Up until a couple weeks ago, I was pretty sure that we were not going to do any black Friday shopping. I have grown kind of weary of the consumerist culture that now surrounds thanksgiving. Sales started on Wednesday this year, and that’s a bit too much for me. It wouldn’t’ be a big deal, we said. We don’t really need anything, and we’re almost done with Christmas shopping anyway. Then, of course, the temptation became too great. There were a few bits and bobs for the wedding that we could pick up at a hefty discount, and so we shopped. Here’s a list of what we bought, keeping in mind our somewhat-minimalistic slant.

Wedding Bands

This was one of the more big-ticket items that I wanted to get out of the way. I love my engagement ring and love wearing it, but we also needed to pick up a complementary wedding ring to match. I found a channel-set diamond band with a vintage twist for $199 at Riddle’s Jewelry. It was originally $588! It was everything that I wanted. Super excited to get that out of the way. It is killing me not to be able to wear it all the time, right now! Well, I am wearing it right now. It can be our secret.

But Charles needs one too! We found him a band on Etsy for $225 with all discounts in. It’s also three-tone metal, which is something that he was interested in. It was 10% and free shipping and should be here in two weeks! We have a ton of time though, so no rush was required.

Wedding Dress

Ii had picked out the one weeks ago but was waiting until the price went down a little bit. Thanks to some black Friday magic, I got my wedding dress for $425, including some alterations to the length of the dress and some customization. This was a savings of 40%. Can’t show you pictures because Charles is reading this and it’s a secret, right?

Invitations

We also finalized our invitation design, which was easy since we already had a venue. It did require us committing to a start time (yikes!). We got our Save-The-Date cards through Vistaprint, so we got the matching invitations for 60% off, which allowed us to do some nice upgrades within our budget, like a custom envelope and a more premium paper choice. We needed 100, and with the premium paper and envelopes, spent $71.

Suit

Charles also picked up a three-piece suit from Dillard’s for around $120. It fits him wonderfully without tailoring. We’re not sure if this is the suit that he is going to wear at our wedding, but it’s a nice suit and well made.

Bridesmaid Gifts

Also hitting etsy again, I picked up some personalized bridesmaid gifts. Pro-tip if you’re getting married: your bridesmaids probably don’t want stuff that has your name, date, or the word bridesmaid on it. I got some things I think they’ll like, that are practical, and personalized, but don’t say anything about being a bridesmaid. Just a nice thanks gift.

Anyway, are there any other cyber sales that I should know about that are coming up that can take the sting out of wedding shopping? Spending money like crazy isn’t something that I’ve ever been comfortable with and planning this wedding has been a test in retail therapy.

Happy Friday friends!