jotting jennifer

Before we had a location, before we were 100 percent set on our date, before we were sure what anyone was wearing, we had a couple of vendors already inked. Well, not officially but there was no way we weren’t going to use them.

Hair & Makeup: Mini & ELLA Salon

I had my first hair appointment with Laura, aka Mini, just before Frack’s bachelorette party in 2010. Before then, I didn’t really invest in my hair or revisit a particular hairdresser. I tended to go to salons that didn’t require appointments, sit in whichever chair was available first and go for something basic. Since meeting Mini, I’ve changed up hair colors, let her do what she thinks is best and loved my hair. I even drive about 30 minutes to Strands for an appointment with her. I may go a bit too long between appointments and wear my hair in a ponytail more often than Mini likes but she is totally amazeballs. Mini has done wedding day styles for Frack and another friend and her work is superb.

While Mini will be doing my hair, I needed a crew for my other ladies. A family friend, Carmen, recently opened a salon called Ella in Harmony salon and it was a no brainer to have her crew come to the hotel in the morning as the glam squad! I can’t wait to see all of the ladies all fancy pants!

Photography: Mitch’s Studio

Before I babble, let’s let some of Mitch’s work do the talking for me.

Even if I didn’t know the photographer or the couple, I’d still love this photo. (That’s Frack and Gee, btw) // Source: Mitch’s Studio

 I don’t know these people but I do know that Mitch perfectly captured their joy. // Source: Mitch’s Studio

Bling and flowers – how can you go wrong? // Source: Mitch’s Studio

Too much cuteness for one photo! This is Sharpie and Mitch’s daughter, who I am sure has become his favorite subject to photograph. // Source: Mitch’s Studio

I could continue on and show off more of Mitch’s work, but I’m sure you’ll see lots of his photos post-wedding. Mitch is married to Sharpie so technically he’s my cousin-in-law but our family doesn’t roll like that. He’s officially a cousin now. He is an architect by day, a husband and father by night and a photographer on the weekends. I love the photography work that he does and I’m excited to have him documenting our big day.

DJ: Showcase Sound

Gee is somewhat crazy about music and DJs so when he picked Showcase Sound for his wedding DJ, I figured they had to be good. They were GREAT. The dance floor was always going and they were able to capture Gee and Frack’s personality, reflect it in the music choices and help make the night super memorable. Gee loved them so much that he applied to work as a DJ for them afterwards. Owners Ben and Lisa welcomed Gee onto their team and Gee ended up working at Sharpie and Mitch’s wedding with Ben. Once again, Showcase Sound did not disappoint.

Mr. PB and Gee cheesin’ at Sharpie and Mitch’s wedding. // Personal photo

Sharpie and Mitch even had a photo booth at their wedding from Showcase Sound so Mr. PB and I got to test that out. Showcase Sound was definitely a sure thing since our engagement and I can’t wait to dance the night away!

Did you have any vendors that you knew you’d use? Are any of your friendors family?

Some of you may judge me for a statement I am about to make. However, I made a decision a long time ago that I would have no shame in my likes or interests. (I was the girl in eighth grade that wore Hanson shirts to school on the regular while no one else in my grade thought they were cool.)

So here it is: I’m Miss Phone Booth and I wish I was a Kardashian.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. My name doesn’t start with a K, I obviously wouldn’t fit in. Welp, thanks for raining on my parade. (That was what you were thinking, right?)

One of the many reasons that I’d be content with becoming a Kardashian (even if I did have to change my name) is the money that they have been able to spend on their weddings. Yes, their weddings could be called outrageous and over the top and sure, Kim’s marriage only lasted 72 days and now Khloe has filed for divorce. However, the inspiration that can be found in their weddings is plentiful. So if you’re a Kardashian hater, put on some rose colored sunglasses and join me as I oogle the photos a bit.

The tenting. The chandelier. Their body language. Sigh. (Side note: SO sad to hear things didn’t work out for them… sniffle sniffle) // Source: Khloe Kardashian

Look at all those flowers in the background! And her sisters in different color dresses! In the same color family! Carrying all white bouquets! Be still my beating heart… // Source: Ok! Magazine by way of QuoteKO

Hate on haters, but Kim’s commitment to theme during her wedding was amazing. She had a vision and found a way to execute it to the fullest. // Source: People Magazine

Now that I’m in a good mood because of the photos above, let’s snap back to reality and talk about the meaning of this post: the wedding budget.

Source: The Knot

A price tag of $28,427 and according to the infographic, that include a honeymoon. The most recent honeymoon statistics I could find state that the average honeymoon in 2010 cost $4,466. So $28,427 plus $4,466 equals $32,893, so about $33,000. The average amount is obviously way below that of a Kardashian wedding (or any other big celebrity wedding) but it’s still a good chunk of money in my eyes.

Mr. PB and I knew from the beginning that we would be footing most of the bill for the wedding. This didn’t worry me because I knew that we were giving ourselves 18 months to save. On top of that, the 18-month engagement allows me time to hunt for the best deals possible. Sure, we wouldn’t be able to have a Kardashian-type extravagant wedding but that’s not who we are anyways (even if I like to pretend I am every once in a while). We could make the wedding reflect us and fit what we can afford.

To figure out what the budget would be, I went to my favorite tool: Google Drive. Many bloggers have written about the great features of Drive and I will sing its praises all day long as well. I relied upon Drive for many things before we were engaged, have been using it almost daily since we became engaged and foresee myself using it long into the future.

I take care of the majority of our finances and have since we moved in together. To help sort things out and make the financial planning transparent, I created a spreadsheet in Drive that I share with Mr. PB. I plan out all of our bills normally about a year at a time in biweekly increments. The system has worked out really well for both our personal and joint finances. I figured it would be no different when it came to the wedding.

Utilizing our already in place budget spreadsheet, I figured out how much money we could save throughout the engagement while still paying all bills on time, paying off any debts we have and stowing away some savings. Once I had that figured out for both our joint account and our personal accounts, I added in any contributions we would be getting from other sources (parents, family, projected additional income, etc.) and resulted in our budget.

While our budget is not Kardashian sized and is a bit below the supposed average, I think our budget gives us plenty to work with. With the right attitude and savvy shopping, the day will be amazeballs and we’ll feel like celebrities.

Do you have any celebrity weddings you drool over? Anyone else using Google Drive to help with wedding budgeting?

Back when we started dating and wedding convos weren’t completely serious, Mr. PB mentioned that it would be cool to one day get married on the same day of the month that we started dating. I really loved that idea and may or may not have immediately researched if our actual anniversary fell on a Saturday anytime soon. (It did, last year, the day he proposed.) I tucked his comment in my mental filing cabinet and figured when the time came, I’d be on the lookout for keeping the day of the month the same.

A few other things came into mind when Mr. PB and I were coming up with a wedding date:

• We wanted a Saturday.
• We wanted to avoid any major holidays and busy work times (September and June).
• We needed time to save money.
• I didn’t want to wait too long. (I hoped to be married before I turned 30. I was 28 when Mr. PB popped the question.)

Our actual anniversary didn’t meet two of those characteristics–it’s a Sunday this year and it’s during one of the busiest times of the year for me. With that date out, I figured we could have the next best thing: the same day of the month, just a different month.

In our neck of the woods and most places across the country, off-season wedding dates have benefits including lower prices for most bridal services. Granted, we may have some elements to battle but less stress on the wallet is too big of a pro to let Mother Nature steer us away. With that being said, we are still hoping Mother Nature will show us a little wedding love. Western New York is known for snowfall but there have been some pretty mild winter days in the past couple of years.

January 2013 in Rochester – temperatures ranging from 14°F up to 69°F. Rochester weather is truly a gamble. // Source: Wunderground

So, I put on my bride thinking cap and pondered our date wish list. Taking in to consideration what we wanted in a date, I figured March 2014 would be perfect. Our anniversary day of the month is a Saturday, it’s not near a major holiday, March would give us winter discounts from most vendors and it would make me a Mrs. three months before the big 3-0. Mr. PB was good with it so now we had a date!

What factors did you consider when you picked your date? Are you worried about weather on your big day too? Or did you happen to have a warm winter wedding?