We’ve got a lovely little wedding here today for you all! I love all the little typewriter elements they included on the bouttonieres, cufflinks, bouquets etc and how cute are the signs made out of stacks of books? Of course I love the lace wrapped mason jar centerpieces filled with babys breath- oh so budget-savvy! The bride’s vintage gloves are a nice detail as well. Hope you enjoy this wedding as much as I did! xoxo- Jessica

Justin and Lindsay

4/14/12

Coral House, Baldwin, NY

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

$18,000 including a honeymoon to Iceland,  honeymoon was $3,900 venue was $8,000, dress was $500.00, $900 video, the rest went to invites, favors, decor, flowers, lighting, photo booth, hotel for my family, bridesmaid dresses men’s attire

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

I created everything from the lace wrapped vases, to the programs, invites, all of the signs, photobooth sign, banner, table numbers, all of the cocktail hour decor, etc.  Our Theme was “A True Type of Love” and we used typewriters since we are both computer nerds and wanted a vintage theme wedding! Afterall – typewritters are vintage computers!

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

DIY, DIY, DIY!!!!!

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

Keep everything in perspective, and remember that this is one day of your life! Enjoy every moment but dont forget the reason why!

What was your biggest splurge?

Photobooth & Video

What was your favorite detail?

A toss up between the DIY book table numbers and our programs that had a small envelope on the back which included dried lavender for guests to toss at the end of the ceremony

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The Michael Jackson dance off between two of my friends that are dancers!

VENDORS

Venue – Coral House  ||  Video – Orange Films  ||  Photographer – Bryan Taylor Johnson Photography  ||  Stationery and DIY – Me!  ||  Dress – a retired Davids Bridal that I had my seamstress completely re-structure and change.  ||  Grooms Tux – a custom made suit  - jacket from mens warehouse, pants we owned.

_________________ Thanks for reading New York Wedding by Bryan Taylor Johnson Photography from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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I’ve got a lovely fall themed wedding here for you today (kinda out of season, I know!) But I think you will like it nonetheless. Renee did some really adorable DIY projects that you are sure to enjoy. I particularly love the jars of candy they made as escort cards/favors! Double duty= budget savvy! The custom labels on the hot sauce is an especially cute touch as well. Hope you enjoy this edition of the BSWOW! Renee & Ron

October 9, 2010
Glen Burnie, Maryland

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

Our Budget was $15,000 we spent around $14,000.  Without the help from my mother, father, and Ronnie’s parents we would not have been able to have our amazing wedding.

[ Photgrapher = $1,395] What’s great about the Pro’s is that you receive all the digital images of your photographs and your rights to reprint. My photographer, Tali Mindek, was so amazing I couldn’t believe how lucky I got.

[DJ = $450 ] The DJ was the owner of Big Hit Productions, Greg Brunner.  He has a packet that you fill out so your music selection is exactly what you want to hear.
[Florist = $483 ] My Florist is a local Pasadena woman named Connie Clark.  She is a florist out of her home.  She has amazing prices since she works outside of her home.  Her flowers where one of my favorite parts of my wedding.
[Reception & Alcohol $8,500 ] Overhills Mansion is in a residential area so we saved a bunch of money because we had to buy our liquor directly from the wholesaler. We ended up having a full bar for 130 guest for only $600!

[Photo Booth Rental = $1,585 ] We got the photobooth for 4 hours, plus they created onsite a guestbook with the second set of pictures. They also had a box filled with props for the guest to put on.

The rest of our budget was spent on dress, church, invitations, and the cake.

How many guests did you have?

130

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

I took on many projects for my wedding, to many if you ask my husband. I wanted to add autumn details and my creativity to as many things in my wedding as possible.  My save the dates where magnets that looked like a photobooth strip. I loved the autumn theme and colors so I incorporated it in many apects of my wedding.  My centerpieces where tall and meant to be an abstract view of a tree and the ground below it.  My favors where mason jars filled with candy corn and autumn themed paper with the guests name on it.  I bought a plain white candle and decorated it for our Unity Candle. I bought an invitation kit from Micheals and embelished it with rhinestones and flowers.  I bought cheap monogram cake toppers and added brown and orange rhinestones.  My cake decorations where bought at the dollar store and Micheals. My programs where designed by me and Ronnie put them together.  My veil was made from my mother’s old gown. My husband loves hot sauce so I bought hot sauces and made 4 different unique labels for “Smith’s Hot Sauce”.  The guest where fighting over them by the end of the night. All together my projects for the wedding where: Save the date, centerpieces, hot sauces, favors, vases, veil, programs, invitations, cake, cake topper, and unity candle.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

My wedding veil was made by my Aunt Hannah and myself out of my mother’s old wedding gown.  All of the veils at the bridal stores ranged from $200-$400.  So I saved over $200 by only having to buy a $1 comb and a .25 cent flower for the top of the comb.  I also did not spend any money on wedding jewelery which normally is a high expense.  I wore my grandmothers triple pearl strand, my sister’s bracelets, and my diamond earrings my husband gave me for Christmas.  My wedding make-up as well as my sister’s was done by myself.  I also saved money from doing many diy projects.

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

Make sure when you take on a diy project that you have enough time to finish it.  Be aware of finding time between your work and life schedule to get the projects done.  Two days before my wedding my sister and I sat up putting together the favors/place cards and hot sauce bottles. The day before my wedding my fiance was up late at night finishing up our homeade programs.

What was your biggest splurge?

The photobooth was the biggest expense. We had every guest take a picture in the photo booth.  The photo booth staff put together an album and had the guests write a message next to their photo.  So after our wedding we where able to look at pictures of our guests. Everyone was talking about how fun the photo booth was for weeks.  The photobooth was a great ice breaker for the guests at the wedding. We had guest that never met until our wedding day taking silly photos together in the booth.  The guests had a blast with it and so did we.

What was your favorite detail?

I had so many details of my wedding that I can’t decide a favorite.  Both my mother and father walking me down the aisle and each of them reading a scripture during the wedding.  My charm I had on my bouquet of my beloved grandmother that passed 5 months before my wedding.  When we got announced as Mr & Mrs. Smith at the reception and we came out busting a move to “Teenage Dream”  by Katy Perry suprising all the guests, especially my husbands family that never sees him dance.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Ever since not crying at my sisters wedding, Ronnie joked that I wouldn’t cry at our wedding.  I’m the type of person who cries at lifetime movies, and the home-makeover show, but when it comes to serious things I don’t seem to shed a tear.  So as I am waiting in the back room to walk down the aisle to become Mrs. Smith the water works turned on.  I do not know what turned them on but I could not stop. Even coaxing and jokes from my mother and father did not work.  So when I got to the end of the aisle I was even more emotional from seeing all the people staring at me in the church.  When I got the the front of the church I finally stopped tearing and smiled at Ronnie, and said “And you thought I wasn’t gonna cry”.

Please also include a list of all your vendors including any website links.
DJ -  Big Hit Productions- Greg Brunner
Cake -  Angel’s Bakery- Tamara Minarik (Pastry Chef)
Flowers – Connie Clark – Violets Florist
Photo Booth – Arcade Games Delivered
Venue – Overhills Mansion
Bridesmaid Dresses – Alfred Angelo
Photography – The Pro’s Entertainment

_________________ Thanks for reading Renee + Ron from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Looking for more budget savvy weddings? Visit our Real Weddings gallery! Need to find some DIY projects to save you money and create beautiful details? Check out our DIY project gallery! Connect with The Budget Savvy Bride on the web: Pinterest :: Twitter :: Facebook ::

Hello all you lovely BSB readers!  My name’s Jenna and I’m absolutely delighted to be guest blogging here on Budget Savvy Bride.  I’m a 25-year-old administrative assistant (read: secretary) for a local government social services agency in Virginia. My fiancé David and I have been engaged for just over a year and have been together for almost two years.  David’s a power plant operator at a large power company and has what I like to call Gardening Ambitions.  We met through mutual friends and he swept me right off my feet.  After four months of dating we were practically living together and three months after that we officially were.  Three months after that, we came home after a night of board games and were talking about how much we loved each other (schmoopy, I know) and then he asked me how I’d feel about having a husband instead of a boyfriend!

engaged! it's also the only picture of the two of us, ever.

I was totally shocked – at the time he was in nursing school and while I had made it known that if he asked I would say yes, I had figured we’d be waiting at least three more years before marriage became a real possibility.  Now, a year later, here we are!  We’ve both got ambitions (David’s, as I said, are gardening related; mine are more of a decorative sort) and practical heads on our shoulders so we’re definitely going into this whole wedding-planning shindig with our eyes on the prize: getting married.  Even now, in the midst of what feels like a moral crisis about catering options and the size (oh the SIZE) of our guest list, I just keep repeating to myself “we’ll end the day married, everything else is just icing.”  It’s kind of helping.

Anyways, enough panicking, more introductions! I’m a total nerd and a crafty, bookworm, DIY kinda gal.  In fact, this weekend David and I just replaced a toilet (ew), changed our oven hood (and didn’t catch anything on fire) and built ourselves some nightstands (without anyone bleeding).  You might gather from this that I’m also a bit of a klutz … and you wouldn’t be wrong!  I also enjoy scrapbooking, cooking and reading blogs when I’m supposed to be working.  This last habit has been particularly useful in gathering information and pretty, pretty pictures for wedding planning purposes.

Our wedding is set for September 17th at a lake house about 40 minutes from where we live.  It’s a tiki house (which will be a decorating challenge), and since it’s a private residence we’re pretty much on our own for planning and supplying everything for our 200-ish guests!

our 'tiki house' (http://www.atlakeanna.com)

We’re lucky that we’ll have help (both monetary and otherwise) from our immediate families, but we’re still going to be super budget conscious because everything else will come out of our own pocket.  We definitely don’t want to have to give up any of our long term goals because we squandered money when it wasn’t necessary.  This isn’t to say we’re not excited about the planning, the crafting and the celebration, it’s just all about keeping things in perspective, which is what BSB is all about!  We don’t have a budget set in stone, but we’re hoping to come in under $14,000 for everything (including the rings, honeymoon, and the parts we’ll be getting help with).

I’m really looking forward to sharing all the ups, downs and fun times as we navigate the next four (oh my) months!

_________________ Thanks for reading Meet Jenna! from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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This wedding comes to us from Franklin and Nashville Tennessee! This looks like such a fun wedding- the rooftop reception space made for a great venue for dancing and having a great party! The photographer, Matt Andrews, did a great job capturing the spirit of the day! Thanks so much for sharing your wedding with us Regina & Matt!

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

Our budget was around $15,000. Adding everything up, I think we came in somewhere around $13,500. I am sure there are costs here and there that I am forgetting. There were some things that we found the cheapest possible option and some others that were more of a splurge. My most important thing were photographs, we spent around $2,200. I absolutely feel it was worth every penny. We had him attend the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner to get pictures of our family and friends, instead of my bridal portraits. He also brought along a second photographer and set up a photo booth at our reception (big hit with the guests). We decided to save money with a DJ instead of a live band so we spent $425. I would not have changed a thing. He was incredible and kept people on the dance floor all night. He also brought lighting. Our videographer ($750) was a gift from my Godmother so that was no expense to us. It worked out great because both of our families helped tremendously on our big expenses. Our catering ended up being around $21 a person. Our venue was $1,275. We rented a trolley to take the bridal party from the church to the reception for $200. Our florist was $1,500 which included all bridal party flowers, arrangements at the church, and reception centerpieces.

How many guests did you have?

150

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

We tried to incorporate as many personal aspects as we could. My Father passed away from cancer 3 years ago on May 30. I contemplated walking down the aisle alone, but eventually asked my mom because I knew I would need her there with me and I knew it would mean the world to her. She was so appreciative and it was really touching to see people's face as we turned the corner. I will always remember the intimate moment we shared right before the doors opened. We had 2 people do a reading at the ceremony. We chose my Godmother and Matt's Father. It was really special to have them read and speak directly to us in front of all our guests. For the two outside unity candles, we used our baptismal candles. My something old was Matt's bonnet he wore home from the hospital. It came with a poem from his grandmother. They snipped a few stitches and it became my hanky. I also had a picture of my dad inside a bouquet charm on my bouquet. At the reception, we had 3 bottles of wine from Arrington Vineyards. We had people sign them with silver sharpies. We will drink them on our 1, 5, and 10 year anniversaries. Finally, in lieu of favors we made a donation to the American Cancer Society on behalf of each guest in honor of my late Father and Matt's late Grandmother.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

I feel like we did so much to save money, but everything always adds up. We made our own invitations. They ended up costing a little under $3.50 each for pocket folds (this included the postage). I decided to plan and coordinate everything on my own, but luckily included in our reception price was an event coordinator (Deanna= AMAZING). She helped coordinate all of our vendor arrivals, their set up, and she decorated the entire reception. I printed our programs from home. We also DIY all the decorations. We alternated centerpieces at the reception between flowers and glass vases. I got the glass vases from Dollar Tree (you can go to their website and buy items by the case). I then decorated them with ribbon from Michael's. I found our chair sashes for $0.99 on a website and my mom created miniature bouquets to tie along with each out of silk flowers. She also made wreath's for the church doors and pomander balls to hang by the road at the church. Our wedding cake was a very small cake for us to cut and then we had butler passed mini cupcakes (this saved some money on our catering total). There was something in every aspect of our wedding that I tried to do to save money.

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

Try to just take in every moment. It goes by so fast. Now that I look back, it feels like it happened in the blink of an eye. I would also say to make your day about you and your fiancé because at the end of the day that is the whole reason you are there. Also, do NOT stress over the small things. There will be things that do not go as planned, but at the end of the day you will have your husband and the memories. I would also advise that if you will not be hiring a coordinator, have someone at the church to help out if you need. There were a few things we needed at the last minute and it was nice to have a family friend with us to help run those last minute errands.

What was your biggest splurge?

I am not sure if I can pick one thing that would technically be a splurge. I tried to find the cheapest option for all vendors possible. It just makes it hard because everything begins to add up. We spent the most money on catering and our photographer.

What was your favorite detail?

Where do I begin…my colors, when my husband and I danced with our flower girl, the dress (ohhh the dress), our soloist's song choice at the wedding (“My Heart, Your Home”- Watermark), my Mom walking me down the aisle, the charm of my Dad on my bouquet, maid of honor speech, karaoke at the end of the reception, our first dance. I could go on forever, but I should probably stop now.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Again, there are so many running through my head right now. I would have to say waking up to the bright sunshine on the 17th . You always worry about the weather especially when the cost of the tent (if bad weather) for your reception venue is more than the location all together. When we set the date everyone thought we were crazy. We met in April 2004, so April was an important month for us. April's weather can vary in Nashville, but I knew if my Dad could not be there he would handle the weather for me. The week leading up to the wedding the weather did not look very good, but at that point it is something that you cannot change. I kept the faith. When I woke up on Saturday to clear blue skies and 65 degrees, it literally brought tears to my eyes. I am still thanking my Dad everyday for the beautiful weather he gave us on our special day! On a funny note, almost at the end of the reception we realized we had real life wedding crashers! I am assuming they walked up from Broadway. It made for some funny photos!

Please also include a list of all your vendors including any website links.

Church: Saint Andrew Lutheran Church

Reception: Aerial

Caterer and Wedding Cake: Down South Delights

Photographer: Matt Andrews Photography

Videographer: Precision Videos

Florist: Rachel Short

DJ: Red Carpet Entertainment

Transportation: Nashville Wedding Trolley

_________________ Thanks for reading Regina + Matt from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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Time for another fabulous Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week feature! This wedding comes from beautiful Bridal Veil, Oregon! The location for this wedding is simply stunning- and it looks like the weather was amazing! I love the the bride and bridesmaids used their bouquets as centerpieces for their reception- a great way to save on flowers! I also love that the couple’s wedding cake was FUNFETTI!!! IF you don’t know what funfetti is, it’s white cake with colored sprinkles throughout- a childhood favorite of mine! I hope you enjoy this beautiful wedding!

What was your budget?

Our budget was about 10 grand, plus a few things that we contributed. We ended up spending around $14,000 total.

venue: 4200.00
photography: 3675.00
flowers: 1550.00
music: 995.00
cake: 365.00
catering: free
favors: done for us as a wedding gift
vases, jars, candleholders, misc: 500.00
save-the-dates and invitations (including postage): 1195.00
programs: 100.00
dress (including alterations): 1,000.00
bridesmaid dresses: under 100.00 (after-Christmas clearance at Ann Taylor!)

How many guests did you have?

Approximately 225.

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

Having a very personal day was our number one goal, so we really tried to put our little stamp on everything. We met while attending Oregon State University (go Beavers!), so I made our ring pillow from an OSU bandana that I had embroidered with our names and wedding date. The whole project cost around 20 bucks and was such a cute touch and keepsake.
We also included a little “get to know the couple” crossword puzzle in the programs that were handed out with personalized golf pencils. Our guests had fun figuring out things like our pets' names and favorite TV shows while they waited for the ceremony to start, and there was an answer key at each place-setting at the reception.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We were very fortunate to have the catering paid for as a favor that was owed to my in-laws. Having that covered allowed us to spend more on the venue and photography, our top priorities expense-wise.
We also saved about 400 dollars by making the programs ourselves. It was a lot of cutting, folding, and ribbon tying, but luckily I had my mom and sister to help bear the load. The darling (and delicious) personalized chocolate favors were a wedding gift from a friend of my mother-in-law…we even got to pick the molds and colors ourselves! We got our funfetti wedding cake (the only wedding request from the groom) from a local grocery store for about a thousand dollars less than a custom wedding cake baker had quoted–and it was darling and tasted great!
There were lots of easy little things we did to save money too. For instance, the RSVP cards were postcards as opposed to cards in envelopes, saving us money on both the supplies and the return postage.

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

Take your time if you can and enjoy it! Have fun looking at magazines, blogs, and all of the other resources out there for brides now. You'll get inspired and get ideas of how you can have the wedding you want on your budget. And organization is a must!

What was your biggest splurge?

The venue, but it was worth it! We knew the right venue would not only set the mood we wanted for the day, but could save us on flowers and decorations too. A banquet hall might have cost slightly less to rent, but would have cost a fortune to make even half as beautiful as the stunning venue at Bridal Veil Lakes.

What was your favorite detail?

Well, there are two!
1-We had our parents' wedding photos on the guest book table with little placards next to them, with their wedding dates and the number of years they have been married (“and counting…”). It was an incredibly touching and inspirational detail!
2-We spent weeks coming up with the perfect play-list for the entire day. It was so fun that at any moment, we loved what was playing and could sing along!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

After our first kiss, we walked (and shimmied a bit) up the aisle to Sonny and Cher's “I Got You Babe.” It was a feeling of sheer joy and love…and excitement for the party that was about to start!

Please also include a list of all your vendors including any website links.
VENUE: Bridal Veil Lakes
PHOTOGRAPHY: Altura Studio
FLOWERS: KGK Flowers
DJ: A Sound Choice Entertainment
CAKE: Lamb's Thriftway
DRESS: Jenny Yoo

_________________ Thanks for reading Heidi + Trevor from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Looking for more budget savvy weddings? Visit our Real Weddings gallery! Need to find some DIY projects to save you money and create beautiful details? Check out our DIY project gallery! Connect with The Budget Savvy Bride on the web: Pinterest :: Twitter :: Facebook ::