Red, white, and blue

In honor of 4th of July, I have decided to talk more about our wedding colors. What does this have to do with Independence Day? Well, our colors happens to be the good 'ol red, white, and blue. In our defense, I don't plan on it being "Americana" themed, but rather I'll be using cherry red, aqua blue, and white. I always knew I wanted some sort of blue in my wedding (my favorite color), but I was unsure as to what to pair it with. Yellow? Sand? Green? White? Pink? I was so indecisive that at one point I threw out blue altogether! That is, until I saw this inspiration board...

Gorgeous, no?

I never in a million years would even think about putting aqua and red together, but I absolutely adore it! The richness of the red complements the playful aqua perfectly. It's young, fun, and summery, perfect for our personalities.

And that is how our wedding colors were finalized! The red will be incorporated into the flowers, centerpeices, invitations, and napkins. The white will just be scattered throughout the entire wedding, and the aqua will be incorporated in the tablecloths, invitations, cake, and bridesmaids dresses. I must say though, finding bridesmaids dresses in the perfect shade of aqua that AREN'T $35o is quite a difficult process. More on that later :) How did you decide your wedding colors??

Hello from...Miss National Mall?

"Miss Rockville" here! Only, I was apparently supposed to me "Miss National Mall" but never got the memo. Oops! So, I changed my name, but don't worry, it's still me. :)

Planning for a wedding without actually having money is well...difficult. Due to the fact that I just graduated, I currently do not have a job. Looking, definitely looking, but nothing has come up yet. So until I get a job (or someone decides they want to give a generous contribution to our wedding fund), planning is pretty much at a halt. However, since I've been engaged for THREE FREAKIN YEARS now, I pretty much have all of the inspiration, ideas, and lists of vendors that I want to look at. So at least there shouldn't be much research involved.

First on the list (besides my long venue search) is catering. Mr. National Mall does not like fancy food. If I would allow him to serve McDonald's at our wedding he would. Seriously. Add to the fact that our budget for the venue/catering/rentals is $10,000, we can't afford to spend $100/person on filet mignon and lobster, even if Mr. Natioanl Mall did want it. So we've decided to opt for interactive stations. I think it will make for a fun and casual experience. Plus, who doesn't love fajitas and a macaroni and cheese bar? ;-) I've gotten a few proposals from companies that are a little shocking though. $80/pp for fajitas and a carving station? Really?? I might just have to deal with the fact that the DC area is just ridiculously expensive and buckle down and pay for it. But do I want to?? Noooooo way.

How did you deal with the sticker shock of the DC area prices?