What was your total budget? Please provide a budget breakdown.
- Venue: $7000
- Band: $1500
- Photobooth: $700
- Catering: $5500
- Hair: $200
- Makeup: $500
- Dress: $250
- Bride’s Shoes: $100
- Suit: $500
- Groom’s Shoes: $300
- Cake: $150
- Decorations: $3000
- Flowers: $900
- Food for the weekend: $500
Total Budget: $25,000
How many guests did you have?
We had 72 guests for this whole weekend.
How did you meet?
Max and I met in college in an experimental drawing class. I wanted to be friends with his roommate and asked to borrow an eraser from him. The rest of the semester we sat in the back of the class critiquing the artwork around us and became friends quickly. We stayed in touch after college when we both lived in New York. We didn’t start dating until a couple of years later when Jetblue offered a promotional pass to travel unlimited around the country. I quit my job and moved all my things into my parent’s garage and then we were off! The rest is history!
What is your proposal story?
We had planned a camping trip for our seventh anniversary, where we would camp on our own private island on a lake in upstate New York. After making dinner and sitting by the fire for a while, Max pulled out a ring and got down on one knee!
Tell us about your wedding vision.
Max and I both love being outside so we knew we wanted to have the ceremony amongst the trees and by the lake. We also knew we wanted this to be an all-weekend event and soon thought of renting out a summer camp. Camp Abnaki in North Hero, VT was the perfect place to have our summer camp-inspired wedding! We had access to canoes, campfires, lawn games, and cabins for the true camp experience. Max and I wanted our guests to feel relaxed and enjoy the whole camp. We started the party on Friday night with a potluck and ended with a campfire. Everyone woke up to bagels, yogurt, and coffee that we provided in the mess hall. Then it was up to them to do what they wanted for the day.
Once we decided to have a camp wedding weekend we channeled our unique wedding venue to lightly play on the camp theme. The invitations had a map of camp, camp rules, what to pack, camp itinerary, and a menu card to fill out and send back. Max and I worked on the invitations together. I am a paper artist and wanted to incorporate a lot of handmade paper decor, along with Felt camp flags, peach and cream colored balloons, and gold tinsel.
Tell us about your attire choices.
We’re not fancy people and wanted to wear attire that reflected the laid back camp weekend but also seemed like us. I chose a beaded dress from BHLDN that was on sale for $250 and Max went with a green linen suit that was custom made.
What was most important to you two? Was there anything you chose to splurge on or skip?
To create the atmosphere of a fun wedding in Vermont, having a live bluegrass band was something we really wanted. We found the perfect guys for the job and the price was right! We also wanted to share one of our favorite restaurants with all our friends and family and had The Mad Taco cater the event. They also did all the bartending and provided a day of coordinator. It was very laid back and buffet-style so everyone could get what they wanted.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Having all our friends and family in one place! Hearing how much fun everyone was having! Dancing to the band in the big lodge! Late-night pizza by the fire!
Tell us about your wedding flowers.
Flower Moxie is a really cool company where you pick the flowers you want and they ship them to you. You put all the bouquets and arrangements together yourself. This was really fun to do with my mom a couple of days before the wedding.
Tell us about your wedding cake.
We really love carrot cake and happen to find the best carrot cake we had ever had just 20 minutes from our house! The bakery is really small but does a lot of wedding cakes and was really accommodating to make us a smaller cake. My mom made a bunch of pies for dessert as well.
What did you do for favors?
Each guest got a white enamel mug for the weekend. They could write their name on it and always know which one was there’s.
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
As an artist, I wanted to really make the visuals a priority. I spent a good 4-5 months preparing all the handmade elements. I made 30 giant paper flowers, a balloon arch, paper garlands, felt camp flags, and bought a bunch of “party” decor items like gold tinsel curtains, paper pop-ups, and streamers.
Our wedding invitations also had a map of the camp on it which I designed. I made bunk lists so guests could find which bunk they were in. We painted signs for directions to different areas of the camp and had felt flags with the names of each area around the camp, like campfire, pies and cake, mess hall, bathrooms etc.
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
I had a bee pin on my bouquet that was my great-grandma, Beatrice’s.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
Go with the flow and figure out what you definitely want. Don’t be afraid to say what you really want and ask for help if you need it!
Vendors
Photography: Katie Jean Photography | Ceremony Venue: Camp Abnaki | Floral: flower moxie | Stationery: molly bosley | Wedding Cake: Sweet Simones | Hair: Jessica Murphy | Makeup: ELIZABETH ENGLAND | Band: Banjo Dan and the Midnigh | Decor Items: molly bosley | Photo Booth: Digital DJ | Catering: The Mad Taco | Wedding Dress: BHLDN | Groom’s Attire: Indochino | Bride’s Shoes: Soludos | Groom’s Shoes: Red Wing Heritage | Jewelry: Vintage | Submitted via: Matchology
