The wedding went as flawlessly as a perfectly hemmed pair of too-long jeans!
Bulleted points of interest and reflection:
*The photo booth (for as many hours as I wanted, as many props as needed, and as many pictures as I could sit for) was simply FAB. Entertained both adults and kiddos alike - for HOURS. Also, the photobooth-people sent the CD of pics to me 3 days after the wedding with 3 folders of different styles of pictures people took. Highly recommended in my book, they are!
*EASY clean up due to not having decorations in the church (simple is more!)
*Yes, people look down on potlucks - but in the area where I live, it is acceptable..and we had more than enough food (all with food safety precautions taken into account as well) and a friend to BBQed carne asada, chicken, and burgers to our stomachs' delight.
*Pink and orange? A HIT. For this summer soiree, these colors certainly showcased my personality.
*Cake - can't go wrong with a Hello Kitty topper and matching cake cutting set! Costco cakes as supplemental sweets also added my "flair" to the occasion.
*Wedding favors: cookie cutters (from amazon.com - 101 for $14! Plastic, multi colored, and in a variety of shapes with a tag reading "We're 'cut out' for each other" = YAY!) and wedding CDs with love songs from a variety of musical genres
*Photographer - a student who JUST graduated from the high school in which I work - she's going into college with a photography scholarship and I snagged her months ago, b/c I've been tracking her work since she was a freshman. She wanted to click away for free - I paid her (and spent less than half of what I would have paid someone who had an established business in the surrounding areas!) - my pictures came back within two weeks with her and BOY HOWDY - she's AMAZING!
*Bridesmaids in their "pick your own color/style dress" looked GREAT! No one looked out of place and surprise! Everyone's dresses had pockets!
Table toppers/centerpieces: $100 - IKEA had the picture frames (white!), pink glass candle holders and pink rocks and pink tea light candles - for $70 total and the remaining $30 went toward the pink/orange tulle from JoAnn's fabrics, photo printing at Costco, and Dollar Tree tablecloths
Recap of costs?
Photobooth: $500
Dress/petticoat/veil/tiara: $375
Flowers: $200
Hair: $50
Photographer: $250
Food: $100 (meat for BBQ) + $100 (cookies/drinks/S'mores stuff)
Cake: $90 (2-tier fun orange/pink) + $36 (Costco cakes)
Decorations for reception: $150 (I went a little crazy
)
Invitations: $15 (sent out 200 - only paid for the cardstock!)
BM gifts: $50-$75 each (these girls are so close to me)
Groomsmen's gifts: $20 ($5 Nike "Just Do It" shirts - to go with the honeymoon theme
)
Makeup: FREE (did my own...I love you, Sephora)
Shoes: $10 (flip flops - Payless)
Accesories: $6 Hello Kitty ring for my toes, $6 Macy's earrings
Music: Free - love songs for 10 hours worth of play downloaded onto iPod (pink!)
Slideshow: Free - friend/colleague put it together for my husband and I - yay for our pasts which brought us together!
Wedding favors: $30 (cookie cutters) + $80 (CDs - special CDs to burn images ONTO the CD - crazy DJ husband of mine knows all those things)
Table rentals: $150 (90 chairs, 8 round tables, someone picked up/delivered for us)
Port-A-Potty rental: $95 (reception was held in colleague's country backyard)
Thank you gift cards to people who helped us out BIG time: $400
I can't think of anything else at the top of my head - and pictures will come soon - but my, oh my! I can't believe it's finished and how smoothly it went! GREAT time! Would totally do it over again!