Trying to get back on track

DivineWillowMama · March 2010

Okay, so wedding stuff has been sorta on the back burner for a couple months. Ever since we decided to post-pone the wedding I have been trying to get a few other things taken care of. I have been avoiding getting new glasses for ten years. That's a really long time! I now have a new pair of glasses, and my eyes are adjusting to them slowly. They cost us about $145, but it was well worth it. I also need to save up money for my son to fly out to Washington to see us, so we're saving money for that. I also still owe about $400 on my wedding gown. This week we are planning on making a $100 payment on it. We have a huge garden project that we are slowly collecting supplies for, but the list seems to grow and grow! As long as my plants grow and grow I'll be happy.

So now I am starting to make my "wedding" lists again. I have been rethinking my flowers, and a few other details. I have thought about putting our wedding cake on my bridal shower list. I figured that people in our family really want to help, and that would be the perfect gift! I wouldn't have to worry about that cost at all. My photographer still hasn't called me back since I left a message for her telling her the wedding was post-poned. She's a family friend and she lives really close by so I think I need to just call her again or stop by her house.

I have been kinda bummed about having to post-pone the wedding, but my sweet fiance' keeps reassuring me that everything will come together in time. The big problem is money, and debt. We had our income tax return taken by a collection agency because of my fiance's student loans. I was absolutely heartbroken, and he knows it. So now I'm trying to figure everything out all over again, and trying to figure out a way to not have that happen next year.

I'm just going to think positively, and keep plugging along with planning, but also be prepared for anything that may arise. I want to do some sort of DIY project, but I don't know which one to do. Does anyone else ever have this stuck feeling?

I think I need to just go get a few craft supplies and make something....

moomers44 · April 2010

I have been planning my wedding for about 14 months now and most of my ideas, and my decor have come from two places: Michael's and Martha Stewart's Halloween page on her website. Recently, I purchased my centerpieces at Michaels (I bought these decorative birdcages and tricycles that I am going to spray paint black) and they were on clearance for $8 a piece. I bought a total of 15, so I paid $120 for my centerpieces. Of course I will add some flowers, but they will be bought on wholesale. I also bought my invitations at Michaels, and that only cost me $75 for 150 of them. The key for me so far, is to spread out my expenses.....I buy a little here and there. Also, I have been fortunate enough to gather my girlfriends and complete DIY projects.

brit_bell90 · April 2010

I know how you feel with the money situation, we have a lot of debt too, and I'm currently a student so that doesn't help. I only make $75 a week working at an elementary school and that money is just going towards a summer class I need to take to get my associates degree on time. So we're pretty much living on one income and we don't have any extra money for wedding expenses.

We're trying to get some deposits out of the way, first we're going to try to get the photographers we want, then we'll focus on the dress, and go from there.

I feel like the wedding has been on the backburner for a very long time, but we don't have any extra money to really do anything. We're getting really little things doen here and there, we bought the arch for the ceremony (on clearance yay!) and he just ordered all of the parts he needs to build the centerpieces, which surprisingly only cost $100 and they're going to be awesome.

I think we're on the right track, it might not be the only things on our mind, but occasionnally we'll discuss ideas or figure out little details, but we have over a year so I think we'll be ok.

So I guess we're in kind of the same situation, everything will turn out perfect in the end for both of us I'm sure!

DivineWillowMama · April 2010

moomers - Michael's and Martha Stewart Halloween stuff is awesome! I would love to hear more about, and maybe see some of your great finds! I'm intrigued! I have to travel about an hour and a half to get to Michael's, so I don't get there much. We live really close to a Joann's so I am kinda stuck with that. Martha on the other hand, is actually one of my most inspiring heroes....the woman is amazing!

I have bought a lot of things for the wedding already, but they're just little things. I ended up putting a lot of them in storage bins to keep them nice and safe. My fiance' paints in a room in his Dad's garage (remember we live with his parents) , but it's really full of crap that has just collected there. I have some wedding stuff in there, too. We are thinking about cleaning out most of the stuff, and making it nicer for him to paint in, and I would get a corner to play around with branch decorations, and to pull out stuff from the storage bins and play with them. I have some really beautiful things already. I'm so glad we already got our sandalwood fan favors. We got 100 of them from theknot, and they are soooo pretty. I'm thinking since I just changed my colors a bit (you heard right!!!!!) I might try to find some dark purple/plum colored ribbon to put on them. That would be a step in the right direction. Just tonight I pulled a vase out of the "art" room and I put it on my desk/craft table in my bedroom. So now I can play around with some more ideas for decorations and centerpieces.

What I would really like to do is order my shoes and some little jewelry things that I have had my eye on. That would really push me in the right direction. First and most important thing though is a dress payment. We are seriously spending a lot of money on the garden this year, but it's going to be truly beautiful and magical.

Getting a top hat for my fiance' would be great, too. The groomsmen said they don't mind buying their top hats, so we're going to get one for Chris first, and then in the future have them order theirs.

I haven't seen my gown (well, actually it's just the sample size that's one size too big) since the beginning of February. Maybe going in to make a payment will give me a little more hope and strength to just keep plugging along slowly. The shop has already ordered my size, but it could be months before it arrives.

I'm in this thing with you brit_bell!!!! I am just going to do things one thing at a time...

In the meantime, I have some things I'd like to take pictures of and post to keep the flow going.

moomers44 · April 2010

See...you already have so much completed! The biggest hurdle is the vision and you already have that. Things will come together in no time; remember, buy things in baby steps. Joanne's is another place to find great buys. Make sure that you are signed up for their mailing list, so that you can receive their 40% and 50% off coupons. For me, the biggest money savor so far, is not having an array of flowers. My decor is more about candles, branches, iron work, and fake crows. For example, I previously mentioned that I have two center pieces, one being a decorative bird cage. With this bird cage, I am going to spray paint it black, and on the inside, I am going to add moss and eggs that have been dyed orange, black, eggplant and olive green (my colors). Simple and cheap, plus I can do it all myself.

I will try to get some pictures on here soon.....but for now, continue to think out of the box and you will get there

sagewolf · April 2010

I can appreciate everyone's hardships and how important even the littlest step in the right direction can be. I won't be getting my tax refund either...on the up side though I found a great dress we are still planning a tiny ceremony with my folks and his family which will make 4 people. Because of this there are alot less things I will have to worry about yet I will get the 2 things I really wanted to be married on the water and have real flowers. When life gives you lemons make lemonaide (then add a shot of vodka my favorite.)

cellarius · April 2010

aw oh no! i'm so sorry your tax return was taken i'd be so upset! we just did ours yesterday & since we had our baby last yr we have a decent amount so we can at least go get my ring now! finally lol i haven't been on here in a few weeks & wedding planning hasn't been top on the list for a while 'cause we've been really busy & out of town but i'm getting back to it now.

& i love diy so i really want to diy most of it! everything i can that's realistic lol so i'm glad we have time!! so much less stress & easier than if we had to rush. so jus try to think of it that way instead of being disappointed! i think having a nice space cleared out just for wedding stuff & diy projects is a great idea! i love having stuff like that where i can just go back to where i was as soon as i feel like it cause i get so much more done when i'm actually in the mood. i wish we had the room here but i'm using the room in my mom's house across the st. for my projects.

i was wondering where are you getting your moss and how much are you getting for how much space? i really want quite a bit but idk how much goes how far..

sagewolf · April 2010

Money coming in now that's a change! I got the mail yesterday and was surprized by a check from a vehicle I'm selling that made for a great surprize. I agree with willow on getting supplies to get some of my DIY projects done it would make me feel like I'm getting somewhere and not just drooling on pictures. Right now it's all in limbo and I'm afraid it all going to end up being last minute.

Trying to get back on track

Re: Trying to get back on track

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