Hey everyone and happy Memorial Day! I appreciate everyone’s help in this forum so I wanted to come back and share how the day went, budget breakdown, and all that! This may be a little long and pic heavy so I apologize in advance!
Our wedding day was all that I could ask for and more. We only had a couple of minor issues that were quickly solved. Our processional went a little faster than expected, our cake plate broke and had to be quickly replaced, and before I walked down the aisle, my veil got caught on the floor! But all in all, it was the best day. And it really does go by fast!
I rented an adorable Airbnb with a beautiful garden for our wedding weekend. The owners allowed us to take photos in their garden and these turned out to be amazing pictures! We had our first look here and it was magical. I recommend doing a first look. It made me much more relaxed, I think. All of our vendors treated us extremely well and I believe we got a lot for what we paid.
We got married at a local bar in our city that has an old timey vintage vibe. We ended up using their in house catering for a taco bar with chips and guacamole and grilled chicken skewers for cocktail hour. I didn’t eat much sadly but I heard it was a hit with our guests. We had a lovely 3 tier cake that was all vegan! No one could tell and we did take a lot home, absolutely delicious! Since we got married at a bar, the alcohol was supplied. We ended up doing a consumption bar, but at minimum we had to pay $1,200. Not bad considering we only had around 58 guests! We ended up going over that of course but it was fine. Very thankful that guests didn’t have to pay for anything. Our wedding party only consisted of my best friend and my husband’s sister. Loved having a tiny wedding party! I did have a lot of my family (sisters, stepfather, brother, father’s partner) walk in the processional. We had a friend officiate our ceremony and she did a handfasting at our requests. If you’re on the fence about a handfasting, do it! We got so many compliments on this. Our ceremony and reception was all in the same area of the bar. We had our guests sit at their tables during the ceremony. I was worried about this at first but it ended up working out perfectly. Flipping of the room was minor and guests were able to have a drink right after with no waiting. We actually didn’t have a DJ, so there was not a lot of dancing. Instead, many people ended up mingling and drinking. It was a classy house party feel! We’re not a big dancing crowd so I think it was perfect for us. We did have a playlist that I put together with the help of my husband and maid of honor. We received quite a few compliments on it! I did do a traditional dance with my dad and a first dance with my husband.
Advice: those who still have an upcoming wedding, I will echo hundreds of other brides in saying hire a day of coordinator! I tried to plan most of this myself and that worked out UNTIL about two weeks before the day. I realized there were a lot of small things that I forgot about (who will pin on flowers, who can help set up, who will be present to take care of deliveries such as flowers, cake, etc?). A coordinator will take care of literally everything the day of, so if you can definitely budget for one. We got a great deal last minute and paid someone at our venue a fee to fill this role for us. Another piece of advice I would offer is shop around! While I feel that many aspects of our wedding came at a value, I certainly overpaid for some things. My alterations ended up being more expensive than my dress! Finally, remember to relax and enjoy your day! Things will go wrong, but it will be okay. Eat breakfast and lunch and drink plenty of water. I forgot to do all these things!
& now I will close with the breakdown of the budget in case anyone is interested.
Save The Dates: $18.13
Invites: $148
Postage: $55
Venue: $1,000
Rentals: $626.98
Airbnb rental: $217.61
Catering: $1,906.40
Bar: $2,311 (gift from dad)
Photography: $1,197.50
Officiant: done by a friend, we paid her $120
Emcee: $100
Day of coordinator fee: $400
Marriage license: $60
Cake: $375
Cake topper: $19.60
Dress: $321.74 (gift from mom)
Alterations: $520
Shoes: Bride’s own (purchased years before the wedding!)
Accessories: $176.49
Bridal hair and makeup: $300
Groom’s custom suit: $507
Groom’s accessories: $57
Flowers: $1,824.32 (gift from mom)
Decor: $312.99
Gifts for family and wedding party: $267.18
Favors: koozies printed by my stepdad. Not sure of the costs! It was a gift
Thank you cards: $40.10
Total: $12,882.04Guests: about 58
