Backyard Weddings Become More Popular
Backyard weddings are no longer the exception, and in 2010 they are only going to increase in popularity. DIY brides are finding that they can still have the wedding of their dreams on a modest budget and in the comfort of their own home. Providing your own venue and creating your own wedding elements will not only save you money, but will also afford you the opportunity to have a wedding that is a unique reflection of you as a couple.
Sherry and John Petersik, a fun-loving couple from Virginia, decided to get married on their 2-year anniversary (of dating), which turned out to be a very popular date – 7/7/07. So… rather than compete with 36,000 other couples for wedding resources and locations, they decided to host their wedding in their very own backyard!
Photo Credit: younghouselove.com
Photo Credit: younghouselove.com
Sherry and John are very creative and hands on, so they decided to put their DIY skills to good use. They worked together to fix up their home and created everything for their wedding from the invitations to the decor to the food. Fortunately for them, they didn’t even have to venture far to find their entertainment and the officiant. John’s best friend Kevin was the musician and his cousin Travis officiated.
I personally love their favors and place cards (below; upper right). Sherry and John placed a gladiolus blub in a brown paper bag. On the back of the bag, they wrote the planting instructions. To the front, they affixed a photo strip that featured Sherry and John with a face covered in kisses and a message that read “Plant one… on us! Smooooch”. Love it — both “green” and creative! For their place cards, they hand stamped the first initial of each guest on a small square of card stock. Then, they hand-lettered the full name of the guest underneath the initial and secured it to the table with a river rock.
Photo Credit: younghouselove.com
Sherry and John managed to host the entire event for under $4000 — as you can see, they’re giddy about their savings.
Photo Credit: younghouselove.com
Here’s the budget breakdown:
Venue: Free (backyard)
Music: Free (family friend played ceremony music on guitar & we used an iPod for the reception)
Photography: Free (brother-in-law is a photographer)
Officiant: Free (cousin got certified online)
Food: $500
Wine & Drinks: $100
Cupcakes & S’mores: $125
Table & Chair Rentals: $350
Centerpieces: $70
Save The Dates/Invitations/Thank Yous (With Postage): $260
Favors: $75
Servingware: $250
Fabric For Tablecloths & Runners: $300
Lighting & Candles: $120
Flip Flops/Photo Clothesline/Welcome Sign: $75
Mosquito Sticks/Candles/Spray: $50
Bouquet: $20
Attire: $500
Photo Booth: $1200 (the one big splurge- and so worth it)
TOTAL: $3995
They even donated a lot of the serving-ware that they purchased from Ikea to charity, which not only afforded them a tax write-off, but also allowed them to help those less fortunate. Kudos to you!
To learn more about Sherry and John’s fabulous backyard wedding, please visit younghouselove.com.
Featured Wedding Website – Rocki and Bruce
Rocki and Bruce’s site is our featured WeddingWindow.com wedding website of the week. Conveniently, their own initials are also the same as the acronym for their favorite music genre R&B (Rhythm and Blues) — it was almost as if their wedding theme was decided for them. Read about how they went about developing a theme that was apparently destined. Kudos to them as well for beautifully incorporating their wedding colors into their website design. Congratulations Rocki and Bruce!
WeddingWindow.com Website Design: “Charmed”
1. How has your website been most helpful in planning your wedding?
It made communicating and sharing information about the details of the wedding so easy. And, we also did a lot to make it very personal so everyone that visited the site that hadn’t met one of us all said they felt like they knew both of us so much more after reading the site. So by the time our wedding rolled around, all our guests felt like they knew us and our story and were very excited to share in our day.
2. How did you customize your website?
I customized the colors and design to match the design and theme I was using for my wedding (colors: red and brown; design: swirl pattern). Also, my husband and I are huge music fans and as it turns out the initials of the first letter of our first names are R&B (for Rocki and Bruce). So, we had an R&B logo designed that we used thru the entire wedding process by not only using it for all our stationary and correspondence, but by also making sure we had great music tied to everything we did. So, on our website, we took a lot of time to choose great R&B music that each said something about us and our relationship. We got so many comments about what great music we had. Some people said they’d open our website up at work and just have the music playing in the background all day!
3. Did you customize other elements of your wedding as well? If so, what were they?
Everything about my wedding was customized. Each table at the reception was names after an R&B artist that had a #1 hit song during a year that was significant for Bruce or me. And, on the table name sign, we not only had the name of the artist, but also a fact about the artist and a fact about Bruce and I that made the artist relevant to us in the particular year of the #1 song. I also customized my dress. My mother is a very talented seamstress so she designed and made my dress. On the inside of the dress, she embroidered “R&B 9.5.09″ in red stitching to match the bridesmaids dresses. For our 1st dance, my cousin is an amateur singer so she sang “At Last” while we danced with our wedding cake with R&B as the topper in the background. I also had a photobooth at the reception for people to take pictures and make a scrapbook page. On the photo printouts, was the R&B logo along with the swirl pattern we used on the website, invitations, program, menu, and other elements throughout the day. I also had custom-made photo folders that had “R&B 9-5-09″ on the front in red foil print with the swirl pattern as an accent. The final customization was during the champagne toast. Instead of having champagne already waiting at the head table, we had 16 waiters dressed in tuxedos parade in each with a bottle of champagne. They paraded in and lined up behind each person at the head table. At exactly the same time, they eached popped their champagne bottles and then filled each glass simultaneously and then paraded out. It was a very impressive sight and something none of our guests (or wedding party) had seen done before.
4. What was your favorite feature?
Although each element was done with love and care, I think my favorite feature was the table name cards. It was so personal for Bruce and I and every table had a different fact and artist so it made it interesting and fun. I had guests tell me the next day that they walked around and read every table card to find out more information about Bruce and I and they loved reading the facts about the music artist. What made everything so special, however, is how all the elements of the theme came together in such a tasteful and cohesive manner. I used enough to carry the theme through, but not so much that it was overpowering or cheesy. The entire day was perfect and I still have people calling to tell me this was the most fun, most well planned, and most elegant wedding they’ve ever been to.