_________________ Thanks for reading New Jersey Wedding by John Defiora 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 ::

I am so happy to be sharing this sweet wedding with you today! This couple is so sweet and I’ve been following their wonderful photographer Brittney Melton since we were both planning our weddings! I love the shots Brittney got of the bridal party and all the lovely details. I love that Tara got her flowers from the local grocery store– such a great way to save money and they look gorgeous!! Hope you enjoy this edition of the Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week! xoxo – Jess

Tara & Rodney

October 29, 2011
Pflugerville, Texas
The Plantation House

What was your budget?

$19,500

How many guests did you have?

126

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

We made our own favors for the wedding, and programs.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We used HEB as our florist (A local grocery store in Central Texas) instead of going with an expensive professional. This saved a whole lot on flowers.

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

Start early and try and see where you can definitely save. Always ask yourself “DO I really need that?”

What was your biggest splurge?

The wedding venue

What was your favorite detail?

I loved the chandeliers and lights that hung in the trees at our venue.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Standing outside with my husband and looking at the wedding venue with all the beautiful lights around and watching all of our friends and family having fun together.

VENDORS

Venue: The Plantation House
Florist: HEB (A local grocery store in Central Texas)
Cake: Fantasy Cakes
Photographer: Brittney Melton Photography and Design
Videographer: The Pros- Ryan
Dj: Austin Premiere DJ- Ken Shaw
Fabric Rental: Marquee Rental
Invitations: Hobby Lobby
Dress: Davidal Bridal
Bridesmaid Dress: Davids Bridal
Tuxedo: Men’s Wear House

_________________ Thanks for reading Tara + Rodney by Brittney Melton Photography 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 ::

 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

_________________ Thanks for reading Kelli + Carl by Amanda McKinnon Photography 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 ::

   
Colleen & Matt

June 11, 2010
Homer Glen, Illinois

Where did you get married?

Our ceremony was at Peace Lutheran Church in New Lenox, IL.
Our reception was at DiNolfo’s Banquets in Homer Glen, IL.

What was your budget?

Our budget focus was to spend the least amount of money as possible on the reception (Friday night wedding), flowers, wedding dress, ceremony, and DJ (without sacrificing quality), so that we could include what some might consider extras, such as chair covers at the reception (my non-negotiable), and a high quality photographer & videographer. Our wedding has a beautiful atmosphere and turned out to be better than we had ever dreamed! In total we spent under $20,000

Church- Donation
Reception- $12, 000

Each of these were under $2000-
Photographer
Videographer

Each of these were under $1,000-
Wedding Dress
Flowers
DJ

How many guests did you have?

We had 185 guests attend our wedding.

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

I made all of the programs, place cards, signs for the entrance table, table numbers, and sandals for the bridesmaids and I to wear at the reception. I printed the programs and place cards at home; the signs and table numbers I made by hand. The signs for the entrance table read: “Sign Please”, “Place Cards”, and “Gifts”. Our colors were blue, orange and yellow, so I layered blue, orange, and yellow solid and printed paper to add contrast to the table signs and table numbers. The sandals that I made were $5 dollar flip flops and I hot-glued flowers and rhinestones onto the straps.

We also hand-picked our ceremony music, and had awesome musicians.  Our bridal party walked down to Yiruma’s “River Flows in You”, and at the end of the ceremony, my husband and I walked down to “Beautiful Day” by U2, both played by our amazing pianist. Our vocalists and pianist performed “When I Say I Do” by Matthew West, and “Love Never Fails” by Brandon Heath…. just beautiful!

Our favors were heart-shaped turtles made by a co-worker. My family and I boxed them in small white boxes, printed out tags, and hand-tied all of them. To add ambiance, we bought a clearance bag of white tealights, inexpensive glass holders, and put three on each table.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Our wedding was on a Friday night which saved us money per plate.

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

Pay off your vendors and get the big planning done early so that you can spend more time on and enjoy the little details as your wedding gets closer!

What was your biggest splurge?

Our reception location- it was beautiful!
What was your favorite detail?
I loved everything about our wedding, especially our pictures, which captured all of the little details that we spent so much time on.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Walking down the aisle, surrounded by my family and friends, holding onto my father, and looking at the man of my dreams!

VENDORS:

Dinolfo’s Banquets (Homer Glen)
Peace Lutheran Church
Monica Z. Photography
Forever Flowers by Linda
Sounds Abound Entertainment
Fred Fox Videography
Bella Sposa Boutique
Charles Morris Salon
Maris fromCynthia Sally Makeup Artistry

_________________ Thanks for reading Matt + Colleen by Monica Z. Photography 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 ::

 This gorgeous Memorial Day weekend just brings a huge smile to my face! The bride is a member of the National Guard Reserve, so the patriotic themed, holiday weekend wedding is just perfection! They pulled it off in a non-cheesy way with the help of the fabulous team at Cedarwood in Nashville. I’ve attended a couple of weddings at this location and it’s fabulous! Their photographer, Shanell Bledsoe, captured every gorgeous detail that the Cedarwood team included in the big day. I’m especially in love with the flowers– *swoon*! Hope you all love this wedding as much as I do!

Michael & Morgan

May 30, 2010
Nashville, TN

What was your budget? Give a rough breakdown of what you spent if possible.
Under $20k for all the necessities (though, thanks to some support from family members, we were able to have some extras like a limo ride at the end of the night and a beer/wine/spirits selection at the bar)

Wedding Package @ Cedarwood for 100 guests with a few upgrades added on : Approx. $15k (The package includes everything from invitations, to decor, food, cake, DJ, etc.)  For perspective purposes, ours was the “Mid-Range” package.  You could be at a lower package price point or higher one given your preferences (e.g. Whether or not you choose to include food for a cocktail hour, etc.)

Photography: Approx. $2k

Dress: $1k

How many guests did you have?
100

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
We chose instrumental acoustic guitar versions of more contemporary songs for our ceremony music:  (For instance, I walked down the aisle to “All You Need is Love” by The Beatles, and the Groom/Wedding Party entered to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”).

We put our bar menus in picture frames made by a family member.

Our wedding favors were chocolate sugar cookies made by Michael’s mother.  We attached a note to the favor boxes letting our guests know that (since we didn’t spend lots of money on the favors) we made a donation to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to help with flood relief efforts.  (Nashville and our home city of Clarksville, TN had major damage due to flooding earlier in the month.)

Because I am a member of the Maryland Air National Guard and because we got married on Memorial Day weekend, we included a “Thank You” to our military friends and family in attendance and listed them by name.

During our Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dances we played picture slideshows of our childhood and teenage years.  It was special for our parents and helped deflect some attention off of nervous dancers.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
We chose Cedarwood!
We did some searching on wedding locations and weighed the pros and cons of a “DIY” wedding vs a “All Inclusive” location.  Since we live in Maryland now and didn’t have the time and resources to plan every detail of a wedding in Tennessee from states away, we chose to have our wedding at an all-inclusive location.  After researching options, Cedarwood was our choice because of their ability to scale the package(s) and pricing up and down dependent upon our budget and preferences. (This is NOT the case with ALL All-Inclusive venues, so brides should be sure to ask lots of questions and request package details in writing to avoid confusion or tons of “add-on” costs at the end.)

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
Prioritize your budget!  There is absolutely no need to go into debt for your wedding, so communicate with all the parties involved in the financial aspects of your planning and be on the same page from the get-go.

Beware of the mark-up associated with all things “wedding”.  You don’t HAVE to buy your shoes and jewelry from the bridal boutique. (I found the EXACT earrings I tried on in a bridal store for half the price online!)

You most certainly cannot please everyone ALL the time, so take opinions and good advice when you come across them and leave everything else behind without guilt.

What was your biggest splurge?
We put a little extra money aside for more flowers.  They were beautiful!

What was your favorite detail?
We loved ALL of the decor and ambiance at Cedarwood.  The rose petal aisle way was super romantic.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?
The kiss!  It was perfect.

Also, give me a list of all your vendors, including website links so we can give proper credit. Thanks so much! Looking forward to your responses!
Ceremony and Reception Location:  Cedarwood , Nashville TN
Caterer: A Dream Come True Catering (Through Cedarwood)
Florist: Cedarwood Florist (On-Site)
Cake: PattyCakes (Through Cedarwood)
Bridal Gown:  Bridals By Elena (Severna Park, MD)
Bridesmaid Dresses:  The Dessy Group
Photography:  Bledsoe Photography – Shanell Bledsoe
Hairdresser and Make Up: Sara Andrick
Ceremony Music: Rob Higginbotham (Through Cedarwood)
Reception Music: Frank Flemming – DJ (Through Cedarwood)

_________________ Thanks for reading Patriotic Wedding: Michael + Morgan by Shanell Bledsoe Photography from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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I’ve been getting lots of request for more diversity in our BS-WOWs in terms of geography, so I am pleased to share this lovely wedding from Seattle, Washington! Of course with bigger cities we also might have some bigger budgets but I think that this couple definitely found ways to cut costs in their planning and deserve some recognition for that. I love the fun umbrellas they used for their pictures! Hope you enjoy this wedding as much as I do!

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

23K

Dress/Alterations $1800
Flowers $1000
Venue/Alcohol: 15K
Photography $2500
DJ $1300
Hair/Makeup $500-including bridesmaids hair
Officient $250
Cake $400
Towncar $50

How many guests did you have?

135

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

We wrote our own vows which was very emotional and very special for us.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Flowers and Photographer. We also saved quite a bit on venues fees by being able to purchase our alcohol separately and have the venue serve it.

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

Enjoy it and don’t over think things! Find a style or feel from a magazine and go with it. I loved planning my wedding and I did some details myself like place cards, but I didn’t want to do too much that made my wedding felt like a task.

What was your biggest splurge?

My dress, I didn’t expect to spend so much on my dress, but when I found it I knew it was what I wanted.

What was your favorite detail?

My dress was probably my most favorite aspect of the wedding. I loved wearing it, I loved how I felt and it made the day so much fun.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Taking photos at Gasworks before the wedding it was freezing cold and started hailing. My husband and our bridal party had such a great time despite the conditions. It was great to spend the day with our best friends by our side making us laugh.

VENDORS

Photographer Kaylee Eylander: http://www.kayleeeylanderphotography.com/

DJ: Joe Yamada: http://www.cascaderecords.com/

Flowers: Loves me Flowers Kendra: http://www.lovesmeflowers.com/

Dress: http://www.princessbridecouture.com/

Hair/Makeup: http://www.salonmaison.net/

_________________ Thanks for reading Sarah + Chris 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 ::

Monique & Timothy’s relaxed outdoor affair just brings me joy! Even though this wedding is on the larger side of budgets that we feature, there’s still some great takeaways from the bride’s experience. Her helpful tips: find a venue that will let you bring in your own alcohol and sometimes doing all inclusive can save you money! I definitely love the ‘green’ aspect of this wedding as well, and with a guest count of 200 those costs add up quick! And while the bride paid to have her flowers professionally done, the laid back wildflower arrangements are totally easy to recreate on the cheap so I hope you find them inspiring! I also love that their sweet dog is all-up-in the wedding action- so adorable! Hope you all enjoy this wedding eye-candy as much as I do!

What was your budget?

We had one vendor provide food, staff, tent, tables, chairs, linens and more! It was the bulk of the budget at $14,000 plus gratuity!

We spent the rest on amazing flowers and photography and the cake!

Oh and Alcohol! The Bryn Du allows you to bring in you own alcohol! It was so nice to keep the left over wine and etc. And it was better the paying $5 a pour that other venues and caterers tried to charge us! In total we spent around $25,000.

How many guests did you have?

200 of our closest friends and family!

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

We tried to be as ” Green” as possible. By forgoing the traditional wedding invitation, we had a casual vibe from the beginning. We had our rsvp's done on our wedding website and other directions for the wedding weekend. The caterer sought out biodegradable plates, cutlery and cups for our backyard North Carolina style BBQ/picnic reception. We also had yard games available as well! Everyone loved being able to play corn hole or crochet during the reception. We also requested our cards and gift wrapping to be as creative and reused as possible.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

By finding a venue that allowed us to bring in our own vendors and alcohol!!

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

Hire a day of wedding planner. Or have someone designated to 'work' your wedding day making sure everything is in place and people are where they need to be and vendors are paid.

What was your biggest splurge?

The food!

What was your favorite detail?

My trees! I had aspects of trees in everything!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

When I turned and looked at all of my friends and family once I met my husband at the end of the altar. So much love that day!

Vendors

Caterer: Weilands Gourmet Market

Florist: Flowers on Springtree Lane

Venue: The Bryn Du Mansion

Cake: Bakery Gingham

Photography: Kevin Keefer

_________________ Thanks for reading Monique + Timothy 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 ::

This beautiful wedding comes to us from Jen Stewart Photography who submitted it using Two Bright Lights! We loved the sunny yellow color scheme so much that we couldn’t resist sharing it. Although the budget is on the higher side of weddings we usually feature, the bride Krista found ways to cut costs that are worth mentioning. She found an all-inclusive venue that took care of nearly everything which can sometimes be better for your budget (not to mention your sanity.) She also didn’t splurge on some super expensive dress and made alot of handmade details herself! Hope you love this lovely wedding as much as I do!

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

$25,000. Monte Verde in is an all inclusive vender (well most inclusive) so most of our budget went to that

18,500 including food, cake, linens, flowers on tables and buffet, ceremony and reception site, servers/bartender, personal coordinator and organizer day of!

3,500 photographers

1,000 dj

1,100 personal flowers and archway

800 dress, make up

200 fabric, glue, feathers, wood, paint, birdcages,

100 candy

donated- buttons, birdcages, mason jars, a friend did my hair

How many guests did you have?

185

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

I had a very clear idea of what I wanted the day to look/feel like so I themed our wedding-vintage buttons and birdcages. We had vintage mason jars with burlap bows as our vases, table letters in frames made out of vintage buttons, tea stained lace in the center of each table, handmade napkin rings with bows feathers and buttons, bird cages everywhere, a chalk board that had our seating arrangement on it and we also had a candy bar with yellow old fashioned candies.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We made so many little details ourselves.

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

Plan to have everything completely ready at least one week before the wedding. Unexpecteds ALWAYS come up the final week before the BIG day! If your week is schedule free you will have plenty of time to accomplish the fine unplanned details! Plus remember family and friends are ariving in town. You don”t want to miss the fun and excitement because you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off.

What was your biggest splurge?

Our photographers! We knew the specific look we wanted! Jen and Chris are truely artistic and detailed. They gave us exactly what we wanted. We are constantly getting comments about our photographs! And an added bonus- they are a blast to work with!

What was your favorite detail?

I made napkin ring holders. I ripped pieces of mustard yellow fabric into 16 inch strips and tied them in a bow, leaving the edges raw. In the middle of the bow I hot glued a small brown feather and on top of the knot and feather I place a vintage button. I then took choc. brown hair-ties and sewed that to the back of the bow. The napkin went through the hair tie and it turned out so cute!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Our favorite part of the day was the ceremony. We put just as much detail into the ceremony as we did the reception. It was amazing to look out and see all of our family and closest friends supporting us. Jackson and I were in shock that all of the planning and dreaming was actually now upon us. It was a really surreal moment!

VENDORS

would reccommend EVERY one of these vendors in a heartbeat!

MonteVerde Inn-ceremony, reception, and catering including cake

Sj”s Disc Jockey- Dj

Oshays flowers- flowers

Jen Stewart Photography- Photography

All Images courtesy of Jen Stewart Photography

_________________ Thanks for reading Jackson + Krista 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 ::

Last week I shared Vicki‘s wedding, and this week I am sharing one that she coordinated! Check out the fun details of this colorful wedding in VA. I bet you already know that I love the color scheme.

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Where did you get married?

Manassas historic courthouse with the reception at an old candy factory turned art gallery in Downtown Manassas Virginia.

What was your budget?

20K and for the DC area and 100+ guest this can get tight.

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

Renting a Baby Grand and an old Elvis microphone for performances by our close friends and family.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Having the event on a Friday and selecting a venue that was unique with fit our aesthetic vision. This allowed us to cut back on decor cost because the venue was stunning with exposed brick walls, loft clings and old historic wood floors.

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

Find a venue the fits the look you are going for, it will be much more cost effective to make your vision come alive. Many of of New York quests even commented that they felt like they were in Manhattan in a jazz club and our wedding wouldn’t have had that feeling in a standard ballroom no mater how much was put into decor.

What was your biggest splurge?

Lounge furniture and the Baby Grand. It really made it feel like a jazz club and everyone just let loose and had an amazing night.

What was your favorite detail?

The escort cards were designed like old punch tickets and tables were names for renowned jazz musicians, like Holiday. The cards were then tied to bubble gum machines with a ribbon thru the punch. Everyone from the kids to the grandparents loved them and had a great favor to take home.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Daniel’s brothers preformed a medley of almost 20 songs for us that chronicled our relationship. We were seated directly in front of them as they sang and played the guitar. It was amazing and very touching.

Planner: My Simple Details
Photographer: Laura Kay
Caterer: R&R Catering
Venue: The Center For the Arts
DJ: Jeff Mercer
Florist: Growing Wild
Decor/Lighting: Gala Events

_________________ Thanks for reading Veronica & Daniel 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 ::

I loved these dreamy images so much that I decided to bump this wedding up a few weeks in the queue. Tiffany from Bride-On-Purpose has been a faithful reader of mine for quite some time so I was so excited that she wanted to share her wedding with the rest of you! The photos from her mountain top wedding are stunning, gorgeous- all of the above! I love the plums and purples in her color scheme, and her bridesmaids outfits could not be anymore chic. Plus, Tiffany was one smokin’ bride, right? Tiffany said in her submission, “I hope the answers (if you make it to the end!!) will provide some useful info for your readers, and most of all, I hope they will inspire even one reader to be confident in her decisions as a bride, and to really identify what makes her and her husbands day unique and special and precious!!” That’s what this feature is all about- you said it perfectly, Tiffany! Thanks again for sharing your wedding, and congrats to you and your new hubby!

What was your budget?

$20,000 (not including honeymoon); we did really well staying on budget!

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

Because our budget was quite tight (who’s isn’t right?!), all creative and personal touches were done by myself, and believe it or not, my husband! I am a computer girl, so most of the details involved graphics, stationary, color, and yes, text! I am definitely not a crafter by nature, although I love to dabble in all things creative! My strength (I think!) is in the vision, but I often find I do not have the skill to bring my vision to life. As an example, I knew I wanted a really unique, fun, and casual seating chart, and I knew I wanted to play off a trail hiking map since we were getting married in the mountains. I wanted the tables to be represented by different mountain-inspired graphics (think animals, rocks, trail markers, etc.), but I am definitely not an artist. So, I found (through blogging brides of course… the infamous Dana of Broke-Ass-Bride) a non-wedding artist on etsy, and she crafted the most perfect ‘trail map’ seating chart, all for $30!!

Admittedly, there were times when I simply did not have enough hours in the day (i.e. I was finishing my PhD thesis in time for my defense which was 10 days before the wedding!) to dream up how our wedding would be unique, and I quite honestly, copied ideas from other brides… this is of course the best form of flattery right?! You will see in the pictures some details that were born directly from images that came sent from heaven (i.e. Google Reader!), including the banners for the dessert buffet and signing table, the family photo wall, even the glitter letters on the bottom of my shoes (from BSB of course!!). In the end, I felt like I was honouring all the brides that helped me through the process, and these ended up being some of my favourite details of the day… thanks blogging-brides!!

I think, overall, the most creative AND personal aspect of our wedding was the SOUL!! The whole process was carried out with one goal in mind… to create a truly personal day that reflected not necessarily our hobbies/interests (i.e. no golf tees cause Ian likes to golf, or salt and pepper shakers cause I like to cook), but our LOVE OF FAMILY! We had a small venue that necessitated CLOSE seating with family-style service, we served ribs and cornbread so people would use their hands to eat like they would in their own homes, we had our whole wedding weekend (including a welcome BBQ the day before and a brunch the day after) in a huge house in the mountains, so we could all hang out like a big family. By the end of our wedding weekend, our guests truly felt comfortable chilling out on a couch, or out on the deck with a beer, and I truly believe this resulted in one of the most WARM weddings I have ever been to. It’s crazy to see my family and close friends now adding Ian’s family as friends on facebook and chatting with them and making plans to get together… this is testament to how well people got to know eachother at our wedding… exactly what our goal was!!

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

I am sure most brides will have the same answer to this… we got our hands dirty!! We did a LOT ourselves, but even more importantly, we asked for and got a lot of help from our friends and family!! Backing up though, the first very integral decision we made in order to save money, was to have our wedding at a large house. We found an awesome house (it was built as a single family residence, but at 11,000 sqft, it is definitely a lodge!!) that we rented for 4 nights. We were able to not only have our entire bridal party and immediate family stay with us (the house had room for 30 heads!), but were also able to have ALL of our wedding events here. We started with a Friday night games night, then a Saturday welcome BBQ (lunch… my mom and step-dad cooked the most amazing steaks, homemade baked beans and buns, and salad for ~90 guests), the wedding ceremony AND reception for 115 people, and a day after brunch (my new in-laws honoured their Danish heritage with a feast of open-faced sandwiches for ~80 guests!). We were able to bring in our wine (vinted by my grandparents) and booze, food for cocktail hour, desserts (we asked our moms, grandmas, and aunties to bake something for our dessert table, so this was of no cost to us, and was the most amazing dessert buffet I have ever seen… our guests LOVED it!!), etc. Although the lodge was a big up-front cost, we recovered ½ of the cost from our guests staying there and at some of the additional houses we borrowed from our friends in the area (since we distributed the cost of the lodge and a couple other houses we got free of charge, we were able to make the accommodation very affordable for all of our guests… only $80/person for the entire weekend!).Another big one was flowers. I had my bouquet and those for my girls made by a lady I found on craigslist. She was a very experienced florist, but was just getting back into the business after a couple of years off, so the cost was about ½ of the quotes I had got from other flower shops. For ALL other flowers, I asked my mom and step-mom to grow wildflowers and herbs. I was using the simple and rustic mason-jar/wildflower theme, and honestly would have been happy with a couple of sprigs of rosemary in each mason jar. I can NOT describe to you the lengths these two women went to to make our tables SPECTACULAR. They went beyond what I could ever have dreamt up myself, and it still brings tears to my eyes thinking about the work they put into it! We spent a total of $400 on flowers!!

I know I am rambling here, but the simple fact is this: the people in our lives made this day happen for us! For music, my father-in-law and brother-in-law played guitar during the ceremony… in fact, Ian’s dad wrote us a song that he played while I walked down the aisle!! Ian’s brother played Patience (Guns n Roses) for our first dance, and my sister’s husband DJ’d for us using Ian’s uncle’s DJ equipment (see what I’m saying?!). My mom made the burlap table runners and with my step-dad made the logs for the aisle decorations, my sister loaned me all of her candles from her wedding for table and room decoration, my cousin photographed all of our family photo wall pictures, another cousin played videographer for the day, my friend’s daughters were our babysitters, my brother, cousins, and friends that were staying at the house all worked TIRELESSLY at setting up, rearranging chairs and tables, and decorating, my bridesmaids made baskets for the bathroom… OK, I am stopping myself here because I could go on forever about all the help we had!!

I have to mention one last bit though… I bought my dress on ebay, sight unseen. I took a gamble on a Nicole Miller dress that I LOVED, and really trusted would work on my body, and after NEVER stepping foot in a bridal salon, and $500 later, I had the most perfect wedding dress!! EBAY saved the day many times, as did etsy!! Bargain hunting is a past time, and I wouldn’t have been able to put on the wedding we did without it!

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

STOP… you know, stop pouring over inspiration, stop second guessing yourself, stop worrying about what other people will think… STOP! I have to say this was relatively easy for me, since I really did not have time to agonize over decisions. I saw a dress on ebay and bid on it… it wasn’t an impulse buy though. No, it was definitely a rational one, and I never looked back. I never felt bad that I didn’t try on 100 dresses. I can definitely appreciate how many beautiful gowns there are out there, but once I made a decision, I never looked back. I see so many brides agonizing, and maybe I am doing that now, post wedding, as I still read many wedding blogs, but at the end of the day, most of us will still see thousands of ideas we LOVE (yes, even AFTER the wedding), but it is what we chose for our ONE day that will end up being perfect. Be comfortable with your decisions, try not to look back, and give yourself the “ok” to reader your Google Reader, and say, “wow, that’s beautiful”. Period. End of statement. Beautiful for them, doesn’t mean you need to change your mind, cause your choice is already beautiful!!

Another tip I have… write up a DIY “dream list”. This helps to organize what projects are on the forefront, but more importantly, it will help you prioritize. I scratched a handful or two of projects with about 10 days left, because I started to realize that they really weren’t necessary, and no one would miss them. Give yourself the freedom to use a SHARPIE… cross them off with really dark ink, so they can’t even haunt you from under there!!

ASK FOR HELP. You will hear it from tons of people, and I even got nagged to get more help… in a really nice way of course, from people like my bridesmaids that really did want to help more! But, you will reach a point where you realize just how important it is to relieve yourself of some of the pressures, but also to include your special people… they want to be a part of your day!Identify the SOUL of your wedding. For us, it was family. Simple. Every decision we made centered around our family… not meeting their needs, but creating an atmosphere that would bring family together in a way that was as special for them as it was for us! If you want elegance, fun, party, casual, or formal as the soul of your wedding, keep that in mind throughout the process. At the end of our weekend, I knew that it was family that made our day a reality and truly spectacular!

I am by no means an expert in the subject, but I know one thing for sure, and that’s that I had to keep ‘me’ feeling protected at all times. Weddings are a time of judgement. A lot of people don’t like to talk about it, but when you host a party for 100+ people, all the emotions are heightened, your choices are on display for all to critique/evaluate, and you are the centre of attention. That can breed insecurity (yep, I just said it!). It is evidence on wedding blogs (in a good way too… we support each other; but in a difficult way in that now strangers are even weighing in on our decisions!), and in most brides I know. We want everyone to have a great time, appreciate our efforts, even compliment our style etc. etc. etc. I found it really important to not ask for too many opinions. I lived in a different city than most of my family, including my mom and all of my bridesmaids, so most wedding decisions were made between myself and then-fiance. We presented the options to eachother, weighed the pros and cons (our biggest factors were budget, time management, and how the decision affected the SOUL of the wedding). From there, we informed other people about our decisions, and tried not to seek approval. Of course, this didn’t happen every time, and I definitely hoped (and yes, sometimes even asked) for approval on some items/decisions, but usually looked only to my sister (and MOH) for this approval… the more opinions you ask for, the more you will get… leading of course to AGONIZING over decisions!! And the end of the weekend, Ian and I really felt that we had succeeded in creating a wedding weekend that was fun (non-stop laughter, seriously!!), family focused, on budget, and we were both really quite confident in most of the decisions we had made ?

What was your biggest splurge?

Hands down, photography was our biggest splurge. We swooned over the work of 6:8 photography, and at 20% of our total budget, we knew it was a big decision. But, there is absolutely nothing I feel better about spending the money on than Kevan and Duane. Not only did they provide us with the most beautiful ART from our wedding day, they are people we feel honoured to support. They are the epitome of professionals, but more importantly, they are friends. Kevan was with me and my bridesmaids the whole day, and witnessed a bit of family drama, nakedness , and when I was stressing about the rain, it was him that put all my worries to rest. We had an amazing time shooting with them before the ceremony, and the memories and emotion they captured are truly invaluable!!

The second splurge that comes to mind was our hairpieces, corsages, and boutonnieres. Myself, my bridesmaids, and my mom all had custom Myra Kim (twigs n honey) hair pieces, as did my groom and his boys, and our VIPs (parents and grandparents) received beautiful corsages and bouts. I absolutely LOVED my veil and headpiece, and I really hope everyone else cherishes their pieces too! Other than that, we really do not have any other detail that cost us a lot of money… budget budget budget!!

What was your favorite detail?

Can a venue be a detail?! I really think that the venue was the most spectacular detail of them all. It really did create the intimate, casual, rustic feel that set the tone for the entire weekend. I have so many memories from spending the weekend there, that that is what pops into my head first!\n\nI would never have guessed I would ever say this, but the rain was almost a favourite detail. I came close to letting it affect my mood on the morning of the wedding, but the amazing photography resulted… umbrellas, rain boots, and later, the most dramatic clouds I have seen in wedding photos! It really was memorable!

If I go a bit deeper, I really did LOVE my veil… it made me feel glamorous and beautiful. I also really loved our seating chart… silly, I know, but it was just so fun and cute. I could seriously go on and on, cause there were so many great parts to the day, and things like the flowers, that were totally due to the LOVE of my mom and step-mom… again, I am tearing up just thinking about how beautiful the flowers were!!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

I have two: I had walked down the aisle, truly focusing on my man waiting for me at the end, and since I had had some issues with my parents stepping on my dress (tight venue=tight aisle!), I hadn’t taken ANY time to soak in all the people around me. When Ian and I were finally standing hand in hand, and the officiant had started the ceremony, I stopped, and SLOWLY looked around the room, making eye contact and smiling at so many of our special guests. Some of the most random people pop into my head when I remember it, but it really was the moment that I thought to myself, “wow, these are the people I love the most, and they are here to witness me marry the man I love most!”… it is a moment I will never forget! The second one was as I was rushing to finish getting ready (I was about 25 minutes late for our 1st look), and my mom gave me the gift Ian sent over. In the note, he wrote that he was so excited to see me, and in his words… “you are so beautiful today, more beautiful than yesterday, and not quite as beautiful as you will be tomorrow”. This hit me hard, because so much energy is invested by brides into looking their absolute BEST on their wedding day… the workouts, the teeth whitenening, the body wraps, the hair and makeup, the dress, but really, your husband loves you for YOU. And my man truly loves ME. He thinks I am beautiful for my heart, not for how many inches I lost to look great in a slinky white silk dress! His words really helped bring me back to what the wedding was all about. YES, I had just spent ~4hrs getting ready for our day, YES, I had just done a final check in the mirror to see how I looked, YES, I had just tightened my abs to remind myself to keep my posture all day… but it was ME he was marrying, and he really did believe I would be even more beautiful the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that… we were here to get married, to commit to love eachother forever! It was going to be a fantastic day!!

Photography: Kevan and Duane from 6:8 Photography

Venue: Elk View Lodge in Fernie, BC

Catering: DonnaMarie @ Fernie Fine Foods

Dress: Nicole Miller

Hairpieces, corsages, boutteniers: Twigs n Honey

The boys ties were from Cyberoptix

Save the Dates/Invites: Sarah in Wonderland

That’s really it for wedding vendors!!

_________________ Thanks for reading Tiffany and Ian from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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