I am so excited to feature this wedding of longtime reader Ashley. Not only was she a Nashville bride, but she also happened to win a free photography contest that she found out about from BSB! I had the pleasure of meeting her once over chai tea at Panera and she is super down to earth just a cool person to be around- you can really see her personality in the details of her wedding. Ashley and Brandon had such a unique, eclectic wedding that really reflected who they are as people. I know you are going to enjoy all the handmade details that she put into their uber-savvy eco-chic nupitals. Ashley is super creative and talented and you should follow her blog because she’s super cool. Thank you so much Ashley for allowing us to feature your wedding!!!
Where did you get married?
Blakemore Church of the Nazarene in Nashville, TN
What was your budget?
$3,000… and we actually came in under. And they said it couldn’t be done. Tisk tisk, wedding world.
What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
Um….. it may be better to ask what wasn’t creative or personal. The answer to that is the plates. I bought cheap ones. Ha.
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
Get ready. It’s a long list. I created a pretty strict rule of thumb: If I can’t use this fill-in-the-blank after the wedding, I have to figure out a way to make it dirt cheap, or find a new idea. (Case and point: our tablecloths and photobooth background tapestries are now our shower curtains and bedspread covers.) So when I couldn’t reuse something or find it for the right price, I did almost everything myself that could be done myself: the actual planning, my dress, hairpiece and sash, invitations, flowers for all 8 bouquets, flowers for all arrangements and centerpieces, 17 fabric-flower corsages and 29 bouts, programs, choosing and sewing the mix-and-matched fabrics for tablecloths, collecting bottles from friends who would have thrown away to serve as vases, paper signage, burning and decorating cd soundtracks, stamping napkins, creating our guestbook, sewing birdseed pouches from mismatched fabric scraps uncovered in my apartment, making wreaths for front door decoration, the Tree of Life quilt with wilderness scene, and iPod playlist.
Oh, and there was free. I can thank Jessica of Budget Savvy Bride: We won our wedding photographer, after finding the contest on her site. Oddly enough, the photographer was even from Brandon’s teensy hometown outside of Raleigh, NC. Thank the LORD for April Sirit of Evoke Photography. I can’t thank her enough. Also, my best friend bought my make-up artist as a gift (it was out of my budget, but the only thing I worried about)…and a good friend ran sound as a wedding gift/ surprised us by showing up with an HD video camera and making us an AWESOME video, also free. Guess it pays to have friends with connections and talent.
What's the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you're on the other side?
Buying from “wedding” stores is the biggest gimmick you could ever fall for. Truthfully. Not only do those vendors feel like they can overprice their items, but you’ll also be more likely to have repeated the exact move of many brides before you. Think outside the “wedding” box. This way you’ll also be more likely to use it afterwards, too. Example: our 8 cake stands were purchased at TJ Maxx for $6 each. A few were gifts to women who helped throw the shindig together. Others are now used for jewelry organization, decorative floral get-ups, and, you guessed it, cake stands. ; )
What was your biggest splurge?
Technically, the largest expenditure for a single item was cake. Mid-afternoon wedding, so a full meal was unnecessary. I’m partial, but I’ve never had such good cake. We went with Publix, as in the high-end grocery store. 6 small cakes of varying, exquisite flavors plus 1 actual “wedding cake.” $415 after delivery. Oddly enough, this is also what we got the most male compliments about.
What was your favorite detail?
The birdseed pouches. Not because they were the best, or the most creative concept, for sure. More so because they were the first project I did that was out of the box. They don’t match. They’re loud colors and vintage fabrics. But it really started something, a freedom that said fun and maintaining our eclectic personalities was so much more important than a color scheme. After that, everything fell in line…and our color scheme became “color.” All of them. : )
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
How much stinkin’ fun the whole day was. It’s a toss up between the really personal moments. We served communion to the congregation ourselves, and it was such a great way to slow down and make eye contact (enough to melt your heart) with almost every guest. That was so special. However, I almost died laughing at the end of the ceremony::: After Brandon and I kissed, the entire congregation stood up and cheered us out! I’m talking throwing fists style. Bahahaha. That’s not typical wedding behavior, and I like it.
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!!
I totally swooned when these photos arrived in my inbox, so I just know you’re going to love this wedding as much as I do! The details are stunning, and so is the bride! All the handmade decorative touches and the bold green in the color scheme really makes these photos pop! Katy did lots of DIY to help keep costs low while adding personal touches to the wedding. Hope you enjoy this eye candy!
Where did you get married?
We got married in Denver, Colorado—which is where we both grew up. Our ceremony was at the Hudson Gardens in Littleton and our reception was at the Space Gallery in downtown Denver.
What was your budget?
Our budget was $16,500.00.
Here is the basic breakdown of it all:
Ceremony Site: 450.00
Reception Site: 1550.00
Catering: 4300.00
Rentals: 1200.00
Cake: 450.00
Dessert Bar: 300.00
Drinks: 500.00
Flowers: 1000.00
Reception Décor: 300.00
Reception Lighting: 1100.00
Ceremony Décor: 300.00
Stationery: 700.00
Harpist: 300.00
DJ: 700.00
Day-of Coordinator: 595.00
Photography: 1900.00
Videographer: 450.00
Bridesmaids Shoes: 160.00
Groomsmen's Ties: 75.00
We went a little over our budget because we originally budgeted for 100 people to attend and ended up having 127. That increased our catering bill by $800, but other than that, everything else went according to plan!
What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
We included many personal aspects in our wedding. Bryan and I met each other in youth group at our church so our youth minister who watched it all happen was the person who married us. Our dads read a poem that I found online called “The Key to Love.” It is the sweetest poem about marriage—we love it! We also did a rose ceremony in place of a unity candle, which is what my parents did at their wedding.
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
Well, first of all, my mom and I made almost every wedding detail. I designed and assembled all the programs, labels for the drink stand, candy bar, fans, guest book, and “reserved” cards. I also painted giant chalkboards for the reception entrance, photo booth, and menu. My mom is amazing with flowers so she made the altar arrangements for the ceremony. We also made all the table runners, out of town guest baskets, and vendor survival kits ourselves.
I also researched vendors like crazy! On several occasions, I found another vendor who offered the exact same thing at half the price of the first few vendors I had talked with. It was very stressful and tedious at times, but it ended up being completely worth it and all of our vendors were amazing. I had a certain vision in my head (complete with a full dinner, lighting, flowers, drinks, and dancing) and I was determined to achieve it—so I kept digging until I found someone who could provide everything for the price I needed.
I also have to mention the wonderful website Etsy. I am kind of addicted to it at the moment—and it made all the little details so much more affordable! I bought my hairpiece from Feathers and Frills, groomsmen's ties from Buttered Toast, makeup bags for my bridesmaids from Sweet Sugar Beet, favors stickers from Graceful Notes, flower girl dress from Sweet Plume, and all of our amazing stationery from Pink Lily Press.
What's the best advice you have for planning a wedding now that you're on the other side?
First, make sure to research your vendors! It will make everything so much more affordable in the end!
Second, when you are making your guest list, be sure to give a limit to yourselves, your parents, and your fiancé's parents and DON'T go over it! We didn't do this at all…which is why our guest list got too big and we ended up having a lot more people attend than we budgeted for.
Try to get all of your DIY stuff done 1-2 weeks before the big day. I did this and afterwards I just got to relax and focus on spending time with my family!
I know this is an overused piece of advice, but everyone needs to hear it—expect things to go wrong on your wedding day. I prayed and prayed for a sunny wedding day, but when it started to rain during our outdoor ceremony, I didn't freak out because I had prepared myself with the fact that something would go wrong. Just remember to look at the bright side of things and don't obsess over the little details. If you do this, you will have the perfect day!
What was your biggest splurge?
Well, catering took up the biggest chunk of the budget…but food is kind of necessary at a wedding so I don't count that as a splurge. I would have to say that the biggest “want” that I just had to have was the lighting—I loved it…it was so worth it!
What was your favorite detail?
Hmmm…this is a tough one. I obviously loved all of our DIY details or I wouldn't have spent so much time on them. I also loved the converses that our groomsmen wore, the drinks and fans at the ceremony, the lighting, our adorable menu, my bouquet, the photo booth…ok that's a lot. If I had to pick one it would be that I walked down the aisle to “Main Title”, which is the theme song from the movie The Notebook. Our harpist played it…and everyone got a little teary-eyed!
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
That's another tough one. I definitely loved our “first look” and the few minutes we got to spend alone right after the ceremony. The toasts from our brother and sisters were hilarious, so that is one of my favorites. Also, my dad led the “YMCA” and that was also completely hilarious so that's another favorite. I really loved every moment, so it's hard to pick!
I just know you’re going to love this unique budget-savvy wedding as much as I do!! They did lots of DIY and chose a venue that was not only original but also personal as well! Kyle is a pilot so the venue was perfect for their reception! I also love how they made their programs into paper airplanes… adorable, no? Congrats Brittany and Kyle, and thank you for sharing your wedding with Budget Savvy Bride!
Where did you get married?
The Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Tulsa, Okla. Kyle is a flight instructor, so the venue was the perfect, unique venue for our wedding. Plus, we wanted something fun, and our guests didn’t have a lack of things to look at!
What was your budget?
As cheap as possible! We ended up at around $6,500, and we were able to get everything most important to us. Plus, I had tons of fun with the DIY projects to save money. At the end of the day, we were just so excited to be getting married, and we accomplished an unforgettable day for ourselves, our family and our friends, which is exactly what we wanted.
What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
One of my favorite details was the guest book table. I filled it with photos from the weddings of our parents and grandparents, and our guest book was a photo book of our engagement photos (which I designed, and then ordered from artscow.com for $9). We also had a slideshow of pictures playing in the lobby as people walked into the museum. Pictures speak a thousand words, and our guests loved seeing them all. Another of my favorite details were the programs. We printed them to match our wedding stationery, and then folded them into paper airplanes.
Also, the ceremony was really important to us, so we made sure to spend time on really thinking about elements we wanted, or things we wanted our pastor to share. It was perfect, and so special for us, our families and our guests.
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
OK, I have three.
First, we did all of our own flowers. I ordered the flowers in bulk for the boutonnieres, bouquets and centerpieces, and for the flowers and all the supplies to put them together, (which was super easy, by the way!) we only spent $200!
Second, I designed my own invitations, and did a lot of searching online to find coupons for percentages off and free shipping to get them printed for cheap. I also fell in love with paperandmore.com. The invitation was mounted on a solid card stock, and when you order paper from them, they can even cut it for you for only a few dollars! That saved me TONS of time and money.
And third, Wedding cakes are EXPENSIVE! So, we decided to do a cake buffet instead! I love cake plates, and it gave me a chance to use all my favorites, and I borrowed others from family and friends. My aunt volunteered to make our two-tiered “wedding cake,” and the others we bought at Sam’s Club for about $10 each. We had a big selection, so there was something there for everyone, and all for less than $150.
What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
Three again
First, When it comes to making a guest list, you and your fiance need to make the list of who you want to invite, and divide the amount left between your parents. We wanted to invite no more than 200, so we just gave each of our moms 100. Well, we didn’t take into account our own friends, and ended up having to do some last minute cutting before sending invites out. It all worked out, but I could have avoided that stress early on with my own advice.
Second, the internet is your best friend in wedding planning! I found tons of good deals online, including our photographer. I found him on Craigslist, and he was amazing! There are talented people out there that just need a start somewhere, so give them a try! We did engagement photos to make sure we meshed, and we were hooked after that.
And third, just enjoy it! It’s a time like no other in your life, but when you do have slight moments of stress, just remember that after it all you get to be married to your best friend, and begin an amazing life together!
What was your biggest splurge?
My dress. Granted, it was only $600, but it was a larger percentage than all the “wedding calculators” told me I should spend. And ask about special discounts at bridal shops–I saved on my dress by buying the dress off the rack, rather than ordering. It fit perfectly, and saved me 20%! The thing is, it’s your wedding, and you need to feel as beautiful and glamorous as possible.
What was your favorite detail?
The candy buffet. My aunt has a business doing candy buffets, and she did one for us. It was beautiful, and the guests absolutely loved it! She even put our names on the little bags they took home with them, which was a fun extra detail.
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
Seeing Kyle for the first time. It was the moment that I was finally like “OK, we get to do this!” And it was a really special moment to spend a few moments with just him before the whirlwind of everything started.
This week’s wedding comes from sunny Orlando, Florida. I just love the unique bridesmaid dresses- those colors really pop! Of course I can get over that Meghan’s a Gator Fan… but I love how they incorporated their love for college football into their wedding reception. I just love it when couple’s personalize their weddings with interesting things about them! I hope you all enjoy these lovely photos as much as I did!
Where did you get married?
Our ceremony was at the Orlando Florida LDS Temple. We had our reception at a restaurant in downtown Orlando called Citrus. We were looking for something with great food and a unique atmosphere. I had already chosen oranges and yellows as our wedding colors and knew I wanted flower arrangements with sliced fruit; so a restaurant called Citrus was a perfect fit!
What was your budget?
Our original budget was 5k. When all was said and done, we were closer to 7k. That included all the big stuff (restaurant rental fees, food, photography, hair/makeup, invites, dress, cake, flowers) straight down to all those tiny details you aren’t considering when you make that original budget (out-of-town gift bags, bridesmaid gifts, ties for the groomsmen, vases, candles, etc).
What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
Personal details were really important to us, so we had a ton. The fabric around my bouquet was a piece of lace from my mother’s wedding dress and our table numbers were made using our engagement photos. Florida girls all love citrus so I wanted the vases for the flower arrangements lined with sliced fruit. But my favorite personal touch was our “guest book”. We are both huge college football fans, but for opposing teams. Rather than an average guest book, I found a seller on etsy.com who hand painted a football with a Florida Gator logo on one side and an Alabama Crimson Tide logo on the other. We had a funny poem instructing guests to sign the ball (…and once and for all, prove which team is greater) and it ended up being a huge hit. Now rather than having to pull out a guest book, we have the football in a case and can read all the hillarious comments when we need a laugh.
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
The biggest thing decision we made to cut costs was to keep the guest list intimate. We had 40 guests at our wedding and keeping it close friends and family was perfect for us. We were able to spend a bit more on dinner and the reception space because of it. We also skipped the DJ and went with a playlist on the restaurant’s sound system.
What's the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you're on the other side?
#1 – Eat! I had a migraine the night before, so the morning of the wedding I was battling a lingering headache. I kept taking Excedrin while getting my hair and makeup done, but before I knew it we needed to be at the church and I had never eaten. Luckily I was fine during the ceremony, but during group photos I had to keep running back into the church to throw up. All I can say is thank goodness for airbrush makeup and strong hairspray!
#2 – Don’t sweat the small stuff! At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
What was your biggest splurge?
My dress was my biggest splurge. After ordering the dress, having a custom lace bolero made, fittings and alterations….I spent well over twice what I had originally budgeted.
What was your favorite detail?
Definitely the bridesmaid dresses! All of the colorful details of the wedding day were born from those dresses. I was walking through the mall and saw it in a dress store. I called my maid of honor and within the hour we had full bridesmaid approval from my girls all over the country! All the other details fell into place after that.
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
My favorite memory was when I saw Allen for the first time on the wedding day.
The thing I will look back on and just laugh….being really sick after the ceremony and getting so upset trying not to kneel on the bathroom floor in my perfect clean white wedding dress. So my maid-of-honor pulls it off of me and tosses it out into the carpeted hallway of the church, closes the bathroom door and is back to holding my hair like it was an everyday occurence. Allen said people kept walking by like “why is there a wedding dress laying here?!”
