Our DIY Save the Dates & Invites

Hubby-to-be and I decided to use the Mason Jar invitation suite, with a twist. Their save-the-dates are not set up as postcards so I converted them into postcards using iPhoto and Word...it was surprisingly easy!

The front of our save the dates...color modified.

The back...modified so it could be used as a postcard.

DIY Invitation Suites from Wedding Chicks

I did a lot of research before choosing which invites I wanted and how I wanted them printed.  In the interest of keeping our wedding budget intact, we decided not to go the traditional route for invitations.

There are amazing websites out there that offer many, many DIY options and I settled on www.weddingchicks.com.  Their designs are fun and funky and they have a bunch of free, downloadable designs.

The Wedding Chicks website has a "Free Printables" link where brides can find all kinds of freebies!

Wedding Chicks' Freebies Page

I love that many of their invitation suites have save the dates, RSVP cards, and invitations. Some even have table numbers!

Here are some I absolutely love!

For the Whimsical!

For the Hipsters!

For the Classics!

For the Romantics!

Thomas Point Beach & Campground

I have a long history with Thomas Point Beach & Campground, in Brunswick, ME.  Way back in the day, my girlfriends and I used to volunteer there each summer when they held the Maine Festival.  We'd camp out in tents and work in various areas over the weekend, hanging out with bands and artists.  At night, we'd hang out around the fire or on the beach with other volunteers...it was so much fun!

With these memories in mind, I contacted TPBC as a possible wedding location.  I was very pleased with my conversation with Patty.  It did take her quite a while to get back to me, but once she did, she was delightful!

It is possible to rent out a particular area of the park, and Patty recommended the headwall, right on the water.  To rent this area, she said they would charge an admission fee of $3.50 per person or we could pay a flat fee.  The fee for use of the land in October would be $200 for the headwall or $375 for the large field by the playground.  If we decided to pay a flat fee, it would be $600.  This would cover the reservation and cleanup fees.

TPBC seems very flexible...they are ok with weddings setting up a big tent.  There can be a bar, but no glass containers are allowed.  Alcohol must be in a can or in a cup and must stay within the party area.  They basically don't want to see anyone visibly intoxicated and Patty made it very clear that they would shut a party down if people are overtly drunk.  A caterer would be able to set up easily because there is water and electricity available at the headwall area.  Finally, there are restrooms available which is huge for an outdoor wedding!  

info: http://www.thomaspointbeach.com/outings.shtml 

spoke with Patty:  (207) 725-6009

email: summer@thomaspointbeach.com

facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ThomasPointBeach

Back to the Blog!

I have taken some time off from the blog to finish up grad school and apply for (and get!) a new job...now back to the planning!

It's been a while since I posted, but hopefully this is the beginning of a nice long stretch of posts.  I have accumulated a TON of info about hosting an inexpensive wedding in Maine and am excited to share it here.

Including the Police in Winslow Park

If you do not want to serve alcohol at your reception in Winslow Park, this post is not for you!  If you do, prepare to invite the Freeport Police Department!

After realizing that the Freeport Police Department would be a part of my big day if it was in Winslow Park, I checked out their website and found the email address of their secretary, Gabrielle Tilton.  I emailed one morning and heard back from Gabby within 20 minutes!  She forwarded the email to Detective Bianchini who got all of the info to me within 2 hours.  I tell you all this because it was so nice to deal with people who respond so quickly!  This has not been the case with many other emails during this planning journey!!

Here's the Freeport Police deets:

• the hourly rate for outside detail is $50.60 per hour with a minimum of 3 hours ($151.80)
• if the detail is scheduled on one of the following holidays (Memorial Day,  4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) the hourly rate will be $84.30 per hour with a minimum of 3 hours ($252.90)
• An administrative fee of $5.00 per day per detail will be added to the bill to defray the cost of processing.
• Any function serving alcohol with more than 100 participants must hire a second officer at the specified rates.  **for us, this was the key cost changer since we will have at least 150 people**

If you choose this venue, the police officers can come in plainclothes, you just have to tell them ahead of time.

Winslow Park in Freeport...an outdoor venue

One of the great things about our group of friends is the fact that we love to get together for a BBQ...in fact, that's how I met my fiance!

This led to looking for an outdoor venue where we could BBQ (there will be a post for this another day!) and play some outdoor games like lawn darts, badminton, or horseshoes.

Winslow Park in Freeport offers covered picnic areas, one of which can seat 150 people.  Here is the scoop on Winslow Park:

-Neil is the guy to talk to about booking at 207-865-9052.

The Space:
-My fiance and I went to Winslow Park to check it out and the tables are all smushed together under the roof so there is no additional room for covered dancing, food tables, or anything.  There is another, smaller shelter nearby that could possibly be rented as well.

The Shelter at Winslow Park

-The shelter does have a few electric plugs, but they look like the type you'd see in a living room wall so I'm not sure how much power they can support.

Alcohol:
-Alcohol can be served but must be done so by an insured caterer or bartender.  Also, you must get a separate contract through the Freeport Police.

Money:
-$150 to rent the covered picnic area that seats 150 people for the day.

-Winslow Park is a Town owed park and one of the rules of the park is, if a function is serving alcohol they need to hire a detail Police Officer to make sure the alcohol does not leave the designated area. I will talk more about this in another post.  


I love this space and it would be a fairly cost effective way to throw a wedding, but we have ended up deciding on an October date so we don't necessarily want to be outside in Maine that time of year!

Affordable Events...Scott's awesome!

One of our (many) ideas is to use our dear friend's backyard for our reception.  She lives right by a beautiful lake in an old, gorgeous farmhouse...an ideal setting!


Since we live in Maine and the weather can change in an instant, we would absolutely need a tent.  One bummer about doing online tent research is that nobody posts their tent prices online.  I get it, they want you to touch base with them so they can make a personal connection and increase their sales.  And actually, this totally worked for me with Scott, the owner of Affordable Events.


Scott called me on a weekend within an hour of requesting information through their online form.  I was not prepared with any specific questions but he walked through everything with me!

Affordable Events

Here's the gist:


-May is the most affordable month for tents.  June, July, and August are the most expensive.


-His company is 300-400 dollars higher than other companies because of the service level he provides and the fact that his tents are all only one or two seasons old.  (This honesty was very refreshing!)


-They do ALL of the set up, including tables and chairs...the whole nine yards.  AND they have a computer program that helps him work with his clients to create the perfect space.


-With 150 people and a sit down dinner, we'd a 40' X 80' tent.  His price of $4,000-$5,000 would include a dance floor, standard chairs, tables, lighting, disposable plates.  (With disposable tablecloths $3,500-$4,000.)


-Scott said that other companies will tell you to get a 40' X 60' tent for 150 people but he says we'd all be sitting on top of each other with a sit down dinner!


-If we were to have 160 people, we'd need a 40' X 100' tent.


-With 150 people without a sit down dinner (10 lower tables and some cocktail tables) we could do a 40' X 60' tent so we'd be looking at around $3,000.  


Additional nuggets of info: 
-chairs are $2.50 each
-getting cocktail table drops the number of chairs (more cost effective)




He was so nice, helpful, and genuine and I could hear his wife in the background piping in with info and happy comments!


http://www.affordableeventsllc.com/

hmm...Black Tie Catering

As we looked for a venue, Black Tie Catering kept coming up as the exclusive caterer for many places we liked.

Because of this, I emailed just to see what it would cost to have them. OMG!

I spoke with Kathleen from Black Tie and she started talking about $15,000 for 150 people.

Portland Club

She did say that we could do a cocktail hour and restrict the amount food passed around to keep within our budget. She also suggested we use them for our venue to save money.

Black Tie has two venues available: the Portland Club in the West End of Portland and Camp Hammond in Yarmouth. Kathleen said since we live right in town we could call and come check out the Portland Club anytime.

Camp Hammond

Last Friday I called and left a message for Kathleen, who was on a phone call. We were seriously considering using one of their venues and the next day I called to check out the Portland Club on a whim. I was called back in about an hour and told that no one was in the office and Kathleen was gone until Monday but would call me ASAP. It is now a week later and I have not heard a peep from anyone at Black Tie.

If I hear anything more from Black Tie, I will share it here but until then, they are not high on my list of caterers!

Heart Set on The Portland Company

We went to a Brew Fest held at The Portland Company this past summer and I fell in love with the space.  It is made up of a bunch of old brick warehouses right near the water on Fore Street as you drive towards the East End.  I emailed and got a quick response with more info about renting out rooms.

The Portland Company building layout

Their choices for rooms are:

Rustic Room – street level with old-fashioned charm in Building #3 for $600
-This is described by them to hold 200 for a banquet and 300 for a reception, however when speaking with Joanna from The Portland Company, this room has a lot of 1/2 walls so it's "not good for a reception" and "doesn't have enough room."



Designer Room -- Unique room, few windows, all brick in Building #11 for $600
-This is described as able to hold 290 for a banquet and 400 for a reception, however Joanna discouraged this room as well saying that it is carpeted and has very few windows.



Room With A View -- Rustic elegance overlooking the Portland Harbor Waterfront in Building #6 $900
-Varnished floor and brick walls
-This room is said to hold 110 for a banquet or 200 for a reception.  When I mentioned that we would have 150 and would be happy to change to more of a cocktail type reception, I was told that it would be too crowded.

Room with a View

This only left...

The Blue Room -- Warehouse style accommodations in Building #2 for $1,500
-Blue walls and a grey painted floor
-This room can hold 480 for a banquet and 900 for a reception.

The Blue Room

Unfortunately this room is out of our price range, especially considering absolutely NOTHING comes with these prices.  We would still have to rent tables and chairs, a PA system (which they offer for $200 extra), one of their employees ($35/hour), a bartender, a caterer, and get liability insurance!


Overall, I love these buildings but the only room we could fit in is way out of our price range.

Compiling the List

When we talked about who we'd invite in the past, we had no idea how crazy long our list was going to end up!

We started a list and a quarter of the way through realized we needed to start over with a little more organization.  We made a family list for me, one for him, and a friends list and...

ended up with 175!!