Possible Solution To My Organza Bags

I did some googling after I posted my blog and I think I may have found a solution to my problem of personalizing my organza gift bags. Found this blog:

http://coveredincrafts.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-customize-organza-bags-for.html

This is what the bags look like after they are stamped with the Stazon ink.


Has anyone ever tried this? Advise anyone. I found these letter stamps on Joann Fabrics website

I could find a cursive G and make a monogram with our wedding date and maybe a cute little flowery stamp design that would go with the design on my invitations. I am getting really excited about this craft. I actually can't wait until my bags come in so that I can experiment. Good thing I got more than I need so that I can test this idea out. Like I said if anybody has any other ideas let me know or if you have ever used the Stazon ink on organza bags that would be great too. Save those pennies.

I Need DIY Help

Hey everyone. I hope your summer is going really well. I know I have had a very fun and busy summer. An even mix of studying and fun. My pennies are adding up pretty well.

I made my first official wedding purchase. I saw these bags online that I wanted to use for my candy buffet. So, I  had to weigh my options. I could go with the cheaper bags that would be easy to personalize with a sticker, but they are bigger and I would have to buy more candy since the bags are bigger.

They are paper so not as classy and not really what I was looking for. Plus some of the reviews said when they go them in the mail the colors were different. So I looked at some cloth bags that were really pretty, but a little more expensive.

So this penny pinching bride went onto Amazon.com and found these same organza bags for the same price that the paper bags would have been with shipping fees. I am so happy. I got the prettier ones, I just hope that I like them. That's the downfall of buying stuff online. 

The real reason I am writing this blog is to get some ideas from all the crafty people out there on how to personalize these gift bags. Someone suggested putting a hanging tag on them like on gift bags. I just don't know what kind of materials I could use. What do you guys think would look nice with these bags? Thanks in advance for you suggestions.

My goal is to come under budget and spend about $100.00 on the candy to stock the bar. I know I want Swedish fish and Jolly Ranchers because that's what me and John like, but I will get some filler candy that everybody likes. Gotta go coupon searching so that I can get enough candy. Welp, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Save those pennies.

The Shoes

There have been some questions about what kind of shoes I am going to wear for my wedding. Everyone who knows me, knows that I have a thing for shoes. The higher the heel the better. What would the big day be without some really cute shoes? A lot of people wear the silver shoes that go with the beading on their wedding dress. Um yea, that is not me. I am going to find some really cute blue shoes that will match the wedding party in some sort of way. Definitely not going with the shoes you can dye, because I don't really like the material they are made of.

Anyway...I feel like the shoes are going to have to be super fabulous. If you looked at this blog to find out what my shoes are going to look like, sorry. My dress and my shoes are not going to be seen except on the wedding day. All I will tell you is that they will not cost me a bunch of money. John teases me and says that I shop on the clearance rack, but hey, why not buy them off the clearance rack if I love them? That is how I shop. I don't buy any old thing that they put on the clearance rack. I go to the rack and find something that I absolutely love. If I don't think I will ever wear it, I don't buy it just because its on sale. Trust me, my shoes will be no different. Since my wedding is in the summer, I'm gonna start looking now because this is about the time when stores get rid of all their summer stuff and start putting out fall and winter.

Sale rack, here I come. Enjoy your summer everyone and save those pennies.

My Top Ten Penny Saving Tips in Five Days (5/5)

Whew that was a rush. LOL Blogging for 5 days straight. Here are my last two tips.

9. Stick With What You Like: Although you may experiment with some things to find out what you like, there is nothing more wasteful than to buy a bunch of flowers and find out you absolutely hate them. If you didn't like pink before nine times out of ten you won't like pink for your wedding day. Know what you like and go with it. Your family, although well intentioned, will try to get you to check out other stuff. That's cool if you end up liking some of their suggestions, but if you don't like it, don't buy it. It will save you lots of headaches and lots of money. Especially your dress. If you didn't feel that emotional attachment to your dress when you purchased it, please don't think that it will grow on you. Buy the dress you love. Speaking of dresses, shop during the off seasons. Sales galore.

10. Ask You Family For Help: I know this may seem simple and often times annoying, but really your family wants to help you with stuff. Even if you aren't fortunate to have parents who saved up a ton of money for your wedding day, I'm sure they would be willing to help with something. Don't be all bridezilla and demand that your family take some of the financial responsibility, but see what they are willing and able to do. Hey you may be surprised to find out that Aunt Rosie is a good DJ and she wants to help you out. Or that your Uncle owns a nursery and wants to furnish the whole wedding with flowers from his nursery. Now 9 and 10 go hand in hand because a lot of times, when other people decide to help you out, they want some say in how things go. Just let them know in the nicest way possible that you don't like something and leave it alone. All in all, the more people help, the more money you save.

The point of a wedding is to enjoy the beginning of a new life, not to have tons of debt because of it. I hope this helped you. The great thing is that you can use a lot of these tips to just save money in general. Have a great Saturday everyone. Save those pennies.

My Top Ten Penny Saving Tips in Five Days (4/5)

Hey its day four and its Friday. I hope everyone had a wonderful week and has some fun plans for the weekend. Here are two more saving tips.

7. Beware your invitation cost: This really isn't a savings tip, but a way to make it feel like you are saving. You may think that stamps are cheap, only $.44 each. Multiply that by how every many stamps you are sending out and reply cards you want to get back and if you are doing save the dates, gotta add that as well. Yea stamps can add up. My tip is to start buying some before you actually need them. A book at a time. then you won't have to shell out tons of money all in one day. Also, try using post cards instead of a card in an envelope for RSVP reply cards. It will save you from buying another set of envelopes and post card stamps are only like $.29. That's almost half off (thanks Ray). Also, if you are having somebody else do your invitations, make sure they are the correct size for a $.44 stamp. If you are making them yourself, take a draft to the post office before you finalize and have them weigh it to make sure you are good.

8. Follow the Sales: Lots of people forget about how after the holiday sales can help them for a wedding. Especially things like Christmas, Valentines Day and even Easter. If you are having a Christmas wedding or even your theme has red, green or white in it, the Christmas before you wedding, you should go crazy at the dollar stores or discount stores with all their leftover product. Be picky though. Just because its there doesn't mean you have to take it. If you don't like it, move on to another store. Candy: me personally, I want a candy buffet. I'm gonna hit up the after Valentine's Day sales for all the heart candy I can stuff into a bag. If I can find silver wrapped one's, I will be even more happy. If your colors are pastel, Easter candy could be your thing. Don't forget about all the thank you letters or gifts you will have to give to people. Collect some sale bags at Christmas or Valentines Day. The hearts would be cute for your brides maids and you may find some blank cards or envelopes on sale. Think ahead. You can really benefit on these sales.

Have a wonderful day every. Smile its Friday. Save those pennies.

My Top Ten Penny Saving Tips in Five Days (3/5)

Hey penny savers. I hope everyone is enjoying your week. Mine is going ok. Well here we go tips five and six. Just a reminder these are in my experience some of the best ways to save money on a wedding.

5. Extreme or not so Extreme Couponing: I have to admit. I am cheap. I'm not ashamed of if because I, for the most part, have just about everything I could need and am content. I also have to admit that I am fascinated with people who take the time to clip coupons and save tons of money at the store. I soooo want to be that person. When I get married and have to shop for a family, I am definitely going to start. But, how can you use coupons for wedding stuff? Well, I'm glad you asked. This goes back to your DIY projects. Trust me, your favorite stores will become Michael's and Joann Fabrics. They have tons of great DIY project supplies. Since you will have to buy stuff here anyway, take the time to find some coupons for these stores specifically. If you plan on doing your own invitations, find coupons for the store you are buying your paper from. I google searched "Michael's coupons" and quite a few 50% off ones came up. Be careful though, know the stores' coupon policy, but for the most part this is an easy way to save money on things you already need. I almost forgot about those bridesmaid gifts. A lot of department stores put coupons in the paper. Don't forget to check for coupons before you go shopping for you bridesmaids. Once again, you are already buying stuff, so why not save some money with a coupon.

6. Be Careful When Bundling Services: I know it might seem super great to have everything bundled together in one price. For example reception venue, invitations, or your ceremony site. Now, I am kinda lazy when it comes to this because I really don't want to be bothered with doing everything myself on those last few days. I just want to give them a picture of what I want and go with it. I am not the shining example of this tip, but I know some brides who made it work. If your feel comfortable with finding a reception venue who will let you bring food, decorations, beverages, etc and you know some people or have DIY projects in mind go for it. If you find out their bundled price is more than your individual contacts would give you, don't bundle. Same with invitations. Many companies charge a lot for their time and that can save you money if you would like to spend your time (which is free for the most part). This goes both ways sometimes though. So, that is why I said be careful. You have to do your research. The professionals knows what they are doing too. They have to run a business, so they research how much caterers cost and they can give you a good deal. I think i did pretty good with my reception bundled price. If you are doing everything yourself, remember tip 5 go shopping for supplies armed with coupons. I know one of my friends had a coupon for pop a couple months before her wedding and went during a major holiday weekend when pop was sure to be on sale, took her coupons and stocked up for her reception. It can be done.

Well like I said before, I can go on and on when it comes to saving money. The theme for this post is research, research, research. Find coupons and compare prices. It takes a little time, but if you do a two year engagement you have that time. Enjoy your day and save those pennies.

My Top Ten Penny Saving Tips in Five Days (2/5)

Saving money is actually pretty fun, well at least for me. Its like a challenge to see how much I can actually save. The best part about it is getting great product for the least amount of money. Here are my next two penny saving tips:

3. DIY Projects: If you aren't very crafty, this may not be the best way to save money. But, there are some great ideas out there that are pretty simple. I myself plan on doing quite a few DIY projects. The biggest penny saving project I plan to do is my wedding veil. Youtube has a great video on how to make one and it is really easy. Marthastewart.com/weddings has a lot of great DIY ideas along with templates and other things you need to make them easy. The best part of DIY projects is that you can make your wedding extra special with ideas that are really personalized. Have some fun and experiment. You never know what you will come up with.

4. Search eBay: I am not really an internet shopper, but I think it is worth a shot after looking at some tiaras and other wedding accessories people are selling out there. You can really save a lot of money on these things if you have the time to research and find something you really like on eBay. I just browsed the site a few weeks ago and saw some really cute head pieces for WAY less than you would get in a bridal store. If you have the time to shop around online and get a good deal, go for it. Make sure they are reputable sellers and also make sure you order it with plenty of time to spare before your wedding just in case something happens.

Well, enjoy your day and remember to save those pennies.

Top 10 Penny Saving Tips in Five Days (1/5)

So, its been almost a year to the day since I got engaged. July 16 will be one year. Although I know several people who got engaged after me who will be tying the knot before me, I am happy I am waiting. I have had a couple of people on my blog who came because they googled "wedding on pennies". I hate to disappoint, so I want to give some hard tips on how to save money with all this wedding planning stuff. So here it goes, my top ten penny saving tips in 5 days. For the next 5 days I will put two saving tips on my blog. Enjoy

1. Give yourself plenty of time: I know it can seem like ages away to do a two year engagement, but it gives you time to look for sales, make mistakes and save money. My other tip would be, if you know you want to get married, start saving years before. Stick the money in an account that earns interest and gives a penalty if you withdraw too many times. It will encourage you to keep more money in there and also deter you from dipping into your funds. If you start saving $20/month for five years you will have $1200. That may not sound like a lot, but that is a good head start and its really painless. You spend more than $20 a month eating out. But like I said, if you haven't done that, don't despair. I should have, but I didn't. Save your refund checks, ask family to give you their change (wedding on pennies) and limit your expenses for the next two years. Two years is plenty of time to save up for a nice wedding. If you can wait, spring for two and a half or three years. But that may be a bit much.

2. Start a budget EARLY: One of the best things I learned at my job was making Excel spreadsheets (right Brandy). So when I got engaged, I was really motivated to use my new knowledge to make a spreadsheet for my budget. But, this is the best tip ever. I picked a number that I wanted my whole wedding to be. I started with my knot.com budget maker to get the basic expenses and went from there. Making a budget will help you know what you can and cant afford in each line item. Be realistic here though. You can't budget $10/person for a reception unless you plan on passing out PB&J at your house. Figure out what you really want and go from there. One of my bridesmaids said that I should figure out what I want to really splurge on and design my budget around that. She wanted a really nice cake for her reception, so in order to afford that, she had to save on other things. It also really helped me negotiate payments for one of my vendors. My photographer is a friend who is gifting me her services, but she has to bring one other person so I can get all the shots I want. So, because I had a budget for photography, I could tell her exactly what I could afford to reimburse them for travel, hotel and a monetary gift for their help.

Ok, as you can see I am really passionate about this and I can go on and on about how to save money. I have been a saver since I got an allowance way back. Come back tomorrow for two more tips. To all my bridal friends, supporters, or just those who found me on google, good luck. The first two tips can really be used for anything. Save those pennies everyone. Enjoy.

I Want A Candy Bar

So I have been thinking about what to give out as wedding gifts and a candy bar keeps popping into my mind. I mean I love candy and it can be pretty and if I stock up now, then it can be inexpensive too. This is a sample of what I saw when I googled "wedding candy bar".

 

The first one is very pretty, except for the fact that my favorite candy is red. The second one is more fun and less matchy matchy lol.  Also, if I wanted to go for the penny saving candy bar I can't be too picky. I will need some cute glass containers and some pretty bags for people to fill. Anybody have any other suggestions? Anybody who knows me, knows how much I love candy so this would be perfect. All this candy is making me want to run to the dollar store and get me some candy. Yummy Yum Yum. 

Well I hope you enjoyed your Wednesday. Save those pennies people.