What was your budget? If you are able, give us a rough breakdown of how you spent your budget.

We went up and down on this, started at $10,000 then realized that was unrealistic for 300 people, then up to about $18,000 prior to the wedding. We had fewer guests than we budgeted for (thank goodness!) so we ended up spending about $16,000 including EVERYTHING except the honeymoon.  Here’s the breakdown:

Ceremony (rental of venue, chair rentals, minimal decor, bells, pillows and accessories for flower girls/ ring bearers, gift for officiant):  $712

Attire/Personal (my dress and alterations, shoes, undergarments, hair for me and my bridesmaids/mom, mani/pedi):  $1100
I saved a lot here by buying my simple dress from OnceWed.com and having some embellishments (the ruffle at the hem and bow on the back) sewn on by a local seamstress, but I splurged by paying for all my girls’ and mom’s hair to be done because we had the wiggle room at the end.  My husband wore a suit he already owned so that was zero dollars.

Flowers (bridal party bouquets and boutonnieres, few flowers for reception, most flowers for reception were picked from my mother in law’s and her friends’ yards, and arranged by them):  $643

Reception (venue, food, cupcakes, wine and beer that we brought ourselves, decorations, DJ, cocktail table, linen, dance floor and chair cover rentals):  $7645
We saved a ton by using a non-traditional wedding venue, we only spent about $20/ per person for a full buffet and wait staff, for 190 people it was important to keep the food costs down.  We also saved a ton by bringing in our own alcohol, and limiting it to wine and beer.  The state park hosts a lot of conferences so they had great catering facilities and were amazing to work with.  The downside was that we had to bring in the dancefloor and some other rentals to spruce up the boring room, but it still ended up being a cost-saver.

Photographer:  $1542
We found a new-ish photographer that other brides were happy with from the knot, and got a great deal on a huge package.  We were ecstatic about our engagement photos but our wedding photos were not as great as we had hoped. This was an area where I wish we had splurged more.

Invitations (save the dates, invitations, thank you notes and postage for all of those):  $743
We used a designer I found on etsy who said she would design our invites for free to build her portfolio, but she ended up asking us to pay her, which we did.  This ended up being a splurge when I hadn’t planned on spending this much, but I looooved our invites so it worked out.

Gifts (wedding party, shower hosts, helpers, welcome bags):  $1310
We had so many family and friends who helped us pull this wedding off that we were pretty generous with nice gifts and welcome bags for everyone who traveled to the woods for our wedding weekend.  No regrets here.

Hospitality (dinner for helpers on Thurs. night, snacks, drinks for hospitality suite, etc.): $310

Hotel Rooms at the park (hospitality suite which is where I stayed, cabin for the groom, each for four nights):  $1428

Rings (wedding bands only):  $1016
We had my engagement ring custom made by a local jeweler and he made my band to match, plus found us a great deal on Dave’s ring.

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

One of the most personal aspects was asking the judge I worked for in my first job after law school to officiate for us– it was a treat to have someone we both admire and who knows us well perform our ceremony.  We also personalized a traditional ceremony script, adding a group blessing, warming of the rings, and a lot of music by our talented friends.

We had a lot of touches that weren’t necessarily “personal” but just made the wedding weekend feel like “us”– we had a relaxing welcome supper to which we invited all of our guests, instead of a rehearsal dinner, the whole weekend was very laid back and encouraged our favorite people to get to know one another and enjoy the beauty of our home state.  We planned times we could spend time with guests, and down time so people could do things on their own and we got to relax.

As for DIY, I did as much as I’ve been able to, since we were on a tight budget, and also since our colors (hot pink and navy) were not easy to find on pre-made things.  I’ve made floral headpieces for the flower girls, sewed pillows for the ring bearers, printed, cut, and assembled our wedding invites, made cupcake stands and guest book surveys, all the signage for the reception, and a million other little projects!  In addition, we had so many family members and friends pitching in on the wedding weekend, we could not have done it without them!  Our friends and family were the ceremony musicians, tended bar at the reception, picked up cupcakes on the morning of the wedding, helped us decorate and arrange flowers for the festivities, baked a small wedding cake for us to cut…  I could go on and on!

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

By far our biggest budget saver was booking the state park.  Because it’s not really a wedding venue, they’re not charging wedding prices.  Since we could bring our own liquor, I bought our wine from a neighborhood store and got a great bulk discount, plus I like supporting a neighborhood business.  We saved a ton on flowers (which were the main decor) because my fantastic mother in law and her friends brought them from their gardens and arranged them.  We also borrowed decor items like votives from a friend who recently got married.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

If you’ve spent your whole time planning scrimping and saving, let yourself splurge a little at the end, especially on things that otherwise stress you out.  I researched and compared prices exhaustively all along, but when it came time to buy the alcohol, I just went to two stores, because I was exhausted.  I don’t know if we got the best deal, I know it fit the budget and it got done.  I had asked my bridesmaids to pay to have their hair done, but we had wiggle room at the end, and when it came down to it I was happy to write that check so they didn’t have to worry about it.

Actually I have two tips– the second one is that you have to decide to enjoy your day, and to let all the stresses and things that go wrong (and they will) fade away.  I am so type A and had planned this wedding weekend down to a T, but rain all weekend threw all our plans out the window.  I had decided not to let anything bother me and enjoy the day, so I kept a smile on my face, and it really didn’t bother me.  REALLY.  I had to try hard to do this, but it worked.  I focused on being in the moment and enjoying all my friends and family, and tuning out any negativity.  I literally walked away from people a few times because they were bringing me down.  And I had an awesome day with my new husband.

What was your biggest splurge?

Chair covers, which we spent almost $700 on.  Dave really really wanted them (and he only cared about three or four things during the whole planning process), and I thought it was a waste of money.  He found the money to pay for them, and he was totally right.  When we set up the reception room, it made SUCH a difference.  The room was pretty drab, and the existing chairs were ugly, but the chaircovers really did turn it into a more formal, beautiful space.

What was your favorite detail?

My dress/ shoes.  I was comfortable and felt so beautiful all day, and like myself.  I worked really hard on the dress but I got what I wanted, it reflected my personality and style.  Loved it.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Really it was lots of moments all day long.  We had monsoon rains all weekend, and I had to decide on the morning of our wedding whether to move the ceremony inside to the reception venue.  We so wanted to be married beside the beautiful lake, but the whole area was a muddy mess, so I made the decision to move it inside (Dave was golfing in the rain when it was time to make this call but he later agreed).  Once the decision to move it inside was made, all my weather worries faded away because it was out of my hands, I loosened up and just enjoyed the day!  ( We did get to take some photos by the lake during a break in the rain, so I can pretend we got married there.) All day long, we were moving things around and making changes from our well-laid plans, which could have been REALLY stressful, but it wasn’t.  I ended up spending a lot more time with Dave and a few key helpers (my stepmom was a hero) than I expected, and they just lifted us up.  These are the moments I remember– it really felt like a team effort, and we pulled it off.  I felt married that morning even before the ceremony, when Dave was helping me move things around and we just had to figure out how to make it work, together.  I was never more certain that he was the right one.

Vendors:
Venue:  Fall Creek Falls State Park
Hair:  Steven’s Salon
DJ:  FADDS Mobile DJ
Cupcakes and petit fours:  Publix
Rentals:  RSVP Rentals, Linens and chair covers
Alterations:  AAA Alterations
Photos:  Misti Abner Photography

One of the most expensive aspects of a wedding can be the flowers. Especially if you swoon over blooms that are out of season during the month of your wedding. Although the effect of beautiful fresh flowers is breathtaking, there are fabulous and budget-savvy alternatives to help you save some of your valuable budget bucks.

This will be an ongoing series on Tuesdays for the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy this look at alternatives to the typical flowers used in bouquets and decor. Perhaps it will inspire you to add your own personal touch to your big day as well.

This weeks’ special guest, Paper flowers! The great thing about paper flowers is that you can use them for your bridal flowers or for decor! Centerpieces, garlands… they can bring a really lovely handmade aspect to your special day.

paper anemone bouquet by St Judes Creations

I just love the look of this- who would ever know it wasn’t real? GORGEOUS!

This adorable DIY wedding shot by the fabulous Tara of Dixie Pixel featured TONS of paper flowers, all the bouquets and decor were made from paper! Beautiful!

Perhaps you remember the tissue paper pomanders my mom, her friends, and I slaved over for my own wedding? At only $5 per ball total, these balls of fluffy paper make quite a statement!

This paper garland tutorial is really simple with the help of a few paper punches and some glue! I just love paper garlands- you can really make some interesting decorations with paper that don’t cost alot of money!

What do you think? Would you attempt paper flowers for decor or your bouquets?

Stay tuned for upcoming posts in the Flower Alternatives series, including posts about button, fabric, feathers, felt, vintage brooches and more!

So I submitted my wedding for The Knot’s ‘My Real Wedding Awards’ back in June or July and kind of forgot about it until now. I logged into the Knot today after I received an email alert from them to see that voting has started (and has been under way for over a week- oops- I’m a little late in the game!) I navigated to our entry page to see this:

In case you can’t see it, that tiny orange text under Eric & Jessica’s Wedding… yeah, that says Editor’s Pick! Talk about humbling! If you’d care to do us a solid and place a vote for us, we’d be much obliged. That yellow box where you have to type the illegible and hard to read words is how you vote.  Winners in photo categories will have their photos published in The Knot magazine. How amazing would that be? There are other grand prizes that I’m not eligible for due to the fact that I submitted my wedding months and months ago, but being in The Knot would be a dream come true- a real wedding in a national bridal mag that cost $10k?? How fab!

Click the link below to go to our page and place your vote!

My Real Wedding from The Knot and The Nest.

Thanks as always for reading, and for your support. You can vote every day until March 21, when they will choose the top 10 finalists.

The typical wedding invite size is 5×7, which uses a A7 envelope. I am a huge fan of the Euro Flap Style sold at Paper Source, which run about $5 for 10 envelopes, however you can get  A7 Euro Flap envelopes at EnvelopeMall.com for $18.95 for 100 envelopes. HUGE savings. They have alot of the same colors as PS for wayyyy cheaper.

If you don’t want to create your own template, you can get a envelope liner template set from Paper Source that contains clear plastic templates to make envelope liners in these sizes: 4bar, A2, A6, A7, A9, 5 3/4″ square, 6 1/2″ square. The kit costs $10.95 and if you see yourself using it alot in the future for projects, I think it’s a good investment because the templates will hold up well over time. But if you don’t want to buy the templates, then here’s an trick to make it easier:

What you need:
One piece of cardstock
Paper you want to line your envelopes with
Xacto Knife/Scissors
Ruler
Envelopes
Glue stick/tape runner

I didn’t have any patterned paper on hand, so for the sake of this tutorial I printed a pattern onto some text paper on my printer at home. Using wrapping paper is a very cost-effective solution as you can trace lots of liners onto a roll.

Quick and Easy Directions to line an A7 envelope:

1.  Take one envelope and trace it onto some cardstock. Cut out your template

2. Cut 3/4 inch off the bottom of your template, and 1/8 inch from each side, so the liners will slide in easily

3.  Trace the template onto your envelope liner papers

4.  Cut out the liners

5. Insert the liner into your envelope

6. Fold down the flap with the liner inside it to make a crease. Using a ruler inside the envelope helps to make a good crease

7. Fold the flap back up, but leave the liner folded down. Apply glue with a glue stick or tape runner and then fold the liner back with the flap, pressing down to make sure the glue sticks

8. Ooh and ahh over your beautifully lined envelope!

This is something I really wanted to do for our wedding invites but I was just too short on time. It can really make a big impact on your wedding suite and doesn’t have to cost alot to do!

BSB reader Allison shared her engagement photos with me, taken by Lee and Renee Blanchard of Concept Photography of Round Rock, TX. I just love rustic settings for engagement pics… I don’t know why but I am kind of obsessed with hay bales… and the balloons? So sweet! Allison said she had a great time at their engagement session and that Concept Photography’s prices are perfect for a budget savvy bride!

Aren’t they a sweet couple?

photos by Lee and Renee Blanchard of Concept Photography

Have something you want to share with BSB? We’d love to feature your e-pics, diy projects, tutorials, weddings, inspiration and more! Just email Jessica{at}thebudgetsavvybride.com !