Calling all beach brides

Have you already decided you are getting married at the beach next summer?

If so, check out J.Crew's web site today! All of the final sale stuff has gone an additional 20% off! Their embossed beach dress is the perfect wedding dress! I wore a short version of it, but it's usually available in a gown too!

I just checked, but I didn't see the gown version on the site. The short version is only $40 right now!

It's a great beach wedding dress! The extra detailing of the pleats, make this embossed beach dress one of J.Crew's fanciest. It's comfy and casual - everything a beach wedding should be! It even has pockets!!! What more could you ask for?

Another flower tip

Another tip for inexpensive flowers is to use the pre-made bouquets from the grocery store! Who needs a fancy florist?! Flowers at the grocery are usually gorgeous and they're way cheaper than a florist. Of course, you have to pray that your local grocery will have flowers you like the day or two before your wedding. At my wedding, my MOH accidentally forgot all of those beautiful flowers that she had assembled a few months earlier! (slight crisis? yes!!!)

But I wasn't about to let her drive all the way home to get them. We went to the grocery down the street and got some flowers for about $30 and made new bouquets! They actually were even prettier than the ones we made. I was incredibly pleased with how they turned out.

A horrible blogger, am I

I am in training this week and the girl next to me is a blogging fanatic. She writes a cooking blog, that I am looking forward to following. Check her out!

I apologize for being MIA lately. But don't worry... I will be posting some more awesome tricks for being a bargain bride. :-)

Flowers

Flowers can be a very large expense when it comes to weddings, but they don't really have to be...

For my wedding, we chose to use artificial flowers since being out in the sun and heat of the beach may cause real ones to wilt too quickly. At my local craft store, I found small bundles of flowers and wrapped them with ribbon. Each of my bridesmaid bouquets cost only $10 each after all was said and done. And they look incredible!! No one will ever know how much money I saved on them!!

For my bouquet, I used artificial ones as well. Although, the flowers I used were a little more pricy. I found some at a craft show that looked and felt just like real daisies. I spent about $35 on flowers and just bought some inexpensive ribbon to wrap around the stems.

We won't be having flowers for centerpieces, so that is saving a ton of money too. Get creative with your centerpieces and see what you come up. I will post about mine next time.

Don't Be Afraid to Mix it Up a Little

Who says everything has to be matchy matchy? It's more fun to make things "go together" than it is for it all to be exactly the same thing!

If you are being a bargain bride, remember "beggers can't be choosers." Now that's not to say you can't choose everything you want - after all, you are the bride - what you say goes! But just keep an open mind about it.

For example, our groomsmen are wearing the same ties, shirts, and shorts... but unfortunately, I couldn't get everyone the same flip flops on sale.

So to improvise, I switched it up. Half of the guys are wearing flip flops and the other half are wearing boat shoes. They all have the same madras plaid accents, but are different styles - just like the bridesmaids' dresses are all the same, but different!

Set your expectations ahead of time

It is so much easier said than done, but really? How could you not? If you set an expectation and an idea of what you really want, then you can start bargain hunting...and the bargains will just appear!

You won't know it until it happens, but you will be out one day and see something that makes you say, "wouldn't this be good as ____ ."

for example, when i was at the outlets with my MOH, we were in a store and I found a cute headband. I jokingly put it on and said, "What do you think of this?" Her response was "I think that'd be perfect for your hair at the wedding!!"

Of course, she was right and I had to purchase it. The best part, it was only $13!!

Wedding hair piece - done!

early bridesmaid shopping

Shop early! Try buying things like bridesmaid dresses and shoes in the off-season or at an end of season clearance.

I knew last summer that I was getting married on the beach this summer. I knew I wanted my bridesmaids to wear embossed beach dresses from jcrew. So I waited until they went on sale and picked my color that way. I told the girls "You pick the style as long as it's this color and fabric." Most of them waited until final sale at jcrew went to an additional 30% discount and ended up with their dresses for under $40.

The scary thing about doing this is "What do I do if someone gains weight between now and then?!" Well the best suggestion I can give is -- order up one size bigger than what they wear today. This way, if they gain any weight, it will still fit. And if it's a little big at wedding time, it won't cost much to have it taken in at a tailor.

Another good tip for outfitting bridesmaids on a budget is to check out Saxon Shoes' end of summer sales. We ended up getting all the girls shoes for $25 a pair. And they are definitely a style shoe they can wear all summer long after the wedding.

Try and make sure everything you pick out is something your girls can wear again. No one wants to spend money on something they are only going to wear once.