So excited to share this sweet Canadian wedding with you all today! It’s easy, breezy and beautiful… and the bride looks like a Cover Girl. Okay wow, that was cheesy… even for me This wedding seems so laid back and casual that it makes me feel right at home. I love all the eclectic elements, wildflowers, and the southwest-y vibe, the whole thing just feels effortlessly cool, don’t you think? Even better, Mike and Kacey pulled off their wedding for around $10,000! Overall I’d say their it-takes-a-village approach worked in their favor. Read more from Kacey below about their big day. xoxo-Jessica

Mike + Kacey 

July 7, 2012
Bezanson, Alberta

Where did you get married?

Adam’s Ranch – a buffalo ranch that Kacey grew up on. It’s located 5 minutes from Bezanson, Alberta – the largest center close to it would be Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada – aprox 20 minutes away.

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

Our family is that rare family that actually is all creatives. Lorraine (Kacey’s mom) did all the flowers and decorating. The flowers were found at a store that was selling all of their silk flowers for 60 to 80 % off. Lorraine arranged them into the vases as well as the bouquets. She also did all the ceremony/reception arrangements. The paper lanterns have been used for several family weddings – and we just reuse them. Usually someone in the family will pick them up cheap when they see them so we always have a supply. The vases were found in thrift stores – prices ranging from 25 cents to a dollar. The paint was on sale at Home Hardware – they were getting rid of the craft paint, so it was picked up for under a dollar a bottle. The vases were then painted on the inside. The burlap table cloths were bought and sewn. The lace overlays were found in thrift stores (ranging in price from 1 to 5 dollars) and cut and hemmed to fit the tables. The cloth napkins were found at liquidation world for a dollar per dozen. The tent for the reception belongs to Adam’s Ranch and there was no charge for it. The logs used for the ‘pews’ in the outdoor ceremony were cut and smoothed by Kacey and her dad. The chairs Kacey and Mike sat on were made by her dad – Les. The tables for the food were also made by Les. The photography was done by Tara Funk (sister to the bride). The groom’s family has a organic farmer’s market – they brought all the fruit for the wedding. The guest thank yous were home made jars of apple crisp. Tara and Brittany (bride’s sisters) covered the tops of the jars with lace and twine and the sayings. The crisp was created by the caterer who was a friend of the family – Jeffery’s Cafe. Total Budget was $10,000

How many guests did you have?

130

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

We tried to make the entire day a reflection of us as a couple…country/boho, no one thing in particular.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Fortunately we have a lot of creative types in our family and close family friends, so many of our friends offered their talents and services to help us keep costs down.

What was your biggest splurge?

The dress was a custom dress by Ellebay Bridal and probably was one of the bigger costs.

What was your favorite detail?

Every detail was pretty much perfect in the fact that we loved how all of it came together exactly the way we pictured it. There are so many to choose from! At our ceremony, the guests all sat on these massive square timber log benches that were so rustic and gorgeous. The bridesmaids dresses were all such a good reflection of the individuals because they picked them out themselves, but they all went together so beautifully. Our food was absolutely to die for, and our caterer (a friend of the family) surprised us with buffalo prime rib. Then there was the band….Blake and his band were so amazing, singing all the old country hits, surprising us with a set list that was everything we wanted and more!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

 Getting married, haha! That first kiss as a married couple is pretty special.  A good friend of ours sang “Amazing Grace” during the processional, and it was incredibly moving.

VENDORS

Photographer: Random Eyesight Studio – Tara Funk  :  Ceremony + Reception location: Adam’s Ranch (private property)  :  Bridal gown (designer/boutique name and contact info): Ellebay Bridal  :  Bridal party attire: Gowns purchased from Mod Cloth  :  Cake: Homemade Brownies – recipe is from Lepp Farms  :   Caterer: Jeffrey’s Café  :  Favours: Homemade Apple Crisp – jars prepared by bride and her sisters. Apple crisp made by Jeffrey’s Cafe  :  Wedding planners: Bride’s family  :  Music: Blake Berglund (Live Band)  :  Hair + Makeup: Stephanie Martens – Fusion   :  Flowers: Mother of the Bride  :  Stationery: Bride and family made invites.

_________________ Thanks for reading Alberta, Canada Wedding by Random Eyesight Studio: Mike + Kacey 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 ::

Well, hello! I’m Julie. I’m engaged to a seriously great guy named Adam. I’m 27, he’s 28. We live in the Canadian Rockies. I grew up on the Alberta prairies just outside the tiny little village of Erskine, right smack in the middle of the province. He grew up on the West Coast in the very small town of Port Hardy on the northern-most part of Vancouver Island.

Somehow, by a stroke of luck and no thanks to our geographical upbringing, we both fell in love with the mountains at a very young age. After finishing high school each of us set off to the hills to seek employment in the ski industry – myself in Banff, and Adam in Vernon. After a few years, the Kootenays were calling each of our names. Much to our parents’ delight, their very promising, yet very devoted ski bum children finally enrolled in some post-secondary education. We both moved to Nelson, BC in September of 2005 to buckle down at school. Conveniently for us, Selkirk College is located in Canada’s coolest ski town.

Once the winter season kicked off at Whitewater we became great ski hill friends…and not long after we became more than just ski hill friends. A little more than four years later, Adam tracked down a wee little mountain top while on a spring getaway to Montreal. While on the wee little mountain top, he popped the all-important question over a picnic of wine, scrumptious pate and the best mango I have ever tasted. I was [very happily!] caught off guard with the whole thing. You can read the whole story here.

Throughout our relationship, our careers have veered off quite dramatically from the ski hill roots that brought us together. We moved to Victoria, BC in the fall 2007 for some more schooling. I studied at the Western Academy of Photography and now I have a little photo biz. Adam earned his Red Seal for cooking and quickly became the sous chef at an incredible waterfront restaurant. In 2009 we relocated to Canmore, AB and we love it here! Adam has recently returned to the snow biz after landing a millwright apprenticeship at a local ski resort, Nakiska. I am just thrilled that my chef now has a 9-5ish gig and we get to eat dinner together once again.

We’ve had a long [& incredibly awesome] engagement – we’ve been planning this shindig since May 2010. We have decided to host our wedding close to home…at a campsite in the Kananaskis Valley. Ultimately, it will be a really stylish  bushparty in the woods like none other. We’ve sent out about 60 invites meaning there could be around 120 people in attendance for the festivities and we are hoping to keep the budget around $12000.

photo credit: www.kiranelson.com

photo credit www.georgiewilson.com

photo credit: Judge Roy Bean – Jackson Hole, WY. He’s a keeper, can you believe I was actually able to convince him to do these horrendously tacky, but awesome portraits?

_________________ Thanks for reading Meet Julie. 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 ::

Love this sunny, personal beach wedding! Can’t believe they pulled it off for $5,000! I thought the ‘shoecheck’ at the beach wedding ceremony was very clever and cute! This wedding looks cheerful and oh-so-fun as captured by Emma Poliquin! Thanks to Erin & Troy for sharing their special day with us!!

Erin and Troy McNutt

June 12, 2010

Clam Bay, Nova Scotia

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

Our budget was $5000, we had just recently purchased a house and are in the midst of renovation and we didn’t want to have to get a loan to get married.

Venue and Linen Rentals: $370

Food and Wine: $1100

Bride Attire: Wedding dress $500, alteration $90 and DIY Fascinator $8

Groom Attire: Rented vest $24, khakis, dress shirt and sandals from Old Navy $60 and tie $25

Photographer: $1700.

Officiant: $125 for ceremony and $25 for rehearsal

License: $120

Rings: $445

Flowers: 75 stems of spider mums at $1 each and 16 potted Gerber Daisies for $3 each = $125

Wedding Cake: $70

Favors: $60, $.75 per sapling wrapped in burlap with “from Mr.  & Mrs.” Ribbon

Decorations: $155, this was mostly paint for all the different DIY’s, lanterns,  burlap for tables, BBQ kit supplies, Frames for Thank you Poem, round place mats, cake toppers.

Invitations: $12 for postage, I designed invitations and save the dates

Vintage car rental: $35

How many guests did you have?

We were blessed with 56 of our closets family and friends.

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

We did our very best to make sure that the whole weekend a reflection of us as a couple. Our theme was planting our roots as a new family so there was a lot of focus on family. The ceremony was on the beach and we asked the guests to all go barefoot (including Troy and I) and bring blankets for sitting on the beach. So we had a shoe check on the beach. During the ceremony we had the members of our bridal party as well as our mothers read a line from a hand fasting ceremony. It was an amazing moment, having the most important people in our lives remind us why we are together.

At the reception our guest book was a fingerprint tree that a friend drew for us. It is our modern version of a family tree and a constant reminder of our family’s support. Our favors were saplings, I wrote a poem saying thank you to all our guests and asking them to plant this tree and watch it grow and thrive as we will. Our desert table was a selection of homemade desserts that family and friends offered to bring. The photo booth was the biggest hit; it was just a funky sheet that I picked up, a large frame I painted white and some fun props. Everyone got into it, even my ninety year old great aunt. After the reception we had a fire back at the cottage laughed and cried until the wee hours of the morning.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We did as much as we could ourselves. We put the biggest amount of money on the food and the photographer. All the other aspects we either reused things we already had or kept an eye out for sales and we were not afraid of asking people to donate or lend. All the invitations and save the dates were free, I designed them myself and a printing company that I use all the time through work printed them as a gift. The vases on the tables were all given to use and I spray painted them white. The table numbers were free from a wood pile and we painted the numbers on them. The seating chart was free, it was a window my mother had and we traced the names on with a white paint pen. All the signs; for the photo booth, shoe check etc were painted on the old wood from our cottage, the flags were scraps of fabric attached to fallen birch trees. The flowers were fairly cheap we ordered spider mums from Costco for a dollar a stem and then picked up potted Gerbera daisies for $3.00 each on sale at a local grocery store. The biggest cost saver was that we worked with the existing décor, the venue had blue tablecloths and white and blue dinnerware, it was cheaper to work with that then try to change it and have to rent linens and dinnerware. The list goes on and on, but we also didn’t want to go ever board with decorations we wanted people to enjoy their surroundings that helped keep costs down.

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

Please don’t be afraid to ask for help and stick to your plan. I realized very late in the planning game that I needed help, my DIY list was growing and my time line was shrinking. Once I asked for help people started showing up at the house to help, it made the planning more of a family affair. Once you and your husband decide how you want your day to be, don’t hum and ha too much, you will drive yourselves crazy and stress yourselves out. Take all the advice you can get but don’t be afraid to say no, this will be your day and you should be able to create it and remember it the way you both had dreamed.

What was your biggest splurge?

We put the biggest amount of money on the food and the photographer. Lets be honest food keeps everyone happy and the photos are your memories frozen in time.

What was your favorite detail?

I loved all the details. It was gratifying to my husband and I to look around and see our hands in everything around us as well as our guests enjoying it all. But our favorites were the fingerprint tree, the dessert table, the photo booth and the BBQ survival kits. We had traditional BBQ food, so ribs pulled pork and chicken, very messy. The kits had bibs, wet naps, mints and tooth picks.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

I have two favorites; the first was when Troy and I saw each other for the first time. We decided to do our photos before the ceremony. It would help with the nerves and it is also when you look your best. Troy was standing with his back to me and I walked up behind him, with a huge grin from ear to ear. Once he turned around the photographer just disappeared and it was just the two of us. The next 45 minutes was just us, we had time to talk, laugh and cry, and it was perfect. It was the only time that day that we were totally alone. The other one was after the ceremony, while we were waiting for the witnesses to sign the certificate I asked my new husband to walk with me for a minute and we walked down the beach away from everyone, stopped and turned to each other and just started to laugh. To this day we don’t know why we both laughed, that’s just us I guess.

VENDORS

Venue: Heritage Village Memory Lane
Photographer: Emma Poliquin
Bridesmaid Dresses: Sears
Favors: Seedlings from the trail shop

{all photos by Emma Poliquin}

_________________ Thanks for reading Erin + Troy by Emma Poliquin 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 adorable wedding from A&D Photography, submitted via Two Bright Lights just makes me smile from ear to ear! Janine and Colin chose to have an intimate wedding at their home for only their closest family and friends. By keeping it small, they were able to save alot of money- but chose to have a big fun Pub Party to include all their friends in a more casual setting. They really focused on what was important to them, and the result is oh-so-special! I love that they used their family’s china instead of renting dishes, and that they decided against a formal wedding party but gave boutonnieres to each of their guests to let them know how special they were to them. Such a sweet gesture! I hope you enjoy this edition of the Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week!

What was your budget? Give a rough breakdown of what you spent if possible.

We didn’t have a starting budget – just a principle to get the wedding we wanted without wasting money or time on things that weren’t important to us. We were lucky that our parents were very supportive and footed the bill but we didn’t want to spend their money in a way we wouldn’t spend our own.

Our wedding (ceremony, lunch reception and pub party) ended up costing about $6,600.00

Attire

Gown (sample sale, free alterations by Mom) – $660.00

Accessories – $135.00

Hair and Makeup (including purchased makeup) – $200.00

Tuxedo Rental – $175.00

Ceremony

Officiant fee (discounted) – $200.00

Marriage licence – $75.00

Decorations – $70.00

Flowers (including boutonnieres for all guests) – $690.00

Lunch Reception

Food (family friend hobby caterer) – $750.00

Wine (our favorite red, white and sparkling) – $165.00

Wine glasses – $30.00

Cake – $20.00

Other

Pub Party Tab (finger food buffet and 2 hour open bar) – $1715.00

Invitations (emailed pdf postcard designed by me) – $0.00

Programs/Place Cards/Favour Tags/etc. (didn’t have them) – $0.00

Limo/Car Rental (got rides from friends) – $0.00

Photography (friend discount, including engagement shoot) – $1,400.00

Hotel Room – $315.00

How many guests did you have?

25 at the ceremony and lunch reception. About 100 at the Pub Party to celebrate our marriage as well as our move to Amsterdam.

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

Our wedding was all about creative and personal aspects so I’ll pick a few to share:

- we decorated our house with pictures of us throughout our relationship as well as one picture from my parents wedding and one picture from his parents wedding

- instead of renting dishes and cutlery, we used our parents’ china and silver

- we got boutonnieres for all of our ceremony guests to represent that we considered all of them our wedding party

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

The biggest thing we did to save time and stress with the bi-product of saving money was having the ceremony and lunch reception in our home with only our closest family and friends. To include all our other family and friends without breaking the bank, we made the Pub Party very casual and simple (no decorations, dj, speeches, etc.). By having the party at a big pub we didn’t have to pay for the venue, just the food and drinks we chose to include on our tab – if people hadn’t shown up or fewer than we’d booked for, they would’ve simply released some of our tables.

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

Planning our wedding in less than 2 months forced us to choose what was important to us because we just didn’t have the time to do everything that was “expected”. My advice would be to think about what you really want vs. what your parents might expect or what you’ve seen at other weddings. If you really want a first dance and conga line – make sure it happens, it’s your day and it’s worth it! If you’ve never really understood why people would spend money (or time) on flowers, don’t have flowers! It’s your wedding and you need to drop things that aren’t important to you so you can concentrate on the things that are.

One big thing we were glad we cut was a formal wedding party – we didn’t have to deal with bridesmaid drama, worrying about matching sets of male and female friends, added costs, thinking of the perfect personalized gifts or getting everyone ready on time.

What was your biggest splurge?

We didn’t need a hotel room on the night of the wedding – we had a perfectly good house sitting empty but it was it was great to have a chance to really step back and absorb the day and what it meant to us. It’s also nice to have breakfast brought to your room Another bonus was that by the time we got home the next day the house fairies (our caterer and parents) had the whole house spotless!

What was your favorite detail?

When we chose to have the wedding in our home, it seemed like a practical decision to avoid the stress and cost of finding a venue – but it ended up being a very good emotional choice. It was so special to have an intimate group at our ceremony in the house we’d carefully chosen based on our plans for our future together.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

When my dad sang a personalised version of “I loved her first” by Heartland and made everyone cry.

VENDORS

Venue: Our Home

Dress: Cameo and Cufflinks

Tux: Moore’s

Flowers: Pushing Petals

Hair: Angles Salon

Tiara: French Twist

Makeup: Laura @ Bobbi Brown in Holt Renfrew

Photography: A&D Photography

Marriage Commissioner: Tamara Jones

Hotel: Sheraton Eau Claire

Rings: Jewels by Maxime’s

Cake: Amato Gelato

Shoes: Aldo

Pub: The Kilkenny Irish Pub

_________________ Thanks for reading Janine + Colin 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

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 ::

Marie-éve has been a long time reader of my blog. Pretty sure she was one of my first ‘regulars.’ So I was super thrilled when she submitted her wedding for the BS-WOW. Marie-éve’s wedding was personal and beautiful without breaking the bank- you’ll be amazed when you see her total. Her color scheme (which I love, obvs) was inspired by her chic J.Crew shoes (which I have major shoe lust for) and they were married in a lovely field sprinkled with dandielions. Could it be more sweet?

Where did you get married?

In an orchard that produces ice cider in Frelighsburg, Quebec. That’s about an hour and a half from Montreal, where we live. The wedding date was chosen to coincide with the blossomming time of the apple trees.

What was your budget?

We aimed for around $5,000. I feel like a bit of an oddball because we purposely chose this small figure, not because that’s all we could afford, but simply because that’s what we were comfortable paying for an afternoon cocktail for 40. So it wouldn’t have been a real problem if we went over, but we didn’t. I’m just naturally thrifty I guess.

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

We did our own invitations, I bought the flowers wholesale and arranged them myself, we made gift baskets with products from the orchard for guests, I prepared little buckets with toys and trinkets for each kid…

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

My mom and I catered the event ourselves. We spent the day before preparing platters and hors d’oeuvres together. We had lots of fun and the results were fantastic! Since the reception was during the afternoon, we also didn’t serve a full meal, and we had a small number of guests.

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

Enlist help, and get talented people involved. Also, good photography doesn’t have to be expensive.

What was your biggest splurge?

My shoes! They were $350, but I had to have them. They were actually more expensive than my dress, which was from Target.

What was your favorite detail?

I think the cupcake tower looked amazing! A friend lent me the stand she had used for her own wedding 5 years ago, and it was the right color already. I glued scalloped edge cardboard trim purchased at the crafts store on it, and had mini-cupcakes made in my colors. Another friend finished the look with fresh flowers and the Smurfs toppers my groom had found!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Being surrounded with people that were all really important to us, who showered us with love. Our son, elated at seeing his parents tie the knot, being cute and silly. Walking with my new hubby among the blossoming trees, simply feeling so happy.

Venue Domaine Pinnacle | Photographers Alexander Galan and Suzy Guévin  |  Flowers and Food Atwater Market

Cupcakes Itsi-Bitsi |  Paper products Omer DeSerres |  Craft Supplies Michael’s

_________________ Thanks for reading Marie-éve + Martin 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 ::