Photo from Nole’s Knot Bio

Invitations, STDs, and Placecards – $650

I did a lot of research to find an affordable letterpress invitation company. I literally combed through the archives of about 3 or 4 different wedding blogs (including the lovely, but no longer active Faye & Greer blog), literally reading every single post about wedding invitations. I sent e-mail inquiries to probably about 7-8 invitation companies asking for an estimate, most of which were way out of our price range, before finding Cricket Press (www.cricket-press.com). Not only were CP’s rates incredibly reasonable (we paid $500 for 50 custom-designed letterpress invitations and envelopes with an enclosed fold-out package with itinerary, directions, and perforated, detachable RSVP postcard), but we felt good about working with a very small design company (CP is the husband-wife duo of Brian and Sara Turner) rather than one of the larger, more established design firms.

We DIY-ed our postcard STDs, which cost around $70 total for the vintage-reproduction postcards and custom rubber stamp. We hadn’t originally planned on using place cards, but changed our minds when I discovered Laura Hooper and her excellent rates ($80 for 50 place cards, including the card stock) — they were so beautiful in person and I’m so glad we made the decision to use them.

Day-of Coordinator – $400

Jasmine charges a flat fee of $400 for pre-wedding consultations, rehearsal coordination, and day-of coordination, which included set-up of all of our DIY projects. This was actually an item that we added later, and was not previously budgeted for, but was worth every penny in peace of mind on the day of the wedding! We asked a couple of friends to arrive early to help with the set-up, but Jasmine really took care of 95% of it all on her own.

Photo by Punam Bean Photography

Non-Floral Decor – approx $300

This included our globe centerpieces (purchased at Anthropologie, around $60) in Ethiopian baskets (free, given to us by a friend currently posted in Ethiopia), as well as the DIY table runners, mason jars, milk glass vases, eyelet paper lanterns, and Moroccan lanterns. I purchased eight yards of blue damask fabric from www.buyfabrics.com for approximately $55 and was able to make all of our runners from those eight yards of fabric. The mason jars, milk glass vases, and Moroccan lanterns were all found on ebay (from separate sellers) for around $80 total. We bought the paper lanterns from www.paperlanternstore.com for around $100.

Photo by Punam Bean Photography

DIY projects – approx $200

(excluding materials already on-hand)

I designed the ketubah myself and my dad printed it using his photo-quality printer, so that was free. For the coasters, reserved cards, and menu cards, I already had the Gocco supplies and so just purchased the paper from Paper-Source or online (such as the blank coasters), which was maybe about $40 at the most. For the pomanders, we purchased the styrofoam balls and floral wire from Save-on Crafts for about $20, the ribbon from Paper-Source for around $10, and the tissue paper from Nashville Wraps for around $40. I designed our programs myself, which cost around $100 to print and cut at Kinko’s, and we assembled them at home using our own baker’s twine.

Photo by Punam Bean Photography

Other Costs

- Venue – $1100 (included full use of the house and grounds for the entire day)

- Officiant and marriage license – $655

Next up- Advice and tips from Nole about planning a wedding on a budget.