bones of a wedding

It's starting to come together.We have the bones of a wedding.

So far organised :

The dress.Selling the first one to pay back the lady in China. It costs too much to send back so I'll sell it and paypal her back.(she's already given me a refund as she sent the wrong dress)

The new one she's chosen is totally different to the first one. I'm under threat of bodily harm if I post a pic until after the wedding,I don't have a pic,so I'm safe. Think Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford etc.

Veil, unusual and pretty suits the period theme.

Jewelry, my mum bought me pearls for my wedding, I've since lost them,so have bought her new .

The Celebrant, lovely local lady who is working with them to give them the ceremony they want.

The reception venue, the local Mechanics Institute hall built in 1890. Has a proper bar with tap and catering kitchen .

The theme: Vintage,Between the Wars, Hollywood glamour.

The colours : Ivory, Red, Black

Flowers, fresh roses for her bouquet and Aaron's lapel.I've ebayed Ivory silk rose buttonholes for the groomsman, pageboy and the Dads. Silk bouquets for the bridesmaids and a silk rose kissing ball for the flowergirl, my niece Molly.This has saved approx $300.

Flower girl dress, it needs to be dipped in tea to take the white out and a tulle underskirt to puff it out a bit.It's not your usual flowergirl dress, but again can't post photo yet.

Invitations,Gemma and Aaron's mum have made these up themselves,they are a nice personal touch.

Bridal dance song and Father daughter dance song.

Menu, done and dusted, very simple as we are doing it all ourselves, going to try the hospitality course at Tafe, see if we can get some volunteers.

cold nibbles for appetisers,so no cooking just prep work.

main meal isroast chicken, baked potatoes, peas,carrots,corn, potato bake."xmas" ham on bone and 3 different salads.bread rolls.Dessert, the wedding cake whipped cream, cheesecake and pavlova.

We will be serving as a smorgasboard.

We've started collecting serving platters and bowls. As it is a vintage theme , it doesn't matter if things don't match.

For table decor, I've started collecting small vases and wineglasses to group together with candles and water cyrstals ,flowers .diamontes etc

Tablecloths, Gem chose an ivory with black spot and striped border. Need to get red table runners.

We still have to find a garden,so we can send out the invites....

I think we've done well in a short time and so far spent approx $500. Aarons mum has bought the bridesmaid dress material and making those up as well as matching vests and ties for the men,so theres probably another $400 .

Aarons sister is giving them the wedding cake and a DJ for the reception music.

Still have to pay for food,grog, celebrant ,a vintage car, tablecloths and decorations and we're done.

approx 120 ppl invited, though suddenly they have a lot more "friends" .

We should bring it in under $2,500 all up if we stay frugal . They can still have a beautiful wedding with the things they wanted,even though they've had to compromise on a few things, it's mostly been a case of thinking outside the box and staying away from the word "wedding" printed on anything.

What planning went into your weddings?