the first Wedding Purchase...

Having been engaged for 9 months now without making any solid plans at all, I am getting antsy to get some things accomplished! The Boy and I have done a considerable amount of research and now it's just a matter of getting things booked. I'm not exactly sure what ORDER I will need to book my vendors. (If I book the caterer first, what if the church isn't available that day?)

Although we may not end up using all of these, here's what I'm thinking for now:

1. Church & Pastor


2. Caterer & waitstaff


3. Photographer


4. Band/DJ


5. Tent/dance floor (etc) rentals


6. Florist

Anyway, in my eagerness to get things started, I am going to do some little things that I can get out of the way. That way I can bring things up to New York during visits to my family. (Oh by the way... we're getting married in New York!! I grew up on Long Island, and we're trying to have the whole shindig in my itty bitty home town.) If I start transporting things now, that will make things easier when the wedding gets closer... um, right?

The first thing I bought was a set of 200 bubble wands. I think it would be fun to use these a few times during the day: the church exit, the first dance, and whenever else. One thing you should know about me is that I am... ...cheap. Or frugal. Or is it practical? I don't know why, but I don't really like to spend money, and I especially don't like to spend it on c-r-a-p like this that I won't ever use again. So I hunted online for the cheapest place to buy them. I tried Oriental Trading and Dollar tree, but the least expensive option was the ever-dreaded WalMart. ::shudder:: In order to avoid shipping fees and actual shopping inside of the store, I completed the purchase online with a "Site to Store" pickup. Let me just tell you something. If you have to shop at WalMart, always, always use the Site to Store option. I walked into the madhouse that is WalMart on Labor Day, and zipped to the back of the store and checked out with a cashier that only had one other customer. It was a real life-saver.

So... I get home and open up the box of bubbles. They look adorable and not cheesy/cheap like I thought they would. I remove one of them from the storage packs and I realize that it's all sticky. Turns out just about every single one of the bottles had leaked somehow. The tops were still intact and securely fit, but they were all a sticky mess. Basically every single bottle in the pack of 200 is empty or close to empty.

Now the question is - would it make more sense to brave the WalMart returns line (ugh...) or to attempt some homemade bubble concoction and drive myself crazy trying to fill the damn things with a tiny funnel?

Oh and PS: these people met and got married in WalMart.