Honeymoon in the Poorhouse

I just found a really interesting (and somewhat disturbing) website... Cost of Wedding.com. You enter your zip code, and it calculates the average cost of getting married there. I entered our home zip code... and here's the response it gave me:
$24,264.24
Yikes. The website is also quick to mention that "This does not include cost for a honeymoon, engagement ring, bridal consultant or wedding planner."
Of course it doesn't.
Just for fun, I typed in a few other zip codes... including the zip for our ceremony site ($20,404.02) and our reception site ($20,955.48). So, I guess by leaving the cape and heading to the city, I'm saving about 16%.

And before you say to me "Well, you should get married back home... It'll be much cheaper," think again. The average wedding in Rochester, Michigan (Jan's Zip Code) is a whopping $64,245.09. In my dad's zip code, it's even worse... $67,553.85. Yowsa.

Of course, we could get married in K-Ville, Cory's home town, for an average cost of $17,922.45. But we'd have to hold our reception at the fairgrounds. And no, I'm not kidding about that.

The website also breaks down typical expenses category by category. Using our home zip code, those expenses are....
(Drumroll please)

Wedding Attire- $1,667.00
Wedding Ceremony- $2,116.00
Wedding Flowers- $1,029.00
Wedding Jewelry- $1,575.00
Wedding Music- $ 835.00
Wedding Photos/Video- $2,407.00
Wedding Reception- $12,397.00
Wedding Stationery- $ 733.00
Wedding Transportation- $ 510.00
Wedding Favors & Gifts- $1,000.00 (Seriously? $1000 for little matchbooks with our names on them?)

Looking at this list makes my head spin. I can't even imagine spending that kind of money on a wedding. In fact, I've been stressing out about how much everything costs... and compared to $24 grand, we're having a frugal affair.

A Sweet Sensation

Today, I decided to check in on cakes. Though there are a few bakeries around here that I saw at the bridal show last winter, everyone I talk to says to get my wedding cake at Publix.

They do have one cake design that I really like. It's the one that they have in all of their advertisements in the bridal magazines... Although I wouldn't get it in the pea-soup green shade that you see in this picture.

Then again, maybe I'll just get this one instead.

Another Check-Mark

Ok... so it's not really a major wedding accomplishment... but we've purchased a caketopper for our wedding. A minor purchase, but a major decision. Here's why:

I love weddings. Actually, that's not really true. I love wedding receptions. Weddings themselves (and their receptions, too) are filled with traditions that I find cheesy. Like the "unity candle." Or a cake with a little bride and groom on top of it.

I thought of being a smart-ass... and either getting a really tacky bride and groom (like this pair of frogs) , or a bizarre one (What is wrong with this couple?) or one that would just confuse people (like an African-American couple).

We actually managed to find something we like on Wedding Accessories.net. We ordered it last week, and it arrived a couple of days ago. After seeing it close-up, the quality isn't exactly what I was hoping for... but it'll do. And at least it isn't frogs.

How To Propose (For Nerds)

Step One: Rescue girlfriend from Alien Abductors.
Step Two: Produce Ring and Propose.

Hooray for Us!

Two more bridal tasks I can mark off the checklist: A tentative date (April 14th), and a site for our ceremony. And while I'd love to gush about the beautiful, gorgeous spot where Cory and I will get married, I think I'd rather keep a little mystery to this whole thing. So instead of telling you all about it, I'm just going to post one little picture, as a teaser.


It's the courtyard of a restaurant that I drive past every day on my way to work.
Pretty nice, huh? It's just a little tiny bit of the place we've chosen, but this picture should give you at least a little taste.

Diet Dilemma

Cory thinks I'm pissed off at him because he's having trouble staying on his diet. What he doesn't seem to understand is that I'm not pissed off... I'm disappointed, of course... but more than that, I'm worried. He's gained about 40 pounds in the 5 1/2 years we've been dating.

I tell him that the reason I want us to go on a diet is because I want us to both look good for our wedding. After all, if you're going to spend well over a thousand dollars just on pictures... you'd better look damn good.

The truth? I love Cory, but I don't want to marry a ticking time bomb. I worry about enough stupid shit already... I really don't want to have something real to worry about.

On the other hand, I feel like an ass for making him go on a diet in the first place. He's a big boy... he should be able to take care of himself. So on the one hand, I feel like a total nag. On the other hand, I feel like if I don't take care of him... he won't take care of himself.

And yeah, I know he'll probably read this. Maybe then, he'll understand.

"Die" With a "T"

That's right, kids, the wedding diet starts Wednesday (technically, today... though I haven't been to bed yet, so it's still Tuesday in my mind!). For me, the diet is more of a preventative measure. I've put on a few pounds since moving to the Sunshine State. I don't want to gain any more (I have to be able to fit into my lovely e-bay wedding dress, after all).

Cory, I think, wants to lose some pounds for the wedding... or at least he's willing to humor me by attempting to lose weight. But see, here's the thing: Despite the fact that Cory's more chubby than I am, Cory gets to eat about 1,000 calories (per day) more than I do.

How is that fair?

Anyway, the last few days, we've been pigging out. Since I typically get Mondays and Tuesdays off, we've had two days off together. And they've been two holiday-type days, which means lots of food.

As a last hurrah, I just made a batch of kettle corn for a midnight snack. Diet starts tomorrow!