So I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions this year, but I did start reading a fantastic book “One Bite at a Time” by Tsh Oxenreider of SimpleMom.net, which has inspired me to make some changes in 2012. The book is broken up into 52 small projects for making life simpler and more organized, or getting your shit together…something I could definitely use some help with. And the projects are organized into categories like, Money Management, Living Well, Organizing Your Space, Relationships…etc. You can start wherever you want, and you pick a project for each week of the year, totaling 52 weeks. I’m a little behind, as it’s closing in on the third week of January, but considering that I don’t have any kids and some of the projects relate to kids, I’m ahead of the game. I chose to start with Organizing Your Space (our tiny condo could use some cleanin’), and picked the project 25 “Organize your photo collection.”

Luke and I were given several beautiful photo albums for Christmas, and I’d like to do something with them, so this was the perfect kick in the butt to get started. Tsh gives several great tips for organizing your photos on your computer, e.g., categorizing into main events and deleting all the blurries. But, seeing as my husband is a type A, and the photographer in the family, we’re already good on that front. So, I am going to apply the same techniques to those boxes of photos we have from before we were a we…you know back in the day when Kodak meant something. I’m committed tonight to go through all of them and keep only the very best ones to go into our first family albums, which will be organized into “She” and “Him”, “We,” and “Us” for when we have kids…or for the dogs, who knows. I want our imaginary kids to have some story of who we were before they came along, and I’m really excited about picking the photos for that narrative tonight.

Here are a few that might make it into the cut.

The past few days have been happily overwhelming for me. The Wedding Dress Project has had a steady climb of new members, I’ve received a number of emails from interested brides, and did you see us mentioned on The Budget Savvy Bride (thanks Cris)? I’ve literally had to pinch myself several times since Friday. But today is the day it all became real, we got our first free wedding dress post from new member Leigha!!! I can hardly sit still. After so much writing, worrying, editing, and editing again, I finally decided to  let go, and it’s been amazing to see this little dream grow legs and start walking.

But enough of my gushing. Let me tell you about the dress. The generous Leigha of TWDP is giving away a beautiful size 10 wine and ivory colored dress that can be worn with or without straps. She’s a proud “second time around” bride who hadn’t yet found the perfect man, but did find her perfect dress for her first wedding, in which she “danced the night away like a princess” and  reminisces “I will never forget how much fun I had that evening and how beautiful I felt.” I thank her for choosing to celebrate her upcoming nuptials by passing along her gorgeous dress to another deserving bride. I’m begging her for pictures, but please get in contact with her if you know someone who’s interested.

Thank you Leigha for sharing your dress and helping make another frugalista’s wedding dreams come true. And thank you Cris of Kiss My Tulle for all your help bringing this project to life. I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes us.

It started with a little dream

Hi friends, and anyone who reads my infrequent posts (thank you),

I have some very exciting news…. I’ve finally completed The Wedding Dress Project website, where brides, grooms, and wedding participants can share their gently used wedding wear for another turn on the dance floor. Woohoo!

Designed by Kiss My Tulle

I was so incredibly touched by all the emails and comments I continue to receive by those who wanted to participate that, with the support of many friends, family, and a fabulous girl named Cris of Kiss My Tulle,  I’ve created The Wedding Dress Project where you can do just that. While still in it’s infancy, I hope that this will grow into a community of friends who bond over beautiful dresses and a whole lot more.

If you’re lost as to how this all started, you might want to start at the beginning and read all about the inspiring Cris and our dress. : )

Thank you everyone for your patience with me in my long absence and support in making this little dream of mine a reality. I’ll be blogging much more regularly over at The Wedding Dress Project (hint, hint, head over there), and plan to turn this little blog into something more about my every day married, frugal-loving life, so stay tuned. I still have a lot to learn about the art of blogging.

Yours,

Eli

As many of you know, I met with Cris Stone of Kiss My Tulle back in June to exchange the dress and meet this incredibly awesome gal that I’d been corresponding with for months. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to post a recap of the wonderful day, but here goes.

We met in June at a delish little restaurant, Uptown Blanco, near my parents home. Side note–If you live in the Texas Hill Country, please check out this place. The food is Texas gourmet at it’s best. — From our first few words, I was so glad that I’d chosen to pass down my dress to Cris. She’s a wonderful, vivacious person, who works tirelessly giving back to others through her blog, and I knew she not only completely deserved my dress, but she would give it a second stunning wedding day. She and her husband “the boy” are two very down-to-earth people, who were extremely easy to talk to. I was nervous that I would have little to talk about having not met Cris before (I shouldn’t have been from all our wonderful emails), but we didn’t have a moment of silence.  We actually have a lot in common, and gabbed about everything from remodeling our homes on a budget to wedding guests to family.  I haven’t looked back on the decision since, and I know we are going to be good friends for years to come.

After dinner, we went outside to transfer the dress between cars. I thought I would feel momentary jitters or regrets about giving away something that had played such a significant role in my big day, but the handover was easy, and actually relieving. I’m super stoked that my dress will not be going to waste, and that I have lots of extra closet space for more clothes ahead. Here are a few snapshots of the exchange.

 First dress wearer, and new dress wearer!

“The boy” was kind enough to heave the dress up for a picture as it traded hands; it’s quite heavy.

And that’s how the first dress exchange went down. Cris will be donning the gown in her 2012 wedding reception.  Due to some unfortunate family events, they ended up getting married this past July. I’m super happy for them and glad they were able to get married when the time was right for everyone in their family.

One reason that I haven’t written in so long, is that I loved the feeling of passing my dress down so much that I wanted to share the experience with other brides and have been designing a separate site just for wedding-related donations. It’s taking me a long time to complete due to a hectic work schedule, but I’m getting close to wrapping it up, and can’t wait to share it with everyone.  I’ll be able to keep track of the original dress through this site, a la sisterhood of the traveling dress, and allow other gals to get in on the fun. Trust me, besides getting hitched to the one you love, there are few feelings greater than passing along your dress and making a new friend in the process. Stay tuned. I’ll be posting a link to my new site in the next month or so.

Happy planning all!

-Elizabeth

Come mid-June, my wedding dress will move from its lonely spot in my closet to the waiting arms of Texas bride-to-be Cris Stone, who will give it a new home and another glorious chance to shine in her May 2012 wedding. A native Texan myself, I will actually be traveling back to Texas in June to visit my parents and will be able to personally hand over the dress to Cris who lives nearby, so excited! But until then, I thought it might be nice for everyone to get to know the girl who has been so integral in getting the ball rolling on the very first dress exchange of The Wedding Dress Project with the interview below, plus check out the snazzy logo she made for the project above.

Cris and "the boy" Jerry

Interview Highlights:

• Cris was raised in Salcha, Alaska, but fell in love with a boy, Jerry, from Texas. (She’s definitely a girl after my own heart. Luke and I fell in love while living in Colorado and Texas.)
• When she first met her future spouse, he was wearing a pink boa and a tiara.
• Cris refuses to pay retail prices for her wedding and is becoming quite a deal-hunting diva. She’s even designing her own flowers.
• She wants a small, budget-friendly wedding surrounded by family. Her dad will be performing the ceremony.

Interview with Cris Stone of kiss my tulle

1. What’s your favorite color?
   Green!
2. Where are you from?
   I was raised in Salcha, Alaska (and no, I did not vote for Palin… ever), but right now I’m living in San Antonio, Texas (Go Spurs Go!) with The Boy.
3. Besides being a bride, what are your favorite pastimes?
   Watching any TV show involving serial killers, the Boston Red Sox, building houses in Sims 3, reading (TONS), blogging, sewing (mostly quilts), and dipnetting (a kind of fishing that PETA would absolutely NOT approve of).
4. How did you and your future spouse meet? Don’t be afraid to get mushy, the mushier the better.
   It’s not mushy – sorry. Jerry was in the Air Force at the time and stationed in Alaska. He worked in the same exterior electrical shop as my dad, and they became friends. I was living with friends in California. My family thought he was the greatest, and my mom tried to get him to marry my older sister (he politely declined). We met briefly one Christmas when my parents invited him and his dog over to celebrate. When I first saw him, he was wearing a hot pink feather boa and tiara. I thought he was gay (turns out my little sister had put it on him, and he’s just a nice guy, so he left it). About a year later, my parents needed help fixing up one of their rentals, and I was between jobs so I moved back to help. It ended up that Jerry rented the house we were fixing up and we met there. About a week later, he asked me if I wanted to go dancing, I was bored out of my mind and said yes, and we’ve been together ever since.
5. Tell us about your engagement. Where and how did it happen?
   Again, not romantic AT ALL. We’ve been together since 2005 and have talked about marriage and family off and on. I have been visiting him in SA for years now, but always go home for Christmas with my family. This year, when I came back we um, got ready to get to it, and he kept asking me questions: “Do you love me?” (I said, “Sure”), “Do you want to have babies with me?” (I said, “Sure”), and “Do you want to marry me?” I was so surprised that I didn’t say anything… so he asked me, “Do you want to marry me and have babies with me?” I asked him if he was serious (he said, “Yes”) and then I got completely and totally overwhelmed and started crying (but not in happiness – it was more like nerves and terror). That sounds awful but I had so many concerns and questions that I needed us to talk about before deciding on this HUGE life decision. So we talked and talked (and eventually got around to what I thought we were going to be doing in the first place) and then went on about our day. It wasn’t until the next day (while he was at work) that I thought about it more and texted asking him if he was serious and where the hell was my ring. He texted me back that he was serious and that he knew that I would want to pick out my own ring. He was right so I texted him back a yes. Roooomantic.
6. When and where is the big day?
   May 26, 2012 at our house in the Texas Hill Country.
7. What kind of wedding do you want? Big, small, formal, local, destination?
   Small, local, casual, fun, LOTS of kids, outdoors, semi-religious – like a great family holiday get-together!
8. What are the top five things that are important to you about planning your wedding day?
   1. Getting married (and having my dad perform the ceremony), 2. Keeping the budget SMALL, 3. Having all our friends and family here, 4. Kick ass photography, 5. Good food
9. Do you have any favorite planning resources?
   The WeddingWire.com has been an amazing resource for lists and organizing. Martha Stewart Wedding magazine (the bible!) is the greatest for inspiration and ideas. I’ve also found that Twitter has THE BEST wedding community and everyone was willing to help out/answer many of my questions. I also LOVE blogs – mostly those by individuals planning their own weddings (like eliperrin, Craftyminx, and Big Day for 10K).
10. What are the top (up to five) things you are doing to save money?
    1. Researching EVERYTHING – I refuse to pay retail so I’m always looking for a deal. 2. I’m doing all my own flowers (bouquets and centerpieces) and doing all my own paper goods (I knew that college degree would come in handy!). 3. The Boy and his Best Man are building all the seating and tables for the whole wedding out of old wood and pallets. 4. We’re doing the ceremony and reception at our home so no venue fees. 5. We’re nixing anything that doesn’t interest us (favors, garter, and boutonnieres).
11. Do you have any D.I.Y. projects that you are particularly excited about?
    I did all the flowers for my friend Helen’s wedding, and I’m really excited to do my own because it was so simple and fun. I’m also super excited about the paper goods since I’m a total office supply nerd and love playing with pretty papers. I’ve actually done a bunch of extra little things (http://www.kissmytulle.com/2011/02/diy-wedding-party-invites.html and http://www.kissmytulle.com/2011/02/diy-wedding-party-invites-1.html) just so that I can play with Illustrator and Photoshop!
12. How did you hear about The Dress Project, and what made you excited to participate?
    I actually read about it on Ruffled’s Recycle Your Wedding. I clicked over to Elizabeth’s blog and thought that the Project was the coolest idea! I had planned on not spending more than $100 on a dress that I would only wear for one day (I am not a princess kinda girl, and I just wasn’t getting excited about dress shopping) so this Circle of Life wedding dress idea really appealed to me. I was also excited to see that the dress would fit me and was a lovely, simple style that would work perfectly for my laid-back wedding. I was thrilled to be picked because there was no way that I would ever have been able to afford something so pretty on my own. Also, everyone that I’ve shared this with is so thrilled with the idea and cannot wait to see the dress in person (and meet Elizabeth!).
13. How are you going to make the dress unique to you?
    I’m planning on replacing the sash with a colored version. Otherwise, it’s perfect to me!
14. What are you most looking forward to about being married? Being married. Really – I never thought that anyone would want to spend their life with me or have a family with me so being with The Boy until death do us part is pretty exciting to me. On a shallower note, I’m excited to throw a kick ass party with yummy food and lots of pretty things to look at!

Recently, I went to  one of my girlfriends homes, who was married several months after me, and her home was beautifully adorned with wedding pictures and family photos. And it made me a little ashamed of my neglected, bare walls at home, with the only few adornments being some outdated IKEA lights from college and a few random posters. So I’m finally going to do something with those pricey captured memories, and actually put them on the walls, maybe even in frames!

I just need to figured out a cheap, creative way to showcase them. Does anyone know any cool DIY projects for wedding photos? I’m all ears.

Stay tuned for the outcome of this messy pile below.

Future Wall Decor

As many of you may know, Cris Stone is one of the many amazing brides I have been privileged to meet through the Wedding Dress Project. She also runs a blog, kiss my tulle, where she details her own experiences with the daunting planning processes and everything else that comes with getting hitched and offers great wedding advice for budget-minded brides. You can probably guess that after a couple of emails back and forth, we discovered that we have a lot in common.

We will be working together quite a bit on the upcoming Dress Project, so stay tuned. But for now, please check out my interview  for her blog “Wedding Advice for Newly Engaged Couples.” It was a lot of fun looking back on the day and sharing what I wish I had known going into the process, i.e., don’t get so caught up in the planning that you make yourself sick from stress the day before you walk down the aisle and your friends have to pump you full of DayQuil and vitamin C just to keep you on your feet.

Stay tuned for a similar interview from Cris coming to Eliperrin shortly. Till them, have fun browsing all the goodies she has on her site.

I emailed and called tons of makeup and hairstylists in preparation for my wedding day, and let me say this was one of the most stressful parts of the planning process. Most of the stylists I spoke with were way outside of my budget or the brides in their portfolios looked too made up for my taste. I don’t wear a lot of make-up normally, so the last thing I wanted was to feel like I was walking around with a coat of shellac on my face. Luckily, after a solid month of searching, I stumbled upon a Craigslist ad for Make-up by Evelyn.

From our first email, I knew she was the artist for me. She was warm and down to earth and didn’t have any problem helping me choose services that fit my budget. And on meeting her during our trial hair and make-up run, I was hooked. Sheput together a very natural, but elegant look for me, and had no problem making adjustments if I felt something wasn’t quite right. She also designed custom hairstyles to match each of my bridesmaid’s unique personalities. No easy task.

Unfortunately, I came down with a cold the night before my wedding, but Evelyn swooped in to the rescue by getting all the bridesmaids ready while I slept in. This was a lifesaver. With a little rest, I was ready to take on the day.  After she worked her magic, you couldn’t even tell I wasn’t feeling like a million bucks.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

If you live in Southern California, I highly recommend that you contact Make-up By Evelyn.

I’m super stoked to announce that I found a home for my dress with beautiful bride-to-be, Cris Stone. She’s getting married in 2012 in my old stomping grounds, the Texas Hill Country, so obviously I’m already a big fan. I will be posting a profile for her shortly and keeping everyone in the loop on her wedding story shortly, but in the meantime, please check out her own wedding blog: http://kissmytulle.typepad.com/

She’s also a big proponent of budget weddings, and much better at staying up to date on blogging than I.

http://kissmytulle.typepad.com/

Stay tuned, more exciting updates to come.

In honor of our recently passed six-month anniversary, I’ll be sending some shout outs to some of the incredible vendors we were lucky enough to work with for our wedding. I should have done this much earlier because they were all so great, but better late than never. ; )

So here goes the first shout out to Veronica Sanchez and her team at A Classy Party to Remember.

My husband and I were blown away by the professionalism of Veronica and her team. From the beginning of the planning stages to the final touches on the day,Veronica was so accommodating and worked with us to design an amazing dinner on a very tight budget. A Classy Party to Remember always made us feel like we were their top priority and went above and beyond the call of duty for us, promptly returning calls to answer my numerous nervous-bride questions and making sure everything was absolutely perfect on our wedding day.

The best part, you couldn’t tell our wedding was on a shoe string after Veronica was done with it. For an extremely reasonable price, she provided us with a full waitstaff, coffee and tea service, two served appetizers (vegetarian quesadillas and prosciutto-flaked melon balls) and a plated dinner of shrimp scampi and chicken picatta, rosmary potatoes and champagne green beans. Plus, the  finishing touches they provided with fancy napkin settings and tea lights at every table, floral centerpieces on the buffet  and snacks in the bridal suite put our wedding over the top!  I couldn’t find another vendor who offered this type of service for my budget.

And, the food… spectacular!

Yum!

A Classy Party to Remember is located in Venice Beach, CA. Check out their page on Yelp where you’ll find a bevy of more glowing reviews and pictures of their beautiful work.

A Classy Party to Remember