Creating Your Wedding

Everyone loves Pinterst. If you say you don't, you are living under a rock, or lying. I honestly hate that I love pinterst. It has really amazing ideas and decor, but there are two major problems I have with pinteresting.

1. Unrealisty Expectations.

Yes, There are amazingly beautiful ideas on Pinterst. But everything I see, I want! If you see one idea, it leads you to another, and another, and another, and the next think you know, you have over 1,000 pins saves in a few hours... and now you are overwhelmed and are feelings empty inside because you know you could never afford something as pretty as what youve seen. (A little dramatic, but sometimes, it is true.) But trust me, no one will really care how many fun and trendy pinterest ideas you have for your wedding. As long as you have a naturally beautiful venue, no one will even notice the little details that you worried your self over having. Whatever you do, DO NOT freak out over little detials. Most decent human beings wont care if you have your table place cards in backwards alphabetical order with a cork with your names stamped onto them as the card hold. This is the stuff that gets ignored and guest what...Thrown away!

2. Too Much Of The Same

I get it, if you like something, you like it. But I hate the idea of having my wedding look just like everyone elses. Because this isn't everyone elses wedding, its mine! It will be the only one that is truely about me (and my fiancé of course.) so of course I want it to be special. Now, I'd be lying if I told you that I am not using a few ideas I found via pinterst, but I will deicate my wedding planning experience to not fretting over the stupid little Pinterest details! Think outside the box, and create ideas that you love, even if they are not traditional, or if they are! Do the ideas that you love. Don't do the things that are "trendy" strictly because they are trendy! And also, don't be like me and hate yourself for wanting to do something more on the trendy side. Example, I have decied to use a pretty bird cage as a card holder on my gift table. I swear, that is the only thing I have ever seen on Pinterest for cards! I was so close to not even using it because I didn't want to be like everyone else. I promise, it will be ok. No one will judge you because you did something you love! (and even if they do, who cares? IT'S YOUR DAY!!!)

If you think about, Pinterest is an amazing way to help you understand what you want and how you want it. As long as you do not get too caught up in the details, or have the dreaded "Pinterest Brain" you are going to create a beautiful wedding as long as you love how it looks! It doesn't have to be Pinterst worthy to be an amzing part of your wedding day. Think outside the box, and do whatever makes you happy, and then it wont matter what everyone else has to say.

Arli:)

What do you want to hear about? Contact me for information about things you want to know more about! 

Thanks!

Arli:)

I am 100% Pro Wedding Website! I think it's a really cute idea, and I found it super fun to create! It's a great way to inform your guests about your wedding day activies, however, you have to be carful to not give away too much. The main objective for your wedding website is to give your guests all the necessary information about travel, accomidations, start time, and other important practical items!

How much is too much detail?

Okay, so the last thing you want to do is give away every aspect of your wedding. I know, you are excited, and can't wait to show everyone what your doing, but it really ruins the suprise when you give it all away. You can tell your guests a little about your venue, but don't show too many pictures!

Here is what you should include on your website.

The Venue Address - It is extremely important to remember the address! No one can get there if they don't know where they are going. And sometimes, just the name of the venu is not enough.

Directions - For example, my family is 99% from Maryland, so I made sure I put basic directions from the Baltimore area, and from the DC Area. My fiance's family is 99% from Pittsburgh, so I gave basic instructions from that area. And of course, most of my friend's live in the same town as I do, so I put more detail instructions on how they could get to the venue. Make sure you note that they should plug the address into their own GPS, so they can get more personalized directions.

Timeline - Make sure you also post a basic timeline of how the day is going to go. But at the very least, inclued the start time of the ceremony! (To be honest, I put that my ceremony would start a half hour earlier than I really planned, because I know about 80% of my guests are late people!)

A list of your Wedding Party & Thank yous to family - I think this is super important because these people are dedicating alot of time to be a part of your day, it's very simple and a small gesture to talk about how much you appreciate them through your website. I guess it reall it not required, but it does show a little respect for those who are helping you!

Your Story - This is your wedding. I would want to know a little about who you are as a couple. Especailly for this people who may have not met one of those from the couple! Talk about how you met, how you were proposed to, how long you've been together, how excited you are to marry the person of your dreams! Dig deep, get a little sappy - it's a wedding, it's ok to get mushy!

Pictures! - This one kinda goes with the last one. Again, some of your guests may not know your fiancé, pictures will help give a face to the name. Plus, it's so cute to see pictures of the happy couple!

Your Wedding Registry - There is this ever going debate on how to address your wedding registry. Some say you should only talk about it by word of mouth, others see no issue with sticking it on your wedding invitation. I see this as the best of both worls. If you include your wedding website on your invitation, your guests can naviagte through the pages and find your registry without you really having to mention anything about it. I'll have an article in more detail about how to approach this the classiest way possible.

Things to do - I honestly doubt that any of my guests will really be staying in town long enough to do any local activites, but it's always nice to let your guests now the cool things that are in your area! For example, my home town has a lot of cival war history, so I posted the address, fees, and hours of the museum. Or for the kids, I posted the local go-kart track! This really is not something you have to do, but it's a nice added touch, if you have the time.

Wedding Website Creators

So, now that we have that out of the way, where is the best place to create your wedding website? Not everyone wants to pay for their site's domain name, some are not that creative and just need a lot of guidence in creating. Below, I'll post some of the easiest & free Wedding Website Creators!

1. The Knot

The knot is not just great for wedding websites. It has an amazing monthly checklist, a budgeter, vendor lists for you area, a list of your personal vendors, ideas, guest list manager, and a store to buy wedding accessories! I use The Knot pretty much everyday. It's kinda the greatest thing for planning. Plus, the website creator is really easy, cute, and has a lot of great options! Let me know your experience!

2. Wedding Wire

I have only used this website a little bit, but it is The Knot's biggest competitor. It has alot of the same great resources that The Knot has. And the Wedding Website is very similar to it as well. Very easy site to manage and create.

3. Minted

Again, It's really all the same. I think minted has more of a modern look than the other websites, so it's really just a matter of personal appearance preferences. And although there is almost 200 differnt designs to choose from, they are all the same layout, just differnt color schemes. Still, very easy platform!

Looking to spend a little for a better layout?

Here are a few sites that cost a little bit of money, but you get alot in return!

Wedding Window

With this site, you can add alot of differnt features. It costs anout $15 a month for the basic package. You can also add a custom domain name for $19 a year. They have a mobile friendly platform, a ton of differnt layouts and colors, video capabilties, and more.

2. Riley & Grey

This is pretty much the top of line as far as wedding websites. They have really elegant and professional looking design options, but at $35 a month, this is not for a budget-consious Bride!

There are many more wedding websites out there, please, let me know what sites you like the best!

Need more help or information about how to go about a Wedding Website? Send me an email and I'll help the best I can!

Arli:)

My venue is litterly just the venue. There is no onsite catering, tables & chairs, event planning, or anything else like that! I have to find every single other vendor to use! (Which, being as controlling as I am, I LOVE!) One thing that I have a hard time spending money on, is the dinner supplies. I'm talking Plates, Silveware, Cups, etc. I don't want to use cheap dixie plates from walmart. (Not judging those who used cheap dixie plates from walmart for their wedding.) I want something classy and elegant with out the classy and elegant cost! So, here is what I have found to be the cheapest.

Although I have opted to use real china plates for the reception dinner, I am using plastic cups, cake plates, wine "glasses", and silverware. I can't justify spending thousands of dollars on something people are going to eat and drink out of.

1. Posh Party Supplies

This website has made me so happy. They have EVERYTHING plastic and they look nice! They have the cheapest of the cheap, and also some higher end quiality products that are still cheaper than buying glass.

2. Party City

Party City is a store that I have close to my home. However, anyone can purchase their stuff online! They have a good selection of party supplies. They have wedding specific items, as well as color coded items! (Ex. My wedding colors are Lilac & Gray, so I could go buy some Lilac cups, napkins, and even Candy!)

3. Restraunt Supply

Great place to buy a ton of stuff in Bulk!

Visit my next blog on where you can buy linens, napkins, and table arangments.

Arli:)

One of the hardest things to do when planning a wedding is picking out your personal wedding stationary. This your products that you would use from Invitations, Save the Dates, Rehersal Information, Programs, Menu's. ETC.

Here is a list of my favorite websites for wedding stationary!

1. Invite Shop

I am putting Invite Shop as my #1 favorite stationary website only because this is where I found my invitations! There are EXTREMELY limted wedding invitation options on this website. I litterly only likes my invites, but they were my favorite I had ever seen. Plus, there were insanley cheap! I am purchasing about 200 invites, and it will be under $200! I found it super hard to find any for less than that. (P.S. this cost DOES NOT included rsvp cards or any other stationary needed for invites. However, this does included blank white envelopes. They only added 15 cents per envelope!)

2. Vista Print

I LOVE Vista Print. I have purchsed so many things from there. This is where I purchased my Wedding Save The Date Cards. I was really on the edge for even buying Save the Dates, however, I decied to do it when I found out how to cut costs. Instead of creating a premade traditional "Save the Date" card, I found a cute business card design. I bought 25o cards for $19!! That works out to be about .13 Cents per card. They are small, but if your looking to cut costs, but still want people to know about your wedding, this is a really awesome option. If you are still super set on tradition Save the Dates, VP still has a great selection of those as well. Although, they start out at .52 cents per invite, the cost can add up quickly. Anf Don't forget the cost of envelopes and postage! And VP has amazing options for Formal Wedding Invitations too! They also start out as .52 cents per invite. (P.S. There are ALWAYS coupons for VP. They have great Black Friday sales, and other seasonal sales throughout the rest of the year. I almost never buy from VP without using a coupon!)

3. Minted

Minted is a great option for the Bride who isn't afraid to spend a little money. You can pretty much get exactly what you are looking for, but you are going to pay for that luxery for sure. Some of them are more tha $5.00 per card! (If you are having a large wedding on a budget, like me, buying 250 invites at $5.00 is not an option!!!) Yes, you can get the invites with the pretty edging, foil paper, a metallic finish, and personalized envelopes, but before you know it, you are spending $1,000 on PAPER! This doesn't even inclued the cost of rsvp cards, postage, or any other stationary you need. I would love to have the "perfect" wedding invite, but when it comes down to it, no one is even going to remember what your invite looked like, and most people (Me included) are going to throw your invite away after the wedding is over!! (Unless its your family, or those really sentimental friends.) If you are trying to cut costs, PLEASE dont buyt expensive invites!!

4. Paperless Post

This is the greatest type of invitation source for the Tech Savvy Bride, or the smaller weddings! Paperless Post gives you the option to purchase paper invites, or send out virtual invites for as cheap as FREE! I do not have personal experience with this site, but the concept seems great! I browsed the website for a few moments, and they seem to have a pretty nice selction of invite platforms to choose from. I would love to hear from a bride who has actually used this website!

https://invitations.davidsbridal.com/index.jsp" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">5. David's Bridal

I have heard a ton of people say they have used David's Bridal for their wedding invites, and they love them! They have a nice selection of reasonably priced options for Inivtes, Save the Dates, and other stationary items.

6. Mixbook

Another site with really good options for less than $1 per card! This website is good for more than just stationary too! They create picture albums for a decent price and they come out very nice!

Arli:)

Does anyone have any more ideas for Wedding Invites? I'd love to hear you opinions and personal experiences!

So, first things first

Remember, this is YOUR wedding!

Everything you do in your wedding should be something that you and your fiance love. When it comes down to it, this is YOUR day, and you need to make sure that every moment is about all the things you want. If you don't like tradition weddings, DON'T have one just because a family member thinks it's better.

Yes, I totally understand that it is hard to listen to your families opions, especially when they are the ones paying for most of it. So, you also need to balance out your battles - I'll get to that in a later post. However, if you have your heart set on something, do everything in your power to make it happen. Or, if your family has an idea that you do not like, don't let them push you into anything.

BASICALLY, creating your wedding is about you and you fiance. So do what you love!

Arli:)

11.24.16

Hello! My name is Arlington Rylie (Arli.)

I have decied to create this post to help everyone out there with their wedding planning! I am getting married September 30th of 2017. I don't want to give away all my wedding day details, but since I am doing 99% of this wedding myself, I thought I could share my findings! I plan on posting everything from Vendors, supplies, decorations, and my personal opions on all of those awkward questions that need to be addressed!

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or need help with anything!

Happy Planning!

Arli:)

11.24.16

Firstly, CONGRATS!

Take the time to enjoy being engaged, becuase the time will run out quickly. So seriously, take a breath. Look at your fiancé, and see how lucky you are to have found the person youre going to spend the rest of your life with!

The most popular length of time to be engaged is 9-15 months. Me personally, will be engaged for 14 months once my wedding rolls around. Taking in to consideration how long it will take you to raise the money needed, how far in advanced you need to book vendors, and what season you want to be married in can be a big factor when choosing your wedding date. Honestly, your budget is the biggest hindrance when it comes to how long should you be engaged - I'll explain why later.

Step by Step of being Engaged

1. Decide on your budget. You really can not move forward until you know how much to spend. It seems pretty obvious, but it really could make a differnce in when and where you want to get married.
2. What time of year do you want your wedding? Again, your budget can really determine alot about your wedding. Ever since I was young, I had my heart set on being married in May. ( Not really sure why, I guess I just liked the weather?) My finace asked me to marry him in July, so if i decied on May, I would have 10 months to plan! That seems like the perfect amount of time...except that most vendors book up a year out, and I won't have a whole lot of time to save up money. (Plus, saving for a wedding, paying for school, buying a car, gas, and other bills really add up quickly!) I had to be realistic, I need at least 1 year. But, I will not get married in July! It is way too hot out. So, Finally, we settled on Setember 30th. It is quite far from the date I thought I'd have, but i'm loving it more and more!
3. Pick your Bridal Party. You want to ask the people to be in your wedding as soon as you can. But please, make sure you and your fiance are on the same page with how many and who you want in your wedding! Discuss your parties together before making and anouncments or final selections. 
4. Start making a guest list. Seriously. Do it yesterday. The sooner you can narrow down who you want there, and who you could live without being there, can help you decided on what kind of minimum amount you have to spend. Plus, it takes a while to collect address, write out the invites, and start making table arrangments.
5. Book your Venue! This can be a pretty hard task. You can find out more about how I went about picking my venue on my other blog.
6. Book as many Vendors as possible as soon as possible! If you wait too long to book your major vendors (Venue, Cateror, Photographer, Rentals, DJ, Cake, etc.) you risk losing your top option! So, as soon as you can afford it, book your vendors!
7. Buy your dress! I suggest getting your dress about 1 year in advanced. This gives you time for ordering, (Mine takes 9 months just to get in!) alterations, fittings, and insures your dress is perfect for your day. 
8. Start Buying Decor. The sooner you start buying decor, the more you will end up having. Check consignment shops, thirft shops, sales, and my personal favorite, FACEBOOK. Almost every state has a facebook group where previous brides post their old wedding items for sale 90% of the stuff you get on there is brand new or only used once! I have already saved TONS on awesome decorative pieces.
9. Lastly, Relax. Have fun while planning. Yes, it is stressful. But it is also so much fun. Plus, in the end, you are marrying the person you will spend your life with! Be happy & Enjoy your engagment!