the alcohol (if it will be served) rather than paying top drink prices. I know a couple who got a $10,000.00 bar bill for their reception at a lodge.Heck, you don't have to serve booze, or maybe just no hard alcohol, or do a tea or breakfast.

Chelsea and Anthony used a caterer who moonlights and prepared trays of delicious appetizers, they also rented Roaming Dragon Food Truck for 2.5 hours to serve Asian fusion dinners from the menu they picked out. Their fave pizza place delivered 15 pizzas at 10:30 and my dear friend Sheila of Mad Platters made an amazing selection of desserts from squares to mini cupcakes as their wedding gift. 

It was the first time I'd eaten from Roaming Dragon and all I can say is YUM, it tastes better than it even sounds on the menu! They parked on the driveway for 2.5 hours so there was ample time for everyone to stroll out. The dishes were recyclable and we didn't have to pay servers. The backyard was too small for a big sit down dinner anyways so it was perfect and they drive all over.... well maybe not to the USA as they are Canadian but so many cities have food trucks now. I just heard about a waffle truck at a beach wedding. Just search for good reviews and test the food out!

The day can be made more special with live entertainment, from someone playing an instrument to singing a song or reading a poem. Family friend Colleen Rennison has an incredible voice and she was so sweet to sing My Girl live during the Father and daughter dance with the guitar played by her boyfriend Shawn.

As well, their friend Mel made this pretty wedding cake as a gift to them.  So, do you know anyone with talent who may be able to offer their skills in lieu of buying a gift?  You may also possess some skill or own something that you could offer to friends getting hitched.

# 14. Order some Groove Photo Books for $2.95 with up to 100 cell phone photos and it includes Free Shipping, plus you can order multiple Groove Books! You can cancel the subscription at any time but I've only ever heard great reports. I plan to order some for the wedding party and ship to our USA address.

# 15. Don't forget to have any items picked up that need to go back home or be dropped off the next day. Chelsea and Anthony wanted modern, classic decor and bridesmaids Brenda and Kristy of Ayda Productions provided all the gold tablecloths and decor. The glasses, dishes, heaters, ice, coffee stuff and tables were all dropped off and picked up by Salmons Rentals. Expect people to leave items behind like sun glasses, jackets, etc and you can take photos to email and confirm items found.

# 16. Learn some photo editing skills to $ave money  If you don't want to pay a photographer hoards of money to edit all the photos try using Photoshop Elements or other photo editing software. After the blinding sun went down, the light was better for photos like this family one of us out front on the road. The Clone Stamp Tool and Healing Brush would both work great to get rid of the phone wires in the photo, oil marks on the road, shiny faces, zits - yes PSE is magic and you can usually find it between $50.00 to $60.00.  Be sure to keep original photos saved and re-name edits.

I love this photo of them from behind and thought it was perfect for this  

Romantic List of 25 Moments that Make Being in Love So Incredible found on Huffingtonpost .

I had plans of making a bunch of pretty vintage wedding printables but Chelsea isn't into vintage or crafty decor and her wedding needed to be her choices so I held off.  I did want to show you the candle light torch I made as I said months ago I was would make a bunch. Now they will be on my patio or given as gifts. I love how the tea light stays lit. I used Goop to glue 8 assorted pieces of glass and stuck it on a broken lamp pole. Scott also found me cheap brass pipe at a salvage yard that works or you can make them to sit on a table.

I just spotted this stunning watercolor rose card on DT Memeber Michele Kovack's Blog she made using our Rose Digital Stamp Set and colored it with Inktense Pencils. You can see the details but you also need to see the photos she took of her daughter Courtney - an angel!

We still have 6 Themes in our Jumbo SALE Packs for $19.95 and $4.95 shipping which is our Biggest Sale EVER!  There will be a Cooking/Home Pack and a Fairy Pack added soon.

 Also, we have a Eiffel Tower 3D Pattern as our Free Gift (until Oct 1/14) when you place any order in our www.CraftyVintageGirl.com store.

If you have any wedding tips or thought please leave a comment. I would love to hear them!

Wishing you joy and creativity!
Sandy Redburn Owner
Crafty Secrets

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