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Lowness 72 posted:So I'm thinking of popping the question soon so we can get married in June before we both start our careers in July. If you're getting married young, and you haven't started your careers, you'll pretty much need your folks to pay for it. Or you'll need to be extremely non-traditional. Weddings can be done on the cheap, but that takes a ton of effort and planning and care. My fiance and I are in our mid twenties, and our folks are paying for most of the wedding because we simply couldn't afford it - I've just finished school and I'm paying off student loans. We could have held a small party for our 20 nearest and dearest, maybe, but not the 120 people or so that we're pretty obligated to invite. You'll hear all sorts of numbers. I've heard the average US wedding costs around 20k currently, though people are probably starting to spend a bit less in the current economy. Ours is going to cost around 15k, which required us to not be extravagant, but not chintzy either. As for time, more gives you more choice, but if you're not super picky you can do it without a lot of time. It's a bit more stressful (especially if the wedding is big) but if you can get stuff booked in a hurry then you'll be on pretty similar timelines to everyone else. The poo poo doesn't really hit the fan until the last 6 weeks or so (obviously bookings and things like invitations and dress need to be done earlier than that, but that's when you start pinning down all the details). LittleCat fucked around with this message at 11:08 on Jan 3, 2009 |
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Jan 3, 2009 11:05
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What I'm worried about is that the wedding will be on the east coast, but all my family is on the west coast, and most of my friends will be flying in so I'm worried about them being able to come as well. Ugh. Still, are there any good resources for choosing venues?
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Jan 3, 2009 11:16
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jomiel posted:I think it would look better with either smaller letters so everything is on a huge clean black background, or else inflate the words and arrange the two images differently so there are more focus on the content. Right now it kind of looks like you just picked a font and pasted two pictures at the bottom (sorry!) No need to be sorry!  I was asking for opinions! That's actually the same problem I've had looking at it. This one's better than the one I had before, though, the text was popping out WAY too much, and I shifted things so I think the text is laid out better than it was. One thing I forgot to mention, though, is the page is sized with a bleed line around the edges that shows up in the actual photoshop document, so it will be slightly cropped from what you see right there.The invites are going to have a branch with those flowers, starting in the lower left corner, and going up and slightly over to the right, over the text. It'll start as the wire-frame, geometric flower, with a wire-frame branch, and fade into the "normal" flower, with a normal branch. I was trying to keep this postcard simple so it would lead into the invite, sorta like a teaser trailer for a movie.
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Jan 3, 2009 13:23
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Hello thread I missed you!Lowness 72 posted:What I'm worried about is that the wedding will be on the east coast, but all my family is on the west coast, and most of my friends will be flying in so I'm worried about them being able to come as well. Ugh. Venues are typically location specific. You can check out a local area bridal magazine. They have lots of adds for vendors in your area. Also don't forget to check out local museums, botanical gardens, and historical sites. They all make great venues and sometimes get overlooked.
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Jan 3, 2009 16:25
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Lowness 72 posted:
I know The Knot is a scary place, but their local forums can be really helpful for getting venue & vendor recommendations. My NC forum even created a blog with easy access to everyone that anyone on the forum has worked with. Some of the girls can be kind of crazy, but as long as you take everything with a grain of salt, they can be really helpful.
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Jan 3, 2009 18:24
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Man, getting married is cheap. Elope. The wedding means nothing because it's the commitment that is important. My buddy Kyle threw a rockstar-tastic hoedown wedding. He rented an empty barn, hired a hillbilly band, and brought in some redneck bbq catering place. It didn't cost him much money and the guests still talk about how cool it is.
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Jan 3, 2009 21:21
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T-4 weeks for my wedding. As a guy is it weird that I am not scared at all about marriage? I don't see it as any different to my relationship just now. Sometimes it pops into my head and I think, holy crap I am getting married in 4 weeks, but other times it doesn't bother me. Am I broken?
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Jan 3, 2009 23:20
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Oodles posted:T-4 weeks for my wedding. I wish my boyfriend would see it this way! We've talked about marriage numerous times and have even gone ring shopping twice, but he has this idea that he HAS to be like the stereotypical male and be afraid of commitment. I know he's really not, though, because he actually wears a ring on his ring finger everyday and his coworkers know me as his 'wife'. We've been dating for two years and seven months, and I wish he'd ask already!
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Jan 4, 2009 01:13
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tishthedish posted:I wish my boyfriend would see it this way! We've talked about marriage numerous times and have even gone ring shopping twice, but he has this idea that he HAS to be like the stereotypical male and be afraid of commitment. I know he's really not, though, because he actually wears a ring on his ring finger everyday and his coworkers know me as his 'wife'. What? I'm just confused by this altogether. You could always ask him. Edit: Did he marry you secretly? I'm, like, super confused about why he wears a ring (did you pick a ring out together?) and calls you his wife. zap actionsdower! fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Jan 4, 2009 |
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Jan 4, 2009 03:26
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WolfensteinBag posted:I just finished a mock-up of our "Save the Date" cards! Please ignore the fact that it has our full names, you don't get the right idea without it. 1. Text is too small on the canvas. Make it fill up more of the space. 2. The gradient makes it very difficult to read on the black background. 3. Skip gradients. 4. I don't know if you're going for a certain feeling, but I get "prepare for a kind of a Terminator-style wedding, or perhaps Robocop will be there". 5. I am an artist and trained in critique, so I'm sorry that I am being tough on you. 
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Jan 4, 2009 03:31
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zap actionsdower! posted:What? I'm just confused by this altogether. I'd rather not ask him. I'm more of a traditional chick, and I think it would bother me for a long time if I did. I dont understand the ring thing myself. It's just an A&F ring he's had for awhile, and I don't remember when he started wearing it...or why he wears it on that finger. And his coworkers just assumed I was his wife because of the ring, but he's told them that we're not married. To sum it up...yeah I don't know either. I asked him last week how much he thinks about the whole marriage thing, and he said "all the time". I think he's trying to save up for the ring I want (which is actually pretty reasonable- $1000).
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Jan 4, 2009 03:58
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zap actionsdower! posted:1. Text is too small on the canvas. Make it fill up more of the space. I agree with the above. I suspect you're going for something a little non-traditional and geeky, which is cool (I'm having a traditional wedding, apparently, but I'm not sure how that happened), but that's not quite what I'm getting from it. The gradients really don't work for me. And tishthedish - I too wanted to wait for my partner to ask, because I wanted him to be ready. Took him about 6 years. Don't let it get to the point where you're preoccupied and annoyed about it all the time - ask him if you're getting there.
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Jan 4, 2009 04:05
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Lowness 72 posted:So I'm thinking of popping the question soon so we can get married in June before we both start our careers in July. As for venues, don't rule out your local Sheraton and such. Hotels can often do really nice wedding packages, and throw in discounted room rates for your guests, and freebies/perks for you. And, doing your reception at a hotel means that you don't necessarily have to worry about anyone driving home after the party. That being said, don't rule out unusual spots, either. Like someone else said, museums, botanical gardens, colleges, and the like sometimes do wedding receptions too and can make for fun alternatives to your more usual banquet hall, etc. You can also do an outdoor wedding and reception in June - a good friend of mine had hers right on the water in RI. Another friend of mine had hers at a local college in July, when classes were out. You can also think about having a lunch reception, or just a cocktails and hors d'oeurves reception - a reception does not HAVE to be dinner and dancing. If you're having a reception, you have to serve some sort of refreshments, but the time of the reception and choices for refreshments are all yours. As for groom411 and its ilk, take it with a grain of salt. Take ANYONE telling you "you need this!!!" with a grain of salt. Wedding registry sites/stores that offer registries are trying to get you or your guests' money. Sites that are encouraging you and saying that it's not really a wedding/marriage unless you have 'x' are also to be taken with a large grain of salt. Weddings are an industry in this country. You do not HAVE to buy in to it - nor do you have to buy in to it completely if you do choose to buy some of it. You and your partner should think long and hard about what YOU want and need, and stick with it. Lots of people will tell you differently, but feel free to ignore them unless their advice consists of more than "but you need this!" or "it won't be a real wedding without it!"
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Jan 4, 2009 06:50
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zap actionsdower! posted:1. Text is too small on the canvas. Make it fill up more of the space. I mentioned in the tail end of another reply, you can't see the bleed line on this copy. So it really looks bigger on the page than it is. quote:2. The gradient makes it very difficult to read on the black background. Would you believe me if I said hardcore action/sci-fi is what I kinda had in mind? As far as the feeling of it goes, I kinda wanted people to look at it and go, "What the hell?" and be half amused, and half confused.The gradient I put on there because before that, the text just looked too... I don't know, something and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Almost like it was too light, and it made it look too weird with the background. If I took the gradient out, any ideas how to make it look better? quote:5. I am an artist and trained in critique, so I'm sorry that I am being tough on you. That's ok! That's what I need, it does no good if people just agree with you to make you feel better. Pretty much everything I've studied in school, and with my line of work now, I have to distance myself from what I'm working on like that, so I'm used to it. Fire away! 
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Jan 4, 2009 16:07
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So I've narrowed some stuff down. Does anyone have some good ideas for venues in Massachusetts? I'm thinking West of Boston, but not Boston itself (as it will probably be cheaper for all expenses to be outside of Boston). Also, no golf courses....they seem to all be really tacky. Of course, if you have a country club that truly is nice, please let me know.
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Jan 5, 2009 11:04
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WolfensteinBag posted:I just finished a mock-up of our "Save the Date" cards! Please ignore the fact that it has our full names, you don't get the right idea without it. I'm no artist, and your wedding is obviously at least somewhat nontraditional, but this looks more like an invitation to a gaming convention than a wedding. Here are some of my first impressions: 1) I think the idea of "boy-is-nerdy, girl-likes-pretty-stuff" could work, but the motif is only represented once. Unfortunately, since the background is black, it's a little hard to represent elsewhere. Maybe work the motif into the text or border? 2) Don't make the background completely black. It's a wedding, and it'd be hard to print off anyway. Maybe a thick black border? 3) Going with the motif again, would it be possible to make your symbol and her symbol the same color? That bright green goes with almost nothing. Consider this: For your digitized flower, try using a purple outline and a white fill, with the lines on the inside being the same purple. Although no old-school video game would likely have that color scheme, I think it'd work better. 4) The gradient doesn't work. If you decide to make the background a lighter color, maybe a simple stroke would do the job. If you decide to keep the background, maybe a simple white stroke would work. Like I said, I'm no artist. Fake edit: and I agree with everybody else's critiques. WolfensteinBag posted:Would you believe me if I said hardcore action/sci-fi is what I kinda had in mind? A younger audience might appreciate it. But if you're inviting your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, or older friends, I imagine that they would have a different reaction. As in, 100% confused and 100% disappointed. I don't have grandkids (hell, I don't even have kids), but I if I got something like this from my grandson, I would be so  But this all depends on who your family is. ih8ualot fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Jan 5, 2009 |
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Jan 5, 2009 17:59
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Lowness 72 posted:So I've narrowed some stuff down. Does anyone have some good ideas for venues in Massachusetts? I'm thinking West of Boston, but not Boston itself (as it will probably be cheaper for all expenses to be outside of Boston). Another friend had her wedding and reception at the historic Framingham Village Hall, which was kind of neat. You'd have to bring in your own caterer, etc. though. Finally, one of my partner's cousins had his wedding reception at Zuka's in Spencer. Good food, neat venue, it's just in the middle of loving NOWHERE.
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Jan 5, 2009 18:35
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ih8ualot posted:I'm no artist, and your wedding is obviously at least somewhat nontraditional, but this looks more like an invitation to a gaming convention than a wedding. Damnit, I'm the chick!  We know it's a wedding, we know we're inviting family and not everyone's young, we're aware that this is in no way "traditional" but it represents us as a couple and that's what matters. We're not all cutesy and romantic and frilly, nor are we very traditional or proper. We're doing something unconventional, and frankly I'm pretty sure our family would expect nothing less of us. This isn't at all what I'm asking about, it's simply whether visually everything works. The fact that Kevin's name fell over the wire-frame flower is actually just a fluke. It has zero to do with the whole guy/girl dynamic, it's just something that's going to lead into the invitations, which will then lead into the wedding itself. I already explained what the invitation is going to look like, the wedding itself is going to have a running theme of nature and technology being fused together. I understand you don't necessarily get it right away looking at this, but that seriously is the point. You get a little bit with this, a little with the invite, that ends you up with the wedding. I thought about doing a border, but I'm not sure at this point. I also thought about changing the background, but I just don't think I'd get the same effect with anything else, especially since the invite is going to have black as well. YES, BLACK FOR A WEDDING! It's not like it's never been done before. As far as the gradient goes, here's what it looks like without it. Looking at it again, after a day or so of letting it be, I have to agree, I think at the very least the text on the top and the names look better and are more readable. I think I might stick with the gradient on the date, though, it still looks a little flat to me... 
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Jan 5, 2009 19:09
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Okay, this has been nagging at me, but I didn't have a lot of time (work day), so I mocked up something for you really quickly that might kinda suck: I've kept all the elements you had (because sure it's a wedding, but it's your wedding and it should reflect your style!), and made some potentially questionable changes: - Now the flower doesn't have the 'he's geeky, she's girly' associations I was getting from it before, since you said that was just a coincidence - The stroke on the text keeps it from looking flat, which seems like something you dislike, without making it look a little outdated (which is what I get from gradients and their ilk - even in your updated version). I used Lucida Sans, demibold for the font - it's similar to what you were using in a lot of ways, but it's a lot thicker. - Upped the space the text takes up (killed the crop area just for a point of reference) - Put your names in script, so it still feels a bit more "weddingy" I think it's an improvement, but if you hate it that's okay too. I like what you're going for, it's just some of the details that aren't working for me The positioning is probably a bit wonky because I was in a hurry - I started moving elements around by pixels and then realized I really shouldn't be spending a lot of time on this right now!
LittleCat fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Jan 5, 2009 |
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Jan 5, 2009 20:07
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LittleCat posted:Okay, this has been nagging at me, but I didn't have a lot of time (work day), so I mocked up something for you really quickly that might kinda suck: I think this is a huge improvement. I agree that you shouldn't sacrifice the theme that you want, and this is a lot cleaner. Plus, the digital leaves work really well, whereas the digital flower wasn't doing it for me.
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Jan 5, 2009 20:24
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After three years of engagement we finally settled on July, 2010 to get married. I'll be 30 years old. woo Are weddings usually on a Saturday? UnfortunateSexFart fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Mar 19, 2010 |
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Jan 5, 2009 20:28
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leidend posted:After three years of engagement we finally settled on July 17, 2010 to get married. I'll be 30 years old. woo They usually are, yes. They don't have to be (ours will be on a Sunday, which is saving us a bit of money), but people tend to go that way. Congrats on setting a date!
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Jan 5, 2009 20:30
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My friends just got married on a Thursday last month. They're poor college kids, and they had a very well put together wedding, so I think it must have saved them a lot of money. Of course, we all bitched about it being on a Thursday, but it was nice enough that we stopped complaining once we were at the reception.
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Jan 5, 2009 20:38
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My wedding is on a Tuesday. People seem to find this very strange, but the date (14th) mattered more to me than what day it was.
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Jan 5, 2009 20:41
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dopaMEAN posted:My friends just got married on a Thursday last month. They're poor college kids, and they had a very well put together wedding, so I think it must have saved them a lot of money. Our venue has a $5000 minimum for food for events on Saturdays, a $4000 minimum for food for events on Sundays, and a $1000 minimum for any other day. So yeah, you can probably save yourself a ton by having it on a weekday. A couple of our vendors also offer discounts for non-Saturdays. I can't imagine doing a big wedding on a weeknight, but for a fairly intimate affair I would totally go for it.
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Jan 5, 2009 20:43
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LittleCat posted:I like this a lot. Although at first glance, it may be difficult to see that the green things are leaves. But otherwise, I like that. WolfensteinBag posted:Damnit, I'm the chick! Whoops. Sorry. 
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Jan 5, 2009 20:49
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I did this in Paint at work so it looks kind of crappy: I'll work on another format when I get home!
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Jan 7, 2009 03:26
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Survey - Bridal showers: All females invited to the wedding OR close female friends/family. There is a debate going on, and I am stuck in the middle.
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Jan 7, 2009 15:44
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ElanoreMcMantis posted:Survey - Bridal showers: All females invited to the wedding OR close female friends/family.
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Jan 7, 2009 16:17
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brc64 posted:Are you the bride or one of the ones invited? I'm a guy, so I can't pretend to know what a typical bridal shower is like, but I would say the bride should invite whoever she wants. It's her party after all. Don't invite somebody you don't want there just because you're worried they might feel left out. That'd be my suggestion. Yeah, I'm the bride. My maid of honor says its all females invited to the wedding, my other bridesmaid says its only close friends. I asked my mother-in-law and mom and they both had different views. I'm kind of in the, eh just invite everyone boat, but I don't want to have people saying I'm greedy and trying to snag gifts.
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Jan 7, 2009 16:26
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ElanoreMcMantis posted:Yeah, I'm the bride. My maid of honor says its all females invited to the wedding, my other bridesmaid says its only close friends. I asked my mother-in-law and mom and they both had different views. I'm kind of in the, eh just invite everyone boat, but I don't want to have people saying I'm greedy and trying to snag gifts. Of course, I avoided the entire question by not having a shower, so.
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Jan 7, 2009 17:22
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Wench posted:Just don't invite anyone to the bridal shower that is NOT going to be invited to the wedding, and you're fine. This. I am a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding and I'm working with my aunt to throw the bridal shower and this is what's said in the Emily Post book on wedding etiquette. I recommend getting it, it's a little old-fashioned, but my cousin is a bridezilla having a $50,000 wedding so everything in the book is really helpful. As a side note, don't slack off with the thank you cards, it's incredibly rude. I sent a gift to a friend who got married in September, whose wedding I couldn't make it to, and never received any acknowledgment for it. I was actually worried she didn't get the gift, because I ordered it from her registry website and had it send directly to her house. I asked her the other day and she said they got it but were "behind on the cards." I felt like an rear end in a top hat for asking, when I was really just concerned. smoke detector fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Jan 7, 2009 |
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Jan 7, 2009 19:52
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ElanoreMcMantis posted:Yeah, I'm the bride. My maid of honor says its all females invited to the wedding, my other bridesmaid says its only close friends. I asked my mother-in-law and mom and they both had different views. I'm kind of in the, eh just invite everyone boat, but I don't want to have people saying I'm greedy and trying to snag gifts. I took a look at our guest list and figured out that all the female invitees would be far too large, so my maid of honor is holding a casual party/shower for me and my fiance and our friends (male and female, which should be interesting), and my future mother-in-law is hosting a shower for me with the female relatives. Best of both worlds, in my opinion, though I'm probably going to end up being the one who plans both of them because I decided to not have a big bridal party and my maid of honor is a busy student
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Jan 7, 2009 21:03
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Recently engaged goon checking in. I proposed in May and our wedding is booked for Oct 3, 2009. So far we have the hall, church, catering, photographer and decorations booked. Dress is bought and paid for. Left on the plate is to print our invitations (industrial photo printer at my disposal, saving alot of money here), get wedding bands, get the liqour license+booze bought, tuxes and find a DJ. Our budget for wedding + honeymoon is hopefully under $15,000 but I have a feeling we will go over that. The deal is 5k from each of our parents, 5k from us. Our hall is free for over 150 people, the church is 150$, the catering is something like 6-7k (33$/plate + bar fee), photographer is $1150 and is a recent graduate with tons of talent, decorations are $2150 for ALL decorations including fresh flowers, head table backdrops (pillars and such), ceiling veils, chair covers, centerpieces and church decorations with put up and tear down included...(I feel this was a STEAL, but someone else can tell me different) It's now January 3rd....are we behind or ahead in terms of planning? I feel like we are behind and the wedding is going to sneak up on us like something fierce. MarshallX fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Jan 7, 2009 |
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Jan 7, 2009 21:19
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You're golden. We didn't seriously START planning until around 10 months to go, and we're not particularly behind (except on florist and wedding bands, but there are reasons for those two issues). The trouble is that many of the detail things seem to crop up at around 6-8 weeks pre-wedding - sending out the invitations, having showers, sorting out specific music choices, tasting food, scouting with the photographer, etc, etc. So the end will be chaotic no matter what, but at least you've got the lead up pretty well sorted out. This is an absolutely fantastic resource, though - it's a bunch of free wedding templates, meant for a fancy + pricey wedding organization system, but downloadable for everyone. It's got detailed checklists and timelines that I've found very helpful in keeping me on track.
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Jan 7, 2009 21:30
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Decided to put this in a second post: Ring Pictures! I took this ring from a CAD drawing which had elements I knew my fiance wanted, had them cast it in wax a few different times, with changes, then went to gold. The diamond is .66 carat Ideal Signature Cut Princess I2See Diamond with VVS1 Clarity and F color...I really wanted a top notch diamond so that it can turn into a family heirloom which moves from Ring to Ring through our family, hence the Ideal Signature Cut and top quality, the size was second to cut by far. There are two inclusions on the diamond, only visible under a microscope. The diamond was $2900, the band was $950. Not sure if this is around normal for that size but I was happy with my final price. The CAD Drawing  The Wax  The Cast   The Big Day  I proposed the day after we moved into a house together 2 hours away from both our families (I had lived here for 5 years of our 8 year relationship)...it was a huge moment for both of us and considering we lived long distance dating for 5 years, we could never be happier right now.
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Jan 7, 2009 21:39
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MarshallX posted:It's now January 3rd....are we behind or ahead in terms of planning? I feel like we are behind and the wedding is going to sneak up on us like something fierce. Sounds like you are pretty ahead of the game. Good luck! ElanoreMcMantis posted:Survey - Bridal showers: All females invited to the wedding OR close female friends/family. Traditionally, it's all females invited to the wedding. Traditions, be what they may, aren't always practical. I only had one shower thrown by aunt/cousins -in law and I invited my friends, bridesmaids, my Mom, and all of the female relatives on my husband's side because all of my family is spread out. I didn't think it would be fair to most of them to invite them for a party that lasted 3 hours. No one on my Mom's side said anything to me or my Mom about not being invited and I even got a few presents from my aunts. Many people these day have 2+ showers which I think can be inconsiderate to your friends/family if they are invited to all of them. My mantra was always "It's my wedding. It's what I want to do." And so I did, with my parents blessing of course.
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Jan 7, 2009 21:42
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Gravitee posted:Many people these day have 2+ showers which I think can be inconsiderate to your friends/family if they are invited to all of them. Oh, yeah, I should have specified - my two showers will have completely different guest lists, other than my MoH. It only really comes off as "gift grabbing" if you're inviting the same people to multiple showers, as I understand it, so pretty much anything else you do should be fine (other than, as mentioned, inviting someone to the shower who won't be invited to the wedding).
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Jan 7, 2009 22:03
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Well, I went ahead and proposed, and now we are in the process of planning the wedding. We were thinking about a Sunday Wedding, 7/5/10, labor day weekend. Here are some pics of the Engagement Ring:  And another: 
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Jan 7, 2009 22:40
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Holy hell thats a big diamond. Two Carat? And I thought the one I bought was a bit much for reference, mine was a .79 Carat; 
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Jan 7, 2009 23:29
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