What was the total budget for your wedding?

• $400 – Rentals (tables, chairs, plates, glasses, flatware)
• $350 – Venue + cakes
• $75 – Music
• $100 – Officiant
• $500 – Food (this was the cost of the groceries for the menu)
• $180 – Dress (Jennifer)
• $200 – Suit (Patrick)
• $1350 – Photography
• $100 – Decorations (mercury glass votives, candles, ribbon, paper for invitations, postage, miscellaneous)

Budget: Approximately $4000

How many guests attended your wedding?

We had 50 guests at our wedding, so it was small and intimate, which meant we could keep costs low.

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

Our ceremony took place at the St. Matthews Chapel in Todd, NC, which is very special to us, as we have been working with a non-profit organization called the Friends of St. Matthews Chapel to save it…. The inside is all original pews and wood plank walls and it is just gorgeous! We have poured so much of our heart and soul into it, we just knew it was THE place for our ceremony.

We love antiques and vintage… and wanted our wedding to be vintage-inspired because that’s the aesthetic of our home (and our lives really). One of our first connections over antiques was Patrick’s collection of old cameras… We stacked up old books (another love) and placed the cameras and antique glass bottles (the really pretty bluish green ones) filled with wildflowers around. I just wanted the decor to be simple and elegant, with a vintage vibe. The Todd Mercantile was the ideal location because it was so representative of our beginning…Todd is very special to us since it’s where we had our first date and spent so much time. The Mercantile is a gem if you love vintage – the old plank floors, the stamped tin ceiling, the mis-matched chairs and tables… it’s the sweetest!!!

What were your favorite parts of the day?

Oh, it’s so hard to pick favorites because I just loved the whole day! Living in the High Country, there is a big emphasis on traditional Appalachian music – fiddle, banjo, bluegrass…We asked the 15 year old son of a friend to play the music at our ceremony and he was ecstatic. Their family has experienced the loss of their younger son a few years before and his mom told me that he dealt with that loss by pouring his heart into music. He was so excited to have his first professional music gig and it gave him a purpose and focus during a particularly difficult time of the year for them. His enthusiasm made both our hearts so happy! 

I also loved the reception… the Mercantile has an outdoor porch and the weather cooperated to allow us to have the cocktail hour outside. We had strung globe lights up and set up the appetizers and cocktails so guests could mingle and enjoy themselves on the porch (while we were having photos taken) prior to dinner. The lights and ambiance were magical. We had set up the inside so that Patrick and I had a table for two that faced all our guests. I remember sitting there just taking it all in, watching our family and friends eat, chat, and enjoy themselves in this beautiful place that means so much to us. Another of my favorite photos is one Jess captured of us in that moment – basking in the joy of the day and being surrounded by the people we love most.

Did you do any DIY projects or create any handmade items for your weddings?

Pretty much all of our decorations were DIY. I love paper crafts, so it was fun for us to design our invitations and menus, as well as the decorations for the church and reception. I planted some plants in old coffee cans and placed them and some votive candles and ferns on an old ladder outside the church. We also took a large old frame that we’d found at a flea market and painted a chalk insert to make a chalkboard welcome sign outside the church.

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

There are a million ways to make a wedding special and beautiful without spending a ton of money. Make it meaningful by keeping the focus on what’s important to you and your partner. Think creatively about how to accomplish the aesthetic you want and ask for help. I had so many friends and family willing to lend their time and talents and resources to making our day special. That was priceless to both of us.

I would also recommend keeping it local if you can. We live in a small town and have gotten to know a lot of the local vendors/business owners just through our day to day activities. It was important to us to buy whatever we could locally to support our community. The business owners/vendors were so appreciative and lovely to work with, and went out of their way to offer us whatever they could to make our day special.

VENDORS

Photography: Common Dove Photography | Ceremony Venue: St. Matthews Chapel | Reception Venue: Todd Mercantile | Wedding Cake: Todd Mercantile | Rentals: West Jefferson Rental Station | Stationery: Jennifer Shaffer and Patrick Pitzer | Wedding Dress: Ralph Lauren | Groom’s Attire: Michael Kors | Bride’s Shoes: Ann Taylor | Submitted via: Matchology