Rebel Brides

Deal of the Day: Buy Tablecloths! Don't Rent Them!

In my research, I've found that buying tablecloths is actually cheaper than renting them either directly with the rental company or through your caterer. Tablecloths cost $10-$12/each to rent and on ebay they are $7-$8. I purchased 20 tablecloths (any color) for $155.  And after you use them you can wash them and then sell them on craigslist and get your $$ back! 

Hey - $200 really helps these days! 

So don't rent your tablecloths, BUY THEM! 

EBAY! EBAY! EBAY!

How About a Red Wedding Dress?

How About a Red Wedding Dress?

In the United States, many brides feel like they need to have a white wedding dress, even if they don’t really want to. I say wear what you’d like to wear – whatever color you want! Wedding dresses don’t have to be white!

In China and India, for example, the traditional wedding dress is red. Yes, red. A red dress is considered to bring good luck in both the Indian and Chinese traditions. Check out this awesome site, Red Hot Brides. They have a ton of red wedding dress options that will blow your mind! 

Be bold, Rebel Brides. Have fun! Try on dresses that aren’t white – see how you feel in them. You may be pleasantly surprised!

More to come on this topic with awesome examples soon! 

Awesome Return Address Stamps for the DIY Bride

Calling all DIY Brides! Check out these awesome stamp return addresses from Paperwink! You can customize them and use them for your wedding invitations. They will definitely bring a sweet, personalized touch to your invites! 

Disposable Plates vs. Renting China

The first time that little birdie in my head told me to write a blog was after about 6 hours of researching what to do about dinnerware and silverware for my wedding. It was the ultimate battle between renting china and disposable plates. What would be the most cost-effective, which option is more green, will disposable plates look super cheesy and cheap? All these dumb questions running through my mind…

We wanted a DIY, affordable wedding, but we don’t want anything to look like it is a bargain basement, trashy alternative. Disposable plates were not looking too good and then,

Voila! Found it! The perfect plate! Disposable easily won the epic battle with Bambu Veneerware. 

Get this?! They are completely organic, free of bleaches or dyes, biodegrade completely in 4-6 months, perfect for single use, cost MUCH less than renting china, and look beautiful.  Also, since we are bringing our own dinnerware, our catering company took $0.20/per person off of our final bill, which saves us another $40 (DEFINITELY ask your caterer this). Also, don’t forget! With Disposable plates, you don’t need to pay for a service to bus plates, which ended up saving us an additional $500! We are going to have information about the plates and their environmental-friendliness out on the tables as conversations starters. AND we get extra points for going green. WOOT!

If you want to learn more about Bambu Veneerware, go to http://bambuhome.com/products/.

If you want to BUY them, go to Joanne Hudson. They are BY FAR the most affordable (especially for bulk purchases) and they are always on sale and they usually have a deal on shipping which effin’ ROCKS!

Here is a cost breakdown so you can see for yourself!

General Cost Breakdown for 200-Person Wedding:

Renting China & Silverware:

• Dinner Plate: $1/person
• Salad Plate: $1/person
• Cake Plate: $1/person
• Knife: $0.50/person
• Fork (2 for dinner and cake): $1/person
• Service Cost to Bus Plates: $500

 Total: $1400

Bambu Veneerware:

• 200 Dinner Plate Total: $148
• 200 Cake Plate Total: $112
• 400 Forks Total: approx $100
• 250 Knives Total: $59
• Shipping: $40

 *Since we are bringing our own stuff, we get an extra $0.20/per person for our catering. YIPPEE!

Total: $459 -  $40 saved for bringing our own stuff = $419

Pick Your Top 3

I was given some great advice from my dear friend, Ryane, who is also engaged and working with a very strict budget! I told her my budget woes and she said pick 3 things that are most important to you for that day: Food, Photos, Dress, Venue, Booze, Etc… and make those 3 things a priority. Spend the most money in your budget on the 3 and do the minimal for the rest. Your guests will remember the 3.

I have to say, it has been great advice! Here’s our list:

1.    Kick Ass Photographer

2.    Great Venue/Location

3.    Good Food/Beer

Done and Done!

First Ask Yourself WHY?

When I started planning my wedding back in July, I did what I expect most engaged women do… make a list of everything that I needed to do in the coming months. I used the wedding checklists of the knot and checked out pictures from general wedding sites and then I got to thinking…

Why?

Why do I have to have a receiving line, why do I have to pick $200 bridesmaid dresses, why do I have to get married in a church, why do I have to register for stuff when I already have enough stuff, why do we need to have programs, awkward first dances, expensive white china, a huge white poofy dress, chicken or fish, a traditional ceremony if neither of us are religious, and the list goes on and on… Why?

The reason is because our society has created an insane wedding industry that pushes tradition and $25K+ weddings.

So my wonderful fiancé and I decided to break the mold and have a wedding that reflected US. We are having a 60s & 70s theme DIY wedding with classic rock & fake mustaches. It’s going to be a big party and a ton of fun. It’s going to be affordable and memorable. It’s going to have fake mustaches and tattoos as table gifts and Diana Ross wigs for after the ceremony. It might even have karaoke.

My tip: Don’t be afraid to have the wedding YOU want. If you’re doing traditional stuff just because it is what is deemed ‘normal.’ STOP. Do yourself a favor, ask yourself ‘WHY’, cut out the weird stuff, and plan a wedding about YOU.

YAY! Go for it!