Rebekah & Joshua

Aug. 15, 2010
Payson, Arizona

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

We had a very small budget and both of us are very crafty so we wanted to do as much as we could by ourselves.

I don’t think I can quantify the amount! So much of my wedding was TLC from my family and friends, and they paid for a lot of stuff, too. I know my flowers were about $600, and the table cloths, chair rental and cake stand were about $800.00. I spent about $150 or so on ribbon and paper and tissue paper for decorations. I spent about $100.00 on all of the vases I found for the flowers.

Josh is a carpenter so he built me all of the photo frames and we framed photos of us growing up together. I bought scrapbooking paper and cut out hundreds of paper birds and then hot glued them to ribbon.

I also made pinwheels out of the paper to decorate the hand made frames, cupcakes, and desserts. I also put the paper on wooden letters that stood atop our wedding cake. My good friend offered to make our wedding cake as a wedding gift.

We wanted to have umbrellas for the six tables we had outside. So we found the perfect ones on Pottery Barn on sale for $100.00 each. Because we had so many good family friends attending we asked if anyone wanted to purchase an umbrella for the wedding and then take it home for themselves to use the following summer (which they currently are). So my mom and I each bought one and then four other ladies did as well.

We also bought our flowers from the Flower Exchange and then arranged them ourselves. My friends and I collected all of the blue and green glass from local antique stores and thrift shops!

As for the food, one of my other good friend’s mom and dad are amazing cooks and offered to cook our amazing food. We chose to do a taco bar and let them run with that idea. They went above and beyond and made the most amazing wedding food ever!

I bought my dress at David’s Bridal for $500.00 and my bolero and hair piece on Etsy  maryandangelika http://www.etsy.com/people/maryandangelika?ref=ls_profile for $90.00(bolero) and $70.00(hair).

Oh and I also have friends who do hair and make-up! So they did my and my mom’s make up and all of our hair. As you can see, I really couldn’t have done most of the without the help of my wonderfully supportive family and friends. They really made my wedding happen.

How many guests did you have?

We had about a hundred guests.

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

My personal aspects were almost everything! Because my mom painted so many things for the wedding, those became very personal and are now hanging in my home! Also, I wore my grandmother’s diamond necklace and my good friend’s earrings. The diamond pendant on my bouquet was also my grandma’s. We were also married by our lifelong mentor and minister so that was very important to us.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

The biggest thing I did to save money was probably making all of my own decorations! The cut-out strings of birds and handmade flowers were very budget savvy!

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

My best advice for planning a wedding is to do what you want to do! A lot of brides tend to do things to please their guests rather than themselves. Josh and I had so much fun thinking of everything and anything we wanted to do for our wedding!

What was your biggest splurge?

My biggest budget splurge was probably my wedding dress!  I think it was the most expensive thing we bought…. although it wasn’t very much at all!

What was your favorite detail?

My favorite detail were my wedding jackets. It was the first thing I found when planning my wedding and sort of planned my theme and colors around them! And the paper birds, I really enjoyed making those and I think they really tied everything together. Oh, and my mom is an artist! She painted amazing paintings all around my site as well as a huge mural of two peacocks! She and my sisters also made the paper flowers that hung above the dance floor.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The most memorable moment of our wedding day was our wedding ceremony, it was exactly what we wanted. Josh and I also loved shooting with my very good friend and mentor Julie Mikos! Also having all of our very close family and friends was amazing.

Vendors:

Photographer: Julie Mikos Photographer
Minister: Trina Kamp

Stylist: Kathy Karrys

Hair and Make-up: Rose Walker & Sumer Harper
Dress: Davids Bridal

Wedding shrugs: Etsy

Decor: Rebekah Sampson(bride) & Elizabeth Silver(mob)

Music: Landon Shill

Food and drink: Walker catering

Flower arrangements: Glenn Widger & Lucy Karrys

Cake: Sydney Kamp

Love this sunny, personal beach wedding! Can’t believe they pulled it off for $5,000! I thought the ‘shoecheck’ at the beach wedding ceremony was very clever and cute! This wedding looks cheerful and oh-so-fun as captured by Emma Poliquin! Thanks to Erin & Troy for sharing their special day with us!!

Erin and Troy McNutt

June 12, 2010 

Clam Bay, Nova Scotia

 

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

Our budget was $5000, we had just recently purchased a house and are in the midst of renovation and we didn’t want to have to get a loan to get married.

Venue and Linen Rentals: $370

Food and Wine: $1100

Bride Attire: Wedding dress $500, alteration $90 and DIY Fascinator $8

Groom Attire: Rented vest $24, khakis, dress shirt and sandals from Old Navy $60 and tie $25

Photographer: $1700.

Officiant: $125 for ceremony and $25 for rehearsal

License: $120

Rings: $445

Flowers: 75 stems of spider mums at $1 each and 16 potted Gerber Daisies for $3 each = $125

Wedding Cake: $70

Favors: $60, $.75 per sapling wrapped in burlap with “from Mr.  & Mrs.” Ribbon

Decorations: $155, this was mostly paint for all the different DIY’s, lanterns,  burlap for tables, BBQ kit supplies, Frames for Thank you Poem, round place mats, cake toppers.

Invitations: $12 for postage, I designed invitations and save the dates

Vintage car rental: $35

How many guests did you have?

We were blessed with 56 of our closets family and friends.

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

We did our very best to make sure that the whole weekend a reflection of us as a couple. Our theme was planting our roots as a new family so there was a lot of focus on family. The ceremony was on the beach and we asked the guests to all go barefoot (including Troy and I) and bring blankets for sitting on the beach. So we had a shoe check on the beach. During the ceremony we had the members of our bridal party as well as our mothers read a line from a hand fasting ceremony. It was an amazing moment, having the most important people in our lives remind us why we are together.

At the reception our guest book was a fingerprint tree that a friend drew for us. It is our modern version of a family tree and a constant reminder of our family’s support. Our favors were saplings, I wrote a poem saying thank you to all our guests and asking them to plant this tree and watch it grow and thrive as we will. Our desert table was a selection of homemade desserts that family and friends offered to bring. The photo booth was the biggest hit; it was just a funky sheet that I picked up, a large frame I painted white and some fun props. Everyone got into it, even my ninety year old great aunt. After the reception we had a fire back at the cottage laughed and cried until the wee hours of the morning.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We did as much as we could ourselves. We put the biggest amount of money on the food and the photographer. All the other aspects we either reused things we already had or kept an eye out for sales and we were not afraid of asking people to donate or lend. All the invitations and save the dates were free, I designed them myself and a printing company that I use all the time through work printed them as a gift. The vases on the tables were all given to use and I spray painted them white. The table numbers were free from a wood pile and we painted the numbers on them. The seating chart was free, it was a window my mother had and we traced the names on with a white paint pen. All the signs; for the photo booth, shoe check etc were painted on the old wood from our cottage, the flags were scraps of fabric attached to fallen birch trees. The flowers were fairly cheap we ordered spider mums from Costco for a dollar a stem and then picked up potted Gerbera daisies for $3.00 each on sale at a local grocery store. The biggest cost saver was that we worked with the existing décor, the venue had blue tablecloths and white and blue dinnerware, it was cheaper to work with that then try to change it and have to rent linens and dinnerware. The list goes on and on, but we also didn’t want to go ever board with decorations we wanted people to enjoy their surroundings that helped keep costs down.

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

Please don’t be afraid to ask for help and stick to your plan. I realized very late in the planning game that I needed help, my DIY list was growing and my time line was shrinking. Once I asked for help people started showing up at the house to help, it made the planning more of a family affair. Once you and your husband decide how you want your day to be, don’t hum and ha too much, you will drive yourselves crazy and stress yourselves out. Take all the advice you can get but don’t be afraid to say no, this will be your day and you should be able to create it and remember it the way you both had dreamed.

What was your biggest splurge?

We put the biggest amount of money on the food and the photographer. Lets be honest food keeps everyone happy and the photos are your memories frozen in time.

What was your favorite detail?

I loved all the details. It was gratifying to my husband and I to look around and see our hands in everything around us as well as our guests enjoying it all. But our favorites were the fingerprint tree, the dessert table, the photo booth and the BBQ survival kits. We had traditional BBQ food, so ribs pulled pork and chicken, very messy. The kits had bibs, wet naps, mints and tooth picks.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

I have two favorites; the first was when Troy and I saw each other for the first time. We decided to do our photos before the ceremony. It would help with the nerves and it is also when you look your best. Troy was standing with his back to me and I walked up behind him, with a huge grin from ear to ear. Once he turned around the photographer just disappeared and it was just the two of us. The next 45 minutes was just us, we had time to talk, laugh and cry, and it was perfect. It was the only time that day that we were totally alone. The other one was after the ceremony, while we were waiting for the witnesses to sign the certificate I asked my new husband to walk with me for a minute and we walked down the beach away from everyone, stopped and turned to each other and just started to laugh. To this day we don’t know why we both laughed, that’s just us I guess.

VENDORS 

Venue: Heritage Village Memory Lane
Photographer: Emma Poliquin
Bridesmaid Dresses: Sears
Favors: Seedlings from the trail shop

{all photos by Emma Poliquin}

Amy and Gabe used alot of common tricks to keep their wedding budget low: they kept the guest list intimate, didn’t have a bridal party, chose to have a daytime wedding,  and employed the help of friends to pull together their big day. Thanks Amy & Gabe for sharing your day with us!

 

Amy & Gabriel

August 21

Chapel Hill, NC, The Carolina Inn

 

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

We didn’t have a budget to begin with but our expenses ended up being approximately $10,000 for the wedding and reception.

Venue/Catering: $4720

Minister: $350

Cake: $427

Flowers: $997

Music: $515

Invitations: $45

Photographer: $673

Bride Attire & Accessories, Gown by Nicole Miller: $831

Groom Attire: $250

Hair/Makeup for Bride and Mother of the Bride: $339

Wedding Coordinator: $400

Wedding Favors: $175

 

How many guests did you have?

70 guests

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

Gabe and I got engaged on Memorial Day 2010 and wanted to get married in the summer. We had about 3 months to pull together a wedding for us and our large families. My sister and I made all the of the escort cards, the menus and wrapped the party favors in handmade paper from Nepal.

 

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Overall, we wanted to keep things very simple. A big money saver was to host a daytime wedding. We found other ways to save money as well: we did not have wedding party, my brother (an amateur photographer) took photos, we used a “day of” wedding coordinator, and my cousin dee-jayed the wedding for us for free!

 

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

Find a great venue with style and character. Our reception was in the original ballroom at a historic inn and the space was incredibly beautiful and elegant. We just had centerpieces of roses and hydrangeas. Keep things simple and remember that it is your wedding!

What was your biggest splurge?

My $335 Stuart Weiztman shoes for the rehearsal dinner!

What was your favorite detail?

The black and white tiled floor and the chandeliers in the ballroom at the Inn.

 

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

When my two nephews (ages 5 and got up to make speeches.

 

VENDORS:

• Wedding Consultant: Bliss By Sam Weddings

• Rehearsal Dinner: Spanky’s Restaurant and Bar

• Minister: Robin Renteria

• Cake: Swank Cake Design

• Flowers: University Florist

• Music: Arioso Strings

• Photographer: Keepsake Photography and Graphic Design

• Hair/Makeup: Mina’s Studio

 

 

Okay so let’s be honest, we all like weddings with cute little handmade details, and this wedding has more than a few for you. But the thing that I LOVE about this wedding is the emotions captured by talented photographer Meghan Christine. Matthew & Lindsay look so utterly happy- every smile, every tear radiates the joy of this day so much more than some fancy centerpiece. You can tell these two are really in love and Meghan captured their day so beautifully. Lindsay’s advice about keeping things simple is so valuable, and their wedding day is just as lovely as any other I’ve featured here. I must say I feel a secret sisterhood with other brides who had rainy wedding days— on such a special day there is nothing that can bring you down, trust me! Lindsay, thanks for sharing your day with us!

Lindsay and Matthew

December 18, 2011

Canoga Park, CA

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

Our budget was about $2200

-Dress: $500

-Cupcakes: $200

-Décor: $150

-Photography: $900

-Accessories/Other: $300

-Venue: Free- our church

How many guests did you have?

We ended up having between 70-85 people

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

We love trees and keys, so we made these “chandelier trees” out of sticks and hung keys from them and then hung these “trees” at the front of the church.  We also wanted to make the ceremony and reception feel very cozy so we focused on bringing in aspects of a home, such as doors, books, vintage fabrics, etc.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We kept it really simple!  We saw a wedding that hung paper and lights ($60 total) from the ceiling and we decided that was perfect for transforming the reception hall and for making the ceremony very dramatic.  We also used doors that were collected from the street and attached to wooden stands to add an artistic flair that cost very little.  We also had a reception between the lunch and dinner hour so that we wouldn’t need to feed a whole meal to our guest (we like finger foods anyways!) and that made it more relaxed but also much cheaper.

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

Keeping it simple (and continuing to tell yourself that) is key!  It is true that the day of, you are just happy to be getting all fancy and marrying your best friend and all the things you could stress about don’t really matter.  Being creative is also really fun and makes your wedding very unique, but don’t go overboard trying to do every cool thing you find on a blog;)

What was your biggest splurge?

Our photographer, my dress and the cupcakes…but my parents graciously paid for the dress and my aunt and uncle kindly paid for the cupcakes! We are both into photography so we knew that the pictures were super important and we were fortunate to know a photographer from our church who does amazing pictures but is beginning her business and we got lucky!

What was your favorite detail?

Wow, I loved all the décor but something special we did instead of a guestbook was have a guest tree where people add a fingerprint and sign their name on a tree (that was drawn by my grandmother!) and then we get to keep it and hang it on our wall!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Right after my husband and I said our vows, we took communion and it was wonderful to have those 5 minutes to just shut everything else out and not be rushing to be somewhere and just reflect with one another on the day.  Take any time you can find!

Vendors:

Photography: Meghan Christine Photography

Gown: David’s Bridal

Cupcakes: Rose Bakery

 

 

I LOVE this wedding, y’all. Everything looks so natural and clean without looking boring or plain. I love the wood + white color scheme and the handmade wooden centerpiece boxes made by the groom. How special is that? Obviously I am in love with the turquoise jewelry worn by the bride and her maids… y’all know how much I love me some turquoise. This couple really focused on the important things and in the end it was still incredibly beautiful and classy. These bright and gorgeous photos by Melissa McFadden are sure to delight you this morning! Thank you so much to Rob and Meg for sharing your special day with us! 

Rob and Meg DeBolt

August 21st, 2010

 

Where did you get married?

Mill Creek Gardens, Walla Walla, WA

 

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

We tried to stay between $5000 and $7500, came out closer to $7500. This doesn’t include our rings or our airfare to get there (we live in Texas and got married in the Northwest).

 

* Mill Creek Gardens- $2600

* Photography- $1900

* Catering- Bon Appetit- $1800

* Ceremony music- $150 (violin and guitar from Walla Walla Symphony)

* DJ- $300 + tip

* Flowers (Safeway)- $500

* Dress (JCrew)- $300

* Suit (Calvin Klein)- $125

* Sandals (Rainbow)- $50/pair x 3

* Invitations- I did them on my own. Used pressed flowers as an accent and made matching thank you cards- $75 not including postage

* Cake- $250 Johns Wheatland Bakery, Walla Walla WA

* Centerpieces- $250

* Save the Dates- $130

* Gifts for bridal party- $200

* Officiant donation- $100

* Wedding license- $50

* Wine- Maryhill Winery- $400

 

How many guests did you have?

We had about 105 people

 

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

I really wanted the wedding to be personal and as non-commercial as possible. Our colors were white and wood and the setting at Mill Creek Gardens was perfect. My fiance and dad made the wood centerpieces and I selected all of the glassware from Pier 1 Imports or Michaels. On the day of, two of my aunts put the center pieces together. I did all of our stationery. Also, I wore vintage heels and jewelery that my husband had given to me after our first date (earrings). The bracelet I wore was made by my great aunt, I love turquoise.

 

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We focused the wedding on our enjoyment, not others. Too many people worry about throwing a great party and forget about what they want to remember. Not only did we have a great party, but we saved money by opting out of little details such as wedding favors, hard alcohol, and a champagne toast (we did Muscat Canelli). In the end, you remember very little about the small stuff, so I am glad we stuck to the basics and focused on enjoying the day.

 

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

Do a lot of research! You can always get a better deal. More importantly, make sure that you do things the way that you and your fiance want. Don’t let others influence you too much. Welcome their advice, but don’t change your plans based on what others want. This is your day.

 

What was your biggest splurge?

Photography, but it was worth it! Melissa McFadden is amazing and I have recommended her to all of my newly engaged friends and she will be doing all of our family pictures in the future.

 

What was your favorite detail?

My husband gave me a beautiful pair of turquoise earrings for my birthday when we first met. They are very whimsical and were the perfect accent.

 

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Exchanging vows, knowing that our day had finally come.

VENDORS

Venue- Mill Creek Gardens

Photography- Melissa McFadden Photography

Catering- Bon Appetit

Ceremony Music- violin and guitar from Walla Walla Symphony

Flowers Safeway

Dress – JCrew

Cake- Johns Wheatland Bakery

Wine- Maryhill Winery