How to Plan a Wedding in Two Weeks: Other Important Necessities

Miss Boa's big three, (venue, dress, and photographer,) were decided upon in a crazy short amount of time! This is one determined bride, lol.

But a few things were still needed...

1) Someone to marry them and make it official
2) Someone to get the party started at the reception
3) Something to eat for dessert
4) Something to invite the guests

The Officiant:

Finding an officiant in short notice was becoming similar to her photographer search, many were booked already and were simply out of the running by default! D:

One of the groomsmen mentioned a family member of his officiated weddings, Miss Boa had met him before and for a while was considering him to officiate, but she still had pending potentials at the time that she found on WeddingWire.

Finally, she received a reply that one of the potential officiants was free! She ending up going with D and J Ministry. They only book one wedding per day, and the ceremony and rehearsal cost $250.

Most important part of the wedding, (the actual marriage): check!

The DJ:

Miss Boa really lucked out on this one, because she used one of the best things in the wedding industry---a friendor!

A friendor is an awesome friend who does something wedding-related and is willing to help you out on your special day! Usually at a lovely, discounted friends-and-family-only price, lol.

After discussing the details with said friend from Blackrrock Sound Solutions, an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, he suggested that two separate systems be set up: one for the indoor party and one for the outdoors, so Miss Boa's carefully selected ceremony music could be played and so the ceremony could be heard clearly by all guests!

Always a tragedy when the most beautiful vows are spoken yet no one can hear them!

Usually this would have cost quite a pretty penny, given that Blackrrock Sound would need double the amount of equipment to make the event work, not to mention an extra employee to help with setup... But Miss Boa was given the wonderful offer of half the price of the whole package! :D

And this, my friends, is why friendors ROCK!

(Miss Boa plans to tip her pal handsomely for his generosity and hard work. :) )

The Cake:

Miss Boa know where she was getting her cake long before getting engaged!

The sweet confections of Dessert Deli has enchanted many a female in the Western NY area, including me! *sighs*

Their cakes are luscious and decadent, not to mention just plain gorgeous:

Some tasty cakes being offered this month that I have yet to sink my teeth into... *drool*
Miss Boa's favorite has always been their red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

So naturally she ordered a red velvet tiered cake, with alternating ivory and dark brown tiers. (fillings to be decided later) It will be decorated with climbing branches dotted with delicate teal cherry blossoms.

I haven't seen the design, but it will probably look something like this, except in the proper colors:

Ooooo, ahhhh! So pretty. :)

And there's an extra bonus too! If you get your wedding cake through them, you get 10% off all future cakes and cookies for life. o.0 So much cake...so little time! XD

The Invitations:

Getting her invitations was simple enough, due to the fact that they were the only thing she needed to purchase to obtain her fabulous wedding planner! As long as she purchased the invitations through her, Miss Boa would receive her guidance and assistance.

And surprisingly, there was a wide selection of price points, she ending up spending only $2 per invite for a invite/envelope/RSVP suite in her wedding colors!

Affordable invitations without the agony of printing, cutting, pasting, stamping, etc. over 100+ pieces of paper?! Sounds like a good deal to me!

She does plan on saving money on calligraphy by printing out the envelope addresses on her own. Very smart, I approve. :)

She mentioned that the design was hard to describe, so I guess I'll have to wait until I help her with addressing the envelopes...

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So by the time the holidays ended, Miss Boa managed to scratch off the following wedding to-do items:

-Wedding planner
-Venue
-Ceremony Site
-Food
-Rentals (included with venue package)
-Wedding dress
-Photographer
-Officiant
-DJ
-Cake
-Invitations

Whew! Makes me tired just looking at it! XD

A big round of applause please to Miss Boa!

She has done something I know I could never do, haha.

To DJ or Not to DJ?

As I was thinking of any way I could possibly cut the budget down a few thousand, XP, I wondered, do I really need a DJ? I looked into a few articles about this very subject, and many sources (quite a few of them DJ sites,) say yes, it will make your life easier.

One post from Raleigh Wedding Ideas states that it depends on what you want for the mood of the reception. If you just want music running and few announcements, (what I'm looking for,) then an Ipod setup and designated sound person should work. If you want "all-night dance fest with lights, effects, and an emcee to keep the energy up," (what my bf may want,) "then yes, you need a DJ." Also in the post are helpful hints if you're going the DIY route.

On a more cautionary note, another article, "To DJ or not to DJ: Why an “iPod Wedding is a Bad Idea," (btw I swear I didn't take the title from this XD) warns brides of the many issues with the diy DJ route:

1) Unless you already have a great sound system, you'll have to rent one. Also you'll need a backup ipod.

- Well it's a good thing my bf does own a great sound system then! And we also have many tech-savvy friends, an extra ipod should not be a problem.

2) You'll need someone to "run" the Ipod and "guard" the equipment.

- As long as we have a nice mixed up order to our songs, have someone cue the songs for the dances and pause at the proper times, and put it out of the way, I don't see how this is too much of an issue.

3) You'll need lighting equipment for a proper ambiance.

- I could live without it. (bf might again, be another story)

4) You'll need wireless microphones.

- These can be rented and might even be included with the venue, depending.

5) What if you rented gear breaks down?

- DJs really know how to repair equipment? Just kidding, they may have backup equipment for such an occasion, so this is a reasonable warning.

6) You'll have to transport it and set it up.

- As a penny-pinching, diy bride, I'll have to set up a LOT of things...this is where I get help from willing (hopefully XP) family and friends.

7) The family member/friend helping may not have such a great time, and you may have to pay them.

- This would be discussed with said family member or friend, and if there is a big issue finding someone willing to help, well I guess we'll need a DJ then. But it's not like I would force anyone to do it...

8) They have liability insurance in case the equipment burns the place down.

- Even though this sounds very much like my mother, lol, it is a very good point.

9) You may have to purchase the music you want.

- My bf's and my sister's music selection are so ridiculously large that I don't forsee buying more than a couple songs at the most.

10) An Ipod does not blend the songs together, and this may cause awkward moments on the dance floor.

- Very true, but a determined tech-savvy girl like me can find a program that would blend the songs together! :D May not be at the proper places, (i.e. sounds horrible for a second or two,) but perhaps it would be better than awkward silences? :P

11) DJs keep the reception organized and time the events well.

- If I find the right person to help, and make it very, very simple to follow our instructions, then I think I could pull it off. Hmmm, I'm thinking said person has many alarms on his/her phone, on vibrate, so they can tell when they should be doing something, lol.

In my opinion, there shouldn't be too many "events" that will have to be announced extravagantly. The first dance, toasts, father-daughter dance, bouquet toss, etc, yeah, they need to be announced, but what does it matter if an attending friend does it or not? I don't need a show, I just need an announcement. *shrugs*

Also I feel that my bf and I, with a bit of input, could put together a fun and generally pleasing music list for the reception. I mean we're both reasonable people, it's not like we're going to bore or bother the hell out of the guests with one type of very narrowly liked music.

But I'll be honest, there will be at least a few unique songs very much favored by the bride or groom, lol. (Hey it's our wedding, the guests can handle 1 or 2 songs that represent us, :D)

Bottom line: If my bf feels the same way I do about this, we could possibly make it work. Otherwise, I'll be searching for a somewhat-reasonably priced DJ...