My Wedding Story

Before my wedding day, I decided that no matter what happened or what went wrong, as long as I got married, I would be happy. It turns out, having that mindset was extremely helpful.

The day before my outdoor wedding, it rained. A lot. Certain wedding pictures I dreamed of taking in front of the river at my family's property were no longer a possibility due to high water levels. And the yard we planned to host the ceremony in had become so muddy, we put hay on the ground just so we could keep from sinking in the mud.

It also rained the day of the wedding until about an hour before the ceremony. In fact, the weather was still misting during our photos and my hair got frizzy.

And to top it off, my officiant forgot to have everyone seated for the ceremony after I walked down the isle, so everyone stood for the entirety of the ceremony (thankfully it was a short one). We can laugh about that one now!

Compared to some, our wedding was simple, but it was ours.

And despite everything that went wrong, we still got married. And still, it remains one of our favorite days.

How I Saved:

With a $5,000 budget, saving money was essential to my wedding planning process. Here are some ways we saved money:

We used family property instead of a venue
I did my own hair and makeup
A family friend make the bouquets
My mother-in-law made the cake as a gift
My mother and I made a lot of do-it-yourself decorations
My uncle was our officiant
My husband and I created a playlist instead of hiring a DJ

5 Fun Facts About My Wedding:

Our wedding ceremony was less than 10 minutes long. We kept it short and sweet so we could start the party at the reception.
Our photographer was the most expensive part of the wedding.
My husband and I did a “first-look” and got all our pictures done before the wedding.
Our first dance was to "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole.
We offered smores bundles as our wedding favors and hosted a bonfire during the reception.

Wedding Memories

Enjoy some of my favorite photos from my wedding.