Use the Internet to Save Money on Your Wedding!

I’ll admit it: I’m frugal, to a point. Yes, I may own a Louie Vuitton, but if my shampoo isn’t on sale, guess what — I’m not buying it!

I learned a long time ago to make my dollar go farther and I want to share with you some websites and resources that I use on a daily basis. I don’t leave my house without checking these websites. The markups of clothing, furniture, and housewares can be anywhere from 40% to 700%. Not only that, but why should you have to pay full price while “preferred” customers or internet savvy ones get discounts because they have a coupon? Well, I don’t think you should! Save your precious dollars for that fabulous fashion photographer, or the splurge worthy Christian Louboutin’s you want to wear on your wedding day.

1.) Retailmenot.com – Okay, so this is one of my favorites, even if J. Crew gave them a cease and desist order to take off their coupon codes! But there are hundreds of other retailers on here where I can guarantee at some point you will spend your precious wedding dollars. For instance:

Victoria’s Secret: Wedding night nighty? Check. Plus free shipping and 10% off.
Borders.com: New books for the honeymoon flight? Perhaps some journals for your ‘maids as part of their gift? CD’s, DVD’s… what about that wedding binder you’ve been thinking about buying? 30% off!
Michaels.com: These may come in the newspaper every week, but I’ve never seen a 50% off coupon on one single item. So do not fret – your DIY wedding project just got a little cheaper!

Here are some other known sites worth mentioning: Wedding Paper Divas, My Wedding Favors, Beau-Coup.com, Banana Republic (hello fabulous rehearsal dinner outfit!), Piperlime, Amazon.com, Expedia.com, tons of other travel websites for your honeymoon and your out of town guests… I mean, the list is endless. And they do boast that they have 85,000 coupon codes!

2.) Free Printable Coupon Codes – This is my favorite of the two, I have to admit. I always score killer printable coupon codes here which means I can print them out on my computer and bring them to the store. I love to shop online, but for certain things, you have to see it before you buy it. Here are some current noteworthy coupon codes available:

Home Depot / Lowes: 20% off coupon for all your DIY projects that require a little bit more than cardstock and a glue gun!
UPS: $10 off coupon for all your shipping needs!
Staples: $40 printable coupon to recharge your ink cartridges. Get those place cards printed!
Rag Shop: 40% off a regular priced item (admittedly, I have never been to this store, so I’m taking a wild guess here that it has some DIY project supplies!)
Jo-Anns: 40% off a regular priced item. Awesome!!
NY & Co: $20 off your purchase. New jewelry, honeymoon clothes, something special for your ‘maids?
Victoria’s Secret: $10 off coupon the VSX line.
… and the list goes on, and on, and on!

The point of this post is to encourage you to scower the internet before you buy and make sure you can’t find the best deal. You might be surprised at how much you end up saving over the course of the year as you plan. It’ll make it that much easier to save up for your dream florist or wedding planner.

If you have any super fabulous similar websites that you’d like to share, feel free to post a comment.

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7 Jul
2008

Posted in: Decor & Design, Latest Trends, Vendor Spotlight
By Candice

1 Comment

Vendor Spotlight: Wonderful Graffiti

Click the image to view the larger version!

As an event and wedding planner, you often have the opportunity to “test drive” a lot of products that vendor’s market to brides. We enjoy this process and find it helpful when recommending quality products and vendors to our brides. One company, Wonderful Graffiti, recently sent us sample swatches of their product and we instantly fell in love! What is Graffiti? From the experts themselves. . .

Wonderful Graffiti is very thin pieces of matte vinyl that look “printed” when applied to most smooth surfaces. Your entire wedding Graffiti design arrives on one sheet of transfer paper. Just tape the transfer paper into place, burnish it down and peel it away. Only the individual letters and graphic elements remain. Wonderful Graffiti removes quickly, and won’t harm underlying surfaces.

The possibilities for using Wonderful Graffiti are endless, truly. Since it is nontoxic, easily removable, and doesn’t leave a residue, you can use it anywhere. On the doors of the church, your dance floor, reception walls, or even your “get-away” car.

Personally, I love the element of using typeface and words as a design element in your wedding. With the right font, monogram, poem, and design, you can add a unique piece of art which will act as a focal point to your wedding! Its totally original and something you can customize to suit your style, personality, and individual love story.

Browse their website to view real weddings that used their product. They have hundreds of examples, prefabricated items, and the ability to customize your wedding graffiti into your personal monogram, favorite verse or poem. Wonderful Graffiti can also be used to decorate your home, office, or add an additional element of decor to the next event you throw (we especially liked the Americana themed graffiti in light of Independence Day!).

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2 Jun
2008

Posted in: All Things Paper, favors
By Candice

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Update: Alphabet Tags

I received an email from Stu at Three Potato Four regarding the alphabet tags I wrote about in yesterday’s blog. The good news is that you can special order the tags in the letter(s) you want for .50 a tag! What a bargan!

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31 May
2008

Posted in: Decor & Design, favors
By Candice

3 Comments

Dressing Up a Table

I love designing table scapes, especially for intimate dinners and parties. I’m always looking to acquire unique and beautiful vases, pitchers, and other containers to use on the table and as interactive pieces for dinner (I love best when things serve a multipurpose!). I have a closet full of greatly shaped containers in a variety of different textures. While surfing the ‘net this afternoon, I came across this darling website called Three Potato Four. They are based out of Virginia where they run their self-proclaimed “mom and pop shop.” What I love most, besides almost every single item they sell on their website, is that they’ve taken the leg work out of finding unique vintage pieces. They have a wealth of items to browse, but my favorite was their array of unique, delectable and colorful pitchers, containers, vases, whatever!

I first fell in love with this milk bottle carafe that looks so beautiful with a single flower, a bouquet, or just filled with your mornings orange juice. I love the shape of it and the thickness of the glass. It is a unique piece that I can’t wait to use!

Of similar ilk is this vintage water bottle that also looks wonderful with just a single bloom. My mom use to have these types of vintage pieces that she would occasionally pick up at tag sales or estate sales. She especially loves medicine bottles.

My most favorite item is their alphabet gift tags. I’ve emailed them about personalizing the order to just include a set amount of one letter. I doubt it is possible unless they are vintage inspired pieces, but if they can offer that option, these would be wonderful as favor tags and in other elements of a weddings design. And because they are black and white they can appeal to a variety of different decor palettes. Either way, I’m ordering myself a set. For $8.oo, how can you go wrong?