Crazy Bride Spreadsheet

I found a budget spreadsheet through Indiebride that makes me look like a poseur. It has a tracking sheet for how much you need to save, accounting for how much you started with and how many months you have left to save, with formulas calculating the total with each deposit or payment entry. That's just the first tab.

The second tab has the wedding budget, with every line item accounted for (I had forgotten all about postage!). There's an "estimated" column and and "actual" column and a "money spent to date" column and all sorts of other columns.

The next tab is for misc. ideas, as far as I can tell.

Then there's the tab to keep track of vendor contact info.

After that are the guest list tabs, the seating chart tab, the floorplan tab (yes, she really created a floorplan using Excel, here's a screen capture below), the to-do list tab, the legal changes tab, the flowers tab, and the gift tracker tab.



Why do all that work to come up with some lame-ass spreadsheet when some detail-oriented bride has already done the work for me? I showed it to Mr. T last night and said, "you thought I was crazy..."

Last night I was reworking our budget in the beautiful new spreadsheet and reluctantly came to the conclusion that we need to increase it, at least until we book a venue and get more accurate costs for things. For example, I have no idea what to budget for alcohol. We were thinking of serving just beer, wine, and champagne, but Mr. T's coworker suggested having a cash bar for other types of alcohol. Has anyone been to a wedding with a cash bar? Did you think it was tacky? This way I could have them make a signature drink for the evening, like a pumpkin martini. Otherwise there's no way we can pony up for hard alcohol--we know how you all like to drink! ;-)

I did a funny thing with the postage, where I was calculating it without putting in the decimal point, so I ended up with like $3600 for postage. I was having a mini heart attack until Mr. T figured out my mistake. I know it's hard to believe, but I took (and passed) college-level Calculus! Well, it's been awhile since then, apparently!

More Ring Porn

We found the ring!



I'm just kidding. This is NOT my ring. I was browsing through M.S. Rau Antiques' site, and they have some crazy antique jewelry. This one is a 15.73-carat sapphire. Yes, FIFTEEN. I don't think I could lift my hand while I wore it.

Also, I sorta liked this one, although it goes against everything I said I didn't care for: diamond, gold, etc. But...it's a pink diamond. And it's rose gold. Regardless, there's no way I'm owning it, because on a site that unabashedly advertises $150K rings, this one is "Price upon request." Actually, so was the sapphire.



I don't know when we'll really look for the ring. In a few months, I think. I'm considering having it made by a friend of a friend if we can't find just the right thing.

Red Dress Redux

I'm reconsidering the whole train idea, partially because I can't imagine that all those yards of fabric will be affordable, and partially thanks to Candy Anthony, who is responsible for this sweet little number:



I think it's called "ballerina length"? Anyway, it feels retro and quirky and sweet. I like the idea of wearing crinoline underneath. Also, I could dance in it, which is a plus. I'll have to ask my dressmaker what she thinks will look good on my figure. I can see that this might be flattering for my waist, but might make me look bigger otherwise. Or, it might be fine, I dunno (this is why I'm not on Project Runway...).

Wedding Costs ad nauseum

I apologize in advance for this, but this blog will probably focus on costs as much as it does the fun of creating an awesome Halloween wedding party or the excitement of finally getting married to my best friend/sweetie of 10+ years.

I was telling one of my book club girls last night about how I'd had very grand ideas about our wedding until I actually sat down with a spreadsheet and started pricing vendors online.

And then, to cement that thought, on Weddingbee I found a link to a wedding cost calculator, where you enter your zip code and it tells you the cost of the average wedding in your area. Now, I don't know where they get these figures from, but supposedly the average cost of a wedding in our town is $31,390! That's crazy! I thought $20K was ridiculous!

Mr. T's coworker is getting married this Fall, and his budget is $5K less than ours. I told Mr. T, "I want to see that budget." How on earth did they manage? I know that my dress is a little over the top for a budget wedding, but it's my dream dress and I feel quite attached to it already. Also, I imagine that Mr. T's coworker didn't put the rehearsal dinner in his budget, which I did. I have no idea where we're going for that, but that's a subject for another post.

Wedding 'Do

About 10 months ago I had my hairstylist cut off 12-13 inches of hair, and I donated it to Locks of Love. I don't regret that decision, but once I realized that shorter hair = blowdrying it into some semblance of a style every day = my hair getting fried, I remembered why I grew my hair out in the first place.

I'm in the process of growing my hair out again. It's just below my shoulders now. It doesn't grow very fast, though, so I'm not sure how long it will be by 10/31/09. I would love an updo, though--so glamourous, and something I can never quite manage myself without arm fatigue, copious amounts of swearing, and 1 billion bobby pins...and then it only stays up for a bit before it falls again. So I'd like to have a pro give me an updo for my wedding.

I've been googling updo styles. The classic is of course the Breakfast at Tiffany's 'do, which I love:



I found one on the Knot that claims to be an "Audrey updo," but it looks simpler and not as beautiful:



This one is similar, but I like it more. I also like the tiara, but we'll get to that...


This one looks crazy big! It's hard to tell if it looks cool and dramatic or just ridiculous, since she's got her head bowed:



This style is sweet and soft yet still elegant. However, since it's me, I imagine it would start falling in about 15 minutes (unless I want to shellac my head).


This french twist is really sweet and I COVET her hair color. Really, why have I never dyed my hair pink? I've had purple, blue, red ("natural" red and manic panic red), brown, black, blond...I can't imagine why I skipped pink.



I don't think I'm going to wear a veil. I'd consider a half/mini net veil, though. This one is really cute:


More likely, though, I will have flowers in my hair. These are lovely (this is the bride and groom from that Day of the Dead wedding with the zebra Elvis cake):


Here's the back of that style, it is so intricate (and again, pink!):



I love feathers too, so some sort of feather/flower accessory could be cool, like this one:



I've also been pondering the tiara issue. Obviously the Breakfast at Tiffany's hairstyle cries out for a tiara. I think I'd want one with red stones, though, to match the dress. I found this one, but it's $180:




And then I found this one for $40, but of course I don't like it as much:



Every woman deserves to feel like a princess on her wedding day, don't you think?

Venue #1!

So, Mr. T, the MOH and I are going to tour the first venue on our list on 3/29! It's official. I'm excited to get rolling.

I figure we'll see three of our top choices and then evaluate if we'd like to keep looking. I have four thick folders of venue choices, separated by geographical region. Mr. T looked at me sorting the pages and pages of venue printouts into folders and said, "I'm so not worried about our wedding."

I called another venue--their website says they have open house on Tuesdays from 1-8 pm, or you can call to make an appointment to see it another time. I called (since Mr. T typically just gets home from work at 8 pm!) and the guy told me, "no, you have to come during the open house." Um, so why does the website say you can make an appointment???!!! I have a feeling this is going to be one of many frustrations in this arena. Venues seem to have a lot of rules.

Ah, well, hoping for the best and trying to keep a positive attitude...we have a long ways to go!

Ze Cake

One thing I am absolutely looking forward to is cake tasting. Mmmmcake.

Mr. T and I enjoy watching Ace of Cakes every week. Duff is lovable and funny and the cakes are crazy (I loved the Harry Potter/Hogwarts cake they did this season!). I don't think we could afford Duff, but obviously you could do really fun things with a Halloween-themed cake, such as:





How awesome is this cake (thanks Offbeat Bride!)? Zebra stripes, sugar skulls, and Elvis! Check out the rest of this couple's wedding pix on Flickr (mmmcheetah shrug).



The above cake was apparently the BPAL founders' wedding cake. I just love their perfume oils (I have been wearing Snake Oil every day since I got it!) and I also enjoy the goth descriptions of the perfume oils. I could get lost on their website.

However, as tempting as it is to create a decadent Halloween multi-tiered cake, I think we've decided to go with cupcakes, for a couple of reasons:

1. More flavors! You could have 2 or 3 flavor options available. Yes, you could theoretically have each tier of your cake a different flavor, but that leads me to reason 2:

2. Cheaper! Cakes run $4-6 a slice (or more), and the venue typically charges a cake-cutting fee on top of that, whereas cupcakes are $2.50-$3.50 each (no cake cutting necessary). They are also really a no muss, no fuss dessert. You eat them with your hands, they're fun, they're portable...mmmm cupcakes. I'm a fan. I was thinking Devil's Food and a pumpkin/spice flavor. Mr. T likes lemon. I'm not sure if we're doing two or three flavors yet. I have been looking into cupcakeries and I've found:

1. Love at First Bite (you have to pay for your tasting, though! How gauche. Also, their prices are higher than other places, in general)

2.Teacakes

3. American Cupcake (their website is hilarious--the tagline is "the donut is very scared".) They have "puffy" frosting:


4. Delessio (a deli, but they make cupcakes)

5. That Takes the Cake

6. La Farine (it's not on their menu, but someone said they make cupcakes. I adore their regular cakes)

7. Crixa Cupcakes

8. Whiskie Bits (exotic flavors; on the expensive side, though)

9. Kara's Cupcakes (I've actually had one of these before, and they are yummy. These are on the expensive side, though. They seem to be nickel-and-diming folks for every design choice.)

10. Sharlene's Babycakes (Their website is not very detailed, but I do like the tagline, "A Little Bit O Naughty to Make You Feel Nice.")


11. Sibby's Cupcakery, creator of these lovelies:


12. Debbie Does Cakes (the name is um, an odd choice, but her prices are the lowest I've seen, $2 each for basic cupcakes. If we stayed basic. However, due to her "busy schedule" she won't do tastings for cakes that serve fewer than 150 guests. Hmph. Of course, I bet if she's that busy, her cakes are that good.)

13.Noe Valley Bakery, creator of these adorable cupcakes, complete with individual toppers! Plus, their prices seem good, about $2.25 each:


A friend recommended that I just say that the cupcakes are for a Halloween party, so I don't get gouged on the special wedding rate ripoff prices. I might do that. Mr. T asked me, "Won't you miss doing the whole cake-cutting thing, where we feed each other?" I told him we could cut a cupcake in half and do it that way. I'm not worried about it.

I am wondering about cake toppers, though. We could try to do toppers on every cupcake, like the NVB ones above, or we could have toppers just on two cupcakes at the top of the tier, or we could have toppers just standing among the cupcakes on the top tier, if the toppers are big enough. There are some pretty excellent options for Halloween cake toppers.

We could do Day of the Dead figurines:




Or, I found these gothy cake toppers (they're expensive, though, like $180!!!):

Bats (lighted!):


Skeletons (I like the "Love Never Dies" part. But is that skeleton giving the other one tongue? Ew.):




Caskets (Again, nice "Till Death Do Us Part"):



Or (and this is the best) We could get cake toppers made to look like us (and I just LOVE that they used Pierce Brosnan as the sample):


On Offbeat Bride they did a feature on a couple who had Han and Leia figurines as their cake toppers. That's awesome:


An unexpected expense is that if you want cupcake tiers, you need to rent or buy the tiers. I need to think about this a little (and do pricing, obviously). Most bakeries will rent tiers and do the set up for you, which is appealing. We could also hit up Goodwill for used ones, for a more organic (read: haphazard, unmatched) effect, but then we'd need to get rid of the things afterward. Mr. T also thought maybe his mom has something we could use, which would be great. I like free!