MountainBride's biography
Yay ladies! My pro pics are here!
If you copy any of these, PLEASE credit our amazing photographers, Chris and Julie Sharber of Chris Sharber Photography, www.SharberPhoto.com
THE VENUE and our cloudy, rainy weather
GETTING READY and FIRST LOOK. I wore blue Chacos instead of heels, not only because it was 'us' but because it was SO easy to get around the rocky terrain at our venue!
We had to DIY all of our hair because of a snafu with the stylist two days before the wedding. A good friend of ours did all of the makeup.
Putting on the dress. . .an emotional moment! I cried the whole time!
THE CEREMONY
Some of my private music students performing at the ceremony
Our gorgeous FG in a silk gown designed and made by hand (DIY project), and our RB not far behind with our rings on a rope and caribeaner.
My three beautiful bridesmaids! All in DIY gowns inspired by Watters Bridesmaids
The last moments as Ms. J!
Enjoy the walk down the aisle, it goes by SO fast. . . .
Signing the license while our bridal party collected the large rocks our guest wrote on and held during the ceremony.
Pronouncing us 'Husband and Wife' as the FG/RB released doves that were a gift from a family friend.
Bridal Party
Our little attendants caught a butterfly!
BP and me in our Chacos!
BRIDALS
GROOM
COUPLES SHOTS
And our all-time favorite shot. . .this gorgeous artistic photo. It captures our love, and the weather on the big day!
DETAILS
Our Guest Book / Unity Rocks & DIY Wedding and Reception Signs that DH made
Brides Parents Wedding Photos Grooms Parents Photos DIY Ceremony Pomanders
THE RECEPTION
Just about to toss my break-away-bouquet. . . . . . .Flowers EVERYWHERE!
Stealing a smooch. . . .and watching our slideshow
Our youngest guest, pooped out on the floor !
PRO PHOTOS COMING SOON! CHECK BACK OFTEN :)
Our wedding was on July 12th, 2009 and was a beautiful event full of family, friends, and love.
My husband and I met in April, 2007 on Match.com. We were engaged on July 5th, 2008 and spent just over a year planning our budget-wedding.
When we started the planning process, we never imagined that it would turn into the elegant affair that it did: with our budget and thrifty spending habits we found it difficult to spend so much cash on just this one day. I never imagined wearing a traditional gown, or having beautiful floral arrangements and a formal sit-down dinner.
What we found, however, was that by shopping around we were able to have just that. We found a way to get that big white gown, and to have beautiful centerpieces and flowers without breaking the bank. The biggest compliment we received about our wedding was that it was really 'us'.
The personal touches are remembered!
Our planning and budget info is after all of the wedding photos.
DIY ring shots
Just for fun!
____________________________________________________________________________________
PRO TEASERS Courtesy of Chris Sharber Photography, www.sharberphoto.com
Our Professional Flush-Mount Album
It's hard to imagine that our whole engagement and wedding is over, and wrapped up in this 10x10 leather bound album. I love it, but it's bittersweet having it here knowing that this whole experience is now simply a memory. Enjoy ever second, because it goes by so fast! If you spend money on NOTHING else, get yourself some outstanding photography and a professional album!
NON-PRO PHOTOS
Getting ready! Our DIY hair, and wonderful makeup by our good friend Kari.
My MOH doing my hair
My dress, and our the FG dress I made. FG's mom buttoning her up!
The cloudy, stormy weather
My wonderful string students, performing their very first wedding gig!
Our RB has our rings on a caribeaner around his neck. . . .
After the ceremony our guests had to run back to the lodge because it had started to rain. Dave and I walked back together and our photographers got some wonderful photos of our first moments together as husband and wife.
My brother and his GF sneaking their laptop in so they could play the chicken dance. . .! Our efforts were thwarted.
Before everybody left, I got to do my bouquet toss. I had told nobody about my plan for the toss, which was a bouquet of red carnations. We got all the girls on the dance floor and I had them count to 3 before I threw it.
Everybody screamed as the bouquet broke to pieces and went flying all over the place!
People loved it, and everybody got a flower.
Out on the patio our luminaries flickered while the sound of the river rushed by unter the deck. It was a beautiful, warm evening.
The Colors
We based our colors on wildflowers in Colorado.
We used champagne, ivory, and brown as neutrals with green, purple, and bright yellow.
The Venue
We shopped several venues and fell in love with the Wild Basin Lodge because of it's budget-friendly price point, outstanding reviews, helpful staff, and rustic elegant mountain setting.
WBL was recently featured on the Lifetime networks show 'Get Married', and has received several awards. The furtniture is all hand-made and the river rushes by the deck which is nestled in Colorado pine and aspen trees.
The Dress
I bought my dress on Ebay for $170. It is a silk satin Marisa 569 gown that was a store sample from a bridal salon in Michigan. After having it dry cleaned and replacing a few buttons, the gown was in new condition! I retailed for $1500 and was recently discontinued.
I fell in love with the simplicity, low back and sweetheart neckline, silk fabric, and the sash!
Bustle inspiration (if these are your photos please PM me. . .I got a little save happy on the photos!)
I wore the dress with two crinolines (one I bought on craigslist for $25 and sewed directly into the lining, the other my MOH's crinoline as my 'something borrowed').
The Bridesmaids
After shopping for bridesmaid gowns we fell in love with a $280 Watters silk and lace gown. The price was a bit much, so we DIY them using polyester Dupioni and lace from Joann's fabric. The total cost for 3 gowns was $150. It was a lot of work but they were gorgeous in the end!
Flower Girl
Our flower girl was 8 years old, so I didn't want to have her wear a typical poofy frilly dress. I designed and made her a gown out of silk dupioni and created a sash for it out of the same purple we used for the bridesmaids. Her gown was finished with functional bridal buttons down the back.
The Shoes
Because DH and I are often outside hiking more than inside (you'd never know based on how much time I spend on PW!) we thought it would be a cute touch for the girls and young attendants to wear Chacos.
I wore blue ones, my BM's had their own colors, and as a gift to our FG and RB we bought them some of their own.
Guys Attire
All of the men wore charcoal suits of their choice. The Groomsmen wore green ties, the dad's blue ties, and my husband wore a champagne tie to match the sash on my gown.
The Flowers
We found a wonderful florist in Estes Park who was not only sweet, but extremely talented. For $480 we got:
3 BM bouquets
1 Bridal bouquet
Cake flowers and toss petals
Large sunflowers for our centerpieces
11 assorted corsages and bouts
Inspiration:
Purple callas, ivory roses, yellow berries, lavendar, green grasses
The Centerpieces
I was inspired early on by submerged flower centerpieces. Our actual CP's at the wedding had sunflowers in them, these photos are from our trials.
The mirrors are from my MOH's wedding. We bought 7x7 vases one at a time from Michael's using 40% off coupons, and the table runners are a DIY project using 6 yards of taffeta I found on clearance at JoAnn Fabrics.
Each of our tables was named after a peak in Colorado that DH had photographed. We placed the prints in acrylic frames ($1.00 at Walmart) with a tag on the side.
We used large river rocks as 'escort cards', and the menus were printed at home onto cards we bought at Michaels (a DIY kit on clearance).
DIY Table Runners
I was snooping around the clearance fabrics at JoAnn's when I came across 6 yards of champagne taffeta with leaves embroidered on it. It could not have been more perfect for our wedding, so I set out to make 12 table runners out of it. I paid $24.00 for all 6 yards of fabric.
Our tables sat 8-10, so I made each table runner 3 yards long (9 feet) and hemmed the edge using an iron and a sewing machine.
DIY Cardbox
This is an $8.99 ivory hatbox embellished with ribbon and some silver dollars.
Luminaries for the Patio
We made these using paper sacks and a leaf punch from Michaels. I bought flicker lights from Big Lots and the Dollar Store.
Ode to our parents
Both of us are lucky to have parents in stable, long term marriages. We wanted to illustrate their example and made them each an 8x10 framed collage of their own wedding photos to display at the wedding.
I found rock-based photo holders at Kohl's on clearance and bought them to hold a sign with the names and wedding date.
The Favors
Edible favors are the ONLY way to go! We made these adorable fudge wedding cakes for each guest, and topped them with different flower picks to look like wildflowers.
Ceremony Decor
DH painted these signs using a stencil and old wood he collected from an abandoned mine area (he's a mining engineer)
We lined the aisle with galvanized buckets on shephard hooks, and used them for our programs. Please ignore the bow, we changed that! We also made large pomanders out of silk hydrangeas.
The shephard hooks were cheaper to buy on sale at Joanns than to rent used ones from the florist!
Invitations
We made our invitations using metallic cardstock and supplies from www.cardsandpockets.com and the Donahue Paper Emporium in Denver, CO
Rehearsal Dinner Invitations
I used leftover invitation paper and ribbon with some new vellum to create these.
Hair and Makeup
A good friend of ours did our makeup as a wedding gift: she is a Bare Escentuals artist.
The BEFORE: The AFTER:
Hair Inspiration
Our hair flowers, $5.99 bunches of silk magnolias from Michaels
The Music
I teach violin and viola, and had a few of my private students perform music for the ceremony. As gifts I gave them each a Manhassat stand and a framed professional photo of them performing from our photographers.
I also wrote some of the ceremony music. One piece for the seating of the parents, and one for the unity part.
In a perfect world, they would have sent me down the aisle to Tchaikovsky's 'Serenade for Strings'. That was a little on the tough side, so I went with Pachelbels Canon since they were so excited to play it!
It was more important to me that they enjoy and learn from the experience than what song I was going to walk to!
Rehearsal Dinner Outfit
I found a white, eylet dress at the Dress Barn for $34.99. I embellished it was a satin rolled flower from JoAnn Fabrics, $2.99 and a pair of shoes I found on clearance at DSW shoe wearhouse.
Our wedding was on July 12th, 2009 and was a beautiful event full of family, friends, and love.
My husband and I met in April, 2007 on Match.com. We were engaged on July 5th, 2008 and spent just over a year planning our budget-wedding.
When we started the planning process, we never imagined that it would turn into the elegant affair that it did: with our budget and thrifty spending habits we found it difficult to spend so much cash on just this one day. I never imagined wearing a traditional gown, or having beautiful floral arrangements and a formal sit-down dinner.
What we found, however, was that by shopping around we were able to have just that. We found a way to get that big white gown, and to have beautiful centerpieces and flowers without breaking the bank. The biggest compliment we received about our wedding was that it was really 'us'.
The personal touches are remembered!
Our planning and budget info is after all of the wedding photos.
____________________________________________________________________________________
OUR WEDDING WEEKEND
I will re-post with pro pictures once I have them!
We drove to our wedding city on Friday afternoon to check into a cabin near our venue where we would be staying for the whole weekend. Once we arrived, we got to meet the lady who would be our coordinator for our Sunday wedding and unpack all of our decorations and attire into a rustic 2 bedroom cabin that was owned originally by the couple who built the Wild Basin Lodge.
On the way back to our cabin, we got a phone message that the lady I hired to do our hair had 'talked to some of her friends and, if it would be ok with me that she (basically double) her rate'. That is, she called a budget bride two days before her wedding to charge more money than what was originally quoted in writing:
I promptly called her back and let her know that we would not be needing her services!
On Saturday morning, Dave and I got some time to ourselves. It was a time that I absolutely cherish; we went to have some coffee at Starbucks, and spent a few hours hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.
When we returned, my bridesmaids came over and helped me manicure my nails, another DIY project that came out really nice! Since I had fired our hair lady, we also rallied together and did a trial run on my Matron of Honors hair. We were successful, and confident that we would be able to do our own hair for the day of the wedding.
We did a 'final' fitting of my gown, as my MOH had brought her crinoline for my something borrowed. We tried it two different ways (I had sewn a full crinoline into the dress already and was worried that adding hers would make it too full) and unanimously decided that wearing two crinolines was the way to go!
The rehearsal was SO much fun! We had my brother stand in for our officiant who couldn't be there, and called him 'Father Patrick'. I wore a white eyelet lace dress: $39.99 from the Dress Barn embellished with a $2.99 satin flower.
We had a family style dinner at an Italian restuarant, and Dave and I stood up to toast our family and bridal party. . .unsuccesfully! Both of us broke down into tears and couldn't say a word. We passed out gifts and enjoyed the evening.
The Wedding!
Dave and I woke up on the morning of the wedding, and after a quick shower and a kiss goodbye the day was off to it's start. I dried my hair out with a roller brush, but was so nervous that I really messed up my bangs! We had to work pretty hard to get them to straighten out properly.
My bridesmaids came at 8am and we had a breakfast of yummy egg, ham, and feta cheese sandwiches in the kitchen of our cabin. I remember being pretty sick to my stomach, just full of anticipation and not sure how the day was going to go. . .especially without a hair lady!
We heated up the curling irons and got started on Kirstins hair; talk about frustrating. . .our first attempt was a complete nightmare, and not a good way to start the day. Before I went almost bridezilla about it, we took it out and started all over again. Kirstin was so patient. . .
Kari, a friend of ours arrived around 10am to do our makeup. She was instrumental to our day; and gave us so much of her time and insight to help us get the hair done correctly. Her tips turned my MOH Theresa into a bonafide hairstylist, and before we knew it Kirstin had the most beautiful up-do.
Kari worked on my makeup while Theresa finished Kirstin's hair and started on her own. Meanwhile, Dave and some of the guys had gone into town for breakfast and relaxation before returning to start with the decorations.
I started getting nervous when 11.30am rolled around and my mother, dad, and sister were nowhere to be found. We had expected them between 9 and 10am, and nobody had even called to explain the delay.
Our bridesmaid dresses were handmade by my mom and I, and on the day of the wedding still needed to have the hems done. This was the reason my mom was coming so early; to help finish the hems! Luckily, a friend of Dave's family was on hand and finished the hems for us while the girls and I moved my gown and all of our hair and makeup supplies to the bridal suite in the lodge.
Our move to the lodge opened up the cabin for the guys to work on decorations, and also gave them a retreat to hang out for the hour before the wedding. While they were doing that, us girls were spoiled by the staff at WBL who brought us Mimosas, answered questions, and helped with any little thing we needed.
I did get to run downstairs for a bit and see how the decorations were coming along, and then once I returned to the lodge I wouldn't come out again unless I was in a wedding gown!
Kari and Theresa started on my hair, and I remember being so stressed out because at 12.30 we still had no news from my missing family. This was extremely upsetting to me; every bride wants her mom there on her wedding day and mine was nowhere to be found.
At this point I still had a huge knot in my stomach: my mom being MIA paired with really cloudy rainy weather made for a very nervous and stressed out bride. I went into another room and watched people bring in the decorations through the window while my bridesmaids and flower girl started getting dressed.
My mom finally showed up around 1.15pm; we were all supposed to be dressed and ready by 1.30. It turns out that in trying to finish her own dress (another DIY project), she ruined part of it and had to rework the entire hem the morning of the wedding. I really wish that she had just bought a dress. . .having her show up late, stressed out herself, and in a dress that she wasn't happy with put a huge black cloud over our day. When she arrived, she was still working on it!&nb sp; Not to mention the fact that my sisters dress wasn't done (another BM), and my fathers pants were not hemmed.
Our photographers arrived at 1.30, ready to start taking pictures. The room was tense as friends and our coordinator helped my mom get everything finished. I finally started to calm down and relax a bit, and helped tie sashes onto my Bridesmaids gowns. I LOVE this photo of Kirstin. . .I don't look great, but she is stunning in this picture!
The nervousness I felt at that point came from knowing that I would soon be stepping into my own dress. . .a gown that I worked so hard for! I had nightmares that it wouldn't fit the day of the wedding, or that I wouldn't look good in it.
Chris and Julie (our wonderful photographers) came in and got some pictures of us getting ready, and of our bouquets and the rings. Our bouquets had arrived in a box and were so much more than I ever imagined!
Around 2.15 we started with my dress; the nervous feeling I got at that time is coming back to me even now as I write this! Kirstin, Theresa, and my mom opened the dress up and I dropped my bra onto the floor as it went over my head (I didn't wear anything under the dress but a crinoline and some shapewear). The moment of truth had come. . .would the dress zip and feel too snug?
Much to my surprise, the dress was actually loose! It felt great; I was so worried that my (yes) visit from Aunt Flo would make the dress too tight. . .but it fit! As Kirstin zipped it up I said 'is that it?' It didn't cinch down on my waist, and felt looser than it every had.
Our coordinator started working on the buttons, which took about 20 minutes because one fell off and she had to sew it back on while I was in the dress!
We used safety pins to tack on the sash, and throughout the whole process I was a complete mess! I couldn't hold back the tears and couldn't believe that we were there. It was almost time!
The staff at WBL had been watching a weather doppler, and indicated that if we started the wedding on time we would just miss a rain storm. I hated having to worry about the weather - we are a very out doorsy couple and getting married indoors was not an option.
ing married indoors was not an option.
The staff ushered everybody out of the room as my dress was finished, and for 5 minutes I had time with our photographers doing bridal portraits. Guests had already arrived and were waiting in the lobby for their cue to walk to the ceremony site. Because we were going to do the first look in the lobby and nobody had thought about the guests, the staff had found another location and brought Dave to a place on a balcony off of another room in the lodge.
I was so nervous. . .I knew that Dave would love my dress and hair, but it was a look that I did so much work for and of course I imagined him not liking it. I peeked out of the sliding doors onto the balcony and could see him waiting there; on cue I started walking towards him. All I could think about was how I was going to get his attention once I was there, and about the sound of my dress as is whooshed past the supports on the deck.
As soon as he turned around we hugged, and I cried some more! Our photographers captured the whole thing, and as soon as they could the staff seperated us again for the wedding to start. I had thought it was only 3pm and that I would have a few minutes to myself, which didn't happen. They sent Dave to his spot at the alter, and me to the car for a drive to the meadow; we had to start on time! Stormy weather was rolling in. . . .
Our BM's loaded into their cars and headed to the site.
Immediately I felt better - seeing Dave first eliminated every ounce of worry and stress from the morning. My brother was waiting out front with his truck, and I climbed into the front seat with his girlfriend Whitney and our photographer Chris in the back. I gave my engagement ring to Whitney, and we bounced down a bumpy dirt road to access the meadow.
Halfway to the site, I realized that the marriage license and rings were in the bridal suite!
I got out of the car and alerted the staff, who sent Allison running back (what normally is a 2-minute walk) to get them. I looked down and noticed that my dress was already getting dirty; I had a squashed mosquito on the train!
Allison came back and we started the ceremony. Three of my awesome students were playing music and trying so hard to keep their pages from turning in the wind, while concentrating on the first wedding they had every performed at!
During our vows, the wind started blowing pretty hard, and I would ocassionally feel a drip of rain land on my shoulders. At one point, after a large gust of wind, our officiant made a wonderful comment about how something like that makes him think that God is in our presence.
Towards the end of the ceremony we had our bridal party collect large river rocks from our guests, on which they had written wishes and prayers for us. We combined them into a basket on the table while we signed our marriage license.
A friend of our family gifted us a dove release (she does them at weddings as a business), which included 8 albino homing pigeons in a box. Our young attendants waited anxiously for their cue to open the box. . .I kept having to whisper 'not yet' and 'just another minute' to them.
When the time came for our kiss, the kids pulled the box out on the front (ie. . wrong) side of the table! Everybody had to move out of the way, and then we realized that nobody had told our officiant. The look on his face was priceless.
After the ceremony our guests had to run back to the lodge because it had started to rain. Dave and I walked back together and our photographers got some wonderful photos of our first moments together as husband and wife.
After our 10 minute break upstairs, Dave and I came to our reception hall. The coordinator opened the doors as my brother (our 'DJ') introduced as as husband and wife.
We headed straight to the dance floor for our first dance to Stohl Vaughn's 'Desire'
We had never danced together before! At one point I remember thinking 'wow, when will this song end?'. I loved our first dance, but it's a lot of emotional stuff in front of a lot of people. DH sung to me, it was very very sweet.
After our dance ended, everybody clapped and there was an akward pause as my brother fiddled with the music to turn on the jazz for dinner service. Everybody sat down for salad while DH and I worked the room visiting with our guests.
We were able to sit down and enjoy dinner: with only 65 guests (including our bridal party) it didn't take long for us to make our way around to every table.
Our bridal party and several friends worked really hard on our decorations, and the room was beautiful!
Our fudge wedding cakes were pretty much gone by the time we came to the reception - they were a HUGE hit! We didn't get a single good picture of the fudge cakes, but you can see them sitting above the napkins.
We also used large river rocks as our 'escort' cards. Our tables were named after Colorado peaks; each table had a photo of the peak it was named after (taken by DH) in an acrylic photo frame.
Our guests enjoyed mint rubbed trout and beef chateaux with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. The food was delicious and several people said it was the best meal they had ever had at a wedding!
After the slideshow (which was full of photos of DH climbing ice and rocks, precariously perched on high edges. . .) my brother got on the microphone and said 'The slideshow with Dave up high on rocks and Chris nowhere near him confirmed for me the fact that either Dave is crazy or Chris is still a wuss!' Everybody laughed. Then my dad got on the microphone in response to some of the photos where I myself was precariously perched and said 'Dave, you took my daughter WHERE?'!
It was time to cut the cake! We picked up the ice axe and a staff lady came over and said 'you aren't going to cut the cake with THAT, are you?' Well, of course we were!
The cake was gorgeous. . .it was so hard to cut into because we didn't want to destroy it!
Unfortunately our reception ended early. Having the wedding on a Sunday, paired with a long drive home met us with having to say goodbye to our guests and hour before the reception was set to end. I was so sad about this, but there wasn't much I could do.
Before everybody left, I got to do my bouquet toss. I had told nobody about my plan for the toss, which was a bouquet of red carnations. We got all the girls on the dance floor and I had them count to 3 before I threw it.
Everybody screamed as the bouquet broke to pieces and went flying all over the place!
People loved it, and everybody got a flower.
Out on the patio our luminaries flickered while the sound of the river rushed by unter the deck. It was a beautiful, warm evening.
went into wedding planning never imagining that I would wear a traditional, white, poofy dress. Feeling that I didn't deserve better I set out to find a dress for less than $100.
I was even thinking of making my dress! Originally, I wanted a simple, not-poofy a-line dress with a v-neckline, allover lace, and a small train like this:
(Demetrios, I *think*)
And we were going to make it. My BM's and I decided we better go dress shopping (for the experience) and to make sure that I not only wanted to make my dress, but that the v-neck allover lace was what I wanted!
The first dress I tried on was a v-neck gown. . .a $280 Casablanca.
Yikes.
Then came the halter all-over lace. Um, no. The back looked AWEFUL.
So we went for the Alfred Angelo gowns
I really wanted some color in my dress because I felt like all-white washed me out too much and didn't photograph as well.
We tried on some strapless gowns, and all of a sudden I started to change my idea of what I wanted!
I wanted a train, and I wanted strapless. . .the two things I thought I would never ever do!
I really did not want a corset back. . .they are too busy, and too much like lingerie to me. But, I did try on this Maggie Sottero gown, and my BM's LOVED IT. All of a sudden I was SOLD on the strapless, and sold on the idea of NOT having all-over lace!
Another store brought out the taffeta, ruched gowns that we were starting to like.
And then came this Christina Wu, and we all CRIED we loved it so much. . .and I was back to the all-over lace.
It was also $900, and I what I found was that I really wanted a poofy bridal gown but not for that price.
Just for kicks, we shopped one more time, and being adventerous I tried on this $1700 Simone Carvalli
I was IN LOVE. It had everything I wanted. . .beautiful lace, color in the sash. . .
I was not in love with the price tag. So I thought about buying a cheap davinci all-over lace strapless gown and making a sash for it. I realized that such a feat would easily cost me $500 or more, and dropped the idea.
I resigned myself to looking for gowns on ebay, and just kept an open mind. I found this beautiful a-line Christina Wu store sample, and $89.00 later it showed up at my house.
I liked it. . .but it really wasn't appropriate for a mountain wedding. I sat on it for a while and my mom and I continued to scour Ebay for gowns. She found a James Clifford silk store sample gown for $198, in it's day it retailed for $2600 and I really really loved it. I STILL think that this would have been the perfect dress. . .but when I went to click 'buy it now' somebody else beat me to it by literally 5 seconds, and the dress was gone.
I was so very very dissapointed, because I sat on this dress just a few seconds too long and let it pass me by. But, there was a reason for it! The next day I found this Marisa gown on Ebay, selling as a Buy it Now for $130 + shipping.
I was in love, again. It was silk, retailed for $1500, had buttons down the back, a strapless sweetheart neckline with a low back, and a GIANT sash. My hesitation was that it was a small size 10, and at the time I was a size 12-14.
I ordered it anyways. She was in BEAUTIFUL condition aside from some hem dirt and a few missing buttons.
I replaced some of the buttons, and had her cleaned. But, she didn't fit. . .at all. . .and I loved her.
So in January I set out to lose weight. I was 4-5 inches off of the hip and waist measurements for a Marisa size 10 gown. I changed my eating habits, started working out more, and saw myself change from week to week.
In April, the dress zipped for the first time.
And in June, the gown was too big in the bust. I had to have it taken in!
I loved my dress, and got so many compliments on it. Losing weight was a life-change, not just for the dress but because I wanted to be healthy and thin again. I went from a size 12-14 to a size 6-8, and haven't looked back.
Dave and I wanted to do something unique for our unity ceremony, something that was memorable, special, and fitting for a mountain wedding.
I was inspired by a ceremony that involved guests holding small river rocks during the ceremony, and combining them to signify the coming together of both the couple and two groups of family and friends.
(courtesy of Knottie thecheshirekat)
In speaking with our officiant, we though it would be special to take this one step further: we came up with the idea of having our guests not only hold their rocks during the ceremony, but use pens to write sentiments on them.
We bought nearly 40 pounds of large decorative river rocks from Walmart, and spent an hour at Michael's trying to find a pen that would write on them, dry quickly, and not rub off. Slick Writers in black and white did the trick!
We made a sign on the printer for our guests to know what to do with the rocks, which greeted them while they waited to be escorted to the ceremony.
At the cermemony, our guests wrote prayers, wishes, and advice for us on the rocks. They carried them to the site where we had our wedding and our bridal party collected them after our officiant made a speech about the coming together of two groups of friends and family. Our string trio played a song that I wrote while they were brought to the front and placed in a basket.
They are now in our home in a large vase that will be used as a plant stand! People see it when they come in our house, and I love the feeling I get when I see it everyday.
Vendors
Venue: www.wildbasinlodge.com
Photography: www.sharberphoto.com
Cake: www.coloradorosecakeco.com
Flowers: www.fdofeurope.com
Budget Breakdown and TIPS
We considered our event a 'budget wedding', not because we couldn't afford more but because we couldn't justify more. There was no point in spending $1500 on a dress when I could get one for $130, or on spending $15K for a venue when we could get throw an entire wedding for $1000's less.
Our entire expense for the wedding was ~$13,500.
A bulk of that amount was in photojournalistic professional photography, which included full printing rights and a $1000 album credit.
Our photography bill was just under $4000, leaving $9500 for everything else, including the venue, food, officiant, attire, and decorations.
The Venue
We initially looked for venues in the notoriously celeb-attracting yuppy ski towns of Breckenridge, Vail, and Aspen. While what we found was beautiful, it was also extremely expensive. One gorgeous venue we considered would have cost us $10,000 just in it's rental alone. Another required a $14,000 food and beverage minimum, and that was not including the cost to rent the site and reception hall.
Not willing to shell out that kind of cash for one day, we looked to the smaller mountain town of Estes Park, CO. Still known for stunning mountain views but lacking the all-important ski resort, the prices in Estes were less than half of what we were being quoted elsewhere.
*Consider switching cities when looking for a venue! Sometimes you can find something equally as gorgeous that is just a little off the beaten path.
We drove up for a visit to the Wild Basin Lodge and were sold as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. . .it was that simple.
For $90/head the rental was all-inclusive of appetizers, entrees served with salad, cake cutting, 2 hours DOC, champagne toast, staff, and rental of the building and ceremony site. It was a great way to keep our budget under control, and made some of the planning decisions so easy.
For 65 guests and 2 vendors + a $500 bar tab, taxes, and gratuity, we paid less than $8000. Our guests dined on organic, homemade foods including meatballs, spinach dip, mixed greens salad, beef tenderloin, mint rubbed trout, and mashed red potatoes. They enjoyed microbrews from the bar and world-class service from the staff that our photographers said went above and beyond any wedding they had every seen.
The Decorations
We purchased many of our decorations at Michaels using 40% off coupons.
Our 7x7 vases were purchased one at a time using the coupon, saving us over $100.
We asked our florist for recommendations of inexpensive flowers for our centerpieces; she mentioned sunflowers as being bright, mountain-y, and very inexpensive. We paid $20 for ALL of the flowers for our CP's.
We found our river rocks cheaper in places like Tuesday Mornings, Ross, and the Dollar Store.
We DIY our table runners at a total cost of $25.00 using clearance fabric from JoAnns
Our table number frames were $1.00 each at Walmart, compared to $2.99 at Michael's
Our CP mirrors were leftover from my MOH's wedding
The Flowers
When speaking with our florist, we mentioned our budget concerns and she helped us create a floral order (4 bouquets, 15 assorted bouts, cake and toss flowers, and sunflowers for our CP's) for less than $500. We used limited amounts of calla lillies, accented with cheaper flowers such as ivory roses, berries, and greenery.
Fresh Aspen leaves were picked fresh by our GM's and scattered on the tables the day-of, so FREE :)
The Cake
We chose a cake that was simple but still beautiful and were able to get a 3-tier cake with 3 different flavorings for less than $400. We could have easily spent more! To save money on the cake, go with ribbon and flowers instead of intricate designs and piping.
The Girls
We made the BM gowns, knocking off a $280 Watters dress for $50 each using 40% of JoAnn Fabrics coupons and our killer seamstress skills :)
I made the FG dress using silk dupioni for $50. It was a labor of love and one of my favorite DIY projects.
I bought a store sample gown, saving me easily $1500 or more if you include the cost of alterations and cleaning. (www.ebay.com)
I price shopped alterations and found somebody to do it who had competitive rates and fabulous skills. (www.alterationsbyjudy.com)
I bought jewelry for the girls and myself from Kohls. All of the pearl sets I chose were less than $10.00 each on clearance, and I didn't compromise at all: they were exactly what we wanted.
We had a friend do our makeup as a wedding gift
I purchased one of my two crinolines from a bride on Craigslist, a $75 DB piece for $20.00. The other crinoline belonged to my MOH and was my 'something borrowed'
We DIY our hair the day of the wedding - if you do this, do some research online about pinning curls and trial at home first!
The Guys
The ties for our GM's and Fathers were purchased at Men's Wearhouse as part of a BOGO promotion.
The GM's wore a charcoal suit of their choice, saving them each $100's
The Music
We did the IPOD DJ thing, and loaded up our laptop with a 5 hour mix of music for appetizers, dinner, and dancing.
My brother played 'DJ', and announced us to the reception, got the dancing going, and was the MC for the evening. I typed up a one-page outline of our timeline and he was able to follow that while still enjoying the evening and not be tied to the DJ table.
My dad had access to a new PA system through one of his volunteer jobs and got it for us to use for free.
Hey Colorado Girls!
We have an awesome, friendly group on PW.
Come hang out with us, chat about wedding services in the area, and tell us about your big day!
http://www.projectwedding.com/groups/boards/colorado-brides
Hey Teachers!
Educators, nannys, counselors!
We have an educators group for those of us planning a wedding or nesting around our crazy and sometimes emotional lives as teachers. Share your struggles, advice, funny kiddo sayings, and love for teaching with us!
http://www.projectwedding.com/groups/boards/educators
