Although today’s featured wedding took on place on 3.14.15, you don’t need to be married on “Pi Day” to find some inspiration in this wonderful event. Elizabeth and Micah’s wedding is a beautiful celebration of marriage and community. Their navy, aqua and gold color scheme is enchanting and the Mother-of-the-Bride did an excellent job tying everything together. Usually, couples save money by limiting their guest list. Elizabeth and Micah took a different approach. They kept a large guest list for their wedding and reception, and then had a post-reception dinner for their family. I also love that Elizabeth and Micah opted-out of a traditional registry and asked their friends to bring their favorite pies! xoxo, Jessica

Elizabeth Micah

March 14, 2015

Maplewood, MN| Trinity Baptist Church

What was your budget?

Our original budget was $10,000, which seemed really extravagant to us. However, as we started doing cost breakdowns,and realized that our guest list had gone from 250 to 500 people, the budget expanded with it up to $15,000. Luckily for us, my sister had gotten married that summer, and Micah’s cousin had gotten married last fall. This meant that we got almost all of our candles, draping, tablecloths, and a good portion of our glassware free or on loan from family members.

Apparel: $2,300 for bride and groom, plus all beauty appointments, rings, and accessories (The groom bought his suit, the bride’s veil was borrowed, and the shoes were a gift).

Food/servers: About $2,000. Espresso catering as $750, many pies were brought by friends/family, plates were borrowed china.

Venue: $300 for church, Chairs/tables included. This cost is significantly lower since the groom works for the church, and we did set-up/tear down.

Photography/Music/officiant/ Reception entertainment: $3,800

Invitations/thank you’s /programs: about $1,200? This is difficult to estimate since we used things from so many places and self-assembled them. We didn’t send save-the-dates, however postage alone was over $200 for invitations!

Décor: about $2,000? The lanterns were from craigslist and the dollar section at Target, glassware was borrowed, gotten at thrift stores, or from craigslist. Banners/garlands were hand made by the mother of the bride. A significant amount of this was reworked from previous weddings and things we already had.

Flowers/ bouquets/ boutonnieres: At least $500. Bulk real and faux flowers were bought nearby and arranged by the mother of the bride, bride, and bridesmaids, in addition to twigs, juniper, and other natural items collected from outside.

Family Dinner/post reception gathering: Generous gift from a family member

How many guests did you have?

We invited more than 500, and around 300-350 attended.

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

The mother of the bride- Lorie Fahs- did an incredible amount of DIY planning and work! This started with entirely hand designed invitations which were then hand assembled by Micah, myself, my family, and the bridal party. They spray painted twigs gold, created tassel garlands out of tissue paper, cut out paper circles for dot banners, made desserts, hung lanterns, arranged candles and the works!

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We did three things- the first was that we used a familiar venue. They allowed us to use the church for 3 days before the wedding, and let us do much of the prep and tear down work to decrease costs. Overall, our venue cost $300. The second thing we did was skipping on the seated dinner and alcohol. Instead, we paid a close friend with significant catering experience to make some dessert and oversee the kitchen which was staffed with friends and family. Then, we asked some of our guests to bring 2-3 of their favorite pies or desserts as their wedding gift instead of a traditional registry gift, since Micah and I individually already had most of the household items needed to set up our home. This gave us a fantastic variety of amazing desserts, and saved us a significant amount of money! The third thing we did was borrow items! We both had family members who had gotten married recently, and they were very generous in loaning or giving us items that they had used which we reworked into our own wedding.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help! We found that there were a lot of people who honestly enjoyed helping with weddings, and once they knew what we needed help with they were so excited to assist! The only thing they needed was a specific task to help us with- like making a tissue paper garland. This lowered our stress level, saved us money, and most importantly gave us a chance to share our whole wedding experience with the people we loved. At the end of the day, it wasn’t a production we’d put on for others, but this team effort that a lot of people were excited to see their part in!

What was your biggest splurge?

Our photographer! We had several options of wonderful amateur photographers to take our wedding photos, which would have saved us around $1500, however, in the end we decided that having professional, experienced photographer we were comfortable with was worth it. The expertise, and beautiful pictures we got were worth the money, and neither of us regret spending a more than we’d planned in that area. Our wedding photos capture the day perfectly, including moments that we had missed in all the busyness! It was one of the best choices we made!

What was your favorite detail?

I was on the fence about the lantern décor at the beginning, but it ended up being one of my favorite things about our reception. They lent warmth and quirkiness to a difficult space to decorate, and gave the wedding the laid-back feel we wanted while still making it beautiful.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

During the ceremony, our parents came up to pray over us while our musicians played one of our favorite songs. That reflective moment with our parents- looking out at all these people we loved, in this beautifully decorated room, holding the hand of the person I loved more than anything else, was one of the things I won’t forget.

VENDORS

Wedding design, wedding planning, floral creation, invitations, décor, lettering: Mother of the Bride • Hair: Resa Roby • Makeup: Makeup by Mindie • Bridal gown and Bridesmaids: David’s Bridal • Bride and Bridesmaid Accessories: Charming Charlie’s • Groom and groomsmen apparel: Men’s Wearhouse • Photography: Eric Vest Photography • Music: Glen Larson Guitar Studio • Espresso Catering: LaVita Espresso • Reception Entertainment: Slap Happy Comedy • Family Dinner Venue and Catering: Pub 112

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