Wedding planning and purchases

Hi everyone!  So I am in the process of planning one of the most important days of my life... my wedding.  It's coming up this June and I am frantic. :) I have not been a bridezilla [I hope] by any means, but I am stressed to the max because of the $$$$. I am sure so many of you that have been through the wedding process or are going through it understand what I mean!

To keep the cost budget friendly, I have turned to different sites and DIY projects.  One site that I have found most helpful is Oriental Trading.  I have always turned to Oriental Trading for my teaching and crafting needs, but for my wedding?  Heck yes!  Last year, my beautiful cousin got married and being her maid of honor, I got a lot of the supplies at Oriental Trading from a card bird cage to special favors to bridal shower decor!

I wanted to give you all a sneak peek into my wedding and what some of my ideas are :) The colors are light pink, gray/silver, and black.  I am getting married in upstate NY where I am from and at the craziest time of year - the end of the school year!  :)

Something my fiance and I discussed with my minister was lighting a unity candle.  We loved the idea and I found these gorgeous unity candle. I love the personalization and the fact that Mike and I will be able to keep this forever.

Place cards! Perfectly simple, silver, and ready to be written on!  Instead of doing anything too fancy, I decided to be cost effective and "hire" a friend who writes in beautiful calligraphy for my guest names and table numbers.  50 cards for only $3.99!

Dessert?! Cake?! Who doesn't love cake... this is one of the best parts of getting married - cake tasting ;) And I had been thinking so much about a cake topper... should I put my dog on the top too?  Should I have Mike and my names?  A bride and groom silhouette? Hmmm...

The cake topper I decided on was simple and elegant.  I surprised myself because I was thinking cake toppers had to be elaborate and I have seen some pretty luxurious ones.  However, I went with a personalized cake topper where the glass shines just right. 

Hmmm... favors.  This was a toughie.  Being me and loving food/goodies, I am going with... a candy bar!  I am so excited.  I bought gorgeous glass vases on a Facebook wedding site with all of the scoops and supplies.  (I will pick out the yummy candy when we get closer to the wedding!)  

After getting the vases and glassware, I checked Etsy, Amazon, and eBay for personalized wedding treat bags.  I came across this pin on Pinterest, and they were beautiful.

 But with having a more cost effective wedding, I realized I could get plain bags and boxes for guests to fill with treats, and place stickers on them to make them a little "sweeter" (ha, see what I did there?) :) These thank you stickers are only $2.49 for ONE HUNDRED.  Say whaaaat?  Some of the prices for personalized treat bags were $2.49 for 5 bags or stickers!  I know these are not specifically personalized with my name on it, but I didn't think it was needed.  

Planning a wedding is about discovering what is really important to you, and what you can budget and live without.  I can live without those cute bags :)
If personalization is something you cannot live without, check out these cute options from Oriental Trading!

Centerpieces.  I saw this bling from Oriental Trading and I had to have it.  Such beautiful crystals (or "ice" as they call it) and very good quality.  I am going to be filling my vases with a touch of this ice and placing light pink roses in the vases with water.  

 Since I am not buying the fresh flowers ahead of time, I bought some fake flowers to get the effect of what it will look like.  I will also be placing round mirrors below the vases and votive candles around the vase.  I can't wait to see what it comes out like...and I can't wait to show you pictures ;) 

There's more to come with my wedding journey and planning, but I feel relieved to be on the right track with these great products.  Let me know what you think in the comments section below xo

Disclaimer: Oriental Trading sent me products in exchange for a blog post, but all opinions in this post are mine.

Joy Cowley Contest

Hi everyone! Happy Snow Day to me today.

I wanted to let you know that there is still time to enter Joy Cowley's contest! The Joy Cowley Classroom Giveaway by Hameray Publishing is here! One lucky classroom will win an entire set of Joy Cowley Collection leveled readers (60 books), Joy Cowley Early Birds lower-leveled readers (45 books), all of her newest big books (34 big books), a set of finger puppets, and more!

These books pull in even the most reluctant readers with their humor and whimsy. Your students will clamor to keep reading about their new friends: Mrs. Wishy-Washy, Hungry Giant, the Meanies, and more. Recurring characters make them reach for the next book, and playful storylines lead them to finish it. All books in this package are written at guided reading levels C–I. Read more about the books included here.

This contest is closing February 28, so enter now! Winners will be announced March 1.  ENTER HERE! :) Good luck!