The Broke-Ass Bride

Bad-Ass Tables for Broke-Ass Budgets

This is a repost of a guest blog I did for my boo Sasha at Sparkliatti last month… but in case any of you missed it, here it is again!  Enjoy!

I’m completely in love with creative and original ideas that won’t drain your budget! When Sasha asked me to bring some of my budget decor savviness to her blog, I thought, let’s get to the heart of the matter… or at least of the room: The Table.

Table decor can either be unique and memorable or fade into the background of a wedding – but whether you’re dropping $1 or $100 on it, why waste a chance to surprise and delight your guests with fun and distinctive design?  I struggled for days to find inexpensive yet dynamic ways to spruce up our tables without busting our budget, and today I’m sharing my top 5 ways to save on money but stay rich on impact.

1. Having a rustic affair but want to give your tables flair?  A large roll of kraft paper can serve as a no-muss sub for linens for much less.  Don’t forget to toss some crayons near the kids’ seats…. or everyone’s seats for that matter!  Instant interactive fun for your guests!

2. Prefer the feel of fabric? Buy a bolt of unbleached muslin or burlap fabric and use pinking shears to cut tablecloths or runners with character (and leave your sewing kit out of it)!  Use baker’s twine to tie a rock into the corners of your tablecloths to help weigh them down.

3. Craft poms are my new obsession. Fill some clear glass bowls, vases or glasses from the flea market with the colorful bunch, or hot glue them to some branches in a vase, and check centerpieces off your list for pennies!  Fill paper cones with the leftovers for a fun toss alternative to rose petals that will look whimsical and darling in photos.

4. Save the cost of vases altogether, and cut down on the number of flowers you buy. Pop the heads off some larger stems such as spider mums or orchids and scatter them along the center of the table with some smooth river rocks or seashells woven between them.

5. Bring the outdoors in for tables that add texture and visual interest. Use mosscloth for dynamic table runners or centerpiece elements.  Its a natural and inexpensive way to wow your guests, and comes in various shades of green to suit your palette.

Want.

Le Sigh. This would go so beautifully at our wedding if we had all the monies.

Isn’t it gorg?!?

(via StyleMePretty)

Faux vs. Fresh

While doing a little registry shopping recently, I was floored to see such gorgeous silk flowers at Pottery Barn (of all places)! My previous experience with silks has been less than impressive, but it appears that they’ve come quite a long way in recent years!

These are luscious and fresh-looking, vibrant and lifelike, and the best part? They don’t die or wilt! Check out this batch of lovelies in our wedding colors. (oh the peonies!)

And these orchids are rich, buttery, pure goodness, all extremely cost-competitive prices compared to real stems! You could even snip these off the stem and hot glue them to centerpieces or scatter them on tables for an exotic effect that won’t tire through the night.

If you’re eco-minded and want flowers that will live on long past your wedding for reuse, want to DIY without worrying about perishables, or simply want to keep your wedding flowers forever…. I highly recommend checking out the silks available today. I swear, they even smelled real!

*all images from personal camera

I’ve been De-Flowered!

Prepare thyselves…. these photos may induce jawdropping wonder.

When I saw these photos of Suthi and Sanjay’s devastatingly gorgeous wedding on WeddingbeePro, I just about died. As if the couple isn’t beautiful enough (her dress reminds me a bit of mine!), the floral arrangements just took my breath away, and for the first time, I started to have a more concrete vision for our tablescapes at the wedding.

The vintage goblets all came from the florist’s personal collection. Way to reuse, go team Green! I hope to hit up the Rose Bowl Flea Market next month to find some great vessels to repurpose.

The colors are absolutely stunning…. the warm glow of the colored glass and bright flowers is so inviting and cozy, while still funky and whimsical. I especially love the range of blooms, from dahlias to ranunculus to orchids. Eclectic and unexpected, just what I dream for our day!

I am loving the use of textures, with feathers contrasting the flowers. I’m having feathers in my bouquet, so this would be a great echo to that tactile and sassy style.

The ranunculus on the left are extraordinary in that retro green glass!

Check out the gorgeous vignette that greeted the guests as they entered the space. They added special details like old family photos and old letters along with a custom family tree to set the mood and provide a sense of history. It’s very emotive and tickles my theatrical sensibilities juuuuust right.

I adore the simple brown wood tables with the moss tablerunners. I bet those runners would be pretty simple and inexpensive to DIY, too. But the tables at The Bungalow Club cry out for Sari table covers, and so I shall deliver. My only question is, if I use colorful saris, should I stick to ivory flowers in clear glass to add simplicity, or go for the bold with more colorful arrangements like the ones above?

Tell me oh ladies of great style, what would you do?

All images credited to Amy & Stuart
Event Planner: Angel Swanson
Flowers by: Holly Flora

How Paco sourced our florist.

Our fubaby Paco is always trying to get into the wedding planning. Its very sweet, but usually he just gets in the way, or knocks things over. You know, the whole lack of opposable thumbs can be a real inconvenience. But finally, he has made his mark on the wedding (pardon the dog-pun), and now he won’t stop gloating.

See how smug he is?

Some time ago, we were on an early evening walk around the cul-de-sac near our house, when we met just the cutest little doggie, Ruby and her lovely mom, Sarah.

Ruby was near-death when she was rescued, isn’t she lovely?

Paco immediately started laying the mack on her, and Ruby was eating it up. All the while, us grown-ups got to know eachother, and hit it off quite nicely. On our walk back home, Sarah mentioned that she is starting an eco-friendly floral business called La Vie en Rose (so cute!). My spidey senses tingled.

Now we’re all fast friends, and Sarah is our wedding florist! I’m so excited because working with friends is the best possible scenario, and she’s super talented. Plus, her focus on eco-friendly florals is exactly what we were looking for, and she lives right down the street! How perfect, to have meetings about the floral design, while the puppies get a playdate.

Check out some of these gorgeous arrangements:

(source)

Before meeting Sarah, we had always thought we’d just do the flowers ourselves. But the task was kind of daunting and I secretly wished we’d stumble into an opportunity to use a professional. And stumble, we did! Now I get to have gorgeous, stress-free flowers, and a great new friend in the neighborhood. What could be better?

Have you ever found a vendor in a most unlikely moment?

Bodacious (Non-Floral) Bouquets

Since we’re trying to be as eco-minded as possible in our planning, and it would be more fun to spend money on a keepsake bouquet that won’t die, I’ve been searching for an affordable non-flower alternative. Who knew how many cute ones I’d find?

(image source)

Princess Lasertron - possibly the cutest real wedding to be published online last year – makes these magical felt flower and button bouquets and sells them to lucky brides via etsy. How perfect are they? In all their cuteness, one can incorporate family jewels (heh), vintage heirlooms (is that redundant? nah.), or have the stems tied with a meaningful hankie. Too sweet.

(image sources)

These sexy bastards come courtesy of Emplume. These are so fly I can hardly take it! They suit my bohemian rockstar tastes juuuuuust right. As soon as I saw them, I wanted one so bad. They use feathers and assorted accoutrement to create custom AMA-ZING bouquets to last a lifetime. They’re whimsical, sensual and elegant. I love how the one in the first picture looks like it kinda has a lotus flower inside. Perfect for our theme!

They also do boutonnières for the men…

…and the funkiest ring pillow I’ve ever seen.

(image sources)

Lastly, we have the most economical option… Paper flower kits from Paper Source

(image source)

For about $15, you can make yourself a fun, whimsical, but not all that sturdy bouquet. Its paper, so its not necessarily a more eco-option over flowers… but it is super affordable and funky-crafty. Not a bad choice.

So far, Emplume is holding onto my heart… I just can’t get over those feathers!

Anyone else going the non-floral bouquet route?

Floral Fantasy

At the Bungalow Club we’ll be serving dinner family style, and will probably push tables together to form seatings of 8 on the main floor. I quickly realized this will limit the space for florals, as we don’t want people having to worry about knocking them down as they reach for more hummus while dodging candles. I have always preferred simple table florals to keep the space intimate anyway, and with budget in mind, I set out to find the best choice for us.

When I stumbled across Maura & Bryan’s St. Regis wedding on the fabulous Wedding Chicks blog (designed by the talented Stephanie Lairson), I was immediately drawn in by their style – a little edgy and definitely bold but still romantic. Then, I saw this…..

(image source: The Wedding Chicks)

And this:

(image source: The Wedding Chicks)

I love the vibrant, exotic orchid with the drama of the blue water plunge and the earthiness of the black sand. These are great way to bring color into the room but keep things simple, wallet friendly, and DIYable! I’m also tinkering with the idea of using small pebbles or river rocks at the base rather than sand. Have I mentioned that I love the drama that a few really tall pieces can add to a room? Well, I do! I’m completely in love with this design – I think it will be fierce.

What do you think?

PS – How cute would these be for a garden or rustic wedding? They’re only $2.99 each at IKEA!

(image source: IKEA)

Web Finds!

Wonderhowto.com is a really cool new site, where users upload videos of themselves (a la youtube) demonstrating How-To-Do various and myriad projects. Everything from gardening, to science experiments, to (you guessed it) DIY wedding florals and other wedding planning tips!

Check it out! Maybe you’ll find an incredible new skill to refine – or maybe you’ll post a new one for all of us to enjoy….