DJ Update

Last week I told you guys that our DJ called and had to cancel on us due to having to go out of business. I was upset when this happened, but at the same time I was glad that he called us four months in advance so that we had time to find someone else.

After much research on my part last week, we have set up an appointment to meet with one DJ company this coming Sunday. I really hope that this appointment goes well because they are the same price as the other guy was going to be. Luckily, this company runs a special from November to April(non wedding season) where their services are only $100 an hour instead of $175 an hour. So I am really hoping that it goes well so that we can book them and not have to keep looking. Fingers crossed!

What are some questions that we should ask when we have our appointment on Sunday? Any suggestions for us?

DIY Wedding Wire Name Hangers

Something that I came across on Etsy that I really wanted for the wedding was the wire name hangers that people make. Now I couldn't bring myself to spend $25-$30 on one name hanger, so I set out to try and figure out how to do them myself.

During this process, I stumbled across a DIY that someone had posted on a Weddingbee board. After reading over how this girl did hers, I decided that I had to try it. It seemed easy enough. You can find her DIY here. So here goes my own DIY Tutorial of how I made these awesome wooden name hangers.

Supplies:

• 18 Gauge wire-I bought mine at Lowe's for around $4.88 I think. It comes in 110 ft rolls.

• Wooden Hangers-I bought a 5 pack at Walmart for $4.98. Make sure they don't have that bar that goes across the bottom for pants to hang on. 

• Drill
• Drill bit. The drill bit needs to be a little bit bigger than the gauge of the wire. The one we bought was a 1.6mm drill bit.

• Needle Nose Pliers
• Wire Cutters. We used our Leatherman and it had the pliers and the cutters both on it. 

• Font that you are wanting to use. Make sure you use a script font because you want the letters to connect. I used Riddle like the girl did in her tutorial. You have to download this font. (Once you have downloaded it you have to extract all files. It should pull a file out that looks like a stack of books. Once you have that file extracted, you need to go to your control panel and click on Fonts. You should be able to just click and drag the file into the Fonts folder and then it should pop up with a box that says something about downloading or processing. Once that box closes you should be good to go. Just open word and pull down your font menu and it should be in there.)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Glue Sticks
• Ribbon

Directions:

• Once you have your font installed open word and type in the names that you are wanting to do. Make sure that you make the first letter a little bit bigger then the rest. I believe her tutorial called for 225 for the first letter and 110 for the others, but I messed around with mine a bit to make them look how I wanted. Once you have that figured out, print out the sheets so that you can get started.

• Next you want to cut a good length of wire. I think about 4 ft will do it, you can do longer though if you are worried about it. I found that I would end up with a lot of extra wire and it wouldn't be long enough to do another name so I would end up wasting this wire.
• Once you have your wire cut, lay the wire against the name and start bending the wire like you are tracing the name.(Helpful hint: use your imagination with some of it. I had a name that had a "z" in it and the font didn't have a cursive "z" so I had to do that one without a guide. If you don't like the way one of the letters looks in the font that you chose, make it your own and don't be afraid to mess up because it is bound to happen.)
• Once you have the wire bent into the name, you can start to attach it to the hanger.
• First, you need to drill two small holes in your hanger. One on each side on the underneath part of the hanger, directly under the little etched out part that you would hang the strap on. You can go all the way through, but I didn't just so that you wouldn't see the wire poking up through.

• Next, I laid the hanger down on the counter and tried to center the name the best that I could. 
• Once I had the name centered, I would cut the wire to the appropriate length.
• I would then bend a little piece of the wire up so that it would sit in the holes that I drilled.

• Once I was satisfied with the way that it looked, I would put a little bit of hot glue on the ends of each piece and put them into the holes that I drilled. 

• From there I would adjust them however I needed to, i.e. if something wasn't laying right or if they weren't quite straight across.
• I then tied a bow onto the hanger of each person's name.

And that's it! They are done! I made one for me, all of the girls in my wedding party, my flower girls, my moms, Aran's mom, both of my sister in laws, our guest book attendant and one of our readers. Now you don't have to do that many, but I felt that each one of these people would really love these. And let's face it, I had the supplies to do it. So overall, I spent around $15 on the hangers, and I ended up having to buy a second roll of wire because I played around with it so much so that was another $10 and then about $2 on ribbon and then I also had to purchase the glue gun and glue sticks so that was about another $6. So overall I made 15 hangers and spent a total of $33 dollars which works out to be about $2.20 a hanger. That is pretty dang good!

I hope that you guys can use this tutorial and make these for yourself if you have been wanting them. It is definitely a cheaper route to go and it is kind of fun to make the gifts for those that you have asked to share your special day with you. I can't wait to see how they all look with everyone's dresses hanging on them. If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to leave a comment or you can email me at mdvervaecke@gmail.com. 

Did you make any of the gifts for your wedding party? Did you find that it was cheaper or more expensive than it would have been to buy them?

4 Months To Go

According to my Wedding Wire account we have exactly 122 days until the wedding! That is four months!!! I repeat, four months!! Holy freaking crap! Just thinking about how much we have to do in four months is stressing me out. And to add to that stress, I received a phone call from our DJ today letting me know that he can longer do our wedding because he is having to close his business. I'm not mad at him because well that would be stupid. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions like that, but at the same time it really sucks because had great prices and services.

So now, we are on the hunt for a new DJ that is somewhat affordable. I foresee a breakdown coming in my near future. I am trying really hard to not let these things bother me and get me down, but it is so hard when you think that you have finally put everything into place and then pieces start to fall apart. Hopefully we can find someone else soon and still get a really great price.

I have really been trying to get some of the DIY projects done and out of the way so that when it gets down to crunch time, I am not running around with my head cut off trying to finish them all. But somehow they seem to just keep piling up. I have however enlisted my Mom's help in a lot of these. She has been a big help and I can't wait to see how some of these things turn out that she is working on. And of course, I can't wait to share them with you guys.

I will keep you guys updated on the search for a DJ and all of the DIY projects. Hopefully I can finish some of them pretty soon so that I can get them up for you guys to see.

Did you have any vendors cancel on you? Do you have any tips for us for finding a new DJ?

Wedding Veil

When I bought my dress, we looked at the veils that they offered at the boutique. They had a few their that I liked, but then I looked at the price and about had a heart attack. Over $200 for a piece of tulle, a plastic hair comb, and some beads. Really?!! I could make that for probably about $10 if I knew how. I knew right away that I would not be purchasing a veil from their.

You see, I am a very frugal person. So there was no way I was going to pay that kind of money for what I would be getting. I just couldn't do it. I would be feeling nothing but guilt if I did. So, I began searching on Etsy for a veil. I figured I could find one cheaper and not only that, but I may be able to have somebody do a custom one for me. I had this idea in the back of my head about putting three little lace applique butterflies on the veil. I wanted these to be a reminder for me when I saw them, that my Grandparents were there with me in spirit.

Upon searching on Etsy, I came across a listing by abusymother that was for an elbow length, single layer ivory veil. It was exactly what I wanted. I contacted her and explained to her what I was looking to do with the butterflies, and she was more than happy to help me with it. She then sent me a link to some butterflies that she had found and I loved them so she purchased them and told me that whenever I was ready to order, she would have them for me.

I was finally ready to order my veil right after my dress came in and after contacting her she got started. My thought is that I really want to have my veil and all of my accessories for my first fitting. I figured this would give her plenty of time because my first fitting isn't until November. Well that was three weeks ago yesterday that I ordered it. Well, Saturday I checked my mail to find that my veil was already here! I was way excited. I ripped it out of the box before I was even in the car. And this is what I found...

This was the best picture that I could get of it. The butterflies were a little bit bigger than I thought they were going to be, but I still love it. It is perfect. I put it next to my dress and the color matches, so that is a plus, haha! Now, I am sure that you are wondering how much I ended up paying for this since I was earlier complaining about how much they cost. Well, I am happy to tell you that with shipping my total came to $69.98! And it was worth every penny!

I highly recommend abusymother if you are looking for a veil. She does great work and she is really great to work with and her prices are very reasonable. 

Did you buy a veil from the place that you purchased your dress? Or did you have one custom made for you? Or were you adventurous enough to try making one on your own?

Finishing Our Registry

This afternoon we decided it was time to finish tackling the registry that we had started at Bed Bath & Beyond. If you remember last time, I was so overwhelmed by the time that we left there that I was not looking forward to going back anytime soon.

Before we went in today we talked about what we thought we still needed to put on there. I think that helped a little bit because it didn't seem near as stressful this time around. Now, we had a little disagreement about which pots and pans to get, but after that it was smooth sailing. This time around, I let Aran do all of the scanning. He seemed to get more of a kick out of it than I did.

Something that I seemed to be a little bit better with this time around was telling myself that it is okay to put a few expensive items on there. I just had to keep telling myself that it was okay if we didn't get it and that this is just a wish list. Towards the end of it, I remember saying a few times, "Sure, put it on there. Why not?" Haha! I'm not sure if this was me finally feeling comfortable with the situation, or if it was just me getting tired of walking around the store. It may have been a little of both.

I think from today's outing the thing that excited me the most was the towels and the bathmats that we picked out. I know, I'm weird. But they are way cool. They are microfiber and they are so freaking soft! I love them!!!!

Thankfully we have only decided to register at one other place and that is Williams Sonoma. I have already done some looking online and I have made a list of the items that we want so hopefully it won't be as exhausting/overwhelming.

I hope that everyone is having a great Holiday weekend so far. Be sure to look for my next couple of posts. I received a few wedding things this weekend that I have been waiting on for a little while and I am pretty excited to share them with you guys. So again, be on the look out for those!

I Have A Problem

I have recently realized that I have a problem. That problem is that I am absolutley ADDICTED to Scentsy! First step is admitting it, right?

Their new fall catalog recently came out and there are at least 12 new scents that I want and there are three different warmers that I want too! Did I mention that I already have four warmers? One of them doesn't count though because it is at work. So at home, I have one in the kitchen, one in the living room, and one in my room. But you see, I need one for the bathroom and I need one for Aran's room so really I would only have one extra if I get the new ones that I want. That isn't so bad, right?

Now here is the other problem, they just came out with a Holiday Collection too! And anyone who knows me, knows that I am a fanatic about decorating for Holidays! Absolute fanatic! I love everything about decorating for the Holidays! So now, I feel like I HAVE to have the cute little snowman warmer. And I feel like I HAVE to have the adorable Jack-O-Lantern warmer(this one is on sale though so that is even better!)

Via Google Image Search

Again, like I said, I have a problem.

Via Google Image Search

Life and Everything Else

Here recently my life has been consumed with nothing but Wedding madness, so I thought it might be a good time to fill you guys in on what else has been going on in my life other than the crazy Wedding planning.

There for a while, Aran and I were having to go up to Denver every weekend because of the classes that I was taking to become Catholic. Well, those are now over and so are our Marriage Prep classes that we were also attending up there, so needless to say, our weekends have slowed down A LOT! It has been really nice to not have to go up there every weekend. I have actually been able to sleep in. That never happens! And when I say sleep in, I mean I actually didn't roll out of bed until noon one day.

A few weeks ago we had a surprise going away/Birthday party for my little sister. A few of her friends took her swimming down at one of the creeks here and then brought her back blindfolded and told her that their mom had a surprise for her but that she wasn't allowed to see where they were going. I wish you could have seen her friends leading her into the house blindfolded. I think she almost fell a few times. It took everything I had not to burst into laughter, but I had to be quiet because she didn't know we were in the house. We surprised her and then of course we ate and talked for a few hours. She left for college a few weeks ago and Aran and I tried to make sure that she had a few of the things that she would really need for school. We bought her some bed sheets, a shower caddy, a trash can, and of course some cute towels. She loved all of them and so far I believe they are coming in great use. I can't wait to send her care packages full of fun stuff and of course, food!

Finally in the house

Surprise! 

Something else very big happened a few weeks ago. My oldest niece MaKenzi started preschool. I was one proud Aunty that day. Unfortunately I didn't get to help take her to school, but I was there to pick her up. It made me feel so good when we went to pick her up when she ran straight past everyone else, and ran straight to me and screamed "Megan!!!!!!!!!!!!" It made my heart melt! She had a great day at school though. She made friends and she got to have snack and they made a pretty picture with tissue paper and glue. And according to MaKenzi, "I did a really good job, I didn't even get the glue on my hands!" It was so cute! She is growing up so fast, and some days I enjoy it, other days, I wish she would stop growing.

All dressed and ready for school!

Striking a pose! Kelsi decided she wanted in too!

My brother walking her into the school

Waiting to go into her classroom

Lined up going to recess. She didn't even
know we were there.

Running towards us and screaming "Megan!!!"

Last Friday I picked MaKenzi up from school and then we went home and picked up her little sister, my youngest niece Kelsi, and we had a sleepover. We ate pizza, cheetos, and we baked chocolate chip cookies and ate them with Blue Bell Ice Cream. We watched Tangled and a Fairy Barbie movie that the girls picked out. The next morning we got up and had breakfast and got dressed. I tried to braid the girls hair the best I could and then we went to the playground for a little while. After that my brother and his wife came and picked them up. Of course MaKenzi kept asking when they could come back again. Hopefully really soon because I miss them already!

Overall, things have slowed down as far as classes and appointments go. But, now I have all of these DIY projects that I have been working on. Once I get a few of them finished I will do some posts so that hopefully I can share how to do them with you guys. I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!