I've Got a Budget and I Know How to Use It!

Since we have our swatches, I wanted to find a florist who could tell me which flowers would match our colors...well more like I wanted a florist who could tell me if the orchids that I wanted would match my colors :)

So I called a florist in Riverside and scheduled an appt. for after I got off work. And then proceeded to spend an hour and a half in Elaborate Floral Design with Chelsea, a nice woman who has been doing weddings since she was 16.

With our colors - teal and coral - she suggested:
blue hydrangea
pale yellow chrysanthemum daisy
coral alstromeria
purple and white philaenopsis orchids (butterfly)
purple and white dendrobium orchids

AAAAAnd even better, she was able to work it into our budget...actually going UNDER $2000...which is we decided to stick to after we went to the first two florists...

I want to try another florist and see what they can do for $1500...

Girls, we need to go dress shopping!

And the verdict is in...

So of the swatches, we've narrowed it down to:

Pool - David's Bridal swatch

Peach Sun Silk

And some other green...which I don't have the name of because it was the free swatch and so it didn't go on the ticket...

So...I'm more partial to two colors rather than just one... I'll have to upload the pix we've taken of other decorated receptions... Eddie likes the peach and pool (teal?). I'm partial to the green and peach... Would it look weird with one table in one color and one table in another? That way there isn't too much of one color? And on the subject of colors, this person (whoever she is) says that teal and coral are big colors for 2010...

I'll post the pictures of the (in my opinion) too pink quincinera.

And here are some of the pictures of the tule and lights and what not from the lights...

DIY 4 Lyfe... hahaha

Comparison for size

I'm so proud! It doesn't look too bad! And it was only $3. If you look closely you can see the joinings and such...but hey it'll be low light and who's gonna be checking out the centerpieces? Except for the people that I'm going to brag to, "Look what we did!"

My Labors on Labor Day

So I ran around to a few places...

Picked up swatches at JoAnn's (apparently you only get 2 free, then you pay for the rest ... mine ended up being anywhere from $0.31 to $0.50). Some lime greens, cornflower blues, etc.

I also drove out to the Wedding Land mom and pop store in Riverside that Lexie was raving about, but they were closed.

And I popped into David's Briday for some swatches... $1.00 a pop. I learned the difference between satin (that smooth, shiny material) and organza (shiny, stiff, and hard) and chiffon (floaty, flimsy, flowy) and jersey (stretchy and clingy). I saw some bridal dresses...and have decided that some beading will be nice, but not too much... and I'm feeling more the white dress than ivory.

I'm mostly collecting blues and greens as I pick up swatches because I cannot really find any "pale orange"...I'm finding Boom-In-Your-Face Orange or I'm-Really-A-Pumpkin Orange. Corals and peaches are better than those oranges, but they're not really orange...

At Michaels, I looked at candles - the 3" floating candles are going for $1.99 each, and smaller 1.75" are going for $3.99/pk of 9.

JoAnns has the tall 23" tower vases for $14.99! Either we collect JoAnn's coupons from everyone's newspapers...or find them online if we're buying these ourselves...

I also picked up from The Dollar Tree a vase, fake flowers, and some clear stones to see what the centerpieces would look like to DIY for under $5 ;) I'll post the pix, when I'm done...

I read somewhere that you should do vases in threes...so I was thinking the orchid in water in one, a candle over an orchid in another, and what to do for the third? Maybe one orchid and one small votive... Do the votives in the metal/aluminum? holders float?

I also looked for those underwater LED lights...but couldn't find them...so gotta scout around online to find where I can find those.

By the way, fake flowers at Michaels and JoAnns are not cheap... One stem of vanda orchids - though they weren't cloth...they were...rubbery?/plasticky?/akin to real flowers but fake... - was going for $12.99! And then the butterfly orchids were going for $8.99!... Yeah...not so sure that fake flowers would be any cheaper than the real deal. Although where would I keep all the flowers for centerpieces if we have to make them before the wedding?...

And fieldtrip to the Flower District on Satuday. Public hours are done by noon, so maybe around 9 be out that way? Jillee's gonna be at the beach house, but I think I may drive out with Mum...esp. since I'm bringing Beatles Rock Band down to Fullerton on Friday night ;) Jess, be ready to rock out when you're back!

In the meantime, as I was laboring over this wedding craziness, I also made a belated birthday phone call to Mike, who left me with this mantra, "Do you want to be right or married?"

Something to keep in mind whenever I'm tempted to pull my hair out and scream...

More colors...

So for the pixes from before...ix-nay on the pale green...not enough color...

Not necessarily the style, but this is more the color Eddie pointed out.

Is this too bright (something?) a green?

As far as the orange...something with more of a sheen...nothing flat...

Love the limes! A little too much pink though...

Floating candles over submerged flowers in pink

Gerbera daisy with the green...

Pinks and greens... I like the green apples...yummy!

Really like this set up...the orchids against the blue.


Teal as the dress color?

On an unrelated note, cakes are something we have yet to get to... We did see a cake that Eddie liked when we were at the first florist. I think this is what it looked like...with the swirls?

Taste the Rainbow...

What are complementary colors?

The complementary color of a primary color (red, blue, or yellow) is the color you get by mixing the other two primary colors. So the complementary color of red is green, of blue is orange, and of yellow is purple.

Why are Complementary Colors Important in Color Theory?

When placed next to each other, complementary colors make each other appear brighter, more intense. The shadow of an object will also contain its complementary color, for example the shadow of a green apple will contain some red.

So here are some pictures I'm gathering to show Eddie...we're currently on a no wedding discussion kick... I think after our last squabble yesterday :P...

He can't really see orange and blue together... I was thinking blue dress with the brightly colored flowers - orange, yellow, pink/magenta/etc.








Here's the pale green I was thinking? Not the style of the dress, because I was thinking shorter length, but maybe the color?


Here's a darker green with orange flowers...


Is this called coral? Peach? It's more along the lines of the pale/pastel orange I think Eddie may be talking about? He thinks that orange dresses would make the flowers pop more...


Here are some oranges that I DO NOT want...




P.S. I have absolutely no idea who that random chick is following my blog... Do they have bots on Blogger???

A busy Saturday

So we started at Gazebo Flowers for a second quote on flowers. We didn't get the paper with the breakdown, but it cost $2600, which was $200 more than the last place, and we had even cut back on some of the more costly centerpieces. I was trying to maintain eye contact with the lady and eyeball the prices to see how they were different from the first place, buuuut couldn't do both. Next time while I maintain eye contact, Eddie's in charge of scoping out the prices. From what I saw and remember:
Bridesmaid bouquets were the same price
Boutonnieres were cheaper
The pew decoration were $200
The centerpieces were way more expensive! $65 and $85

And Lydia said I chose expensive flowers, which Leslie said was not true because all it mattered was how much you bought in bulk...

I think Eddie liked the really tall glass vases, which I also like because they do add some dimension in the room.

After our stop at the flower shop, we headed to Etiwanda Gardens to see how the room was decrated this time around. It was a simple black and white, with votives floating in a bowl - which Eddie thought was too simple.

I'm wondering what to do with the walls still. They have that hanging fabric...but I've only seen it in white...and that also can be overdone... Maybe using lights or having pictures. Also, I do want to have a projection screen to do a slideshow/video of our pictures.

We also saw a blue and gold room, which Eddie liked the diff colors.

I think our colors are going to be a pastel green and orange. Although, those colors make me think of pumpkins...

We also went to the Doubletree to see what it would look like set up in the ballrooms... But we didn't see much set up because it was early still.

We made our way to Rowland Heights to meet with Fr. Killeen. Eddie was having flashbacks to an Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Raymond was traumatized by having to meet with a priest before marrying Deborah. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Fr. Killeen was looking old, but healthy. And Eddie likes the way he talks. I'm interested in this test he was talking about that was given to the couple about variius issues that would affect married life to see if they were on the same page. Its graded by a computer and then you're given your results to see what you may still need to work through.

I think we're going to check out the flower district next weekend.

Scarlet and Leslie's Flowers

Sooooo for a grand total of $2,407.89 we can get:

Bridal bouquet (125) w/free toss bouquet
3 Bridesmaids bouquets (35 ea./105)
1 Jr. bridesmaid bouquet (30)
17 (1 groom, 1 best man, 2 groomsmen, 2 fathers, 4 grandfathers, 1 ring bearer, 6 ushers/whatever jobs I give my brothers) boutonnieres (19.95 ea./169.15)
2 mother corsages (20 ea./40)
5 grandmother corsages (12 ea./60)
2 mixed altar arrangements (75 ea./150)
10 clusters w/ ribbons to line pews (30 ea./300)
13 low centerpieces (35 ea./455)
12 tall centerpieces (65 ea./780)

Holy moly. Leslie suggested we see at least two other florists to compare prices etc.

I saw some cool centerpiece ideas including:

Three dimension centerpieces - as in a low/candle centerpiece, medium flower centerpiece, tall candle holder/stand kinda centerpiece. Apparently this adds depth to the rooms so that there aren't just towers of flowers.

Some ideas I liked:

• Using the pew decorations for decorating the head table (and saving on one extra centerpiece)
• Submerged orchids
  




It's kinda neat - you can put rocks, marbles, nothing, at the bottom of the vase.


• Using LED/waterproof/submersible lights into the centerpieces so they light up from the bottom. Though I'm not sure how they would go...or not go...with candles
• Heard about manzanita trees with votives hanging from the branches again. I'd like to see that...

For the bridal bouquet, Leslie suggested: phalaenopsis orchids, dendrobium orchids, hydrangea, and something else with the stem wrapped in white with beads/crystals. She suggested mostly white flowers...I'm not sure if that's what I want though... I kinda want all the pretty colored flowers that the bridesmaids and groom and groomsmen get to carry/wear.






For the bridesmaid bouquets: orchids to match the groom & groomsmen

For the corsages and boutonnieres: macara orchids against baby/small roses.

And all the colors can be figured out when we choose our colors.

Speaking of colors...what's the consensus on wearing orange?...not like pumpkin orange, maybe more like a peach or a pastel orange? Is that the color you should have if you want orange/yellow flowers?... does it need to be more of a contrast? A pale blue or green? Help!

I'm thinking votive candles and petals to pull it all together?

We swung by the Dollar Tree and saw some vases... Janette's also offered her 25 fishbowls from her wedding...haha we should throw in some beta fishes that match our color scheme... reminds me of our poor pet fish who amazingly survived two years of various spills, drops, funky water...etc.

I want to go to the flower district some Saturday... how about next weekend? Anyone free on the 12th?

Meeting with Veronica

So I went to St. Christopher to ask about what all needed to be done...

I need to get my baptismal (Singapore), communion (St. Elizabeth), and confirmation certificates (already at St. Christopher). Eddie needs his paperwork. We'll meet with Fr. Jo Jo for an interview and can block out some dates on the calendar.

In order for Fr. Kileen to celebrate the mass, some paperwork needs to be filed, and so I'll talk to him about it when we see him tomorrow.

Done and done...

Next: Florist appt. at 6:30...

Soooo... we're meeting with Fr. Kileen this Saturday at 3. We still don't really have a date set... and I need to ask if we do the pre-Cana classes in Rowland Heights or if we can do it in MoVal.

We're also going to visit the U of R on Thursday, 09/10/09 at 6 p.m.

Heh. Amy called me on it... I guess I do care a smidge about the wedding planning ;)

Invite Template

For the invites, I was thinking of having the outside become a folder that holds the response card/envelope etc.

Here's a template I found online... not sure that it would be as big as the template though... I'm thinking of something more square.


I'm thinking of having two sets of invites: 1 for people invited to the ceremony and reception and 1 for people only invited to the ceremony.

There are lots of people I'd like to invite (esp. church people for Mum and Dad), but we can't afford to have them at the reception, and they're not super close to me...

I was also thinking of what to do about maybe not having to mail back RSVPs for some of the guests?... Probably more of my friends and family who are proficient with email? That way there's that much less paper to use... Then again, I also heard about how one bride didn't get any RSVPs because they were online. And Eddie's saying no one on his family would know how to RSVP online and like 5 of his friends would...but I guess that's 5 friends less of paper?... Bah... I don't know if it's worth the hassle?...

Maybe we wouldn't need a pocket. We could use the vertical ribbon to hold the RSVP cards.

Manzanita Trees

Several sites have suggested manzanita trees to hang things from/on.

Here's a how to article on creating a manzanita tree sculpture...

Some ideas I liked from the article included:

• painting the branches white/gold/etc.
• determining the pot for the tree - wooden box, gold lacquer, glass vase
• moss, pebbles, glass beads/stones, shells, branches, etc. to fill the pot

Crystal Tree

Where to find trees?

What kind of beads to use?

What would we hang from the branches? - the escort cards?/guest book wishes/memories?

If I'm going with bright colors, should there be more colors on the tree?


Quoted from Tansu Style: "In the Japanese, Chinese, and Korean tradition the crane is a symbol of peace and long life. It is believed in these traditions that folding 1000 origami paper cranes makes a wish come true. In Japanese weddings, the bride who folds 1000 origami cranes before her wedding ensures a prosperous and happy marriage."

And to hang it from the tree?... or to make a chandelier...or something to hang from the lights?

Was it Marianne who asked about folding paper cranes already?... ;)


Not really feeling the flowers, but I like the idea of hanging candles...