our DIY backyard wedding

About half way through our engagement I quit my job and became our full time wedding planner. In the beginning stages of planning, I felt very hopeless when it came to the financial side of our wedding. I had a good idea of what I wanted but no I idea of how we were going to pay for it. We had a $4000-$5000 budget and 6 months to plan and pay for everything.

 I had a venue picked out- $2600 for a SUNDAY in the OFF SEASON but one evening as I was sitting outback, I decided there was no reason why our backyard couldn't be our venue. Free! a FREE venue.

So, I called the local police department and city hall to make sure there were no laws or ordinances to comply with and started planning.

...& that's how it became a backyard wedding.

The 3 major CONS of a backyard wedding were:

• I had to organize the flow (parking, seating, etc.)
• We had to provide EVERYTHING- tables, chairs, plates, cups, utensils, sound, etc.
• We were responsible for set up and clean up

The PROS were endless but here were the top 3:

• The money we $aved!
• There are no restrictions on vendors and things of the sort- basically since we had the wedding on our own property, we were free to do as we pleased with EVERYTHING. No restrictions on decor, food, flowers, alcohol, number of guest, etc.
• I didn't have to leave the comfort of my own home on my wedding day- No travel for the bride and groom

We then spent the next 2 months planning and saving. I spent hours & hours & hours searching the internet, finding the best deals, discounts, savings, coupons & shipping rates.

My main sources were:

• Thrift stores
• Our local rental company
• Oriental Trading
• Party City
• The Knot
• Hobby Lobby

 (If you have a smart phone, when you check out at Hobby Lobby, search "Hobby Lobby coupon" on Google images. It will pull up a 40% off coupon- show your phone to the cashier and they'll apply your discount to the highest priced item in your buggy- this discount doesn't include sale items.)

COMPARE PRICES!- DON'T BE LAZY!

When you're buying 120+ of something, a $.50 or $1 savings WILL add up in the long run.
When you're receiving 2-3 packages a week, saving $14 on shipping WILL add up in the long run
When available, buying in bulk WILL add up in the long run.

We recruited the talents of our FAMILY and FRIENDS for things such as:

• Cake & Food
• Photography
• Beverages
• Hair & makeup 
• Music
• Serving
• Set up
• Clean up 

 

My cake was red velvet with cream cheese icing

His was double chocolate with chocolate covered strawberries.

Yummy!

Friend/Family discounts will save you A TON- so recruit your friends and family when you can! One day you'll have the opportunity to return the favor =)

I made ALL of our flower arrangements (boutonnieres, bouquets, & table arrangements)  for $250 using silk flowers from Hobby Lobby that go on sale 50% off quite often. I'd never made a flower arrangement in my life but I learned how with a quick lesson from the nice lady in the Hobby Lobby flower dept.

 

Also, for even more savings on flowers, the BOUQUETS doubled as TABLE ARRANGEMENTS.

Including myself and by bridesmaids, we had 8 bouquets total. 

We had 9 tables to seat 120 people. 

So, I made one big arrangement for the head table and used our smaller bouquets on the guest tables =)

After the bridesmaids walked out of ceremony, they immediately put their flowers in a milk glass vase waiting on the tables. 

I made all of our PROGRAMS, TABLE NUMBERS, and PLACE CARDS using: 

(This is another thing I had never done) 

• Our home printer
• Black ink
• Microsoft Word
• Scissors
• Small ribbon
• A Ruler
• Card stock- Office supply stores (I used Staples) have 100s of size and color options to chose from.

Also, once you chose your wedding and shower invites, check the back of the box for the company's web site- usually you can go online and download FREE editable templates from home instead of paying a printing company to do it for you.

(Eco-friendly biodegradable paper plates & plastic faux silver forks and knives)

I used paper lanterns tied with ribbon as a cheaper alternative to flowers in the isle & hung our programs from the back of the seats to add color in the seating.

Attire.

We can't forget about that expense.

Well, Jamie's tux rental was FREE at Men's Warehouse because of all the tux rentals from our groomsmen =) Thanks guys!

My gown was another story. 

My budget was $500

The 1st dress shop I went to, I found my dress, made my deposit, and was out the door in 2 hours. 

In the long run I paid $580 for my gown & $250 for alterations :/
(be sure to keep ALTERATIONS in mind as an expense when you're shopping)

So I went way over budget... Good thing I had some leeway- due to all the other savings =)

I got a great price on the gown I wore because it had been discontinued.
 BUT if I had of waited and shopped around a little more I'm sure I could of found something cheaper. Come to find out $500 was actually very generous considering our overall budget.

By typing "Photo booth prop template'' in Google search I was able to make find a FREE template for these:

 Online I found them selling 4 for $16 but using:

• A package of assorted foam paper colors from Wal Mart
• Craft sticks from Wal Mart
• Foam glue from Wal Mart
• Scissors 

I was able to make 64 props for less than $10

We put them in small vases around the tables and yard for our guest. They were fun and added character to our pictures =)

See...

When it was all said and done we were all able to celebrate, eat, drink, and be married =) for less than $5000

 After our wedding I became very passionate on educating people about planning a wedding on a budget. It's scary and being a bride can be very stressful. You'll hear it a lot, "It'll be over before you know it" and that is the truth. Enjoy your engagement and enjoy your wedding day/night because it's over in a flash. After our wedding and honeymoon were over I experienced a few weeks of ''post wedding depression''. I had no job to go to and no wedding to plan. After a kick in the rear from my husband I decided to get off my butt and do something with myself. That's when Simply Salvaged started and had been my outlet every since =)

Thanks for reading!
-Audra

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