Guest Blogger: Saving, Serving and Conserving.

My first guest blogger is Ashley (Dill) Baker.  Ashley and Matt were married in May.  It was my second wedding with this family and we have so many mutual friends and so much in common that our families have started to blur into each other.  Ashley is a practical woman and like me lives her life in a way that causes less waste and harm to the Earth.  Her sister, Janna is past bride of mine and an event planner.  Janna and Jennae of Statements Wedding and Event Design had the day running smoothly and were a great help to me.

I met my husband Matt through a friend at church. After dating for about 2 years, Matt popped the question at Apple Hill (the very place I had dreamed of being proposed to since I was a child). When I began planning I quickly realized that my small wedding budget wasn't going to get me an extravagant wedding. However, that didn't mean I couldn't have the wedding I always dreamed of; with a few creative changes, we were able to create the perfect wedding. 


The key to our success was deciding what aspects of the wedding were most important to us (this is where we used most of our budget). For us, it was flowers, food, and photography. This doesn't mean I chose the most expensive vendors for those items, it just meant I spent more in those areas because they were important to me. Some things that we did to keep the cost down were:

• I purchased my dress off the rack and did alterations instead of paying the full price. I ended up saving about $500 doing this.
• I had my sister and brother in law be my DJ's and they did a great job. They used their church sound equipment and an IPOD. This by far was my favorite low cost idea. Not only did I personally know my DJ, but I was able to easily pass on information to them, request things, and they never forgot our names (I have seen this at MANY weddings). Hint~ as long as music is playing and things are moving along, no one will care if your DJ is a "professional".
• My reception was held in the backyard of a friends house. It was great because it didn't need much decorating to be exactly how I wanted it. I borrowed a lot of different decorations and things for my wedding. I can't stress this enough; why pay for something someone else is willing to let you use. You will end up saving a lot of money this way. So when planning your wedding let your friends and family know what your looking for and see if they know anyone that has it already.
• My wedding cake was free. I found out that a friend of mine makes cakes on the side. She did a fantastic job and it ended up being her wedding gift to us. If you know of anyone handy in the baking department, see if they would be interested in baking your cake.
• I don't like to see flowers used as centerpieces all the time. They are beautiful but end up dying quickly (what a waist of God's beauty). What I decided to do was to have potted flowers as my centerpieces. This way, the family and friends of the wedding party could take them home and either plant them in their yard or keep them in the pot. Either way, the flowers live on and become a reminder of our wedding day. It can double as a favor and centerpiece.

I did many other things to keep my wedding costs down. The best advice I can pass on to another bride is to not focus on the little things. As much as you would like to think people notice all the small things, they don't. Keep it simple and cut corners where you can. Borrow, call upon friends help, and be creative and you will be able to create a wedding you love as well.