Two Weeks to go!!!!!

OMG! I can't believe the Big Day is just TWO WEEKS away! I'm just a big ball of emotions right now....excited, nervous, stressed! Last week I was running around like a crazy lady trying to tie up all the loose ends. I'll be doing the same thing this week and next until we leave. Most of my to-do list has been accomplished, but there are still some DIY projects that have to be finished and a few final decisions that have to be made for the decor. Other than all that, we are set to go! I just pray that I can keep it together so that I don't look like the chick in this picture!

Save Money on Drinks for your Wedding

We decided that an open bar at our wedding reception is a must because we thought a cash bar at a wedding is just a bit....well, tacky. Our wedding is a sort of DIY kind of affair, but we don't want to scrimp on style. So we researched ways to save some money on the alcohol for our big day.

Because we're having a destination wedding, our Big Day will really be more like a Big Weekend for our guests and we want to make sure they enjoy themselves. To save some extra cash, we decided to host our Rehearsal Dinner at The Laughing Boar, owned by our caterer Chef Nick Mueller. Thankfully, we are able to use his glassware, which gives us more money for alcohol and food. Instead of having a full open bar, we've decided to offer wine (red and white), beer, and soft drinks. To go along with the rustic chic vibe at the Laughing Boar we've decided on a self-serve set up with beer in large copper buckets on the restaurant's patio, where we'll have a brief toast before we're seated for dinner. We'll also set up a small table there with some wine glasses and a few bottles of chilled wine. Our dinner will be served family style and we will place wine in decanters on each table as well.

We're having a cocktail hour before our wedding reception to give us enough time to sneak off and have dinner before all the crazy fun festivities kick into high gear. During the cocktail hour we'll serve beer, soft drinks and a simple, signature cocktail. The full bar will be reserved for the reception. We hired a bartender and a bar back from a local beverage catering service (Johnnie Ganem) at a very affordable rate and we decided against a champagne toast.

Now for the calculations....there are some really cool calculators online that help you figure out how much alcohol you need to buy. I used THIS one to help estimate our costs. For 100 guests, it suggests starting with:

9 cases of beer

5-8 cases of wine

5 Liters of Vodka
3 Liters of Gin
2 Liters of Rum  

2 Liters of Scotch
2 Liters of Rye
750 ml of Vermouth
3 Liters of Kahlua 

Here are some additional tips for saving money on alcohol for your Big Day:

1) Have your reception really early - such as a brunch. People are less likely to consume copious amounts of alcohol before noon and you can limit your bar to yummy cocktails like mimosas and Bloody Mary's.

2) Choose a less popular day of the week for your celebration like Thursday evening or Sunday morning, which would also save big bucks on venue and party supply rentals.

3) Have a limited bar that features only soft drinks, beer, wine, and a few signature cocktails. You can even purchase some tonic and a few bottles of premium liquor to be served on the rocks or in mixed drinks as well.

Happy Wedding Planning!!

Wedding Day Countdown

Besides being the start of a new year, 1/1/11 started the official countdown to my October wedding! My fiancé and I are too excited for words! We became engaged last July and I swear I started wedding planning the very next day! Color scheme? Dress? Location? Too many questions with infinite answers because no two couples are alike. Of course, I'm a Casual Glam girl so it stands to reason that I'm marrying a pretty laid back guy. While we both appreciate tradition, neither of us like the rigidity of rules and formality. Suffice it to say that our wedding will be a Casual Glam affair with plenty of traditional touches where appropriate and lots of original ideas that reflect our personalities throughout!