What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
TONS of DIY!
- Bride hand-painted and lettered the Ketubah, a Jewish wedding contract.
- Bride illustrated save the date postcards and all table numbers, seating chart
- Bride & family handpicked wildflowers.
- Friends arranged all florals, including florals on tables in vases, bride bouquet & on Chuppah.
- Welcome sign
- Invitations (made by Maid of Honor)
- British bunting
- Chuppah
- Guest book cover
- Embroidered sign
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
Buying a beautiful white dress that was not labeled “wedding dress” was a big way to save money. I wanted a short, flirty dress that felt like me and was great for a Texas Spring, so I found a great and affordable tailor through a friend who did an amazing job.
Making the choice to go with a food truck instead of a waiting service or buffet saved us money.
We also bought our own alcohol from a store with a buyback program – and were able to sell 1/2 of it back to the store.
We spent nothing on flowers as my family and I picked wildflowers in an unincorporated field. Friends then arranged the flowers.
Also, we had friends DJ and be the MC.
What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
Make sure you have a wedding planner or a Day-Of-Coordinator that really knows what they’re doing. Without ours, we would have probably canceled our wedding!
What was your biggest splurge?
The groom is a major foodie, so having the best local food truck serve the wedding meal was really important to him! It was our biggest expense next to the venue.
What was your favorite detail?
I loved having so many handmade items created by talented friends. The bright hand-painted welcome sign, bamboo chuppah, and British bunting were amazing details we will always treasure.
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
Ha! So many moments. I will never forget crying in the bathroom while my fiancé held me after finding out we were being evacuated from our first venue. That was a very memorable and bittersweet moment. Luckily, our original venue negotiated with a substitute replacement venue on the day of the wedding/during flood and we were able to use VUKA at no additional cost.
At the actual wedding, my favorite moment was dancing the Hora with all 80 guests surrounding us.