Time flys...

Holy Moly, today Adam and I have been married 1 year!!! Happy Anniversary to us! I can't believe it, time fly's... This past year has been exciting and filled with quite a few new adventures; I love being married to Adam! Since I never really actually blogged about our wedding {since while we were actually planning, who had time to actually blog about it!?} I figured what better time than on our anniversary. We got engaged December 22, 2008, we set the date of August 22, 2009 {only 8 months of planning! eeek!} Every detail of our wedding was all do-it-yourself and as much work as it was I can't imagine doing it any other way.

{our save the dates, our invites, our homemade favors that were baby food jars filled with lemonade powder, homemade beer labels, reserved tags on mason jar lids, our programs with tickets to our photo booth, our homemade centerpieces, and homemade water bottle labels}

We had a lot of help from family and friends, we wouldn't have been able to get all the DIY done without them! One of the most miraculous DIY projects was my dress! My mom made it completely by hand out of leftover fabric from my sister's wedding and polka dot curtain panels I found at GoodWill! I knew I wanted a polka dotted dress, but couldn't afford the designer dresses. I found a knock-off online that was supposed to be identical to the Michelle Ross Maya dress  but when I got it in the mail {2 months before the wedding} it was not what I had thought it would be. I was unable to return the dress for a full refund so I ended up selling it on craigslist. Since it was only 2 months before the wedding and I didn't have time to order anything else, my mom said she would make my dress. She's quite the seamstress and had made several things before, including my prom dress, so I wasn't worried. I searched online and local fabric stores for a white on white polka dot fabric, but had zero luck! One day while shopping at Target {I LOVE Target!} I found curtain panels that were a white on white polka dot! I bought 2 packages. About a week later Adam and I were at Goodwill and there, still in the package, were 2 of those Target curtain panels for only $6.99 each!! SCORE! What are the odds!? So I took back the original ones to Target getting $39.98 back! My mom and I then went to JoAnnes and found a pattern I like and a zipper for the back {my mom said the zipper was the most expensive piece of the dress}. My dress ended up costing no more than $25! My veil was from ebay, my necklace was just a strand of pearls that we added a clasp to from Micheal's, and my earrings were purchased from a antique store. {by the way, my mom also found the time to make her dress, alter the bridesmaids dresses, make the cupcake stand, and countless other things - she's a super mom!}

We also saved on the bridal party's outfits. We bought the guys shoes $25 {Urban Outfitters w/ free shipping and a online coupon!} the guys pants $14.99 {JcPenny's on sale +extra coupon!} the guys shirts $12.99 {TjMaxx} the ties $19.99 {ties.com - after the wedding we sold them all on ebay!} The best part of their outfit, the pink socks! $2.49 {J.Crew Outlet} The only thing they rented was their vests. The bridesmaids dresses and shoes all came from ebay and ranged between $30 & $60.

Another thing we did to save money was make our own food. We borrowed about 15 crock pots from family and friends and placed in chicken breasts, olive oil, red onion, and a little seasoning. They cooked all day and come wedding time we had a delicious meal! We bought other sides from Costco including green salad, potato salad, rolls, and we did watermelon and cantaloupe balls {pink and orange!} We did 'Family-Style' so our guests sat at their table and bowls of food were brought to each table by helpful family and friends! We also made our own cupcakes and had just a small cake for Adam and I to cut. We saved hundreds doing it this way! We also bought our own table cloths for the same price as we would have paid to rent them. After the wedding we sold them on craigslist for only $30 less than we paid for all of them!

We also did our own flowers {thanks to the help from my sister Jesi! and my mom's good friend Shari!} Jesi went to a local farm and picked flowers that I approved ;-) I gave them some images of bouquets I liked and told them to put them together how they thought - they turned out amazing and absolutely perfect!! and all our flowers, bouquets and boutonnieres cost only about $70! 

{of course we had plenty of TAB! The can is pink!}

 

I could probably keep going on and on about all the details {I had so much fun planning and the day was so perfect I want to do it all again!} On the whole wedding, including everything, we only spent about $5,000! We truly did everything DIY and saved so much money and had fun doing all the projects along the way.

{our family}  

 

 

{table of family members wedding picture's and how long they've been married} 

 

 

{our wedding singer! he was great!}

 

 

 Here's to another year! and 60 more after that...