Grocery Store Wedding Cakes?

I grew up across the street from Jewel-Osco and once upon a time Amlings. Amlings has since moved and made way for a mini strip mall consisiting of a liquor store, nail spa, custom flooring and of course a Starbucks! The Jewel-Osco did some renovating and is now a pretty sweet place for grocery shopping. While shopping for grocieries yesterday, at the recommendation of my friend, CR, I stopped into check out the florist. She told me after her wedding she found out that Jewel does weddings. Seriously. I have to find out and see actual samples of their work, but the Florist seemed very knowledgable and sensitive to my budget concerns. She also thought I was a first time bride of 23....I let her know that I wasn't 23, but didn't really feel the need to tell her about this not being my first rodeo. At any rate, she sent me to the bakery to talk to the Baker. I then learned that I can do flowers and cake for 300 for less than $1500. The only catch is that we have to pick them up ourselves. Since we live across the street, I really don't see this being a problem. If we lived across town, I could see it being a little more of an issue. I am soooo excited, you don't even know. Groom is of course skeptical being the brand baby that he is. I said that we would order a sample and add it to our taste testing pile. They can do a fresh strawberry filled cake in white, yellow or chocolate....can we really go wrong? We could order three different flavors or more with all the choices of fillings. I suppose we can do that at a 'real bakery' too. We'll see how it stacks up. I of course will keep you posted.

Formal Wear Rentals for the Munchkins!

I am watching 190 North (yes, I'm home at 11:25 pm on a Saturday night). The show just featured some fun kid friendly places in the city for dining, shopping, and even a spa day. So the place of interest for this and any other bride to be is the formal wear rental place that offers just about everything you'd need to dress your child attendant at a fraction of the cost. You can rent not only the cutest dresses and tuxes ever, but also accessories! A pink hat or a little party purse or even outerwear! You can even dress up your puppy!!!! Maybe two ring bearers is an option again...How cute would Tucker look in this?

Indian Inspired Invitations!

I am attempting to be productive while Groom is away at a golf thing this weekend. I am looking for invitations and stumbled across Wedding Paper Divas. The Modern Paisley Invitation (pictured left) and the Woven Paisley Invitation (not pictured) are my two favorites. They're reasonably priced at under $8 for the set. They have samples available for $5.00/ea. Groom really likes the first one (he's been in contact via his super duper phone). He seems to get most excited about the invitations and the reception. I bought a paisley stamp that I can use to make my own thank you cards. The simpler, the better for me.

Paper Source has embossers with three styles of plates to choose from with a myriad of fonts for a variety of purposes. Most relevant to my needs of the moment: the return address plate. I can literally press it into my envelopes! There's a circular one that could make an interesting seal. The embosser is sold separately from the plates, but will come in under $60 for both! Not sure if that will go with our day, but still a neat texture for any invitation.