The One, The Only...Boldt Castle

So I figured I might as well give you the lowdown of the castle I have mentioned, the lovely Boldt Castle!


A gorgeous castle surrounded by pretty gardens on a heart-shaped island in the Thousand Islands area!

Lovely, isn't it?!

It wasn't always that way. The castle was built by George C. Boldt for his wife Louise as a labor of love, but unfortunately mid-construction she passed away. Heartbroken, Boldt abandoned the project and the castle.

Years later in 1977, renovations began to take place and now a good part of the castle is back to, or greater than, its former glory and open to the public. There are still many parts of the castle left to work on, and as time passes more and more areas of the castle are completed.


Weddings here are a bit structured to say the least. You can only have the wedding outside at the gazebo, (if raining on the veranda) but since the rental fee is basically just admission fees to the castle, (and a new $150 "reservation fee" XP) all attending can view the castle if they like.


What to expect for a wedding at Boldt Castle:

First and foremost, it is on an island, so the biggest thing is getting your guests, your bridal party, your decorations, your officiant, your musicians, etc. across the water to your ceremony! Fortunately Uncle Sam Boat Tours does group sales for its shuttle, so you can decide to either pay for your guest tickets or just reserve a block of tickets for them.

You have a limit of 150 people in attendance, including the officiant, musicians, photographer, etc. and you have an hour and a half for setup, the ceremony, and cleanup of the site. Not much time to work with, but I assume you can have photos taken onsite before or after the ceremony without much fuss, since it is a public attraction after all!

They say the staircase in the castle is not available for photos, but I would definitely try to make a special request...


Every ceremony comes with a changing/waiting room for the bride and bridesmaids, all ceremony chairs, a portable address system, and a free wedding rehearsal for the wedding party.


Costs for a ceremony is $7 per adult, $4.50 per young child for all attending, (again, officiant, musicians, photographer, etc. included), and a $150 reservation fee.

You cannot have a reception on the island, unfortunately, but if you're really set on having your reception at a castle, Singer Castle might be more up your alley!


I will probably do a review for Singer Castle sometime, but personally I like the grounds of Boldt Castle more. However if it can hold a decent number of people for a seated dinner then I may consider it Thousand Island reception option #5! XD

So yes, while the castle is pretty, it's no bargain in my opinion. If I have 100 guests, that's $850 just for the ceremony site... XP At least viewing the rest of the castle will give my guests something to do before the reception??? *shrugs*

But it is a castle...such a pretty, pretty castle XD

Old Navy $1 Flip Flop Sale!

Hey readers!

Now everyone can buy $1 flip flops at Old Navy this Saturday, May 21st! :D :D :D

There's a limit of 5 per person, so bring your family and friends to help you collect enough lovelies for your reception!

Good luck ladies!!!

Old Navy Flip Flop Presale!

Hey readers,

Just letting you know if you have an Old Navy credit card, (or any of your family or friends...), you can take part in the Old Navy $1 flip flop sale going on tomorrow only, Saturday the 14th!

There's a limit of 5 per customer, and it's only in-store, but get a crew going with you and you should have a decent stock of them before the real crowds come!

Good luck!

Craigslist Is A Bride's Best Friend

I know...craigslist...

The borderline between awesome and shady, great deals and spammers, because no one knows who's really on the other end...

But craigslist is so your friend if you know how to use it!

Just the other day I was doing my regular craigslist search for awesomeness, (because I could still use a few furniture items for the house and whatnot,) I found an ad for eiffel tower vases.

(Which did not come up when I searched for "wedding" and was in the household items section, so look in all sections to find potential hidden gems!)

Being obsessed with weddings, :) I couldn't help myself and viewed the listing.

" 20" Eiffel Tower Clear Glass Vases - $60:

20" Clear Glass Eiffel Tower Vases in excellent conidition.
Used once will silk flowers, no water has ever been in them.
Make great centerpieces for weddings and special events.
Have weighty base for stability.
Have 29 vases."

29 vases...for $60?!?!

I thought it was too good to be true.

So I quickly sent an email to the seller, (always put your first name only in the email to make things more personable and less spam-ish, without giving away your complete identity,) asking if they still were available and confirming that all 29 vases were in fact jointly priced for $60...and she said yes, all for $60, and left a phone number.

OMG MY JAW DROPPED TO THE FLOOR!

or rather, dropped to the table XDThat works out to be $2.07 per 20" vase!!!

I. could. not. pass. this. deal. up.

I called right away, and scheduled the pickup at a large store plaza that was (generally) a midpoint between where we both worked. Great! A public area so I know I won't get mugged! XD

Usually I take someone with me just in case of shifty situations, (and I probably should have taken someone with me anyways,) but a public place is a much safer bet than a private residence. Never go to a private residence alone!

The seller was in fact the mother of the bride who used the vases, and the nicest woman ever!

She chatted with me about her daughter's wedding, told me what her centerpieces were like, asked what I was using them for, (to make things straightforward I told her I was planning on using them for my own wedding...telling her about my blog and hopes and dreams would have been TMI for a stranger! XD)

Meanwhile I had to keep myself from blurting out "OMG these are so cheap, do you know these things sell for at least $5 everywhere else?!?"

Then she helped me load up the car, I paid her the $60 in cash, (most sellers will not deal with anything besides cash for small purchases,) wished me well, and was off!

And now, I have 29 crazy-cheap 20" high eiffel tower vases, ready for unexpected increases of guests and centerpieces, proud and triumphant!!!

Whee!So in conclusion,

Craigslist is AWESOME!

Great Accessories Sale on Groupon!

Hey my lovely readers, do you have your accessories for your wedding day ensemble yet?

Well I would highly recommend looking at Send the Trend, which has a Groupon deal going on now for 3 accessories for $30!

This is a great deal considering every accessory is priced at $29.99 to begin with! :D

Just watch out for the monthly accessories service...if you sign up for it they will charge you $29.99 a month unless you tell the site to "skip a month" before the 5th of the month. Now I don't know about you, but I would forget to do this...frequently. XP But it is just an option for you after purchasing the 3 accessories, so as long as you opt out, there should be no problems!

Here are some of my recommendations:

If you mother wants pearls, but your a bit more of a modern girl, this Mallory Opalescent Cage Cuff seems to be a wonderful compromise! Classic yet fun, and a great way to bring some bling to your look!


There were so many earrings that I loved, but I have to say these two were my favorites--

Again, another fun play on pearls, modern pearl earring clusters!


And some classic crystal earrings that are so wonderfully elegant!


If you have a more casual look, or want a very understated necklace, this Virginia Love Necklace is just too cute to pass up!


Also, this headband seems to have enough sparkle for a wedding hairpiece, yet is understated, for those who would rather nix the tiara!


So as you can see, Send the Trend seems to cater to a variety of tastes, I would recommend checking them out--you never know what you'll find!

Happy shopping! <3

(As a side note, Send the Trend and Groupon gave me nothing for doing this post, this is just my thrifty opinion!)

Why I Can't Stand BHLDN

What did you say? *GASP!* How could you!?

Everyone loves BHLDN! With their lovely vintage style, how could you refuse?!

Well, in my opinion, their prices suck and are horribly high.

Clothes? Fine, let the dresses be overpriced, clothes have always varied greatly in price for no good reason.

But with the new wedding decor line, come on! XP

Paper chargers for $1.70 each?! Really?! You can MAKE these, it doesn't take rocket science to cut out a scalloped circle! (Especially if you own a Cricut...)


Again, paper polka dot garland, 8ft for $18, you could also make this yourself with some metallic paper or foil covered cardboard, and some fishing line.


They even admit this LOVE banner is made of cardboard, not even 2ft in length for $28?! You can make this with cardboard letters, fine glitter, and ribbon. Cardboard is cheap, Dollar Tree sells ribbon, so the most expensive thing here is the glitter. You can buy ultra-fine glitter at Joann Fabrics for $5...


More paper nonsense, Cake-To-Go boxes that they sell unassembled, for $2.50 apiece. Yep, you're paying $2.50 for a piece of paper-covered cardboard with a stupid adhesive strip on it... XP


Paper wrapped votives for $5.67 a piece when you can buy glass votives in bulk and wrap them in patterned paper yourself. Geez...


Selling a FELT leaf garland for $1.16 a foot?! That you can tell is just connected loosely?!


You can buy a 3'x6' piece of felt at Joann Fabrics for $4.99, and cut out the pattern yourself.

The site says it's 3" at its widest, and each piece is either 7.5" or 9" long. So let's say 4" are needed to cut each width of leaf garland on the piece of Joann felt, and you make them all 12" long. You get 54 leaf sections from the piece of felt, and since they're all a foot long you get 54 feet of garland, making each foot cost $0.10 each and a bit of your time!

A $178 9" CAKE TOPPER THAT IS CLEARLY FAKE FLOWERS TIED AROUND A WIRE WREATH WITH A WIRE RIBBON BOW AND SOME WOOD BELLS TIED TO IT!?! PLEASE TELL ME HOW THAT IS $178 TO MAKE?!


See?!?! WAAAYY overpriced! D:<

I could go on and on and ON with this stupid decor line! D:<

So my lovely readers, please, use BHLDN's decor for inspiration only and try to find the products somewhere else. You will find cheaper alternatives, or you can try making most of them yourself.

But save your precious hard-earned money.

*end of rant*

Guestbook Deal Only Til the 6th!!!

After seeing an episode of TLC's Extreme Couponing, I was very, very, intrigued...and wondered how I could do that!

So I google it online and I find this nifty coupon site, Hip2Save.

And what is on the latest post?

$40 worth of Paper Coterie products for FREE. Get $40 worth of merchandise, get $40 off, just pay shipping! :D (Click link for the coupon code.)

And Paper Coterie sells guestbooks. 30 page, fully custom, (except for the general design, can change the photos and wording of titles, headings, and text,) hard cover guestbook for $29.99.

So you do need to add another product to get the $40 discount, the cheapest thing they sell are custom 20"x13" posters for $14 that are made from a durable fabric that somehow sticks to the wall! Neat! Not to mention they have some really cool designs, how cute is this heart polaroid design?!

But hurry! This offer only lasts until May 6th!!!

Can I get a woot woot for affordable custom printed products?!? :D

Woot woot!

(As a side note, Hip 2 Save and Paper Coterie gave me nothing for doing this post, this is just my thrifty opinion!)

Another Alert to All Thrifty Brides!!!

We have more amazing thrify-ness from The Christmas Tree Shop and the Dollar Tree! :D

First, we have The Christmas Tree Shop find, cute and comfy hooded terry wraps for just $8 each, in white, pink, blue, yellow and (I think) black:

These would be a perfect bridesmaids' gift, easy to customize, and a great way to get those cute getting-ready pics!


At the Dollar Tree, they're selling what most brides wait til June for...$1 flip flops!!!

You can get them in black or white designs or in black, dark blue, light blue, pink, purple, or yellow!

No more waiting in line at Old Navy ladies! Get these while they last!

Your welcome.

:)

(As a side note, Dollar Tree and Christmas Tree Shop gave me nothing for doing this post, this is just my thrifty opinion!)