July 5, 2014

My many wedding projects

With 1 month till the wedding... FINALLY! 2 1/2 years in the making we're finally getting down into the double digits....single digits! Awhile back we decided to plan a full on DIY wedding so I've been busting my butt the last couple months to get everything accomplished that I can. I wanted to share what has finally been checked off our list, and you just may get some inspiration for your own wedding.

Our Wedding: We will be celebrating our marriage on Saturday August 9th 2014 at 4:00 in the afternoon under our ceremony tree surrounded by family and very close friends. The ceremony is taking place in the backyard of Justin's grandparents property. I'm looking forward to seeing everything come together the weekend of our big day.





Everything from the ceremony music to the programs have been made by us! Pinterest has been a huge help through this process even though my husband sometimes gets tired of me being on it.
When we first started out on this wedding planning journey we had a guest list of 100+ for our outdoor ceremony and reception. As time went on and we got into planning the dollar signs started stacking up. We got an estimate for our caterer (at that time) who was practically our wedding planner for food, a large white tent, tables, chairs, linens, dessert, beverages for almost $5k... the stress quickly started getting to us. We couldn't justify spending almost $10k to plan a wedding that would last only a few hours so after many discussions Justin and I had decided to simplify things.

We said goodbye to our caterer and everything we had originally planned and started from scratching with a year out from the wedding. We now have a guest list of 40 which consist of family and very close friends. Everyone has been nothing but generous and supportive with our wedding. Our reception location has changed to a historic building turned restaurant downtown in our hometown. Working close with the owner the past couple months I'm realizing we made the right choice, and I know our bank accounts will continue to thank us years down the road ;) 


I'm pretty stingy when it comes to my money. I know every bride wants a big lavish wedding, but that just wasn't in the cards for us. Between being engaged and buying our first home our priorities quickly changed and trying to justify spending almost $10K on a wedding when we could put that money towards a nice honeymoon and fixing up and making our house a home it just made sense.

6 comments:

  1. Congratulations Jeanna! I did the same thing 34 yrs ago and I will always treasure the snapshots I have of the little craft work parties on my parent's back deck. We ModPodged flower pots and filled them with impatiens for my June wedding. I made my wedding gown for $50, and I still have it. Retro 1980 now! LOL! Your wedding will be the sweetest ever - lavish in its own very special way. I will have to keep a better watch on my Bloglovin feed so I can return here for the wedding photos! Wishing you and yours many, many years of wedded bliss! Cindy from TheCranesNest.com

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    1. Awh! Thank you so much Cynthia. I think making everything ourselves makes it that much more special. I'll definitely be sure to share photos on my blog from our big day :) 1 month to go!!!

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  2. This sounds amazing Jeanna! It's my dream to have a smaller wedding, all with people I know are excited to see me on my happiest day. I don't see the point in inviting every person you've ever come across. Your intimate, handmade wedding sounds just lovely. Congratulations!! :)

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  3. Congratulations! I think these lavish weddings are a bit crazy, sure you have one nice day. But in all honesty, if all your loved ones are there, what else do you really need?

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    1. Well said! It's just a party, but it's a celebration with family and close friends where we're embarking on a whole new journey together. I'd rather have people there who are near and dear to our hearts. A smaller wedding just seemed like the way to go :)

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