No Money to Get Married...

Lots of times I'll meet women who are engaged...but are still in waiting.

By "in waiting" I mean, they don't have the money to get married. It's a tricky thing. You're in love, you desperately want to get married, but you don't have the money to make it happen.

You might think since I'm a wedding planner, I always have clients who have plenty of money to throw together a fancy wedding...you couldn't be more wrong.

Most of my clients are trying to do things economically...and some really have to be creative to find ways to pull together their weddings on little to nothing.

Is this ringing a bell? (no pun intended!)

There are lots of ways to save when you are planning your wedding.

One thing I love about working with clients is that you have to get real. I'm a real kind of girl...I love being able to encourage the fun details and pull out ideas that will represent my couples, but I also challenge my clients to stay within the parameters of their budget...which is where creativity comes in!

Over the next couple posts, I'm excited to share with you a few real weddings that have been beautiful, simple, and affordable! There are still ways to hear those wedding bells ring...even when you have little budget to work with!

(The After) Birthday Brunch

Turning 30 may not always feel like something to look forward to. It brings with it the feelings of losing youthfulness, becoming more "mature", and truly being an adult. However, even though the world and culture around us tells us to fight our age... to "defy" age, there's nothing like embracing the milestone with a good ol' party.

When Alisa and I first met and talked about her vision, I was thrilled to see all the creative ideas she had. I knew that this party would be one that I would absolutely love to design. What's not to love about food on sticks and flowers in tea cups?

As any event I design, I have a plan of how I want everything to look beforehand, but pulling it all together and seeing it come together, is always my favorite part.

This is a list of the must haves...something I always like to have when I'm planning.

This is how it all came together...

It was so much fun, and everything turned out fabulous! And with all the details taken care of, Alisa could truly, "keep calm and turn 30."

Linking up with In the Studio.

Before and After 30th Birthday

My friend Alisa is turning 30. The big 3-0. And no way in the world, she wants to ruin her party by being the one in charge. She just wants to have fun at her party...a girl after my own heart.

So, our sweet friend has hired me to do what I do, so that Alisa can love every minute of her amazing party.

First, let me say, Pinterest is my friend. It allows conversations with clients to go like this:

Me: So what are you thinking about for your party? Any ideas yet?

Alisa: Have you seen my pinterest board for my party?

And, voila, I have a spring board, and they have a plan. It's a beautiful thing. Of course, we still have meetings to hash out the details, but that's where we start.

I thought it might be fun to do a before and after series with this party...so now you have the before. Come back Monday to see the after! I can't wait to show all the fun details we got to put in on this party!

Linking up with Jen's Sneak Peek today!

The Simple Trip

Over the holidays, we took a little roadtrip.

Except it wasn't little...one bit. We drove approximately (or exactly)...

When my big sister and her kids moved down to Baton Rouge, I knew it was far...but I don't think I realized HOW far it really was. It's a long way down, y'all...and I'm already down South! (not to folks down there...I was called a "Northerner" at least once...you know because North Carolina has the word "North" in it, apparently that makes me a Yankee...heehee.)

After researching flying prices, and train travel, I realized that we would have to drive it. I was less than thrilled. All I thought of was fighting, feeling irritated, and grumpiness that might consume our two day venture down there. But then, I started to remember.

When I was a little girl, my family took lots of road trips. We had no DVD players, no iPads, no mp3 players...am I sounding ancient? You might remember a time such as that. Anyway, we lived in California when I was young, and we would drive from San Diego to Virginia, and back, a couple times a year. Then, we moved to North Carolina, and we would go back to visit Californina, by way of road trip. Or other fun places like the time we drove from North Carolina to Montana. I loved our road trips. Yes, my sister and I would often have squabbles, or be scolded, but those trips were some of our best family memories.

We knew for our own safety and sanity, we'd have to break it into two days. We planned our trip by having lots of car activities. As we traveled I thought how unusual it was to have unplugged life for a little while. How wholesome it felt to just have an old school road trip.

So, I started to make a list. A simple list of all the things that we had with us, or the kids did to stay entertained for 20+ hours in the car. I thought if any of you have big trips coming up, it might feel encouraging to know that it can be done...and actually is pretty fun. Instead of dreading it, know that it can become a fun way to spend quality time with your family.

the excitement of little things (like our pit stops) became pretty funny

So, here's the trip list. It's kid friendly and budget friendly.

1. Snack Bags. Pack kids their own snack bags filled with lots of options. You have no idea how much time and money this saved. I got a lot of individually wrapped things (granola bars, pretzels, goldfish, raisins, etc.) so that they could each help themselves as they needed. Include a water bottle for each kid - NOT juice boxes - unless you want to add about 500 pit stops to let them use the potty.

2. Spiral Notebooks. I got the cheap kind from Target. Grabbed some of our many many crayons, colored pencils, and markers and put a bundle in each kids bag. They could draw, play games with each other, write down things we saw, etc. Options of a fresh notebook are endless.

3. Activity / Sticker Books. Our sweet neighbor gave the kids these as a present right before we headed out of town...God bless her! They helped a lot.

4. Duck Tape. I mean, who knew!?! We had a blast making bows, rings, key chains, and just ripping it into smaller pieces. It did help that it was hot pink.

5. Bop It. Ok, if you're one of those who can't stand the noisy toys, this might not be fun for you. BUT, I will say, it made my kids just laugh until their sides hurt. They would put it on "quiet" mode, and pass it back and forth...sometimes with a parent in the rotation, sometimes just the two of them. But, it was a fun way to have a little game, but still not anything with lots of pieces to fall everywhere.

6. License Plate Game. We did the old school license plate game, where you try to find all 50 states. We came up a few shy, but still loved looking and finding ones we could.

7. Lacing Game. A while back we were given lacing cards, and the kids had so much fun for a while working on those. Then, they were silly and put them up in front of their faces. Apparently, I thought it was pretty funny, too.

8. Twenty Questions. Kids loved playing this with us.

9. Books, books, and more books. Kids each had a ton of books in their individual bags, but our favorite was reading aloud Andrew Peterson's On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. A tip for the books, though, let the kids pack paperbacks if possible...they can fit more in, and it's not as heavy.

10. Be Silly. This was definitely the best part. The kids laughed so much together on this trip. They made up characters with ultimate silly names, and then would make up the voices and story lines to go along with them. It was so cute hearing them cackle in the backseat.

Any great road trip memories to share? I'd love to hear!

epiphany mine

They came in early, their faces only lit by the one small candle in the cupcake. As I woke, I treasured their excitement to celebrate.

I read my homemade cards and reveled at their sincere heart of love.

The boy explained his "mistake" of letter,

while Daddy reassured him it was wonderful.

The girl's eyes could barely hold the sparkle they shone with

as she watched me open her gift.

What treasures I unwrap daily, but on this day,

this early morning of Epiphany, they somehow feel more special.

Oh, the gifts that have been bestowed on me.

The day went on, and as friends posted words of celebration, and others spoke words of truth and encouragement, I can barely contain the love and gratitude in my heart.

Thank you for celebrating me. Thank you for your love.

Thank you for the gift it is to be a part of your life.

A Twist on a Tradition

Last year, we had a super fun and very girlie Christmas Tea Party for the girls in my daughter's class. This year, we continued the tradition, but tweaked it just a bit! Since the drink of choice last year was the homemade cocoa, we decided instead of a Christmas "tea" party, we would make it into a...

Christmas Cocoa Party!

(How cute is that...if I do say so myself.)

The great thing about this party, is that it could be a Valentine's party, a winter themed birthday party, for either girl or boy, or just fun playdate for the colder months. Who doesn't love a good cup of cocoa?!

menu:

We knew that we would have some of our favorite goodies, and then some additional Christmas cookies to make it more...well, Christmas-y. We simplified beverages, and had one hot and one cold choice...our homemade hot cocoa, and fruit infused water. The girls had a blast fixing their little dainty plates and definitely came back for seconds...and thirds!

activities:

1. craft time

Last year, the girls loved the craft time, so I wanted to continue that tradition to this year's party. Because I had no idea what I was going to do up until the day of the party (truly), I figured I needed to use something I had on hand...something that was easy...and something that would be fun for them to use again. So I decided that their craft would be mini Christmas garlands!

my little sister being "in charge" :)

It was so cute. They each picked out their own little ribbons and scraps, and loved making them. The mini garlands ended up being about 1/4 of the original garland size, so perfect for their bedroom door, hanging on their bed, or just a little flair for somewhere in their room or home. And, you know me, I love any activity that can double as a favor!

2. toy exchange

My daughter has loved playing the gag gift game every year with our family. She's old enough now to get it, and loves how funny and random it can be...plus the part about opening a present is pretty fun, too. So, this year, she asked if we could play the gag gift game at this party. I thought it would be fun if the girls used one of their own toys (gently used and ready to move on!) as a gift. It was so much fun. The girls got to each take home a "new" toy, without spending a dime. They loved the surprise of opening up a gift to take home! A second little take home goodie.

picture credit: http://realmomkitchen.com/654/classic-hot-cocoa-and-a-hot-cocoa-bar/

3. storytime

After all the goodies and festivities, I like to gather all the girls together to read a Christmas story. It's a great way to share what we believe Christmas is all about with her friends. The girls always love sitting around and hearing a new (or familiar) story.

I think my favorite thing about this party, is that throughout the year, the girls will remember things about the party, and will ask things like, "Are you going to have us over for..." or, "Remember those little white cookies you made?! Can we have those again!"

To know that there are sweet little girls that get as excited about parties as I do, is a joy. I'm so glad my daughter and I can partner together on fun ideas for gathering people together to celebrate life.

my stepmom and i being silly hostesses!

Valentine's Adaption:

menu: Valentine candy, heart shaped cookies, fruit, cheese cut out with heart cookie cutters, hot cocoa, and fruit infused water

activities: Making Valentine's for people with scrapbook paper; mini garland using mainly pink, red, and white; Valentine day story

Best of 2011

Happy New Year! I can't believe that we're already in 2012. I thought it might be fun to revisit some of my favorite posts from this past year. You may have already seen these, but just in case you missed them, here were some of my favorites!

The Best Surprise

Oh the Party You'll Throw!

Adding to the Beauty

If You Give Melissa a Minute

Unexpected Fairy Tale

Sweetest Sip N See

Book Party at the Nester's

The Way of a Wedding

Loveliness

Philosophy of Celebration

Grate{full}

It truly is remarkable to see how this business has grown, how I've been blessed because of it, and how much has happened even in just a year. I love being able to celebrate with you!