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mine is:
free hair updo from my friend---saves me $250; he works in afancy salon on fifth Avenue
Irish singer/friend will be singing at our wedding en gratis--my fiance only has 7 guests from england and Australia; so he will lvoe the surprise; the guy is friend of ours
free--my niece will sing Ave maria at our ceremony she's been practicing I'm already teary eyed, I just know am going to bawl my eyes out day of
free--found a violinist to play for free at our wedding by signing up for alocal classical music group; it'll put an elegant touch
free--- all my DIY--I love all my projects they are beautful personal and Free!!!my flower baskets, my guestbook my seating poster, my BM shawls, my place cards, my flwoers, my bouquets, my invitations, my menus, my programs, my favors
my dad walking me down the aisle--it symbolizes our family's healing since he left my mom 14 years ago; he's never been to any of my 3 siblings weddings
One of the biggest compliments I received about our wedding from a number of guests was, "This was the most relaxed, fun wedding I've ever been to." Which is exactly the atmosphere I was going for!
I feel like when weddings become too much of a production, it sucks all the joy out of them. When you're relaxed and go with the flow, everyone else will be too, and that shows!
The music was the thing that really made the wedding. We chose fairly unconventional songs for our ceremony (one even had the crowd laughing), which I'll share with you all later, but that really created the mood that I wanted.
Our vows were gorgeous and so meaningful. They were traditional, with a twist, written by our pastor.
I just think everything came together in a way that was relaxed and laid back, yet beautiful and meaningful. It wasn't about the details, or the centerpieces, or the dress- it was about the love of family, friends, and the love Mr. PP and I have for each other. Everything else was just icing on the cake.
What a great topic to discuss. I will keep reading these as new comments are posted! My wedding is October 24th so after I will tell WeddingBee all of my answers.
What a great thread! I'd love to contribute....
1. I think the most beautiful part of our wedding was the setting. We got married on a private ranch in the Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Surrounded by mountains, in a field of wildflowers, with a view of a mountain stream - the setting was unbelievable.
2. See #1 above!
3. This one is so hard! I really felt like we spent our money wisely and that everything was worth the price. Perhaps we could have gotten away with cheaper liquors or a less expensive band or fewer appetizers or a cheaper dress, but I think everything was nearly perfect!
4. Nearly all of the guests made a comment on our vows. We chose to write our own vows, which was so hard but beautiful and worth-while. Although I didn't look away from my husband's face, everyone told me that every single bridesmaid and groomsmen (and 90% of the guests) were all in tears. All night, people were telling me their favorite parts of our vows and ceremony! I even got a few requests from people to get a copy of our vows and readings! I couldn't believe our words could mean so much to our guests. It was incredibly moving.
- A lot of the guests also commented on all the small details (that I was afraid people wouldn't notice) and all of my DIY projects. I was beaming all night that people liked the programs, the table names, the pomanders, the favors! We even got a phone call after we got home from a guest saying that she found her husband's escort card in his suitcase and he told her wanted to keep it to remind him of such a fun weekend! Love it!
1. The best part about the whole wedding was the vows;I feel like nothing can compare to that moment when we said those words. We said very traiditional vows, but it meant everything to me. I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it!
2. I have a few things given to me that were free/really cheap, but meant a ton to me. Before the wedding, while we were getting ready in the bridal room, my grandma gave me a picture book my mom had made for her when I was born. There were so many awesome pictures in there of me, my older sisters, my parents, my aunts and uncles, etc... It was such a surprise; nobody knew she was going to do that!
Also, for my bridal gift, my husband made me a family crest. It might seem kinda cheesy, but the meaning behind the gift was so sweet. :) The crest he completely designed himself, and included a latin phrase meaning "Love, Loyalty, and a Lifetime." He also wrote me this amazing letter telling me exactly why he wants to marry me and what the commitment means to him. The gift only cost the time he spent designing the crest and writing the letter and a $20 frame from Michaels.
3. The thing least worth the money was... I don't know? We were under budget on almost everything, so I don't really think we overspent on anything. I
4. Besides the regular "The ceremony was so beautiful"/"What a great wedding" comments, there were two tangible items a lot of people commented on. One was the cheese and fruit table our caterer set up for the cocktail hour. I'm not sure how much it cost since the price was built into our per person meal price. The other thing was the reception venue. We held the reception at a historic house right on the lake; we even had our own private part of the beach and a private dock! The cost was $3750 for a 10 hour rental, and that was about 18% of our budget.
1. I think our ceremony was the most beautiful part. We wrote the entire script ourselves and my uncle married us. We had people quoting the vows to us and many commented on the readings.
2. The most beautiful cheap/free thing was my DOC. I was getting stressed as it got closer to the wedding about having to run the show on the day of. My cousin who worked as a wedding planner in a former life oferred to DOC for me. She drove into town from another state to help. This was the best gift I got. The other was my dress, that my grandmother helped me pick out and bought as a gift for me. She passed away six months before the wedding and it was nice that she had gotten to share in that part of it with me.
3. I don't know what the answer to this would be. We cut out a lot of extras and only spent money on what was important to us. That said, there were some little things that I could have done without.
4. Our guest loved the music. We were extremely worried about this. All the songs played the whole night were our pics. For dancing we played a lot of Jazz, BigBand, classics. With some metal, disco and obscure stuff thrown in. People danced all night. Our DJ was a friend of my mom's and charged a great price, but I would have paid more.
Ooh fun thread! Hmm...
#1 - the most beautiful part of our wedding was having all our friends and family there to share and celebrate with us. I don't know how we'd factor cost into this, but it was the one thing that really made the day for the two of us. There's nothing like having everyone you care about there with you on your special day!
#2 - The most beautiful free thing we had was having our old youth group leader officiate the ceremony for us. In California, anyone can be certified to perform a wedding ceremony for one day...they just had to do some paperwork at the courthouse. Everyone commented on how fitting it was that the person who led us to our faith ended up officiating our ceremony. It was very personal and we wouldn't have had it any other wya.
#3 - The least necessary high dollar value thing was probably the centerpieces. I stayed within my budget for that, but in the end no one really cares about them. They were beautiful, but not really necessary in my book.
#4 - Our guests loved many aspects of our wedding (which pleased me since I DIY'd so much stuff), but the thing we kept hearing over and over again is how awesome our video SDE was. To this day, we're still getting comments about that clip at least a couple times a week. The cinematographers were awesome and well worth the splurge (almost one-fifth of the total budget).
What a great thread!
The most beautiful part of our wedding was the location. We got married on a deck that overlooked the harbor and the reception room had a wall-to-wall window overlooking the Habor, which was beautiful lit up at night!
The best free/cheap thing about the wedding was having so many of our friends and family there that we dont get to see that often. We have alot of family and friends that lives across the country and it meant so much to us that they came all the way for our wedding!
The least necessary high money value for our wedding was unfortunately the DJ. We are in the process of writing a very lengthy email about things that went wrong with him and the lighting. Yes music is necessary and had things gone well I wouldve said he was well worth the money. Fortunately nothing happened that our guests noticed, just things we noticed but at least it didnt ruin our night!!!
We got so many favorable comments, anywhere from it was the best wedding they had ever been to, to the best food they have had at a wedding to the compliments on the little details. So many people told me after that they were amazed on how beautiful everything was and how much attention I put into the little details (DIY menu cards, table numbers, place cards, etc). They said they loved how everything matched and flowed together, which meant alot to me since I spent so much time on details like that. All of the tangible stuff they commented on if you include the upgraded linens and chairs was about 10-15% of the budget
What, regardless of cost, was/will be the most beautiful part of your wedding?
I think the most beautiful part of the wedding was walking down the aisle to meet my husband. It was so awesome to know that I was walking down to meet him, surrounded by all my friends and family. It made all the stressful months totally worth it!
What was/will be the most beautiful cheap/free thing?
The weather! It was a beautiful, sunny day. It rained in the morning, but the sun came out just as we were starting photos.
What was/will be (this might be harder for non-newlyweds to answer) the least necessary high-money-value thing?
Honestly, I don't think we had anything that I would consider high-money-value, other than the venue. We saved a lot of money in a lot of ways, so there wasn't a big splurge that I didn't think was worth it.
And solely for the newlyweds -- what did your guests comment favorably on the most, and how much (percentage of budget or dollar value) did it cost?
We got wonderful feedback about our venue and food (the venue had their own catering). Choosing our venue was the first decision we made. We wanted to get married there because it was important to us AND beautiful. Everyone loved the setting and they LOVED the food. This was by far the biggest chunk of our budget--40% of the total budget.
Joyce, what is a video SDE? I'm in the process of choosing my videographer right now.
MsHymanRoth, sorry to cut in, but it stands for Same Day Edit. Some videographers will tape up through your first dance, and then quickly edit a video of the day to show at your reception.
StillMotion, who is one of our Pros, does it. They're AMAZING!
Ooh. I should have figured that out. Thank you PowderPuff. The videographer I'm thinking we'll go with does that. Fiance didn't like the idea, but I loved it...
Our wedding hall was worth every penny. Every bit of the mansion was used and i would like to believe that guests enjoyed all of the grounds.
Our flowers. My Mother in Law gifted us our flowers and I have to say they were BEAUTIFUL!
My friend who just graduated from Cullinary school gifted us with a grooms cake. I have to say everyone was surprised and confused because the cake looked real!
Maybe upgrading our cake, I have to say that I loved it and my husband knew I wanted that particular cake and he said "just get it, it will make you happy" I still would have been happy if the cake was not fondant.
All of our guests loved the photobooth. It did cost us about 1500 but I have to say it was worth every penny.
What, regardless of cost, was/will be the most beautiful part of your wedding?
I took piano lessons my entire life, so we hired a wonderful pianist for the ceremony. His phrasing and timing were perfect, and his romantic style was ideal for weddings. I remember listening to him play while the families were seated and the BMs walked down the aisle. I had goosebumps and remember wishing that I could have listened to him play all day. When he played while I walked down the aisle with my dad, it was perfect. I know the moment would have been great otherwise, but the pianist's talent was the icing on the cake!
What was/will be the most beautiful cheap/free thing?
I guess this isn't really "beautiful," but it was awesome to see my friends from different walks of life all together in one place and having a great time! They all got along really well and still keep in touch...very cool!
What was/will be the least necessary high-money-value thing?
We paid very close attention to how much we were spending, so this one is difficult. I suppose it wasn't just one thing - I over-bought on SEVERAL things because we had fewer guests attend the wedding than we expected. (We had about 165 attend, but we were planning for 225 until 2 weeks before the wedding when we got our final numbers.) This meant I was stuck with: too many linens, too much cake, too many flower petals for the send-off, and too many centerpieces. Everything else was able to be scaled back.
What did your guests comment favorably on the most, and how much (percentage of budget or dollar value) did it cost?
I think most of our comments were on the venue. We had the reception in a large museum, and it was a really cool, unique space. The rental fee for the museum ended up being about 10% of our total costs, but it also impacted everything else since we had order food/alcohol/tables/etc. through the museum.
What, regardless of cost, was/will be the most beautiful part of your wedding?
My dress and hiring a makeup artist! I felt very beautiful that day!
What was/will be the most beautiful cheap/free thing?
My groom's face when I walked down the aisle! He was crying when he saw me and I will never forget that sweet face as long as I live!
What was/will be the least necessary high-money-value thing?
Hmm...not sure on this one. I think everything came together to make it a great day! I wouldn't necessarily take anything back.
What did your guests comment favorably on the most, and how much (percentage of budget or dollar value) did it cost?
The food and the band which was good because it took up most of the money! Both of these things really amped up our celebration and I couldn't have been happier with them!
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What, regardless of cost, was/will be the most beautiful part of your wedding?
Our ceremony. My husband and I wrote the entire ceremony (sitting on the lake we got engaged/married on) a few weeks prior. We were married in a non-denominational church but used a lot of Christian/Catholic elements. We made it personal (but did not include any "inside jokes") and tied it heavily into the location. I think our collaboration allowed us to reflect on importance values in marriage. The review from our guests was there wasn't a dry eye in the church.
What was/will be the most beautiful cheap/free thing?
Our friends and family coming together, without asking, to make sure everything was as awesome as it could be. We had bad weather the day before and everything immediately went to plan B. We had tons of people, in the hailing rain and snow (in August!), setting up giant party tents, tables, chairs -- laughing and making the most of it. We couldn't have done what we did without our people.
What was/will be the least necessary high-money-value thing?
we kept to a strict budget and watched all of our dollars. We almost signed with a photog for $3500 but found a friend for $700. We knew pics were important but we couldn't spend *that* much. In the end, we had phenomenal photographers (as well as great candid pics from guests). I think talent does not equal money.
What did your guests comment favorably on the most, and how much (percentage of budget or dollar value) did it cost?
Food/location were the most commented on. We were married in Stanley, ID - location costs was probably 10% of our budget for park rental/back up center. We did add party rental stuff too (15% of budget). Our caterer was 30% not counting beer/wine (18% of budget). They were awesome - we did apps, dinner buffet, and dessert. Their style is high-end Texas BBQ which totally rocked in flavor and uniqueness.
1. What, regardless of cost, was/will be the most beautiful part of your wedding?
2. What was/will be the most beautiful cheap/free thing?
3. What was/will be the least necessary high-money-value thing?
4. What did your guests comment favorably on the most, and how much (percentage of budget or dollar value) did it cost?
1. The location! We had our wedding at Garden of the Gods Club in Colorado Springs and the view was amazing!
2. See number one? Definitely the view and the venue setup!
3. The food...we spent waaaaaaay too much on fancy food...not that we had a choice since our venue doesn't allow outside food and drink
4. My guests loved our vows...every mentioned them because one word stuck out: "lover." One of our vows mentioned being "your lover, your friend" and everyone said they were surprised to hear the word, that it was the first time they had heard it at a wedding. My DH was so tickled that they liked it! That was definitely the best part for me-that he was proud of something!
The whole atmosphere! The gorgeous weather. Low seventies, blue sky with a gentle breeze. I loved our vows (all WE had to say was I do!) and the ceremony itself - which was a mix of Unitarian and Native American. Really good vibe.
The condition of the garden. The garden is located at the college where I teach, and the college's landscaping crew freshly mulched, trimmed, weeded, and cleaned the area just prior to the wedding. They even laid fresh sod in the area next to the garden! Facilities formed an aisle with velvet rope and stands and IT rigged the garden with sound for the music and the ceremony. All done by college co-workers for free.
Definitely over-estimated the amount of food needed. Went by the number of guests but some apparently ate very little or left early! It was an evening wedding and I imagine some people came right from work and wanted to get home!
Guests commented oon how relaxed and classy the wedding seemed which is pretty amazing considering only less tha 5K was spent on the whole thing. Next most commented on - my dress. Ha ha and it was purchased from eBay for a mere $100!
One of the beautiful things that is free that I am looking forward to about our wedding is the importance of family and the importance of our marriage and our life together. My fiance has three children, two daughters and a son, and they will all be in our wedding party. I am very excited to surprise his children with the sand ceremony and I know it will show them how much they mean to us and that they have a part in this wedding and our marriage. We're going to be a family!! It's the best gift I could ever ask for.
1. I think any part of our ceremony that involves my twins-unity candle with FI and I, having pictures of the four of us around, & having all of both our families together for the first, and probably only time.
2. Our pastor's wife sings beautifully-she is singing two songs in our ceremony. She sounds just like Patsy Cline
3. I don't know what to say about this-we're on a major budget-with the entire thing, except for my e-ring for under $5K-this includes wedding dress, wedding bands & honeymoon.
4. We haven't gotten married yet, but we've had LOTS of super positive feedback about our invitations (simple, ecru with an embossed maple leaf around the border, ginger ink) and the late morning wedding with a brunch reception-"refreshing", "relaxing", "not like every other wedding I've been too in the past 6 months". :)
The things we heard over and over again were how personal, heartfelt, romantic and intimate our entire day was. Almost everything, had our thumbprint on it or someone very close to us.
People in general like to feel connected to something. Try to find ways to make people feel a part of your day rather than a spectator. People also like timeliness and appreciate good food, these are easy ones. Lastly people like to have fun, if you're having fun, likelihood is good that your guests will be too.
We tried to make our day a big celebration or party with a wedding theme. We didn't want anything that resembled the formulaic. As well, we are incredibly lucky to have many family and friends that have unique talents that offered their talents to us on our day, so we had virtually no "vendors" which is pretty incredible.
A couple of items that got a lot of attention:
The whole day, 85 guests, cost less than 10K. And we paid for the whole thing that day. But...we couldn't have done it without all the help we got from family and friends.
1. What, regardless of cost, was/will be the most beautiful part of your wedding?
2. What was/will be the most beautiful cheap/free thing?
3. What was/will be the least necessary high-money-value thing?
4. What did your guests comment favorably on the most, and how much (percentage of budget or dollar value) did it cost?
1. The pictures!! OMG we loooved our photog and are glad we paid what we did for them.
2. Our water blending ceremony... specifically my husbands face when he realized I had gotten water from antarctica for him!
3. The full bar. If I had my say (and I didnt as my dad overruled me) we would have gone with beer wine and champagne adn thats it.
4. That they had a great time partying. The DJ was great and everyone was acting like a kid with the photobooth.
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Last night on BeeTV, we talked a bit at the end of the time about genuine weddings vs. purely "expensive" weddings, and how genuine weddings at any budget are more beautiful than weddings that are more about the dollar value than the meaning.
So I started wondering:
What, regardless of cost, was/will be the most beautiful part of your wedding?
What was/will be the most beautiful cheap/free thing?
What was/will be (this might be harder for non-newlyweds to answer) the least necessary high-money-value thing?
And solely for the newlyweds -- what did your guests comment favorably on the most, and how much (percentage of budget or dollar value) did it cost?
I'll start --
I think the most beautiful thing in our wedding was the music. I am a big, big music person and it was a high priority for me. We chose two very meaningful hymns for the guests to sing with us, one of them being a modified version of the Navy hymn with verses to honor each of the Armed Forces represented in my husband's family (he was Coast Guard and we have Army and Air Force as well). It was so, so beautiful to stand there and sing (until I couldn't anymore because I was crying) with my family and friends all around me -- our college choir director was there and I could hear his distinctive voice above the rest. I think everyone cried, even my husband and his dad.
This was my cheap/free thing too, along with the prayer my dad did after he gave me away, and our special music. We hired for beans the chair of our college music department and his wife to play piano for us -- both are concert-level musicians and they did a duet together for our special music which I thought was very symbolic, as a husband and wife working together, each in their own way, to create something beautiful and harmonious.
As to what I spent money on and probably didn't need to... I'm not sure. I didn't spend a lot of money on ANYTHING, but for me, I think I shouldn't have stressed so much about my invitations. They were way less than I was hoping for, but they just weren't my thing to worry about. Some people have gorgeous invitations that they slave over, and I say kudos to them, but it just wasn't me.
What guests commented on -- I won't be a lot of help here, as mostly the guests commented on non-tangibles, ie "It was personal" "It was intimate", etc.
I'd really love to see other's perspectives on this! Let's brag on our weddings a little.