Posts by regananne

Here are some good money saving tips:

• If your faith and beliefs permit, get married outside in a pretty setting.  You will save so much money on flowers because you won't have to decorate anything.
• Consider reusing bridesmaid bouquets as centerpieces.  I had my florist prepare mason jars with ribbon tied around them, and then the bridesmaids just dropped their bouquet into the jar after the ceremony.  It gave them a safe place to store their bouquets, and saved about $75 per table. 
• Look into non-traditional settings.  They can be beautiful and original.  I got married at a ranch and it was perfect for us.  Try a zoo, or a museum. 
• Spend your money on things that will make your wedding fun.  No one will notice but you if you you skimp on wedding favors and decorations.  No one cares about them but you. 
• Ask for help in lieu of gifts.  I had my sister do my hair and makeup as her gift to me.  It worked great because she had no money and couldn't afford a gift, and I was in a remote place and didn't want to pay to have someone come all the way out there just to do my hair and makeup.
• Check out www.freecycle.com.  It's a website sort of like craig's list but is only for people who are giving things away.  I got about 100 baby food jars and other small glass jars and used them as candle holders on the tables-- I put tea lights in each one.  They were all different, but it looked (and was) intentional. I also got a whole bolt of tulle for free that I used to decorate the tree we got married under.  That was the entire decoration for the tree. 
• No one cares what your invitations look like but you.  Save money by buying them at Costco.  Check out their website for designs.  Same with flowers, though they don't have much selection. 
• Find a photographer that will give you the original digital images of all your pictures.  Ours gave us a CD of all the files, and then I uploaded them to the Costco website and printed everything I wanted.  Had I ordered them through her I would have paid about $4 per picture.  Costco charges about 17 cents for one hour prints, same quality.

That should get you started. :) 

I know this is really scary right now, but it isn't as big of a deal as it feels like right now.  "Precancerous cells" don't mean that you will get cancer-- it means that these cells, if left untreated, could eventually become cancer.  Most of my female friends over the age of 24 have had this happen at some point in time.  It probably means that you have HPV - human papiloma virus- the virus that the Guardasil vaccine is designed to prevent.  If you do a little research on HPV you'll find that statistics show that about 70% of women get this virus at some point in their life.  It is unknown how many men get it because men are very rarely tested.  Furthermore, there are simple treatments (that sound scary at the time like acid or cutting off the affected parts) that will remove the precancerous cells.  Most people's pap smears return to normal within 2 years and there's no sign that there was ever anything wrong. 

Let this be a reminder to all-- get your Guardasil vaccines!!  Even if you've already had HPV at some point in your life, there are hundreds of strains and you probably haven't had ALL of them.  You may have heard that the shots hurt, and they do, but it's WAY better than cancer.