Family, Favorite Things, Friends, Humor, Life, Marriage

Chocolate Chip Cookies Make Me Chubby, Weddings Make Me Cry

Kari

 

I have an outstanding husband. Second time around, I like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out what works. He’s my biggest supporter, and without him, I couldn’t be the mom/wife I try to be. Truly, behind every great mom or wife is a husband who just gets it.

 

He helps with the kids, cleans up after them, knows exactly what to say and when to say it, and somehow manages to put up with my mood swings. He parents beautifully, and he makes the best chocolate chip cookies.

 

Speaking of marriage, I was reading a magazine article recently about “weddings on the cheap.” Naturally, I was intrigued. Almost five years ago, we had our wedding, and everything was done with the help of family and friends. Decor, flowers, everything—it never cost more than $10 a pop, and honestly, it looked beautiful.

 

I’m officially hooked on the show My Big Friggin’ Wedding. Judge if you must, but the way some couples were spending thousands on invitations made me laugh.

My crafty sister-in-law made ours as a gift; all I had to do was pick colors, fonts, and what the invite would say.

Here is what it ended up looking like:

 

 

I even helped assemble them, and I love that someday my girls will hear about how we spent that afternoon cutting and gluing together.

I got my faux wedding bouquet and the bridesmaids’ bouquets online for $50 total. Not bad compared to $250 at a florist, and we get to keep them forever. Flowers are such a big part of weddings, but fresh ones are so expensive. I think the fake flowers did a great job that night.

For the tables, I got inspiration from Martha Stewart Living magazine:

And here is my version:

 

The pots were $1.50 each at Dollar General, hydrangeas were 50% off at Hobby Lobby, and I added candles. Total spend? Minimal.

Our table setting.

 

The flower arch at our ceremony—Rebecca and I spent a Saturday putting it together—was from Michaels, with flowers from Hobby Lobby. We left it at the barn, and it was reused for other weddings. Good karma for us, since we may have “borrowed” a bench.

I love this picture, mostly because after all this time, generations later, our ancestors might think we hated each other. After a long day of assembling centerpieces, candy jars, and bouquets, we were tired. Diet Pepsi only goes so far, and I hadn’t had a cigarette in hours. You’re lucky I didn’t flip off the camera.

Note to others: elope. Much easier. 😉

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18 thoughts on “Chocolate Chip Cookies Make Me Chubby, Weddings Make Me Cry”

  1. I was just looking at those candles tonight (they sit on our kitchen windowsill after all – nice repurpose!) and thought how gorgeous your reception hall looked with hundreds of twinkling candles. It was a beautiful night for a beautiful couple. :)

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  2. What lovely memories! It was a beautiful wedding! I wish I had a picture but I actually re-purposed my bouquet. I have it in a sage green ceramic vase and is now part of my decor!

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  3. Thanks girls, without the two of you and your help this wedding definitely wouldn't have been as pretty as it was. :) And Rebecca, I think I remembered the bouquet in the vase and yes it looks soo cool!

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  5. This is cool because since I haven’t been here since the beginning, they’re new to me! I want one of those chocolate chip cookies. What are your favorite flavors of non-seasonal Pop Tarts? My faves are Brown Sugar and Cherry. (Two tarts…not one nasty flavor.) The hubby likes the chocolate ones but they make me gag. :P

    I love how you did all of that stuff for your wedding! It’s so nice to be able to make some of the stuff to save money but look just as nice! Mason jars are always a good favor! I made my flowergirl’s basket and I think that was about it. Mine was scandalous because my maids of honor wore black dresses before it became acceptable. It was an evening wedding, the dudes were in tails and we had a classical trio at the ceremony so simmer down, Karen. *rolling eyes*

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    1. I love that you love the old posts. Psst- I do too. :)

      It was a lot of fun to make it but it was WORK. There is a reason people pay a shit ton of money to the wedding industry.
      I LOVE THE BLACK DRESS IDEA! I bet they looked so good against your light color dress! I say light color dress because I never wore white to either of my weddings because let’s be real.

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  6. I don’t like Pop-Tarts either.. of any flavor. I made a lot of stuff for our wedding too and we managed to have a really nice wedding for a small fraction of the cost of most other people we know.

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  7. Isn’t it fun to go back and read your old posts? Ten years ago…”Ellie was napping”…she was a baby! (Insert heart.) Too bad those bridesmaids dresses didn’t turn out. They look really pretty from the catalog page.

    xoxo

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  8. This is fun – still need to get around to sharing the details of our first meeting – wink, wink! This reminded me. 2020 resolution.

    Love the 2020 Kari wanted to puke. I think that when I started my blog I never complained about Coach (nor did I gush about him – ha), and lately I have noticed that the gloves are off. I have been much more open about sharing my wifely frustrations. ‘Download the dam app’ post will be forthcoming and will explain much on this. I think.

    I chose our bridesmaids dresses in 1996 at Lord and Taylor. Liz Claiborne on sale plus a coupon. One bridesmaid had to buy two dresses and sew a panel in them because she was bigger than a size 16 which was a bummer, but still the dresses were only like $40 a piece. Your wedding pics are so cute.

    I worked at a baseball hat manufacturer when I got married and they embroidered pieces of fabric with a celtic cross and our names and the date. I printed up the rest of the programs and we glued the fabric to the front of the folded cardstock programs. I went to my since-2nd grade BFF’s house and her folks helped us glue them together in her basement – a better ventilated area would probably have been idea. THEN I noticed that I printed up the program with my future sis-in-law’s maiden name and not her married name. I feared this would tick her off and I didn’t want any fallout over my oversight cause she had been married for a few years. (known her since high school and she had a tendency to look down her nose at people). Tore the fabric/embroidered covers off, reprinted the cardstock, and re-glued with same friend. Good times.

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    2. Also, 2011 me had my company manners on which is probably why I gushed. I adore my husband but I also have no problem saying he drives me insane. Probably also because 2011 me had only been married to him for five years at that point. 😂😂

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  9. I enjoyed reading this, but I gotta say that I’m way more into 2020 Kari. You have definitely come into your own as a writer in the intervening years. More real and more funny. I love real Kari. Glad we’re not company anymore. :-)

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  10. We had a DIY wedding too, and even though it was way too stressful, and way too much time was spent making things, it was the best wedding I’ve ever attended. Plus we had carnival games, so that was a bonus.

    And wtf? Pumpkin pop tarts?! Is this still a thing? And why aren’t they in my mouth?! Good god.

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    1. Carnival games at a wedding makes me mad I didn’t think of it and that I’ve never been to a wedding that has had them!

      They are still a thing! They have them only in the fall though. 😞

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