OKAY!!! Let me just start with saying… weddings are expensive.Everyone already knows that though. We tried to cut costs by doing alot ourselves instead of using an all inclusive $10,000+ venue. Can I emphasize the + ?!?
I was bound and determined to have a unique wedding. I didn’t want any of the color schemes being thrown at me in the venues we looked at and I sure didn’t want to use their cookie cutter florists.
My dream was to get married in the mountains and pine trees up in northern Arizona. Unfortunately, That couldn’t happen because my grandpa and grandma (not in the best health at 95) wouldn’t be able to make it.
I searched all over the valley for a venue that would fit the style and price I could afford.
We ended up at the Irish Cultural Center. Sounds weird right? I thought so too but picture this: cobble stone ground with a stone cottage and castle. Getting the vibe yet? Good!
We were able to bring in our own vendors and that was a huge plus to Dustin an I. We weren’t interested in the boring chicken and steamed veggies a wedding reception usually entails. We ended up having Joe’s real BBQ cater. If you are from the Phx area chances are you have tried/heard about it. YUM!
I contacted so many florists that quoted me 1,000-3,000 minimums. HOLY MOLY. I wasn’t expecting that blow so I kept shopping around. I finally went to Aj’s Fine Foods and looked around. They had the most unique and beautiful displays so for giggles my mom and I decided to ask if they designed for weddings. Fortunately, for us, they did!! They allowed me to pick the exact flowers in the exact colors I wanted. I seriously could not have been happier with the customer service, pricing, and final outcome. (I used AJ’s on Ray in Chandler)
My husband’s sister offered to buy our cake since she had a friend in the business. That was a huge blessing. The cake designer allowed us to show her a picture of a naked cake and the fresh flower decor I wanted and she recreated it perfectly. (Flavors: banana cream, pumpkin spice, and chocolate)
My mom, aunt, cousin all helped me create the center pieces. We bought lanterns from Kirklands and bought wood pedestals from Bed Bath and Beyond. We created a garland wreath with greenery from Arizona Flower Market and added fresh flowers tucked in from the grocery store. I really wanted the antique brass candle sticks that I had been seeing on Pinterest. What better place to find them then Goodwill baby? LOL. We bought mass amounts of candlesticks from Yummy who had a great selection to choose from.
The actual table clothes were purchased from Amazon.
Tables and chairs were part of the venue rental.
The altar was made from wood from my future father in law and mother in laws property up north. We stacked the wood on top of each other and added a few pillar candles and fresh flowers.
The ceremony table was a nightstand from Kirklands. I bought some artificial garland and flowers from Hobby Lobby to add some life to the table. The table runner was purchased off E-bay. The candelabra was from TJ-Maxx and the hydrangea were purchased from Arizona Flower Market. We wanted to do a salt ceremony. You can find the meaning here: http://www.weddingsandrites.com/salt-covenant.html . For the salt we used ice cream salt since it was bigger and easier to see from far away. We bought the decorative salt containers from Hobby Lobby. The ring bearers used glass geometric shaped containers from Urban Outfitters. There was a really old bible on the table that had special meaning to me. It was my grandpa’s old bible. It is absolutely beautiful!
Sorry if this is a lot of information. I just want to make sure you get the details incase there is something you would like to buy for your own wedding.
Through all the stress and the occasional tear we ended up planning our perfect wedding. It couldn’t have been done without the help of our amazing families. It was truly a beautiful day with beautiful meaning. I married the man of my dreams all the rest was just extra. To God be the glory!
Video cred: David M. Nelson
Wedding picture cred: Shannon Gilpin
Papr Wings and Sunshine 