To Figure Out

Despite having a good chunk of the wedding planned (note, I said planned, not to be confused with paid for), my to do list continues to grow – almost daily.

It’s starting to fill up with a category of things that I simply file under: To Figure Out. Some of it is standard fare: transportation, makeup and hair logistics, etc. But some of it is…well, lemme just give you an example. [Please bear with me, because I realize a lot of what I’m about to say is early onset Bridal Crazy Talk.]

This week I’ve been struggling with table number holders [toldya, crazy talk]. When I designed them, the plan was to rent table number stands (for $1 a piece) from an event rental company. Well, several decisions later, MamaP and I determined we did not need any of our other rentals, and it seemed silly to only rent table number holders. So I cancelled the entire order. But I still hadn’t worked out the table number display.

Initially, I thought I’d buy those same silver table number stands.
Turns out they’re too expensive.
Not willing to spend more than $1 per table (our original commitment).

Then I thought I could mount them onto folded card stock to make tents.
But what color? Teal would clash…
The linens are ivory, so white would stand out a lot…
They already have green backings, so what would I do with that?
Scrapped that idea too (pun intended).

Then I thought [in an especially crazy moment] that I’d use decorated binder clips as holders*.
Yes, binder clips.
And decorate them with paint or paper, a lot like this:


Cute, right?

::crickets::

So very wrong.
That got shot down because…
Well, because I wanted to use binder clips!

Exit crazy talk, enter a real solution. Enter Etsy.

{focus on the holder, not that heinous card. found them here}
It took a little bit of searching, but I was able to find these fairly cute wire table number holders that I plan to purchase as soon as I have a little cash. They have clear bottoms, so they will not clash (v.important), and are $1 each. Cute and cheap (enough).

I would have loved to DIY them, but obviously I was struggling. And that’s the moral of today’s story. With less than 5 months to go, a dissertation prospectus and move to Atlanta eminent, I finally figured out that I need to learn to pick and choose my DIY battles. I just can’t afford to waste the energy when I can simply purchase something that will fit our needs (and our budget) quite nicely.

MamaP always says that she is willing to pay for convenience. At this stage in planning the wedding, depending on what it is…and what it costs….I am too.

♥

*I originally got the idea from Real Simple, found here.