Romance / Write your heart out

Our Dream Wedding

Mihaela Echols46 Comments

    Looking back at my wedding day I would only do a few things differently, but in the end it looked perfect. Who says you cant have your dream wedding? After hearing about how Peter and I saved and put things together, friends asked me to do a writing on it. Here is some advice for newly weds who can have their dream wedding and not go bank rupt.

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    When you begin your planning start off with a budget and STICK WITH IT. I kept receipts and marked it in a book. It’s very easy to loose track when you see all the possiblities for your theme. This is where pinterest came in handy for us. I made a board, then we looked at what we could afford. Weddings bring people together we asked people for help. Most of our decorations were from friends who knew our taste. Having the pinterest board as their guide helped us save money and have it come to life. I learned I had to look online before going into stores if I really wanted to save. Everything online is cheaper.  Ask yourselves where you really want to put your money. We put ours into the photographers knowing the pictures are what make the day last.

    Many people forget that a wedding is just one day of their lives. After spending way more than they could afford they dont have enough for a honeymoon. Weddings are a big deal but I can tell you no one remembers our cute ribbon on our bubbles for send away, or the fact that we used lace table cloth instead of silk. They only remember us.

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    We decided on an afternoon wedding so we could do wedding pictures in the morning and not have people wait for us. This also made food easy and cheap. We did fruit cobobs and chicken cobobs. Most weddings money goes toward food. We figured people would eat lunch then come and not be looking for a meal.

    Just remember it’s your day and you are not trying to please everyone. The people who are in the bridal party should be the people who are going to be with you every step of the way through the planning. I could not ask for better bridesmaids. They went with the flow even when it got chaotic and never complained. They were always checking in on me and making sure I was keeping my cool. I dont beleive brides get the option to be brideszilla. People are helping you and dont have to. Many brides forget that.

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My Girls

    Things did go wrong for our big day. In fact a lot of things went wrong. They will. It’s a wedding and things happen. That is why it is good to have a hundred dollars from your wedding budget set aside in case something happens. Just remember you will be married and thats what counts. Happy wedding planning!

Our wedding costed 3,138 inluding recption and pictures our budget was 4,000

Here’s a small chart of our planning.

Dress: 10$ (I was looking for any white lace dress) (stayed out of bridal stores)

Two wedding photographers: X amount

Cake free: (friend)

send off car free: (our car)

hair:free (family)

nails:free (friend)

make up:free (friend)

engagement photos: $250 (friends)

Food: $190 (costco)

Flowers: $105 (seattle farmers market)

Venue/reception: free (friends back yard)

DJ: free (friend)

Invites: $300 (pinterest)

Decorations: about $200 (this includesplates/cups/balloons/prorgams/ ect.)

Things we changed….

send off car-ours broke down the night before the wedding so we used mine.

venue/reception- was originally at a park.

gazebo- we had our friends make and Arch

Read On :

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/going-to-the-chapel/

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/four-powerful-words/

 

46 thoughts on “Our Dream Wedding”

  6. Wow! What savings! That’s an amazing wedding budget and it looks like your wedding was super cute 🙂 I agree with putting money into the photographers, that’s definitely the best part. I’ve been married twice (the first one was a shotgun wedding- long story) anyways, I’ve planned both the expensive one and the savings. I appreciate what you did because most people forget their wedding day is for making a commitment, not for fancy things. Happy anniversary and I wish you both all the happiness in the world!

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    • Thank you so much! It’s hard in this generation to see it that that way and then once we get on pinterest we want it all!

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  7. I am amazed you did your wedding on such a small budget! That is wonderful. My daughter will more than likely get married in a couple years. I am encouraged! Thanks for the info. I love your pictures!

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  8. This is awesome! I would totally have a DIY wedding if I could go back and do it over again. Not because I had a big fancy wedding by any means but just because I think country casual weddings are the cutest things ever! Happy Anniversary 🙂

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  22. Wow, looking at these pics I can tell your wedding was so cute! I loved the set up and theme! So many people spend a ton of money on their wedding and I’m glad you showed it was possible to still have a great wedding even if you aren’t working with a large budget.

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  23. I think your wedding was beautiful and you didn’t have to break the bank to do so. I have never understood why people insist on spending so much money on weddings. That money could be put to good use for their future instead.

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  25. Wow, thank you for sharing, Hyla. I really love simple weddings like this. As a minimalist, I really don’t get lavish weddings with over-the-top decors and celebrations. “Just remember it’s your day and you are not trying to please everyone.” I resonate with this quote so much!

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  27. Wow. I mean wow! I’m seriously impressed. I didn’t think a wedding could be that much, and you were even under budget!! As someone who is still paying off my wedding from 4 year ago…kudos to you. I wish would have been more smart.

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  31. Making a wedding budget and sticking to it can be done. I think too many people get caught up in the dream wedding. I didn’t break the bank when I got married nor did I go onto debt leading to months of paying of credit cards. Utilize the people and resources around you.

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  33. You are so right. I tell people all the time, the weeding is just the wedding and while we all want a nice one. You should put the effort and the money into your marriage if you have to make the choice.

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