Archive for category Real Weddings

The Bride: Crystal Unrau, 27, Graphic Designer
The Groom: David Unrau, 28, Computer Programmer

Dave and Crystal first met in highschool 13 years ago and were married on May 29th, 1999. They decided to renew their vows the weekend of their 10th anniversary in a small ceremony that was very family oriented and personalized to showcase the things that were most important to them.

Wedding Date: May 30, 2009
Wedding Budget: $4000
Guests: 50

The vision: Our goal with our wedding was to keep it simple and comfortable for everyone while incorporating plenty of details that were important to us. We choose a local museum as our venue because we have strong family ties to that particular location and that gave it extra meaning for us. We planned a very personal ceremony followed by a dinner and games night.

The most difficult part of planning within our budget: The hardest part was definitely trying to narrow down the list of things we “could do”.  We had to stop frequently and ask ourselves “Do we really care about this particular detail or is it just ‘a nice idea’?”

Our best money savers: We did a lot of things to cut costs. Our flowers were done for free in exchange for some graphic work for the florist. My dress was purchased online for $200 which was risky but it turned out beautifully. The flower girls (our daughters) dresses and most of my accessories were found on Etsy and Ebay.  We took on a number of DIY projects (see below) to help cut costs.  Our biggest savings probably came in the food area though. Originally we planned to have an afternoon event with a punch and cake reception but after discussing it with family members, we were talked into having a potluck supper reception instead and asking guests not to bring gifts. I know a lot of people feel that is tacky but our guests loved being part of it and the food was amazing. My sister is an accomplished baker as well and so she made our black forest cakes and raspberry chocolate cupcakes as a gift to us.

Did you do any DIY projects for your wedding? Yes, we did several!    We designed and printed our own programs which included photos of us from then and now along with details from the ceremony. We used white BlumeBoxes as part of the decor and decorated them with ribbon, paper and rhinestone stickies.  Each BlumeBox showcased a black and white wedding photo from a family member including us, our parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.   We used the BlumeBoxes to decorate the windows and alter of the church and then took them into the hall to use as centerpieces afterwards.  We had a white banner draped over the alter with our last initial  on it. This was made using a length of white fabric from the local thrift shop and rose petals off eBay and cost about $5!   We also hung lengths of ribbon off the alter with small silk flowers scattered through-out. The ribbon was purchased in bulk on eBay as well.  We also included some fun paper games on each table: trivia, quizzes, guess the couple, etc – using information about ourselves and wedding photos of family members. We designed and printed these ourselves and they were a huge hit.

The Most Memorable Moment: We didn’t have traditional wedding ceremony. We didn’t even have an officiant (we didn’t need one since we are already legally married). We wrote vows to each other, our children each did something special. One read a verse, one recited a poem, another sang a song. For our vows, we each wrote our own and Dave surprised my by singing to me as part of his vows. It’s something I’d always wanted him to do but he’s very shy so it was a major shock. I cried a little lol.

What Advice Would You Give Brides? Just be yourself. We did a lot of things that some would consider tacky but we didn’t care.  We worried about two things: Did it matter to us? Would it matter to our guests?   If we were happy and our guests were happy, it didn’t matter what anyone else would think.

Vendors:
Venue: Mennonite Heritage Village
Photographer: Mike Rogal Photography
Florist: Lorna’s Flowers

J and I have a favorite budget date location. It’s the dollar show, for ONE dollar you get to see a new film that is in that limbo period between real theatres and dvds. I love love love going to the dollar show. I even made up a little song about it:

I love the dollar show
It’s my favorite place to go
Four quarters gets you in
For ten more dimes you can bring a friend

Anyway, J was out of town this weekend, so I had to find something to do to distract myself from missing him (you’re either sighing or scoffing right now, depending on if YOU are a bride to be! Haha!) So I thought I’d take myself on a date to the dollar show (which is way more acceptable at a matinee). I saw Julie and Julia.  Which is the story of a blogger, Julie, who decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, and blog about it.  It’s basically my new favorite movie of all time. It’s a perfect blend of some of my favorite things; cooking, blogging, and Paris! I thought it was genius! I think my favorite part of the movie was when Julie (the blogger) got SO excited about finally having a comment on her blog, she clicked on it to read it and it was from her mom!! Ha! I think all of us bloggers have been there (although it’s my dad in my case!) I also loved the way Julia Child’s husband toasted her as the butter to her bread and the breath to her life. I can think of no better description of J! haha! (We’ve been known to refer to ourselves as the Buttertons in private. )

So anyway, I got thinking about my favorite cook, Paula Deen. I’ve met her during her book tour for her children’s cookbook and I told her that when I started dating a southern boy I thought to myself “I better learn how to cook”, I also suggested that her next cookbook should be titled “How to Win a Man’s Heart”. Yes, to some degree I credit her with my engagement! Ha! I’m thinking about inviting her to the wedding! What do you think? Have you invited any celebrities to your wedding?

I have the best fiance in the universe. Seriously. Yesterday was the day from H E double hockey sticks. But his sweetness smoothed it over.

I’ve been working like a horse part time at JCPenney Portrait Studio taking photos of slobbering bratty screaming kids to try to save enough money for the wedding. I was proud of myself for saving so much $$. WELLLLL I go out to my car the other day and lo and behold my tire was flat. I said to J, “there goes my Christmas bonus” and he said “Nah, it’ll just be a $10 patch job”. Of course it WASN’T just a patch job. In total my tires/wheels/alignment were so messed up that it cost me all of the money I saved while working like a horse at JCP AND my Christmas bonus from my real job. I’m heart sick.

And it was also cold. Really cold. So I was complaining to J about not having a coat (how does he put up with my complaining? Saint? Maybe.) Anyway, he said “look under the tree” and there it was, my dream coat.

In fact I blogged about it earlier. Burberry. Black. Quilted. Oh that lovely plaid. It made me cry!

No matter how unlucky my days may seem, J is always there reminding me that its the people in your life that love you and care about you that make a person lucky!!! And when I remember that, I remember that I’m very very very lucky….  A lot poorer today. But warm and lucky.

I’m blessed. My parents have graciously and generously offered to host our wedding. I realize that many girls are not so lucky.

Thanks Mom and Dad, in case I haven’t said it lately!

Of course, there are still things that J and I will need to fund on our own. Our wedding bands, our marriage license, photography, videography, rehearsal dinner, honeymoon, premarital retreat required by the Church, his tux, his daughter’s dress and travel. It’s getting to be quite the list. I work full time at the television network and part time at a portrait studio. I’m doing all I can to earn enough money to pay cash for as many things on this list as possible. I’m trying to live even more frugally than normal; I haven’t had Starbucks in MONTHS! And I FULLY avoid all shoe departments of every store I go in to. Please don’t think I’m complaining… I’m fully aware that many many girls have to pay for all of the things on my list and EVERYTHING else that goes along with a wedding too.

BUT on Saturday J and I went for a drive. We ended up in a town I’d never been to before. It was great. Small, quiet, quaint. And it had a downtown straight out of a novel, complete with soda shops and cute boutiques. It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon. But then we went in to one of those fore mentioned cute boutiques and my day took a significant turn for the worst (okay, that’s a grave overdramatization) as I laid my eyes on an authentic Burberry quilted jacked. I was shocked #1. to see such a high end designer haphazardly scattered amongst Koret and Rafeal’s shoulder padded sweaters and #2. to see the VERY jacket I’d been lusting over for years in Small Town Alabama.

Clearly, I’m under no financial disillusionment or I wouldn’t be writing a post for a budget bridal blog and I would have spent the $400 for the jacket years ago when I first discovered it. But today. Today was such a ridiculous temptation I could BARELY contain myself. The jacket. Authentic Burberry. In my size. Was marked down from $400 to $100! $100! For a timeless jacket I’ve wanted for forever!

But alas, I have a wedding to save for. I put the jacket back on the rack. Turned to J and said “we must leave immediately before I do something I might regret”.

What kind of sacrifices have you had to make to save $$ for the wedding of your dreams?

Photo courtesy Bloomingdales