Create A Darling Wedding For Under 5K!
Sarah and Chris wanted their wedding to be the perfect reflection of their love: creative, artistic and special with touches of vintage and eclectic charm. They brought together an intimate gathering of friends and family from all over the world; Chris' side from the UK, and Sarah's side from Canada and South Africa. Note: this gorgeous wedding was created for under $5,000... A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Keep reading to see how they pulled it off!
With special DIY touches and cute collected decor you won't want to miss a single steal-able idea! View them all in the full gallery here, beautifully captured by Christie Graham Photography.
Steal Worthy Idea:
Paint a door with chalkboard paint and put table numbers and the events of the day on it. Love it.
From the Bride:Since we are both artists- Chris an illustrator, and myself a makeup artist- we wanted to create a lot of the decor and visual pieces ourselves. With the help of my mom and one of the groomsmen, we made all the flower arrangements for the tables, including all of the bouquets and the boutonnieres. I did my own hair and makeup, and even did some of the maid's makeup as well. Chris and I did all the signage and stationery, including our invitations.
We were moving into a new home after the wedding, and began gathering bits and pieces for our new life together as a married couple. We didn't realize it at first, but our home decor choices were a perfect fit for our wedding. We quickly decided on an eclectic living room inspired wedding, with vintage furniture pieces, mix matched china, rugs, lamps and even some vintage doors as the backdrop to our vows. We borrowed, bought, and collected a mixture of vases, candle holders, bottles, mason jars, and jugs to display flowers on each table.
Our table runners were made of cut-up curtains from Ikea, and the tables were purposely left bare as we loved the look of the wood with the mix matched wooden chairs. We used paper napkins with floral patterns, and made handmade bunting to string from tables and on the wall. One of my favorite DIY projects was the map we displayed which had two hearts- one in Vancouver and one in Cheadle- which were connected by dots to show how far we had followed our hearts to find one another.
My bridesmaids and flower girls all had a variation of blush, but I didn't want them to match. Since my sisters and maid of honor were in Vancouver, and my sister-in-law and her daughters (the flower girls) lived in England, I decided to let all of the bridesmaids pick out their own dress. It came together so well! The boys opted for a casual look of grey trousers, suspenders, converse and a white button up. It was relaxed, but still cohesive. Guests enjoyed a casual hog roast dinner with a delicious dessert buffet filled with sweet English treats. We danced the night away (literally! Chris and I were the last ones on the dance floor).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XqhBbAe8l8
Read on to see advice from the bride and the budget breakdown! Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple’s breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.
Advice From the Bride:
If I could have done anything differently I would definitely have worn my hair up in a pretty messy updo as it was indeed the hottest day of the year and I was sweltering under all that hair! Because I was dancing so much by the end of the night I threw my hair up in a pony tail, but looking back.. Even though I did like the look of my hair down, I could have done something really pretty and had it up off my neck and it would have probably looked a bit better at the end of the evening than my messy ponytail!
I was also boiling in my dress.. If I had known how hot I was going to be in such a big dress.. I might I have gone for something a bit breezier! I did love my dress so much and a part of me wants to say I would never change it but the truth is I didn't give myself enough time to search for the perfect dress so I kinda got the first one that I liked and just went with it. I would definitely say that YES the dress is important.. not just how it looks, but how it will feel on the day. I will admit that while I was on cloud nine that day and it was the perfect day, I was very uncomfortable!
Budget Breakdown:
At the time the exchange rate was 1.6 between GBP and Canadian dollars.
SARAH WEDDING BUDGET Description Total Dilhorne
£440
Dress
£798
Hog Roast
£400
Furniture
£350
Caterer
£460
Cake
£80
Flowers
£150
Mason Jars, dinner plates, drink dispensers
£120
Material
£50
Veil
£95
Napkins
£10
- Shops: Etsy
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Aritzia
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Nataya
- Cake: Family Friend | Makeup & Hair: Bride
- Caterer: Pig Out Hog Roast
- Cinematography: Tom Addis
- DIY Table Runners: Ikea
- Dress Shop: Bridal Couture by Josephine
- Flowers: J Titley & Sons Ltd Wholesaler
- Groom & His Men: Zara
- Lighting: CineMattag Productions
- Prop/Furniture Rentals: The Poppy Trading Co
- Stationery: Drawn to Play
- Vintage China Rentals: Darby And Joan
- Wedding Films: I Do Films Global