Money Money Money, Must Be Funny, In The Rich Man's World

Well, we've made a good deal of progress, I'd say. We made down payments on the reception venue, we paid for the ceremony/reception transportation for our guests (it's a unique vehicle!), We printed and assembled the invitations (although we still have yet to send them out, but our goal is this week!), and we've been assembling information and ideas on all the other things we need. Such as today, we went to a Bridal Expo at the Broward County Convention Center. Vendors schmoozing, magazines/flyers/biz cards shuffling, and favors, candy, and catering a-gobbling! Ooooh I love getting free stuff! They had a fashion show too, but it wasn't for another hour, and we'd already been by every booth in less than an hour. We were done, and we found out who the leading photographers, videographers, and DJ's were in the area (and their prices and services). Those are the next big things we have to pay for, and I, frankly, am shaken by the costs. Where I plan to cut costs in order to stay within the ever-raising budget?

• Flowers - It's easy to make your own bouquets, bouttenneirs and corsages, and wholesale flowers are much cheaper ($60 for 60 stems of gerbera daisies, $102.50 for 50 stems of Dendrobium Blue Bom at theflowersexchange.com), and you can also save by not using flowers in other decorating.
• Reception Decorations - Using inexpensive elements like Tissue Paper Poms (See Martha Stewart; she might be an ex-con, but she's still a crafting goddess) to hang from the ceiling and be tied to the backs of chairs, tea lights grouped together (pack of 50 6-hour burning tea light candles for $14 at 100candles.com), especially around the base of a vase filled with water and natural sand (free!) and seashells (my boss has a bunch, but there's also $6 bags at Michael's) at the bottom, and floating flowers (floating 4" cream white water lily Lotus flowers, box of 12, $15.48) or more floating candles (1.75" floating candles, white, 20 for $7.99 at save-on-crafts.com).
• Photography - If I had a friend here who is a professional photographer, I'd certainly use them, but since I don't, I can save in other ways. Most photographers seem interested in putting together custom packages for less. We personally don't need the getting ready pictures, so that's one expense that we can do without. In our digital age where almost any store can provide the ability for you to make your own print albums, we could only pay for our pictures to be online or on CD or both (photographer's albums are VERY pricey). That cuts down drastically on the cost of prints (with the exception of those big blown up portraits; those take a lot to do yourself, although I suppose Kinko's would be willing to help even at that for a discounted price. One photographer charges $125+ for a 16x20), and prints are sometimes half the price of the packages. Starter packages here are $1000 - $1600, although one photographer is nice enough to offer a bare-bones starter at $695. Unfortunately, we didn't like their work as much (at the expo today). One photographer did BEAUTIFUL work, but her starter package was $1600 for 4 hours and that didn't even include an album.
• DJ/Music/Entertainment - My cousin is a comedian, and I can assemble my own playlist. But we don't have access to the equipment necessary for our event. As with other vendors, we'll have to go with the customized package. This is the name of the game for our wedding planning. We started doing it with the hotel (reception venue) and customized packaging seems to be continued on to just about everything else. At least it means we're saving!
• Bridal Party Makeup - Wedding makeup can be almost $1000 all on its own. The biggest savings when it comes to hair, makeup, nails, and any and all other pre-wedding beauty regimen comes from doing it beauty school. One local beauty school has the lowest prices in the area: free trial-run, $150 for the bride, and $45/person for everyone else. That's it; no extra, or additional charges. And they do come to our location. Oh, and these are all graduates, no current students. This is REALLY good, considering a local professional makeup artist charges $60 for the trial, $120/bride, $75/person + additional charges, as needed. Another beauty school offers manicures and pedicures for $16 and other hair updoes and such for various can't-beat prices. Personally, I think I might go with my salon for my hairdo: The Hair Cuttery. A normal shampoo and cut is $13. Today I got a shampoo, cut, blowdry and hand straighten for $28. They're pretty amazing.

That's about all I can think of right, right now. I'm always looking for more ways to save money, because weddings are ridiculously expensive!!! Oh, and my mom isn't helping, because she keeps reminding me of more people to invite! This was supposed to be a small and intimate affair! Thanks, Mom! *smile*

On a side note, Mario and I have been really loving each other a lot lately. Haha, that sounds ridiculous; I guess it's more appropriate to say, we've been enjoying each other a lot lately. We can't wait to be Mr. and Mrs. Not for the sake of being married or not feeling lonely or being able to say to people you haven't seen in 10 years "I'm getting married! How's your life these days?" With Valentine's approaching, I have reason to mull over what he means to me:

• I love him because when we see someone hurting, or in need, or that some things just shouldn't be, he feels for others at the same time I feel for them too.
• I love him because of how he makes me happy and alive when I'm not feeling it or expecting it.
• I love him because I know him, and he knows me.
• I love him because he doesn't just tell me it's going to be alright when I'm upset about something. He also plays devil's advocate sometimes. I might be angry or upset when he does it, but deep down, I really need that.
• I love him because he listens.
• I love him because he isn't perfect, even though that's also very frustrating sometimes.
• I love him because he's good to me, and I need that.
• I love him because he's precious, and sweet, and he has a VERY good heart.

The End.