Dreaming in Red, White and Blue

I love vacations. There's something so great about just getting away and absorbing what else this world has to offer. So, it should come as no surprise that the honeymoon aspect of this wedding planning is super important to me. I initially wanted to just be a bum and lie on the beach all day, drinking cocktails and basking in the glow of marital bliss. After a chat with the man friend, I realized how unfair this was to him. He likes the beach, don't get me wrong. But he definitely does not have the same relationship with it as I do. He loves to stay active and gets bored (quick). Not to mention his skin doesn't handle the sun quite like his other half. Plus, we go to the beach annually so I thought it was only fair that we think outside the box in terms of how we'd spend the week together. We both threw out suggestions and we landed on some great places. We finally made the decision to knock out international travel. While some friends highly suggested Jamaica (hi Grace and Frank!!), we both realized that we wanted to stay in the states. There are SO many great places in this wonderful country we want to see and we decided that we wanted to explore what the good ole US of A has. So we started going through our "top cities we want to visit" list. We narrowed down our lists because while Boston and Chicago are high on mine, I simply couldn't imagine being cold during our honeymoon. 

So, K started with any city in Arizona. AZ has great weather but after looking into it and consulting with other brides I realized this was not where I wanted to go. Next, I suggested Savannah, GA. I've only driven through this city so I didn't know much about it other than what I'd been told by others. We kept it as a contender and then man friend suggested Galveston in Texas. We both love us some Texas and he was kind enough to find a place with a beach. I consulted with little brother who said it was a cool place. I did some research and we kept it as another possibility. Next, I suggested Charleston, SC. Seeing a trend, yet? I'm definitely all about the Southern charm and was hoping to convince him of how fun it could be. Another contender. He then suggested Key West in FL. While cool, I went to Florida every year as a kid and our friends are actually planning their own honeymoon there and I'm no thunder stealer, so off the list it went. So now we had it narrowed down to Savannah, Galveston and Charleston. We started researching each place and I of course consulted with friends who have been to all three. I looked at pictures of the beaches in Galveston and after showing him, that was easily knocked off the list. It really didn't look like our style and we realized we could visit TX any time we want so why not go elsewhere. Which left my top contenders. I looked up restaurants, pubs, hotels, attractions, anything you could think of. (I felt like Clark Griswald). I got so excited because it clicked that he would LOVE these cities. They were exactly the kind of places that we both have grown to love, together, and what could be better than experiencing them for the first time as a married couple? Ultimately we realized that there was no reason for us to be limited to one choice. Both cities have so much to offer! So our final decision you ask? 

We will spend the first 4 nights in Savannah and then rent a car to make the two hour drive to Charleston to enjoy the last 3 nights. We have already scoped out places we will eat, the bars we will visit, the museums and other attractions we will explore, so much to do in so little time it seems!! All that's left is picking our hotel and flights and then we will officially be all set! 

We are excited about knocking out this big decision so early and can't wait to enjoy the time together! 

Adrenaline Junkie

Anyone that knows me is well aware of my various fears and the things that give me anxiety. I am not, what one would call, a typical adrenaline junkie. I loathe roller coasters and fast cars. Heights give me panic attacks. And the mere mention of skydiving makes my stomach turn. Most of my friends love these activities. My fiancé even drives a car meant for high speeds and hard, fast turns. My kind of rush doesn't involve having a clown jump out at me at a haunted trail or wondering if a bird will hit my face on Appollos Chariot. My kind of rush is a good deal. I absolutely love walking away from a purchase knowing I got the best discount possible.

I coupon like a mad woman. Most of my grocery store visits involve me reading the price tags for the best deal possible and then adding a coupon to see just how cheap I can get an item. Half off? That's for the birds. I need things 75% off to get my thrill. I never buy clothes unless there's a red tag and even then I often wait until that tag has an .04 at the end of it so I know that baby is in its final markdown. (Bet a lot of you weren't aware of that little nugget of information.) Thrift shops weren't made famous by Mackelmore, yard sales are my reason for waking up early on Saturdays and I could have a Craigslist store with all the items I've bought. I've never paid full retail for any item in my home. Every couch has a story from some other family (don't worry I clean the stories away thoroughly when I buy them). Every knick knack to include even my candles has once been someone else's treasure. And I'm ok with that. Some call me cheap (Hi Dad!), I call it smart. The only debt I have is a house. And that's only cause I couldn't find a coupon for 200k off. My whole living room (again all thrift shop, yard sale and Craigslist finds) totals under $100 and that price tag includes 2 chairs, a couch, a sofa chair, a lamp, two rugs, a bookcase, a tv stand, curtains, coffee table, console table, picture frames and a ton of various decor. The only thing that ups the price is a tv but the man friend bought that guy (on sale of course lol).

And now I feel like my budget saviness is paying off in new ways I hadn't expected.  Planning a wedding is NOT cheap.  While fun (and a bit stressful), throwing a party for 150 of your closest friends and family takes some money smarts. Unless, of course you win a contest or your parents have generously offered to foot the entire bill.  So, it's important to find ways to save where you can.  For me, there are certain aspects where I can't be too frugal. For example my photographer. Photographers capture memories that can never be repeated and that will last a lifetime. My compromise? Finding a middle of the road price tag.  Afterall, who got better pictures? The couple that paid $1,000 for 300 crappy photos or the ones that paid $1,500 for 300 amazing shots?  

But, in order to feed my addiction to savings I'm on a mission to continue finding bargains anywhere I can. I don't plan to sacrifice beauty in this mission but I do plan to save wherever possible. A prime example is the table settings. Renting linens and glassware is money I will NEVER see again.  Sure, I could pay for convienence: they bring em in and take em out. But, what good is that convenience if I now have holes burned in my pocket? Instead I bought all my linens. Yes, I already bought them; I know I am ahead of the game. But, when I find a too good to pass it up deal, I jump on it. And that's just what happened in this case. I found all my linens for under $100 which any past (or currently searching) bride knows is a complete steal (especially when your guest tables are 72" rounds).  My venue doesn't provide anything in terms of glassware so I turned my hunt to craigslist and found a seller who recently got married and had wine glasses leftover.  I drove to Herndon on a day I was already out that way and scored 150 for under $0.40/glass.  Renting them would have cost me 10-15 cents more each! The best part about these deals is that after my wedding, I can sell these back and get some (if not all) of my money spent back!

I'm not ashamed of my love of savings. In fact, I'm proud of it. I'm not embarrassed to admit I scored my brand new dream wedding gown for over 75% off retail because I bought it from a bride who changed her mind. I'm really just bragging. And I'll never scoff at you if you give me a present and accidentally leave the clearance tag on it (which the man friend once did). I'll love it even more because I know how much work comes with being thrifty.  

By the way here is a great tip for savings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0&sns=em