Did you do any DIY projects or create any handmade items for your wedding?
Our entire centerpieces were DIY. We bought a 3D printer and printed our vases, votives, and the geometric shapes that went onto it. We also DIYed the table numbers from dollar store frames, paint, and luckily my mother-in-law already had a Cricut which we used to make all of our signage. We made wooden flowers as well (the bouquets, headpieces, boutonnieres, and corsages) and dyed all of them, and arranged them ourselves.
What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
Our centerpieces were completely thought up and designed by us. The 3D printing easily saved us $1,000 on decor pieces. Our florals were also DIY and we didn’t have a ton of them.
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
Our first look was absolutely special. I was just so excited to get married and I barely cried, yet Brandon, my husband, absolutely balled and it was just so nice. I highly recommend having someone record it!
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
We bought a 3D printer and printed our centerpieces and we also only had one space for our reception and ceremony.
We DIYed our florals and spent less than $1000 for our day of foliage (we only used eucalyptus the day of) and made our wooden flowers.
We hunted around for the best value when it came to food. We served 180 people for less than $2300 and everyone loved it! We also did not do individual programs or menus. We made signage for these things and spent less than $50 on them and they won’t end up in the trash!
What was your biggest splurge?
Outside of our venue being the most expensive thing, I definitely splurged on my dress and bridal attire. It was close to $2000 and I never thought I would spend that much on my bridal attire, but it was so worth it.
What were your favorite details?
This is definitely hard to choose, but I would say my dress and the foliage/flowers! We hit it out of the park with DIY florals and I love them so much.
What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
Set a budget and STICK TO IT. My budget going in was $15,000 and we came in at $16,500. Also if you do a bar where you purchase the alcohol, be sure to budget extra for it. I originally budgeted $1000 and we ended up doubling it. Had we not gone over in the bar area, we would have stayed under budget by roughly $500.
Find things that you can repurpose or resell after if you can. We didn’t do a ton of print-outs, instead, we made acrylic signs. All of our decor can be sold again and reused.
I also highly recommend having a wedding day coordinator (at minimum)! She kept things going so smoothly and because I was a planner and she was on my side, we were ahead of schedule all day!
Share any additional details you’d like us to know about your event:
We thoroughly enjoyed our venue, The Millbottom, and highly recommend them to anyone. There is an optional bridal suite, and renting for the whole weekend was super inexpensive. Set-up/clean-up was also a breeze.
I also highly recommend, if you aren’t a flower person, to do wooden flowers. It did take a decent amount of time (roughly 5 weekends), but they came out amazing and everyone loved them, including me. I will have my bouquet and his boutonniere forever and I can’t wait to show our kids.
