the wedding girl: Weddi-quette Wednesday!

I could not be willing spring to come any harder, seriously, whenever you're ready mother nature. I have almost given up and decided that this is what it would be like to live in a place that is cold all year round. Since I've rounded the bend into the second trimester I am starting to feel like the old me and get some energy back (YAY!) so I spent the weekend decorating for Easter, which is one of my favorite times to decorate (not to be outdone by Christmas and Halloween!). It just screams bright and cheerful though! I treated myself and picked up a few goodies at Target over the weekend, seriously, is there anything better then Target??

Amazing right? All it takes is a few things to feel festive! And since I am the budget gal, I thought I would share some of my decorating secrets. Ask Mr. wedding girl, if I had an endless budget I would go all out for the holiday's. No lie, decorating my house brings me happiness like nothing else, its also a great motivator to clean and orgainize. I will admit, my basement storage situation (IE all of my wedding, celebrating and holiday goodies) are getting slightly out of control and this will need to be dealt with ASAP. For now though I make due. I, personally, love to decorate for Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas! And of course if we're having a celebration of any caliber! I definately know I get this from my Mom, who always has a beautifully decorated house. I also get a lot of my savvy budget tips from her, especially in this department. So, without further adieu, here we go:

Always scan the shelves in the weeks after the holiday has taken place. My favorite go to's for home goodies are Homesense, Pier One Imports, Chapters and of course Target. They usually have some stock left, obviously the closer you go to the holiday the better! And prices are usually atleast 50% off, if not more!
Scan the shelves, especially somewhere like Homesense, you never know the deals waiting to be found!
Look out for coupons, often times, if you check out the site or your local flyers before going, you can scoop up a coupon for an extra little discount
Reuse, reuse, reuse. What is the point in buying all new things every year?? Who can afford that? Treat your things well and you can get years of use out of them! I package mine away, together, often times using my festive tea towels to wrap up the breakable things. I put them in rubbermaid containers and have labeled each according to holiday. Now I need shelves to stack those babies up!
Get inspired! It can be dangerous to just go into one of these places with nothing in mind, trust me, I've done it. Check out Pinterest to see what tickles your fancy and attempt to replicate!
Don't go banana's. Believe me, I am a holiday nut! And I'm pretty sure most of the time I am decorating for me and me alone. Bless his heart, but Mr. wedding girl doesn't always notice my fun chalk boards or the fact that my green easter bunny cupcake stand is now festiviely perched atop our fridge. I don't really expect him to take notice of those things, he is a boy after all! I know he appreciates my festiveness deep down inside, how could you not! I am already so jolly at the thought of the festive photoshoots I will be doing this time next year! Apologies in advance to the torture I will be putting my little peanut through, really though, have you see the bunny hats at the gap!?! Come on now. Back to the point, be tasteful, sometimes less can be more! Plus you don't get to leave these goodies out for too long, before you're packing up and prepping for the next holiday, so get things you will continue to be excited to pull out annually!
On that point, try and pick a few pieces that can stay out a bit longer then the holiday. Perhaps a fun spring-y pillow that comes out at Easter and stays out throughout the summer!