hi all!
I haven't posted here much, but I found others' posts to be very helpful, so I wanted to give reviews on our wedding. We were married August 7. Our wedding was $6K for 80 guests. I loved the way everything turned out; we got the wedding we wanted and stayed within a tight budget. Here's what we did and how we did it:
Invitations: Michael's, 40% off coupons. We did our own from a kit, and everyone raved about how nice they were.
Rehearsal dinner venue: Adele Grage Center, Bull Run Park, Atlantic Beach. Beautiful setting, inexpensive. Great if you're willing to "do it yourself". We got our tableware from Sam's, our alcohol from Walmart, and our food from
Publix (cold platters) and
D|ck's Wings (hot platters). We did our own music on our Ipod. I brought sidewalk chalk and bubbles for the kids. My husband brought a basketball for the guys. The park has nice playground, and it's only a block to the beach, so several people enjoyed a nice walk there.
Attire: I wore my grandma's gown. I made my veil from some tulle and a hair comb (less than $5). My husband wore a sports jacket and slacks he owned. Our two attendants wore their own clothes in the colors we chose - everything was coordinated and simple.
Hair and makeup: my regular gal,
Elsie Romey from Waves, did my up-do, and I got unending compliments about it. It was also a nice mother-daughter time to go to the salon with just my mom the morning of the wedding. I did my own makeup.
Wedding venue: I'm Catholic, so we got married at
St Paul's. No cost for parish members and the church provided fresh flowers for the altar in the colors we chose.
Wedding music: friends did the music as a gift to us.
Wedding programs: I printed them myself on some high quality paper I already had for resumes.
Pre-marriage counseling: we were required to go to a one-day Pre-Cana class sponsored by the
Diocese of St Augustine. I didn't want to go, but we both agreed afterward that it was totally worth it, and we were glad we did it. I highly recommend it. Anyone can sign up, not just Catholics, and it qualifies you for a discount on your marriage license.
www.dosfl.comFlowers: I got mine and our wedding party's at
Ace Hardware in Neptune Beach. CIndy helped me, and I loved the flowers. Got tons of compliments. You can use a coupon from Moneysavers too!
Cake: We got our cake at
Publix and it was fine. It looked gorgeous, and everyone liked it, I'm just not a cake fan. Publix was really nice to work with - they let us customize the cake by choosing elements of different designs to create what we wanted. We used my parent's cake topper. Sentimental and free!
Reception venue:
Courtyard by Marriott, Jax Beach. Contact: Anne-Marie. This was our big splurge. I really wanted our reception on the beach. I wanted it some place nice, but not stuffy. Mayport Breezes was too old (and I didn't want to hassle with the security). Comfort Inn was not that nice, and not much cheaper. Casa Marina was gorgeous but too expensive, and they were somewhat snobby when they heard our budget. The Courtyard was perfect for me. We made some budget-friendly choices (simple meal, daytime instead of evening, beer and wine only, sattelite radio instead of DJ), and it worked for us. Anne-Marie was great to work with, and I loved having it there.
Reception decor: the hotel provided simple centerpieces for free. Of course, fresh flowers would have been awesome, but the room looked great. I made table signs, and the hotel provided free stands to put them on.
Guestbook: we had a storybook (children's book) that we love, and I brought a Sharpie and had people sign that. Way more personal than a 'wedding guest book" that will never be looked at again.
Photographer: I found
Hannah Cooper from
hannahjoyphoto.com through a friend. Wedding photography is *so* expensive, my husband was worried we wouldn't be happy with a budget-friendly photographer. But we loved her and her work. She included an engagement photo shoot - I highly recommend that. It made us feel so comfortable with her, and I loved the intimate, casual photos of the two of us.
Hotel:
Courtyard by Marriott & Fairfield by Marriott, Jax Beach: We stayed at the CY (one night free for having our reception there), and I loved having an oceanfront room. A lot of our guests stayed at the FF accross the street, and they let you use the CY pool and beach free, since they're sister properties.
I loved our wedding. I just wanted to encourage people that it is possible to have the wedding of your dreams and still stay within a tight budget.
Best wishes, Knotties!!
LGS