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jiminologypark · 6 years

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피 (Blood) kth

Info: Vampire! au, Royalty! au, Sub Tae, Dom Fem. OC

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Female OC

Warnings : none yet lol this is just a preview of what is to come

Summary: Alclaudia is a woman who rules her kingdom with an iron fist (and steel fangs). When a common human man is found breaking into her castle in search of precious jewelry, she decides to keep him as a pet, only to terrify herself with how attached she, and he, have become.

The night was cool and Alclaudia could feel the wind toss her long, black locks around her face. She stared off of her balcony at her estate, her kingdom. She looked past the villagers, the children playing in the streets - she looked at the seemingly never-ending walls that surrounded her land.

Past those walls was a word that no other vampire in the world would be able to experience except for her.

Her dark fingers ghosted over her wine glass, bringing the liquid to her rosy lips. As she began to drown in her wine bottle, her balcony door burst open to reveal her panting private guard.

"Min Yoongi? Is something wrong?" She spun in her seat to face her pale-faced comrade.

"There's been a break-in, Miss. A-a human. A man." His already milky skin lost any ounce of color it seemed to have when the word 'human' left his lips.

'A human?' she thought to herself. She had never had a human break into the kingdom under her rule.

The kingdom of Erium was a kingdom of vampires. Long ago, even before Alclaudia's father's 700 year reign, a war broke out between the humans and their new threats, the vampires. Casualties were in the millions and countries were worried. After 3 years of warfare, the humans and the vampires signed an agreement.

The agreement stated that vampires would be given their own continent to roam and humans would not be allowed to enter, as vampires would not be allowed to leave. If a human were to break into Erium, thir future would be in the hands of the current ruler. While the agreement seemed to benefit vampires, it also stated that vampires would not be allowed to drink the blood of humans, but instead drink animal blood- unless, of course, the human broke into Erium.

To say Alclaudia was excited would be an understatement. "Where did you find him? Do you know how he entered?" She rose from her seat on the balcony and entered her room, following Yoongi out into the hallway.

By the way he walked, she could tell Yoongi was as excited as her, maybe even a little bit more. "He was in the vault - searching for your jewelry, probably. We have yet to figure out how he entered the kingdom, let alone the castle. He won't talk."

Alclaudia nodded to herself in understanding and smiled to herself. Life in the kingdomhad been boring for the past 10 years, a repeat of visiting the humans for negotiations, meeting with charities, and lounging in the castle. A human makes things so much more fun, she can finally play.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking through hallways in the castle, Yoongi came to an abrupt stop in front of a large wooden door - the interrogation room. "He's in here, Miss." Alclaudia thought she looked insane with her smile now stretching from ear to ear - all teeth (and fangs).

She tipped her head to Yoongi, pausing when her hand finally grasped the brass doorknob, "I'll be out soon with my punishment for him. Until then, be listening for me." He nodded and quickly left, making his way down an empty corridor.

Alclaudia waited until Yoongi was completely out of her sight before she allowed herself to enter room. She brought herself together and pushed open the heavy door.

The sight that greeted Alclaudia when she stepped in the room surprised her; this man looked nothing like the humans she had met in the past.

He was sitting on a wooden chair, hands held by rope restraints to the back of his seat. His head was down when she opened the door, but looked up when she entered. He had eyes so grey they seemed almost silver, and hair that matched in color. His bangs covered the tops of his mysterious eyes. A long earring caught Alclaudia's attention - it was in his right ear, and appeared to be a long feather. Could it mean anything?

His lips were so deeply colored that Alclaudia thought she was lost in a sea of red, a red of love and a red of revenge. His lips looked like they could tell her stories for hours, and she would never tire from them.

He was dressed in a simple red silk shirt that hung loosely from his figure and pants that showed every muscle in his legs.

Alclaudia took her time to make her way in front of the man and his eyes watched her every move.

"Hello. I'm sure you know who I am." His eyes made their way to her lips when she spoke and then lazily went back to her eyes. Alclaudia waited for a response, but when it was obvious he wouldn't speak back, she continued. "My guard told me you snuck into my vault. Do you know what you've done to yourself? You're in Erium now, none of your human friends can do anything for you in here." Alclaudia was expecting a response again, but he ignored her words and continued to look at the floor.

His silent defiance to her words annoyed Alclaudia to the point of no return. She wanted to see him squirm.

She walked up to his chair and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. "What is your name, hmm?" Alclaudia's eyes bore into his - she was determined to make him speak. No one would defy her. When he refused to answer for the third time, Alclaudia had had enough.

She sat herself directly in his lap, straddling him. She had caught his attention now. She would have him submit to her power.

The veins of his neck looked oh so tempting in this position, but Alclaudia decided she would wait for another day to partake in that adventure. Instead, she trailed her lips up his neck to his ear and whispered, "Fine, pet. Don't answer. I must have you know, however, I will have you submit to me. You will learn your place here in this Kingdom." With that, she nipped his ear slightly and rose from his lap.

"Yoongi," she called, knowing her guard was listening to it all, "take him to my room."

#bts #bts smut #bts writing #kpop #vampire #smut #kim taehyung #taehyung #bts v #jiminologypark #kpopwriting

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saferincages · 7 years

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my illness and pain levels and fatigue have been so extreme and out of control for the past three-ish weeks (and really longer than that, I feel as though it’s been simmering badly under the surface for quite a while now and finally managed to break me down completely), and I’m sorry for not being here to answer messages or check my dash or anything like that recently. I basically haven’t touched my computer at all since I set up a couple of weeks’ worth of queue, looking at the screen has been too overwhelming for my headaches and sitting here is excruciating for my spine and I’ve even been having trouble typing without joint pain (not to mention my concentration/focus not being good lately). I essentially set the queue and climbed into bed, just trying to get some semblance of strength back.

I’d like to take a moment to specifically thank @sealwife, @sansasnark, @elizabethtudors, @fancykraken, @xxsparksxx, and @christinedaae for being the beautiful human beings and extraordinary friends they are - each of you ladies has reached out to me specifically and have inferred that I might not be doing well lately, and I apologize with all my heart for not being able to respond to you properly or give that attention back to you in the way you all deserve. Also to @desireearmfeldt, @someoneoffthestreet, @ohfantine, and anyone else who has left me thoughtful messages/replies/comfort. I feel as though I’ve let you down somewhat spectacularly of late, which would never be my intention - I know I haven’t been very good at friendship lately, and you’re all blessings in my life, and have been so for many years now - you give me reasons to keep being here and keep surviving, and reminders of strength and the hope of keeping one’s heart open. I love you and think of you always, even when I haven’t managed to say it often enough.

I’ve had a lot that I’ve wanted to write about for many months, and have not had the energy or inclination to do it, but I’m finally at the point where I think I can at least provide an overview.

First of all, before I get into my stuff, I want to say that Angel’s doing much better! It turns out - we think - that it wasn’t her pancreatitis flaring up, but rather that she was having an awful allergic reaction. There’s a dental treat that we’ve been giving her for a long time that helps her teeth, but recently I couldn’t buy them from the same place or find them at a reasonable price anywhere online, so we had started her on a different little biscuit, and something in that upset her system. I feel horrible, I would never have knowingly given her something that made her so sick. :( Fortunately, after we figured out what the culprit must be, she was only ill and unable to keep anything down for a couple of days, and after we got her little tummy more back to normal on a simple chicken and rice diet, she went back to her regular food. She’s been her happy, peppy, sweet little self since, and she’s been right at my side trying to take good care of me while I’ve been so sick myself.

A few of you know this, but back in July, I had my first initial disability hearing. I’ve been fighting for this for years, after being denied through paperwork alone twice. Finally being able to go before a judge was terrifying, but I had hoped maybe my long battles would lead somewhere. If you don’t know anything about the process, it is byzantine and cruel and borderline absurd at times, and after having seen it from the inside...I’m amazed that anyone ever gets help at all. Anyway, I walked into court that summer day, and they give you a CD of your records, everything that you’ve given them permission to gather - which, for me, was supposed to be every file and medical record going back to our car accident in 2005, the hospital visits, the months of physical therapy, and then the dozens of doctors and tests and procedures I’ve been through since the onset of my chronic illnesses. But, surprise! I open up the file, and all of my records have been purged, without my authority and entirely unbeknownst to me. No one ever warned me this would, or even could, happen, or we would have procured my records ourselves over the years. A warning - if you EVER think you’re going to need medical records, demand your own copies, because they can destroy them without ever alerting you that they plan to do so. My entire life, the existence that I’ve been reduced to, that I irrevocably lost my twenties to, that I lost college and my future and dreams to, it was basically all documented in medical records that now do not exist, which, in all honesty, felt like a death in itself. I stared at those blank pages, at those faxes where “record/patient cannot be found” or “record has been destroyed,” and barely managed to stop myself from bursting into tears. There’s no evidence of how being ill has taken my life. I sat in front of the judge as he flipped through empty pages, perplexed, and decided to postpone my case. I didn’t have legal representation, and he wanted to send me for more court ordered medical evaluations since there was nothing for him to really look at. My mom barely got me out of that room and into the bathroom before I had a full blown panic attack, clutching the counter in front of the sink and sobbing and barely able to breathe.

And then I followed instructions, and went to my set appointments. I can’t begin to describe how banal the ‘tests’ are that a doctor gives you in these court ordered exams - can you walk once from one end of a small room to the other? can you raise your arms over your head or lift your legs while you’re in a chair for a few seconds? can you repeat back a sentence or a few words when they’re said to you? Congratulations, those standards likely mean they’re going to think you’re not disabled. The fact that you likely wouldn’t be able to repeat these menial tasks over and over again, the fact that you’re in constant pain or have a compromised immune system or can’t stand up for long without the risk of heart palpitations/dizziness/possible fainting or can’t possibly work a job or go to school because you’re too sick and you’re entirely unreliable - none of this is taken into account. The physician has to write down that you walked across that room and spoke complete sentences of your own volition, and immediately you’re seen as able-bodied. I know. I was also sent to a neuropsychologist (likely because the judge knew I was teetering on the edge of that panic attack).

Going through this means being asked invasive, awful questions that aren’t even necessarily pertinent to one’s disability (ie: why don’t you date/have sex? ...as if that’s any measure of ability or is even a priority of any kind when you literally are unable to leave the house. what do you do for fun? and so forth), being looked at with suspicion and accused, both subtly and directly, of malingering or attention-seeking, being prodded and judged and dehumanized and demoralized, all because you want the most minimal of help to simply survive. It is a horror, a lot of it is emotional/psychological insult on top of the pre-existing injury of being chronically ill, and it has taken a severe toll on me.

One of the doctors I met through these court appointments was really good, though, she was well-versed on CFS and POTS and even my GI issues, and she genuinely wanted to help me. I don’t have insurance beyond basic Medicaid, but she told me her office takes it. I was going to establish her as my GP to help with my case. Well, guess what? I called her, and suddenly was informed that her office had decided to no longer accept Medicaid patients. So, there goes that. I’ve lost track of the number of physicians that I’ve called in desperation who refuse to see me because they don’t take Medicaid. I don’t have a doctor’s help. (I could, and likely very much need to, go to an indigent clinic for basic care, where I could see an RN, but that isn’t an avenue that will help with a court case, because you’re supposed to have an established physician. I had to stop seeing my GP back when my dad dropped my insurance in late 2009, after I’d made several trips up to the hospital in Denver to have specialized blood tests and exams, so...that’s a long gap of time without a regular doctor’s care, and, again, now all of those records are gone).

Furthermore, even though you’re not required to have an attorney in these cases, it does notably help to have representation. I was given a list of lawyers to call and consult with after that preliminary hearing. Not a single lawyer would help me, because of my records having been destroyed. The first lawyer I called, in fact, told me it would not be “financially advantageous” for her to take my case. Most of them wouldn’t even call me back, but the few that did bother to respond to my messages would either tell me something along the same lines or apparently weren’t taking new clients. One told me to “start over,” which wouldn’t merely be a herculean task, it would be impossible and pointless. The entire reason I filed the case the way I did was because 1) I’VE BEEN INJURED AND SICK SINCE 2005, and starting over would be like saying I only just got ill in 2016, thus destroying my entire history and 2) because I physically could not work at an age where I was still considered under my parents’ care (it’s similar to the law that allows you to stay on a parents’ health plan?), the case was filed under their names and SSNs. I have never paid into Social Security because I haven’t worked, but they, of course, have, so the ‘loss’ of income that I then could have received (which, at most, would have been just under $700 a month, which may not sound like much, but anything would be a fortune to me considering I have absolutely NOTHING). If I started over, my case would be dead in the water immediately, because my parents’ loss would no longer be taken into account. I was left floundering and constantly crying after phone calls, after every doctor and lawyer refused to see me or help me, realizing these people who are meant to be in place to protect and assist people would do nothing for me.

My second hearing, the one that was meant to be the official proceeding, was in November. And even without a doctor or a lawyer, I went to court. I wrote an eloquent letter to the judge, which he even thanked me for, explaining my illness and what it has done to my life. We went in expecting to proceed. Another bizarre little part of this process is the ‘expert testimony’ - you see, the court calls on ‘witnesses’ to testify in your case. These witnesses generally have some basic knowledge of one of the aspects of whatever you deal with (in my case, they had called on a physical therapist and a gastroenterologist). Now, keep in mind, these are not people who have ever met you. They have never treated you. They have never seen your specific symptoms or limitations. The people they called on weren’t even in my state. I don’t understand how in the hell they expect this to help - no two patients or human beings are the same. Every illness, every symptom, affects people differently. So having general knowledge of a thing isn’t going to tell you about one specific, unique individual. I will never understand this, it will never make sense to me. But, of course, in my case, again, my records are gone! I don’t know what they were even supposed to be reviewing, other than the court mandated appointments I’ve been to over the past two years. Only, guess what? The GI specialist whose testimony was to be called first? He never even received the file that he was supposed to review and call in for my case. They telephoned his office and nobody had any information or any idea about it. So, yet again, the judge (by this point very frustrated) postponed me.

I contacted a couple more lawyers, to the same non-result. The last one I e-mailed was two weeks ago, because that’s when I got the next letter. My hearing was supposed to be today. The thing is, everything had changed. I suddenly had a new judge. The ‘witnesses’ were different. (No longer was a gastroenterologist on the case, for example, now it was an entirely different physical therapy office, but no accredited physician of any kind or any speciality, despite my many diagnosed illnesses). I sent back the paperwork, but I didn’t go in to court today. The case was dismissed out of hand.

I had what I can only classify as an emotional breakdown. I’ve been coping with suicidal ideation for years, I live with it all the time, like a quiet drip or white noise in the back of my brain, something I’m used to, and occasionally hear, and consider, and then filter out. Anyone who lives with constant suicidal ideation will probably tell you they get used to it - it’s like an escape hatch. You’re not going to use it, but you also know it’s there. Well, between Angel being sick and me feeling like it was my fault, my mother being quite ill herself (this is a whole other topic and she doesn’t want me to discuss it, so I’m trying to respect that wish), and the crush of agony and lack of sleep and constant illness that I’ve been dealing with from my own body, I just lost it. I haven’t been what I would consider genuinely suicidal or so depressed that I couldn’t function since 2009, but this threw me back into an extremely dark, dangerous, and self-harmful place. I felt destroyed, I felt like I didn’t want and didn’t deserve to be here anymore, that after all the time I’ve spent trying to advocate for myself, trying to fight, it was all boiling down to nothing. For a couple of days, I was honestly worried that I needed to get help, but I didn’t want to have to go to a hospital, I didn’t want to put my mom through that, so I forced myself to push past it alone. I don’t think I’m in danger of doing further harm to myself right now. I’m just so tired. Which in itself is a small, pointless statement. I feel broken down. It isn’t only the severe pain, the exhaustion, the sickness, the ever-evolving grief cycles that I live with as goals and dreams and ideals pass away, fade further and further into the past. This time, I feel that something has been taken from me. I feel like I’ve suffered repeated deaths of myself, of the girl I used to be, could have been, wanted to be, but this is a new type of death. I feel as though whatever I was trying to fight for - dignity? the right to keep surviving? the right to ask for help? the right to hold on to hope? the right to expect, if not kindness or understanding, the basic acknowledgement of my humanity? - has been stripped from me. Some essential part of my light, even if it’s only a sliver of it, has been snuffed out. That quote from Gone Girl, strange as that may sound, has been on repeat in my mind so often, but rather than having a person to put it on, it’s more existential - this process has taken my pride and my dignity and my hope, has taken and taken from me until I feel as though I no longer existed. I can blame the arduous system, but mostly that guilt and blame falls on myself, even if that’s illogical or I don’t deserve it. I’ve said this many times before, but I feel like a ghost, the spectral remnant of the girl who had meaning and worth and deserved to be here.

I have always had so much love in my heart, and have striven so hard to be compassionate, to give even the smallest fragments of good that I can to others, and I have failed at that a lot lately in trying to deal with and compartmentalize the desperation of all of this. I think finally falling apart, physically and emotionally/mentally, was the only response I could have. And it hurts me, too, seeing the cloud we’re all under - there’s so much hatred, exclusion, meanness, and violence happening around us. The current events have been so ugly. The hugeness of that has been tearing at my spirit as much as my own personal struggles have been. It finally all got to be too much.

I just...it’s hard to comprehend our society, how it actively works against those in need, how it excludes the most vulnerable among us, how it shames people for needing assistance to simply keep living, how providing food or medical care is seen as a luxury rather than a basic right. I wish I had the power to comprehensively change it, to lift up everyone else who has been in my position, to expose its faults and horrors, hold them up to the light, and transform them for the better, but I can’t, because I couldn’t even affect that change for myself. It kills me that anyone else ever has to feel this helpless and powerless and worthless. It makes my heart ache that the sick and injured and impoverished and disabled are seen as subhuman. We have a right to live, to nurture and be nurtured, to love and be loved. We have a right to be seen and heard.

I wanted to write this today since today is finally the end of this fight for me, since I never got to that proper hearing to determine that fate, since it was tossed aside. I tried for so long to get someone to hear me or legitimize me or realize I needed help, and I lost. I figured documenting it now is all I had left to do. I’m feeling adrift and voiceless because I don’t know where to go from here. I’ve been carrying on with this fight and now I have to put it down, with nothing to show for it but the battle scars.

#bubble wrap around my heart #suicidal ideation tw #chronic illness #i think i am a better ghost than i am a human being #depression cw #disability #hopefully this is coherent and those tags are enough #i'm still really scattered

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mermaid-with-ms · 7 years

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How I saved thousands on my Long Island Dream Wedding

Weddings cost a small fortune, especially on Long Island. I have been planning my wedding for as long as I can remember, and “pinning” long before I was even engaged. A wedding is one amazing night of your life, but you have the future to plan for as well. We wanted to have our dream wedding but do it at a cost that was more comfortable for us. Do you want to know how I managed to SAVE MORE THAN $20,000 dollars?

1. Reception Venue (Saved $8,000+) The most popular months for a wedding on Long Island are May-October. Venues adjust their prices according to the busy seasons. I knew that I did not want a summer wedding, because the heat can be unbearable for me with my MS. There were a few venues that I already knew had fair prices, so I made appointments there. The other venues, I messaged ahead of time to ask for a general price per person. If it was out of my price range, I didn’t bother to look. I would hate to fall in love with something that I couldn’t afford. Another thing I learned was to watch out for the “plus plus”. (For those who don’t know... “plus plus” means Price per person PLUS 20% “administrative fee” PLUS sales tax. So, if a venue says that their price per person is $100 plus plus, you are really looking at close to $130 per person).

A Friday night is much less expensive than a Saturday night, so we chose to book a Friday. Most of our friends and family will have off for a weekend before having to go back to work, so we thought this worked out nicely. We fell in love with a venue on the water, Chateau La Mer. I first met with a coordinator from the venue at an expo. Being an “expo bride”, I was given some bonus items: Extra tier on wedding cake, Chocolate Fountain, Ice Cream Bar, and Zeppole Station ($1,000+ savings).

We loved the idea of getting married outside on the water, but we loved the idea of saving as much money as possible for our future even more. Brandon’s grandparents had some health issues, and we wanted to get married sooner rather than later.

We chose Friday, March 3, 2017. This night cost us $40 less per person than a wedding at our venue during peak season. With a guest list of 125, this saved us a total of $5,000.

The venue we chose was on the lower end of cost compared to other Long Island venues. I can’t really come up with an exact number for savings here, but I would say I saved at least $2,500 by choosing the venue that I did compared to the average venue cost per person.

2. Venue “Extras” (Saved $1,000+)

Ask your venue what kind of on site “extras” that they have. AND THEN GET THEM TO THROW THEM IN BEFORE YOU BOOK. My venue included the use of up lighting (this truly makes a difference on the look of your reception space), virtual dance floor, and use of television screens. The venue has a price sheet where these items add up to $1,000. Sometimes venues do not have up lighting or televisions available. Outside vendors could charge over $1,000 for the lighting alone.

Luckily, my venue had these items on site and included them for me. I made sure that they put these extras on my contract as included.

I also got charger plates included. I don’t think that most venues do this but it’s worth asking before you spend $2+ per plate.

Make sure you get everything in writing!

3. Photography & Videography (Saved $2,500+)

Hiring a private photographer & videographer can save you a lot of money because there is no one in the middle. I looked into so many photography and videography packages from various companies and the prices truly vary. Based on the average that I was seeing for a photography and videography package from a larger company, I saved $2,500+ by using a private photographer and videographer. I had complete confidence in the product that I would receive from these ROCKSTARS. A lot of their business comes from word of mouth and recommendations, so they will do their best every time.

We are so happy with the result. The day of the wedding was a breeze thanks to the amazing team we hired. I have to give them a shout out here because they are so unbelievably talented. My photographer was Kaitlin Cremmins and my video team was Koleda Productions. They are true artists and I would recommend them to anyone. They put so much effort into making everything perfect and captured exactly what we wanted.

Photo and video were so important to us! I know that we will be watching our wedding video constantly and reliving the night as much as we can.

4. DIY Centerpieces ($900+ Savings)

I might be the minority here, but flowers were not important to us. I couldn’t fathom spending thousands on something that would die the following day. We chose not to use real flowers in our centerpieces. Using Pinterest and with a lot of help from our family and bridal party, we made our own centerpieces and I thought that they turned out perfect! I’m unsure of the exact savings here, because I never priced out real flowers. I believe on average, a floral centerpiece is at least $100, probably higher... sometimes lower. I will use $100 for a base. We had 13 guest tables which would cost $1,300+ from a florist. Instead, I spend about $25 on each centerpiece. I am a huge Disney fan, and I wanted a simple carriage for the centerpiece. We purchased the carriages in bulk online in white and sprayed them gold. We bought a large pack of candle holders, some “real” looking fake tea lights for the center, some fake flowers from Michaels (with a coupon.. of course) and glued the flowers to a burlap ribbon around each candle holder. Real tea lights aren’t expensive, so we purchased enough to form a circle around each carriage. After the wedding, I was able to give them to family and friends and I have one on my coffee table.

5. Bridal Party Bouquets ($200+ Savings)

For my bridesmaids, I wanted something simple for the girls that would still look classy and beautiful. Either a babys breath or a simple white rose bouquet. Even something like this was getting quoted for $30 or more each from a florist. I had 10 girls, so this was adding up to about $300 from a florist. I decided to try our local grocery store, Stop & Shop, to get a quote. My husband used to work there and always brought me home the most beautiful bouquets. I was able to get all 10 bouquets for a total of $80! I only needed to purchase my own ribbon and bring it in, since I wanted something specific. I think that the flowers looked amazing and I am so happy with the results.

6. My Bridal Bouquet ($100 Savings)

I was watching Shark Tank and learned about a company called Ecoflower. The flowers are all made from recycled and sustainable materials. The bouquets are completely custom. I was able to pick the colors, what I wanted the stems to look like, what I wanted to base to be wrapped with. You can even choose a scent! I took a leap of faith and designed my bouquet online. Not long after, I received the most beautiful bouquet in the mail that smelled like fresh roses. The best part? I can keep it forever. The average bridal bouquet that I was getting quotes for was somewhere between $150 and $200. My Ecoflower bouquet cost only $75 shipped.

7. DIY Photo Booth ($1,000 Savings)

The photo booth at my wedding was one of my favorite parts. Photo booth rentals cost anywhere from $500 to $1,500. I knew I wanted one, but couldn’t really find a spot in our budget for it. Luckily, my boss’s dad (91 years old by the way!) is very handy. I showed him a picture that I found online. It was basically one large center panel, 4x8, and two side panels (2x8 each), held on with hinges. He built it, and then my bridesmaid and I painted it. I am so proud of how it turned out. We used a chalkboard paint and chalk paint pens and painted quotes that we love. I purchased props from the dollar store and on clearance after New Years Eve. I put out a selfie stick and I think that our guests had a lot of fun with it!

8. Invitations

Invitations are another thing that I didn’t want to spend a lot on. I was able to get a design from Miss Design Berry on Etsy. I loved our invitations because they were so fun and non-traditional. We printed them on Vistaprint during a 60% off sale. My suggestion to anyone would be to get a design that you love, and print yourself. I don’t even know how much we saved by doing this, because I know that the prices of invitations can range a lot. My total cost for invitations was about $125.

(Come on... how freaking cute were these!)

9. Honeymoon Travel Agent ($700 Savings)

If you can’t tell, Disney is my thing. I always book my trips through a travel agent because it doesn’t cost any extra to use them. Their commissions come directly from the place you are traveling to. I think that this is a fact that is unknown to many people. When planning a Disney vacation, I have always and will always use a travel agency. I used Kristin from Magic Carpet Destinations. She specializes in Disney, but she can help plan any trip. What’s really great about using a travel agent, is that whenever a new deal or discount comes out, they will help reflect that onto your trip. I know that I don’t feel like sitting on hold with Disney reservations for 4+ hours trying to amend a reservation.... Kristin took care of this for us. Kristin helped us save over $700 on our dream Disneymoon! Other benefits of using a travel agent, especially for a Disney vacation, is that she will help you book your dining, fast passes, and more. We had an issue with one of our dining reservations and she was on the phone right away to fix it. Visit her website and reach out to her if you need help planning your vacation or honeymoon.

10. Wedding Rings ($1,800 Savings)

His Band: For Brandon’s band we used JVL Jewelry. I was able to find a coupon code online for a FREE wedding band (Originally $300). At first I thought, could this be real? Well... it was. We love his tungsten wedding band and I know that it has a lifetime warranty. We only needed to pay $25 for shipping & handling. Take it from me, this deal was not “too good to be true”.

My Band: My engagement ring is from Kohls, Simply Vera by Vera Wang. I get so many compliments on it! While I’m not sure what exactly Brandon spent, I do know that he took a page from my book and used coupons, went when there was a sale, and got lots of Kohls cash back. I wanted to get a wedding band that complimented my beautiful engagement ring. I went on Black Friday, where I was able to get 70% off plus $15 for every $50 spent. When all was said and done, I saved $1,500 on my wedding band AND I got lots of Kohls cash back... which we used to buy some of the pieces for Brandon’s wedding attire.

(HIDDEN MICKEY... Thank you Katie!)

11. Transportation (Saved $1,550+)

We had a large bridal party: 10 Bridesmaids + 11 Groomsmen. I needed to find transportation for everyone from the ceremony venue to the reception venue, and back to the hotel afterwards. For the amount of people that we had, we needed a party bus or a large vehicle that could accommodate everyone. The average quote that I received was $1,000 each way. I couldn’t get myself to spend that much on a 20 minute ride. Through recommendations, I found a shuttle service on Long Island called Cardinal Car Service. We were able to transport everyone there and back for a total of $450. Awesome customer service, a clean vehicle, and enough space for all of our friends. We were even able to fit the “plus ones” on the ride back to the hotel with us. The bus was not fancy.. didn’t have any crazy lights or features, but when you have the best bridal party in the world starting our own bus ride sing-a-longs... it was absolutely perfect.

12. Our Band ($3,000 Savings)

Honestly... no matter what they charged... I was booking Peat Moss & The Fertilizers as my wedding band. This was quite possibly the best decision I ever made (okay... besides marrying my best friend). I always loved watching these guys perform at local bars and they have been booking more and more weddings. We knew that we had to have them perform... no matter what the cost. A Friday in March is probably a less busy time for them... so I’m not sure if their rates vary. But the rate that I got was still thousands LESS than other Long Island wedding bands. The dance floor was never empty. We had the best time of our lives and I know that all of our guests had a blast. This band is so talented and the guys are so nice.

*A DJ will probably cost less than a band, if you are looking for the least expensive option. But for us, this was something we really wanted.

13. Decorations & DIY Projects (Savings - Hundreds!)

I don’t have a total here... but I know we saved hundreds by doing things ourselves and waiting for SALES! I am a deal chaser. A lot of my decorations were on clearance after Christmas, New Years, and Valentines Day.

Our Card Box: I purchased a blank, white card box on Amazon for $16. Brandon’s aunts transformed it using all kinds of materials from Michaels. This would’ve cost us so much more if we purchased something like this. Best part about it is - it’s custom and made with love.

My “must have” Enchanted Rose from Beauty & The Beast:

I bought all of the materials for this on clearance. We kept it on our table and I’m happy that I can keep it as another memory from our big day.

Our Cinderella’s Carriage Decoration

This piece was gorgeous. It was a indoor/outdoor Christmas decoration from Home Depot. Originally $140. And it was huge! We placed it in the entry way into the reception so it was one of the first things that our guests saw when they entered the ballroom. I knew I had to have it... so I waited until December 26th, when all of the Christmas decorations went on clearance. Saved 50% on this beauty & I had a gift card.

Savings on my Bridal Accessories: I saved money on my veil & headpiece because I simply asked for a discount. My dress and all alterations were from the same place, and some of my bridesmaids ordered their dresses from this store as well. I explained this to the salesperson and asked if there was any discount available since were were purchasing so many items. They agreed to take 25% off of my veil and headpiece.

I found some glass-slipper-esque Michael Kors shoes from Macy’s. I saved $40 on these by waiting for a sale.

(Sparkles are important)

14. Savings For Our Bridal Party

We tried to save our bridal party as much as possible. We know how expensive it is to be in a wedding, and we were so grateful for all of the amazing friends that we have. For our groomsmen, we chose to have them purchase separate pieces in lieu of renting a tuxedo. Renting costs hundreds of dollars, and the outfit needs to be returned the following day. We had them purchase shoes, pants, and shirts through Kohls. I tried to set them up with sales whenever they came along. They got their vests from Mens Warehouse. We waited until they had their “Buy One, Get One Free” sale. This cut the cost of each vest in half. I believe that overall, the outfits cost around $175. BUT they get to KEEP their entire outfit so I think that it worked out really well. AND they looked so handsome.

For my girls, I wanted them to pick their own dresses. My colors were “Blush & Champagne”. This was a little risky, because I wasn’t super sure if the dresses would go together. But they were absolutely stunning. Every girl had a different body type and different budget. Some girls were able to get their dresses for $69. Others spent more. I just wanted them to be comfortable financially and feel great in the dress that they chose.

Pieces of Advice:

NEGOTIATE. I was almost always able to discuss a price with all of my vendors that I was comfortable with.

DO YOUR RESEARCH. Know what other venues and vendors are charging.

UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA. I was very fortunate to be a member of a fantastic Facebook group called “Long Island Brides & Beyond”. It’s a group of hundreds of women who live on Long Island, asking each other questions and giving each other wedding related advice. Any time that I had a question or needed a referral, I reached out to these women without hesitation. Social Media and wedding sites are great ways to find vendors that are within your price range and you can read reviews from other brides.

SPEND THE MONEY ON THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU. I can’t stress this enough. For us, a fancy car or flowers were not important. But if they are to you, find something else that might not be so important and cut there instead. For us, Music, Food, & Photo/Video were the most important aspects.

TRY TO REMEMBER that this is only ONE DAY of your life. What will you remember about this day? What will your guests remember? “Oh wow did you see those charger plates!?!” ... I don’t think so.

YOU WILL HAVE EXPENSES YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF. You will never be prepared for this no matter how hard you try.

OKAY so we SAVED more than $20,000 and still had the best night of our lives. Granted, we still spent more than I will ever accept. There is no way to avoid it. I know that some of the things that I discussed might not work for you, and that’s okay. I know that some people must get married on a busy day or peak time of year due to their jobs or other factors. I know that some of the things that weren’t important to us might be important to other people.

I would not change one thing about our wedding.

Remember to just enjoy it. The months leading up to my wedding were extremely stressful. I had a full on break down over the seating chart. Now that it’s all over, I can breathe. It all goes by so fast so make sure that on the day of your wedding you just sit back and appreciate all of your hard work. You deserve a drink from that open bar. You deserve to dance so much that your feet hurt for a week after.

Happy planning!

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