Here are some photos from the Festival of Trees at the Lansing Center in downtown Lansing.
December 5, 2010.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Festival of Trees
Here are some photos from the Festival of Trees at the Lansing Center in downtown Lansing.
December 5, 2010.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Lansing Holiday Card
My plans of taking a holiday family photo this year didn't quite work out. Trying to coordinate teenagers schedules, work schedules, and have cooperating weather was a bit too much! So instead, I'm sending out this photo of the Capitol and State Tree. We have a view of this right outside our front door. I think it's a great photo to share with our friends & family, since we love living in downtown Lansing!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Lansing Silver Bells
These are some photos that I took at the Silver Bells celebration in downtown Lansing. While the crowds of people were watching the electric parade, I was wandering around the Capitol building snapping a few shots.
The Capitol steps were set up for the Josh Golden Radio Disney concert.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Vegas Wedding Details
Here are the final "detail shots" from Faith & Jamie's Vegas theme wedding reception.
(Above) Red carnation centerpiece with playing card pick and monogram picks.
Invitation suite: Invite, response postcard, and reception card.
Cake topper with monogram.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Lansing Photowalk
My photos from the Crazy Geeks With Cameras Photowalk in downtown Lansing. August 24, 2010. Jerod from Red Groove Photography greets the group of photographers before we set out on our photowalk.
Monday, August 16, 2010
R.E. Olds Car Show
Photos from the R.E. Olds Car Show in downtown Lansing, Mi. Saturday, August 14, 2010.
The Lansing Center
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Our DIY Budget Wedding
Here is a break down of what we spent on our recent wedding. We didn't set a budget. We just approached each item in a practical/budget friendly way. The first decision to having an affordable wedding was limiting the number of people we invited. We were able to have a beautiful wedding & reception by only inviting our immediate family & close friends.
Invitations: DIY $7 for printing, $2 for purple card stock. We had a small family-only wedding, so I only had to make 14 invitations.
Bride’s attire:
The Dress: My wedding dress was from David’s and cost $349. That was a splurge for me! At first I was looking at dresses that were under $100 online, but ended up with the dress from David’s because I wanted to try it on before I bought it! It fit perfect, and no alterations were needed.
The Shoes: My shoes were Dyeables that I ordered online, and had dyed locally. Total cost $90. I added a DIY rhinestone accent on the sole for $1. This one one of the things I was obsessed with.... having purple shoes! I had a hard time finding anything locally in purple, so I thought dyeables would solve that issue. I don’t recommend these shoes! First off the dye rubbed off on everything! I knew they wouldn’t be “water proof” but even just picking them up to put them on left dye all over my hands. I brought them back to have them sprayed with a sealer, and it helped a little. After wearing these shoes for 2 hours during my reception, the soles were all tore up, like shredded leather! I will never wear these again! My advice on shoes: Get a pair of shoes you’ll want to wear again so you can splurge on them, and don’t do dyeables!
Accessories: DIY Hair flower and flower pin for my dress $10. I made my hair flower and pin for my dress using silk flowers & feathers from a craft store. I made a bracelet with pearls & purple beads that I already had and bought a love charm for $2. I wore a pearl necklace that I already owned. I did get my hair done at a local salon the day of the wedding for $60.
Groom’s attire:
The Suit: We purchased a Calvin Klein suit from Macy’s. $350 for the suit, shirt & tie. This would be considered a splurge, but my groom wears suits for business meetings and needed a new one anyway. Purple argyle socks from Target $2.
Kid’s attire:
We rented suit pieces for my son from Men’s Wearhouse. $25 for the pants, shirt & tie. We bought him a pair of “converse” looking Airwalks from Payless for $12, and purple socks from Target for $2.
The girls found sundresses at Younkers, $50 for two dresses, worn with Converse shoes that they already had.
Flowers:
I pre-ordered 3 dozen purple carnations from Horrock’s, a local flower & fruit market. The day before the wedding I picked up the carnations, and also found purple roses, blue veronica flower, and white poms. I also picked up 2 white roses for the boutonnières. Total flower cost $50 for my bouquet, 2 girls bouquets, and 2 boutonnières. I added an antique brooch to my bouquet that I found at an antique store for $2.
Ceremony:
The ceremony took place at Cooley Gardens in Lansing, Mi. The garden is managed by Lansing Parks & Rec. For a $25 fee, you can reserve the park for a 2 hour block of time. We had our ceremony under the pavilion, which provided shade and seating for our guests.
The Officiant:
Free! We contacted a local judge who was able to come perform the ceremony for us! We did send a “thank you” plant to his office since they are not allowed to accept any monetary gifts.
The Photography:
We found a student photographer on Craigslist who is starting out and was offering free portrait sessions to build her portfolio. We asked if she would like to shoot a wedding, and she was thrilled! Cost: technically free, but we sent her $100 as a thank you because we loved the photos!
The Reception:
We had our reception at Clara’s Restaurant in Lansing, Mi. It’s an old train station, turned restaurant with an actual train/dining car. We reserved the dining car for our 25 guests. No site fees or cake cutting fee. Our guests had eight different entrees to choose from. $14.95 per person. With drinks and tip, the total cost was $500, or $20 per person.
The Cake:
We were able to bring in our own cake to the reception site. We ordered 3 cakes for variety: carrot, coconut, and double chocolate from Sam’s Club. $40 total. These were the best cakes I’ve ever had at a wedding! Everyone loved the variety and flavor of each. We had so much left over, we could have saved money and only ordered two cakes. Cake serving set: $5 from Hobby Lobby. We borrowed cake plates from family to display the cakes.
The Favors:
Mini wine bottles: 16 mini wine bottles with DIY label $20.
Chocolates: 16 chocolate favor bags- $3 for the purple paper bags with DIY labels. $10 for the chocolates with purple & pink wrappers (bought on sale after easter!).
Centerpieces:
Potted flowers for 12 centerpieces: $8, patterned flower pots from Target dollar spot $1 each, cellophane wrap $3. DIY “plant poke” signs.
Sand Ceremony:
Sand Ceremony Jar $2 on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Individual sand jars, $1 each from the dollar store. Sand in 5 different colors $10 from Michaels Arts & Crafts.
Total cost for our wedding: $1,757
We had a beautiful wedding on a budget without sacrificing any details!
Invitations: DIY $7 for printing, $2 for purple card stock. We had a small family-only wedding, so I only had to make 14 invitations.
Bride’s attire:
The Dress: My wedding dress was from David’s and cost $349. That was a splurge for me! At first I was looking at dresses that were under $100 online, but ended up with the dress from David’s because I wanted to try it on before I bought it! It fit perfect, and no alterations were needed.
The Shoes: My shoes were Dyeables that I ordered online, and had dyed locally. Total cost $90. I added a DIY rhinestone accent on the sole for $1. This one one of the things I was obsessed with.... having purple shoes! I had a hard time finding anything locally in purple, so I thought dyeables would solve that issue. I don’t recommend these shoes! First off the dye rubbed off on everything! I knew they wouldn’t be “water proof” but even just picking them up to put them on left dye all over my hands. I brought them back to have them sprayed with a sealer, and it helped a little. After wearing these shoes for 2 hours during my reception, the soles were all tore up, like shredded leather! I will never wear these again! My advice on shoes: Get a pair of shoes you’ll want to wear again so you can splurge on them, and don’t do dyeables!
Accessories: DIY Hair flower and flower pin for my dress $10. I made my hair flower and pin for my dress using silk flowers & feathers from a craft store. I made a bracelet with pearls & purple beads that I already had and bought a love charm for $2. I wore a pearl necklace that I already owned. I did get my hair done at a local salon the day of the wedding for $60.
Groom’s attire:
The Suit: We purchased a Calvin Klein suit from Macy’s. $350 for the suit, shirt & tie. This would be considered a splurge, but my groom wears suits for business meetings and needed a new one anyway. Purple argyle socks from Target $2.
Kid’s attire:
We rented suit pieces for my son from Men’s Wearhouse. $25 for the pants, shirt & tie. We bought him a pair of “converse” looking Airwalks from Payless for $12, and purple socks from Target for $2.
The girls found sundresses at Younkers, $50 for two dresses, worn with Converse shoes that they already had.
Flowers:
I pre-ordered 3 dozen purple carnations from Horrock’s, a local flower & fruit market. The day before the wedding I picked up the carnations, and also found purple roses, blue veronica flower, and white poms. I also picked up 2 white roses for the boutonnières. Total flower cost $50 for my bouquet, 2 girls bouquets, and 2 boutonnières. I added an antique brooch to my bouquet that I found at an antique store for $2.
Ceremony:
The ceremony took place at Cooley Gardens in Lansing, Mi. The garden is managed by Lansing Parks & Rec. For a $25 fee, you can reserve the park for a 2 hour block of time. We had our ceremony under the pavilion, which provided shade and seating for our guests.
The Officiant:
Free! We contacted a local judge who was able to come perform the ceremony for us! We did send a “thank you” plant to his office since they are not allowed to accept any monetary gifts.
The Photography:
We found a student photographer on Craigslist who is starting out and was offering free portrait sessions to build her portfolio. We asked if she would like to shoot a wedding, and she was thrilled! Cost: technically free, but we sent her $100 as a thank you because we loved the photos!
The Reception:
We had our reception at Clara’s Restaurant in Lansing, Mi. It’s an old train station, turned restaurant with an actual train/dining car. We reserved the dining car for our 25 guests. No site fees or cake cutting fee. Our guests had eight different entrees to choose from. $14.95 per person. With drinks and tip, the total cost was $500, or $20 per person.
The Cake:
We were able to bring in our own cake to the reception site. We ordered 3 cakes for variety: carrot, coconut, and double chocolate from Sam’s Club. $40 total. These were the best cakes I’ve ever had at a wedding! Everyone loved the variety and flavor of each. We had so much left over, we could have saved money and only ordered two cakes. Cake serving set: $5 from Hobby Lobby. We borrowed cake plates from family to display the cakes.
The Favors:
Mini wine bottles: 16 mini wine bottles with DIY label $20.
Chocolates: 16 chocolate favor bags- $3 for the purple paper bags with DIY labels. $10 for the chocolates with purple & pink wrappers (bought on sale after easter!).
Centerpieces:
Potted flowers for 12 centerpieces: $8, patterned flower pots from Target dollar spot $1 each, cellophane wrap $3. DIY “plant poke” signs.
Sand Ceremony:
Sand Ceremony Jar $2 on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Individual sand jars, $1 each from the dollar store. Sand in 5 different colors $10 from Michaels Arts & Crafts.
Total cost for our wedding: $1,757We had a beautiful wedding on a budget without sacrificing any details!
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