Road to I Do Series:

X. Our DIY Donut Board - How we created our own donut board as a treat for wedding guests during our reception

All you need is Love... and Donuts! When Joe and I began brainstorming and discussing ideas that we wanted to incorporate for our reception, we both agreed we would love to have a snack or treat towards the later part of our reception. I was so excited that we landed on DONUTS!

While it sounded crazy to have more food (in addition to cocktail hors d'oeuvres, a plated meal, cake, ie.,) we thought back to some of the weddings we've attended and we always appreciated when an extra little treat(s) was provided towards the end of the wedding. What can I say, I guess all that drinking and dancing can really build an appetite, lol!  We thought donuts were perfect because, well first... they're delicious, but also they're not too heavy, not too light, not too messy and don't require additional toppings, ie. - we figured a variety of donuts would be a total crowd pleaser and I'm happy to share that we were correct.

I began searching for donut boards online and found options to buy and/or rent, but the prices were shockingly high. I couldn't wrap my head around paying hundreds and hundreds for a single board that we would use for one night. Before giving up on the idea entirely, my husband suggested that he makes one. At first I laughed, wondering how he would do it or find the time to do it, but sure enough it was actually simple. We had most of the materials needed already (wood glue, wood, saw, clamps, ie.) so it cost us under $40 to do, but even if you have none of the materials prior it is still much cheaper to make your own than pay the prices you will find online. Once the board was put together, I glued on this sign that I had previously purchased and added some eucalyptus garland around the border for some fun touches. Read below for all of the materials needed and the step-by-step.

 I wanted to share with you all in hopes that someone else, whether for a wedding or special event, will also be able to save hundreds and benefit from the same idea. Please make sure to comment or leave me a message on Instagram with pictures if you decide to, I would love to see! 

Items Needed (all are tagged):

* White Peg Board (we got 2 to put together, 1 can also work depending on the size you're looking for)

* Wood Glue

* Wood  (we already had some from a previous project, but you can look for wood in any hardware store to use for the structure and then cut it down to exact size with a saw)

* Saw

*Wood Round Dowels (for pegs; we used the saw to make 3 in. sized pegs - you can determine how you'd like to space them out on your board)

* Clamp(s)

* White Semi-Gloss Spray Paint (optional)

Step-By-Step:

1) Measure your peg board (length x width) so you know what length your wood should be. Then use your saw to cut your wood that length; you want to outline the back of your peg boards with wood to give a nice, solid structure (optional, you could actually measure diagonal cuts also so that the board stands on its own but we opted to just outline the back and knew that we'd have it sit up against a wall)

  

2) Once you measure and cut your wood, you will put wood glue on the back of your peg board(s) and use your clamp(s) to clamp the wood down. I would advise keeping it in place for at least an hour before moving on to the next step so you can make sure it's on there good!

3) After you complete your wooden border around the back, you can flip your peg board over and begin putting your pegs in place. We purchased long wooden dowels and used the saw to measure and cut 3 inch pegs (decide how many pegs you will need and how you'd like to space them out on your board prior to)

4) Once you have all of your pegs cut, you will use wood glue to place them on your peg board. We put wood glue on one end of the peg and stuck it down to the board. I would let these sit for at least a day before trying to pick up and move the board (we were ahead of ourselves and we did have a couple fall off initially; we just added more glue and placed them back on). 

5) If you have any signs, ie. you can also glue those on when you put your pegs on. I used my "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You" sign (tagged above) and clamped that down at the same time as the pegs

6) If you plan to use spray paint, after a day or 2, you can just take the board outside and spray paint. I had to make sure to cover my sign and then opted to spray paint everything else white so it was all one color (of course the color is totally up to you!) 

Once it was spray painted, the board was totally done and we were so happy with it! We did need to have our friend with a pick-up truck help us out with transporting to our venue due to the size, but it was so worth it! If you're reading this because you're considering adding a donut board to your wedding or event, I say DO IT! It truly made for the sweetest ending to a new beginning! 

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed, make sure to check out some of my other blog posts within my Road to I Do Series! - xo 

Road to I Do Wedding Series:

III. Bridesmaid and Groomsman Proposals- How We Asked Our Favorite People to Stand by us on Our Wedding Day

Soon after we solidified our venue and date, it was time to ask our favorite people to stand by our sides on our wedding day. If  you haven't heard the term "Bridesmaid and/or Groomsman Proposal," it's just a fun opportunity for the bride and groom to show their squads how much they mean to them as they ask them to be a part of their wedding. After being a part of different online bride groups, I found that the idea definitely has mixed reviews. Some think it's "too much" and would rather just ask them, some decide not to have a wedding party. Ultimately, all couples are different and it should be whatever the couple wants- but as someone who truly values my sisterhood, it was essential that I made them feel special and let them know how much I value their support as I planned my wedding. My husband didn't actually spend and money in the way that he asked (keep reading to see), but still did something that will for sure always be remembered. I love to host so it was a no-brainer that I would do this in person and my husband, being the football lover he is, tied that into the way he asked his groomsmen. 

For me, it wasn't so much about the gifts I gave, but more so the time I got to spend with them which is why I opted to throw a gathering at my house and ask them in person. I had to push the date out to February 2021 due to COVID so I decided on a "Galentine's" themed PJ party! It was super easy and we had SO much fun! I got a couple little snacks and sweets for everyone to munch on and a variety of wines & homemade sangria. I also created a fun grass wall backdrop in my kitchen with artificial grass squares and an " I Do Crew" Banner (this was a hit!) because I knew there'd be tons of kodak moments. I forgot to mention, most of my friends are not local anymore so it gives us even more of a reason to make sure to capture the moments when we're together. One of my friends, who lives in Chicago, couldn't make it so I just met with her and gave her her box at an earlier date when she was in town.

                    

Our surprise guest, Cupid, had been upstairs the entire time and no one knew! If you know the two of us, you'd probably expect nothing less, but somehow we pulled it off and everyone was surprised. With COVID, there wasn't too much happening so he knew he'd be home and was totally up for making the night even more special. I got the Cupid suit on Amazon and he rocked it and gave each of us a rose when he made his grand appearance lol. Extra? Maybe a tad... but a night I'll always remember? With a doubt.

Now for the fellas! As I mentioned, my husband Joe actually asked his groomsmen without gifts. He went with a fun, creative video concept to ask them to be his groomsmen and they loved it! Joe is a football coach and has always loved the sport, so he decided he wanted to have a Groomsmen draft. He literally put on a suit and had a script as if it was a live NFL draft and asked me to be the Co-host. I thought it was cool that we both ended up being a part of each other's ideas. Since I've had experience making  videos, I set up my camera and was able to edit the footage for him, adding in all the fun sound effects, etc. He told his groomsmen to tune in at a certain day and time so everyone could watch it together and then the lineup was officially set. Click below to watch:

So there you have it! I'll admit, it was really fun to kick off our planning with this. We wanted our creativity and personalities to shine through all that we did throughout this process, including the ways we asked our favorite people to be in our wedding. This definitely got us even more excited for the big day! What did you do or are you planning to do to ask your bridesmaids to be a part of your wedding (if you're having a wedding party)? Leave me a comment & let me know. Don't forget to check out some of my other posts in my Road to I Do Series! 

-Kait xo

* commission is earned on some of the product links throughout this post

 Road To I Do Series: 

II. Finding Our Venue - Helpful Things to Know and Questions to Ask When Searching for a Wedding Venue on a Budget 

If you read my prior blog post of this series, "How It All Started," then you know all about our engagement. So a couple weeks after we got back from our Arizona road trip, we enjoyed a small brunch party outside at place called Brunch with our families to celebrate (we didn't do a big engagement party because of Covid, but to be honest it was very nice and intimate; we actually preferred it since we knew there would be plenty of partying leading up to, and of course on, the big day). It was after this, that we decided it was time to get to business -  the first step of our planning was to discuss a WEDDING VENUE!

We ended up selecting Celebrations Wedding Venue in Bensalem, PA and we selected the venue that we did ultimately because it had the most to offer for the best price. It was local to the majority of our guests, we thoroughly enjoyed the food at our tasting (which we were able to do before booking,) we liked the overall look and elegant vibe inside, and we loved that the little things - like our cake, centerpieces, ice luge, signature drink choice ie. - were all included in the price per person.  Maybe you were curious to know how/why we landed on the venue we did, or maybe you're reading because you want some tips before you start to look for yourself.  Either way I've rounded up some things I learned and some great advice below that can help any couple in search of their perfect wedding spot. 

Questions & topics worth discussing and answering as a couple before you go to tour venues:

- Decide on a General Location: Do you want it to be in one of your hometowns or local? Are you looking to do a destination wedding? Does location not really matter to you? For us, we decided we wanted to stay somewhat local to where we lived in the Greater Philadelphia area so that immediately helped narrow our search down. 

- Have an Idea of Your Guest Count/Your Guests: Do you have an idea of your minimum and maximum? We didn't have our guest list totally planned out yet before going to look at venues, but it's important to know the range that you'd invite to make sure the venue you're looking at can hold that amount and contrarily to make sure that the the venue will hold your minimum count. 

- Additionally, do you plan to have any elderly/disabled guests? With us opting for a local wedding, we wanted to make sure some of our older family members were there so we wanted a place that didn't have a lot of steps (or if it did, had an elevator option), had restrooms in close proximity to where we'd be, places to sit, etc.

- Determine your theme if you want one: Is there a specific theme you'd like or wouldn't like - rustic, modern, classical, beach, ie? Make sure to discuss in advance because that will also help eliminate places from your search. 

- Discuss a Budget and stick to it: We came up with a price that we did not want to exceed per person, which meant browsing through certain venues online and knowing immediately that they weren't going to work. At first it was defeating because the majority of venues I would look at were far more than what we thought should be paid for one night, but we continued to look. For some couples, the venue might be most important. I can definitely say now since having our wedding that most people are not going to talk about or remember the place as much as they're going to remember the time they had. That is why people are there - to witness love and enjoy themselves (if they're there for another reason, they probably shouldn't be there). 

* Do they offer discounts on some days of the week? We chose Friday because it was a lower cost per person than Saturday. We also loved the idea that you still have Sunday to recover lol. If you are open to days outside of Saturday, many venues offer discounted rates on certain days of the week.

* When is their off-season and do they offer discounts during those months? We were willing to go with an off-season month if it meant saving a couple bucks. The off season was Jan-March so we chose a Friday in March, 3/11. It actually ended up having a cool meaning to us because we got engaged 11/3 and both are my favorite numbers (gotta love a unintentional coincidence).  We knew the weather could go either way in March so we opted to have our ceremony and reception inside (fortunately we ended up with a sunny day in mid-60's, so our pictures got to be outside!). I highly recommend asking a venue if they have an off-season and trying to get a lower cost if you're not tied to a specific month or season.

*Is there anything else you can do to get a bit of a lower rate per person? I've had practice with negotiating when it comes to social media brand deals and I learned that it is similar in the wedding industry... shhh! Explain that you really want to hold your wedding there, but that you have a certain budget and see if the venue is willing to make a couple tweaks for you; even if they lower the cost per person for one of your entrée options - it's better than nothing! Just because a certain price is listed on paper does not always mean that it can't be adjusted and you won't know if you don't ask ;)

Wait, that's not it!  Lastly, I've also complied a list of all the questions I could think of that are  important to have with you when looking at venues. There are so many things that you don't always think about, for example:  does the venue do tastings and if so how many people can join? is coat check available if it's during a colder month? Is a wedding cake included in the price? If so, will there be a cake tasting? How do vegetarian/vegan options work upon request? etc. The list is pretty extensive, but you can print copies and highlight the ones that are applicable to you and the venues you're looking at. Having a sheet with us was so helpful so we knew exactly what to ask and  I'd love to be able to pay it forward and help others! 

*Click here for access to view/download my: List of Questions to Have With You When Checking out Wedding Venues.

I hope you enjoyed & got some useful information in regards to venue searching. In my next post in my Road to I Do series, I'm sharing all the details and links from our bridesmaid & groomsmen proposals. Make sure to check it out!

- Kait xo