What was your total budget? Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.
- Bride’s dresses – $450 (I even found 2 for under the $500 budget by going to a resale shop!)
- groom’s tux – $1200
- Alterations – $125
- venue rent – $350
- Photographer – $400
- H&MU – $120
- Catering – $800
- Cake – $1,000
- Family gifts – $200
- Decorations – $500
- Flowers – $500
- Misc – $355
Total: $6,000
How many guests did you have?
We had approximately 130 guests
How did you meet?
We met online at eHarmony. Jonathan messaged Annie and they chatted extensively through the app before Annie suggested they talk on the phone. The first phone call lasted over 2 hours and over the course of the next week before their first in-person date they spent over 20 hours on the phone together. By the end of the first date, both knew they had found their person.
What is your proposal story?
Jonathan and Annie went up to Seattle for an event and on the way back down Annie made plans to see her family which lived on the way, unknowingly messing up Jonathan’s plans to revisit the park they went to on their first date back at home. Jonathan asked Annie’s family for advice and they suggested a park near their house. Jonathan asked Annie’s sister to suggest taking photos at the park and when they set up for the pictures Jonathan pulled a leather-bound journal out of his coat with a poem written inside. The poem ended with Jonathan asking Annie to be his wife and him getting down on one knee.
Tell us a bit about your wedding vision.
I wanted a rustic-style wedding with many touches of personal history. I settled on the venue being a church campground my great-grandparents helped found. The atmosphere of the campground was very outdoorsy and woodsy so I wanted to carry and tie that into my wedding style/theme. I settled on the colors of navy blue and grass green (bride & groom’s favorite colors, respectively) which also tied into the outdoors style. I used a lot of DIY elements to both keep cost down and keep family history and elements involved.
Tell us about your attire choices.
Bride – I went into dress shopping knowing I wanted a corset back and strapless dress, but with little other details. I chose the dresses I did for different reasons – for the ceremony dress I enjoyed the train and the beading details. how they peaked as the dress moved without being overbearing or attracting the eye too much. For the reception dress, I enjoyed how it flowed and created a look that was a bit less formal.
Groom – I wanted to have a suit that fits correctly and could be used in the future while maintaining the classic black tie look for the wedding.
What was most important to you while planning? Was there anything you chose to splurge on or skip?
The most important thing to us both was making sure we honored family and family history above all else. Tradition is very important to us and we wanted to make sure we carried on traditions accordingly.
We splurged on the groom’s suit because it is usable for multiple events and functions in the future, and also on the cake & food as we wanted everyone to have a good meal reminiscent of a family gathering.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Bride – my favorite part of the day was in the ceremony, with all the little details we added. I enjoyed using sealing wax on letters with a family crest as the unity ceremony, the hand-tying symbolizing our families supporting us together, and our personal vows which made both of us cry.
Groom – I most enjoyed getting to stand on a literal soapbox (my bride is rather tall) as I know she would never let me stand on a metaphorical one.
Tell us about your wedding flowers.
The wedding flowers were the bane of my existence. We had a florist create altarpieces using white flowers and filler greens. They also provided daisies and greens to fill tin cans we were using as vases as well as for the bridal party to create their bouquets. We also purchased extra daisies from Costco to use as flowers on the cake and as extra flowers in decorating
We incorporated paper daisies made from book pages into all decorations to incorporate our love of literature into the wedding.
Tell us about your wedding cake.
The wedding cake was a 5 layer white, smooth buttercream frosting cake. Layer flavors were as follows:
- bottom (5) – love potion (white cake with white chocolate chips folded into the batter with a raspberry preserve in the middle)
- 4 – Vanilla
- 3 – Chocolate
- 2 – Strawberry lemonade
- top (1) – love potion
Sarah Blalock (family member) was gracious enough to place the flowers on the cake.
What did you do for favors?
We used lavender for our guests to throw as we left, so instead of pre-creating favors, we had small bags next to the lavender with signs that read “Take some to throw then Take some to go” and let guests take some lavender home if they wished.
Describe any handmade, DIY or personal details.
We made signs to line the ceremony aisle with the attributes of love on them to read as you walked down the aisle. We made all signs around the venue, made our own bouquets, and created paper daisies. Personal details included the soapbox we created for the groom to stand on for the first kiss, we passed it down the line of groomsmen to the groom as each had a step in preparing/inspecting it to make sure everything was correct.
Another personal detail was a canvas with pictures of grandparents who had passed away with a sign saying, “We know you would be here if heaven weren’t so far.”
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
We included a family heirloom veil.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their wedding now?
Don’t sweat the small stuff, and set up a designated person to handle any issues on the day of. You’ll be swept up in a flurry of excitement and so much to do on the day of that it isn’t such a big deal to have every little detail perfect. If others are helping you decorate tell them what your overall vision is, then let them figure out tiny details. You might even end up with some cool little things you never thought of!
VENDORS:
Photography: Liebe Photography • Ceremony Venue: Multnomah Holiness Camp • Floral: Petal Passion • Wedding Cake: Simply Sweets • Hair: Katarina Tiley • Makeup: Katarina Tiley • Second Shooting: Ian Codilla • Wedding Dress: Adorned in Grace • Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse • Bride’s Shoes: Converse • Bridesmaid Dresses: ScholleDress • Veil: Family Heirloom • Submitted via: Matchology
