Save the Dates, Invitations, RSVPs

Stationary!
Depending on your OCD and love of paper or glittery things your stationary can vary.  Some companies can go upward on the high end of $1500 for about 150 invitations.  But lets say you're like me and your invitation budget is closer to $200 (including labels, envelopes, etc).

I started at my go to Vistaprint.com  If you aren't very crafty or you dont want to do much DIY this is the type of site for you.  If you want more custom, ribbon wrapped, glitter filled another place to go to is www.minted.com or www.weddingpaperdivas.com or good ol' www.etsy.com

Early on, the only way I knew I would get the wedding stuff done was to make decisions and not be so wishy washy.  So one day, while at Michaels, trolling the wedding isle I saw a clearance on some rustic invite sets that included the invitation, RSVP, and information cards.  For 150 invitations it cost me about $50! I was psyched!

The day came that I started printing the info on them. The invitations came with a code to get the template from the manufacturer. I downloaded it. It opened in a .Doc file. I was confused and didn't like it especially with my graphic design background.

Tested the first one, messed up. It was off center. Tested the second. Still off center and my home printer wasn't feeding the invitation paper correctly. After about 6 tries I finally had it! I was so excited until I realized I only just printed the RSVP cards!

Needless to say, if I were to do the invitations all over again I would have just gone thru Vista print and waited for a coupon.

In the end, you and maybe your mom are the only people that will be "saving" the invitations after the wedding.

Moral of the story, don't get too caught up in the fleeting items like the invitaions- cause people are just going to throw them away :)

Picking a Dress!

I hate trying on clothes. Hate it.

It wasn't very different regarding my wedding dress. I knew that the dress I wanted was going to be A-line with lace and budget friendly.

First I started by going to the regular shops like David's Bridal. I just couldn't fathom paying $500-$1000+ on a dress.  I knew my budget was $300 and I really wanted to stick to it. I thought maybe I could find the prefect dress in clearance.  I was wrong.

Then I started looking at some consignment dresses. The shop in Savage, MD called Cherie Amour has dresses that were previously donated from other bride's. The dresses were beautiful and the prices were definitely fair. After seeing them I just couldn't bear the thought of wearing someone else's dress.

On a whim I looked on Amazon (where i buy everything else in life).  Talking to Chris, I went back and fourth trying to decide whether it would be insane to buy a wedding dress from Amazon without trying it on and seeing it in person.  The Amazon shop called Vivian's Bridal is where I found the dress that I fell in love with. Of course the pictures shown were of a size 2 but I imagined that my size 10 would still look beautiful.

I took the plunge and bought it. It was $190 with shipping. After purchasing the company emailed me and requested my measurements. I had assistance from my soon to be mother in law and filled out the measurement form.

7 days later, the dress was shipped and at my house! It was vaccum sealed so it was odd when I opened it. I didn't think it was my dress but once it was opened the dress popped out! I tried it on and I absolutely loved it! Only downfall was that it was a bit too long. Good thing with the help of my awesome mother in law she was able to hem it and make it the perfect length.

I love my dress. And it's exactly what I wanted!

Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon Area

Some might wonder why we chose the park as our wedding venue. For those that wonder they don't know Chris and I very well. But that's ok.

If you've never been there, it's a beautiful State Park nestled outside of Baltimore.  Its main entrance is in Elkridge MD. It attracts all types of goers. People fish, BBQ, picnic, hike, mountain bike and so much more there.

Chris, Boh and I have been hiking at this park since we started dating.  The Cascade trail with the Waterfall was one of Boh's favorite spots. And we enjoyed going up and thru the Vineyard Trail on hot days because of the nice shady spots.  And every now and then when Boh was feeling brave she would dip her paws in the river and contemplate swimming. She doesn't swim.

This venue was like home for us. The Pavilion 104 & 105 when rented together make a really nice area for an event. The bathrooms are right in between both pavilions and there is reserved parking .

Our pictures for the wedding party were taken by the infamous swinging bridge. These pictures were amazing and in the future posts I will mention our amazing photographer and the wedding party pictures she took. Below are some of our family photos from the park.

Venues Venues Venues!

The day after our engagement was a Sunday. Something made me wake up early before Chris and Boh.  So I started researching. We had already known what we wanted. We wanted it to be in the summer-ish and outside where we could have the ceremony and reception in close proximity.

Options:

Patapsco Valley State Park, Elkridge MD
-Outside pavilion can fit up to 200 people
-Avalon Area - Parking available
-Permits required
-Beautiful outdoor Area
-$300 rental of 2 pavilions entire day

-$200 for our guests park admittance day of
-Venue Only - no food/alcohol included

Circle D Farm, Woodbine MD
-Rustic Barn style farm can fit 300 people
-$1500 for just the rental
-$5,000-$12,000 w/ their catering/bar (100) people
-Parking available

Howard County Conservancy, Woodstock, MD
-Nature Center Fits 130 people w/ tables
-$2500 for dining room + $500 for ceremony in garden area
-Rental for 7 hours
- Parking available

With these options I asked Chris what he thought and of course he said, "Whatever you want babe".

After thinking about which venue would mean the most to us, we chose Patapsco Valley State Park. We chose this place because of all the hikes and countless hours we had spent there. 

In no time, I went online and booked the only available Saturday left in the summer of 2016- July 16, 2016.  Below are the pictures of my recon of the pavilions and the area around. I had big plans!

Wedding Total: $500

Annapolis Rocks

On a beautiful fall day in October 2015 my damn boyfriend made me hike to Annapolis Rocks.
It's my most hated trail mainly because of the rocky uphill.  But I did it anyway.  I sure did not go quietly like he would have wanted.

Up and up to the top of the mountain.  Once we got there the view was beautiful. We got to a good spot away from the other hikers and he grabs our dog Boh, kneels and says, "Boh and I have a question for you - will you marry me?"

Of course I said yes! My ring was on my finger before I knew it and my eyes began to fill.  We took some pictures and soaked in the scene. 

On the way down he explained to me how it was his grandmothers' engagement ring from the 1940's.  I loved it even more.  He did a great job and I was ecstatic!

Our hike down the mountain was a completely
different experience. I was excited and didn't even think about the hike back to the car. Difference being I didn't complain one bit!

The ride home was a blur, I had already started thinking of venues!  Well lets face it I had been thinking of venues, decor, and other things for the past 4 years.

We were engaged!