This J.Crew inspired wedding made me SO very happy that I couldn’t wait to share it with you! I could go on and on about just the flowers from this wedding- they are SO gorgeous! And amazingly enough, the bride and her bridesmaids did all of the flowers for the day- didn’t they do a fantastic job?  This whole event just oozes happiness, including the darling couple, Kiersten and Bradley! It has so much clever, quirky personality- I especially love the banner with the quote from The Princess Bride. Definitely make sure to read the details about their table ‘numbers’ and the special cake cutting ceremony that they did with each of their parents– SO sweet! This might be one of my favorite featured weddings, ever. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! xoxo-Jessica

Kiersten + Bradley

May 28, 2011
Poway + San Diego, CA

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

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

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

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

What was your biggest splurge?

What was your favorite detail?

Bradley and I are both actors and met in an improv class. It roughly took three “meetings” and three years to actually find each other. The first time we met, I thought he was too nice and didn’t call him back after our date. The second time we met, I felt bad for breaking his heart and I later found out he didn’t even remember me. The third time, he was still incredibly nice, but I also realized he was witty, funny and incredibly caring. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love. A few months into us dating, I noticed all of our text messages backed up to his email. I asked him to start saving all those emails in a folder, but didn’t tell him why…

The DIY reception decor was probably my favorite thing about the wedding itself!  I finally told Bradley why I wanted him to save the texts… to go on each table.  Instead of numbering the tables, each one had a handmade flag with a tea towel calendar cut out with a heart around the date and labeled with the event. Then on each table was a hand painted frame with texts from that day. From our first date, to the first time we met each other’s parents, to our engagement, each table was a little part of our relationship. Guests could go around and read some silly, or sweet texts we had sent each other. These took FOREVER to go through but we had a blast doing it and so many guests walked around to each table during the sangria hour.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The first was our rehearsal dinner. It was so incredibly special. We had about 50 people in the back room at The Hamburger Factory and Bradley and I had the idea to give each of parents a little cake with their own handmade wooden cake toppers to celebrate their 35 and 34 years of marriage respectively. Each couple had a little cake cutting ceremony, where we got to make a little speech and thank them for everything they’ve done to get us ready to this point. The rest of the night was filled with our family and friends telling funny and sweet stories to toast– and honestly who doesn’t love great things being said about them for hours

VENDORS:

Why hello there Budget Savvy Brides! My name is Maureen Dolezal and I’m a 30-year old retail worker by day and a multifaceted designer and blogger by night. Now I’ve joined your ranks of engaged life and add wedding planning to my long list of things to do.

I live and work in Milwaukee with my fiance, Max Anderson. We bought our house a year ago and have been DIYing our way to the home of our dreams. I’m an outgoing, avid Packer football fan, artist, and culinary dabbler. If I have any other free time, I spend it with a beer snuggling with my dog Turk.

Max and I met in the spring of 2006. I had just moved to Milwaukee about two months prior and knew very few people in the area. I met a guy who was in the fraternity I was a sweetheart for back college. He invited me to join him and a few of his friends out for drinks. Max was among this group. It was a club and neither of us really liked the whole scene and started talking and making fun of the people there. We learned we lived right down the street from each other and he offered to take me home so I wouldn’t have to take a taxi. We saw each other a couple of times over the summer and started dating early in the fall.

After about five months of dating, we ended up breaking up for a year and a half while Max was interning at Interpol in Washington, D.C. and working for the U.S. Border Patrol in New Mexico. I like to think of this of the “self-exploration” point in our relationship. As soon as he returned in the summer of 2008, we began hanging out again and almost instantly dating again. Here we are four years later, engaged.

So how’d he pop the question? Max’s family owns a Wisconsin Northwoods cabin that we frequently visit. In early March, the two of us snuck away for a weekend together. It was unseasonably warm but the lake was still froze over. Since there wasn’t much else to do other than just hang out in the house, we ventured into the little town nearby to do a little bit of antiquing on the sunny afternoon. I knew something was up when he actually went with me antiquing. When we got back around 4PM and we cracked a couple of beers before we started dinner. He ran in the house to use the bathroom and brought out a book. He then walked me down to a swing down by the lake. He told me to read the first chapter in the book; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He rewrote the book to tell the story of our relationship and in the center of the book was this cut out.

He said he chose the “Chamber of Secrets” because the book had its own secret, my blue diamond ring.

I have been sort of planning our wedding for a couple of years (common’ who doesn’t have wedding porn and now Pinterest?) and sort of took us to a venue visit the day after we got engaged…oops! Since the venue was available this October we decided we would just have a short engagement and start married life that much sooner! :-D

Our wedding will be at a B&B that has a barn for receptions. There are tons of gardens and a little pond. It is close to the cabin where we got engaged that means a lot to him and has the barn which reminds me of my childhood (small town farm girl here). We are expecting about 120 guests. Our estimated budget is $10,000, of course, we are shooting for way under that. I’m overjoyed to share all of our wedding planning story with all the budget brides out there!

Hi Everyone,

I just want to start by saying that I am SO excited to be here and be able to write for Budget Savvy Bride!

My name is Laura and I am 26 years old, and an administrative assistant at a community college. My fiancé’s name is Geoff; he is 33 and a high school history and civics teacher.

 We met each other in our church single’s group more than three years ago. I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight necessarily, but I did think he was really cute! (I mean, just look at him!) As I got to know him over the next few months, I discovered that he was also kind, generous, considerate, and really funny. Yeah, I really liked him, I couldn’t help myself! I even told my friends “this is the kind of guy I could see myself marrying one day.”

However, as the most eligible guy in our group full of girls, I wasn’t holding my breath for any kind of reciprocation. But he must have seen something he liked, because we started dating a few months later. We dated for a little over two years and two weeks ago he asked me to be his wife. Of course, I said YES!

To help you get to know me a little bit better, I thought I would give you a list of the Top 10 things I love most.

1. Jesus

2. Geoff

3. My engagement ring. (Seriously, isn’t it gorgeous!?!)

4. Family and friends (Yes, I ranked my ring higher than my friends and family, but really I love them about the same )

5. Coke Zero (“Hi, my name is Laura and I am addicted to Coke Zero.” Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?)

6. The state of North Carolina. (I am NC born and bred and I love it more than any other place on earth.)

7. Martha Stewart. (I love all things Martha Stewart. Have you seen her craft room? There have to be rooms like that in heaven.)

8. Kitchenaid Stand Mixers. (My roommate has one and I really hope we get one as a wedding present. They are AWESOME!)

9. Wedding Magazines (Oh, you have no idea. I’ll post more about this later.)

10. DVR (In my opinion, the best thing since sliced bread. What did we do before this?)

Now, for wedding details;

When: October 20, 2012

Yes, just a little less than 6 months away!

Number of Guests: 125-150

Not quite sure yet about how many we’ll invite, we both come from really large families. But we’re definitely going to try and keep it under 150.

Budget: $7,000

My parents are contributing the majority of the funds and Geoff and I will be paying for misc. expenses as they arise.

One reason we’re trying to keep the cost low is because we’re probably going to have to buy a new vehicle soon after the wedding and we know it would be more prudent to save for that than spend the money on the wedding.

But just because we’re cutting back on budget doesn’t mean we’re cutting back on awesomeness! My goal is to prove (to myself, mostly) that even though our budget is tight, we’re still going to have a fantastic wedding.

I’m so excited to begin this journey and I’m so glad that y’all are along for the ride. I gladly welcome and thoughts or advice!

Happy Monday everyone! Please forgive the delay on my part in announcing our brand spankin’ new absolutely FABULOUS guest bloggers! These ladies will all be sharing their wedding planning process with you over the next several months! Please give them a warm BSB welcome!!

Laura + Geoff

North Carolina – Fall 2012

Budget: $7,500

Joscelyn + Nate

Pennsylvania – Fall 2012

Budget: $13,000

Danielle + Dan

Canada – Summer 2012

Budget: $13,000

 Erin + Nick

Maryland – Fall 2012

Budget: $12,000

Maureen + Max

Wisconsin – Fall 2012

Budget: $10,000

Amanda + Taylor

California – Fall 2012

Budget: $13,000

They will be posting their introduction posts with more info about their big day, inspiration, and backgrounds over the next several weeks so GET EXCITED!! Can’t wait to follow another group of gals as they plan their budget savvy weddings!

When Elizabeth of Stockroom Vintage wrote me last week to share her wedding with me, I shed a few tears while reading her email. In short, all the best laid plans and ideas that had been swirling in Elizabeth’s head while planning her dream wedding were completely overturned when she found out her father had terminal cancer. With help from their families, Elizabeth and Will scrambled to plan a new wedding on short notice and tried to focus on only those things that were of utmost importance- celebrating their love with the people they loved! In the end they cut their budget in half and managed to pull together a meaningful, personal day that was filled with so much love. Elizabeth got to have her father walk her down the aisle and dance with her on her wedding day, and that meant more than any expensive flower arrangement or designer vintage gown ever could. I think this is a good example of how important it is to keep things in perspective when planning your big day. You can read more of Elizabeth’s story over in this article she penned for HER magazine.

I love that they hired a food truck instead of a caterer, employed the help of their family and friends to help make the day happen, and that Elizabeth was so in love with her photographer that she splurged to have her travel to join them at their new wedding location. In the end, the photos really speak for themselves and captured the love and tenderness of the day. Elizabeth has since turned her love of vintage items into a rental business– you can check out her site and inventory here. I hope this story and the message behind it touches you as much as it did me! xoxo- Jessica

Elizabeth + Will

July 16, 2011
San Antonio, Texas

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

Total: $4,767

Breakdown:
Elizabeth’s gown (David’s Bridal): $499
Accessories: $85 (Shoes (cheap mall find), vintage-inspired enamel bracelet from Macy’s, Target cardigan)
Vintage brooches (worn by bride and given to bridesmaids as gifts): flea market finds from bride’s own collection
Sweater clip and headband from Etsy: $55
Hair and makeup: $195
Will’s J.Crew suit, Johnston & Murphy shoes, shirt and tie: $500
Will’s vintage locket pin (Etsy): $17
Monogrammed cigar cases for groomsmen: $105
DIY invites: $40 (Elizabeth bought 50 authentic library check-out cards from Etsy for $5, filled them out by hand, stamped them with the wedding date and then folded paper sleeves for them. The other $35 went to craft supplies, envelopes and postage.)
Craft supplies, vintage lace tablecloths and misc. décor: $180
Food truck/catering: $670
MoonPie Favors, treat bags and custom stickers: $50
Bartender: $75
Photography (and airfare for photographer): $1,536
DIY flowers: $115
Chair rental: $70
Alcohol: Free (donated but would’ve cost about $500. We overestimated how much liquor we needed for our signature cocktails, an old fashioned and a French 75, so my Dad ended up re-shelving six unopened bottles. In all, we only opened one bottle of gin and one bottle of bourbon…so we recouped half of the original cost in the end.)
Homemade desserts: $75

How many guests did you have?

35

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

I wanted the wedding to have soul and a sense history—and to reflect my undying love of vintage. It was important to Will and me not so much that guests were floored by lavish displays or by how much we shelled out for fancy things, but that they came away from the day thinking, “That wedding was so them.” So we infused every corner of that house with our favorite vintage pieces. We used a working typewriter I found while thrifting as our guest book, and we scattered vintage train cases and luggage about. We used tons of pieces from my milk glass collection and an assortment of my vintage vessels, vases and Mason jars. I adorned my cardigan with vintage brooches and a retro sweater clip, and I wore a handmade headband that featured reclaimed bits of vintage jewelry. Can you tell I’m obsessed with vintage?

But a huge part of that “soul” also came from our desire to honor the people we love. Will’s mother Carol passed about a decade ago, and it was important to us that she was a big part of our day and that we remembered her in sweet, joyful ways. We used the vast collection of vintage Nancy Drew novels she gave Will to add interest and height to table displays. We featured pink carnations, her favorite flower, throughout the space. And my favorite: A few weeks before the wedding, I gave Will a vintage Fleur de Lys brooch pin that I found on Etsy. He chose two favorite photos of his mom to place inside, and he wore it on his suit jacket instead of a boutonnière. He carried his mom above his heart all day. That locket is now one of his most prized possessions.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

I live with a “make do and mend” mantra, and I didn’t think our wedding should be any different. We used lots of vintage pieces we already owned and loved (many of which are now available to rent here in Nashville through my company, Stockroom Vintage). Plus, when my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer—and the doctor bills piled up—I couldn’t even think of splurging. I was concerned with doing all I could to prolong his life, not with the size of my bouquet. So we cut our original budget by more than half and prioritized. At first it was daunting, figuring out how to make it all work for about $4,000. But throughout the whole process, Will kept saying, “When you do things for the right reasons, it always works out.” And that was so true.

Within days of making our decision to move the wedding, calls from our guest list of friends and family trickled in. My brother Lucius and his wife Keri agreed to host the ceremony and reception (and to clear all of the furniture out of the first floor of their home!). Will’s uncles on his mother’s side wanted to make footing the bill easier, so they helped pay for the food truck. My mother is an amazing cook and seamstress, so she baked all of the treats for the dessert table and helped me craft everything from vintage fabric bunting to handmade paper garlands. My dad and stepmom donated all of the booze for the bar from their liquor store. Our friend John officiated the ceremony and gifted us with some awesome vintage serving pieces we used at the bar. My niece Sequoia and sister Naomi, my maid and matron of honor, flew in from Oregon with some gorgeous paper lanterns and handcrafted paper flowers. And Will paid for his wedding garb with savings bonds given to him by his grandparents on his father’s side—he’d been saving them to buy something special since his grandparents passed when he was at the of age of 6! There was just this groundswell of love and support around us. In the end, our wedding felt like a community effort, and that made it even more meaningful to all of us.

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

Well, you know I’m going to say, “Go vintage!” Weddings tend to be a time of such excess. And that’s OK, ladies—it’s like the biggest party you’ll ever throw! But it doesn’t mean you have to create a lot of waste or spend tons of money on items you’ll have no idea what to do with when the ceremony is over. That’s why I launched Stockroom Vintage. I wanted to make it easy for brides to nail the vintage look—or rustic, farmhouse, industrial or what have you—without logging tons of hours in the thrift store or busting their budgets.

Also, remember that stress does freaky things to your body. I had to have my dress altered—three times! Once the dress arrived, I put it in my closet and left it there. When my mom asked me to try it on a few days before the wedding, she zipped it up and that sweetheart bodice fell right to the floor. Those last-minute alterations were stressors I didn’t need. And the last thing you want to worry about on your wedding day is whether your strapless dress will end up around your ankles as you’re saying your vows.

What was your biggest splurge?

We decided to fly our photographer, Stef Atkinson, in from Nashville. Sure, a plane ticket isn’t the biggest splurge ever, but our budget was tight. It was never a question in my mind though. From the first time I stumbled upon Stef’s site and found out that she shared my love for film photographs (she shot our wedding with a Holga camera and Instax for instant prints in addition to digital), I was hooked. When our plans changed, I couldn’t give her up. I knew I’d miss her terribly.

Really, her task was enormous. She knew that her shots might be the last family photos we’d have with my dad—and they were. Can you imagine that pressure? But she captured the mood of the day so perfectly. And she’s so dang talented! Since the wedding, I’ve contracted her to photograph Stockroom Vintage’s styled shoots, to design my website and create my logo. I’m so incredibly loyal to her because her talent and creativity always blows me away.

What was your favorite detail?

Definitely the food. A week before the wedding, my mom pulled my vintage Betty Crocker Cookbook off my kitchen shelf and handpicked some delicious vintage-inspired dessert recipes. The day before the wedding, she and her friend John (who also doubled as our wedding officiant!) baked all day in my brother’s kitchen. My mom crafted dozens of the most gorgeous miniature treats—rum balls, coconut tarts and lots of cake balls. When I saw the dessert table, I wanted to squeal. It was better than I ever imagined—and let me tell you, those rum balls were potent and they disappeared quickly.

I also adored our caterer. With the wedding taking place at my brother’s home in Texas, I didn’t want to crowd the kitchen with a catering staff. And I didn’t want to force our guests to endure a sit-down dinner outside in the sweltering Texas heat. A food truck was the perfect solution. I found Wheelie Gourmet online and fell in love with its retro paint job. I would’ve booked them on that alone! Then I started emailing with Rachel Hajji, the owner, and she was just the sweetest. Her father had undergone treatment for cancer as well, so she understood when I emailed her and was like, “I don’t have time to the taste the food, but I trust you. What time can you pull into the driveway?” We surprised our guests with the food truck, and it was a total hit. We had Mediterranean sandwiches, sweet potato fries and the most refreshing Moroccan mint iced tea.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

There were so many moments. Any doubts I had about getting married in a house rather than a big venue melted away when Will and I stood at the “altar” (a.k.a. the living room fireplace) and all of our guests were within arm’s reach. I could see the looks on their faces—their tears and laughter. There was so much love in that room, and just this sense of gratitude and appreciation that we could all be there together. Oh, and when Will and I saw each other for the first time. I felt like twirling in circles to show off my dress, and I couldn’t get over how GQ he looked. That embarrasses him, but hey, he’s a hottie! When he sang “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds to me during our first dance, I melted. I’m so very smitten.

And then, of course, the time with my Dad. He passed away less than a week after our wedding, so that day is still so close to me—so much so that I still never know if I’ll laugh or cry when talking about it. But there were so many little moments that meant so much: The look on my Dad’s face when he saw me for the first time in my gown. Dancing with him to an Elton John song as we both tried our best not to cry and failed miserably. And the moment when he and I were alone in the kitchen before walking down the aisle. He chose that seersucker suit and bow tie—like he had this vision of how he wanted to look for me on that day—and for a moment I felt like I did when I was little, looking at him and thinking, “That’s my Dad. He’s so handsome.”

VENDORS

Photography: Stef Atkinson  |  All vintage décor: Stockroom Vintage   |   Food truck: Wheelie Gourmet    |   Wholesale flowers: San Antonio Flower Co.    |   Other vintage and handmade elements from Etsy:   Flower Garden Headband: Be Something New   |   Mother of Pearl Sweater Clip: Gemmaz Gemz   |   Fleur de Lys Locket: Karen Elmquist Vintage