This is the date that I officially started on a journey of forever with the love of my life. This is the day that we planned for a year, that we thought about for two and that we in many ways prepared for, for five. This is the day that I became a wife and married my best friend. To think that we are quickly approaching two years of marriage is mind boggling to me. It feels like just yesterday that we were planning and preparing for the day, and not that long ago that I was dreaming of being able to do so on the long car rides to and from school with one of my best friends.
Brent had just graduated university and I was unemployed. Money was tight and this is how we planned our dream wedding on a budget of $12000, and came in well under at just under 10000. (my advice, never let money stand in your way of a dream wedding, we could have even been cheaper if we wanted, but there were certain compromises I did not want to make.)
We wanted a very personal, elegant wedding and to be surrounded with those that we love. We had the ceremony at our home Church in Chatham and the reception at the Florence Community Centre in Florence. We planned everything ourselves and with some help from friends and our wedding party we were able to complete a number of DIY projects that made the wedding perfect.
We made all of our own stationary from save the dates, to invitations and menu's. This alone saved significant cost as the cheapest a simple program can be purchased for example is 1$, and we managed to make ours for simply the cost of paper and a printer. We had the ladies group from a small country church cater the wedding, which resulted in fantastic local food at a low price and the knowledge that all the profits went back to the church. A friend gifted us the cake, we did the majority of decorations ourselves including the centre pieces and napkin rings. And our bombardier was bags of cookies that various family members and friends had made.
Brent made and designed the programs. They were a tri fold type program with our 'signature shape' cut out of the front. So the top folded up and then there were two pieces with information side by side.
Through wedding planning I started my love and obsession for peonies. Although hydrangeas was the 'signature flower' I had to have peonies in my bouquet. I loved it! For the bridesmaids bouquets I went with a simple bunch of hydrangeas which cut the cost significantly. Then the flowers at the reception were arranged by my cousin so we just paid a per stem fee.
We had friends pray for us and perform music which added a personal touch and also saved us a bit of money. (they were awesome!)
We followed the ceremony with family pictures which was hectic and so much fun.
And now is the part when I can not narrow down my favourite pictures and add a bunch. We had a wonderful time with our wedding party driving around taking pictures in our bus. The bus was a splurge but so much cheaper than a limo and a way for the wedding party to stay together during the trip. We started the pictures off with a refreshing stop at McDonald's I don't think I have been there in years before this, but it only seemed a fitting location to visit when in a wedding dress. The tree that we are in front of has actually been called 'the kissing tree'. It is located across the street from my Grandma's house, in my second cousin's backyard. A number of my aunts and cousins have had wedding pictures taken in front of it and we even used to have family pictures taken here. It was wonderful that we could be part of the tradition. The red barn also has sentimental meaning as it is my Grandma's neighbor.
The reception hall was decorated with the help of a number of people, the wedding party, my mom, and even the photographer and her mother (she also happened to be the Matron of Honours sister, so its not that weird). The decor took much longer then anticipated and the boys were actually there until after midnight adding the final touches. In the end there is not much I would change, I loved it all.
 |
| A friend of mine made the cake. It was her first and she did a fantastic job. I loved it! |
 |
| We made the seating chart. Each table was named after the location that the picture was taken. (this is all I would have changed, outlining the shape that said 'Brent & Stephanie' in eggplant, but oh well.) |
 |
| A closeup of the seating chart. |
 |
| The head table. I bought silver chargers for $1 (and then resold them for the same), and made the napkin rings out of wire and beads. |
No comments:
Post a Comment