Day 6: Helping Hands

When I started planning my wedding, I was determined to do everything. I was too proud...ok... too picky and detail oriented to ask people for help. I had so many people offering help, but refused everytime.

Eventually I came to my senses and started allowing, even asking, for people's help. It was one of the smartest decisions I have ever made wedding planning-wise.

I have so many amazingly talented friends and family members. I was lucky enough that they were willing and excited to help with my wedding! It not only cut down time, but saved me a lot of money too.

One of the major details of a wedding is the wedding cake. Wedding cakes can run anywhere from $3-$15 dollars PER WEDDING GUEST.  For us that was $360-$1800 for our 120 guests. Cue jaw drop. There was no way I was paying that. I would just make cupcakes if I had too! Luckily, I didn't have to.
My aunt and cousin are amazing. They ended up making our wedding cake. It turned out so much better than I ever could imagine, and only cost us about $150.
If you have someone who is willing and able to make your wedding cake at cost, buy everything as cheap as you can.
I bought all of the fondant, gum paste, etc at Hobby Lobby. I downloaded the app and made multiple transactions so I could get everything 40% off. It saved a chunk of money.

Another place to recruit your friends and save money is makeup, hair, and nails.  These have all become an important part of every brides big day. I started calling around and pricing these services for my girls and I. The average cost I found was $55 for hair, $25 makeup, and $35 nails per person. That is $115 per person. Not only could I not afford that, but I didn't want my girls to have to spend that kind of money either.  Not only that, everyone I called was already booked for my wedding day. So... I started asking around. Luckily, if I haven't mentioned it before, I have wonderful friends.

 
 
 These lovely ladies are two of my best friends. They did my hair, make up and nails. Not only did they do an amazing job, but they did it as a gift. They are both such amazing people and I love them so much! They even helped out with the bridesmaids make up! 
 
 





When I told my bridesmaids that I had no one to do hair, they immediately decided to get together and do each others hair. We had a hair party at one of the girls houses and spent a good chunk of a night Pinteresting, YouTubing and practicing hair. The girls found super easy, and super cute hairstyles they could do on each other. They all looked stunning and didn't have to spend a fortune!

A major theme in this series is saving money.  But I also want to hit on tips I wish I would have known before planning my wedding.

I asked for help way too late. Instead of being stubborn and thinking I could do everything on my own, I should have welcomed help with open arms. I was so stressed about the wedding, I made myself sick on multiple occasions. I was constantly worried about how I was going to get things done. I can not tell you how much I wish I could go back, have the same wedding, but have more help from the get go.

 

If you have loved ones who have skills that will be beneficial for your wedding, as them for help. The worst thing that could happen is they say no. Your friends and family love you and would feel honored to help out with whatever they can.

 

I hope you all are smarter than I am, and welcome all of the helping hands you have in your life.

 

 

This is day 6 of a 31 day series. To see the rest, click here.

 

 

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