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

This wedding is just STUNNING, y’all. I literally *SQUEALED* with delight when I received the submission via Two Bright Lights. Lovely yellow color scheme, beautiful bride, adorable groom (I have a soft spot in my heart for grooms with glasses, OBVI!) Susan offers some great advice on keeping things in perspective- let the details be just that- details! Unimportant in the grand scheme of what the day is all about. I totally love the custom nesting dolls they had as their cake toppers- TOO adorable! Hope y’all enjoy this edition of the Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week! Thanks Kevin & Susan for sharing your special day with us!

Susan & Kevin

June 27th, 2010
Joliet, Illinois

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

I wanted to keep the budget under $7,000.00…My (Susan) wonderful parents paid for everything, despite our protests; which made it even more important to keep things simple and inexpensive. My dress was $400.00 (on sale) my aunt and mom made my birdcage blusher; our amazing wedding cake was $200.00 and was done by a friend of Kevin’s mom; our flowers for everyone (bridesmaids, groomsmen, grandparents, parents, flower girls, and “guests of honor”) were done by a friend of the family for $1,000.00–this is incredible because our wedding party consisted of 20 people!! She gave us a wonderful deal! My shoes were $90.00 and a surprise gift from my mom. Kevin’s vest and pants were $80.00 (on sale), his shoes were $45.00, and the shirt and skinny tie were about $20.00 together. We wanted to save our bridesmaids and groomsmen money as well, so I had the girls just wear any short yellow dress of their choosing; either one they already owned or an inexpensive new one. For the guys, Kevin had them get the same vest and pants he wore which were still on sale. We chose to have our reception at the Public Landing Restaurant in Lockport, IL. Their food is amazing and we did 6 hors douvres costing about $17.00 per person. To save money we had a cash bar instead of an open bar which only costed a flat fee of $150.00 instead of an extra $15.00 per person! My beautiful Aunt Cindy did our centerpieces for us as a gift–she bought the amazing roses from Costco for a great price and got the hurrican vases, candles, and mirrors at the dollar store! For the candles and misc. decorations, we rummaged around our house and found everything we could use instead of buying things we didn’t need. For the favors my mom searched websites for the best deal on seed packets of Black Eyed Susans. I believe she ordered 350 packets for under $100.00 and we just wrapped them in raffia and put them in an old basket for people to take.  My uncle is a DJ so as a gift he DJ’d our reception free of charge. And, finally, our wonderful photographer, Jennifer Eileen, took the most amazing pictures imaginable for us for $2,100.00. That fee included way more than it should have–she gave us a great deal. And after everything was done, we did stay under $7,000.00! We will never regret the sacrifices we made to keep things simple and inexpensive!

How many guests did you have?

We had approximately 200 wonderful guests.

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

Kevin and I both incorporated elements of our personal style into our wedding: Kevin loves Converse, all of the guys had black Chuck Taylors. I love yellow, all of the girls had cute yellow dresses. We both love the “shabby chic”, anthropologie-esque look which was also evident in many of the decorations–giving everything a more casual, simple look rather than extremely elegant (which also made things much less expensive! ).

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

The biggest things we did to save money was listen to suggestions from other people…ACTUALLY listen to suggestions and incorporate them whenever we were able. We were so blessed to have so much help from our family and friends! Another that really helped save money was determine to be satisfied and not be set on having things so-so!! Also, we used things we already had for many of the decorations–which saved us a great deal! We did not rent a limo and at the reception we had a cash bar instead of an open bar.

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

Just love, love, LOVE the fact that you are entering into marriage with your favorite person in the world and joy in the beautiful gift of each other. Comprimise, let things go, don’t be set on having things so-so and perfect. Let the details be details! Let your heart be so thankful for the person you are going to marry and let everything else just “be OK!”. At the end of the day, regardless of how many things went wrong or you wish could have been different, you will be married. Let that fact matter the most. Don’t fight with friends or family. Treasure planning one of the most wonderful days of your lives!

What was your biggest splurge?

I think the flowers were our biggest “splurge”. Even though they were thousands less than they would have been had I gotten them through someone else, It was hard for me to spend $1,000 on flowers!! But they were absolutely beautiful and I do not regret the “splurge” at all!

What was your favorite detail?

Kevin’s favorite detail was the wedding cake toppers which were Russian nesting dolls that his brother painted to look just like us! The cake toppers AND the flowers were my favorite details.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Walking down the aisle with my daddy and when he gave me away. It was overwhelming to walk down the aisle with him, between dear family and friends, toward my favorite person in the world who was about to become my husband! It was beautiful to see so much love on Kevin’s face as I walked toward him. It was incredibly emotional, nearly everyone was crying by the time daddy and I reached the front of the church; and when he gave me away I’m convinced there was not a single dry eye! Through uncontrollable tears, my father hugged me, told me he loved me, hugged Kevin, told him he loved him, and gave me away. It was wonderful and unforgettable!

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

Hair: Tre Volte Salon

Venue: The Public Landing

Ceremony: First Presbyterian Church

Photography: Jennifer Eileen Photography

Time for another installment of the Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week! This week’s wedding comes to us from Illinois, from a couple who made some compromises to keep their wedding true to themselves! They have some great advice for planning, so be sure to check it out! Thanks Theresa and Jacob for sharing your big day with us!

Where did you get married?

Technically we were married at our apartment in Arlington Heights, IL, but had a formal ceremony (led by my younger brother) and reception at Garden Terrace Banquets in Elk Grove Village, IL

What was your budget?

Our budget was about $10,000-11,000, and I’m pretty sure we didn’t exceed it. It was very important to us to keep outside costs down to be able to afford to have most of our friends and family come for the event.

Approx. $8,000 was spent on the banquet hall space/food/bar service/cake. The banquet package was pretty all-inclusive, and included the open bar, wedding cake, and most of the standard decorations. Part of why we chose the venue included their pricing for catering services-it was a great deal that we couldn’t pass up for a seated meal!

The shuttle service we hired was approx. $450 for the whole evening.

We had a couple of things that either our parents helped us out with, or I won in online giveaways:

My parents purchased my dress (which was about $240 at a Brides Against Breast Cancer event) and made the hot chocolate-tube favors/placecards. Jake’s parents covered the DJ’s costs. I actually won 250 long-stemmed roses from an internet giveaway from Dana of The Broke Ass Bride fame, so our flower budget (which was pretty non-existent) was complementary. In that same giveaway, I also won a ceremony set (flower girl basket, guest book, pen, etc) that I exchanged for a birdcage gift card holder and a scrapbook. Our guest book was free through an offer I found online from Snapfish; I was able to personalize a photo book to include love-related quotes and spaces for people to leave well-wishes.

How many guests did you have?

We both have very large families and some close-knit friends, so we ended up with 173 RSVP’d yeses, but only about 150 people showed up for the reception.

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

To reduce costs and to maximize the “Tree and Jake”-ness of our day, we DIT’d (Do-it-together) many of the decorations, from the mustaches-on-sticks (that Jake loved so much, it was the only thing he requested for the wedding!) for the photo backdrop, to the flower centerpieces, pinwheel bouquets, tissue poms, and favors. There were lots of pops of color everywhere, but the hall still had a very classy, intimate feeling to it.

Additionally, the best man (who is Jake’s cousin) wrote a song for us to have our first dance to. He sent it to me ahead of time, so that I could have a copy. He performed it at the reception on his keyboard, and it was such a special moment. Just…amazing.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Planning a wedding for February definitely has it’s benefits in the “cheaper by the season” section. We found that many vendors had great discounts for us just because they were slower pre-wedding season. It was around the half-year mark for our dating anniversary, so it makes keeping anniversaries/how long we’ve been together a little easier as well.

DIT projects, and just prioritizing what was important also saved us some cash. Neither of us has been married before, so it was a lot of brainstorming on what guests remember about a wedding reception (food/bar service and music!). And from there we cut things that did not matter to us. We didn’t care about a limo (it would have been awesome, but just wasn’t necessary), or a hand-plated meal. We also compromised where possible to see where we could find a good deal (our DJ had discounts for time of year of the wedding and for booking online, and it saved us $300).

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

In the end, only argue over the stuff that matters (with your fiancee, or with family/friends). But when it does matter, and it’ll matter in 5 days, 5 months, 5 years, put your foot down and keep it there. There’s nothing wrong with a little compromise, but walk the line between being a pushover and being a jerk. We had some difficulty working around more traditional parents who were upset that we were “missing” aspects of the wedding/reception that they thought were important (but weren’t for us), but overall were able to compromise to make sure that our ideas weren’t thrown out the window, and that traditions that were important to our parents weren’t completely ignored. I realize now that the marriage is what’s special and what counts to the bride and groom, but the wedding is about family and community.

I had envisioned walking myself down the aisle, and having my fiancé meet me halfway to finish the walk with me. My dad knew that that was my plan, and told me he didn’t mind. When he passed away 9 months before the wedding, my mother (who did not know of our plan) was extremely upset that I “had” to walk myself because my father couldn’t. She wanted to walk me, and the decision that I made to have her walk me was stressful, but I know that in 5 months/5 years, I’ll be glad that I didn’t fight for that one moment.

What was your biggest splurge?

Our biggest splurge was probably the open bar. We know our families love a good party, and we wanted to make sure that every person had a great time and enjoyed themselves at the reception. It is a party, after all!

What was your favorite detail?

The banquet hall is part of a local park district building that included a working carousel. The carousel room had already been booked for a children’s party for the day of our wedding, but we were able to sneak in afterward for about 15/20 minutes for photos. It was so much fun, and some of my favorite photos were from that small session. Also, it was a nice break to get out of the banquet hall and have a couple moments to re-group.

What was the most memorable moment of your day?

The most memorable moment would have to be our groomsman, Trent, marrying us at the apartment. He was so nervous, but wanted to pull through for us since our other plans had fallen through. There was a lot of nervous giggling, some jokes between the bridal party, and I just remember thinking, “Wow. This is it. After this, it’s allllllllll gravy.”

VENDORS:

Venue: Garden Terrace Banquets

Caterer: Two Chefs Catering

Photographer: Jolie Images Photography

DJ: Non-Stop Entertainment

Transportation: First Student Buses and Charter

Brides Against Breast Cancer

I am in love with this wedding- from the first time I saw it I fell for all the details. The vintage ephemera, the billy balls in the bouquets, the newsboy caps on the groomsmen, the darling bridesmaids, the sunny yellow color scheme… it’s all so sweet! You can tell that this wedding really reflects the couple and what was important to them. The best part is alot of the decor can be pulled off on a small budget- if you give yourself time you can scour thrift stores and garage sales for vintage books, teacups and accessories and save yourself tons of money. I just love the whole vibe- hope you all enjoy this BSWOW as much as I do!

What was your budget?

Our budget was about $12K… I have a hard time breaking it down because it was a very scattered process. We did a lot of thrift shop and garage sale shopping for plates and gadgets. Our food was vegetarian. It was local and organic, as were our flowers, so that was the priciest bit. My dress was my mom’s, so I had it reworked to fit me and my style for less than $500 We had planned to have the wedding at a library or an old house, but we got the lodge for $200 and that was good enough for us. Our photographer (Type A Images) was about $1250 and captured the whole vibe perfectly… my husband and I are wedding photographers (Soda Fountain Photography) as well, and I would recommend her to the world. Our ceremony music was a guitar and cello duo who played Zeppelin and Beatles and Dean Martin. We saved on a bartender by having a wonderful friend of ours make drinks and he was a charmer!

How many guests did you have?

Around 130

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

My mom and I spent many many nights watching Gilmore Girls and making recycled tissue paper pomanders for the aisle. I walked down the aisle to “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime”. My bridesmaids were 10 year olds… my sister and her best friends. My maid of honor wore the same newsboy outfit as the groomsmen (they were hot.) Our wedding bands are made from silver spoons that were in Craig’s mother’s Hope Chest (an old-fashioned tradition where a little girl puts special things in a box in hopes of a “good husband” some day)… She passed away a few years ago, so we added lots of little things in memory of her. Our ceremony was created by us and included Star Trek references as well as a ring warming ceremony where everyone passed them around and blessed or wished on them (to some Beatles tunes). We decorated the reception area with a whiskey drinkin’ grandmother in mind… We had vintage style buttons made by ButtonEmpire on etsy and they were scattered all over the tables with some skeleton keys and favor chocolates re-wrapped in old book pages and teacups full of flowers that sat on vintage books.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Making anything by hand saves money. It just takes up a lot of time. We made so many things, it was a full-time job. We bought little chocolate bars in 3-packs from Trader Joe’s, which saved us hundreds of dollars we would have spent on chocolates elsewhere. But re-wrapping them in perfectly cut book pages was a feat. But it was definitely appreciated by our guests. We also bought “3 Buck Chuck” from Trader Joe’s for our wine… it is pretty damn good wine for the price. Also, the mismatched dessert plates and coffee cups were thrift shop scores and my sister-in-law made our cake!
What's the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you're on the other side?
You’re going to forget things. But if you spend your wedding day worrying about those things, that ruins the magic. Also… if your song as a couple is not at all romantic for a first dance, DO IT. It’s yours. People will probably appreciate that, if they know you, and it will be memorable.

What was your biggest splurge?

We splurged $1500 on an amazing DJ…she kept everyone dancing all night, no chicken dance or electric slide, and then camped with us afterward!) Also, I’m not sure how much my mom spent on a horse and carriage for the girls and me. That was neat. She decided to get us a late-in-the-planning wedding planner, who was very helpful during my “I’ve Lost My Vision” moments.

What was your favorite detail?

It’s really, really hard to choose. Can I pick 5? My cupcake stacked book “tower”, my handmade newspaper style programs, my bridesmaids, my mom’s original cathedral length veil and the vintage teacups my mom planted.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Since I’m cheating at this favorites game, here are three: 1)The ceremony: Craig handed me the incorrect hand for me to put the ring on… so I spent two minutes forcing it onto the wrong finger. Then he forgot a line of his vows, so I whispered it to him. It was a very funny and adorable thing. 2) Our first dance was a prancing, crazy, whirling one. It was “No Children” by the Mountain Goats. Totally inappropriate, but completely magical. 3) I went outside to wave air up my dress and I saw a shooting star.

Vendors:

Our invitations (printed on handkerchiefs!) were by HeatherJeany
My dress was revamped by Dame Couture in Chicago… I love love her.
Our ceremony music was husband and wife duo Moeller Music. They know tons of rock music!
Our DJ was Kristin of Toast & Jam DJs
Our WONDERFUL officiant was Rev. Cecilia Pohs, a non-denomianational minister. She’s in Madison,