The Weekend & a Possible Venue
After my mini what-does-it-all-mean phase on Saturday, we were thinking about the parties we turned down for Halloween. We’ve never really been a Halloween couple. We got dressed up one Halloween, our first together, and never gave it another go since.
We’ve always played the too-cool-for-school angle, but really it’s more of a do-we-really-want-to-spend-that-much-on-a-costume thing. This year, we turned down party after party claiming we didn’t have costumes before Saturday around noon I was sick of being indoors.
Our weeks are so full that by the time the weekend gets here…we work on freelance projects, writing gigs and the blog (and sometimes homework) inside for the majority of the weekend. I wasn’t having it this week.
We got up and showered and dressed like we tried and hit the mall. Malls are generally a no-no when both halves of your couple are unemployed, but I had an idea. We would split up with a $15 budget and buy each other some delightful surprise, followed by cheap shared lunch in the food court and a $2 movie.
It went marvelously. I completely recommend it. Isaiah bought me the coolest scarf I’ve ever owned — and I’m a scarf girl. I got Isaiah a replacement pair of his glasses that were stolen recently. We went to see Despicable Me in the late-theater (which was hysterical).
We were trying to pick somewhere to eat when a sad looking older woman asked us to try her homemade egg rolls. How could we turn that down? Wait — she was behind a counter at a semi-legitimate looking establishment, before you judge us. It was the most delicious Chinese food I have ever eaten, and I don’t say that lightly. She piled us a plate sky-high because we were her first customer of the day at 4pm. We made such a stink about how delicious it was from the free sample that a line formed behind us. It was damn good.
Anyways, we finally sucked it up and decided to check out Costume World to see what they had and ended up leaving with $2 mustaches that we can use again for the mustache party coming up soon. We went as the unabomber and the unabomber’s protégé…and we had a blast.
Yesterday, we had a similar situation, where around 9:30 last night we were upset that we hadn’t been out of the house but to run an errand…We wanted some outdoor air. We decided to last-minute meet a friend halfway between us and Dallas and wound up on the most charming street, in the most f*cking delightful outdoor patio I have ever seen. They just did their first wedding and there’s no venue rental cost, just the cost of dirt-cheap-delicious-food.
What do you think about asking our family and friends to come down to Texas for the wedding? We have made so many great friends since living here as well…but my great-grandma is turning 91 in a month, and I know she won’t take the trip (I wouldn’t either if I were her). Three couple-friends of ours were married this summer in Chicago and we couldn’t make it…how can we expect them?
Our $10,000 Windy City Wedding 
i love that idea.
and i love your costumes. super creative! we went as bank robbers and i have to tell you the cheap/creative costumes are way more fun than the ones that come in all-in-1 package or cost an arm and a leg.
RIGHT!? We had a blast with that. Can’t wait to see your costumes lady!
When my ex and I were just out of college, we set a $20 total budget for costumes. It forced us to be super creative. My favorite were the Hari krishnas using two $1 bin sheets, bald head covers, and splitting a $5 grocery store bouquet of carnations. Your unibomber costumes totally make me think of those days (which were a lot of fun).
I think a local wedding is a great idea. You may miss a couple of people, but that will be true no matter where you have it. It needs to be something you can afford and are comfortable with.
Haha for sure. I love costumes that you don’t fully have to commit to either, because around 1:30, I don’t wanna be in a costume anymore, eh?
Sounds like a great and cheap weekend. Yay!
I totally understand your dilemma about the local wedding. No matter how many people in blogland tell me people will travel to Fargo for my wedding, I just don’t believe them. I couldn’t afford to go home for a wedding this September. How can I expect them to be able to afford to come out here?
I guess it all depends on how much plane tickets are. Can two people travel there for under $400? If they can, that’s a lot more reasonable. For two people to get here to Fargo, it’s about $700. That’s way too much in my opinion.
Definitely…That’s what we’re dealing with too…people are saying they’ll come…but we can’t make it up there just for a wedding…you know? That’s a great idea about pricing out the average plane ticket, thanks so much Ms. Bunny!
One other thought. What if you do a two-fer. Have the wedding and a reception in Dallas, then maybe a party a few months later in Chicago to celebrate with your family and friends there? Without the word “wedding,” and out-of-town guests, that might be more doable.
That was our very first thought when we started planning and we are still mulling over the idea. It seems awesome, but we’re worried that no one will come out to Dallas at all if they know we’re having a second party in Chicago, you know? Kind of the whole plan was to have most of the people we love joined together for a partayy you know? It’s tricky.
This wedding-in-Texas-reception-in-Illinois is a killer idea, but you’re right, it’s tricky. And it’s not like you can just keep it a secret from your Illinois peeps, you know?
Whichever state you choose, there will be some people who won’t be able to make it. Is there a way you could brainstorm who would come & who wouldn’t if you had it in each respective state? Or maybe that would be impossible to estimate. Meh.
However, this new venue you speak of sounds UH-mazing. Majorly. And you know what? It sounds so YOU. And budget-friendly, which is clearly the best part. I can’t wait to hear what you decide!!!
THE MUSTACHES.
❤
Yeah, we scored bigtime finding those for $1.50 each dude.
Please tell me the name of this place-we might end up with a Texas wedding and I’ll need some fabulous venue suggestions!
Hilarious! I can say my hubby and I feel the same… weekends are rarely a time to breathe. I slept past 7 am if that counts. Woo hoooo.
I love you too. you and your mustaches are fabulous. i love finding amazing secret restaraunts! nothing like homemade eggrolls! also, have the wedding where you want! you can visit your grandma as a married couple (I have a grandma to visit who couldn’t come to ours either).
Aww I’m so glad you guys turned that Chinese lady’s luck around! I have such a soft spot in my heart for the little old Chinese ladies (and gents, too!) manning those stations because they all look like they could be my aunty or uncle but they must have to work so hard.
The idea of price out the average plane ticket is a good one and there definitely lots of benefits to planning a local wedding that I also presume wouldn’t be nearly as expensive as Chicago. I’d think long and hard about who you really, really, really want to be at the wedding (your A+ list, we call it–as opposed to your A-list, then B-list, etc.) and make sure that they can make it. If your great-grandma definitely can’t travel but she’s definitely on the A+ list, you should go to Chicago.
For friends where you’re worrying about the cost of travel, I’d say if the cost of the trip isn’t entirely outrageous ($500+ for travel and hotel, for example), then perhaps you can make it clear to these friends that you invite that they should not bring a gift under any circumstances if they’re traveling all that way. And if they can’t make it, they can decline.
I love that date night idea. Eric and I did this last year for the eight nights of Hanukkah. Each prezzie had to be under 5 bucks. We outdid ourselves that year.