Category: General

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My Wedding Doesn’t Have To Be A No Fun Zone

My Wedding Doesn’t Have To Be A No Fun Zone

When I of wedding there’s one issue I have with them and this is one of the primary reasons I was so resistant to getting married to begin with. When I think of a wedding I think of something very formal. I have to get all dressed up, do my hair all fancy and make sure that I’m wearing the appropriate jewelry and makeup. I have to be properly fitted and everyone around me has to be very formal as well.

Don’t get me wrong. I get it. It’s a wedding. It’s supposed to be formal, but does it have to be this way. Why can’t a wedding go outside of convention and be something other than formal? If you ask me I believe this is one of the primary reasons why people seem to be so resistant to coming to weddings. It takes so much energy in order to get yourself prepared just to attend.

So what if we decided to eliminate this? As a women I don’t want people to look at my wedding as something formal, almost similar to a funeral, but with a more pleasant aspect. No, I want people to look at my wedding as being something fun. I want people to view my wedding as a fun party. Continue reading “My Wedding Doesn’t Have To Be A No Fun Zone”

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Picky Eaters At Your Wedding Reception

Picky Eaters At Your Wedding Reception

What do you do when you’re having a wedding, but you’re unsure of what food is going to be appropriate for the guests there? The reason why we ask this is because one of the biggest dilemmas facing people putting together a wedding is what food to include.

Well you want something tasty of course, something healthy and aesthetically pleasing. You want food that’s going to provide energy, but at the same time not cost too much in order to supply everyone with enough to get good and full.

The reason why this can be so tough is because different people have different tastes. And it doesn’t even have to be just this. You can just have several guests that make it a mission to be food snobs or what we call picky eaters. Picky eaters can be the worse, because usually they aren’t afraid to let it be known how they feel about the food they’re eating.

It might not seem like it, but a picky eater can really put a damper on a wedding reception. They can impact the minds of other guests, especially if their energy is strong enough. So you need to get it under control as best as you can. There are several ways this can be done.

Make sure you know who the picky eaters are

It can be hard to know who the picky eaters are, because you may be in the unique position of never having eaten with the bulk of guests who will be attending your wedding. So in this case it’s certainly going to be hard to know this. Continue reading “Picky Eaters At Your Wedding Reception”

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How to choose and Buy an Engagement Ring

The classic engagement ring with a 1 CT center round brilliant diamond

The classic engagement ring with a 1 CT center round brilliant diamond

The first step in our engagement process was to find and buy an engagement ring.

I went through many iterations of what I thought was a pretty engagement ring over the years, and as styles changed I came back to liking a very classic style. I was not sure what Steve was going to think of this since engagement rings are one of the most expensive parts of getting engaged and married. I did not know how much to spend on a ring and he did not either. This was a totally new process for both of us.

Later in the day after we got engaged, (realizing all the jewelry stores were closed that day already) we sat down at the computer together and looked at some jewelry web sites and some engagement rings online. Steve ended up at the same site I have seen every guy end up at: BlueNile.com. They must come up #1 in Google for the search on “engagement rings”. We didn’t find much selection there in the engagement ring and wedding ring sets that I liked but we did find a good description of the different diamond grades, the color, cut and carat weight values and a search option for the stones themselves.

The cost of a 1 carat (1ct) diamond stone can range from $5,000.00 to $10,000.00. That is a huge range in price! I am not sure if the difference in the diamonds was evident looking at them though because there were no pictures from that individual diamond stone search function on the site, just the grades and cost info. (I am pretty sure they all sparkle) Then we decided we would go to James and Williams Jewelers in Berwyn and Fay & Co in Naperville next weekend so we could look in person. (My parents got their rings at James and Williams in Berwynin 1965 and Steve’s parents have bought things at Fay & Co before so they were recommended) The budget part of this was tricky, Steve knew that he would most likley buy his ring, but since I wasn’t sure how much it would cost and they are soooo expensive I offered to help out a little with the cost too. Saving money on a diamond would be nice but since you wear it forever I wanted a nice one and was willing to help pay or contribute small stones I had in other rings. This whole next six months is going to be expensive and we do have to stay within budget. Continue reading “How to choose and Buy an Engagement Ring”

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OMG! I just got engaged, how my boyfriend proposed

how to propose
How to propose to your girlfriend the old fashioned way

Welcome to my blog: The Chicago Wedding Locations and Bridal Blog by a real live Chicago bride. I just got engaged to my boyfriend Steve on Saturday 9/30/2017 and I am thrilled! I wanted to blog about the process that we are going through now to plan our wedding. It is also something I wanted to do because I wanted to archive this time in my life because it passes so quickly. I have 3 other blogs already so it made sense to write about this aspect of my life on a new blog especially if it can be of help to other Chicago brides and couples looking to research this very happy yet expensive time. I plan to write about all the companies and vendors I meet and how we plan on getting this whole event together for less than the average amount of money it costs to get married these days.

I am still not sure if everything has hit me yet. I am not giddy or crying or a mess. I can recall though how my boyfriend popped the proposal question: Continue reading “OMG! I just got engaged, how my boyfriend proposed”