You going to invite great aunt, Jane and her seventeen children, right? I mean, your brother did.
What do you mean, you want to get married somewhere other than a church? What will everyone think!
You want to serve pie, not cake?! Blasphemy!
Wedding planning is STA-RES-FUL. Amen? Expectations, family and opinions could get the best of you and ruin this exciting time in your life. I can't tell you how many times I thought while wedding planning "the courthouse is sounding better and better" or "I could buy a new car with all this money".
Ultimately, our wedding was wonderful.... but if I had the chance to do it again, I'd go small. I'd go intimate. I'd go budget friendly. I love the feeling of intimate wedding days.... less muss, less fuss... less dog and pony show... less stress. Are you a couple breaking free of traditional, and celebrating small? I'd love to chat with you about photographing your big day at a special rate, I've created a separate package just for those of you looking to have a beautifully intimate day. Click the image to view rates for intimate weddings! Click through the posts below to read more about planning an intimate wedding on a budget. New posts will go up the first Tuesday of each month!
July 13, 2017
Sometimes you just need to dress a cute couple up in a bright, non-traditional outfit for a beach session! Pastel’s have taken over the wedding industry, and while I don’t hate it, sometimes I just crave more color! This Ft. Fisher session is one of my favorites to date… the happy colors and infectious smiles are my favorite! We started with her vintage dress and then found a coordinating shirt for him to wear. Marc and Megan have been married nearly 2 years… so we’ll just call this an anniversary session 🙂 Flowers: Farmgirl Flowers (a wonderful alternative to a traditional florist in a pinch!) Dress: Mayberry Market in Mt. Airy (vintage) Ribbon: Hanah Silk Shirt & Pants: J Crew Film: Portra 400 The FIND Lab
August 4, 2016
After skipping the July post thanks to vacation… I’m back at it with this month’s intimate wedding post, this time, all about florals! It’s really easy to bust a floral budget with a few pricey blooms…. ahem, peonies, I’m looking at you…. but there are plenty of ways to find cost effective flowers for your big day. Have a small bridal party… or no bridal party. Less people to outfit with florals = less moolah. Stick to greens. Make your bouquet as the bride a show-stopper, but stick to the basics for your girls. Simple bouquets of just baby’s breath or greens can be really dramatic and beautiful. DIY. If you’re ok with the basics (roses, hydrangeas, tulips, etc.) grocery stores can be a great alternative. Just recently, I threw a bridal shower and wanted some centerpieces for the food table and the two high-top tables I had rented. I bought $50 worth of flowers between Trader Joe’s and Fresh Market to more than fill them up! (pink roses, white roses, pink peonies, white peonies, baby’s breath & lots of greens) Order wholesale. This is actually what we did when we got married… fiftyflowers.com is where we ordered everything. I think we spent under $500 for 6 bouquets, boutonnieres and all the loose flowers we had on the tables. ** If you do DIY, make sure you have someone to arrange them OR you leave yourself plenty of time to do them. For table arrangements, use floral styrofoam or tape grids to hold your flowers upright. Scour thrift shops for vessels to hold table arrangements or use what you already own. For that bridal shower I threw, I grabbed one of those plastic shoe storage boxes and put some foam in it… made my arrangement and then stuck the whole thing in a pretty basket I already had. (photo above!)
June 8, 2016
Happy first Tuesday of June! Can you believe it’s JUNE?! Seems like we just celebrated Christmas… I digress. Anyway… I’m back with another intimate wedding post, and as you may have guessed… we’re talking dresses! Every big bridal magazine is going to roll their eyes at this post… because their $2,000+ dresses would surely disapprove of a $50 off-the-wrack frock to tie the knot. Let’s face it, if you are looking to cut costs on your wedding day, a $10,000 Vera Wang dress isn’t even on your radar… but maybe those $99 David’s Bridal specials are… and I’m here to share some other (likely better!) options. If you’re dying for the “bridal look” start local. Check out your local bridal boutiques. Every single boutique has a back corner filled with sample gowns they are looking to offload at a discount. They’re last season, they may need to be cleaned, beading may need mending and they likely won’t fit like a custom ordered gown… but they will be bridal and have a designer label. A few months ago I was in J Majors looking for a dress to photograph and wandered through their sample wrack…. lots of pretty options, and I was stunned at the deeply discounted rates they were being sold! Again, if you’re dying for a true bridal gown, check oncewed.com and preownedweddingdresses.com. When Jeremy and I got engaged, the first thing I did was buy a stack of bridal magazines and hunt for my dream dress on the glossy pages. An Amsale dress struck me… it was the one. I’d not stepped foot inside a bridal boutique, but I knew this.was.it! I happened to find it on preownedweddingdresses.com in my size and about 1/3 of it’s retail price. I think that dress retailed for $3000 and I paid about $1200. It arrived and was even the perfect length! Seriously, no alterations were needed! About a month later I had a revelation that even though I’d spent 1/3 of retail, I’d still shelled out over a grand for a dress I’d wear once… I couldn’t stomach it. I put it back up for sale and actually profited $300 on that gown! Side note: I ended up wearing my mom’s wedding dress 🙂 Also, check out local consignment/resale shops in your area, when I worked at the Junior League Wearhouse we got lots of donated gowns (even from bridal shops!) Look at bridesmaids dresses! Nearly every single bridesmaid gown comes in at least ivory, if not white too. This will still give you a little taste of that bridal boutique experience as well… you can make an appointment, play dress-up and spend a fraction of what the white gowns across the store cost.**Make sure you check out my Intimate Weddings pins for lots of dress options! Shop the mall! Probably the simplest solution… go to the mall! You can find dozens of white dresses just walking into the shops there. Places like Cache, White House Black Market, JCrew (online) and many others will offer you options. Tagging on #4, shop online! Lots of mainstream retailers are carrying bridal gowns online… check out urbanoutfitters.com modcloth.com and zara.com too! Rent. After-all you may only wear it once. Renttherunway.com has a great selection of beautiful gowns. Go non-traditional. Picking a color other than white or ivory will open thousands of options for you… blush is wildly popular right now… I’ve also seen some killer colored gowns floating around… don’t be afraid to do something different!! The photo at the top is a dress I picked up on eBay for about $40… it was the perfect unique dress to shoot Michelle wearing at Richie Hill. It even caught the eye of the Trendy Bride blog and was featured over there! Be sure to check out more Intimate Wedding posts over HERE! And… if you’re looking to celebrate small (and budget friendly), make sure you check out my special rates on that page!
May 3, 2016
I love small, intimate weddings… there’s something cozy about them! I love them so much, I’ve created special pricing for those of you who want quality coverage and service, even though your wedding will be petite…. check that out here! In an effort to reach more couples celebrating small, I’ve decided to do a series on just that… celebrating small. Today, I’m starting just how you would start your planning… with venues! First, let me say that just because you’re celebrating with an intimate crowd that doesn’t mean these spots won’t accommodate larger groups, but they will be easy on your budget either way. City parks are a great place to start! Independence Park Rose Garden at only $50 an hour (plus the cost of renting chairs for your guests) it’s a beautiful bargain! Jetton Waterfront Hall : one of the most beautiful parks in our area, and bonus, it’s on the lake! Colonel Frances Beatty LakePointe Hall : Located in Matthews. Freedom Park shelters: Freedom Park is a stunning spot… but warning, it’s usually flooded with people! Other options: McGill Rose Garden : A sweet little garden on the north side of town. They do offer typical weddings here, but also offer 2 hour blocks for a smaller fee. You could have a shorter ceremony, toast some champagne and share hugs in a beautiful garden during those 2 hours! (and get some beautiful portraits!) The Bottle Factory : A little bit chic, a little bit rustic. Located in Monroe. Winthrop University : Just shot an engagement session on campus, and my couple told me about the weddings they host there too… so pretty! Lots of light filled spaces for cheap! The Loft at 14th : An adorable little space in downtown Concord! Get married in nearby McGee Park and walk over for an intimate dinner. An Inn on York Street : Just across the SC boarder… this B&B offers a stunning back yard and pool. You can rent the entire home for the night for $450, which will sleep 10 people! Desire a getaway? How about the south end of Wrightsville Beach, Bald Head Island’s East Beach or Keepers Landing. Rent a home for the weekend, and tie the knot on the sand. A little tip when looking at places… if you want to book a traditional wedding venue, make it known that this will be an intimate wedding. Also, if you plan to get married on an off day or off time, make that known too. It may open up doors for you that wouldn’t otherwise be there. I imagine lots of restaurants would allow you in to tie the knot before their dinner service opens, and then you and your guests could just stay and celebrate there! I would love to photograph a celebration like that at a place like Fahrenheit! *last image shot for Julia Wade Interested in having me photograph your intimate wedding? I offer special packages for just such events! You don’t need full day coverage, but value the importance of quality service and images? I’m your gal! Click here to learn more about what I offer for smaller weddings.