How I Tied the Knot: Bubbles and Getting Away

Previously in the post, tying the knot: the bubbles and the get away, I shared some of my favorite pictures of our exit from the church. Now, it's time to let you all in on the details behind our exit and the lessons that I learned from that aspect of our wedding day. And, of course, some pretty pictures to display along the way!

Originally, I wanted to do something different for our exit from the church. I thought that ribbon wavers were the answer. I could make them myself, use ribbon in our wedding colors and end up with some fabulous pictures from the exit.

But then I priced it out. By the time it was all said and done, each ribbon waver would cost me about $.60. Seeing as how I wanted to make 100 of them, I had to consider if the ribbon wands were worth $60 (plus time and labor) in my eyes. By the time I got around to actually making this decision (2 weeks before our wedding), I was worried that guests wouldn't want to shake the wavers, never wanted to see another DIY project, and didn't think that our exit picture was worth the $60 in supplies that it would cost to make the wavers.
So I went to Walmart and found a box of 100 little bubble vials in the bridal/craft section for $14.99. And that, my friends, was how easy my mind was made up. Bubbles it was.

Thus, Lesson learned # 11. Price out your exit strategy. In the end, just go with the bubbles. Kids and adults love blowing bubbles and the pictures always turn out wonderfully.

Speaking of pricing it out, before you get your heart set on a limo or party bus...start calling around. These pretty rides cost more than you think, and most come with a minimum time requirement. Since we couldn't rent the limo/bus for just an hour to take us from the church to the reception, we were going to get it for 4 hours to take us to the from the hotel to the church and back. The quotes for a limo started trickling in at $150+ an hour. Plus 20% gratuity. Bare minimum we would be paying $750 for the limo (buses were even more expensive) and attempting to squeeze our 16 member bridal party (plus a cooler...haha) inside one.

When we started looking at the logistics of our day, a limo/bus just didn't make sense. We had Chris and the GM take their photos first. Then the BM's and I joined for our group shots. After that, the GM left the photo site and returned to the hotel to get their dates/significant others and headed to the church so that they could be there in time to hand out programs/usher guests to their seats as they arrived. The BM's and I took our pictures together once the GM's left and then headed back to the hotel together. The BM's took their dates/significant others to the church and Chris and I rode together, in his car to the church. It worked out perfectly. My uncle had his convertible waiting for us as we exited the church and it made for a couple cute photos and didn't cost a dime.

Lessons learned #12: Unless your ceremony venue and your reception venue are eons apart or you are going to take pictures in between the ceremony and the reception, you don't have to rent a limo/bus for your wedding day. Although they do make for some cute photos, they also can take a huge chunk out of your budget. No BM likes to be squished into a limo next to the GM that she is paired up with anyway. Most of the time, it's just not worth it. Instead, ask family and friends if they know of a "cool" car that the two of you can borrow for the day. You'll get some extra (and well deserved) time alone and the pictures will be just as adorable, see below.

previously in the series, "how i tied the knot": getting ready, our first look, bouquets and boutonnieres, socks and shoes

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.