First BIG Purchase & Fantastic News!!!

I had a really good weekend.

My tax returns came in last week and on Friday I made my first big wedding purchase: the down payment on Savannah Station, our reception site! I originally thought it would cost $3750 to have the facility for the time we needed (our wedding/reception times overlap their day/evening rates by half an hour). But after speaking to Theresa at S.S., I found out that it would only be $2750 for 8 hours! Moreover, the facility's ballroom is 6000 sq. ft., so we'll have part of the space blocked off with a theatrical curtain to make it more intimate for our small wedding AND provide an additional space for an indoor ceremony should it happen to rain on our day! We now have a back up plan and won't have to worry about a tent rental or people braving the elements. :)

Okay, now for the even more FANTASTIC news. Remember a few posts back when I mentioned a contest for the Running of the Brides? Well....I WON THE CONTEST AND WILL GET A GOWN OF MY CHOICE FOR FREE!!! It was sponsored by Atlanta Occasions and they contacted me today to let me know I had won! I'm even more ecstatic about the event now that I know I won't need to bring any money with me to buy my gown! I was already thrilled knowing I'd get a designer gown for no more than $800, but now I'm getting a designer gown (all worth over $1,000 and up to $10,000) for FREE!

So this weekend I found out that I "saved" about $1800 on expenses I already had budgeted. I hope I can keep up with the savings throughout the wedding planning! :D

The Running of the Brides

Photo Source

As I've already mentioned, I'm on a very tight budget for my wedding. I'm not even sure of the final budget number (I'm dreading the "how much can you help me" talk with my mom) but I have a working number in my head. It's going to come from left over loan money, lots of extra shifts at work, cutting back in everyday spending, selling stuff on Ebay, whatever Mom can give, and of course, Chris's family.

I prefer not to list the budget number until after the wedding, where I promise I will break down all the wedding costs one by one. And if any of you are REALLY wanting to know how much I'm spending, I'm sure that you'll be able to keep track with individual items as I book, reserve, and pay for them. But that would make you a borderline stalker. :P

With all that said, I will routinely list ways I'm planning on saving money during the planning/paying process. One of those ways is with the dress. I know a lot of girls would never dream of the dress being anything BUT the most important item on the budget. I'm not one of those girls. I'm willing to save on the dress to add to another area (photography!) on my wedding day. Brides wear their dresses for maybe 12 hours max and then never again.

Don't get me wrong. I definitely want a gorgeous gown that will illicit gasps & awes as I walk down the aisle. But I'm not willing to spend a lot on it. Period. This is where "The Running of the Brides" comes in. Once a year, select Filene's Basements hold an event where thousands of designer gowns are marked down drastically for brides-to-be. I'm fortunate enough to be living a little over an hour outside of Atlanta where one of these events are held. So can you guess what I'll be doing on March 20th this year?!?! My bridesmaids have already signed on to help take out anyone standing between me and my dream dress! Haha...but seriously, I'm sure Ashley might cut someone for me! ;)

I'll only have to take about $750 with me to the ROBs because they only sell dresses at 3 price points: $249, $499, and $699! They once had a $10,000 dress sell for $199 back in the day! So no matter what, I know I'll find my dream dress for an awesome deal.

The day before ROBs, my girls and I are going to have a sleepover so I can "drill" my mini army on what I want so they know what to grab. I'll also outfit my team with matching outfits so we get the full effect of the day (maybe the classic BM tank tops?). I've already had a style of dress in mind and I've even found a designer that carries a lot of those styles. I'll update later with more details on my dream wedding dress, but to hold you over here's an idea of what I'm wanting:

Photo Sources

Anyways, I ran across an awesome opportunity today regarding ROBs. AtlantaOccasions.com is hosting a contest where a bride can win a dress from the event and even have her team outfitted in matching outfits for free! I thought about not posting it here in a public forum (who wants to slim their chances), but I'll look at it as good karma. ;) If I make it to the finals, I'll be coming back to hit everyone up for votes!