TGIF! A few awesome DIY projects from around the web:

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1. DIY votives from fellowfellow

2. DIY rustic candle holders by  My Design Dump (via  I SPY DIY ‘s Pinterest)

3. DIY String Wall- Art by Que Linda

Good Morning!!!!

Today is the first monday of my winter break from school (yes!!!). Finally, I get a chance to catch up on some of my favorite blogs…and post some goodies. I’ve also really thought about Pretty Chicky and how I can maintain it once school starts again, and I’ve decided that it’s possible- but just not daily.

I’ll be posting on a MWF schedule pretty much from now on. I hope that if you already haven’t, you subscribe to the blog via email or the feed, so that you can get the updates automatically when I post, rather than checking daily for something new. Thank you all for your support thus far!

P.S. I had a few readers ask what the heck Im doing… I’m getting my MBA full time  at the University of Maryland College Park–and it has literally taken away all of my free time!!!!!! (but its worth it….)

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ok, enough about my life… i came across this wedding on the W. Scott Chester Photo Blog. So many lovely details!!! Here are my favs:

a simple and beautiful gray accent:

perfect votive lighting:

dancing in confetti:

You can seem more from w. scott chester photography here! Love them!

Have you entered to win our giveaway? Check it out here!

the power of great table linens….

When I came across this wedding, I was so excited because it has so many great DIY details and lots of cost-saving ideas. And if that wasn’t enough, the bride looked absolutely perfect on her wedding day. What more could a girl want?

Couple: Ashley and Brandon

Wedding Date: 1/03/09

Number of Guests: 50

Budget: $15,000

Ceremony/Reception/food: $3590 (included both the ceremony and reception from 5:00-10:00pm, use of the entire facility, chairs, servers, cake-cutting service, clean-up. We were allowed to start delivering wedding items to the venue on Wednesday, and we were able to start decorating the day before the wedding.)

Officiant: $350

Rentals: $1000 (dishes, glassware, table linens, etc)

Bridal Gown & Alterations: $1000 (dress: Oleg Cassini from David’s Bridal)

Bridal Accessories: $130 Ashley made the bracelet below herself the morning of the wedding. um…talented? YEAH!

Hair/Makeup: $875 Ashley had hair extensions put in that lasted 2 months after the wedding. (Love her hair!)

Groom’s Attire & Accessories: $170.00

Transportation: $172.50 Ashley and Brandon did not hire any transportation for themselves, but they did rent a sightseeing trolley to take their guests on a tour to see Christmas lights in between the ceremony and reception. I love this idea!

Photographer: $1730 “included 8 hours of coverage, 4 photographers total- we were very lucky!, and a CD of all the photos with printing rights“

Videographer: $0

Ceremony Music: $150 Guitarist for one hour

Reception Music: $600

Paper: $200 Ashley designed all of her paper elements.

Other décor: $350 (DIY aisle runner, centerpieces, candles, vases, etc)

Favors: $15.00 (Lindt chocolate truffles bought on sale)

Heritage table with DIY tree, table centerpieces

The heritage table is a collection of pictures of family members that have passed. Ashley made the “family tree” from branches. Oh, and I have to mention- Ashley said these tables were only about $12 each to decorate- that’s what I’m talking about! She really achieved the romantic ambience that she wanted, and for a great price.

Flowers: $800

Cake: $420 Ashley is a cake lover like me, so having a large cake was important to her. They had a 4 tier cake with a different flavor for each tier and poured chocolate ganache on the outside.  Their delivery fee was waived because they met the vendor at a bridal show (Did you catch that tip?)

Miscellaneous: $590 “We hired a beverage catering service for the bar which saved us a ton of money! Weddings in St. Augustine aren’t cheap, and it would have easily cost us almost $2000 if we bought one of our caterer’s drink packages so we hired our own bartender instead for $390. The alcohol itself cost about $200, all purchased from our local Total Wine store, so to have an open bar for 4 hours with wine/beer/champagne/liquor, we paid a total of $590.” (TIP!)

Total Cost: Approximately $15,000 (includes some incidental cost not included above such as marriage license, etc)

Some advice from Ashley:

Best cost-saving advice: Have your ceremony and reception in the same location and choose a venue that allows you to bring in your own vendors.  This almost always results in saving a lot of money.  Decide what your priorities are and allocate most of your budget for those things.  Cut out items that aren’t absolutely necessary like limo transportation, etc.  DIY as much as you can without driving yourself crazy, but make sure it’s worth it.  DIYing can actually cost more if you’re not careful.

If you can splurge, do it here:  Photography!!!  I can’t emphasize that enough.  The photos are all you’ll have left after the wedding is over so don’t skimp in this area!  They’re a physical representation of your memories and something you’ll treasure for the rest of your lives.  I’ve heard/read so many horror stories from other brides who hired the cheapest person they could find only to end up with terrible pictures or, in some cases, none at all and it was devastating.  Don’t let that happen to you.  Aside from that, I’d recommend focusing on the food, drinks, and music because those three things tend to be the most important to wedding guests. (Make sure you have enough food and drink for everyone!).

Don’t bother with:  Everyone has a different opinion on this subject and ultimately it comes down to your own budget and priorities, but there are some things that we did not see the point in spending money on such as limos, a live band, chair covers, etc.  We weren’t concerned about any of those, even though they’re all pretty typical of weddings where we live.

Thank you for sharing, Ashley! To see more of Ashley’s beautiful pictures, vendor reviews, and more tips, click here.

Photos by Jaime Smith Photography & Allison Labine Photography.