Wedding Day Journey

Being a bride involves so much detail and preparation. Of course the most important thing is the commitment and love that weddings symbolize, but the party and gathering need planning or it will likely not be what is envisioned. I did not have a picture in my mind of what my wedding would be. After the engagement, I was scared to even begin the planning. My biggest concern was that we spent what was feasible for us and not end up in debt or broke after the wedding. I was a budget-friendly bride. I will share some of the things that added very unique touches to the big day.

The amount of guests often determines the spend of the wedding. We ultimately decided that we wanted our close friends and family and that having the majority of people we know was not worth the money for a huge venue. I found a micro-wedding with capacity of 65 guests within an hour drive of town. Perfect for us! The venue was also new and having great deals to promote the opening. We quickly toured and decided it was the one.

Venue

Biggest tip for the venue is to join Facebook groups in the area you are looking to have the wedding. Most businesses are actively promoting their venues in these groups. As a major benefit, the venue had just opened and they were looking for clients that would serve as test subjects. They asked up front if they could post pictures from the wedding to promote. We agreed because we thought the level of detail and attention was great. By paying for the venue, we also got a coordinator included because the owner handles all the details.

The venue also had an inclusive packet. We chose the inclusive which came with catering, cake, and decorations. That took a big stress off our shoulders and all we had to do was choose everything. That means we still go to do the fun things like tastings but didn’t have to coordinate any of the payments. How fun! They also had a huge decorations room and let us pick anything we wanted for the tables.

Food & Dessert

My husband and I are from different cultures, so we wanted to include foods from both to make sure everyone was happy. The venue was open to us bringing in home cooked food as well so we had classic pork BBQ from catering and spicy barbacoa cooked by my mom as our meat options. People loved this. We still get compliments when we see our guests on the food. There was plenty of food this way and we did not come close to being out of anything.

We also had two desserts. A vanilla traditional cake as well as a chocolate flan. They were both huge hits. Everyone was ready to hit the dance floor after dessert. Having options that were familiar to both cultures was such a relief for us. People go to try new things while also having the comfort of what they are used to. The other big hit of the night filled with food was he charcuterie board. From the time the ceremony ended to the time dinner was ready, our guests had the time to enjoy charcuterie. The assortment was great and in season and aesthetically it was a dream.

There are so many more things to talk about so we will keep it short and I will be back in another post to continue the journey!