Real Florida Wedding: Julia & Raul

This is our first "Real Wedding" entry on BrideByYourSide and I am so honored that it be my friend Julia's beautiful Florida wedding. My favorite thing about Julia & Raul's big day is that the most obvious element is their love and the company of friends and family. Their wedding is proof that celebrating a marriage doesn't have to (and shouldn't) put anyone in debt. It's also a perfect example of how to throw an incredible party on a budget.

I love this picture of Julia and Raul right after they said their vows. THIS is what a wedding is all about people.

Weddings Specs:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Elks Lounge in Winter Park, Florida

Bride & Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Angelo

Flowers: BridalSilkFlowers on Ebay

Photographer: Family

DJ: Family friend

Cake & Catering: The Elks Lounge 

Guest Count: 110 people

Budget: $5,000.00

Advice from the Bride:

               "Whether you hire a wedding planner or just really utilize the maid of honor, don't try to do everything alone. ESPECIALLY when you are try to save some money and doing a lot of DIY things. Centerpieces and favors for  may not seem like a lot when you plan them out, but after hand addressing each invitation and keeping track of RSVP's, things get overwhelming and time consuming FAST! Use everyone you can to make things easier, even if you just give everyone in the bridal party one job that you just have to check at the end, it will help.

                Think of venues that aren't popular, the art center or garden yard at local hotels or parks may not be the thriftiest options. If you are planning a wedding indoors, do not pay as much attention to the outside of the building. The pictures and the memories are all indoors, therefore paying attention to the uneven paint of the building's exterior will drive you crazy and force you to use a location that may be hundreds of dollars more expensive. Think about using clubs that a family member or a friend is a member at, this is almost always the cheapest  route.

              My last piece of advice is for those who are trying to plan a wedding on a budget. This is not the time to try to impress your new in-laws. I was married less than two years ago and I can tell you I do not remember one brand of alcohol at the bar or a single thing that was on the menu other than meatballs (because that's the only thing I specifically requested). When you have choices like top-shelf or well liquors, go with the cheaper of the two. People will still drink vodka and soda wether it's brand name or not. The menu doesn't need to be steak and lobster to be fancy. You can serve grilled chicken with roasted potatoes and a steamed vegetable medley for one quarter the cost of the fancier options and everyone will still leave full, and I PROMISE YOU that no one is going to say, 'nice wedding, but I can't believe they didn't have steak'. I found pasta to be the cheapest and easiest route, and who doesn't love pasta?!

            Most of all, enjoy the planning process, because the wedding came will come fast and seem to only last minutes. Most of the memories will be from planning process... trying one million cakes and five million dresses and making eighteen different centerpieces at your house before deciding to use premade ones. Enjoy it, be specific, and get what you want and your wedding day really will feel like a fairy tale!"

This entry is LONG overdue. Julia and Raul have just welcomed their first baby into the world, Xander Enrique. And he is adorable. Congratulations to both of you and thank you for being our first "Real Wedding" post on BrideByYourSide!

Paint Chip Escort Cards and Gold Elephant Holders

If the title of this post had you saying "whhhhat?!", then bear with me for a few minutes. Keeping with the blush and gold theme, I've come up with a plan (inspired in part by oncewed) to use variations of blush colored paint swatches as escort cards! It's free and can be absolutely gorgeous if the calligraphy on them is nice. The writing on the swatches below is terrible, but think of how gorgeous they could be with nice script! Pairing them with gold elephant place card holders would be just lovely. I guess I will be making several trips to Home Depot and Lowes come wedding time. It will have to be a sneaky mission!

Cost: 
- Gold Elephant Place Card Holders are approximately 200$ for 100 pieces
- Paint Swatches are free

Arabic Wedding Traditions

I know it all when it comes to American Wedding Customs. I even know a lot about the way Europeans tie the knot, but I have very little experience when it comes to Middle Eastern Weddings. It's a bit shameful to admit, considering that my father and future husband are both Palestinian. So in honor of the two men in my life, I would like to learn all I can about Arab wedding customs. 


My aim is to incorporate as many Middle Eastern traditions as possible, while still retaining the image of my wedding that I've had in my mind since I was a little girl.
Here are a few traditions that MW and I will be following...


1. The Enormous Engagement Party- It is customary in the Middle East that the Bride's family throw a huge engagement party for the couple. This party is very similar to the actual wedding, the difference being that the bride wears any dress she chooses. It is traditional to serve a rose-water drink called sharbat, like the one below.

Click here to check out Dina & Ahmed's Real Dubai Engagement Party

2. Katb el-Kitab (The Marriage Contract)- This is where the bride and groom are officially married in the eyes of God. It can be held in a Mosque, or in the Bride's home. It starts with a Sheikh/Imam saying a few words from the Quran. The groom then repeats the speech and and the father of the bride accepts. Two witnesses sign their names to the marriage contract, and the couple is now officially married. This can happen anytime before the wedding day.

3. Henna Party- This is the Arab version of a bachelorette party. All the women go to the bride's home and a henna artist comes to paint designs on the bride and her guests. There is always food, drinks and dancing. At my Henna Party I would love to invite a belly dancer to come and teach me and my girls some moves.

4. Zaffa (Wedding Entrance)- The bride and groom enter the wedding with a processional of dancers, drummers and/or arabic singers. Talk about a grand entrance!

5. Cutting the Cake with a Sword- I saw this for the first time at a wedding in Jordan when I was only three years old. I think it makes what is usually a boring part of the wedding a little more fun! Below is a photo of Queen Rania of Jordan cutting the cake with a sword on her wedding day.

"Blush Wedding Round Up" by Oncewed & Other Blush Inspiration

I am absolutely sure now that the color scheme at my wedding will be blush & gold. This post on oncewed.com convinced me that I had made the right decision. So.. color scheme, check. Unfortunately MW and I still don't have a date, venue or budget. Luckily, the most important element (the hubster) is still around. ;)


Here are some blush & gold elements that got me inspired. Enjoy!

Wedding Secrets

It's PostSecret Sunday again my dears! They're not very positive secrets, but as I like to say, any wedding news is good news.

How to Become a Budget-Savvy Bride (Tips 6-10)

More tips for the Budget-Savvy Bride (continued from here)...

Budget Bride Tip #6- Flavored Favors

If you absolutely insist on giving favors, at least make sure they're the edible kind. Buy candy (in the colors of your wedding) from the dollar store or supermarket and put them into little fabric bags for your guests to take home. Unless you plan on spending some serious money on favors, no one will remember or treasure them anyway. A small jar full of all one color jelly beans at each place setting can add a pop of color to the table.

Budget Bride Tip #7- Buy, don't rent!

This may seem counter productive to your budget at first, but buying things like linens online and then selling them after the wedding takes place may actually save you money in the long run.

For example: Brown satin linens for a 90" table were quoted at $9.00 each for rental and only cost $10.00 each to buy. Selling them for even half price after the wedding would mean a savings of 4$ on each linen!

This doesn't just work for linens, if the vases for centerpiece are expensive to rent, buy them at discount stores like Ross, TJ Maxx or Marshalls and sell them after the event! It's money in your pocket darling.

Budget Bride Tip #8- Be a Daily Reader

If you're like me and you've been obsessed with ProjectWedding.com, OnceWed.com, StyleMePretty.com, SittingInATreeEvents.com, ForgetMeKnotWeddingsblog.com, TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com (to name a few) since you knew your fiance was *the one*, then you're well on your way to becoming the ultimate budget savvy bride. This is because you know what's out there, you know the vendors in your area. You know who's worth the money, and who has no business charging such ridiculously high fees. You've got the lay of the land and you know how to work it.

Being an obsessive reader of everything wedding takes dedication, but it definitely pays off. For more on this see the next tip!

Budget Bride Tip #9-  Enter. Every. Contest.

Even one freebie will cut down on the cost of your wedding. Many of the blogs and websites listed above offer contest or hold drawings for free give-aways. I have already won my invitations from Hello Lucky! through a giveaway on their blog. Below is the invitation that I chose. 

My advice is simple, enter. If you win, awesome! If not, you didn't lose anything.

Budget Bride Tip #10- K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Silly!)

Although this may seem completely against everything that obsessed brides everywhere stand for, the truth is that all of this 'fluff' is extra. As long as I leave my wedding married to the man I love, I'll be happy! Not only that but all the people we love and adore will be there, that is the best gift anyone can ask for. Remember what matters and don't stress out about things like not having the perfect color sashes on your chairs because they weren't in the budget. Make the wedding about your love. Love is what you will remember about the day. Love is the most important element. And hey, it's free!

More Wedding Secrets!

It's PostSecret Sunday! I've gathered more wedding secrets to share with all of you. Enjoy!