This wedding makes me happy inside for oh-so-many reasons! Sweet Emily has been a reader of BSB for quite some time, and we’ve exchanged quite a few emails over the last year. Emily is currently taking graphic design courses and before taking the plunge of going back to school, she emailed lil ol’ me for advice! *blushes* Emily is super sweet and upbeat– her wedding to her hubby, Blake, only radiates this fact with its sunny yellow color scheme. I DIE. Seriously. Nothing warms my heart like yellow weddings!! Emily might just be the most adorable bride ever– I totally teared up at the pics of she and Blake seeing each other for the first time- pure, raw joy on their faces– that’s what your wedding day should be all about! And to make it all more random and sweet, I just realized that I went to grade school with her hubby Blake. WHOA! It continually amazes me the ways I have connected with so many people as a result of this blog. Anyway, on with the feature- congrats to you both, and thanks for sharing your big day with BSB!!

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

A little over $17,000

Venue chapel and barn discounted for a Sunday $2,800

Rob Ingram Photography $3,300

200 Cupcakes, small bride cake on top and groom cake made by a friend Mandy Cornelius $388

Catering Jim n Nicks bbq incl tip $3,200

Second Nature Mo Town Band incl tip $1350

Flowers and decorating by Buttercup blooms $1550

Alfred Angelo dress, etsy veil, alterations, necklace, garter, going away dress from Ananya and jcrew shoes $925

Hair and makeup by professional makeup artist Baby Kat Shields for me and my maid of honor and a trial run through $420

$3 buck chuck wine from trader joes and buying our own beer $600

Misc items-reception décor, printing invites, save the dates, thank you cards, programs, envelopes, stamps, wedding favors, other tips, shower gifts and other gifts for those involved, and catering for bridesmaid dinner and gifts etc…. $3800

How many guests did you have?

180

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

We had the original caricature framed and available to sign from our save the date (which was featured on BSB here.) It is so much fun to have that in our house for years to come. We had the caricature since 2007 from a trip to Miami when we were dating and then to have it as a part of our wedding has a double meaning.

I let my bridesmaids chose whatever color shoes and accessories and just was very laidback about the style. After being in plenty of weddings I seriously didn’t care what they did as long as they were with me.

I am an aspiring graphic designer so I designed all the save the dates, invites, programs and thank you notes so the printed materials would be consistent from start to finish.

I also bought a vintage typewriter, framed old photos of our parents’ weddings and made a sign for the barn and just had little touches here and there that reflected our laid back style and fun energy.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

ETSY!!!! Blogs like BSB and others to get great tips and ideas. I just pulled from some of the ideas I liked and tried to find things cheaper. I got my bridesmaid gifts, hostess gifts, gifts for helpers with the wedding, grooms gift, jewelry for the wedding day, my garter, my going away dress, my veil…almost everything from ETSY. Having friends help decorate, finding a florist who understood my laid back attitude and just gave us a flat rate and helped find items for us to use and make it work!

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

I really had a very enjoyable experience. I am 31 and my husband is 5 years younger. My taste has certainly evolved and changed since I was in my 20s and I knew I wanted the wedding to be laid back, casual, comfortable and fun. We are a pretty laid back couple so we wanted the wedding to reflect that. No sense getting stressed about the things that don’t matter. What matters the most is the marriage. I’d rather spend my energy focusing on the future rather than a day.

Once I got all the major players reserved I just soaked it all in. I made sure this was about celebrating God, us and our friends and family and just had a blast.

As far as budget is concerned, don’t overestimate the number of attendees. We had so many RSVPs. We had like 200 who RSVP’d yes and then about 30 couples we hadn’t heard from at all. So I got nervous that there wasn’t going to be enough food, drinks or favors and upped the numbers some. We totally didn’t need to do that and I really could have saved more money had we not over estimated. If the food runs out so what, if the gifts are gone so what-they came to see you get married not eat and drink for free.

To tell you the truth I still have a bag of bubbles and some wedding favors if anyone needs any and I’m sure there was so much food thrown out it’s sad to think about!

What was your biggest splurge?

Photography of course! It lasts when the flowers are wilted and the food is gone. And I did get a professional hair and makeup stylist. If I was spending a fortune on the photos I wanted my makeup and hair to make me look like a rockstar ☺

What was your favorite detail?

My absolute favorite was our wedding cake topper! I found her on etsy and secretly included my cat on there! My cat has a personality to say the least and she sort of is the reason I knew Blake loved me. A few months after we started dating, I discovered my cat had diabetes and I was going out of town and Blake had to give my cat a shot! Later that year I remember wondering if he loved me because we hadn’t said it yet and my maid of honor said, “UM…he gave your cat an insulin shot! Pretty sure he loves you!” I just couldn’t leave that piece of our story out of the wedding day.

The other perfect detail about the topper is that when it arrived Blake’s glasses had fallen off and I had to glue them back on. Around 4 years ago when I first met Blake, his glasses were broken and he had fixed them with tape so it only added to the perfection!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The sermon! My closest and dearest friend from college is a minister and he was able to marry us. He gave such a great message to us that fit us so dearly that it really solidified why we were standing up there. Our relationship has moved at a perfect pace over the course of our 3.5 years of dating and he encouraged us to continue moving our marriage at the perfect pace of what God has in store for us. To follow God’s guidance as to how our marriage should grow. It was the reason we got married, to glorify God with our lives.

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

Photography- Rob Ingram Photography

Dress- Alfred Angleo

Shoes- J Crew

Veil- Twigs & Honey on Etsy

Garter- Sugar Plum Garters on Etsy

Bridesmaid dresses and Bride’s going away dress- Ananya on Etsy

Necklace- LyLey on Etsy

Cake Topper- Samyii on Etsy

Venue- American Village

Catering- Jim n Nicks BBQ

Wedding Band- Keith Williams and 2nd Nature group

I love this wedding! The fall color scheme, the beautiful dock that made for a great photo backdrop, the flowers- all so beautiful! And even more than the lovely photos, I love Lindsey’s advice for brides on a budget. She is candid and honest which I so appreciate! I have to second her whole-heartedly by saying, ‘Splurge on the photographer, even if it means cutting your budget elsewhere!’ Because then you get to have pretty pictures like these which is something to be really happy about! I hope you all enjoy this installment of the Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week!

What was your budget?

In the beginning, my mother and I considered a $10,000 budget. That number seemed so high to me! I decided to try for $7,000. In the end, we ended up spending a little over $9,000.

Breakdown

- Venue: $1300

- Food: $2,000

- Linens & Chairs: $900

- Cake: gift from a friend!

- Cake Topper: $60

- Dress: $575

- Lace Bolero for Ceremony: $75

- Hair & Makeup: $120

- Flowers: $1,000

- DJ & Lighting: $700

- Photography $1,750

- Invites: $250

- Misc: $400ish

How many guests did you have?

About 85-100? We invited 125 and since we didn't have a seated ceremony or reception I don't know how many came! We did have one crasher! Well, my fiancé knew who he was but we don't know how he knew about the wedding.

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

Our venue was completely us. We loved the location since our first visit. Since it's a public location we can go visit and reminisce anytime!

We also used honey as favors since I love honey and added a “how well do you know us” type crossword to our program.

Our music was also very important to us. We're not the party/dancing type and wanted music that fit who we are and that we'd heard before. I spent a lot of time deciding what songs we wanted and had quite a big “do not play” list. Thankfully, our DJ put up with it!

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

1. Having our wedding on a Thursday! People thought it was strange at first but it made so much sense to us! We were able to save on everything from our venue to the food! (Plus, we got a head start on our honeymoon!)

2. We found our bridesmaids dresses on sale at a department store. They were only $50 a piece! We did have to order one on eBay for a little bit more because the store didn’t have all the sizes we needed. They were perfect!

3. I took on 2 small DIY projects that helped save a little and helped me feel more in control. I put the fabric and yarn on the honey favors and designed and printed the programs.

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

Do what you want! Don’t let others sway your opinion. If you’re true to yourself and your fiancé then everything will be beautiful! I started my wedding trying to live up to all the creative bloggers on the web – and don’t even get me started on all the grand weddings that southern belles have around here! Whew, that was exhausting. I’ve found that I’m not a huge DIYer or a tiara wearing princess.

Hire vendors that “get” you and the overall theme/feeling you want at your wedding. In retail the saying is “location, location, location”. In weddings it should be “vendors, vendors, vendors”. All of ours worked so well together to make our evening great! Make sure you ask your current vendors for recommendations when looking for others. They've been to a lot of weddings and they know who does a great job! Attend lots of bridal shows, attend other weddings, and scour local wedding forums (theknot.com is sure to have one for your area).

Also, have an engagement session before you book your photographer for the big day! See if you can pay for the session but then use it as a deposit if you decide to use them for your wedding if it's usually included in the packages. The session will not only give you great photos of the two of you but it will also give you a chance to get a feel for the way the photographer works.

What was your biggest splurge?

Our photographer – by far! I fell in love with our photographer at a bridal show but they were way out of our budget. I decided to book a girl that was just starting out for a quarter the price. Matt and I had our engagement photos with her but when we got them back I cried. They were nothing like I wanted and I didn’t want that feeling when I got my wedding photos back! I stuck with her at first and just talked with her more about what I wanted from our photos. She was very unaccommodating and short. I spoke with my mom (who was gracious enough to pay for our wedding – thanks mom!) and we decided we’d trim somewhere else to get the photographer I wanted. They are a great team and I’m SO glad I made the switch! A great photographer can make your wedding memories look amazing!

What was your favorite detail?

There are so many! I loved our cake and topper, our venue, our pencils, flowers, everything!

My absolute favorite is probably our invitations. I used vintage stamps on them and I really like the way they turned out!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The good, bad, or ugly? Ha! I broke down when my bridesmaids and I were getting our hair and makeup done. Things were taking longer than I thought they would and I let it get to me. I was really worried about the “timeline”. Note to brides-to-be: let things flow! It will be okay – they can’t have the wedding without you!

Mingling with the guests was my favorite part of the evening. I enjoyed seeing everyone we love gathered in one place. Matt and I felt so special! Through out the planning you get so lost in the details but day-of they all become so trivial. It’s really about you, your husband, your families, and friends gathering to celebrate your love.

VENDORS:

Venue: Alabama Five Rivers Delta Resource Center

Food: Tyner's Catering

Photographer: Robinson Studio and Design

Flowers: Elizabeth's Garden

DJ/Lighting/Wonder-duo: Southern Sounds

Cake: Cakes by Judi

Topper: RedLightStudio

Bolero: MaryandAngelika

Rentals: Port City Rentals

Dress: David's Bridal

Favors: Patz Maple & Honey

Invitations: Printable Press

Calligraphy: SwoonOverIt

{All images by Robinson Studio and Design}