Frugal Wedding Frenzy - Part 4! :)

It's been a while since I have updated about the wedding planning, and I've made some pretty fun progress this past week...and today officially marks 200 days until the wedding, so I think now is a good time! :)

I showed you my bridesmaids dresses in Frugal Wedding Frenzy - Part 3, and I couldn't be more satisfied with my choice. My groom actually got to see those...I showed him a picture that I took of myself when I tried on one of the girls' dresses, and his comment was, "You should get one of those for yourself..." haha...so even he liked them :) So I definitely decided to go with turquoise for one of my colors. Then I struggled with deciding between orange and red for the other color...but I found the perfect solution :)

Red-Orange and Turquoise!

That was actually what I wanted all along, I just had a really hard time finding the right shade of orange, so I thought I was going to have to go with red. Which would have been okay...I love red...but I am much happier with this...I think it is going to look perfect on the beach! I also showed you my inspiration for my flower girl ensemble in Part 3, but in case you forgot...for your viewing pleasure:

weddingtutu.com

I fell in love with these as soon as I found them online. But I wasn't crazy about the price...$50 per tutu, not including the leotard. Yikes. Especially since I was planning on having both my adorable niece/flower girl and my 10-year-old sister, who I plan on having her hand out programs, wear one. So I found this template for a filled tutu online, and my mom is going to make them for the girls. She is also going to make one for my new baby niece that is currently on the way...she will only be 2 months old at the wedding...it is going to be precious :) And even better, I can have it custom made with the exact colors I want. I found that overlapping red and orange tulle accomplishes the perfect red-orange color I am going for :)

I got the materials to make all 3 tutus for around $40 from Jo-Ann Fabrics...and I probably bought more than enough just to be on the safe side. I can't wait for mom to make these and see how cute they turn out! Now I just need to find the leotards...I will be sure to post pictures when they are complete! :)

I also told you in Frugal Wedding Frenzy - Part 2 about getting my wedding dress that I got on sale at David's Bridal. I ended up getting a size too big, because the zipper was sticking on the one dress they had that was actually in my size, and I've always been told that it is easier to take something in than to let it out...so I figured getting the next size up would probably be the safest bet :) So naturally, I had to have the dress altered. I got a quote from the seamstress at David's Bridal while I was there, and to take it in around the top and through the waist, tailor it to the right length (I'm a shorty...), and it has a little bit of a train, so I asked her to do a simple bustle for when the wedding is over and I'm dancing the night away :) ...she quoted me approximately $110?!? AHH! No thank you. I was honestly a little bit shocked that they would charge so much considering I bought the dress there, but I guess I should've known better.

I was determined to find something better....and I did! I happened to just post something on Facebook to see if anyone had any suggestions for alterations, and one of my sorority sisters from college contacted me and told me her mom could do it! She used to work at a bridal shop, so she knew what she was doing and I knew it would turn out great. Sure enough, I picked up the dress on Friday, and it fits me perfectly :) She did exactly what I wanted and was super fast in getting it finished...and she only charged me $42! So I got my alterations done for less than half of what the bridal shop was going to charge me :)

I obviously can't post a picture of the full dress on here...can't have my groom getting a sneak peak ;) ...but I will give you this much:

I loved the dress, but it had this really ugly sash/belt thing around the waist that I wasn't a huge fan of. It wasn't sewn onto the dress, so I knew it would be something that would be easy to replace. I found some wide ribbon from Jo-Ann's in my perfect red-orange color :)

I also found these flowers for $2.49 at Michael's in my colors...I haven't decided if I want to have flowers on the sash yet, or if I just want the ribbon sewn into a belt. My mom is also going to make my new sash, so either way, that will end up being a pretty inexpensive addition to the dress :)

Next up...I decided I didn't really want to wear a veil. I didn't want to be fighting with it if the wind was blowing on the beach, and veils can be SO expensive! On top of that, my groom actually told me once that he thought veils were creepy...haha. I think he really just means the kind that go over the face, but still...that sealed it for me. I really don't want him to see me walking down the aisle and think, "Yikes, she's creepy," ya know? So I decided to make a fun little hair piece. The problem with that is...I am not terribly creative. At all. So I didn't know what I could make...but as I was wandering around Jo-Ann's yesterday, I found this fun little flower that was pre-made, and I found a random feather thing at Hobby Lobby that was funky and just looked like fun...so I bought them both.

The flower was $2.50, and the feather was $0.99...I also bought a package of alligator clips for $1.47. I glued it with my hot glue gun and called it good...I am pretty happy with how it turned out! :)

I absolutely love pearls. I wanted to wear pearls for my wedding jewelry, and I got the absolute best deal on these: completely free! :) These pearls were my great-grandmother's, who passed them on to my grandma. She had them for years and had them restrung and passed them onto my sister, Sarah, who was named after my great-grandma, for her 16th birthday. Sarah offered to let me borrow them for the wedding! I am so excited about these...they are simple, which I love, and absolutely beautiful. They are perfect. My grandma passed away 3 1/2 years ago, and other than a couple of pictures, this is one of the only things any of us have of hers, so that makes it that much more special. They get to be my something old and my something borrowed :)

I had to include SOMETHING Razorback in my wedding! haha...I found these on ebay and they were $19.99, which isn't bad at all, considering I got two of them, so I have one I can toss, and one I can hold onto as a keepsake :)

I told you about Walter's custom suit in Part 2 as well...I thought I'd throw in a picture, just so you could see it :)

Last but not least...here are the pants I found for my nephew, who is going to be my ring bearer! I found them at oldnavy.com, and they were $19.94, but I was able to use an online coupon code that gave me 20% off, so I got them for $14.96 + tax. They are a linen-cotton blend, and they have an adjustable waist, which is perfect because he's one of those tall, skinny kids that has a hard time getting his clothes to fit. haha. And they are something that he could wear again, so that's always a perk! Way cheaper than buying a little man tux! I still have to find him a shirt...but I am excited that I found these :)

I think that is the latest for now. As of today, we have 13 rooms and 30 guests (including us) booked for the wedding! Things are coming together quite well, and I am really enjoying it...I will keep you posted as I come up with new ideas and new ways to save money :)

199 days!! :)