How to Create a Beautiful Wedding on a Budget: Plus Our Little Secret

First things first: THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Luke and I are SO excited to finally let the cat out of the bag: While we have begun planning a big, family wedding for summer, 2020- we have a little secret to share: we have already officially tied the knot!! We wanted to make it official with a marriage-certificate, signing party for two reasons; Firstly, because of our Christian faith and secondly, to set an example and a place marker for our girls who became a blended family right afterward. While we did create a special day of our certificate-signing, we are all looking forward to an old fashion wedding celebration that includes all of our family and closest friends this summer!

Now for a fun peek at our certificate signing, where we teamed up with some great vendors to create a stunning backdrop for brunch with family.

My friend Laura and I planned out the decorations and executed this entire day for under $500, excluding food items! We had a budget of $250 for flowers and the other $250 went toward, table clothes, tulle, ribbon, plates, knapkins, twine, faux shrubs and eucalyptus, as well as candles. We did a little lunch buffet for our family, which was super budget friendly and then we let the natural flowers do their work as accents across all of the seating areas.

The flower girl pails have tulle and ribbon tied around them and we found an affordable ring pillow on Amazon. Shop Flower Girl Pails and Ring Pillow Here:

The area where we signed the certificate also works as a ceremony spot. If you want to save on decorations, you can repurpose backdrops and move tables to get more use out of your space. It’s a great budget tip to opt for cupcakes with a small cake on the top tier for cake-cutting as well. We made sure to work with St. Cupcake, because they offer a STUNNING display and delicious cupcakes!

Shop Our DIY Wedding Cake Look here:

We used some drink dispensers that I already owned, but I’ve linked up similar ones below. Laura filled them with cut up fruits and herbs for a beautiful color and delicious drink option. This is a great way to work with your wedding colors and save on refreshments!

My first dress, which I wore for our styled shoot is on sale for $130 at Adrianna Papell. You can also shop similar styles here:

My second dress was a ready-to-wear find that I can’t find anywhere online! It was about $80 but my secret there is the tailoring. I spent nearly as much on getting it fitted, so that it looked like a designer dress once I slipped it on for the signing!

I found a dozen beautiful dress under $300 that you can shop here: