Please give a breakdown of your wedding budget.
- Venue: $3000
- Photographer: $2500
- Food: $2000
- Decorations and linens: $1000
- Alcohol:$1500
Total: $10,000
What was your total number of guests?
We had 125 guests in total.
How did you meet?
We met in college. We had the same major (chemical engineering) and connected on the cycling team. Our love of cycling is what brought us so close together.
What is your proposal?
We were out on our evening walk. When we came to the bluff overlooking the town, I turned around to find him on one knee. He gave me his grandmother’s Claddagh ring (Irish wedding ring). His grandparents moved here from Ireland and this ring means a lot to Sean.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding vision.
We both grew up in Tahoe so the location had to be close to the lake. The place we choose was where I had my first school dance back in 8th grade. My mom was the one who suggested rainbow to incorporate all the colors that I love into one vision. Pinterest was my vision board. Everyone thought I was crazy for having a rainbow wedding but it turned out so well!
Tell us about your attire choices.
I love tea length dresses and that length was perfect for adding a little color into the bottom. Every person in the wedding party had a color. My matron of honor even colored her hair for the occasion. I wanted to keep it more casual for the Tahoe-esque feel.
What was most important to the two of you while planning?
The most important thing for us was to keep it cool. I didn’t want us to get too caught up the details and have fun. I wanted to make as much of the decorations as possible and make sure that all the family coming had a great time. We wanted to skip the rehearsal dinner but my mother in law insisted. I think it was fancier than the wedding itself!
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Sean and I went up to the forest to take pictures. It was such a fun thing to do before the big event. We had some time for ourselves in the sea of craziness that the day was. Taking pictures down at the beach was so fun with all the family and friends. I couldn’t imagine being surrounded by more loving and fun people.
Tell us about your wedding flowers.
My aunt did all the flowers. She is amazing. She spent so much time putting it all together and had so much pride for them. She dyed them herself and put together all the bouquets. On the day of the wedding, our families pitched in to help get all the decorations together and set up. The wedding started late because everyone needed to get ready before the start. Everyone laughed because my husband and I were the only ones not freaking out that the decorations weren’t done. I knew it would all work out, with the help of my amazing family.
Tell us about your wedding cake.
We decided to go with mini bundt cakes. We picked 4 of our favorites flavors from this wonderful bundt cake shop, Nothing Bundt Cakes. We had one big one that we cut. So delicious.
What did you do for favors?
My matron of honor’s in-laws have a lavender farm, so we bought sachet bags and little bike charms and stuffed lavender into the bags. She did this for her wedding and I copied the idea.
Describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
We had bicycle cutouts made for us and put them everywhere. I painted old bike wheels in our colors to make accents. I also painted our wedding book onto a canvas and had people sign it using sharpies, now we can see it on our wall!
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
I wore my grandmother’s pearls. She wore the same ones for her wedding!
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
On the day of the wedding, just breath and have fun. Whatever happens, will happen. Things will go wrong but if you don’t worry about it, no one will ever know
VENDORS:
Photography: Someplace Images • Ceremony Venue: North Tahoe Events Center • Reception Venue: North Tahoe Events Center • Event Planning: North Tahoe Events Center • Wedding Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes • Hair: Chris Lingle • Makeup: Kendra Lingle • Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal • Groom’s Attire: Macy’s • Submitted via: Matchology
