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Rustic Glam Backyard Wedding $8K Budget

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Rustic Glam Backyard Wedding $8K Budget

Casey + Colten

Churubusco, Indiana
- 09/01/2018
Total wedding budget $8,000

What was the breakdown of your wedding budget?

  • Venue: Free
  • Tent Rental, Tables and Chairs: $3500.00
  • Wedding Dress: $1200.00
  • Grooms Attire:$120.00
  • Flowers: $800.00
  • Food: $1800.00
  • Cake: Free
  • Décor: $500.00
Total: $8,000 budget

How many guests did you have?

We had 250 guests.

How did you meet?

Colten and I knew of each other when we were younger, we only lived about a mile apart. We didn’t meet until a few years after high school. Colten had become really good friends with my cousin, Tanner. In the summer of 2013, Colten kept showing up at my house, with Tanner. For about two months they kept showing up in my front yard, and just about every time Colten would ask me out on a date, and I said no for a while. Until one weekend in August, Tanner called me and said: “Hey, do you want to go to the movies tonight with me, Amanda, and Colten?”

Obviously, I went, and then two days later Colten called and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner. On 09.01.13 Colten asked me to be his girlfriend. From then on we were pretty much inseparable.

What is your proposal story?

Whenever Colten and I talked about marriage and proposals my only request was that my family was there when he proposed! On 09.01.17, our four-year anniversary, Colten got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I was under the impression that we were going to his tractor pull and he was picking me up from my parents. I didn’t even catch on when all of my family members started to show up, even though most of them were supposed to be at work. Nothing crossed my mind when Colten’s mom called and asked if she and Colten’s dad could stop by my parents to see their new patio. I was completely clueless when Colten showed up and said he had my birthday surprise. He put blindfolds on me and walked me to my parents’ front yard. At this point, I honestly thought he had gotten me either a dog or a car! But when I took off my blindfold it was even better than what I had imagined. With our families standing around us, he asked and I said YES!

Tell us about your wedding vision.

For us, our wedding was very easy to plan! Our date was an easy choice, 09.01.18 our five-year anniversary! We are both very simple people and wanted our wedding to be the same. We both wanted a fall country wedding. The colors we chose were burgundy and tans! The location was also easy, we wanted an outdoor wedding so we decided on Colten’s parent’s property! It was the most perfect setting and it kept with our idea of a simple wedding.

Tell us about your attire choices.

We wanted our bridal party to be comfortable and not to spend a fortune. The girl’s lightweight burgundy dresses came from David’s Bridal, and they were under $100.00 each! For the guys, we had them wear jeans from American eagle, with a white button-up, tan vests, and boots!

What was most important to you two while planning? Was there anything you chose to splurge on or skip?

The two things we splurged on were the food and the flowers! We always knew that we wanted really amazing food at our wedding. That was really important to us. All of our guests told us that we had the best wedding food ever! Flowers were the other thing that we splurged on! I always knew that I wanted sunflowers in my bouquet, my original plan was to do DIY bouquets but my mom talked me into going to a professional. I am so glad I did because my flowers were gorgeous!

What were your favorite parts of the day?

My favorite part of our wedding day would have to be the time getting ready with all my loved ones around. Also, the ceremony and our vows! We wrote our own vows and just listening to my husband read his vows will be something I will cherish forever!

Tell us about your wedding flowers.

My wedding flowers were one of my favorite things from my wedding day! They were actually very special to me. I got them done at Lopshire Flowers which is a locally-owned place in Fort Wayne, IN. This was a special place for me because the same place did my parent’s wedding 35 years ago, and my sister’s wedding last year. My one request was that I wanted sunflowers and I also wanted to include the burgundy colors into the bouquet.

Tell us about your wedding cake.

My wedding cake was very special to me, mainly because it was made by my grandmother. I also had two cakes! My main cake was four tiers of deliciousness! Each tier was a different flavor. The second cake was mainly for my husband, it was his grooms’ cake. That cake was the hit of the night, not only did it have a tractor on top because my husband is a tractor puller, but it was an apple cinnamon cake to go with the fall theme and it was the BEST cake I have ever had!

What did you do for favors?

For favors, we gave away cups, that were burgundy with gold writing. They had our names and mason jars on them!

Describe any handmade, DIY, or personal items.

My husband actually did most of the DIY. Our entire wedding party background was done by my husband. Also, all of our table décor was DIY.

Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?

One special tradition that I included came from my sister’s wedding the year prior. My brother passed away in March 2017. My sister got charms made for us to have on our bouquets and my parents’ corsages. I included these charms on our bouquets and corsages as well. That way we had a part of him with us on such an important day!

Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?

My advice is to try to enjoy it; it flies by. I am so grateful for all that my husband did for our wedding, he took on most of the planning because I was in school full time. I could not have been more grateful and it turned out to be the most perfect day! Also, eat before your ceremony.  Trust me you won’t regret it!

VENDORS

Photography: Messy Photography • Ceremony Venue: Private Property • Reception Venue: Private Property • Floral: Lopshire Florist • Stationery: Shutterfly • Hair: Hair Country • Makeup: Malorie Hanson • Wedding Dress: Stella York • Veil: David’s Bridal • Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal • Submitted via: Matchology