Did you do any DIY Projects or create any handmade items for your wedding?
We made Eras tour-reminiscent friendship bracelets for all the guests. There were only 8 guests, so it wasn’t a huge haul. They said Alex & Eric on one side, and Austin on the other!
What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
We wrote our own vows and curated our own playlist for the ceremony. We saved money by bringing a small bluetooth speaker. The officiant gave us the option of sharing the playlist with him and he played it for us while guests arrived. Our walk in song was the traditional Canon in D.
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
We both agreed the whole ceremony was a blur. Even the rest of the day was a blur! The moment we both first made eye contact at the chapel was such a breath of relief for both of us. It was the first moment of the day that we both relaxed and everything after was smooth sailing because we were together
We shared a moment like that the night before when we said to each other through tears that we were a tiny bit nervous, but it didn’t matter because we were getting to marry our best friend.
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
We went without a regular reception, and combined our wedding and honeymoon into one. It was a destination wedding for us, so we stayed for 5 days and added a lot of Austin sightseeing and activities to the itinerary.
We stayed in this really cute, rustic little Airbnb called Skye Cabin out in Wimberley, Texas. Wimberley has a lot to do so we spent a day there with family. We went on a guided kayaking trip in Lady Bird Lake to see the bats at the Congress St. bridge at night. We got couples massages, hiked Enchanted Rock and ate German food in Fredericksburg. We were able to enjoy a great trip while not breaking the bank.
For the reception, we had a morning ceremony so we were able to have brunch at Jacoby’s Restaurant and Mercantile right after the wedding where the cake was provided.
We decided to start our honeymoon that night so we said goodbye to our family after a short brunch reception and then attended the last night of Austin City Limits! We got to see Chappell Roan, Orville Peck and Queen Herby.
What was your biggest splurge?
For the wedding, hair and makeup was the biggest splurge because I didn’t want to have to stress about it but wanted it to be special. Everything else was so inexpensive that the Airbnb and the ACL tickets were each the biggest expenses out of all the individual pieces of the wedding.
What was your favorite details?
Outside of sharing our own vows, Chapel Dulcinea has wedding bells for the couple to ring after a ceremony. That was a really nice moment and added a gravitas to the end of the ceremony.
What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
Using Simply Eloped saved us a lot of headache. Using our notes app, and every single vendor we used was a dream come true. The photographer, venue, officiant, and hair and makeup each blew us away.
Boutique and expensive dress and suit are not necessary, and practice your kiss! Also, Chapel Dulcinea has a livestream on 24/7 so I made a Facebook event to share with the family who wanted to be there but couldn’t, so they could watch from home!
Share any additional details you’d like us to know about your event:
Chapel Dulcinea is a really special venue in hill country Texas because it’s free most days and then on weekends only costs $500 for weekend use.
From the start of planning the wedding to the day of was about 4 months, which was the smallest amount of time I would suggest for a wedding of this size. For anything bigger, I would recommend nothing less than 6 months at minimum. We also used The Knot to communicate wedding information since it was a destination wedding, and we had to communicate with the guests a lot.
