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!)

My Review of the Royal Wedding

What a lovely wedding we saw today. :)

In my opinion, Kate kept things simple, classic and elegant.

She could have gone over the top.
She could have ruffled some feathers being more "modern".

But she didn't! And it was perfect!

I was actually very surprised with her understated elegance.

Her dress:

Very simple and sleek, with a v-neck lace bolero-like top over a strapless neckline, with an (I believe) an a-line skirt and a decent (but not excessive) sized train.

It's modern due to it's simplicity, yet is traditional enough that there's no question it is a Royal Wedding gown.

Her tiara and earrings are gorgeous, but not over the top, and do not demand too much attention, so the focus is on the beautiful bride!

Having her hair half up and curled was perfect for her ensemble as well, very regal, and very pretty in an effortless way.

Her maid of honor:

I was very surprised to see her sister Pippa wearing white! (Or ivory, I cannot tell the difference really! XP) However she does look very lovely in a sleek, trumpet style dress which I believe does have some lace on the sleeves.

I kinda really loved the way the bridesmaid's hair was done, with a bunch of lily of the valley pinned to back of her half-up hairdo. Again, effortlessly pretty!

(and btw those flower girls are A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.!)

Her flowers:

At first I thought most of her flowers were mainly baby's breath, but with a bit of research I learned it was bunches of lily of the valley! What a high-class touch! Her bouquet consists of lily of the valley, hyacinth, ivy, a sprig of myrtle, and sweet william! (That is just too cute!)

I was very surprised at the size of the bouquet as well, compared to American brides, it is definitely on the small side! Not that it matters, it just wasn't what I expected. Still very romantic!

The ceremony:

Westminster Abbey does not need much decoration, so anything added to this space just adds to the elegance, charm, and awe of the place! Tall trees lining the beginning of the isle is a very modern touch in my opinion, really works with the height of the Abbey, and the rest of the flower arrangements were large, but fairly traditional with white flowers. Kept them straightforward but pretty!

Also the ceremony had a very nice timeline, it was not too long or drawn out, with a lot of audience participation with the hymns. It was very enjoyable to watch.


But the most important thing of all...they look so happy!


I wish the couple much happiness and joy in their new marriage! Congrats you two!

<3

As If You Needed Another Reminder...

BUT...

...just in case you haven't heard, the Royal Wedding is tomorrow morning!!!

It officially starts at 3am EST, however I found this Guy's Guide to the Royal Wedding to be a very helpful article that will save you some sleep while still enabling you to see all the lovely details. (What? I have a job to go to in the morning! XP)

According to the article, the wedding doesn't officially start until 6am EST, and the previous footage will be guests arriving at Westminster Abbey!

Now I know some people are interested in what the Queen's wearing and whatnot, but can't you see that in the highlights??? I sure can for 3 extra hours of sleep!

So, if you have a 9-5 job like me, go to bed early tonight, turn on the TV at 6am, watch as much as you can before leaving work, then catch the rest of the details throughout the day until your wedding bug is satisfied!

Royal Wedding highlights/thoughts/reflection/complements post to come tomorrow!