I’ve been getting lots of request for more diversity in our BS-WOWs in terms of geography, so I am pleased to share this lovely wedding from Seattle, Washington! Of course with bigger cities we also might have some bigger budgets but I think that this couple definitely found ways to cut costs in their planning and deserve some recognition for that. I love the fun umbrellas they used for their pictures! Hope you enjoy this wedding as much as I do!

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

23K

Dress/Alterations $1800
Flowers $1000
Venue/Alcohol: 15K
Photography $2500
DJ $1300
Hair/Makeup $500-including bridesmaids hair
Officient $250
Cake $400
Towncar $50

How many guests did you have?

135

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

We wrote our own vows which was very emotional and very special for us.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Flowers and Photographer. We also saved quite a bit on venues fees by being able to purchase our alcohol separately and have the venue serve it.

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

Enjoy it and don’t over think things! Find a style or feel from a magazine and go with it. I loved planning my wedding and I did some details myself like place cards, but I didn’t want to do too much that made my wedding felt like a task.

What was your biggest splurge?

My dress, I didn’t expect to spend so much on my dress, but when I found it I knew it was what I wanted.

What was your favorite detail?

My dress was probably my most favorite aspect of the wedding. I loved wearing it, I loved how I felt and it made the day so much fun.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Taking photos at Gasworks before the wedding it was freezing cold and started hailing. My husband and our bridal party had such a great time despite the conditions. It was great to spend the day with our best friends by our side making us laugh.

VENDORS

Photographer Kaylee Eylander: http://www.kayleeeylanderphotography.com/

DJ: Joe Yamada: http://www.cascaderecords.com/

Flowers: Loves me Flowers Kendra: http://www.lovesmeflowers.com/

Dress: http://www.princessbridecouture.com/

Hair/Makeup: http://www.salonmaison.net/

Please welcome our newest sponsor: Storkie.com Invitations.  This company has been around for over 20 years, and has tons of invites for any occasion! Storkie has a wide range of styles, so you are sure to find the perfect wedding invitations, whether you are looking for a classic or modern design.  They have a line of invites called “Dynamic Designs” that are really customizable.  You can change graphics and color combinations in addition to all the text (wording, color, font style, layout), so you can create truly unique invitations.  For these fun bridal shower invitations, you can see how you are able to change skin tone, hair color, background color, and even the shape of the diamond!  You can also add 3D gemstones to your invites for that extra wow-factor. I love all the ones with the adorable caricature drawings- they’re so cute!

Similarly with these great, modern wedding invitations, you can instantly change the color combinations to create the perfect invites to match your wedding scheme:

In addition to a fabulous selection of contemporary designs, they also have gorgeous classic options, many featuring thermography (raised lettering) or foil printing, as well as ribbons and bows, embossed elements, shimmer cardstock, pockets and wraps, and a lot more!  Here are a couple with some of these extra options:

Storkie offers the complete wedding stationery suite, from wedding save the date cards to rehearsal dinner invitations, reception cards to wedding thank you cards, even custom wedding photostamps.

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You know what I love most about holiday weekends? SALES! I love shopping online and finding ways to save money, so of course I love ShopatHome.com. They combine online shopping with Cash Back and Coupon Codes to give you lots of ways to save money at one site! To take advantage of the cash back offers, you sign up and search for the store of your choice. You must click on the store’s site from the ShopatHome.com site so it can make record of your purchases and then they will credit your account with your cash back! Once a month, they cut checks for your cash back– only after you reach $20 in your account. Pretty sweet if you do alot of online shopping anyway like me! You also earn $5 for any qualified referral, so tell your friends to earn extra cash back!

The folks at ShopatHome.com gave me a $50 Macy’s Gift Card to see how far I could stretch it using their site. I figured, Macy’s- they have everything- this will be easy! It just so happened that Macy’s was offering Free Shipping on orders over $100 this weekend for the Labor Day holiday, so I decided to take advantage of those savings by getting $100 worth of stuff and using the free shipping coupon code. Paired along with the cash back from ShopatHome.com I ended up getting some great stuff for only $60 with tax! I’m not sure if my cash back will be applied to the $100 for the order I placed or to the $60 that I actually spent, so I’ll have to wait and see once my shopathome.com account is credited. Here’s the loot I got:

Martha Stewart 3-set of Towels for $11.99
These had great reviews and I loved the color.

Wilton Armetale dip bowl for $12.99
We have a platter and a large bowl in this pattern and just love them so for the price I had to have this matching dip bowl!

Home Essentials Metro Clear Highball Glasses, Set of 10, on sale for $12.99
Recently a few of our everyday drinking glasses broke, so we decided to pick up this set because they had good reviews and the price was awesome for a set of ten!

Zyliss Mandoline $49.98
E has been wanting one of these for a while, so I decided to pick it up for him- getting some Xmas shopping done early! I know he will love it!

So for all that, I basically spent $54 of my own money- I’m pretty happy with my finds today. Anyone take advantage of any fab Labor Day sales?

*Sponsored Review

I was given a $50 gift card to use in order to review the features of this site.

6 emerald-hued frocks under $150

all from Nordstrom

1. Donna Morgan Rosette Trim Strapless Chiffon Dress – $138

2. Eliza J Rosette Detail Sleeveless Silk Dupioni Dress – $138

3. JS Boutique Strapless Taffeta Dress – $118

4. JS Boutique Pleated Taffeta Dress – $118

5. Donna Morgan Stretch Satin Sheath Dress – $138

6. Donna Morgan Strapless Silk Chiffon Dress – $138