Pictures worth a thousand words... or $1.50+

Framed photos aren't the first thing that you might think of when imagining your perfect table setting for your event... however, flowers can be expensive and live fish went out of style in 1995. Framed photos are charming, personalized, and can be as elegant or playful as you want.

I recently caught a deal at Target for 8 4x6" frames for $7.00 which is less than a $1.00 per frame. They're simple and black and could be paired with some silver or black candlesticks (for height) or could be painted pink for a baby shower or bachelorette party.

A friend of mine had assigned seating at her wedding and she put a picture of each of the people at the table with her or with her groom. She then gave them away as their party favor. What an intimate way to bring her guests together - to share about where/when the photo was taken, how they met the bride/groom, etc.

As you plan for your event, you can visit thrift stores, garage sales, and craft store blow-outs and start collecting frames at rock-bottom prices. If you're concerned about uniformity, you can always buy a can of four-dollar spray paint in the color of your choice and make them all the same color BUT with different textures, patterns & sizes.

Booze: The best bang for your buck

Planning a party where you are going to serve alcohol? Budget-wise, your best bet is to serve beer & wine only. Hard alcohol is expensive - ranging from $1-5 per drink or more at a restaurant venue - and can lead to embarassing "lamp shade" incidents.

After doing much shopping in town for vino, the best bang for your buck is Trader Joe's (but stay away from 2-buck Chuck, it tastes like cheap wine)... Their wines start at $3/bottle and goes up from there. TJ's has a great selection of wines from around the globe and changes up its selection regularly so it's always new to your pallate (and to your guests). It's also your best choice for budget-priced sparkling white wine (aka champagne).

More soon on glassware and the dangers of plastic - taste-wise, not health-wise. Stay tuned...

Another option is to contact any friends who you might have in the wine/alcohol industry to see if they can "hook you up" with an even better deal.

Beer: A keg is much easier on your wallet (and the environment) than bottled beer. You can put a black table cloth around the keg and have a staff person stand at the keg serving guests wine & beer - it takes some of the "Frat Kegger in IV" feeling out of it. Santa Barbara Ice Company is one of the best deals in town and carries a wide variety of inventory. They can also deliver and provide dispensers and ice for a nominal delivery fee. If you want to do bottled beer, keep an eye on your local grocery store as they often have prices per beer that beat Costco.

Does this white dress make my butt look big?!

All brides want to look their best on their big day and I'm sure that you're no different. You may think that you need to lose a few pounds... Or you may just want to firm up your arms or your booty? Maybe even have some noticeable muscle definition in your strapless gown?

You may already walk with girlfriends for exercise but might flap your gums more than you break a sweat! You may already have a gym membership but spend more time at Starbucks than on the Stairmaster!

Whatever your fitness goal is (or your tendency to avoid good, hard, work), I have the program for you. It's reasonably priced, time sensitive, and fun... yes, I said the F-word - FUN! There's rockin' music, motivating instructors, and it's ONLY 45 minutes a day!

It's the KUT Program through Martial Arts Family Fitness. KUT stands for Kickboxers Ultimate Training and it has been voted one of Santa Barbara's best indoor fitness programs on and off for years. It's a 9-week course that includes regular (daily) workouts of cardio & resistance training, nutrition plan, fitness coaching, and accountability exercises.

It costs only $399 which is pennies compared to a wasted gym membership or a trainer who can cost almost that much for just a few random workouts.

(On a personal note: I did the program years ago and had a longer timeline than a bride has but lost 30 pounds in a year and have kept it off to this day - even after having a baby!)

Dirty little secret: I didn't take advantage of this program when I was preparing for my wedding day and WISH WISH WISH that I had.

To learn more about the program, click here. (You can take a free class to see if you like it!)

CCEC Gala Success

The Community Counseling & Education Center celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala fundraiser themed Dance with Us featuring a silent auction, dance exhibitions, catering by Elements Restaurant, and the rockin' sounds of King Bee.

It was a busy night of timing management, silent auction coordination, and communication between the dancers, band & everyone else! Montecito Bank & Trust was kind enough to help with the silent auction "banking" portion of the evening so be sure to use them for your next silent auction - but be sure to talk to them beforehand to work out the logistics of picking up the bid sheets, where the items will be held for distribution, etc. A silent auction can get very messy, very quickly. However, this silent auction was managed by my dear friend, Sara Caputo, who is a professional organizer so this silent auction went off without a hitch!

King Bee is always amazing (TOTALLY recommend them for a dance party!) and the dance exhibitions really added a flare to the evening and pumped up the crowd. I emceed much of the evening which is always enjoyable for me and makes for efficient time management, as well.

I hope that the CCEC made a ton of money and I KNOW that everyone had a wonderful evening! Another successful event!

Guestbook... tell a story

Guestbooks can range from bland and boring to sparkling and interactive - it's your choice. When thinking about how you want to commemmorate who attended your event, consider a few things:

1. Is this something that I can - and want - to display in my home?
2. Is there anything that I want to share with my guests (photos? stories?)?
3. How important is a guestbook to me?

Here are some ideas for creative guestbooks that you and your guests will remember for a long time...

Use a good ol' Polaroid camera and have a guestbook attendant take your guests' photo and place it in a book where the guest(s) can put their well-wishes on the page next to the photo - see photos below.



For the scrapbooker (or recruit a friend who is a scrapbooker), put together a quick album of photos that tell a story. You can then have guests sign small tags with their well-wishes and the scrapbooker can later put them in. This gives your gusests something to enjoy while waiting to sign instead of just standing in line chatting.

Examples:

WEDDING/ANNIVERSARY - Bride & groom from childhood through engagement - see photos.

BIRTHDAY - Birthday girl/boy from birth through present day.

BABY SHOWER - Marriage photos of couple & birth photos through present with story of pregancy, name choices, etc. This should leave room for the birth photos and some baby pictures.



Another popular "guestbook" that will become a beautiful piece of "art" is a signature matte that will frame a photo frome the event.


MAJOR TIP: Do NOT put the matte on an easel to be signed, guests will walk right by it, thinking that it is just decoration. Put it down on a table with multiple pens so more than one guest can sign at a time.

Centerpiece Ideas and Creative Suggestions

When we leave a wedding... do we really remember what the centerpieces look like?! Most of the time, the answer is no. Unless they were really special or really elaborate, right? We aren't in the "elaborate" business but we are all about making your day special (and reasonably priced!). Here are some questions to ask yourself when creating your centerpieces:

1. What is the theme of my event?
2. What is the venue like? On the beach? In the mountains?
3. What is the seating going to be like at the party?
4. What is my budget?
5. Are there any restrictions from my venue?

Here are some suggestions for themes:

A winery wedding... corks in the vases with fresh cut flowers (see photo)
An autumn wedding... fresh veggies and fruits dotted with large sunflowers (think cornucopia)
A spring wedding... planted herbs in flower pots - these can also represent table assignments ("The Rosemary Table", "The Basil Table")


These are all reasonably priced options for DIY planners - especially if you shop online.

Some KEY tips to creating your event centerpieces:

#1 - MAJOR - make sure that your guests can SEE each other when sitting down for conversation. It's a nightmare when you have to bob and weave around the centerpiece all night!

#2 - try to make your centerpiece into something that you or you guests can enjoy for a longer time than just the event (a potted plant, candles, etc.)

#3 - Don't spend a ton on your centerpieces because, as I said, before your guests are more interested in your ceremony, your love for each other, and how good the music was than the stuff on the table.





Resources:

Wine corks for good prices = eBay and widgetco.com

Plant pots = Ikea.com and always check craigslist.com

Photos for free... or close to it!

Professional photos can be such a great tool when planning an event - for invitations, for that signable photoframe, for take-away photo frames, the list goes on. When planning on a budget, one of the best ways to get semi-professional photos (no one will know the difference most of the time!) is to contact amateurs, students or someone you know who is trying to break into the photography industry.

When we wanted engagement photos taken, I turned to the first place that I look for ANYTHING (including my husband... long story) - CRAIGSLIST! I put a posting under Gigs:Creative saying that we would be happy to be the subject for any photographer who wanted to have some engagement-type photos for his/her portfolio. I got a TON of responses and chose the one who was the most professional and energetic in her emails. She did a GREAT job and we used those photos through out our wedding planning process. We also just did family photos with a friend who is trying to break into the photography industry and wanted baby & family photos for his portfolio. He was cheap (35 bucks) and we both gained a TON from the experience!Some great places to ask for free photos - or offer to be guinea pigs for free, however you want to look at it:

Craigslist.com

Your local photography school or department

An email to friends/family.

Some suggestions for making the experience good for both you and the photographer:

Be clear about what you're willing to pay or not pay

Be clear about what the end-product should be
Example: 4-5 .jpgs on CD, both high- and low-resolution

Wear colors that work & NO loud patterns
Example: I always use blue, white and khaki for photos with more than one person in the shot - it brings variety, softness, and makes for a clean photo

Come with ideas - look online at other photographer websites - send those to your chosen photographer

Bring your energy - be enthusiastic about the photoshoot - it will show in the end!

Below are some examples from the shoots that I mention above.
Good luck with your "new" modeling career - Say Cheese!