Using The Web's Resources for Wedding Planning

What would life on this island be without the internet? I mean, really. And planning a wedding? Forget it. Between my severe use of Google Docs, and emailing potential vendors, to getting DIY ideas, it's all there at my fingertips. Thank God, because seriously I would probably NOT have a wedding on Nantucket if there was no internet.
One of the coolest pieces of advice I've read is getting a lot of the decor on Ebay. There's even some rental opportunities on TheKnot.com. One bride said she saved 75% by buying her stuff on Ebay. I think that's awesome.
I also have started getting into Twitter. It's a lot more for businesses than Facebook is, I've friended every bride-on-a-budget looking poster I could find, and in turn, some other ones found me based on who I was looking for. It's pretty cool because it helps generate everything from ideas, to good deals found, to blogs about wedding tips (like mine I guess) and more.
The best thing I've found about planning a wedding and having the internet is the communication aspect. If a vendor wants my business, they'd better be able to communicate via email. Because I forget things. Like everything. If it's not in my email, searchable and in black and white, then I will forget. I've got too much else going on between my 3+ jobs and keeping up with my own life that planning a wedding AND remembering all the data is impossible. So, incase you haven't been able to tell, I'm a HUGE fan of Google and all it's nifty tips and tools. So of course I am an avid Gmail user. It makes it easy to search for emails, categorize my stuff into a wedding folder, and filter any emails from said vendors right to the folder for future mailings as a "rule". It's pretty awesome.
Good luck on the web! It's got everything you need. Till next time.....
xoxo

Catering & Foodstuffs for our budget wedding

The word makes me shudder. I practically live in restaurants in this fancy little resort town. I started working in a mom-n-pop Italian restaurant by the name of Vincent's when I was 14. I was told to just bus tables, but there was no "just" about it, I stood in the back and scraped lasagna and veal parm off of guests plates like a scared little mouse because I was too terrified to ask them for their dishes myself.

At 26, I've done everything in a restaurant except manage (God bless some of them out here) and cook (God help some of them out here). I still waitress part time at a local pub, the days at Vincent's are long gone, they're now an (overpriced) ceviche bar next door to the pub I work at. We serve burgers and beer. And I love it.

Food and I have a love hate relationship. I love it but I hate how much it costs to get a good meal out here. And caterers are no exception.

I actually had one caterer tell me that my food budget for 200 people should be $24,000. Yes, that's right. And that wasn't for filet mignon or lobster tails.

Luckily, we got this brilliant idea to ask the pub I work at how much it would cost to serve up some good food, buffet style. Our price is now more than half of that. We also got a quote from a local guy who does BBQs for weddings (more of a locals thing I guess, because we went to a wedding this past fall where he showed off his talent and we were pretty impressed......and full)

The best advice I can give you is:

SHOP AROUND FOR FOOD PRICING (and everything else you can for that matter) if you're on a budget. We are able to now do our food for around $10,000. We cut our guest list down but maybe will be able to bring it back up.

Wedding Planning Tips

Step 1: Plan the guest list

I've had a bunch of people tell me I already have so much planned already. I could not have done it without the help of Google Docs. First you need to set up a Google account, and so should your fiancee, perhaps your mother and mother-in-law-to-be as well. If you don't have Google mail already, I highly recommend it. My fiancee and I found a doc that we shared called "Wedding Guest List" that was pre-made and totally amazing. It adds up all guests, their kids, etc. etc. and lets you organize them by any which way you want. A knowledge of spreadsheets is a must for this one (but if you don't know spreadsheets, I'm thinking you can wing it.)

Step 2: Get on TheKnot.com

Theknot.com is a bridal resource that at this point, I don't know how women have lived without it. I love it. Except for one thing- it's A LOT OF STUFF. I get overwhelmed pretty easily, so navigating the site has been a little consuming. I am NOT a fan of their Idea Board or whatever they call it, where you can save colors, dresses, hair styles, etc. However, it doesn't seem to want to save everything, and if I open a new tab in my firefox browser, it acts a fool.
What I AM a fan of, however, is their budget tool. Also, their checklist is a handy gadget and gives you due dates for things you may not always think of (and you can add your own as well.)

Step 3: Goin' Mobile

Like most modern brides, I've got a phone that I can organize even more on. I happen to have the iPhone 3gs, so I immediately downloaded The Knot's 911 app, where if I have questions, other brides can help answer. Like who should I invite to the engagement party? And when is a good time to put our announcement in the paper? Things like that. So far it's been pretty helpful. Another one I like is The Knot's Look Book 

Step 4: Gathering The Tribe

I read a lot of blogs and words that said to wait to ask your bridesmaids to be, well, your bridesmaids. I have 7. I held off about 2 hours before I made my decision. My bridesmaids are in all corners of the country. My maid of honor is in San Francisco, God love her but I know it's far. I've got one on-island. I've got one in Florida. One in DC. One on Cape Cod. One on Boston's north shore. One in Connecticut. My recommendation for bridesmaids that live all over the map? Facebook Group! Learn how to create a group here. I made ours super secret because I don't want anyone who didn't get asked to be offended, and I think it should be a special, private thing between you and your bridesmaids. Plus they can all get in touch with each other over facebook as well. What I like the most is that it's a forum-like group so everyone can see the ideas we come up with  for colors, dresses, etc. 

Hope that all helps for now!

xoxo

How Do I Plan A Wedding On Nantucket?

Liz, The Island Bride To Be

I've lived on Nantucket since I started high school. I worked for one of the top florists on the island and saw some of the most elaborate, amazing, outlandish, over-the-top weddings on this island. These brides must have spent upwards of $60-80,000 for their weddings. 250, 300 guests, overlooking the ocean at elaborate estates with no expenses spared. You see it every summer and fall out here. Brides and their bridesmaids floating up cobblestone Main Street looking beautiful. Cliffside weddings, sunset toasts, flowers and martinis everywhere. I heard last summer there was a wedding where the father-of-the-bride was a big-wig for a security company and their security at the wedding alone was $50,000 worth. And that the wedding was at one of the yacht clubs and it was over-the-top-amazing-awesome-ness. Oh how I dreamed.....

What Is This Going To Cost?

A normal wedding these days is said to be about $28,000. I figured Nantucket should double that pricetag. I don't know about you but I'm on a budget. A tight one. Our budget is about $26,000 thanks to the generosity of my fiancee's parents and my mom and stepdad, plus we're planning on saving about $8000 total ourselves. That's lowballing it but rather safe than sorry, I say.
Funny thing is, we've had caterers tell us that our budget for food and tent/rentals ALONE should be $30,000. Whoops, there goes our budget.
I refuse to believe it.


The Goal: Have the wedding of our dreams and still come in under $30,000 with food, booze, tent/rentals, and everything else.
Our plan: Utilize our resources. For example, I work in a restaurant that will give me a good deal on the food. Our wedding photographer is a friend of ours and she's giving us a helluva price on the photos. Plus my background is in photography so I'll be doing the edits and favorites myself. Another friend of ours is making the cake as our wedding gift. And our transportation is run by one of my bridesmaid's families, so that is yet another cost saving factor. My biggest suggestion when you're on a budget is UTILIZE YOUR RESOURCES.

Here's our wedding stats:
Date: June 23, 2012
Theme: Beach meets Backyard

Head Count: 260 (we're hoping 200 come)
Time of Day: Evening, so we'll be feeding people.

The three most important things to me at this wedding are: food, drink, and dancing. I want lots of all three going on.

I hope you all enjoy reading this blog as much as I'm going to enjoy making it.

xoxo