Kina Grannis "My Dear" Wedding Video and Q+A!

Recording artist Kina Grannis recently released a music video for her song “My Dear” to celebrate her one year wedding anniversary. The video features footage from her actual wedding in Southern California and it is absolutely stunning, y’all. “My Dear” is a song that she wrote for her husband and longtime touring mate, Jesse. Talk about sweetness! Not to mention, the song is lovely, heartfelt and would make a perfect song to play on your big day! Check out the video and song below:

As you can see in the music video, Kina and Jesse’s wedding embodied the DIY style and aesthetic. Kina planned and set up the entire wedding day with help from her family and friends — much like many of our budget-savvy brides!

Kina’s been explaining all the different parts of her wedding day via her Pinterest page, so if you’re interested in learning more about her big day, you can read some of her tips, ideas, and insight into her keen sense of style there.

We also had the opportunity to ask Kina a few questions about her big day to share with the readers of The Budget Savvy Bride. Here’s our Q+A below:

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

Guests took polaroids as they arrived and hung them up in a tree with a personal note. We’ve since turned this into a little photo album 🙂 After the polaroid, each guest was given a personalized heart-shaped cookie, made by none other than my amazing mother. Our programs doubled as fans (also designed and assembled by my mom), which turned out to be super helpful because our wedding day was insanely hot! In lieu of throwing rice, we opted for mini tambourines for everyone to shake in the air following the kiss.

It sounds like you took on projects yourself or with the help of family and friends. Do you think that made your wedding more special or personal as a result?

Of course. I grew up in a very artsy household. My mom is one of the most creative humans in the world and she had us doing crafts all the time as kids. A wedding minus a touch of hand-made Grannis family originality wouldn’t have felt like a real Grannis wedding.

Was sticking to a certain budget important to you while planning your day?

Definitely. Jesse and I both are not big money spenders, so finding it within us to cough up enough to make the day possible was pretty painful (though worth it in the end).

Were there any projects or tasks you took on to help with the overall cost?

The cookies, programs, tambourines, planning these out with my mom definitely helped cut out some costs. Going through third parties, especially in the wedding industry, can just get SO expensive. So if you can do something yourself without losing your mind in the process, do it! We also hired a wedding planner (Bash Please!), which can sometimes actually save you money overall – not to mention your sanity.

What was the biggest lesson you learned while planning your wedding?

Delegation is the key to sanity! I’m sure there are people out there who can and love to take it all on themselves, but for me, it was making sure I had the right people on my side for the right things–whether that’s friends, family, vendors. Especially when you’re juggling work with planning a wedding, it helps to know it’s not ALL on your shoulders.

What was your biggest splurge? Was it worth it?

Our biggest splurge was probably the food. We are very big food people though, so yes, completely worth it.

What was your favorite detail?

I know it’s unoriginal, but twinkly lights EVERYWHERE in the trees… I mean. That’s all I really need.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Speeches. Every member of both of our immediate families spoke, and they were ALL incredible. Moving, articulate, funny… we were in tears.

What made you decide to share this intimate look into your life with your fans?

Lately, I’ve just been feeling this need to be more open. To share myself and my life in more ways. I’m finding that in making myself more vulnerable I feel more human, and I think that’s helpful for other people to see, too.