I know that I have been depriving you lovely readers of our favorite weekly feature, the Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week!! Glad to announce that we are back with quite a lovely feature for you today! Love love love the yummy light in these gorgeous photos of this Montana budget wedding from Amber Murphy Photography! I also love the rich purple she chose for her bridesmaids dresses, flowers, and shoes and the way it plays so well with the rustic red on the barn! Such a sweet, fun wedding that truly focuses on the important things and people!  Hope you enjoy this feature and look forward to sharing more with you in the future! xoxo- Jess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason and Megan

June 4, 2011
Bloomfield, Montana

 

What was your budget? Give a breakdown of your spending if possible:

Our Budget was: $9,000

Rough budget break down:
Food/reception/workers: $3,000
Flowers: $300
Photographer: $1800
Bridesmaids Dresses: $650
Invites/Save the dates: $200
Wedding Dress: $1300
Decorations: $300
Cake/pedestal cake domes: $275
Silk Flowers: $100
Table and Chairs: $300

How many guests did you have?

130

What creative or personal aspects did you have in your wedding?

Each table at the reception had it’s own cake as the center piece. We made all of our own invites, as well as our guestbook using pictures from our engagement session. My mom was a florist before she got married so she did all the floral arrangements. Our reception was at a family friend’s yard, where we spent almost every sunday evening at growing up. I also hand painted signs to the wedding using old barn wood. The venue was back in my home “town”, which is a small farming community, so makes for a very creative venue!

What did you do to save money?

Bought flowers from Costco, and the cake pedestals were given to people who helped out as gifts,
We used some silk flowers and candle sticks from my sister’s wedding that was 56 days before mine! I’m blessed with a artsy/crafty mother who made all the floral arrangements and decorations, and a family friend did hair.

What is your best advice for planning a wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Just enjoy the process and be flexible! Simple can truly be better. And listen to your mother

What was your biggest splurge?

I would say my dress, as we spent more than we had planned on. I also would say we splurged on photos as I was able to have two photographers, but they were very reasonable!

What was your favorite detail?

I wore purple heals with my wedding dress and my husband wore converse. That just describes us perfectly!

What was the most memorable moment of the day?

So many! Getting ready with my good friends (bridesmaids and one of my photographers), seeing Jason for the first time, the outdoor reception (we had perfect weather )….

VENDORS

We did most of the work ourselves, but we did use a caterer for the food and bought my dress at Angeliques and the bridesmaid dress at David’s Bridal. The flowers were from Costco.

Catering: Lady J’s Catering
Gowns: Angeliques Bridal | David’s Bridal
Costco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandon & Jessica

August 20th, 2011
Charlotte, NC

-Church:  The Plaza Presbyterian Church
-Reception:  The Marriott at Southpark

What was your budget? If you are able, give us a rough breakdown of how you spent your budget.

-We spent about $16,000
Venue:  10,000, Dress:  1,000, Cake:  500, Photographer:  1,200 (included engagement and bridal shoot),  Band: 200, Flowers:  300,  Rings:  2,000, Misc, invitations, party favors:  1,000

How many guests did you have?

-130 guests

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

-My fiancee and I both have fathers that are pastors.  So after my dad walked me down the aisle he turned and joined my new hubby’s dad and they both married us.  It was a very special memory from my wedding.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

-I have two things:

1.  We bought our flowers from the farmer’s market.  They not only will arrange the flowers if you bring vases, which make great centerpieces, but they will make your bouquets for you as well.  We spent about $300 for 8 bouquets and 11 beautiful and fresh centerpieces.  Some friends delivered them to the venue.

2.  We found our cake baker in a flower shop who make cakes as a hobby.  It was a great way to save money because they don’t have a clientele yet, but are trying to build one.  So after we interviewed him and saw some of his work, he made us a $1000 cake for $500 (including delivery).  He worked with our budget and gave us a beautiful and tasty cake.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

-It’s never to early to start planning.  Don’t let anyone push their opinion of how your day should be on you.  This is your special day and you only get one so make it about you.  Lastly, take time to pause during your day to take it all in.  It goes by so fast and you will get so wrapped up in things that you forget to take a moment and soak it all in.

What was your biggest splurge?

-My venue and my dress.  I wanted give my guest an amazing experience and I wanted to feel gorgeous in my dress.  So I had to splurge on both.  By the end of the night, I didn’t want to take off my dress.

What was your favorite detail?

-The band for cocktail hour.  We had a patio attached to the venue, so we found an amazing band on craigslist that played the whole night for $200.   It was a nice touch that our guest really enjoyed.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

-My gift to my husband was my garter.  He is a huge steelers fan, so I surprised him by finding one online for under $30 (toss and keepsake).  His face was priceless and I can tell it meant so much to him.  Plus, there was a little blue ribbon sown into the inside of the garter for my something blue.

Vendors:

Photography: Kimberly Joyce Photography
Cake: Crumbs by Couture
Flowers:  Farmer’s Market Charlotte
Dresses: David’s Bridal
Tuxedos: Men’s Wearhouse
Venue:  Marriott
Garter:  Etsy

It’s been a while since we shared a budget savvy wedding with our readers!! We know you will love this one! The bride and groom got creative and joined their reception with a free concert– that is the ultimate in budget savvyness! I love the bride’s style and the custom bridesmaid dresses from Kerried Away Couture! Hope you enjoy this installment of the BSWOW!

 

 

 

 

 

Allison & RJ

August 6, 2011
Nashville, TN

Ceremony: The Sunken Garden at Centennial Park
Reception: The Big Band Dance at Centennial Park

What was your budget? 

Less Than $10,000

How many guests did you have?

# of Guests  25 at ceremony (plus many passersby that stopped to watch!) and 50 at reception following

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

We had a 1930’s southern theme.  We kept our ceremony low key with only immediate family and the wedding party present.  We then used our grandparents’ milk glass serving dishes at the reception and had old black and white photos of them sitting around on the tables for décor.  It was very important to us to have them be a part of our special day even though they could only be there in spirit. We expressed our easy going side by having a public park venue where we knew many passersby would stop and watch from afar if they felt so inclined (and believe me they did!) and then utilizing the FREE Big Band Dance they have in Centennial Park on Saturday nights as our reception venue/entertainment.  Everyone had a great time dancing, sitting in their lawn chairs, or relaxing watching others dance!

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We did everything ourselves but make the dresses and the cupcakes!  I bought my dresses online (from other individuals, not vendors) and got them for half the price of retail!  We made all of the food.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

We should have assigned duties to our wedding party for setting up the reception.  Our friends and family worked so hard, but we could have had more time to visit with them if it would have been more organized.

What was your biggest splurge?

Photography, but it was worth every penny!  Alex is an awesome photographer and VERY reasonable compared to others that we received quotes from.  She will be our photographer for years to come!

What was your favorite detail?

Oh my, we loved it all!!  I guess if I had to pick one thing it would be Halfbrass playing “In the Mood” marching us, the wedding party, and all ceremony guests out of the ceremony site and through the street to the reception site.  The guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy the peanut butter cup cupcakes from Gigi’s, the Mexican glass bottled cokes (out of my grandfather’s original Coca-Cola ice chest), and most of all the handmade lips, mustaches, and other dress up items w/ instant photos for the guestbook.

VENDORS

 

Planner: Bride and Groom (We did it all ourselves!!)
Photographer: Alex Embry from “Photos by Alex”
Gown: White One by Pronovias (bought online)
Bridal Sash and Hair Pin: Custom made by Kerried Away Couture
Accessories: Steve Madden shoes (I’ve had them forever! They are my favorite!) and Earrings from Charming Charlies;
Reception dress: Sue Wong Ivory Ostrich Feather Flapper dress (bought on E-bay)
Groom’s attire / groomsmen attire: Groom’s Seersucker suit from Jos. A Bank and Groomsmen suits from Overstock.com
Bridesmaid’s attire and Brooches : Custom made by Kerried Away Couture
Hair & Makeup: Natalie Armstrong, Bride’s sister
Stationery (Invitations, programs, menu cards etc): Designed by bride/groom at Mixbook.com (We had a Groupon!!)
Ceremony musicians: Halfbrass
Reception Musicians (band/dj): Big Band Dance at Centennial Park (FREE Event)
Transportation (Limo, shuttle etc): Black 1939 Packard   NashvilleWeddingCars.com
Caterer: Allison Armstrong (bride), Nina Armstrong (bride’s mother), and Betty Malone (bride’s aunt)
Cake Artist: Gigi’s Cupcakes
Floral Designer: Melanie at A Village of Flowers 
Guest Accommodations: Holiday Inn Vanderbilt

 

Excited to share another lovely wedding with you this week! Amanda McKinnon Photography submitted this to us via Two Bright Lights and I just loved the photos! Made me feel warm and fuzzy inside! For a California wedding with over 200 guests, it’s pretty great that they were able to get it done for $20k! The couple employed the help of family and friends to pull it all off! Hope you enjoy this edition of the BSWOW!

Kelli & Carl

April 9, 2011
Claremont, California
Ceremony: La Verne Heights Presbyterian Church
Reception: Baseline Community Church

What was your budget? If you are able, give us a rough breakdown of how you spent your budget.

Our budget was $20,000. $5,000-Food, $4,000-Rentals, $2,788-Photography, $1,000-Dress

How many guests did you have?

224

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

We made the placecards, table numbers, and favors (bride’s secret cookie recipe, each guest got a bag of homemade cookies). The bride’s dad repurposed and painted an old two-seater bike for the exit after the reception. We had a jazz quartet play our favorite songs during the dinner hour. Flowers were done by a family friend, food was catered by the bride’s aunt, and neighborhood friends helped set up tables and sew table runners for each table.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

For starters, we got plain white chairs instead of the super expensive chiavari ones! That alone saved us probably $1,200. We did a lot ourselves and relied a lot on family and friends to get things done. By doing our ceremony and reception at really inexpensive (but meaningful) locations, we also were able to spend the money we saved on more important parts of the wedding. We also weren’t allowed to serve alcohol at our reception, so that saved a boatload. The food was buffet style, which was a lot cheaper than doing a plated per-head meal.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Don’t be afraid to ask other people for help, and give up a little bit of perfectionism…people will remember the experience, not whether your programs had perfectly hand-tied ribbons on each one. Also, it’s about the marriage, not the wedding: Keep the main thing the main thing.

What was your biggest splurge?

The food! We weren’t serving alcohol, so we knew the food had to be extra good.

What was your favorite detail?

I think riding off on the two-seater bike was probably my favorite detail of the day. We had practiced in my old prom dress down the street in our neighborhood and it paid off! Not a scratch on either of us or on my wedding dress.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Right after the ceremony, we walked down the aisle to Michael Buble’s “How Sweet it is” and hid back in the bride’s dressing room to steal a quick kiss and a dance before all the pictures. We both were just so giddy, we just kept saying “oh my gosh, we’re actually married!”

VENDORS

Rentals: Picture Perfect Party Rentals
Dress: David’s Bridal- Oleg Cassini
Suits: Men’s Wearhouse 
Flowers: Kris De la O Florals
Catering: The Wildflour Baking Co.
Photography: Amanda McKinnon

 

I’m so excited to share this creative and colorful wedding from  Meghan Christine Photography! I was so thrilled to hear that the bride found Meghan right here on the Budget Savvy Bride after viewing a previous BSWOW! It’s only fitting that Mark & Lindsey’s wedding be featured as well- as they pulled off a unique and fun wedding by employing lots of budget-savvy ideas into their big day. Lindsey enlisted the help of family and friends in order to create their beautiful, hand-crafted wedding! And of course Meghan captured every lovely detail here for your viewing pleasure! Hope you enjoy this edition of the BSWOW! 

Mark & Lindsey

July 2nd 2011
Rensselaer, Indiana

Where did you get married?

We got married at St. Joeseph’s College Chapel in Rensselaer, Indiana.

What was your budget? Give a rough breakdown of what you spent if possible.

China, silver, other thrift store items	$1,495
Ceremony expense (church rental, pastor, favors, etc.)	$1,109
Reception expense (facility, chairs, dance floor,linens, decorations, etc.)	$4,202
Food	$3,475
Bar	$1,033
Photography	$2,550
Flowers	$834
Bridal gown and accessories	$1,258
Invitations, Save the Dates, postage	$457
Coordinator fee	$1,050
Cakes	$447
TOTAL:	$16,910

How many guests did you have?

We had about 175 guests. I have a very large family and we knew it would be a big wedding from the start. Having so many guests adds a lot of expense, but we didn’t want to exclude anyone.

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

We wanted the wedding to have a sort of vintage/eclectic feel, but at the same time feel very relaxed and down to earth. Both Mark and I are very outdoorsy and we wanted our wedding to have a relaxed, laid-back summer feel. My mom was a huge help to me, as was my wedding coordinator. I love DIY projects and wanted the day to really reflect us, so I had a blast making a ton of different things! I made the pinwheel favors and ribbon wands after finding a DIY tutorial online. They were time-consuming, but so worth it! I found the inspiration for my brooch bouquet online and collected and assembled the brooches myself and with help from friends and the bouquet included brooches from my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and the mother of the groom. The hankie favors were DIY, cut out of a thrifted sheet and embroidered on my sister’s fancy sewing machine. The boutonniers were the only DIY project I came up with entirely on my own, without online inspiration or tutorial – I made mini versions of the larger pinwheels and hot-glued them, along with lace, ribbon and twine, to craft pin-backs. The place cards I stamped and embellished myself, and I also printed and assembled the ceremony programs. Most of the reception decorations were either thrifted or borrowed – we only rented a few things like the tablecloths, table runners and chairs.

The rest of the DIY projects were all family efforts. I’m very blessed to have an incredibly talented and creative (and HUGE!) family – I know I couldn’t have done it without them. My mom and I searched for months through the dishware sections of every goodwill and thriftstore in our area, picking out eclectic and vintage-looking chinaware. After we carted home enough dinner plates, salad plates, teacups, and silverware to feed 200 people, my mom ran it all through the dishwasher and I paired up dinner and salad plates that looked good together.

The pennant banners that decorated the reception area were one of my favorite projects. Mark and I thrifted a bunch of bedsheets from goodwill and then I cut them into pennant shapes with pinking shears, pinned them to twine, then my cousin and I sewed them together. It was so much fun to find all the different fabrics. My mom and a family friend made the Ball jar lanterns that hung from the reception ceiling with the banners.

My aunt did all my flowers – she’s a florist in Texas, so for my Indiana wedding she and her sisters and my great-aunt all piled into their suburban and drove to my house, then set up a florist shop in my basement. They did everything – the chapel decorations, the bridesmaid’s bouquets, the reception flowers – and they did it all in two days. They’re amazing!

My cousins and I made all the wedding cakes. I chose three flavors – chocolate, white almond and carrot cake – and we baked for two days, under the supervision of my teenaged cousin Leah who wants to go to culinary school and open a bakery someday. I ordered the cake toppers from a shop on etsy. The cakes were one of the best parts of the reception – I have gotten so many compliments on them and lots of people asking for the recipes. It was so much cheaper to make our own cakes than to get them from a bakery, and they turned out wonderfully.

My wedding dress was my mom’s but since she and my dad got married in the 80s, it needed some significant changes – the giant puffed sleeves were out, for one. My amazing tailor Tricia took the dress and completely made it over – I got my mom’s dress with an updated look.

My flowergirl Dani was the daughter of my cousin Hannah, and Hannah made Dani’s dress herself, as well as letting me borrow a lot of craft supplies and decorations and providing the recipes for the wedding cakes.

I found most of my DIY projects in various places around the web and relied on advice from my bridesmaids and cousins. This was definitely a family affair! I love having a big extended family, and I treasure all the time I got to spend with my cousins, aunts and friends. Since Mark’s family lives in Pennsylvania, only a few of his close family and friends could make the trip to Indiana, but they were so helpful in setting up and tearing down the ceremony and reception spaces. We had a great time at our wedding – it was wonderful to finally get to enjoy the fruits of so many months of planning and to celebrate our new marriage! If I could go back, there’s nothing I would change.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

With such a large family it was a necessity to save money where we could! My cousins and I made and decorated all the wedding cakes ourselves from scratch. My aunts did all my floral arrangements and bouquets – since one of my aunts is a florsit she was able to buy flowers wholesale with a florist discount. My mom and I scoured thrift shops and seconhand stores looking for decorations – we got all our mismatched china and all the silverware from goodwill and all the brooches for my brooch bouquet were either thrifted or given to me. The thing that most helped us save money was utilizing and relying on the resources of our families. Having such a large family made the wedding more expensive, but it also gave us a lot of resources and help!

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

If you’re really serious about saving money, keep the guest list small! But if you have a lot of people you just have to invite, ask them for help! It will give your wedding a personal touch and you’ll always remember the help they gave you.

What was your biggest splurge?

Our biggest splurge was on the food. I think that most people really remember the food at weddings, so we wanted to be able to offer really good food with a homecooked feel.

What was your favorite detail?

It’s hard to choose just one! I loved my brooch bouquet, with brooches from my grandmother, greatgrandmother, mom and mother-in law, but one of my favorite memories is of the two days my two cousins and I spent making all our cakes! It was such a wonderful time and the cakes have gotten the most compliments of any aspect of the wedding!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

It really does go by in a blur, but the one moment that stands out to me is when I was walking down the aisle. I was overwhelmed and so happy and then I looked up and saw Mark for the first time. That memory is very special to me.

VENDORS:

My wonderful photographer was Meghan Lubeck of Meghan Christine Photography. She did a wonderful job and I love the photos!
My aunts did all the floral arrangements.
Tricia Gastineau of Alamode Kabash Sewing altered my wedding dress.
The reception was at the Jasper County Fairgrounds.
The ceremony was at the St. Joseph’s Colleg Chapel.