The Broke-Ass Bride: Bad-ass Wedding Inspiration on a Broke-Ass Budget

{Wedding Inspiration} Just Be You: From Initial Vision to Reality

If you’re engaged, you’ve probably made, or attempted to make, what we here in the wedding industry call a wedding “Inspiration Board.” An inspiration board is a mix of images that reflect what you desire your wedding to look and feel like, and what elements you want to incorporate into it.

The first board I ever made incorporated a host of images that matched exactly what I wanted our wedding to look like — or at least what I thought I wanted it to look like.  I had the beautifully dressed banquet tables… with perfect lanterns… and DIY decor that looks entirely too professional to be DIY that I could actually recreate. I also included the dress I thought I wanted… and the giant hair flower that I tried to convince myself would look good on me… BUT in the end, this board gave me more frustration than inspiration.  There was no way I could have recreated such perfection, and it kind of drove me nuts thinking that I could.  Here’s the first board I ever made:

Britt Inspiration Board #1

image sources: oncewed, watters, weddingbee, joetheguitarman, foldingtrees

After I realized I couldn’t possibly make our wedding look like this board, I made another one. One that was more eclectic… one with more of a loose color scheme… one that inspired ‘look and feeling’ as opposed to total re-creation. One that I made out of magazine clippings instead of images I found on bride blogs. Check it out:

Britt Inspiration Board #2

However, even though I connected more with this board than the previous one, I still didn’t know how the inspiration would manifest in our wedding.  I would look at this board and think, “ooo pretty, but what exactly am I getting from this?”  And the answer was always, “nothing much. Well, maybe in terms of color scheme? Sure…”

In the end, I stopped looking at and making inspiration boards many months before the wedding. Instead, I turned my attention to the venue and based my decor decisions on the vibe of the physical space, and on what we were actually capable of achieving. That’s when I decided to scrap a strict color scheme and just let it ride. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted it to look as cohesive as possible, but we didn’t have the funds, the talent, or the patience to completely back that desire. But it was a great feeling to finally let go of the inspiration board parameters.  It was then and only then that I could let our true personalities shine…   and the results were better than I could have ever imagined…  turns out I needed to follow my own “Just be You” advice and let our wedding reflect who we are and what we love — even if who we are and what we love isn’t the picture of matched perfection, or doesn’t showcase Martha Stewart-quality DIY.

Britt Inspiration Board #3: Our Actual Wedding

How many inspirations boards have you created?  Did your actual wedding look anything like the inspiration board you initially created? If not, how did it change and why?

Just Be You Inspiration Board #3

Compromising wedding design aesthetics between you and your partner can be tricky.  What if your feminine, flirty, vintage personal style doesn’t quite mesh with your future husband’s modern, to-cool-for-school, hip hop personal style?  He’s telling you he wouldn’t be caught dead in that vintage bowtie and newsboy cap you have picked out for him. And you’re telling him there’s no way he’s allowed to wear his favorite pair of Nike’s during the ceremony.

Your personal styles may be completely different from one another, but I’m here to tell you that both of you can rock your individual styles during your wedding without being incongruous. Take a look at this board. Every element has its own personality, yet it all meshes together seamlessly.

Let’s start with the fem-flirty side of the wedding. You and your bridesmaids could keep the fem-look alive with your attire. I found a pile of the cutest ballet slippers that would look adorable and girly on the women in your wedding party, while at the same time looking hip.  Real ballet shoes will be the new Chucks at weddings. Just you wait and see   And I don’t care what style of dress your partner likes to see you in, it’s your body and your wedding day, you pick out the dress that you feel beautiful and confident in — even if it’s a tad on the fem-side.  Your partner will likely love any dress you choose to wear, just as long as he isn’t made to wear that bowtie and newsboy cap.

As for your guy’s attire… since his style runs more closely to Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock as opposed to Ryan Gosling in The Notebook, I suggest finding him a style guru that he’d actually take advice from… because he’s clearly not listening to what you want him to wear.  And that person I will suggest, for this instance only, is Kanye West. The man knows how to rock a unique suit — one with a slight hip hop edge, but one that doesn’t make him look like he just stepped off the Big Pimpin’ yacht in a Jay-z video.

After you have sorted through the design aesthetics you don’t agree on, make a list of the things you do agree on. Let’s say you both want the occasion to be laid back, creative, fun, and a wee bit nerdy… ’cause let’s face it, despite how cool you and future hubby think you are, you know you can’t hide your computer game loving, geeks out for Lord of the Rings, nerdy sides. In fact, why not wear your nerdiness on your sleeve finger, and buy a set of ethernet rings?! You will be virtually connected as long as you both shall live.  And maybe your future husband geeks out on music, and wants to be responsible for picking out the DJ, but you don’t have the budget for one.  Then suggest that he take up a new hobby: iPod DJing. Believe it or not, there is a dual iPod docking station that actually has crossfaders and transport controls. It’s not quite as tricked out as a real turntable with records and whatnot, but it’s something to consider, especially if you or your partner have interest in amateur DJing and/or saving money on the music played at the wedding while still being cool.

As long as you both are in the mood for a laid back kinda wedding, why not make your catering reflect that mutual desire as well? Food trucks have had emerging popularity at weddings as of late. I had one at my wedding and it was a total hit.  So that got me thinking, what about food CARTS?  You ever walk out of a concert and see a host of bacon hot dog carts lining the street?  If you haven’t, they’re literally carts with little stoves that cook bacon wrapped hot dogs to perfection. Pure deliciousness that’s more than portable.  Even our own Broke-Ass Bride hired a taco cart for her e-party. Why not, right? And as long as we’re on street food carts… why not go for a street food-esque type of dessert like a churro cart?  We all know that churro carts are one of the top reasons we go to Disneyland anyway, so why not bring a little Disney deliciousness to your wedding guests?

Have you and your partner had to compromise on design aesthetics for your wedding? If so, how have you dealt with it?

Also, I am selling my wedding dress, a veil, and a few hair accessories on my personal blog. If you need any wedding goods, head here to check out the loot!

How to reuse your wedding crafts to decorate your home!

You did not just slave over a year’s worth of crafting for your wedding just to throw it all away in the end. No way. I allowed myself to throw away certain items, namely the ones that I couldn’t stand to look at anymore. Case in point: flag and crane strings had to go.

But for the most part, reusing our wedding decor and supplies for our home has been working out quite nicely. In fact, I would go as far as to say our home has never looked more stylish than it does now. And for a couple whose home decor has consisted of everything Ikea for the last 5 years, it’s nice to see a unique, one-of-a-kind change.

2 bouquets, 6 vases, 2 record sleeves, 4 painted bottles, and a hot pink reindeer. All used at our wedding. All re-used to make our home pretty!

We even used our cake topper and a pair of photo lounge shutter shades as decor!

I call this one: "pimp my bookcase."

Neon drink coasters from the wedding are now water catchers for our plants!

And this one I will of course call: "pimp my windowsill"

My bouquet, a lantern, and a couple tins from the wedding: Now being displayed as decor in our bedroom. Underneath our Bowie "Heroes" poster, naturally.

More bouquets, bottles, and lanterns used as decor!

Make any DIY signs? Use them as wall decor. Sure, "Parking Hitchfest 2010" doesn't quite make sense in the context of your home... BUT it will serve as a fun memory for us until we get sick of looking at it.

More reusable DIY signage! Our "Food Truck" sign brings a smile to my face everytime I sit down to play piano.

Sure, we may not need to keep this "Photo Lounge" sign hanging around the house... BUT I wonder if another engaged couple would get some use out of it at their wedding???

You can also use your decor for functional purposes. I got the idea from Mrs. Broke-Ass herself (she’s so clevah!) about re-using our mason jars as drinking glasses. Just today I cleaned out all the wax from the jars (just use really hot water), washed ‘em up nice, and now we can use them for beverages!

These puppies are just *waiting* for me to pour beer in them!

And there I go! Reuse-ifying feels so good!

We also reused a few hand-painted bottles to act as book-ends.

Functional & beautiful!

AND lastly, we are keeping 2 of the 10 of our handcrafted beer bottle chandeliers to act as lighting for our dining area.  We are hoping to use them as outdoor lighting… eventually… when we can finally find an affordable place in Los Angeles with a yard!

Home dining room lighting at it's weirdest... errr... I mean, "finest."

What the chandeliers look like all lit up! Can't wait to get a backyard!

Seeing all the wedding crafts come together as decor for our home has brought so much joy to my heart.  I had planned from the start to reuse our DIY decor, and I am over the moon proud of ourselves that we actually followed through with the OG plan. I feel the payback on our investment already!

And for everything that we didn’t reuse — which was surprisingly very little — we will either Brideshare or sell.  I will keep you all updated on everything we are selling/sharing. Please contact me if you would like to reuse any of our decor for your own wedding: i.e. bouquets, bottles, mason jars, signs, lanterns, etc.  We’re happy to share!

How about you guys? Have any ideas for reusing wedding decor in your home? How about outside the home?

When Choosing Cheap Goes Awry

Greetings, fellow Broke-Asses!  Since I’m all marrified now… my new husband (swoon!) and I decided to join forces for today’s post and really give it to you straight about a few cheap wedding alternatives we chose, and why we may have chosen differently had we known what we know now.  Don’t worry.  We’re not suggesting we should have spent more money on said things.  Imaginary money wasn’t going to come to our rescue.  But, there are definitely a few ways in which we could have moved the budget around to make it all work.

Let’s start with DIY decor.

As you all know, we completely DIYed our wedding.  From cutting the tablecloths to crafting the centerpieces, signs, chandeliers, bouquets and bouts on down to brewing the beer, we did it all.  And it was certainly A LOT cheaper for the effort.  However, transport for getting everything into the venue was slightly nightmarish.  We didn’t expect or prepare for the enormous truckload of wedding stuff that we accumulated over the last year.  It was like moving an entire apartment, almost.

Luckily, we made it through the transport storm… but the hardest part was yet to come.  It was the clean-up and transport the day after our DIY wedding that was the hardest.  Hangover + No Sleep + Physical Labor + Heat = No Bueno.  Luckily we had the help of our amazing friends and family, but even with everyone pitching in, it took us nearly 3 hours to get everything packed up and out of the venue.  And we still had to return the keg and unload everything into our 3rd floor apartment. (Craftstorm is back. Boo.)

Wait... you mean all that stuff we've been crafting for the last year has to be stored at our apartment until we find a new home for it? YUP.

Beer Bottle Chandeliers for Sale! Anyone... Anyone... Bueller?

The lesson here is simply this: If you don’t want to spend the next day cleaning, transporting, and housing your DIY decor until you figure out what the hell you are going to do with it all… then perhaps it’s a good idea to use some of the budget to hire a cleanup crew.  Or, get hardy volunteers to do it for you, and have a plan ready for them so everyone knows what to do.  You don’t want to wake up the next morning giving orders and making sure your keg deposit gets picked up.  You might have loved ones, best buds, or kidnapped children doing your heavy lifting, but they’re all equally ignorant when it comes to your wedding — and they will attempt to escape unless you tell them what to do… and rightfully so

Next up: Lessons learned from honeymooning on the cheap.

When we got word from Mike’s uncle that he we could stay a week for FREE in his private vacation condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico… we jumped at it. Didn’t even think twice. We were ecstatic. The problem with that is that we failed to check the weather in PV during that time of year. Which was pretty unlike us not to do… but planning a wedding is a crazy time — and when someone offers you something for free (in an industry that usually offers you nothing for free) you feel awesome, and you jump on the offer without fully thinking it through.

When we got off the plane in Puerto Vallarta, the weather was in the 90s at 100% humidty and it was during monsoon season. Hello, heat blanket we would never escape!

The monsoon was so out of control, the river level rose up and tore down the suspension bridge near our condo.

We probably would have chosen a different honeymoon option had we known this. We would have much rather spent our honeymoon driving up the coast of California in beautiful weather, and it would have been the same price, or even cheaper, as it was to go to Puerto Vallarta. The weather would have been more comfortable, and we might have enjoyed some true relaxation after a very long and emotional wedding planning journey.

Are you guys scared that your shoestring budget might be exposing you to some uncomfortable or disappointing outcomes?  Has choosing cheap ever gone awry for you? Let’s make a contingency plan together!

BRITT AND MIKE GOT MARRIED!!!

This weekend we had the pleasure of attending HITCHFEST 2010, the awesome and inspiring wedding of our incredible contributor Britt, aka The Bowie Bride, to her man “Dangerous Minds” Mike .

Watching the ceremony that the bride and groom created had me saying, “Oh god, I’m crying… Oh good, everyone’s crying.” Then it was on to yummy eats, great drinks (including beer brewed by Britt’s Dad!), lots of dancing and creativity and fun at every corner. It was an honor to be able to be a part of the celebration. We are so happy for these two. Watch out world ’cause a power couple just made it official!!!

You’ll have to wait for Britt to give you all the details, but here’s a taste I clumsily snapped between jumping for joy:

She's the Bowie Bride so of course her sister rocked her down the isle by Electric Guitar.

Ladies and Gents: The Bowie Bride!

This Couple Rocks!

The Big Kiss

Look Mom- We're Hitched!!!

We stuffed our faces with the famous and delicious Koji Truck Tacos.

The entire venue was covered with DIY creations like this vase and bouquet. All awesome and all made by Britt.

While the bride took the dance floor...

...the groom swung from the rooftop.

So Fun, So Great and So Britt and Mike!

MAZEL TOV TO THE HAPPY COUPLE!!!!

{DIY or DIE} The Evolution of Our Homemade Bouquets

When I set out to DIY our wedding, I had no idea what I was in for. I knew there would be a lot of trial and error, mixed with hair pulling frustration, but I also knew that I was capable of pulling it off.  My heart was certainly in it, my attitude was positive, and therefore I was able approach the difficulty of it all with an open mind and a smile.  The one project that I have been working on since April (4 months, people) is our DIY bouquets.  I declared these bouquets finished at least 3 different times.  The first time I declared them “finished” was at the end of April after my “Hey, Bridesmaids! Let’s Make Some Bouquets!” Party.  Here are a few shots of the bouquet in PHASE 1:

DIY Bouquets: PHASE 1

More of PHASE 1

This first night of bouquet crafting left us all feeling successful.  I was truly impressed with what we did.  But just days after that night, I started to futz with the bouquets again. I saw little gaps that needed fixing and pieces that needed gluing.  This was to be expected, though. We were DIYing bouquets blind, pretty much. You see, at first, we did the “glue-as-you-go” method where we basically took some pretty crap and glued it to the bouquet handle base, trying our hardest to keep it looking spherical.  I’d say for our first attempts, we did a pretty damn good job.

But then I decided I wanted different colors than the materials I had on the bouquet. So instead of starting from scratch (which would have ended up costing us nearly as much as a set of real floral bouquets), I decided to paint over what I had.  And this is what I came up with (you may recognize this picture from my previous DIY Bouquet post):

DIY Bouquets: PHASE 2

I truly loved this phase of the bouquets. In fact, after I completed said “phase,” I believed it to be the last and final.  But no. I decided I wanted lighter colors. So I started painting again. And the I decided some of the bouquets didn’t have the right shape, so I began to reshape.  And then I looked at a picture of a real bouquet, and I decided that the handles on my bouquets looked skinnier than everyone else’s.  And I didn’t like that.  So I found some soft cardboard used to pack fragile things with, rolled them into cylinders, then glued them to the current handle.  Then I noticed that “real” bouquets have some sort of ribbon or lace wrap around the handle. So I went and bought some lace ribbon, wrapped it around the handles, and pinned it.

Annnnd 80 glue gun burns later, this is the final look of the bouquets:

DIY Bouquets: PHASE 3 - The (Actual) Final Phase

My bouquet: PHASE 3

PHASE 3: Complete.

I am very VERY happy with the end result. Don’t get me wrong, I would have been happy with the phase 1 result, but since I had time to tweak and perfect, I was able to let the bouquets evolve into my original vision.

Lessons learned:

1. There is no right or wrong way to make a DIY bouquet.
2. Do not feel pressured to make your DIY bouquet perfect on the first go-around.  Give yourself time to let the bouquets evolve.
3. It’s ok to be a perfectionist — just make sure you give yourself enough time to be said perfectionist. I finished my bouquets 5 days before the wedding, people. This perfectionist likes to cut it close… So starting four months prior to W-Day was a must for me. Assess your perfectionist tendencies and plan your DIY bouquet plan of attack accordingly.
4. If you do not plan on painting your bouquet, make sure you pick colors you like and want to commit to.  My bouquet colors changed completely from start to finish.  Just look at Phase 1 compared to Phase 3. Same bouquet, totally different look.
5. Do a glue test to make sure everything holds.  For example, hold your bouquet by the handle, upside down and shake it a tad. If it feels loose, it’s not glued down enough. Don’t wait until the last minute. You’ll find yourself in a hot glue gun mess.
6. Build from the center of the bouquet out.  This way you can decide layer by layer how big you want your sphere to be, and you will have an easier time keeping the sphere even and symmetrical.
7. Make the handle of the bouquet LAST.  I made 3 different handles before I landed on a style that worked. Trial and error: get used to it.

What are your DIY lessons learned? Anyone have similar experiences with crafting their bouquets? Have they evolved as much as mine have?

{DIY or DIE} Mad Lib Guestbook: Last-minute, Cheap & Fun

The other day I realized that, whoa, we have less than 2 weeks til W-Day and we don’t have a guest book.  I realize in the grand scheme of wedding to do’s, a guest book falls very low on the list of priorities. However, there was no way I was going to throw a kickin party and not remember every single person who was there to share it with. And a guest book that only requires them to write their name and maybe a word of advice wasn’t going to cut it. I wanted to get our guest’s creative juices flowing straight out the gate.

I first dreamed up a guest book in which our guests would give us “Sex Mix Playlist” suggestions in lieu of marriage advice. But then I realized I didn’t want any such suggestion coming from my Grandfather.  Ewww.  So then I came up with the Mad Lib idea… an idea that is creative but still cheap and easy.  If you’ve spent the last 11.5 months hardcore DIY-ing like I have, you will know that it’s best to save the easiest projects for the very end. And this particular project, my friends, is one of those easy ones. ACES.

There are many different ways you can format your Mad Lib. At first I went for the 2 page model — but upon further review of the design, I decided that it would be easier to have the story AND the word prompts on the same piece of paper.   This method works great because your guests won’t have to work in partners, and they won’t be bothered to write in their answers for the prompts more than one time.

Step one is to write a short Mad Lib story about you and your partner.  We did ours in the form of a letter from the guest to the Bride and Groom.

Each of your guests will get a card like this.

The trick with this Mad Lib design is that the story part is hidden.  I’ll show you what I mean in one sec. Sit tight.

Then they fill it out!

Ok. Here comes the magical part… Flip the card over… and…

The story is folded over on the back! With neon guitar stickers!

Then you take the stickers off the folded card, open it up and hello, Mad Lib!

The whole story is there! Without even having to copy your answers down twice!

No pain in the ass copying required. You write your answer down, and it’s already in the story.  And because Mad Libs aren’t any fun without getting to read back the silly story you came up with… I will share the one I came up with:

“I am so devastated to be at your garish wedding! It’s the biggest fart since The Spanish/American War.  I think Mike and Britt are one feverish couple. Truth be told, I’m a bit elated that Britt is off the market. I saw us as lovers, but I couldn’t get over her loudmouth.  I’m glad Mike is willing to put up with it. Good luck in all your volleyball endeavors!  In Christ , Bowie Bride.”

Hilarious, right?  Then after you have collected all the completed Mad Lib cards, stick them in a scrapbook and throw it in your suitcase for the honeymoon. You and your sweet love can get a kick out of reading the “letters” your guests wrote to you while lounging by the pool!

MAD LIB GUEST BOOK SUPPLIES:

Sheets of 8-1/2 x 11 Cardstock paper

Home printer.

Scissors, exacto knife, or a paper cutter

Markers. Any kind. But I went with some funky shimmery opaque ones. A tad more pricey, but also a tad more sassy.

Stickers, or some kind of adhesive that isn’t permanent.

A scrapbook, a photo box, or anything to store the cards in.

Confessions of a Nervous DIY Bride

I am getting married in 18 days, and I am so not Zen right now. Honestly, I am frightened.

Right now, I can see the DIY centerpiece and bouquet craftstorm out of the corner of my eye and it makes me feel accomplished, BUT it also makes me feel incredibly overwhelmed.  There’s this huge unorganized pile of vases, painted bottles, homemade bouquets, crane strings, flag banners, table runners, boutonnieres, dessert table-ware, CD case lanterns, and all the additional leftover supplies that will wait in the wings to be used as the day approaches.

In terms of style and aesthetic, I dig the look of what I have made. But what worries me is the fact that I have no idea how the hell this craftload will come together in the end — and whether or not it will mirror the picture of what I had envisioned in my head.  I am NOT a design professional, people.  The only party I have ever been responsible for decorating was the kegger pirate party I threw back in college.

Pile-o-crafts that I am still have no idea what to do with.

The full craft storm.

How is everything going to be styled? How will everything get moved over to the venue? Will I have to worry about things getting broken in transit? Will I have enough time to set the tables up to my liking? Will we have enough candles and fresh flowers (bought the day of) for the mason jars?

I think this is a good way to organize this stuff...

DIY’ing your decor is a big commitment.  You first have to commit to buying the supplies to craft with. Then you have to craft. And you know your execution won’t be perfect on your first go around. So there’s that added fear of, “Dude. What if I can’t actually make these crafts I set out to make?”  BUT I do not regret venturing down the DIY road one bit.

The scariest part about being a DIY bride is fear of the unknown.  You will continually ask yourself this question: Am I doing enough to get everything done and put together?  I still do not know the answer to that question. And I imagine I won’t know the answer to that question until I see everything set up in venue and ready to rock. Lil scary, but I know it will all come together in the end.  We’ve worked this hard for 11.5 months… what’s two more weeks?

Considering DIY’ing the bulk of your decor?  Here are some tips for a sane(r) DIY wed-planning journey:

1. Have a DIY plan of attack, but don’t expect yourself to finish every single project on your list.
2. Do not set unrealistic goals. Consider how much time you will actually have to dedicate to crafting.
3. Remember that you still have a job and other life responsibilities — things that may not allow you time to craft, or rather, have time for all the trial and error you will likely experience.
4. Try out 3 or 4 centerpiece projects and pick the one you can execute best.  Even if that means doing something simple but elegant like mason jars with twine tied at the lip. If that project looks better than the poorly executed tissue paper flowers you made, then go with the mason jar project. Why spend extra time and money crafting something that you can’t pull off?
5. Start crafting at least 5 months before the wedding. Set small, daily goals. This way you won’t feel overwhelmed by the enormity of DIY’ing your wedding. Just take it as slowly as you possible can. Make a few things at a time and split up the work between your partner and your graciously willing friends.

What are your DIY tips? Anyone have similar fears/experiences?

“Just Be You” Inspiration Board #2

Last week’s Just Be You Inspiration Board worked so great (Rock n Roll Bride featured it, hello!), I thought I’d slap another one together for some wedding inspiration and to keep y’all inspired to just be YOU.

This week’s board is filled with ideas that you may have originally scoffed at when first presented with. Truth be told: I scoffed at A LOT of ideas my Specialover presented to me in the beginning of our wed-planning journey. I’d say to him: “What?! Not give everyone an actual seat during the ceremony, are you crazy?!” …And then, after much thought, I realized that a ceremony where some of the guests sat on blankets would be really freakin rad.  Just take a look at the wedding in the bottom right corner of this board.

Cool, right? Just head to a fabric store, purchase some burlap for $1.25/yd and cut it up into picnic blanket-sized sheets. Slap the burlap blankets alongside the aisle and in the front row, and instruct the younger folk to cop-a-squat. And hey, you could even sweeten the deal for those on the ground by serving a little sangria or lemonade.

Crazy idea numero dos that’s actually cool: Doughnut tower cake. You could make that shiz the morning of, dudes. NO JOKE. Hit up The Krisp, pick out 100 doughnuts in assorted flavors and coordinating colors, bring ‘em back to your desert table and stack ‘em until they look pretty. Dessert: DONE. (And damn delicious).

Next up: Dance floor alternative. Let’s face it, some people just don’t dance.  Lawn games are an awesome way to get your guests to have fun and interact. My favorite is Bocce Ball. It’s cheap, super-easy to learn and requires no set-up.

Attire this week is all about honoring your heritage. I asked Mike if he were Scottish would he wear a kilt at our wedding, and he came back with an enthusiastic YES. So if you’re considering incorporating your heritage in your attire, I say go for it! Even if that means wearing a skirt, gentlemen

And lastly, there needs to be more pizza served at weddings. PERIOD. End of story. Just look at that pizza porn up there. I’d serve that at my wedding in a hot minute — and it would be cheap.

What “crazy ideas” are you reconsidering now?