For the next few weeks I'm going to blog some wedding topics.
When I was planning our wedding blogs and Pintrest were my go-to places for inspiration.
Now that I've joined the blog world I thought it would be fun to go back and do some wedding post.
I found the wedding process simple and overwhelming at the same time.
Simple in the way that I wanted things to be, simple was my vision. But the endless options and efforts made to stay within my budget very overwhelming. I was determined that I wasn't going to blow my budget but do the best I could to stay within it and I'm SOOO glad I did. A wedding is a huge, life changing, wonderful day- no question about that. But it is just that, one day. I didn't want to go crazy spending but try to save as much as possible for our home, honeymoon, and savings that we would enjoy throughout our marriage. If anything I feel is worth splurging on it would hands down be the honeymoon. {a post to come on that}
This is what I kept in mind as planning. Our wedding will be a beautiful day, but our beautiful marriage will be forever. One of the first things I did when planning was sit down {with Mom} and pick out the theme I liked.
I love a rustic style with burlap {okay, I'm obsessed with burlap} and lots of candles for a romantic mood. We really had to work hard to find a venue that was priced reasonably and that we could make this theme work within. Seriously checked out 15 places. We decided on a venue just down the street from where the church is where the service would be-- all in our hometown.
I really owe all decorating credit to my Mom. Once we picked the "theme" she really went with it. Our venue came with the big round mirrors, tall white candle, and glass hurricane so we worked with that. All the little candles were bought individually {yes, individually} by Mom. She bought most of them for .25, .50, or .75 cents over a year's time. Mom found the mini candles at Goodwill, Salvation Army, yard sells, and other thrift like places as well as some antique stores in our hometown. She kept them in boxes in the garage for the year leading up the wedding and the end result was the beautiful, romantic glow I dreamed of. We also bought burlap table cloth runners from a bride that had already had her wedding. These table runners were like brand new and we got them at least 75% off what new one would have cost. When word got out we bought them second hand we had several offers to buy ours so they paid for themselves before we even used them. We also sold majority of the mini candles in bulk to another bride. We did keep several to keep in our house as a special token from our wedding day.
Now flowers. This was something else that I found to be way overpriced but after seeing the flowers in pictures I felt comfortable with the money spent. This was the area that I had a hard time spending on because my thinking was "it's flowers, they are gong to be dried up before I come home from the honeymoon." We went with a local flower lady in town who grows the flowers on her own and creates wonderful arrangements based on the ideas you give her. And she was is a retired teacher, that made me like her even more!
My Mom and I {and Copper, truly I brought him with me} went to meet the flower lady. She asked about my vision and favorite flowers and color preferences. I told her about the candles and the rustic elegance I was going for. As for flowers I love baby's breath, I think it is simple and so elegant. My favorite flower is the hydrangea and I loved the little green berries. Luckily, I learned that larger flowers like hydrangea take up so much space that you get more bang for your buck making them a great choice as well as beautiful. I wasn't set on any particular color, just loved the soft pinks, white, and natural greens within the berries and leaves. The flower lady took some notes and that was about it. We checked in with her here and there but overall was very simple. Since we weren't having a traditional large center piece on tables she used the small clippings to fill small vases and we used small clippings to put in mason jars that filled the lobby. I absolutely loved the flowers and was so happy with the look they gave the reception.
My mom even used some of the Baby's Breath to decorate the church pews. This was such a thoughtful touch that was inexpensive and so pretty! {Mom should really be a wedding planner} Paying for arrangements for church seating can cost thousands! Considering we are in the church less than an hour, no way could we spend that. I love that my Mom came up with this idea and it took no time and maybe $30.
Finally, the last of the decorations. Our wedding had a lobby with a pretty vanity and several little "nooks" that were decorated for the wedding to make it more our own.
This was in the entry way. I painted the $2 silver tray with chalk paint to post our wedding hashtag for guest.
Other side the entry way, Drew's aunt painted us "Our Love Story" frame for a wedding shower gift and we brought it with us to the reception. The chandler on the bird cage ring was all from yard sells that my Mom found. Also lots of flower clippings in mason jars that happened to come from my Great Grandmother's basement.
Mom also made this wedding garland our of scrap fabrics and lace. So pretty!
So this is the first wedding post, more to come. My biggest piece of advice for any blushing bride-to-be would be to set a {reasonable} budget, stick with it, and be as flexible as possible when it comes with what you want. {like not specific brands, particular colors,etc.} Majority of the items that I felt made our wedding so special came from yard sells or were homemade. These items cost so much less than going with something brand new and gave our reception such character!
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