Free gorgeous table numbers, place cards, favor tags and more

Wow. Seriously, wow. The fine folks at Chelle Paperie have created a fabulous suite of FREE printable templates for table numbers, place cards, napkin rings, favor tags, thank you cards and more. This is SUCH a gorgeous set!

image from theinspiredbride.net

Find these lovelies, and more incredible inspiration at The Inspired Bride.

So cute: DIY mini candybar wrapper

Creature Comforts is one of my loves. Between the inspiration and the sweet tutorials, I might stalk this blog a bit more than I should.

Check out this lovely little freebie – print your own mini candy bar wrappers. These would make a sweet valentines treat – or maybe a cute little wedding favor.

Enjoy.

image from creaturecomforts.com

Simply inspiring

I love paper doilies. They make such a lovely little detail for a wedding (when used properly). I’m not talking about a doily under your slice of cake, I’m talking about using them as a repeating theme, tied together with some other lovely elements (in this example, tulle).

And, wow, does The Sweetest Occasion perfect the use of simple paper doilies in this amazing tablescape.

I’m in awe of how very lovely this look is! The colors, the soft details, the simple, yet impactful way that it all ties together.

See more photos here.

Hey newly-marrieds, send me your wedding details

I want to see your details, those quirkly little items that made your day all your own. The hand-painted signs, your sweet invitation suite, the original card boxes, tablesettings, etc.

If you want to see them featured on engageology, send them to engageology {@} gmail.com with your contact information and your photographer’s information (for proper credit).

I look forward to seeing them!

All photos by Laura Ivanova

$60,000 Wedding Giveaway in Minneapolis

If you haven’t heard, The Guthrie has teamed up with some of the top local businesses to give away a $60,000 Dream Wedding in honor of the show “When We Are Married.”

All you need to do is submit a 3-5 minute video explaining why you and your fiancée want to be married at the Guthrie. Videos must be submitted by June 30, 2009 (so hurry!). The wedding will take place on August 16, 2009.

Some of the businesses contributing to this fabulous prize include:

the Guthrie
Dowling Studio
L’atelier Couture
Savii Formalwear
Bachman’s
and more.

Also included is a fabulous 7 night/8 day honeymoon at the Radisson St Martin Resort, Marina & Spa, which includes airfare (make sure your passport is current).

Get cracking on that video and submit it! For more details, click here.

Vendor Review – The DJ

Review grade: A

Our DJ, John from Soundquest Entertainment was SO great to work with. He provided me with several forms, such as a timeline of the evening, favorite songs/types of songs, songs or artists to avoid.

He kept the music at a volume that was great for dancing, but not forcing the older relatives to leave. Their selection of music was pretty spectacular, I had a hard time coming up with something that they didn’t have.

The DJs with Soundquest work in pairs, so if one is on break, you’ve still got someone manning the “station.”

The best part was: John was totally willing to stand up to guests for our desires. We’d requested no chicken dance and no dollar dance. I had a family member begging him to do one, and he refused – until he had the okay from us that we’d be willing to do it.

I’ve been to too many weddings where the bride and grooms wishes aren’t met, and ours was the complete opposite.

I’d honestly, heartily recommend him to any friend or acquaintance looking for a great, energetic (but not annoying) DJ for their wedding or party, and I hope we can find a reason to hire John again.

Oh, and we heard from several relatives that the music was good — and the volume was great.

The price is fair too — 4 hours of entertainment and an hour of dinner music would be only $500.

Vendor Review: Midway Rental

Vendor grade: B

We went through Midway Party Rental for our tables, chairs and tent. This was an unexpected expense for us – with the venue change, we hadn’t budgeted for a $1,000 rental bill, but we made it work.

They were great about working with us only 2 weeks before we needed the tables and chairs, and fairly responsive (though there were 2+ times when we didn’t get any sort of response for over a business day, which was worrisome on such a tight deadline.

They were responsive when I asked them discount one of the items (the order was already around $1,000), though the discount wasn’t nearly as much as another rental company we were considering (though the final cost at Midway was a bit less).

We paid extra ($165, rather than $75) for Saturday delivery, Sunday pickup, but didn’t really have a choice – as we weren’t allowed to leave everything at the venue from Friday to Monday.

My largest qualm is the quality of the tables they delivered. Our day of coordinator said that they were so old (and poor quality) that they kept closing while they were being set up, and were generally difficult to work with. They felt flimsy when we sat at them, but at that point, there was very little we could do.

All in all, I wasn’t “wowed” by their customer service, but the delivery was made on time, and picked up on time, and we received everything we asked for, so I’d call our review of Midway Party Rental “decent.”

Vendor Review – Caterer

(note: this review is absolutely separate from the cake/cupcake review)

Vendor grade: D

We were really struggling with the menu for the reception. We wanted something nontraditional and delicious. We wanted roasted vegetables, meat and something other than potatoes. We wanted a meal that our guests would remember.

We decided to work with Miel y Leche for our reception meal.

istockphoto

I approached Sheela with a price that we were comfortable with (with room to wiggle in either direction, we were completely ready for a counter-price) – a price that was right in the range of their catered meals – and she accepted the price.

I presented my thoughts on the menu:
chicken skewers —– beef skewers
roasted vegetables —– fresh fruit
bread and butter —– couscous
cupcakes
(no drinks were included and we provided our own dishes)

When we met, Sheela suggested we add:
eggplant rolls with mint and chili
quinoa with fruit and nuts

I was all for the additions — how delicious!

When we presented the quote, we were anticipating 150 – 160 guests and MyL was to plan for those numbers, accordingly.

The day of the wedding, dinner started late. The catering team arrived late, so we gave them a little slack. Dinner was supposed to begin at 5, and they pulled up to the reception site at about 4:50 – and started to unload.

Wedding Details – The Cardbox

I wanted something a little different for our cardbox.

I stalked eBay, Craigslist and online stores for the perfect birdcage. It had to be large and difficult to simply pick up or open (I’ve heard too many horror stories about staff, guests or crashers stealing wedding cards, or the entire cardbox!).

We finally scored a sweet birdcage, originally from Pier 1, for under $20. I went to work removing a few bars, and R used some sort of saw or other machinery to cut through a metal bar (so we could make a slot).

R took the cage out to the yard and went through 3 cans of spraypaint to turn it from a dingy brown to a luscious ivory color.

I finished it off with a layer of Paper-Source scrollwork paper in the bottom.

As a finishing touch, we added the sweet sign “Cards and Kind Wishes” and hung it by ribbons.

It served a function while also looking pretty gorgeous on the gift table.

Photos below the jump:

Details – The DIY Photobooth

As I mentioned before, we decided to do a DIY photobooth. We borrowed those tripod/stands with clips to hold the backdrop, and put together a box of props. We hired a local photography student to man the booth for 2 hours.

Costs:
photographer: $30
props: est. $30
backdrop: we went with fabric we had on hand, instead of the $30 shower curtain

total cost = $60

Here are a few shots:

My brother, sister, mom and I

Sister and friend

guest

We had the DJ announce and recommend the booth a few times.

My only regret is that we didn’t get more photos!