Backyard Weddings: Budget Friendly & Fun!

Photo c/o Affordable Utah Weddings

I love the idea of getting married at your/your parents/neighbors/some else's home. The setting feels more personal and most likely has sentimental value for your family. Also, your guests may feel more conformable being that it's not a fancy venue and they may have already spent time there!

If I had a big backyard (or a backyard at all!) I would definitely had considered having our wedding there. After all, S and I went all the way upstate to find a "backyard feel."

Backyard weddings could also be very budget friendly! Obviously you don't need to pay for your venue, which usually carries a fee. Next, if you are having a small enough reception, you could get by on using your own china and asking friends to borrow wine glasses/extra silverware. It would make for a great eclectic mix! If you are fortunate to have lovely landscaping on your property or a garden you can scratch flowers off your list! You will have natural flower arrangements (which you could possibly clip for really pretty bouquets!). Also, depending on the size of your guest list, and your friends/family, you may be able to cut the catering bill by having the food prepared in the house!

I love how this lovely couple planned their wedding at their own house!

All photos by Young House Love

Message In A Bottle

How perfect would this be for a new take on an invite? Imagine your family and friends receiving this in the mail with little notes/invites! It could also be used as a wedding favor thanking each wonderful guest for coming inside the lovely keepsake bottle. Or how about pulling your vows out of the bottle during the ceremony? So dramatic.

Paloma's Nest Ring Bearer Bowls

Husband and I didn't have a ring bearer but we still wanted to have a unique way to display our wedding bands. We found these adorable ceramic bowls from Etsy artist Caroline Colom Vasquez of Paloma's Nest. Caroline belives in "Doing small things with great love." Each piece is custom designed and hand-crafted in her home studio in Austin, Texas, with care, pride, and passion. She use only all natural materials including fine clays, wood, paper, and cloth, knowing that these items will be passed on for many years. Caroline says, "My inspiration lies in the purity of the materials that I use, and the idea that something so simple can be so bold. By adding text, I give written ideas, feelings, and daydreams a place to rest."

S and I thought these little bowls were perfect for the wedding and now we use is as a decorative piece in our home. Caroline will custom design anything you want on the bowl. S and I chose a quote that was part of one of the readings from our wedding. It was really fitting for the day and for every time we happen to glance at it! Following the quote, written out is our wedding date. I would certainly recommend these for your wedding day and beyond! The bowl is quite small so it can easily fit into the little hands of your cutie ring bearer. They also come with a little string so they can also be hung afterwards!

Also, Caroline has just added these beautiful new golden dove bowls. How great are these?!

All photos c/o Paloma's Nest

All of the ceramic items are crafted from either white earthenware clay or porcelain clay.

Bride Style: 70's Bride

via Gangsta Bride

Summer in NYC is always hot and muggy. Not too much opportunity to run around barefoot. Lately I have been dreaming of being somewhere in California, maybe Big Sur, circa 1970's. To appease my yearning for a summer of freedom, I've dedicated this post to the revival of the 70's bride. The 70's bride was much more of a free spirit. She was all class with a bit of rock n' roll! I loved my wedding dress so much, but if I had to do it over again, I may have considered wearing a short lace dress with a pretty wreath in my hair! And what's more rock n' roll then Jane Birkin and Bianca Jagger?!

via Glamour

And check out this amazing modern day 70's wedding. I love, love, love it!

via Rock n' Roll Bride

Getting Your Friends & Family Involved

Since Husband and I were on a budget, we needed all the help we could get. That included begging, tricking, and bribing our friends to volunteer their amazing skills and time. Thankfully, it didn't take much!

It goes without saying that S and I have incredibly talented friends. We are lucky to be surrounded by the most creative, imaginative people. Even though we had a vision for our wedding aesthetic, it was thanks to all of them that we could translate that vision into the beautiful details that made our day so perfect!

So now you may be asking, "How can I get my friends and family to help me?!!! (without having them hate me by the end of it.)"

Here are some fun and inexpensive ways to trick, er, I mean graciously entice your beloved network of amazing people to contribute in planning for your most special day:

1. Food. This is the best way to get people to help you. It has been proven to work 100% of the time. Trust me on this one. Invite your friends over for snacks and writing out table cards. Writing out 143 names does not sound that exciting. An ice cream sundae night does! Invite a few people over for a Crafty Brunch! Fix up some waffles and coffee while your friends are stuffing envelopes.

2. Margaritas/Wine/Pick Your Poison. No one wants to come over on a Tuesday evening, after work, and help you and your beloved make wedding favors. However, pick up a bottle of inexpensive wine, or mix up a pitcher of sangria and it may be easier to sway someone! Not a drinker? Pick up some fancy tea or prepare some good coffee! I've even known a few people who could easily be persuaded by a late night milkshake...

3. Do It Outside. If you have the luxury of having a deck/yard/roof/stoop, lucky you! No one wants to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon cooped up in your house. Take it outside! As long as the sun is shining and you don't need an electrical outlet, you're all set! It will make the experience much more pleasant.

4. Beg/Plead/Bribe. I'm half serious when I say this but there were moments when S and I were so stressed out and overwhelmed that we would do anything for a few extra hands and boy, were we thankful that we had them!

Lastly, remember that these are the people that love you! They want your wedding to be amazing/perfect/go-off-without-a-hitch just as much as you both do! It probably won't take much to convince your friends and family to help you out but the point is to just be thankful. You may think you can do it all on your own, and you probably could, but having your loved ones there makes it so much more special. And who knows, they may have an idea or two that you will love (just as our friends did!). I will end this post by saying (again!) that when we walked into the barn on our wedding day, S and I were overwhelmed with a feeling of graciousness by seeing all the beautiful and amazing contributions from everyone around us and all the love that went into making our day special. It made it that much more meaningful for us, and I hope for them too! If not, at least they got some margaritas out of it!

Bride Style: To Veil or Not To Veil.

Photo by Parker J Pfister

Photos by Alexander Zabara of zabara.org

Choosing a veil. Or do I even wear one? I had a hard time deciding this as I wasn't sure I wanted a traditional look. However, once I found my dress and the overall theme came together, I thought a veil would look terribly romantic with the setting and the gown. Once I decided to wear one, I knew that I would want something vintage-looking, like my dress.

I chose an elbow length mantilla lace veil in cream. It was beautifully designed by Rohm, a talented Etsy designer. It matched the color and fabric of my dress perfectly and since I pinned my hair back (in the last moments!) I just pinned the veil right below my crown and and laid perfectly over my shoulders.

If you decide to wear a veil and are not sure which style is right for you, take a look at this

list from WeddingChannel. It is very detailed and has illustrations of every type of length and style veil.

Photos by Chad Hunt

Bride Style: Always A Bridesmaid...

Photo by Chad Hunt

I must begin this post by saying that I had the most wonderful bridesmaids. I was lucky in the fact that they were all very agreeable with anything I chose and also because they are all easy on the eyes! They all would have looked fantastic in any old dress but I think my bridesmaids looked particularly lovely in the chartreuse halters I picked out from J.Crew.

Choosing whether or not you want your bridesmaids to wear matching dresses may be a tough decision. It was difficult for Husband and me to decide if we even wanted a traditional bridal party. In the end, we decided we needed the help and support of our closest friends and we couldn't imagine them not being a part of our wedding!

I digress. Back to the dresses!

Are we being too "match-matchy?" Is it too traditional? Should we just let our "party" wear what they choose? You can absolutely be flexible with your preference of dress code or even just pick a specific color family to work within. S and I felt like we really wanted the people in our bridal party to be highlighted. We wanted the rest of our lovely guests to know that these are some of the people without whom we couldn't have accomplished everything we had up to that point (both in the wedding and in our lives).

With that, we decided on specific bridesmaid and groomsmen attire. I had an idea for dresses somewhere in the yellow family, being that we were having a summer wedding and all. I looked to several designers, however I found J.Crew to be the most consistent with dresses I actually liked and thought my girlfriends would also like (and hopefully wear again!). I checked the website regularly and then one day spotted the dress we ended up choosing. I loved the surprising chartreuse color and the style of the dress.

The halter neckline, fitted bodice, and tea length full skirt were reminiscent of a 1950's style summer picnic dress, which was the feeling I had wanted (without having poodle skirts and polka dots). And it has pockets! Who doesn't love a dress with pockets?! In the end, all the girls looked fabulous in the dresses and the color and style worked together seamlessly with the groomsmen, flowers, and overall feeling of the day.

Photo by Charlie Hart

When choosing matching dresses for your favorite girls to wear, I recommend:

1. Consider all their body types. Hopefully you know your sister/girl friend/distant cousin enough to know how she usually dresses for her body type and what she will look best in. (If you don't, ask!)

2. Colors/Styles. Are the dresses going to clash with what the groomsmen are wearing? Or worse, with what you're wearing? Remember, you're going to be photographed a lot with these people. Also, does the style and fabric of the dress fit with your theme? You may not want your girls wearing heavy silk gowns if the guys are planning on wearing linen suits and vice-versa.

3. Comfort. Yes, we know, you're the bride. But these are also your closest friends so be nice! Since you are already essentially choosing something for them to both buy and wear to your wedding, hopefully you will at least choose not only a dress they will love but also a dress that they will be comfortable in all night. Just as you will have to be in your wedding dress all day, they will be right beside you during all the photo taking and such. Please don't subject your most wonderful friends and family to wearing a ball gown in the 90 degree weather. Have a heart!

Lastly, I will say (again) that I had the most wonderful friends who all told me exactly what they thought of all my selections, which helped a lot. We didn't have much trouble coming to an agreement and in the end (I hope!) they all loved wearing them in the wedding. More likely than not, someone will have something to say about the choices you make along the way (dresses, etc.). Take everything into consideration but also remember you can't please everyone. Be as gracious as you can to accommodate everyone and not offend any one person but don't let it hinder your own ideas for your perfect day! Remember: You're friends and family love you and they just want you to be happy on you're most special day. (And if they don't remember that, remind them!!)

Photo by Chad Hunt

The cutest little wedding chapel in...the Lower East Side?

Forget Vegas. If you live anywhere near the Lower East Side of Manhattan you can now get hitched to the guy or gal of your dreams (or so you think at 3 AM). In this public gallery space, the current rotating installation is a Vegas-style wedding chapel. They provide everything you need to get married, including a bride or groom (!) to rent in case you come without. So, if you find yourself caught in love one balmy summer night, head on over to 139 Norfolk Street and tie the knot in true New York style!

For more info gopublicprojects.com

Bride Style: The Wedding Dress

Photo by Chad Hunt

Ah, the dress! Only the most important aspect of the wedding. (Or so we brides like to believe!) After the engagement rings slip onto our fingers, it is the first thought that comes to mind. To some of you, it may seem daunting to choose the most important article of clothing you will ever wear. To my other brides, you may have the perfect dress in your mind and nothing else will do. Or so you think...

As young girls, we plan our weddings, we pretend to be brides, we even throw pillow cases over our heads and march around our backyards saying, "I do." Everything has been leading up to this moment. When you go out dress shopping for the first time, you expect it to be a magical moment. You hope your maid-of-honor and mother are sitting with you, glass of champagne in hand, welling up because you look like a princess.

It may not be a scene out of a Kate Hudson film.

More likely than not, you will try on more than just that one "princess" dress. Once you get that out of your system, you can get down to business.

As I mentioned, you may have a "dream" dress in you mind. It may be a giant tulle number that is wider than the aisle. It may be a slinky body hugging dress. It may not even be white! (Oh the scandal!) However it appears in your imagination, just try to keep an open mind. It may or may not be the one.

Let me explain:

1. Keep in mind your theme or the feeling of your wedding. What I mean by this is, you don't want to look or feel out of place. Being the bride, you can take more liberties than anyone else. However, I will say it looks nice when everything flows together seamlessly. You wouldn't want to wear a modest dress at a black-tie wedding or something extravagant at your backyard BBQ wedding.

2. Think of the setting. If you have your heart set on having a beach wedding, you may not want to wear heels. With that in mind, imagine how that will affect the overall look of your dress. I'm personally not a fan of wearing flip flops with your dress (it's your wedding!!!) but flats may drastically change how the dress hangs on your body.

3. Consider your body type. Brides today are fortunate that there are so many designers making beautiful dresses in all styles and sizes. If you find your perfect dress that fits you perfectly, lucky you! Most of us will not be so lucky. I recommend having your dress tailored to fit your body. After all, this is your day! Whether you spent a fortune on your dress or found an amazing deal (yes please!) it is well worth the investment. The fit is unparalleled and you will feel your most beautiful. Often the prices are reasonable if you find a trusted tailor. With that said, you must consider how the dress looks on your body. Bring your trusted maids, family member, or friend to give your their honest opinion. After all, they will want you to look your best on your big day too!

In my experience, my dress came to me! I went to a few bridal shops here in New York with my girlfriends and mom but nothing jumped out at me. There were several occasions when someone said, "This is the one!" but my heart was never in it. Back in November, Husband and I took a trip out to LA. While there we passed by Claire Pettibone's bridal showroom on Robertson Blvd. I called and made an appointment. I went in the next day and my dress was waiting for me! It was the first one I tried on and I knew it was the one! I bought it that day and left knowing that it would arrive in New York on May 1st, almost one month to my wedding. That didn't leave me with much time for my fittings. Luckily, it fit perfectly and I didn't have to bother with any more fittings however the measurements taken at the store were very detailed before the making of my dress.

Good luck to all of you dress shopping for your own weddings and above all, have fun and make sure feel beautiful for your most special day!

Photos by Chad Hunt