hey girls...not really a vendor review" since i only had a couple but i wanted to review the day as a whole for you all!
we had the wedding at a private residence - if you can do this, DO IT! you are not limited to caterers, specific vendors, time limits, etc. i definitely consider myself really lucky to have someone whose home was usable.
small but not too small - we wanted to have the wedding of a our dreams. and to do that, we had to cut our list. but having people there with you that you love is worth the money. we ended up with 50 guests. it was perfect.
our caterer was fantastic. she only does small events (and does those sparingly) and doesn't advertise - i found her through a friend. if you want her name, send me a PM. her rasberry torte was worth every calorie.
pinterest and etsy saved my life with a small budget. weddings should have character! DIY can be stressful but doesn't have to be. we did all of the centerpieces, favors, other decor, etc. on everything i did DIY, i spent less that $250.
i got my flowers from kroger after seeing so many of you talk about it. they were GORGEOUS. and i got all the bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, decor flowers for $187.
the only real "vendor" i had was my photographer. i feel like tearing up before i even write this. i found rachel spears through some suggestions on these boards. i kind of feel like i found a friend! she's a brilliant photographer and her photos are gorgeous. but more than that, she did a few things the day of the wedding that she absolutely did NOT have to that i appreciated so much. AND my mom told me yesterday that she saw rachel crying during my dace with my dad! (hard not to - it was emotional!) i would recommend her 100%.
only other thing i want to mention is what i've seen on here a million times and it's hard to hold onto but it's true - when your day is there - all of the stress, the fights, the tears (at least the bad kind) are gone. don't worry yourself over the little things. we had a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony and now i have a beautiful husband.