I have been silent all day and for a super fun reason. I went up to Pleasanton to meet with Erin of Bustle Events. We had so much fun chatting it up and coming up with some brilliant ideas to collaborate in the future. THAT, I can't wait for. I love meeting with super fun vendors.
Now I have bucket loads of work ahead of me before the days end along with some DIYing and other fun things. But after an exciting brunch like this one, I can't help but feel like this photo today. :)
I have got a bit of an announcement for all you brides today! It's just a little something to help. Should you choose to accept I'm all ears for anything. Let me know how I can help. E-mail me allison@engagedandinspired.com and we can figure out the deets and meet!
Whether you just got engaged or have been at it for a while doesn't matter. Whether you have a planner or not doesn't matter (because, see, I am not here to take the place of the planners and designers in the world). If you want another bride to talk to about the thing we call wedding planning I can help give the bride's perspective on it all. Topics include, but are in no way limited to (seeing as I know you guys are incredibly creative and will think of everything!) detail ideas, help finding vendors, don't know if you should hire a certain type of vendor for your wedding, DIY ideas, personalization ideas, or just need someone to give advice on anything and everything from stay on budget to all that fun stuff.
I have seen over 100 venues in the Bay Area (and unfortunately I am totally not exaggerating) have researched and met with dozens and dozens of vendors in SF Bay Area and know my way around an inspiration board, detail design not to mention all the DIYing I am known to do.
What's in it for me? The wedding blues are hitting me at full force and I need an outlet for all this creativity buzzing around in my mind. If I can help by offering advice, suggestions or do anything to make you a little less stressed, I am happy to help. Plus, I know so much about the Bay Area wedding industry that there is no point in you all reinventing the wheel when I can download all the goodness onto you. In essence this is a totally free thing. Let's have a little bit of fun!
So, if you need a little help or just want to talk my ear off, I am here! Let's grab a coffee, brunch, drinks, whatever and spend a bit of time getting some off-line in person help from someone who just went through it.
And if you don't live in the Bay Area but want to blab about all things wedding, don't fret, I am still just an e-mail away!
I know these posts aren't always the prettiest, and you would rather look at photos all day, but if there is anyone out there that wants a little advice on being smart with the budget so you can afford all that goodness you see in photos, here is my two cents. I can't say that I am an expert, so I am just going to tell my story. I have to start by saying two things so you understand the type of person I am. First, I realized a long time ago (probably when I was 19) that nothing in this world is worth being in debt. The whole concept of debt is absurd to me, if you don't have the money, don't spend it. I also know how much easier that is said than done. So I try my hardest to follow my own words and not promise to pay money I don't have at that time.
Second, I grew up fairly comfortably thanks to a set of extremely hard working parents. I have always been very conscious of money and always felt bad about my parents spending too much money on me. Maybe the bride's parents pay for the wedding in some cases, but I actually refused such an arrangement. I would never make them do that, no matter how much money they had.
So here we go. At the beginning of the budget planning the parents agreed on an amount each would give. This was a great start and left Ian and I with the rest. I had a wedding savings account for about a year before we got engaged which added a bit more to the plate. I set aside a certain amount every month without fail for this.
I set the budget around $20,000 at first. But told everyone I ever talked to about it, and even myself that it was $15,000. I really believed that and thought with $15K for as long as I could. It actually helped me a lot.
The first thing was the venue. Some of you may know about that story, but it was long, gruesome, and so not fun (more on that here, here and here). After about a year, I finally decided on Holman Ranch. I had been admiring Holman for ever and ever, but it was always just out of my price range. After the ultimate burn from my basically dream venue, I decided to call Holman anyway. First off Hunter, the girl in charge of events, was absolutely amazing. I was not used to people being so nice and helpful. She told me that there were options such as off season and a Friday. Both of these things cut the cost down by almost (not quite) half. Though it was more than I wanted to spend on just the venue, I knew that this was the place.
To make that possible though, I would have to get the catering at a very very low price and Holman let you bring in your own alcohol which was another extremely important element to me. I remember spending a day calling every catering company on Google asking them if they could fit my budget. I got about 1,000 no's, but I didn't care. I was not willing to budge because I just couldn't. Finally I got a phone call back from Paradise Catering saying they would work with me. I am so glad they did because they were beyond amazing to work with. So professional, and I heard MANY people say that it was the best wedding food they ever had.
Without Paradise, I probably wouldn't have had my wedding at Holman Ranch. But the total cost for venue and food was actually LESS than I was planning to spend if I went with most other venues. Score.
With the venue and catering nailed down, I began on the search for vendors. Luckily my photographers are absolutely amazing, but not break the bank status. Photographers can be quite pricey, and I totally understand why, but I lucked out that I got great pricing and the amazing style of photography that I wanted. Jason + Anna Photography were the clear winners here without interviewing anyone else.
I worked closely with each vendor from there on out to get the best value for my dollar. The florals for example. I had a very tight budget, but I wanted wild flowers not some super expensive over the top flowers, and I only wanted a small amount. I worked with them to make it worth it while at the same time making sure the prices worked for me. I was lucky enough to have some amazingly helpful vendors would were willing to work with budgets and let me know what alternatives I had.
One thing I was not willing to budge on was my dress. I knew that my dress would have to be whatever I found and fell in love with no matter the price. Of course I had to fall in love with a Melissa Sweet, but the good news was I got in on sale at least. I planned to sell it after the wedding to help with the cost of it though.
Every time I received a chunk of money I would pay the vendors I already booked as opposed to paying for new things. Each vendor was paid in full months before they were supposed to which allowed me to keep a very accurate count on how much money I had and how much I still owed. I also set aside about $1,000 for last minute items which I didn't use until about a week before the wedding. But, I swear, no matter how much planning I did, I was hit with expense after expense in that last week, I felt like I was writing $1,000 worth of checks every day! So, I totally recommend buffers, because you will need them.
There are always comprises in a planning a wedding. Personal preference is really where the decision making process on this comes in. We decided not to do transportation services and save the $1,000 there. We didn't rent outside tables or Chivari chairs and saved several thousand there. I didn't worry about the videographer until about a week before the wedding. Then I had to decide what to do about that. At the time I made the decision I needed to make. I had no money left and I really didn't want to come back from the honeymoon with a several thousand dollar debt. It didn't seem like a good way to begin married life. I opted for the cheap videographer and I regret that every second. I regret that I didn't make it more of a priority in the beginning, or didn't plan for saving a few thousand extra. I have already watched the footage I do have so many times, and it just doesn't do the wedding justice. It is great to see the speeches, the ceremony and everything else, but it is so amazing what a well shot well edited video looks like.
So there you go. Everyone makes mistakes, but I am at least lucky to have what I do as far as the videography goes.
Overall I did really well and stuck to the budget I had set in the beginning. I DIYed a ton of stuff which I can now sell, I am selling my dress, I got some great deals, and with every decision from the beginning to the end, I made sure it was a good use of my budget. Some things weren't so much, but I am not perfect.
To sum up a few things, I would say to pay vendors in full, always know how much money you have exactly, walk away from things you NEED and decide a week later if you still really do need those things, and cut the things you think won't add any value to your wedding (like for me it was the chairs, tables and transportation.) If you have any other questions of me, or want to know what I did about certain things, feel free to e-mail me.
Credit: Alison Yin
Last night I attended the totally amazing For Japan With Love benefit at Blu Bungelow in SF. Yasmin of Floral Theory, Erin of Bustle Events and Jacin of Lovely Little Details along with the girls of Utterly Engaged and Blue Bungelow put together this incredibly event in less than a month.
Over 250 people walked through those doors in support of Japan making for a super crowded, super hot yet totally amazing benefit where they raised over $4,000!
I didn't realize how many wedding peeps were in the Bay Area, we are quite the group. Look out LA, we are apparently a force to be reckoned with! :) It was nice to finally get a chance to put faces to names. These really are my favorite events, and I hope we have many more in the future (both for a good cause and just for fun!)
Plus it gave me a chance to wear this new Kate Spade number I HAD to buy when I walked across it in the store. HAD TO BUY. Hello, I mean, who has rope necklaces these days. I'm kind of obsessed. And by kind of, I mean completely.
And those little hearts were the stir sticks added to the drinks made by Erin of Bustle. Don't worry Erin, I kept mine and put them in a little jar so you're hard work didn't go to waste! :)
Hello again! I am back from the craziness that is the wedding and honeymoon and super excited that I get to come back to my blog. It is crazy how much I have missed it. The wedding was so much fun and the day was fantastic. I keep hearing fabulous comments from guests that are things I would have never thought about the day. Needless to say, it was a day to remember and the guests had the best time.
I started E&I as a way to connect up with other brides to share ideas and get ideas from others. I wanted the community aspect and to get to know other brides. I like to talk and like to listen to people, and most importantly, I love to help out if I possibly can. I know the craziness that occurs and if I can help in any way, I am always game. That, first and foremost is my goal.
Believe it or not I actually kept a lot of things about my wedding a secret. When I get my photos back, I'll start to journey back into those ideas and the outcome of details and decor I chose. Obviously I will be recapping tons and tons as well. My favorite new idea is how I am going to be using all my wedding decor in my home, and making some money back from all the extra things I have. This poses a whole new challenge for me and allows me to continue to create on an aspect of my life, my home, by using everything I have already purchased and repurposing it all. Those, along with the regular real weddings and other features are some of the directions I plan to take E&I.
As for now, I am super excited about this For Japan With Love event taking place in SF tomorrow. Ian and I will be going and can't wait to see all the familiar lovely faces and meet so many new ones!
Find out ALL about the amazing event and fun items up for silent auction on the For Japan With Love website.
I'm happy to be a part of Blogger’s Day of Silence this Friday, organized by Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged. BT Dub, You can donate too to help, even if it is a little, anything helps. So, I won’t be posting on Friday. But if you want a great read, here is a story from a Japan Apple Store employee who gave his take first hand on everything that happened and how Apple handled it.
As you should all know by now, I am getting married in 3 short weeks. OMG. Which in turn means I will be away on out Honeymoon for the month of April. And because my then-to-be-husband will not let me work during the honeymoon at all, I am asking you guys for a little bit of help!
Submit a wedding to Engaged & Inspired so we can inspire our totally amazing brides with your totally amazing work. Talk about a win-win. Find out how to submit weddings to make my life the easiest :)
I have had some wonderful guest bloggers over here, and our brides-ies LOVE them! If you are interested in guest blogging while I'm living it up in Australia, I would be your BBF for life. E-mail me at allison@engagedandinspired.com with your ideas and thoughts on what to blog about.
Here are a few more shots from the Airplanes and Blazers party! :) Thanks Smilebooth for this amazingness. That's my new hair color and a lovely BCBG striped dress! Love
I just got back from WPPI. I learned so much during the four days I was there. After meeting so many amazing people, including some incredible keynote speakers, I became yet again inspired for all things wedding and all things pretty. So many things are in the works that I can't wait to roll off the pipeline. Last night was the Airplanes & Blazers party brought to us by Flashdance. I never stay up until 3:00am, especially at parties but this one could have gone on for hours more. I absolutely loved every minute of it. And if you saw a red head in a striped dress going a little crazy dancing everywhere both on and off the dance floor, and basically anywhere that had enough space for me to shake it up!
As posted a few days ago, the wppi deal is still going on! Get 2 months free on The Inspired List by using the code, "wppi".
So there you go! Back to real life and a wedding in 6 weeks!
When I began blogging I really had no idea where it would lead. I now find myself at a suite in the MGM chatting it up with photogs from all over the place. And to make things even better, I actually know lots of people that are here right now. Today was a chill day for me involving about 6 miles of walking and $1 worth of gambling. I know, big spender over here. And I even got a drink while doing it. epic.
So how does this all play into Engaged & Inspired and The Inspired List. I'll tell you how. While I am living it up in Vegas (and working, since afterall, I was hired/sponsored to come out here in the first place), I am offering a WPPI discount for all you photogs AND all you other amazing florists, cake pros, make up artists, event designers, and paper designers.
So here is the little coupon/business card that I'll be giving everyone I see, but here it is online for you all as well! Enjoy this totally amazing deal. It's just totally awesome!
Go to theinspiredlist.com and sign up for a premium account right now. Type in the code for 2 months free :)
If you are here as well, I would LOVE to meet up, even for a second. I'll be updating my twitter as much as I can (the 3G sucks here! But follow me if you aren't already and talk to me if you want to meet up. :) PS: ya that is my "married" name on this design.
Photo credit: Jason & Anna Photography. Bride: Lizzie :)
