We are married!
Our ceremony was on Saturday, October 5th and we received all our pro photos back by the 11th – seriously such a great surprise!
We also had the most perfect weather for our day – sunny and 78 degrees with no rain! Our wedding was held in a Catholic Church in a cute little German town in Indiana. Reception was at a local Knights of Columbus Hall – locations like this are super common where I’m from so hopefully this will be helpful in showing other brides that you can still have a beautiful wedding working what’s available and what’s in your budget!
We got engaged on September 4th, 2018 so we had almost exactly 13 months to plan. Within the first week we had almost all the big items, then were pretty good about getting all the DIYs done during the winter months. There are a few details that I would have preferred to not leave until the last minute but was forced to because of the chaos of buying/moving into a new house but it all worked out in the end.
Everything went super smooth, and we had no planner or day-of coordinator so I’m very grateful for that. The only few hiccups were that the priest missed a special tradition during our ceremony, but we ended up doing it after all the guests had left which made it more special and personal in a way. We also didn’t get all our photos complete before the ceremony like we had planned but still had plenty of time to do them afterwards. The band also introduced us into the reception first instead of after all bridal party…I’ve never seen that at a wedding before, so it was funky, but we just rolled with it.
Some of my favorite parts: I did a first look with my dad and
my husband (separately lol). The one
with my dad was super emotional and lots of tears were flowing! My husband and I were just super happy to see
each other, and it was nice to get our photos done. We did the “standard” vows, but my husband
got so choked up he could barely say them.
There was not a dry eye in the place and we were both crying – same thing
happened at the rehearsal the night before 
. After the ceremony, our bridal party went to
a local German Pub across the street from the church for 30 minutes or so – it was
awesome to get to relax with them!
We greeted our guests by releasing them from their pews in the church. I think this worked well and was a different version of a receiving line that allowed older guests to remain sitting. We didn’t get to talk to that many people at the reception, so I am so glad we did this! Our biggest regret is that we allowed our photographer to take too many sunset photos. We told her she could steal us away for 10 minutes while guests were getting cake, but I think we were gone for an hour+! We were sad to see people leaving that we didn’t get to talk to more and would rather have had that time with our guests than more photos. We had a head table (again, super common in Midwest) but mixed up the arrangement so that everyone could talk to each other more. Their dates were also at a nearby table. Dinner was very casual so as soon as people were done eating they were walking around to talk to who they wanted – I think this kind of goes hand in hand with the open seating.
I have a huge family (we’re talking 42 first cousins on my
side) so we invited around 360 people (need to check for the exact number) …We
were shocked that the 20+% decline rule was true with our guests. Around 250 people RSVP’d yes, and we had a
few no-shows. A few have reached out to me,
but I am surprised by the others who haven’t said anything. THEIR LOSS! 
Budget: We wanted to stay around $12,000 which was pretty fair for the size of party that we had.
We went a little over because of the last-minute decision to add video
so we have our fingers crossed that it was worth it! Looking at this breakdown you will see we
didn’t spend a ton on one-time use items and tried to be thoughtful with purchases. There are a few items I think I could have
saved more on but at the end of the day sometimes my sanity was worth the price. 
DRESS: $220 – David’s Bridal
ALTERATIONS: $570 – local Indianapolis bridal alteration shop (Bustle, Hem, Bust Darts, Strap Alterations…. I overpaid and recommend shopping around more)
SHOES: $10 – David’s Bridal
VEIL: $30 – Amazon (I wanted a more intricate veil with lace but couldn’t justify spending so much when my dress was so inexpensive. Was also a last-minute decision so not a ton of options but I’m happy with what I used)
FLOWER GIRL DRESSES: $35/each – Amazon
BRIDESMAID DRESSES: $60-80 each; All different styles from Lulu’s that came out to a similar shade. Jr Bridesmaid dresses from Azazie. One came in and didn’t fit with no time to order a new one, so her mom got her a different one from Lulu’s and hemmed it. It’s a slightly different color than the rest but I think it all still looked good! Honestly when looking at my photos I love seeing everyone’s smiling faces and haven’t really noticed the varying dresses/colors! I have a running 20% coupon with that site, so the girls were happy to get dresses between for the prices they did in a style they liked. Most did not need alterations.
TUXES: $150 each – Jim’s Formalwear (we got a family discount)
RINGS: Shane Company (Separate from wedding budget)
HAIR/MAKEUP: Hair ($45); Makeup ($25) – this was at a small-town local salon. I only had a hair trial, so I just took a chance day-of with makeup. I don’t wear a ton of makeup so basically told her no to a lot of things she asked about…no filling in my eyebrows, no dramatic eye makeup, minimal lipstick, etc. My husband still thinks I had on too much, (LOL) but I still felt like myself and think it looked fine in photos.
SOLA WOOD BOUQUETS: DIY – I probably spent $200-$300 on bride’s bouquet, 6 bridesmaids, 3 flower girl baskets, 5 corsages, 12 boutonnieres, etc. This was a large time investment but I’m happy with how they turned out and thought it was a good value for the money. I also had fun crafting! I got the baskets for the flower girls at Michael’s end of fall season in 2018 for $5, painted them white, them added all my details.
CENTERPIECES: DIY – my parents made and stained all the wooden lanterns and I bought greenery from Michael’s which I cut into multiple “rings.” I basically bought one garland a week with their 40% off coupon and whatever other ones I could dig up to get the best price.
PILLAR CANDLES: Walmart
GLASS JARS: Used – from previous family members’ weddings
TABLE NUMBERS: Etsy Template ($4), Transparent Paper, and at-home printer (We didn’t have assigned tables so these weren’t really necessary, but I wanted the emcee to have the option to release dinner by table number)
BACKDROP: $225; Photography Studio Backdrop Frame ($30) – Amazon, Ling’s Moment Curtains ($75 for 4 panels) – Amazon (any white curtains would have worked), Ling’s Moment Lighted Garland ($80 for 2) – Amazon, Wooden “S” ($25) – Amazon and I stained it; Curtain Lights ($15) – Amazon
LINEN RENTALS: $250 (Regular tables were $5 each and then the lighted ones cost more)
CORNHOLE GUEST BOOK BOARDS: $118 (with shipping) bought a “raw” set on Etsy since it was more last minute but would recommend checking Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for someone local that might be cheaper; Vinyl Decal: $40 – Etsy; Stain/Clear Sealer: Home Depot; White Paint Markers: Amazon
CHURCH/PRIEST: $300
HOUSE RENTAL: $300 (We found out a month before our wedding that there was a wedding scheduled 2 ½ hours before ours. Not a huge deal but it greatly impacted where we were going to get ready and our photo schedule. We found a cute little house to rent down the street from the church that was basically like home base for our whole group before the ceremony.
CATHOLIC PRE-CANA MARRIAGE PREP: $350
CHURCH DÉCOR: Borrowed from past weddings
RECEPTION HALL: $1500 for rental
FOOD: $11.50/plate (buffet style – Garlic Ranch chicken (delicious!!), Pulled Pork, Green Beans, Corn, Caesar Salad, Rolls, etc.) Included non-disposable plates/utensils and bussing service; Catering was from the hall
DRINKS: 5 half-barrels beer ($80 each), individual wine bottles ($2 each), bartenders (2 at $12/hour); soft drinks, lemonade, coffee all free with meal; Plus tips
CAKE: $225 – Distant Relative (It was a very simple cake, but we loved how it looked and this was low priority for us.)
CAKE TOPPER: $150 – Etsy (Had to go with a rush option)
CAKE FLOWERS: $25 – Ling’s Moment Artificial Flowers (Amazon); Greenery left from Garland
INVITATIONS: I couldn’t find what I wanted online, so I designed my own tri-fold invite on Purple Trail (~$200). We had online-only RSVP and this design eliminated the need for loose papers in the envelope.
PROGRAMS: ($200) Etsy Template and printed at Staples
GROOMSMEN MUGS: $40/each – Etsy
KOOZIE FAVORS: $215 – Etsy
BAND: $1550 – The Park Avenue Band
PHOTOGRAPHER: $1680 (Included 9 hours and 2nd Shooter) – Sarah Elizabeth Photos
VIDEOGRAPHER: $1800 (Includes all day coverage, 2 shooters, 3 cameras, highlight film, all raw audio/video) – Unsilenced Films
PARTY BUS TRANSPORTATION: $400
This is a very hot topic on these forums, so I figured I would touch on it – we had open seating at our reception. Where I’m from in rural Midwest, this is very common. I’ve been to over 40 weddings and have only been to 2 with assigned tables/seats and they were actually both earlier this year. Talking with my guests, they preferred getting to choose who to sit with. For example, my cousins’ children all sat at a table together and thought it was the “best wedding ever” and the adults enjoyed sitting together. We had lots of extra tables to accommodate this because (1) we had plenty of space (2) my centerpieces were inexpensive. None of the photos showed these empty or half-full tables and it honestly did not bother me. This is definitely a “know your crowd and situation” thing. If you have only been to weddings with open seating, don’t feel roped into assigning tables just because people on WW insist…We had a few people who didn’t know a soul except for their date and we knew that they were outgoing enough to chat with others. I had made an assigned table list in my mind and it was really interesting to see how differently people seated themselves than what I had “planned.” It all worked out great and as far as I know no one was intensely uncomfortable or scrambling for a seat – again, the many extra tables are important with this seating option.
Event Timeline (I have a much more detailed version if anyone is interested):
Ceremony: 2:30pm
Recessional/Release Guests (3:15pm) – Guests arrived at reception venue about 1 hour – 1 ½ hours MAX before bridal party and dinner was early in the evening
Remaining Family Photos
Drinks at Local Bar
Reception Entrance/Dinner: 5:00pm
Toasts, Cake Cutting, First Dances, Bouquet/Garter Toss, Open Dancing
Things we opted out of:
- No signature Cocktail or free liquor (Made the bar line go quickly and mixed drinks were still available for purchase at a super cheap price: $2.50-$3.50)
- No late night snack (We partied until 11pm and it was not needed)
- No Signs (not needed and everyone figured out where the cards/gifts went, how to sign the guest book, what was available at the bar, etc.)
- No Specific entertainment for kids (I was going to have activity books and coloring pages and my mom didn’t think I would need them. She was right – all kids were well behaved and boogied with me on the dance floor)
- No Grand Exit (We just left at the end of the night – boarded our shuttle bus with the others going back to hotels)
Pro Photos as well as a few personal photos (they are obvious haha) are below. I tried to select ones that only have my husband or myself in them to protect others' privacy if you notice a theme haha. There are also lots of blurred faces!
I took a break
from WW the past 3-4 months and just hopped on occasionally, but I really
appreciated all of the advice and opinions during the planning process. It was definitely nice to just step away from
it all before the wedding though. Enjoy! Feel free to ask questions but a response
might be delayed…we leave for our California hiking honeymoon tomorrow!
newlyweds
Front of Dress
Back of Dress
Back with Veil
DIY Bridal Bouquet
Bridesmaid Dresses (Sorry the blurred faces for privacy look creepy haha)
Super Cute Flower Girls
DIY Flower Girl Baskets
DIY Boutonnieres 
DIY Corsages
DIY Bridesmaid Bouquet
The Guys
Went with these tied waffle weave shirts for getting reading instead of robes
Love my Dad (plus a hair shot!)
First Look
Down the Aisle
Emotional Ceremony
married!
Bar across the street from the church
Enjoying my first drink LOL
Centerpieces
Head Table
Card Box (matches the lanterns)
Guest Book
Sign reads "We know you would be here today if Heaven wasn't so far away"
Our Cake
Koozies
Groomsmen & Father Mugs
Groom Mug Closeup
First Dance
Bouquet Toss (LOL my face)
Garter Toss (LOL my face again)
He tossed it almost right back at me...too funny
I double chin hard when I'm having fun
Love!
Hard to pick a favorite!
rings
glowing 
The End!
