Engagement and Wedding Megathread - You paid what for what?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Engagement and Wedding Megathread - You paid what for what?

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amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Just wanted to second the corset back dress comment. Mine had a corset back as well and I didn't need any alterations to the bodice- just the hem.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2009 16:42

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 14:25

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

I'm sorry you're feeling so down, squirrellypoo

. As exciting as wedding planning is, you've already begun to spend the rest of your life with the person you love! Everything else is just fluff. I remember reading a post of yours earlier about how petty things like invitation design or centerpieces seem in light of your recent illness and it really put things in perspective for me.

You are in love, and that alone is a source of joy and comfort. You have already found someone who must be an amazing, supportive man and you're doing everything you can to be as healthy as possible as soon as possible. And that's exactly how it should be. Wearing a pretty dress and throwing a party is extraneous

. I hope the venue is sympathetic!

# ¿ Apr 16, 2009 18:53

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Target has a fairly comprehensive list of commonly requested items that they give you when you sign up to register there. We thought Target was an awesome place to register since everyone has one nearby (assuming you're in the States) and you can manage it all online. Their website has a lot of reviews from other customers which was also really helpful. We originally wanted this one cutlery set but then read reviews which said they rusted quickly. Little stuff like that made a difference for us.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2009 05:57

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Yeah, I returned a ton of stuff from our Target registry without problems. And they also offer 10% off everything that's left. We actually didn't know about the 10% discount until we'd already purchased the remaining items and they even let us bring in the receipt and get the difference back in cash.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2009 20:48

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Beautiful, beautiful pictures peanut and zap!

# ¿ May 7, 2009 18:33

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Zantie posted:

Our situation is a bit unusual from most as he's in the UK and I'm in the states. We had to discuss the bigger logistical things like the K-1 visa and how to involve his side of the family. He's left name change thing up to me, and when we were first dating I wanted to keep mine, but as things progressed, I'm quite excited to become a part of his family and name

We discussed everything we could think of before the engagement, just to be sure we're on the same page. I knew he was going to ask sometime between March and May, and while not a 'surprise' his proposal during Love Song at a Cure concert is something I'll cherish forever.

I just got married to my British husband in March and we went the K-1 route. Let me know if you have any questions about the process!

We talked about marriage from day one, actually. It was jokingly, of course, but I think we both knew immediately we'd end up together. Like Zantie we had to discuss how we'd make a transatlantic engagement work, who was moving where, visa stuff and meaningful ways of incorporating our families. The proposal wasn't a huge surprise since we already had the fiance visa paperwork ready but we didn't start discussing the minor things like venues, themes, etc. until after we were engaged.

# ¿ Jun 12, 2009 04:27

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

OnceWed is great for finding used dresses if that's a route you're willing to take. JCrew often has some very simple, elegant dresses on the cheap as well. And don't underestimate white or ivory prom gowns!

# ¿ Nov 19, 2009 05:41

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

We had our US reception over Thanksgiving and it was perfect! It was a warm, cozy, Christmasy dessert buffet with a hot chocolate bar and live music. It was so laid back and fun. I'll be sure to post some photos when the photographer is finished processing them. I can't wait for the UK one!

As for photography, I'm not sure if you've already set a date, but it's possible to get top photographers for a much lower price if you're having your wedding on a Friday or Sunday or generally during a slow period like winter. We're having our UK reception on a Sunday and got a superb deal.

We went with a local, fresh out of college girl for photos of our legal ceremony and we were really, really disappointed. We didn't consider that our wedding day anyhow, so it wasn't as big a deal as it could have been, but still. We spent a few hundred on this girl and there's not a single picture we'd hang in our homes. She cut off heads, we're blinking in them, it was basically a nightmare.

Make sure you check out their portfolios and ask to see an entire wedding if you go with someone less reputable. Anyone can get one or two good shots per wedding, but the entire portfolio will really tell the story.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2009 00:30

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

StealthStealth posted:

we are already planning on a bulk order of sky lanterns for example

Oh my god. We saw some pictures of sky lanterns and thought they looked amazing. We were just going to light 2 and have everyone stand in a circle around us. Well, we tried one in the back yard and it is the most HORRIFYING THING EVER. I nearly caught my grandpa on fire. Take serious precautions with those things- they're ridiculously dangerous.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2009 01:20

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Yay! Congratulations, Skychrono! Those pictures are adorable

Regarding the sky lanterns, it may depend on how windy the night is. The two times we tried it was a bit windy out and the flame was pretty uncontrollable.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2009 06:13

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

We just got the pics in from our U.S. reception! I'm so glad we eloped and decided to do the receptions afterward. We saved a great deal of money and in the end, I'll have worn my dress 3 times.

It was an evening, Christmas-themed desserts reception. We made most of the food ourselves. We had a hot chocolate and coffee bar with lots of mixers like Baileys, Kahlua, Peppermint Schnapps, Hazelnut Schnapps, Jack Daniels, etc. My husband and friends provided lots of Christmasy musical entertainment, sing-a-longs included.

Food pics, since it was a dessert buffet after all!
(Yes, those are pies on lollipop sticks. Yum!)

Venue/Vow Renewal:

Outfits:

Favors (Chex Mix in mason jars):

Music:

Decor:

There were some minor glitches, and we didn't get as many photos together or with my family as I'd wanted, but we had a fantastic time! We also did a day-before shoot around my hometown (I wore a different dress, obviously) and it was great to get some pictures in the countryside.

Now onto the UK reception...

# ¿ Dec 17, 2009 06:37

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

maso posted:

Holy crud, I know your husband! (Sort of.) Everything looked fun and tasteful, I dig your dress. Congrats!

Haha, really? Through SA or elsewhere?

# ¿ Dec 17, 2009 07:09

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Thanks for all the nice comments! As I mentioned before, if anyone has any questions about eloping and then throwing parties feel free to ask

# ¿ Dec 18, 2009 20:28

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Tindjin posted:

Money

We each have our own personal checking and savings accounts, but we also have a joint checking and joint savings account. To be honest, we almost always end up just taking turns paying for things like groceries or the phone bill since we can't be bothered to remember to deposit x% of our earnings into our joint checking account. I don't want to feel like I have to pay for all of his music gadgets and he doesn't want to feel like he has to pay for my girly shopping or whatever so we figured separate accounts are best. Then again, we don't really have many bills. I'm a full-time student and our housing and most utilities are covered by my scholarship. We really only have to pay for a cell phone bill, gas for the car and groceries. I suspect once I'm finished with school and we have to start thinking about rent, cable, internet, electricity, gas, water, etc. we'll use the joint checking a lot more and figure out a new system.

We do use the joint savings quite a bit, though.

Good luck with your proposal!

# ¿ Jan 3, 2010 07:35

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

Hawkeye posted:

Halloween Wedding

Who cares what anyone else thinks- it's your wedding! Do what you want and have fun with it

. That being said, I've seen photos of some awesome masquerade Halloween weddings. If you want to make it more of an upscale Halloween party think about going with black and silver as opposed to bright orange. I've also heard of people bringing in someone who does tarot readings and the likes. I think your options are endless. If you're not on Offbeat Bride, I highly suggest signing up. There are TONS of Halloween weddings on there if you're looking for inspiration. Good luck!

# ¿ Jan 18, 2010 23:07

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

FairGame posted:

Can someone please recommend a reputable and easy-to-deal-with site for Honeymoon Registries? (i.e., a site that will parcel up your honeymoon into things like "cost of plane ticket," "cost of hotel," "cost of meals," "cost of activities" that can then be added to one's registry?

Honeyfund.com is excellent and doesn't take a cut of your money.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2010 16:49

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

I didn't used to think that taking my husband's last name would make me feel like his property, but a year and a half later I'm starting to feel differently.

I just moved to England and here they put "Mrs. Amethyst Bliss" on my debit and credit cards, mail, etc. instead of just my first and last name. We got married pretty young (22, 23), and I look like I'm about 15 to begin with. Thanks to this lovely idea to put my marital status on my cards, a few times a week I have jackasses telling me I'm too young to get married and lecturing me about my personal life choices. Of course, since "Mr." is marriage neutral, my husband doesn't have this same problem and I've come to view it as totally sexist.

Of course, this has much more to do with bank policies than it does with taking my husband's name. I don't get on well with my dad's side of the family, so I was delighted to get rid of my maiden name

# ¿ Aug 13, 2010 17:48

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

LorneReams posted:

In this situation though, even if you kept your name, wouldn't they sill put the married prefix on the card?

It's possible, though I'm not sure. I was never given the option of a "Ms." box to tick, they just took it from my application that I am a married female and thus "Mrs."

I just find it very odd since none of my US cards have "Mrs." printed on them, just my first and last name which I'm fine with. I don't see why the title is really relevant for debit or credit cards in the first place. Grr.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2010 19:54

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

hennypenny posted:

Wait, what? People do this? Some parts of wedding culture are just really blatant marketing scams.

We did this. My husband thought it was somewhat archaic that a woman should have to advertise to society that she is taken while men aren't expected to. We just bought his wedding ring early and he wore it on his right hand, but switched it over to his left once we were married. I don't think it's that weird.

# ¿ Aug 31, 2010 15:00

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

AzCoug posted:

Chances are this has been covered, but I didn't go through all 90+ pages to find out.

Anyone familiar with honeymoon registries along with or in liu of traditional registries (Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macy's, etc. etc.)? What's your expeience with them? I know they are just starting to become more "popular" or common. Any suggestions on which sites or companies to go through?

We are thinkink of a tropical honeymoon (who isn't) like Bora Bora or Tahiti, but that comes with a price, hence the registry.

Just a word of caution- we tried this, and absolutely no one used it. Instead, we ended up with a bunch of crap we didn't need and couldn't return. A few of my friends tried it as well and that was the general consensus. It might work with you, but our families were just not comfortable with it.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2010 23:02

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

zoecore posted:

My best advice about being photogenic (and some may disagree, but I stand by it).. Wear a lot of makeup. Good makeup can totally transform your face and distract from things that are not as great. I have a big nose, but I wear so much on my eyes, that you can't tell too much from the photos.

Seconding this. You don't have to absolutely cake it on, but some rich colors go a long way. Also, an engagement shoot, which is often included in wedding packages, is a great way to get a feel for the photographer and have a little test run.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2010 00:39

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

PopRocks posted:

Don't worry about pissing off the tourists. They will love that they get to witness a wedding in such a beautiful place. That'll be a really great story for them to tell about their trip. Everone loves a wedding, it can only make people happy.

Seconding this. We eloped to Barcelona and it was SO FUN. The tourists and locals alike were crazy excited for us. Lots of old Spanish couples congratulating us and school kids yelling "Hip hip horray!."

# ¿ Nov 30, 2010 22:47

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

zamiel posted:

I got engaged on NYE after being together most of the past 7 1/2 years. Here's some ring porn for those interested, click pic for a couple other shots:

Haven't seen anything like this so if I missed it apologies: We're planning on sitting down soon to discuss finances, a date, etc. and I want to have a bit of the outline planning done ahead of time to ease his mind. I'm huge on checklists/planners/binders and would like feedback on this one I found by people more advanced in their planning, like if its missing something (obviously I won't be using it all but you never know what little thing you can miss) I like it since it's laid out by months/weeks before: http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/weddings/planning/wedding-planning-checklist-00000000000222/index.html

Also, tips on finding a venue in North Western Pennsylvania, around the Mercer County area. We're both at such a loss on this since I'm Atheist/Agnostic and he's a lapsed Catholic who'd always dreamed of having his priest uncle officiate.

What kind of budget do you have for a venue? I'm from NW PA and we looked at lots of places near Mercer County

# ¿ Jan 21, 2011 11:03

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

ZygomaticusMajor posted:

The main reason we're considering elopement is money. We can't afford a big wedding, and we can't afford to fly family to one location for the event (ex: His is in UT/ID Mines are in MA/Barbados). Not only that, but we don't feel it's fair to put a monetary strain on our families when we know that they would make every effort they could to be at the ceremony, which could leave some missing out and feeling left out when we want to avoid that. We want it to be as 'fair' as possible, and the only solution seems to be to elope, and announce it later to everyone. We're open to alternatives of course, but I'm most interested in other goon's experiences with elopement.

My husband and I eloped and wouldn't have done it any other way. We had a nice elopement ceremony/honeymoon with just the two of us in Spain and then had a reception with each of our respective families (his are in the UK and mine are in Pennsylvania). If you search for posts by me in this thread, I'm sure I've talked about it a few times

. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2012 03:27

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

blackswordca posted:

I'd like to keep it under $500

My engagement ring was under $500 and it looks similar to this, but in white gold:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/124288828/antique-diamond-cluster-ring-anniversary?ref=br_feed_30

Edit: here's a crappy pic of mine. It is a 1/2 carat cluster of diamonds that sort of looks like one big diamond. I get compliments on it all the time

amethystbliss fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Mar 25, 2013

# ¿ Mar 25, 2013 00:00

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

life is killing me posted:

e: Haven't even had a chance to get the ring appraised, much less insured. What are my options here?

You can usually insure for price paid, without an appraisal. I insured a ring recently that way with Jewelers Mutual. The whole process took place online and it was fully insured in 2 days.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2015 09:37

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 14:25

amethystbliss: Jan 17, 2006

My ring is insured with Jewelers Mutual. So far, so good.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2016 05:14

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Engagement and Wedding Megathread - You paid what for what?

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