One of my main goals in wedding planning is to provide as many opportunities as I can for my brides to save money. By the time the wedding is actually over, the potential for spending money is astronomical and it shouldn’t have to be. Just because it may be the biggest day of your life doesn’t have to also make it the most expensive… after all, lots of newlywed couples are buying new houses, renting apartments together, putting down payments on new furniture, and paying for a honeymoon! So my goal is to give each bride enough Do-It-Yourself and budget ideas in order to make up for my own fees a few times over. For real, it can be done… IF you know how to do it.
So I’m beginning a new series of blogs that will highlight budget-worthy buys, Do-It-Yourself ideas (that are worth the time it takes to do them on your own), and ways to get around giving up your first born child to pay for your wedding (or photo shoot!). Today, I’ll give you a short list of items I bought and found for our Yellow & Grey: Backyard Soiree stylized shoot. Being that this was a very low budget shoot, we were lucky enough to borrow many of the items we used from friends and family members but everything we bought was purchased with the budget in mind. We know what it’s like to be on a strict budget, too! So here it goes…
Plates and Bowls: 32 piece set (8 dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, and coffee mugs), $40 at Costco
Silverware: 40 piece set, $60 at Costco
Votive Candle Holder, used for candy: $1 at A.C. Moore (60 cents with weekly coupon!)
Yellow Candy: $2.60 for 60 pieces at the 39 Cent Store (in Virginia Beach)
Candy Sticks: $2 at A.C. Moore (get the weekly 40% off coupon for a discount!), and you get way more than you need… I use them for my annual cake pops at Christmas time.
Tilted Pitchers: small one is $30 and large pitcher is $35, ordered through MeghanBlair Weddings.
Lemonade Glasses: $1 at the Dollar Store, gotta love it.
Lemons: an inexpensive decorative item, purchased from Costco in bulk.
Apothecary jars: not sure how much they were but you can find ‘em at TJ Maxx… yes!
River Rocks: $2.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond, $1 at the Dollar Store, and $0.69 at Ollie’s!
My Beloved Wine Glasses: “Cheers” by Mikasa are $35 at Bed Bath & Beyond for 4 glasses.
White Votives: $8 at A.C. Moore for a set of 12, but use the coupon for a discount! Always!
Ribbon: I use it on everything and it’s just so cute, $.50 per roll at A.C. Moore
Ring: it’s mine, I’m not telling. But you can get some very good looking rings and other jewelry for GREAT deals at Stein Mart!
White Pillar Candles: on sale at A.C. Moore for $2 a piece.
Wine: $13 each at Total Wine.
Hope this was helpful for you future “yellow & grey” brides! I know a few of you are already interested in recreating our shoot for your own weddings! ;)
