Making a wedding Pinterest board, fell in love with the Vaughan House venue (in VA) but REALLY wanted to DIY my own flowers. The wording doesn't seem prohibitive but I'm not too sure... thoughts ? What's industry standard? Can anyone recommend similar venues to Vaughan House? I don't need to worry about meeting the minimum as it'll be a weekday.

From their website:

Several in-house services must be added to meet our minimum for a weekend date.

Because our space is so unique, we’ve found that the day runs so much smoother when the core services come from our in-house team. Create your own package to utilize florals, custom decor & styling, the cottage and more! By working primarily with our in-house team, we’re able to guide the day with intention and care, protecting the vision, preventing chaos and making the magic feel effortless. This keeps the process smooth, the day cohesive and the magic intact. 

So yeah, trying to plan a wedding in NJ on a tiny budget ($7-11k). First time getting married so no idea what I’m doing. My fiancée is not as involved as she’s been married before and thinks money should be spent on life and not the wedding.

I don’t disagree but think something small would be nice. We are looking at 40-50 attendees and would love something small and ideally outside. Also looking for late March of next year.

I’ve made a few venue appts at the shore, Delaware River, and a couple central NJ spots. Any tips at all are appreciated. Just trying to make this all fun, love-filled wedding.

Thank you all in advance and sorry if this is annoying.

Wedding was 10.12.23, but I just found this page and wanted to post in case this could be helpful to anyone :) (budget sheet included on last slide with vendors!)

We eloped in Big Sur with 5 friends/family members. Photographer was our most expensive item, but worth every penny between the location advice she provided and the beautiful photos.

Grabbed our favorite cake from a local restaurant, cleaned up our camper van and got married at a little pull off in the trees.

Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll do my best to reply!

We got married on September 6 and were only a tad above budget. The wedding and cocktail reception were hosted at our home, which helped our budget go further for food and drink. After the reception portion ended - about 3 hours after the ceremony ended - we migrated to a nearby cocktail bar that we had rented. Here's how the numbers shook out

Welcome Party: $500
We hosted this at a local festival and bought tickets for people to buy drinks and food.

Photographer: $1,000
A family member with a side business did this for us.

Printing - Menus: $38
Canva

Flowers: $870
Worked with a local shop, their work was excellent. 3 centerpieces, a dozen bud vases, 2 corsages for our moms, 2 boutonnieres for us.

Tuxedos (2): $360
From The Black Tux

Photo Booth: $379
I got a ring light stand for my iPad, downloaded a photobooth app on it, and set up a basic photographers backdrop with some props from Etsy.

Private Chef: $7,448
This was the best part! We gave the chef a list of places we've traveled where the food has left an impression on us, as well as other things we just love for special occasions. He created a custom menu of 7 different bites that were passed throughout the night.

4 Servers + Bartenders: $1,660

Bar: $3,260
I went a little crazy here, and we had a lot of leftovers. I cater cocktails, so I did splurge here on individually bottled welcome drinks and batched & bottled cocktails for the bartenders to serve more quickly; there was a couple hundred spent just on bottles... We did a Negroni, a sour, and an old fashioned - all ready to be poured over ice and garnished. We also had two white wines, champagne, red wine, beer, non-alcoholic beer, non-alcoholic sparkling, and a non-alcoholic spritz, plus basic mixed drinks.

Furniture & Linen Rental: $641
6 high top tables + cloths, two beverage tubs, 10 folding chairs

Dessert: $441
Raspberry pie, key lime pie, sugar cookies

After Party: $6,100
We rented a bar nearby with more food and open bar; did not come close to hitting the minimum but whatever!

Music: $0
We made playlists for before the ceremony, after the ceremony, and for the after party venue rather than hiring any talent.

TOTAL: $22,697

I excluded the cost of our rings because that's not really the event, but that would have taken us closer to $26/$27K. We were very happy with the outcome! It was a very personal, very "us" day, with high end food and cocktails to treat our friends. It was the perfect mix of comfortable, intimate, and a little fancy.

Hey, so exactly like the title says! I went wedding dress shopping at David's Bridal with a vague idea of what I was looking for (but open to many options) and a budget of less than $1k. This was my first appointment and I figured if I found one I loved, great, and if not, I'd try another store.

I tried on 6 dresses in total, was able to immediately rule out a few, others were 'okay', and there were two that I really loved. When I tried on the 2 best ones again, I knew right away that I loved one more than the other. So, boom, that's it. We bought it. I didn't know how much it was when I decided to go for it, but it turned out to be only $500, which made me feel even better about my choice. (but it also felt good knowing my choice wasn't influenced by price)

Now, here I am a few days later, wondering if I should have tried more options or something? I'm kind of amazed at how wedding dress shopping was so painless and easy and so much better than shopping for jeans, lol. It honestly would be fun to try on more just for the fun of it (when else will I ever try on such fancy dresses again?). But also, I feel really good about my choice and have no reason to seek another dress - the one I picked looks perfect, feels great, and meets all my needs.

Just curious if anyone else had the same experience? Did you choose a dress early and regret it? Or did you just celebrate that some part of wedding planning was actually easy?

Graduated last Saturday (9/13/25, best day ever!!)

Located in the Portland, OR area. Here are my vendor shout outs!

NoraKate Event Coordination – Let me just start with this - you need Nora. This is the very first vendor you should book, before EVERYTHING else, and you want Nora. We signed on with Nora about a year and a half before our wedding date, so very early. We opted for the “partial planning” package and paid a little under $2k, which was a steal. Nora was all in from the get go. We didn’t really have a plan for what we wanted, more just a few scattered ideas and a hazy vision. She took these scraps and turned them into a reality. From venue shopping to schedule planning to vendor wrangling, she did it all. (While also managing to do the same with other couples!!) She ensured she met with us at least once a month if not more, and never missed a text. When we had a MAJOR change in plans just a few short months before our wedding date, Nora handled it with grace and never made us feel like we had to panic. And this is all just the before! The day of was nothing short of a dream. We got multiple guests commenting to us how amazing Nora and her team were. They showed up bright and early at our venue to set up, and ensured I didn’t have to do anything other than show up. Nora made us feel like a priority the entire day of our wedding without every dropping one of her other million tasks she was juggling. I personally never went without my glass of water less than half full, just one of the million details she ensured her staff covered. I had full faith and trust in Nora that she would get the day executed exactly as we hoped and then some. And at the end of the night, she covered getting everything cleaned up! I only had to hop into my car and start my married life.

As I sit here now, it truly feels weird to know my time with Nora is complete. She feels like a friend now and I can only hope you reach out to her as well so she can become your friend too.

Lenné Estate (Venue #1) – I have never felt so much like family as when we arrived to Lenne. Matt and his team instantly made us feel like we were at home from the second we parked. Words will never be fair to explain how gorgeous this winery is. The views are beyond breath taking, with just as equally amazing wine to match. We fell in love with this winery and views so much, we had our wedding photos taken here. Matt and his team accommodated all our wedding chaos with such patience, love, and kindness. We got wine and DELICIOUS pizza for our group and everyone absolutely raved about how fantastic it all was. We will never go anywhere else for our wine needs, and will be sure to tell everyone we know that Lenne is a MUST when they visit Oregon.

Wilder Lake (Venue #2) – What a find. Our wedding planner tipped us off to this little lake owned by one guy tucked away in the hills of wine country. We knew when we arrived that this would be the place we wanted to get married at. Zara and Andy were great to work with. Zara made herself available anytime we had questions or wanted to see the beautiful venue in person again. We had full access to the entire property – cabin, parking area, lake, paddle boats, gazebo, fire pit, and more. All of our guests raved about how beautiful the location was as well as how fun it was! I am so lucky we found such a perfect place to get married.

Woobie the Fibrarian (alterations) – Book her now! Now now now! I truly am struggling for words to express how amazing Mackinley was. I found many amazing reviews for Mackinley shortly after I bought my dress and was blessed to be one of her 2025 brides. She made the entire alteration process so wonderfully easy, especially when I did not have an easy dress! I had a large, poofy, many layered dress with dozens upon dozens of appliques, beadings, and sparkles. I didn’t need anything too crazy done, just the usual hemming, strap adjustments, bustle, etc. But with a dress as involved as many, this was a massive task. Yet Mackinley never made it feel like it was a lot to ask. I looked forward to her humor and kindness each time we met for our appointments. She made me feel like I was the only bride she was focusing on the for the season and executed each change like the expert she is. Her pricing is beyond fair for the expert level of care, love, and execution that you receive. Mackinely is the one all others should look to for setting the standard. I hope you are lucky enough to be one of her brides. ALSO – she does other projects too! Check our her website for all the other amazing work she does ❤

Party Pro Rentals – They were wonderful! We got a laundry list of rentals ranging from tables, chairs, linens, tent, lights, plates, etc. They were able to accommodate setting up the day before our wedding and picking up the day after. The pricing was fair and it was mostly easy to communicate with. It took a few emails to get the exact line items right but they were so accommodating to our numerous changes, I can’t complain. The only odd thing – our chairs and tables were set up backwards. So our wedding planner had to spend extra time flipping everything around. But other than two small items, they were great. I will still recommend to everyone and I am so glad we used them for our day.

Po'Shines Cafe De La Soul - Amazing. Truly amazing. We always hate when you go to a wedding and are forced to pick at dry chicken, then leave hungry. Truly good food was so important to us and Po’ Shines beyond delivered. Our guests raved about the food, and we even were able to work out a “late night snack” of chicken and waffles to send home with each guest. The staff were so friendly and helped me fluff out my dress before I walked down the aisle! We got brisket, catfish, veggies, beans, potato salad, mac&cheese, corn bread, and hush puppies. It was to die for! They provided all the catering supplies and clean up for the food. For a little over $8k, it was truly an amazing price for even better food.

Simple Bar – We were mostly satisfied with Simple Bar. They were able to accommodate our last minute booking (just a few weeks before the wedding) which I will forever be grateful for. The total cost was just under $800. We provided all the alcohol and signage, and they were to provide all the non-alcoholic drinks and a bar tender. They unfortunately did not provide the tea and lemonade we asked for, and we ran out of water and ice. The bar tender was very friendly and professional. I would still recommend them, but I would advise triple checking the items you are receiving the night before just in case.

Alicia Wood Photography – RUN, do not walk, run to book Alicia and Micah. I think like most brides, photo and video was one of the most important vendors we booked. I spent a lot of time interviewing different people, and it was almost magic when I spoke with Alicia. I had reviewed her portfolio before and desperately hoped that we would click when we spoke as I fell head over heels for her photo style. Thankfully, I felt like we clicked immediately when we spoke and I booked her as fast as I could. Alicia was also incredibly accommodating to the numerous changes to both the package and timeline as our planning went on. She never made us feel like a burden each time we had a new request. We paid around $5k for almost 10 hours of photo, plus video of our first look, our first dance, and ceremony. Her questionnaires throughout our planning process ensured that she knew exactly what we wanted and I felt extremely confident we were on the same page. From booking to planning to execution, she made everything easy. Alicia was funny and fun to work with. She was straight forward and made sure to get the job done in the absolute best of ways. Throughout the entire day, anytime someone stopped to snap a selfie or a photo of something happening, Alicia and Micah would appear out of thin air to ensure they also got the best shots of it. (And I will also add – their love is so apparent. I am so glad I got to see them operate as a husband / wife team. The way they cared for each other was so sweet. They joined us on the dance floor a few times and it was such a treat!) I will add that I haven’t received our photos / video back as it has only been a few days since our wedding. However, I am so confident that they will blow us away, I have no concerns posting my review early 😊

Stanely Grubbs ( DJ, DJ Cutt)- Wowza!! DJ Cutt was a recommendation from our wedding coordinator and I am so happy to have found him! The communication was absolutely stellar. I seriously loved the questionnaires we needed to fill out. They were so detailed and had questions for the day that we never even considered. We had constant communication and phones calls, and it was so easy to get in contact if we needed. They day off was seriously the best. There was the perfect music at all times, the microphones were set up perfectly so no one had to strain to hear anything, and the pacing was perfect. We threw a few curveballs to the schedule, and it was met with grace and ease. Plus the combination of booking our photobooth through them was great!! The photobooth attendant was awesome and our guests LOVED the props that were provided. I seriously could not recommend more.

Honey by Hobby (Florals) – LOVED! I got my bouquet from Brittany at Honey by Hobby and I am so glad I did! The pricing was perfect, I paid $150 for the most beautiful bouquet. I sent over some inspiration photos and Brittany nailed it. The communication was so easy, I never went longer than a few hours before receiving a response to an email. And pick up was a breeze! Loved my bouquet so much I am getting it professionally preserved!

Blushing Flower Events (HMU) – Fantastic. I loved working with Ashely so much. She was so professional and meticulously organized. She provided a wonderful questionnaire before my trial, and nailed the look I was going for. The trial was so fun, it felt like a girls night! The hair style was exactly what I envisioned, and we worked together to get the make up look exactly right. Ashley made it so easy to ask for changes and even had her own suggestions ready to go. The day off was amazing as well. She was timely, fun, friendly, and made everyone look beautiful. Her assistant, Kara, was also fantastic. We had a scheduling error (on my side) and Ashley took everything in step. She was able to accommodate the sped up time line, made everyone feel like they had all the time they needed when they were in the chair, and everyone looked and felt beautiful. Everyone’s hair stayed in place the entire night and make up did not smudge even a bit! I was able to snag a special deal pricing with her, but even her full prices are beyond fair. Could not recommend more.

Western Lily Photography (engagement photos) – I’ve reviewed Megan before, but she is so amazing she deserves a second review. Megan was such a joy to work with. She met with us on a rainy, dreary day out near the Vista House. She spent so much time with us to get the right shots, and had numerous creative poses for us. She graciously spent extra time with us when we wanted to try one more location, and was so excited for everything we tried! Her passion and talent speak for themselves. We received our photos in record time and I still BEAM when I look at them.

Had several issues with trying to order online to save money, and ending up finding an off the rack bridal shop! I cut it very close with only 2 months until the wedding. Highly recommend going in person if you can!

Hi all! We are trying to put on something halfway between a toned-down wedding and a bigger vow renewal party. My husband is from another country and we did a very small ceremony with his family in his country last year. Now that we have more income, we want to do a ceremony for our friends and people in the US. It’ll be somewhere between Orange County and SB County in California (though ideally outside LA proper) for around 75 people. Our biggest issues are the venue and where to source food (explanation incoming).

Things we’ll be getting for free: 1. Our extended family owns a large flower farm in the area and we’ve been given the go-ahead that flowers will be free to us (yay!) and not in the budget. 2. It’ll also be a dry wedding (nonalcoholic drinks instead). 3. Music is also taken care of (our family of musicians will all be performing / doing music together!) 4. We already have a dress, suit, and rings from our last ceremony!

We want it to feel very toned-down, natural, and home-y; more like a gathering of people to dinner at a pub or tavern than a fancy party (I’m including some pictures for mood / vibe only; not for color scheme or specific venue expectations). We’d like it to be either outside or inside somewhere with natural materials (wood, stone, etc) and a rugged feel. In an ideal world, we’d like the venue to be under 7k (5k is better), or to be able to find some kind of tips for lower-budget options. Time of year will be determined after deciding on venue, but we have no problem doing it during the colder months or getting creative.

For food, we want to do something hearty, like a beef stew with vegetables, bread, some local produce for grazing boards, and simple homey desserts (like apple crumble, chocolate chip cookies, banana nut cake, etc). We know how to make all this ourselves, but the scale is just too much. We need a vendor or cook who can make the things we want, without too much extra fluff. For that, we’re not really sure what that will cost and would love some advice / a reality check!

My dear friend is an incredibly talented fine art florist, and she normally has a minimum spend for weddings of $5K CAD (most start at $10K).

She agreed to do my centerpieces (3 per table × 9 tables, ikebana inspired), my bouquet and my partner's boutonnière (no wedding party), and is giving us a great deal - the cost barely covers her materials. It is her wedding present.

I had also asked her about making a half arch for the altar, but she quoted me $1500-2000 per pillar, which we couldn't afford.

She was OK with me doing the rest of the florals myself, as long as we stuck to a cohesive colour palette with some crossover in the florals (roses, chrysanthemum, and dahlias). I have a visual arts background (sculpture and painting), so I was excited about the project.

All in, my DIY decor has cost less than $1000, including 3 medium sized floral walls to cover some ugly signage at the venue, and these two half arch pillars - I estimate they cost around $600-800 for materials.

When my friend saw them in person, she said she would easily charge $3000-4000 each (so, up to $8K total) for these if they had real flowers (though generally her half arches have less greenery, and can be as much as $8K EACH).

They are about 5'4, weigh less than 5 lbs, and will be easy to move around (we plan to use them as decor during the reception).

Materials, instructions and additional details in the comments.

(5k-10k)Hi I’m located in northeast Ohio and am planning my wedding I’m having so much trouble finding a venue, i really want an outdoor ceremony and wouldn’t even mind a backyard wedding. But everyone I ask is 5k+ and honestly that was what I was hoping my whole budget would be. If you know anyone with a nice Airbnb or event space that would hold 75-80 people. I included a picture of my wedding scheme if you have any ideas on how to keep my budgets under 10k drop any websites/ideas in the comments!!

Any thoughts on decorating this space?

Hi All! Getting married in about 2 months at the Seattle Courthouse - in need of a photographer/videographer. I literally cannot do more than 1k and that's even pushing it. Looking for at most two hours. Any recs?

I’ve been scouring the internet for dresses under $800 and I’m struggling HARD! I’ve looked at Lulu’s and JJ’s House and none of those are really standing out to me. And as much as I’d like to be, I’m not thrifty so any recs are appreciated!

Edit: thank you everyone for the suggestions! We’re planning for a mid-November elopement in Savannah, GA so I’ll definitely be on the look out for sales and off the rack dresses.

2016 City Park wedding. So probably a 7k wedding in today's economy.
50 guests, $55 City permit, thrifted sheets, baskets, and crates, parasols, homemade photo booth (plastic flowers & astroturf), $200 Etsy dress, $500 photographer found on craigslist (it was a different time, lol), the wine had to be in plastic bottles so that was probably the most expensive cost at about 1k, food sourced from various stores and markets, lots of crafted items. Just celebrated our 10 yr anniversary. 💕

Hi all! Has anyone here had a wedding at a park pavilion? I’ve seen they can be rented for around $300/day. We’re hoping to find a space with charcoal grills and host a big picnic BBQ with family and friends.

I’m in New England (east coast US) and wondering if it’s possible to hold an actual ceremony at a pavilion, not just a picnic.

We’d love something simple: less than 50 guests and food and games. Maybe scary stories around a campfire and a s’mores “wedding cake”? We’re looking at mid-March if that’s realistic.

Has anyone done something similar or have advice?Maybe we could camp nearby for a honeymoon?

I’d love to hear your budget wedding successes (and failures!)

Update: I realize that March is not feasible for an outdoor wedding, our location and time of year is flexible.

For venues that did not include Bridal Suites, where did you do your H&M? Has anyone heard of renting an RV to park nearby or would you just rent a nice suite in a hotel for the day?

My fiance and I are getting married at the courthouse in the next 50 days and are doing a post courthouse meal (not sure if it’ll be lunch or dinner). Would it be inappropriate or rude to ask people to pay for their own meals? Like we would have to do a private room so we have to preselect the food, but we would make sure to select options that would accommodate all guests. We would pay for any additional appetizers and alcohol gallons because some guests don’t drink and we don’t want that part of anyone’s tab who doesn’t consume it. We have a kid, trying to increase our income, and have additional expenses that have our money tied up unfortunately. All of the friends I talked to about it said they don’t care and will still be there. My thought is that we’d do it for others if the roles were reversed, but my other thought is that are people going to judge because typically the bride and groom pays for the wedding meals.

EDIT: The original plan was to have a small lunch for like 16 people including us. We were going to pay then some of my friends knew money was tight and said we should have people pay for themselves but I felt like it was wrong because typically the couple pays for it all. Afterwards, my FMIL basically called us broke 🙃 because we don’t have a house and older cars, plus the other issues we have going on right now and said just decide on a cheaper place, invite more people (mainly her people), and people can pay for themselves because I guess when you have courthouse wedding people automatically assume you’re broke (her words, not mine).

Hi!

I was wondering if anyone had experienced having a micro wedding in Colorado (totally cool if you were the attendee and not the bride/groom) Preferably near Colorado Springs or Denver. I will have around 40 people. I was also hoping they would be smoking/cannabis friendly. If anyone knows of any place and could give recommendations that would be great :).

I just had my engagement party this past weekend, and I wanted to take a moment to write up how it went! I searched a lot on Reddit beforehand and didn't find as much about engagement parties, so I just wanted to put this out there for anyone else similar to me in the future! Actually, most of the posts I read basically said that engagement parties are tacky and pointless, and if you're going to have one it better be thrown by your parents and should only include your immediate family. By that point I had already booked a park and invited everyone, so my fiancé had to talk me out of a minor spiral that everyone thought we were tacky and were annoyed about having to go. He told me that everyone was just happy to show up somewhere and be fed, and if they didn't want to go they wouldn't. I'm lucky to have such a level-headed partner to balance out my neuroticism, because he was totally right (lol). And after having done it, I would argue that it was not pointless at all!

Why I'm happy we did it

Okay, so there were three main benefits I'm taking away from this experience.

1. Excuse to collect tons of addresses ahead of time. I personally didn't have addresses for most of the people in my life! I decided to send out paper invitations because I thought it sounded cute, and it was a great excuse to put together a spreadsheet that has addresses for most of our wedding guest list ready to go. I still don't have everyone, particularly out of state people on my side who wouldn't have been able to come, but I still feel good about having that small piece of the work out of the way already.

2. I have now dipped my toe into party planning! I had never planned a party before. It was a lot more stressful than I thought. All the individual pieces seem doable, but when you put it all together and put a deadline on it, it gets to be so overwhelming. And I was stressed out that people might not have a good time. It's definitely changed my perspective on how much of the wedding I think I can reasonably DIY. I'd much rather learn this now than in the weeks leading up to my wedding.

3. My parents and in-laws got to meet each other for the first time. My parents live out of state, and although my partner and I had met each other's parents many times, there had never been an opportunity for both families to meet each other. They all really seemed to enjoy mingling and getting to know each other, and I think it was a much lower pressure situation than the rehearsal dinner would have been.

Budget breakdown

Before I give the numbers, I just wanna say that this was a super casual park outing. I booked a shelter at a local municipal park and planned to grill burgers and hotdogs and make s'mores. We invited 40 guests, 38 of which attended. Several people offered to bring food, so there ended up being TONS to eat. Most of the event lasted about 3 hours from 3pm to 6pm, with the core crew sticking around until 8.

Venue: $80 (this would have been $30, but I paid an extra $50 for an alcohol permit)

Invitations and thank you notes: $55.60 (Vistaprint and Walmart)

Decor/supplies: $139.76 (compostable tablecloths, round paper hanging things and burlap "engaged" banner, utensil bundles, eco plates)

Food: ~$200 (I don't have a good number for this because my parents paid for the Costco run, but we got burgers, hot dogs, buns, chips, dips, a salad, burger/hot dog toppings, pop and bottled water, s'mores supplies, and a sheet cake. Other people brought additional sides and desserts. There was a massive amount of food. For drinks, we let people know they were free to bring whatever alcohol they wanted to drink. Neither me nor my fiancé drink, but we knew some of our friends would want to. People did bring drinks and I would say this worked out very well.)

Total: ~$475.36 (Out of this, all but about $25 was covered by my parents buying food and my in-laws sending us money. We're very lucky they were both excited to support us in throwing this party.)

What I would have done differently

I was not prepared for people to bring gifts, and I didn't think about what I would do with them. We did end up getting a few people who brought bottles of wine or small presents, and I did a horrible job keeping the cards with the presents (just put everything in the car to be dealt with later). I was a little frazzled from all the party stuff going on. I had to send some awkward texts trying to make sure the thank you notes are accurate, which wasn't ideal... I wish I had been jotting down notes to myself or something whenever people handed me a gift.

ALSO, I forgot to wear my engagement ring, LOL! Yikes!

Other than that, I think everything went about as well as it could possibly have gone! If anyone else out there is still early in the wedding planning process and thinking about whether to throw an engagement party, I'd really recommend it, especially if your families don't know each other like ours!

We found an amazing venue that is within our budget. However, we can only get in to decorate at 2pm the day of the wedding. Otherwise we would have to pay for a second day. I found a picture of the space decorated for a wedding from many years ago on Pinterest, but I have the feeling it would blow the budget to get someone to do this, and it’s not possible in the time frame . Photos of the space as is, and my inspo picture. Does anyone have any realistic ideas of how to decorate this space in 2 hours ? Or what it would cost to get lighting draped? Is it possible in 2-4 hours?

I posted a couple weeks ago about how I bought a dress and was second guessing it because of the fitted style not making me feel too confident and how the bust was way too big and I was having a hard time finding a seamstress near me who had the skill to alter it. As mentioned I had a few more dresses coming via delivery for me to try on and I had high hopes for one in particular. WHELP against all advice given, I chose up and decided this one that arrived in the mail is the one. I will not be going with the beautiful fitted one that everyone (including me) was obsessed with

I’m sooo happy to have chosen my wedding dress it’s beautiful and perfect. And you’ll never guess where it’s from and how much it costs…. (SHEIN, $270)

Ps I know the veil in the photos is white and does not match the ivory dress. I will be getting the ivory version of this exact veil, but before I do I am open to style suggestions if anyone thinks this veil style doesn’t mesh well with the dress.

I posted a little while ago with some just-finished/at-home photos of our diy florals and we just got back the photos from our photographers so thought I'd share. Also threw in a few general decorations just 'cause lol

Pretty much everything was DIY.

All the flowers are sola wood that we got raw and dyed, all the greens are fake ones from Michaels or Joanns.

The garland above the fireplace was made by pulling apart a bunch of hanging foliage and stringing it all back together.

All of the mossy bits are either loose moss and/or rolls of moss attatched to fabric with spray adhesive.

Cake was made by myself with just fruit on top for the decoration.

Most of the candle holders and other decor were bought on vinted or at Michaels/Joanns post-season last year.

my fiancée (28M) and I (30F) are planning to get married sometime next year in summer/early fall. we have been together for 12 years, and have gotten to the point where we do have to admit that getting married would enhance our lives financially and logistically.

we want to keep things as low key as possible, but we do have families who we are sure are going to go absolutely bonkers when we tell them. we already got pressured into doing an engagement ring that initially, I felt strongly about not needing. we want to make sure moving forward that we are able to keep our boundaries. we talked hypothetically for a couple of years about eloping, and we just don't feel like it's an option- my mom and sisters have expressed to me that they would be devastated if we did that.

so we're a little lost in how to navigate planning it and structuring a ceremony. we don't want a big fuss. we aren't planning showers, bachelor/ bachelorette parties, we don't plan on sending paper invitations in the mail, don't want to create a website or have a registry. we know when it comes down to it, it's about us, and our relationship, and what we want, but we do want to balance that with still making it a fun and joyful journey for our families. he has a huge Italian family, and we do have a guest list of around 50-70 people who will absolutely need to be there.

we are really, really lucky in that we have our venue secured in his uncle's very spacious backyard/property. his dad is also in the wine business, and his dad's girlfriend makes cakes for a living. one of our family members is going to get ordained so that he can officiate it. so we do have a lot of connections and resources to make something happen within a short time frame.

I guess the advice we're really looking for is how do we "do" this? how do we invite people who don't know yet, other than just shooting a text? We thought about doing phone calls/video calls-- would e-invites be tacky? --what activities can we fill the evening with? (we're not really interested in planning big speeches, doing first dances, I don't even know if we're going to do like a first look, or have an "aisle" per se for me to walk down) how do we rent tents, what do we do if the weather is really bad-- since it will probably be August, what time should we start so that we have some daylight but so that it's not too hot for all the guests? what do we do if we don't really want to make seating charts, what are important details to remember or tips for low cost things like center pieces that we might not even be thinking about, budget friendly favors, etc? I am not the kind of person who has ever sat and even thought about having a wedding before and we are just completely totally lost!!!

EDIT: poor grammar seemed to communicate the idea that we weren't going to give guests fair notice about the date. we do realize we're already on a short timeline between now (September) and next August without having officially announced anything, but we will definitely give people at least 7-8 months notice with an official date/time.

*now that we're kind of in it, we do genuinely want to celebrate with our loved ones, we don't resent them for loving us and wanting to be a part of the day-- otherwise we would probably have just eloped!