Wedding - 30 day style

Today is my one year anniversary with my husband!  I couldn't be more excited about how the last year has turned out.  We are just over the moon about our new little addition that will joining us in March!  I thought I would do a blog post on how I planned my wedding, a year ago, in just over 30 days.  That is right.  30 days! And no, I wasn't pregnant.

I had a couple things going for me:

• I am a pretty good bargainer - a skill handed down from my dad who will try to negotiate with the Lowe's sales people.
• My mother can make anything out of anything - We DIYed the whole event which kept cost low and still gave me the look I wanted.
• I had my wedding in December, we were already married but I didn't want to miss out on the experience, why this is important is because December is not a popular month for weddings.
• I make decisions fast, like real fast, like Jimmy John's fast.

 So how did we manage to pull this off?

The Venue

I didn't have time to look around at venues or be picky.  My parents had been to a birthday party at a restaurant that did large events and they really liked it.  We went and had dinner there and I was a fan of this place too.  It did not look banquety and fit my vintage, rustic theme that I was shooting for.  We had it at The Boston Waterfront in Boston, Pa.

I was so surprised that people were there and it looked like a wedding!

This venue is family owned so they were willing to work with us on the pricing.  My dad gave them a number and they created a package that would fit.  This was the only place that was booked for my original choice of November 26th, so that is why the wedding ended up being December 3rd.

Photography

This was very important to me.  This was one area that I did a lot of research to pick the right person.  We ended up using a guy that also did two of my cousin's weddings.  I knew his work and I knew he was reliable.  We went with Fisher Foto, his website doesn't do him justice, but he was outstanding.  He gave us a free engagement shoot and got the images back to us within 3 days!  He was also super personable.  We loved our pictures and the fact that we got the rights to all of them.

Fisher Foto had matched another photographer's price that we were going to use, so we canceled that photographer and went with this one because we were more familiar with him.

DJ

I knew it was important to have a good DJ at your wedding, but what I found when looking was way out of our price range.  I needed someone awesome and who was willing to give a little on their original price.  DJ Tooth ended up being our guy.  He was the only one we met with and we really liked him.  I wouldn't know until the actual wedding day how much he really helped out.  Like most brides, this was my first wedding.  I had no clue on how to organize a wedding or what the order of events was.  Our DJ took care of all of that.  He made sure the bridal party was happy and fed and took all of my stupid song requests.

He's a big softie to0, there he is in the background trying not to cry while my dad and I surprised everyone with our dance.  Both him and the photographer said they were emotional and I should have given them a heads up...hehe.

The Cake

I actually didn't want a wedding cake.  I thought we should serve another salad after everyone was done eating.  I wasn't kidding and am now still in this battle over the cake for my baby shower.  I lost and we had to get a cake.  This was very last minute because once again I didn't want one.  We called up the woman who we had known for years, who had also made my graduation cake.  I basically told her I didn't care what it looked like, or what was in it.  This is what she came up with:

We did sheet cakes to actually feed everyone, which is more budget friendly then using the actual wedding cake.  The cake toppers are from Wedding Star.  We sort of forgot to decorate the cake table, but it did have the pictures of my grandparents getting married.  I thought these were neat photos and wanted to include them.

My Attire

I chose to shop for my dress at David's Bridal.  I knew I was unable to order anything so I would have to buy off the rack.  I wasn't too picky and just let the consultant take over and show me what she thought I may want.  The dress I chose was the last one I put on.  It was perfect.  I would have liked to have worn my mother's gown or some other vintage style dress, but this one had all those elements.

They still sell this if you want to check it out.  David's Bridal was able to alter this dress very quickly.  I picked it up about week before my wedding.  The headpiece was my favorite part.  You can find a similar one here.  My shoes are also from David's Bridal.  

My jewelry was custom made by Denise Jewelry Designs.  She was quick and it's came out perfect.  Even though I was having a quick wedding I still wanted everything that most brides get.  I sprung for the getting ready outfit and the custom hanger.

The hanger was made by another Etsy shop, The Original Bridal hanger.  She was also super quick because I think I ordered this one week before my wedding.

Just Jen is where I had my "getting ready" outfit made.  Took about a week to have made and shipped.  I received this the Friday before my wedding.

Dufda's Attire

This was an argument from the start with Dufda.  We didn't want to rent a tuxedo because he needed one anyway.  We were just out shopping and happened to be in Macy's during a sale.  We found a slim fit Tommy Hilfiger tuxedo that looked like it was made for Dufda.

I am really glad we bought instead of renting, because I think Dufda looks super hot in this suit.  He went with a white shirt and black tie also from Macy's.  I wanted him to be in off-white because my dress wasn't white, but in the end it looked good.

Our Bridal Party

We had a very small bridal party: Maid of Honor, Junior Bridesmaid and a Best Man.  They of course all needed clothes.  The Best Man just wore a black suit that was similar to Dufda's.  The girl's dresses also came from David's Bridal.  We didn't really have time for alterations so we went with what ever color they had available.  MOH in brown and Junior Bridesmaid in green.

The Bouquets

I chose to not use flowers: 1. Because they are super expensive and 2. Because I cannot justify using flowers for one day and letting them all die.  This led to me making the bouquets for me and the two other members of my bridal party.

 These were made by wiring brooches with floral wire.  They were then grouped together in a domed arrangement.  The bottom was bound with duct tape first, then finished off with ribbon and floral pins.  I collected these brooches over a couple of weeks by bidding on them on ebay.  I found this to be cheaper then going to thrift stores and purchasing them separately.  In my bouquet, which is at the top, I also have my great grandmother's brooches mixed in.  I pick ones that were meaning full, I had an "R" for my new last name, a frog because that is what Dufda means, and a butterfly because that is what Dufda calls me.  I then separated them buy color.  I wanted all cream, gold and silver, my MOH got all greens, and the Junior bridesmaid was yellows and browns.  I made my junior bridesmaid's much smaller than mine, because these end up being very heavy.  I then let them both keep theirs as part of their bridesmaid gift.  After it was all said and done, 3 bouquets cost about $200.  This was still way cheaper then it would have been for flowers and was much more unique.

Decor

We made it all.  On the tables we used thrift store picture frame that were laid on the table, filled with pebbles, then arranged different size candles in the rocks.  This was placed on top of a burlap runner that we cut ourselves.  The kid tables had lighted trees instead of candles, for safety. 

The numbers were wood burned, by yours truly, onto random wooden plaques from the craft store.  They were propped up by picture holders.

For the bridal table, my cousins braided together green, brown and burlap tulle with Christmas lights.  The candles just were random ones we found around the house that I wrapped to make them match the theme.  They were set on top of a wooden slab.

We did basic place cards with rock place card holders.  I had to have these the second I saw them, they were my favorite.  For the cards, we found a large bird cage at Gabriel Brothers for $60!

I loved it!  Don't know what to do with it now, but it was great then.

All in all from my experience, you do not need to spend a ton of money to have a great wedding.  In the end, it is about the memory that is made, not what kind of platter your food was served on.  With each of my vendors I never took the first price that was given, every thing is negotiable in the wedding world.  We also did not go for the most popular people out there, just because they may be small doesn't mean that they aren't awesome.  Planning your wedding so quickly probably actually saves you a ton of money.  You have a pretty set budget, because most likely you won't have a year to save up for this event.  You also have the bargaining power that most vendors will take cheaper work over no work, and if they aren't booked up 30 days out, most likely they aren't going to be.  You have to cut corners, there will be things that are forgotten or half-assed, in the end it won't matter and no one will remember.