Hey all you lovely people,

Thanks so much for all the kuddos. It was tons of work but oh so worth it… and it was so much fun to share it with you all a year later.

Kelly, we definitely needed a honeymoon afterwards, in fact, John took two weeks off and we went to Alaska to explore glaciers, rainforests, volcanoes, and to recharge our batteries. Then we took the second week to unwrap gifts and relax at the river (Richmond has a huge river running through it where people go to chill out – kind of like a beach without the sand). It was definitely a memorable time, and we needed every second of unwinding that we could get after such a hands-on panning process. But we loved it. You know DIYers, we’re kinda gluttons for punishment.

As for if we’re planning any other events, we always contemplate throwing another party at our house now that we’ve made so many improvements (new kitchen, converted third bedroom, new dining area within our living room, new laundry nook, etc) so stay tuned… and we’ll be designing other people’s weddings now that we offer the wedding moodboard service so stay tuned for some more fun & fabulous wedding ideas.

EastEnd, the clean-up was definitely exhausting, but it actually went pretty fast (just like the wedding itself). The tables and chairs were getting picked up by the rental company in the morning, so we stayed up and cleared the tables on our very own wedding night. I guess we were excited to get inside and relax as husband and wife, because before we knew it the driveway was cleared and we were inside chatting about our favorite moments.

NoticeThings, our wedding budget can be tallied one of two ways. If you include all the major home improvements (getting the driveway paved, the patio redone, planting some flowers, etc) the total is close to $10,000 for everything. But the actual total without those big projects only came to around $4000. Here’s a breakdown:

Venue: Free (our backyard)
Music: Free (family friend played ceremony music on guitar)
Photography: Free (brother-in-law is a photographer)
Officiant: Free (cousin got certified to marry us)
Food: $500
Wine & Drinks: $100
Cupcakes & S’mores: $125
Table & Chair Rentals: $350
Centerpieces: $70
Save The Dates/Invitations/Thank Yous (with postage): $260
Favors: $75
Servingware: $250
Fabric For Tablecloths & Runners: $300
Lighting & Candles: $120
Flip Flops/Photo Clothesline/Welcome Sign: $75
Mosquito Sticks/Candles/Spray: $50
Bouquet: $20
Attire: $500
Photobooth: $1200 (our one big splurge- and so worth it)

TOTAL: $3995

But you definitely can pull off a gorgeous event for even less (without the photobooth it would have been under 3K for the whole shebang) and there are so many creative ways to cut corners and avoid the overpriced wedding industry’s evil clutches. So fear not- you could have a dessert-only gathering or even a pot-luck… it’s just all about adding some classy and chic details to make it seem personalized and super special! Good luck with you planning and we’d be happy to help ya with a wedding moodboard so just let us know if you need our bargain-loving brainpower.

xoxo,
Sherry

Having married off three kids, one of whom had a wedding similar to yours, I’m guessing that you wish you’d hired someone for the cleanup!

It seems like you have a knack for entertaining…are there any other events you will be showcasing or that you are currently planning for?