Happy Wednesday, Lovelies! We’re back with another fabulous Wedding of the Week shot by Joanna Wilson. I love the eclectic feel of this wedding, it’s got alot of fun little elements that make it special. Some of my personal favorite details are the bride, Gillian’s brooch bouquet, the use of Scrabble tiles, their handkerchief invitations, and the seed packet escort cards! Such a darling and sweet wedding! Hope you enjoy this edition of the BSWOW! xoxo-Jessica

 

Gillian + Justin

June 18, 2011

West Stockbridge, Massachusetts

 

 

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

Our budget was $20,00. But we only spent 17,912!

Video: $550
Photography: Free- close friend
Flowers and decorations: $300
Dress: $260
Ceremony Location: $300
Reception: $9,000 (Location, Catering, Cake, etc)
Transportation: $350
Brooch Bouquet: $200
Groom’s Ensemble: $180
DJ: $750
Invitations: $400
Rings: $70

How many guests did you have?

We had 109 guests (including children and an infant)

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

Our invitations were made on vintage hankies and the Save the Dates on vintage postcards. We shared letters we wrote to each other years ago in our ceremony. I made my brooch bouquet from family and friend’s brooches. The boutonnieres were made with antique buttons that Justin’s grandmother had collected. We used seed packets for the place settings. And four generations of my family helped us put together our herb centerpieces.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

To save money we made a list of what was important to us and spent more on those aspects. We budgeted everything- rings, honeymoon, postage, etc. We saved by doing a lot ourselves and getting our family and friends involved. We also wanted to keep things green and create as little waste as possible. That helped us cut down on unnecessary details.

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

I am so lucky that I married Justin. I’m even luckier that he wanted to be a part of the wedding planning. Let your groom help. Let other people help, too! Surround yourself with people you trust, can delegate to and will keep reminding you why you are getting married.

What was your biggest splurge?

My veil was my biggest splurge! It was hand made by an Etsy Artisan and I love it so much. I need to find more occasions to wear it!

What was your favorite detail?

It is a toss up between my brooch bouquet and the “international” kids table. My husband and my brother made the seating chart. And they set up a table with our teenage cousins from Indonesia, England, Massachusetts and Florida. They all talked about their lives, hit the dance floor, sparked rumors among the parents and keep in touch via Facebook!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Our most memorable moment of the day was the last dance. The song was a different version of our first dance, which also is “our song.”(All I Want is You). The photographers had gone, the night was over and it was a really sweet moment. Our friends and family surrounded us on the dance floor and we were just enveloped in love.

VENDORS

Photography: Joanna Wilson Photography
Video: Tuesday Night Pictures   
DJ: A1DJ Russ Davis
Makeup/Hair: Lauren Germain
Reception/Catering: Crissey Farms
Ceremony Location: West Stockbridge Outdoor Chapel

Hey Ladies!

I’m so excited to be here that I will warn you, I might start babbling. Before I get ahead of myself I will start with an introduction! My name is Avalon and I am a 23 y.o. Administrative Assistant fresh out of college [Ack! The real world!]. My fiance’s name is Benjamin and he is 24 and rockin’ it as a retail manager with plans of being an elementary school teacher. Ben and I grew up in the small-ish college town of Amherst, Massachusetts where we still live today with our stubborn and grumpy cat Dilbert.  We went to middle school, high school, and college together but didn’t make our love connection until he rescued me from eating alone at the university dining hall. We quickly became inseparable and the best of friends. As cliche as it sounds, I knew right away Ben was the guy I wanted to marry. He is smart, hilarious and can find the fun in literally any situation [ie layovers, grocery shopping, spring cleaning].

Needless to say when I walked into our apartment on that September evening and found a few dozen roses and a card at my feet, I knew what was coming! Ben had taken the time to set up an elaborate treasure hunt all around our apartment with the most difficult clues he could think of. Brimming with excitement I asked Ben repeatedly to just give me the answers, but he stayed strong probably enjoying my franticness. After what felt like years I finally finished the hunt and was met by three homemade flip-books. The first flip-book said “past” and depicted us as stick figure kids growing up and the second flip book said “present” with us again as stick figures. The third flip-book said “future” and was just full of question marks, and on the last page was an engagement ring! I think I probably screamed and jumped up and down before I obviously said yes.

We’ve been planning up a storm and we are so excited to be gettin’ hitched on August 28th, 2011, which suddenly feels right around the corner! We were shooting for 100 guests, but after looking over our guest list it has somehow climbed up to 150. Both our ceremony and reception will be held at a park in Florence, MA that also has paddle-boats, bumper cars, and a petting zoo…just in case the guests get bored! Given that we both just graduated we are more rolling in student loans and rent than the dough, so our budget is as close to 10K as possible. I’m not what you would call exceptionally crafty but I do my best with inspiration from Michael’s craft store and wedding blogs. I spend some of everyday that I am at my work computer browsing blog after blog looking for ideas for my own big day. I am banking on DIY projects for the majority of our reception and ceremony decorations which is evident by the permanent place my sewing machine has taken up on my dining room table! I am planning on whipping up some centerpieces, favors, food table decorations, and much much more.

Wedding blogs are such an amazing resource for brides today, especially the budget savvy ones! I am eager to finish planning my wedding and thankful for the opportunity to share my my road to eventual wedded bliss with ya’ll!

 

Nici & Steven were married on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at Publick House in Sturbridge, Massachusetts! You can save alot of money by getting married on any day other than Saturday since those are the most in-demand. And this couple saved even more by choosing a Sunday in the off-season for weddings! They received discounts from their venue and photographer for choosing a date in March. I love the succulents Nici used in place of escort cards and the rustic looking centerpieces! They had their wedding for 72 guests for under $6500! Definitely budget savvy! Hope you enjoy this edition of the BSWOW! Thanks and Steve for sharing your special day with us!!

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

Our budget started at $10,000.00 but I knew we didn't want to come anywhere close to that number, we wanted a very intimate wedding with our closest friends and family (I know, a lot of people say this…but we accomplished it!) Out budget ended up being $6,400.00- broken down:
Venue: $3,400.00-Included: Ceremony, cocktail hour and reception locations, cocktail hour hordourves, dinner, champagne toast, day-of-coordinator, cake, chocolate covered strawberries and overnight accommodations for the bride and groom with breakfast for bride and groom in the morning and linens.
DJ: $250.00 (friend of the groom)
Photography: $1512.00 (K-C Photography, Kim Calakoutis at http://www.k-c-photo.com/)
Bride & Groom attire: $800.00 -Dress: $399.00 (shopped on sale!) -Accessories: shoes (2 pairs), jewelry, veil, headpiece (splurge! $99.00!), etc.: $201.00 -Tux & Accessories: $200.00
Decor: $440.00 -Mason Jars, candles, sand, fowers, centerpiece boxes, favors (doubled at place cards were succulent plants)

How many guests did you have?

72 guests- including dj, photographer as well as Steven and I.

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

Being a Graphic Designer and an aspiring photographer, I knew I wanted a creative wedding overfilled with personal touches. That is exactly what we had! My uncle who is a botanist and designer and his partner along with a friend of the family designed all our wedding day flowers- centerpieces, boutonnieres, bridal bouquet and maid of honor bouquet, as well as taking exactly what I had envisioned and making it come to life! My dad selected a section of a tree, cut it down and carved a heart into it and finished it by carving and burning Steven and my initials into the log then drilled a hole into the top of the log and made and created an arrow to guide our guests to the wedding! I designed all the paper products-Save the dates, invitations, “share your photo cards,” In memorial candle, etc. Steven's uncle married us, as we stood up there with our immediate family as our attendants- My sister was my maid of honor, my two brothers were my bridal attendants, Steven's cousin was his best man and his two nephews were his groomsmen. Our Male-to-female ratio was a little uneven, but was perfect!

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

On top of wanting a personal, creative and intimate wedding we wanted to be as budget savvy as possible. We saved the most money by getting married on a Sunday in the off season. The pricing played a huge role into the selection of our date. Once we selected the date I was surprised at the discounts we received from additional vendors. Our wedding photographer, Kim Calakoutis, offered a 20% discount because it was “off season” for her business too. DIY was the biggest budget friendly thing we did! Designing and printing all the paper goods, rummaging in a family members basement for FREE mason jars- so worth it, spray painting yard sale picture frames of all different sizes and styles one single color allowed us to display family wedding and family photos during our ceremony and reception for only a few dollars!

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

While planning, enjoy the good times and learn from the not-so-good times.

What was your biggest splurge?

Our biggest splurge would be photography. I would not put a price on photography, I kept telling my parents and Steven to trust me! When we got the proofs back from Kim, my family said they were perfect…so I must have done something right!

What was your favorite detail?

My favorite detail from our wedding was the dancing. There hasn't been a wedding in either of our families in quite a few years and we were the first of our closest friends to get married! Everyone was dancing, we were all singing at the top of our lungs….just an overall grand time! I wish we could have danced for another 10 hours!!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

My most memorable moment of the day was the few seconds it took for my grandfather to pass me over to my mom for her to walk me down the aisle. It was symbolic of the time in my life when my grandfather was my rock, and when he was the only one who supported me when I moved away. My aunt, who adopted me at a crucial point in my life, has become my mom-figure over the years. She walked me down the aisle and handed me over to my now husband! It was just a grand representation of where my life started to where it is today, and it makes me cry thinking of the emotions of that exact moment.

VENDORS

Venue: Publick House, Sturbridge, Ma

Photog: K-C Photography, Kim Calakoutis

Where did you get married?

The Wherehouse, Holyoke, MA

What was your budget?

Approximately $5000 for 80 people

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We have a really great group of friends! Our photographer, invites, cakes, centerpieces were all friends and family, and they all worked with us to make it personal and affordable. We also selected a venue that was very reasonable in price along with having character.

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

Go with the flow! Planning is GREAT but know that things change! Whether it is fitting a groomsman who lives in Scotland and converting stones to pounds or having 90% chance of rain the day of your planned outside ceremony (which we moved inside), things come up, just as long as you keep in mind that it will be a wonderful day even if there are last minute snafoo”s, just go with the flow and you”ll be just fine!

What was your biggest splurge?

I’d have to say our invites were the biggest splurge but so worth it! My lovely friend Laurie May Coyle offered to work with us to create lovely Gocco invites around our theme (outdoors, lots of wood grain elements-our last name is Wood, go figure!). From creating the invites to designing a logo that we used on our table cards, programs and on our favors. They were made with love and us in mind so it was 100% worth it!

What was your favorite detail?

My favorite detail was the head piece that I work in lieu of a veil. I am a crafty person by nature and love the sentimentality of handmade goods, so I HAD to incorporate something handmade into by outfit, it”s just who I am. I love this headband and it has inspired me to make more for my line! It was the perfect touch to my outfit (especially the hint of orange to match Aaron) and close to my heart.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The first time Aaron and I looked at each other after going down the aisle. We were grinning ear to ear and both were in awe of the day, of each other and our families. It was a magic moment to start off a great evening!

Phototgrapher: Jeanine Dargis

Invites, Logo, Cake Topper, Photos: Laurie May Coyle

Cake: Ellen Cunningham

Centerpieces: Sharon Ostiguy

Venue: The Wherehouse

Headpiece: Stephanie Gravalese-Wood/atomsatwork