Gothic Fairytale Wedding

Something like this

Holy shit I love that @Blair! So gorgeous!

@JamieLynn, to me, I'd feel it would follow the romantic goth aesthetic. Lots of flowy fabrics, wine colors, lace, etc. Put Cinderella is a gothic ball gown and that's it.

However, OP never specified in her first post about her gothic wedding as to what "version" of goth she'd be following. I'm assuming for a wedding there it would be romantic and/or traditional goth styles.

Dog included

Unlike Samantha, I have seen this scheme in the wild plenty of times, and its not pretty. One family was running so late with the prep that I almost had to leave before the ceremony. And there is never enough ice. Doesn't sound like a big problem? It is.

This is nothing about judgement; it's about what is realistic and what isn't.

Get a caterer. hire pros, and let it be a nice event instead of 'hey kids let's put on a show".

That bouquet is beautiful...and it's probably, in my area, over 200.00

On Aliexpress its $31 but you have to get it a month in advance if your doing free shipping

I am guessing Celia is referring to the bouquet Blair posted. There is a lot to be said for carrying a single, exquisite, real rose in a dark red with this theme. Very high drama, very fairytale.

The bouquet is pretty. Can you post another picture from another angle.

Everyone seems to be assuming you are going to need to rent everything. For my engagement party we borrowed 8 8' long tables, white linens and chairs from my aunt. We bought 50 champagne glasses and 100 wine glasses from the dollar tree. It was cheaper than renting plus we get to keep them for the next party. Not sure if your family has a lot of big parties but if they do you probably have a lot of this stuff already. You're getting married in May. You may not need a tent. If your FH sister is a professional baker and you want to hire her to bake your cake I see no problem with it. The cake should be done and displayed before the ceremony starts so it shouldn't take away from her fun at the event unless you are having her cut and serve it. I would not do that if I were you.

@EW - most people don't have 100 wine glasses and 50 champagne glasses just sitting around for the next party. I have a large family, and we do large gatherings often - and there is no reason for us to have that many glasses, linens, chairs, etc.

Reality is - most people who are having a backyard wedding need to rent all of these things. It adds up really quickly.

Other angle

Another

Op, you are making some very poor choices and defending them by saying that because you and your FH agree, it's done. That's a pretty bad way of doing things. Are you saying that because it's agreed upon, you feel it's okay to treat your most honored guests like crap? Because that is what is being done.

Of course, we once again see @EW with her fabulous advice...or not. Most people don't buy 150 glasses and most people don't have 8, 8' tables and linens lying around. Most people also don't advocate for taking the least appropriate way of doing things, either, so there's that.

Oh, and yes OP, you WILL still need a tent in May, since it does tend to rain quite a bit. You should fully expect to have much higher expenses with your backyard wedding, even using your guests as slave labor, than you would if you had it at a venue. Plus you'll also likely be frazzled and stressed the entire few weeks leading up to your wedding, and triply so on your wedding day because YOU personally should oversee everything to make sure it's done.

Of course, from the artful way you've ignored everyone who has so far told you this is a bad idea, you will likely delegate that off on another glitter covered slave, and then gripe about it after it's all over, how everything wasn't perfect or up to your vision standard.

At least now you can't go into this calamity ignorantly. You now KNOW you are treating people poorly, and that will be fully reflected in the way you act and treat them, and your guests will realize that you don't care about them, you care about your wedding.

For the people who responded to my Honeyfunds are rude post, this goes hand and hand with it. This kind of behavior is usually showcased right alongside other rude choices, and THIS type of thinking and behavior is why I stop associating with people who make those kinds of choices: because once they make one rude choice it often snowballs and eventually turns into using other people, much like this situation.

Bouquet first is lovely but the white is throwing me off, if it was a dark wine purple or red I would be sold with your theme.

I am having a backyard wedding and not to save money. We are doing it at my future in-laws’ house because it’s a special place to us and our families. They have hosted multiple weddings there and live on a rather large piece of land in a secluded area so we don’t have to worry about noise ordinances, or space for enough parking. While they have invested in some of our rental needs over the course of the previous weddings (a few tables, portable space heaters, plenty of outdoor electric outlets), my future father in law even built additional outdoor bathrooms last year. We will be renting or purchasing a good deal; linens, tables, chairs, wine glasses, etc. Our catering company is providing the silverware and plates. We are inviting 55 people (10 kids) and are allocated budget is currently sitting at 7,000 with rentals, bartending, catering, attire, makeup artist, flowers, photography, and the cost of a house cleaner to come in the day before the wedding…was not putting that on my future mother in law or myself. That does not include the cost of beer, and the wine will be from our collection. Pulling off a nice backyard wedding is possible but it is often not cheaper or less stress.