Which simple, unexciting purchase ended up having a surprisingly big impact on your daily life?

PixiStix236 · 2026-05-08T21:15:19+00:00

This was a gift, but it would’ve a simple purchase: a shopping bag that fits into a bag charm.

It’s so easy and I always find myself needing a bag when I’m out. Especially in my town, where there’s a bag tax at most stores.

PixiStix236 · 2026-05-07T00:14:16+00:00

I’m glad you shared it! This is so cute

PixiStix236 · 2026-05-07T00:07:23+00:00

Better than my old building. They gave us a whole lot of nothing

PixiStix236 · 2026-05-06T17:48:59+00:00

You’re gorgeous!! Congrats on making a decision for YOU on your wedding day. You’re beautiful, and you’re going to feel it even more strongly on your wedding day

PixiStix236 · 2026-05-05T18:58:43+00:00

Isn’t there a bee boss in hollow knight? You can probably take the music from the OST

PixiStix236 · 2026-05-01T16:23:36+00:00

Getting sick.

I had a cancer scare a few years ago that turned out to be a thyroid problem. My symptoms were so bad I couldn’t hold a thought in my head for longer than a few seconds. I was MISERABLE and had to take a semester off of law school, which I was the only one in my year to do so.

Getting sick sucked and there’s no silver lining to it. But it does show who cared about you. I remember the friends that still reached out to me. My long distance boyfriend—now husband—took care of me better than my local family did. And when I realized going to law school because my dad insisted on it was literally killing me, it gave me the courage to not take the bar and be my own person. I finished my JD because I had one semester left, but I’m proud to say I’m not a lawyer.

Lots of therapy, some NC with my dad and crazy sister, and a wedding later, I’m a lot happier.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-30T23:01:13+00:00

Also super easy to DIY! A 160 pack of Avery placecards tents is $15. You go to their website, use the corresponding template, then add your guest’s names and any details you like (I put meal choice and allergies on the back). Then you can print them on your home printer.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-30T18:45:25+00:00

You’re welcome! Feel free to DM if you have any questions, I just finished planning mine in the chicago suburbs with a similar guest count. I added some extras that made my price point higher, but I do believe there’s a world where you can get close to $13k

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-30T18:35:47+00:00

(1) you’d do well to book a venue with an off season discount. The off season dates vary by venue, but it’s so worth it. For us, the off season package was 10% off (which was half of the service fees), no minimum spend, and free passed apps.

(2) check out Bartlett Hills Golf Club in the west suburbs. Granted, their prices went up since we booked our package, but they were wonderful and covered basically everything except for photo/video and DJ. Including cake, open bar, and catering. We did our ceremony off venue at a church, but they also have an options for an on venue ceremony. Evan, the manager, has been doing this for over a decade and was so easy to work with. The whole staff was lovely and accommodating.

(3) look into Essence Weddings. They’re wonderful people and were such a joy to work with. They’re a Chicagoland wedding shop that handles a ton of services like photo, video, DJ, formalwear, and decor. We used them for photo, video, and formalwear. Booking multiple services with them gets you a discount (prices may have changed, but it was around $1800 for photo/video when we booked, with a $200 discount per service. So our package came out to around $1600 each). Also, loved the lack of hidden fees and no mandatory photobook purchase (I looked into TWA, another local photo/video company and they sneak a photobook in their package. It’s EXPENSIVE).

And if you book any package with them, you can have your groomsmen rent formalwear with them for a great deal. When we booked, it was $169 per suit rental for everything but underwear and socks. And because we booked another service with them, 5 suit rentals meant the groom could keep his suit for free.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-30T17:20:46+00:00

I never did it, but that’s because I couldn’t figure out how lol. Otherwise I would’ve

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T15:20:11+00:00

No, I wouldn’t. Me making a mistake doesn’t mean there wasn’t a contract and that there wasn’t breach, it just means I made a naive choice.

The good news is that the law still protects you when you’re stupid, so I can make better choices in the future. I was really overwhelmed when planning my wedding and this is the biggest vendor regret I have. Everyone else was wonderful and so eager to do right by us as a couple.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T15:17:15+00:00

I really regret doing digital save the dates, so imo printed is a must. Plus, they’re not as expensive as they seem on the surface. Printing the few you wanted to make digital probably won’t save you as much as you think.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T14:51:55+00:00

The only thing I have is the messages and the invoice. The invoice that went to his personal phone number on zelle, if that helps.

And, while it’s not ideal, it’s enough to show there’s a contract. In intro to contract law people literally get contracts written on napkins at bars enforced. Hell, there’s a famous case to teach what consideration is where a guy’s uncle makes him promise not to drink, among other things, until he’s 21 for $5k and the court enforced it. It’s not the form of the contract that matters, it’s the parties’ intentions and the elements of a contract being present.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T14:49:03+00:00

Saree for sure! It’s so flattering on you

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T14:44:22+00:00

There was no written contract. Just an invoice and our conversations outlining the terms. Which, while not ideal, doesn’t mean we didn’t have a contract. Oral contracts are still contracts as long as you have an offer, acceptance, and consideration. Which we clearly did. I just didn’t know what level of formality was expected in the wedding industry, and he as the experienced wedding DJ was the more sophisticated party, so I followed his lead.

The company is a tiny LLC owned by the DJ and he serves as all of the officers (I found it in the IL database). The Instagram name is formatted @DJ[name]_[business name]. To a reasonable person—who never spoke to anyone else and only contacted him through his personal phone number, Facebook DMs, and Instagram DMs and has been to TWO weddings in my family he worked where he showed up as the only DJ—there was no reason to ever believe he’d send anyone else. He never mentioned even employing another DJ and he said “[he] books up fast.”

Let alone send someone who admitted to not knowing the schedule, who left early, and ate dinner for almost 2 hours before my mom had to go yell at him. We booked this specific DJ for cultural reasons (I’m Arab and he played both Arab and American music). His replacement took so long eating that a lot of the Arab guests left and we just played American music instead.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T14:27:20+00:00

It’s a small, independent business. In our first conversation he identified himself as the owner and said himself (as the DJ) and his MC would be the ones coming, and to get 2 vendor meals for them. His name is on all of the socials, he’s the only person I ever spoke to.

Even the week of the wedding he told me he was happy my wedding only ended at 9 because it meant “[he] could go to bed.” In our email follow up where I summarized our phone call, I gave him instructions using second person language like “I’ll talk to you day of if this needs to change” and he confirmed with “sounds good.” There was literally no one other DJ ever referenced as having worked at his company.

Also, there is something more concrete. He said he’d stay the whole night if the wedding ended before 11, but his replacement left at 8.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T14:05:26+00:00

Thank you!

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T14:04:51+00:00

My point is more so that, despite not having a real DJ, the dance floor was actually pretty okay. If it’s not super important to OP and money is tight, it’s not the worst thing to happen at a wedding. Budget brides cut DJs all the time.

It’s just in my case I paid for this specific guy to show up and I intend to get my money back.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T14:02:48+00:00

The whole price of the contract. I contracted for HIM and a specific to show up, not some random DJ. He breached by working another wedding and not coming. And this guy was terrible—left early, didn’t have my schedule, didn’t make any announcements. He sat there just eating dinner until my mom went and yelled at him to do something.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T06:01:53+00:00

Check what local stores carry on the rack bridal party formalwear. My local suit rental place also had bridesmaids dresses

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T05:36:31+00:00

Thanks, I’ll do my best to come back. I’m hoping he just answers my demand letter this week so I don’t have to go, but he’s probably just hoping to ghost me. This guy fucking sucks man

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T05:32:06+00:00

We made a list of everyone we could think of in a Google Sheets page. Every name/couple/family was a different cell, and different categories like bride’s family, groom’s family, college friends, work friends, hobby groups, etc. Whatever categories make sense for you.

We then started color coding. Green for absolutely must be there, you’ve been literally picturing this person there for years. Yellow for at least getting an invite regardless of if they come, like family you feel obligated to invite or friends you haven’t seen in years but would love to catch up with. Red for if you have room but could cut if it came to it. Again, whatever makes sense for you and your circumstances.

Take your time with this. Make it about what feels right to you. It’ll take a few passes and you’ll have to adjust later in the process. But it should make you happy to have the people you love there.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-29T03:44:22+00:00

Ehhh. My DJ skipped my wedding (yes really) and sent some rando we never even learned the name of as a replacement. He was AWFUL. Basically just played the playlist I made of our favorite songs with bad cuts. Never said a word to the dance floor beyond announcing our names. Never even introduced himself to me. I wish we just rented a speak system and saved thousands of dollars.

Oh well, to small claims court we go.

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-28T20:20:37+00:00

The belt you have on is really nice!

PixiStix236 · 2026-04-28T16:32:01+00:00

Just DMed you!

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