Favors..

Thanks to Nichole, favors are on my mind tonight.

Two key words: Food or Function

Favors are fun and your guests will appreciate a little token of thanks but remember to be thinking while choosing your favors - functional. Don't forget that you are paying for these favors so don't waste your money on something that is cute but useless (mini cow salt and pepper shakers that say 'an utterly great couple' might not be the best choice - who is going to use those anyway?)
We chose a small ice cream scoop and have had more compliments and comments about them. Our guests are actually using our favor instead of throwing it in a box in the basement.

Another great option is food. Guests always love a little treat to take home with them. Wrap some chocolates in a small container and put it at each place setting - simple and sweet.

Invitations, etc.

Save-the-Dates, Invitations, RSVPs, Programs, etc. The amount of stationary/paper products needed for your wedding can be overwhelming and expensive. If you can handle some creativity and arts & crafts time, make everything yourself.
Check out a few sites for samples and ideas. Use the sites for layout, wording & color ideas. Here are a few I found by simply googling 'wedding invitation samples':
- http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com/unique-wedding-invitations-stationery.htm
- http://www.invitationsbydawn.com/custom/dawnus/reddot/WeddingInvitationsLP2.cfm?&CustSourceCode=11816&ssource=google-WEDDING_INVITATION_BROAD_SEARCH&kw=wedding_invitation_samples_test_LP2&s_kwcid=TC|5966|wedding%20invitation%20samples||S||3595620458&gclid=CPO_wZ_O9Z4CFchn5QodXykvKA
- http://www.rexcraft.com/Custom/Rexcraft/Rexcraft_CatInvites.cfm

Once you have your ideas, go to your local paper supply store. This is not your fancy stationary store - that WILL be expensive. I went to xpedx in Willow Grove, PA (http://www.xpedx.com/). The website doesn't look like much but their products are worth the visit. I was able to get all the paper I needed for everything from the invitations to the little registry insert cards. My husband did the graphics, we both did the cutting, I put them together, and we both stuffed the envelopes...all while watching tv! Money saved while watching our prime time shows was an easy choice for us.


If you are not the arts & crafts kind of couple, try cutting corners where you can. Postcard stamps are less expensive than regular stamps. If you make your Save-the-Dates and RSVPs postcards, you will automatically save money on the stamps.

Get Organized

Save your pen and paper for your grocery list. I have the perfect, stress-free tool for you. Check out the Elm Software - iDo program (http://www.elmsoftware.com/). This was the best mini investment we made during the planning process. It's user friendly, keeps track of EVERYTHING and, best of all, its all in one place.

Everything we needed from budget and vendor info to RSVPs and A/B guest lists were all in one spot. The best parts about this program, though, were the timeline and checklist. For most of us, we have never planned a wedding before. For many of us, we are the first in our generation to get married. Things have changed since our parents got married and we have no clue where to start. iDo gets the ball rolling for you, keeps it moving and continues even after you're married (you can keep track of your gifts and thank you notes).

Picking the RIGHT venue

Picking a venue is obviously important but picking the right venue for you is even more important.

Do your research and ask your questions.

Does it bother you if there is another wedding at your venue the same night as yours? Find out if your venue has more than one ballroom. If they do, find out if there is another wedding scheduled OR if you can be guaranteed the whole place.
Our wedding was at The Warrington Country Club in Warrington, PA (http://www.warringtoncountryclub.com/index.htm). They DO have more than one ballroom AND they guaranteed us the whole place - the only music that was heard was ours, the only people in the bathrooms, hallways, etc. were our guests. It doesn't sound like a big deal but, for me, I wanted to know that everyone working at The Warrington that night was there for us.
To be fair, our wedding was in the middle of Passover AND the Saturday before Easter - not many people wanted that weekend and we were able to get the whole place to ourselves. Remember to be reasonable - if you are planning your wedding on a popular weekend, don't expect to get your place all to yourselves.


Does your venue offer any discounts?
Weekdays, afternoons and Sundays are usually less expensive than Saturday evening weddings - and in come cases, significantly less expensive. Some places also provide a discount for children and young adults who wont be eating as much or drinking from the open bar. We had about 20 children and 10 young adults. At The Warrington, those 20 children ate chicken tenders & fries and were free. Those 10 young adults ate a regular adult meal and were $40 each. Sound like a no-brainer? We have a friend whose venue, which served an "all you can eat" family style meal, made them pay the same price for EVERYONE. No thanks.


What does your venue include with the package price?
This was a HUGE reason we selected The Warrington. Our price ($79.50 per person) included floral center pieces for every table (20+ tables), 5 hour open bar, champagne toast for everyone (175 people), our wedding cake, and tax & gratuities (an additional $800+ in taxes alone). If you only take into consideration the flowers and the cake, you're looking at hundreds even thousands of dollars that would have normally been spent in addition to your price per person. We were sold!

Where the idea came from...

The idea of the "Weddings on a Quarter" blog was 8 months in the making.

It all started when one of our wedding guests thought our wedding cost us 75K - what a complement but not on a teacher's salary! I guess we did a great job planning, saving and impressing. In the end, we spent 25K and had many guests saying it was the best wedding they'd ever been to.

After the wedding, I became one of the point-woman for a friend planning her own wedding. Through many long texts and emails, I was able to help (as much as I could) solve wedding concerns.

Finally, at previously-mentioned-friend's wedding, we were sitting at the table when someone came over asking for me. I turned around to one of the bridesmaids, on a mission from the bride. She said the bride knew I would know the answer to their question.....so answer I did.

At this point, those of us sitting at the table (Lam - husband, Lisa - mom, Robert - dad, Sara - sister, Ron - Sara's boyfriend, and Simone - cousin) all decided I needed to start a blog. How many other brides and grooms could I help? I mean, I am not the end-all-be-all of wedding knowledge but I DO know how to save a buck without compromising style.

So blog I started....and we will see where it goes :)

Picking a Venue

Save yourself some time, energy and headaches - find a couple wedding magazines that have venue charts. This was the greatest help when starting our wedding planning.

I was trying to wrap my brain around venues, prices, budget, etc. and wished I had something, anything, a chart of sorts, that would list all the wedding venues in the Philadelphia area and include things like price, capacity, ceremony on site, etc. That week I stumbled upon not one, not two, but three charts - the wedding gods were listening.

I spent some time looking at the charts and checking out venue websites. I was able to narrow down my venue search in the comfort of my own home. By the time I was finished with the charts, I had selected 5-10 venues out of 100s. Instead of driving to 50 or so venues, we drove to less than 10.

Those charts were such a life saver :)