Renting an apartment = really normal
Renting a bed (hotel) = normal
Renting a car = normal
Renting a venue = normal
Renting table linens, napkins, plates, glasses, utensils = completely normal
Renting tuxedos = normal
Renting men's dress shoes = normal
Renting bridesmaid dresses = not normal
Renting a wedding gown = really not normal
What I mean by this is that I've never known anyone who has rented a bridesmaid dress or a wedding gown. Everything else on the list falls into the normal category of what people do on a regular basis. Heck, even renting items that you eat off of, put in your mouth and drink from are all acceptable; especially because they are washed! After all is said and done, at the end of the day, a wedding gown is a dress that you wear one time. I would guess that most bridesmaid dresses fall into this category as well.
I've been a bridesmaid in a few weddings and each time there has been the decision of and the purchasing of the bridesmaid dresses and accessories as well as paying for the services of hair, makeup and nails. Groomsmen usually are required to rent a tux and shoes and call it a day. In addition to the engagement party and bachelor/bachelorette festivities, bridesmaids host and attend the bridal shower as well as bring a gift. In general, it costs more to be a bridesmaid than it does to be a groomsmen.
Now in the last five or so years, I've heard of websites that rent the latest designer handbags, shoes, jewelry and clothes; kind of like the Netflix of fashion. I haven't tried it, but do find it interesting. I've mentioned before that I am no fashionista and in fact do not spend very much money on my normal wardrobe. In planning my wedding and searching for cheaper alternatives to full priced items in the fashion department, I came across a few options that seem very appealing to me and to my budget.
First is the idea of purchasing a used wedding gown. As I said above, it is a dress and you wear it for one day. Why should it sit in a box in the attic when you can donate it or sell it and someone else can enjoy it for their special day? It's recycling! Plus, you get it cleaned and it's probably just like new! This is a lot like my antique engagement ring (thank you Fletch!).
Second is renting a wedding gown. For some reason this idea for me has a negative stigma attached to it, however in reality it is not that different from buying a used gown. I guess the idea that you have to send it back is what gets me. But if I were to purchase a used gown, I think I would consider selling it afterwards anyway (we don't have an attic!).
Third is having my bridesmaids rent their bridesmaid dresses. For whatever reason this trend does not seem to have caught on yet, but for the male counterparts, it is perfectly normal to rent a tux and shoes for a wedding. Think about it this way, if a man owned a tuxedo and was asked to be a groomsmen in a wedding, he still might not be able to wear it because it may not match the style of the wedding or other tuxes of the wedding party, hence the rentals. The same can go for the bridesmaid dresses. My maid of honor has lots of dresses in her closet, but the chance that the other women in the wedding have the same dress or even a dress in the same colors as hers are pretty slim. So, instead of asking my ladies to purchase a dress to match a color scheme that they may not wear often, why not ask them to rent instead?
Questions for the readers:
1) What are your best budget ideas for a wedding?
2) What was your biggest splurge for your wedding?
3) What would you have done differently?
4) Have you rented a bridesmaid dress, wedding gown or shoes before and what was your experience?
I promise to write more posts soon!
Future Mrs. Fletcher
It’s been awhile since my last post. Summer is in full swing, so is our social calendar. In the span of two weeks we’ve been camping, celebrating birthdays, had a strange Wednesday fourth of July complete with the day off of work, spending time with family, and we went to a wedding!
In Wedding News: we have our venue and have finalized our date!! We also have an Officiant and a Flower Girl! I am crossing things off the list left and right (and adding new “I Do To Do’s” all the time).
This week, we met with a photographer at a local café. It was the second time that a wedding vendor has said the words “Are you a professional (in my field) because no one else has ever asked me that before?” It’s flattering that we are so intelligent to ask questions that evoke that kind of response.
The meeting was largely about the contract and what our thoughts were regarding our Engagement Photo Shoot (AKA E-pictures or E-pix for short). More on this in a minute.
I’ve planned lots of parties in my life. If you’ve ever been to any of my parties, you know they are not ordinary get togethers. I plan the details to a T. Wedding planning is similar, but on steroids, so really not very similar! For a normal party I usually have one to three documents of information and ideas. For the wedding I have 17 folder categories (that match on my wedding binder, flash drive and Internet bookmarks). I’m not sure how many sub-folders I have, but it’s a ton of information - you get the idea.
In the past I’ve had creative control over most aspects of the parties I’ve thrown. However, for the wedding Fletch and I have complete creative control - which is exhilarating and a little overwhelming at times. Essentially, I have to figure out exactly what I want for every part of my wedding and then be able to convey that vision to each of my vendors. I am not a florist or a caterer or a photographer, but yet, I need to understand and communicate in each of their languages in order to get what I want (but first I have to figure out what I want). I also have to research and negotiate pricing with each of them. Essentially I give myself a crash course on each vendor type I will need, reading as much as I can so that when I talk to the vendors I know what to ask, what to expect and I get some good ideas along the way.
As an avid “wedding porn” viewer (I know, crass term, but very fitting), I have seen more than my fair share of wedding and E-pix online. What I didn’t realize is that we are the ones who have to come up with the photo shoot ideas. Now, as many of you out there who are on Pinterest or weddingawkr (or other social media sites that generate pictures) knows, there are billions of ideas out there for E-pix, let alone weddings!
So, here’s a crash course (from my understanding so far) on planning your E-pix session (after you’ve decided on a photographer, which is another ordeal in itself):
1) Location, Location, how many Locations?!
First things first, pick some locations to have your E-pix taken. I came up with a short list of about 15 places that I liked based on thinking about some of our local haunts (restaurants, bars), places that have meaning to us (our old and new neighborhoods) and proximity to each other (I guess we don’t have all day to do this). Another tip I read was to look for a location with lots of bright and vibrant colors, which got me thinking about the trend of using graffiti as the back drop for E-pix. What’s the consensus on this, too played out, cool, absurd? We aren’t lacking in local graffiti, so it could be an option, but like I said, I don’t think we’ll have a problem finding a place since I have at least 15 picked out!
2) How to Look
I’m not a clothes, hair or make-up stylist. I’m not really a fashionista or up on the latest trends, but the next task is to pick out clothes. Usually a few different outfits so that you have variety and create interesting E-pix. You don’t want the bride and groom to be’s outfits to be too matchy-matchy, otherwise they’ll look silly. Some advice went as far as saying to cut out the tags of the clothes because under certain lighting they might show through. Also, hair and make up are important and don’t forget to wash and iron your clothes (don’t want dirty wrinkles in your E-pix!). How should we do Fletch’s hair?
3) Themes
Last, is to think about the overall “style” of the shoot including, but not limited to, themes, props, poses and smiling like a fool! Some examples I’ve seen are reenacting movies, using balloons, including your pets and canoodling anywhere you can.
In general this should be pretty fun since I haven’t had “professional” pictures taken since prom and the hired photographer having me do a couple of corny poses and snapping maybe six shots total doesn’t really compare to this!
Have you had engagement pictures done and do you have any recommendations for us?
Future Mrs. Fletcher
Renting an apartment = really normal
Third is having my bridesmaids rent their bridesmaid dresses. For whatever reason this trend does not seem to have caught on yet, but for the male counterparts, it is perfectly normal to rent a tux and shoes for a wedding. Think about it this way, if a man owned a tuxedo and was asked to be a groomsmen in a wedding, he still might not be able to wear it because it may not match the style of the wedding or other tuxes of the wedding party, hence the rentals. The same can go for the bridesmaid dresses. My maid of honor has lots of dresses in her closet, but the chance that the other women in the wedding have the same dress or even a dress in the same colors as hers are pretty slim. So, instead of asking my ladies to purchase a dress to match a color scheme that they may not wear often, why not ask them to rent instead?
