We Love Books Wedding Under 10K
When two teachers fall in love their wedding is sure to be a bookworm's dream! Book pages were strewn throughout Shelby and Ian's Sunday brunch wedding from the book themed wedding invites, to the book page paper flowers in her bouquet and the thousands of book page paper pinwheels that decorated their wedding venue the Balcony on Dock.
This wedding has all sorts of surprises waiting for you including a backdrop DIY and a full budget break down! So keep scrolling readers, to see the rest of this book lovers wedding captured by KMI Photography Inc. Don't forget to visit the full gallery too!
The bride, Shelby, wanted to create a laid back, vintage feel for her wedding. She lovingly created details by hand for months in preparation for her wedding day. The bride and groom both want to be teachers, so books seemed a fitting aesthetic for their wedding.
Shelby gathered vintage books at book sales for table decor, fashioned adorable pinwheels out of old book pages and newspaper, and printed all the signage for the wedding on newspapers. Shelby's adorable invitation suite included library book due date slips for her guests to use to rsvp.
Shelby's mother made all the beautiful paper flowers and her grandmother arranged all the flowers for the tables. The bride's mother also created a romantic bouquet of paper flowers and baby's breath for the bride to carry. Shelby wore her grandmother's pearls and necklace, and baby's breath adorned her hair. She wore a simple silk dress tied with a burlap sash.
Shelby and Ian were married on a beautiful Sunday morning, and Ian's best friend officiated the ceremony. They chose to forego having a wedding party to make the day more simple and low key.
Streamer and Pinwheel Wedding Backdrop-
Shelby and Ian's adorable wedding backdrop was a fun way to spice up their ceremony without having to spend oodles for flowers! Here's how you can recreate it for your very own!
Materials:
Newspapers, Scissors, Hot Glue Gun, Twine & Ribbon or Fabric Streamers:
Cut your ribbon into strips 2x the length of your intended backdrop. Measure out a piece of twine to the width of your intended backdrop and add a foot onto each end. Fold your cut ribbon streamers in half so that there is a loop at the top. Using your measured piece of twine as the base of your streamer backdrop, thread the ends of your ribbon streamer through the loop at the top and pull tight around the twine. Continue until your backdrop is to your liking.
Pinwheels:
Cut newspapers into 12 inch by 2 inch long strips, fold strips into small accordions. Glue "accordioned" strip ends together to form a ring. Gently push ring flat and glue a small circular piece of paper to the back of this little pinwheel to keep its shape. With extra twine hot glue your pinwheels to varying lengths of it and tie to your streamer backdrop as well.
Needing a little help with your pinwheels?! Check out this easy to follow video from Stephanie Bryan as she shows you just how simple these cute little decorations are to make!
https://vimeo.com/88183721
After a cocktail hour with mimosas, shrimp and grits, and mini chicken and pancakes, guests enjoyed a laid-back brunch reception complete with an omelette station. A local bluegrass band serenaded wedding guests during the meal.
A family friend made the lovely cake and cupcakes for the dessert table, and the bride's aunt, family friends, and sisters made the hand stamped shortbread cookies and other goodies.
One of the sweetest parts of the day took place when the bride and her father shared a dance while the groom, an amazing musician, serenaded them. Many people contributed in creating Shelby and Ian's wedding, and that made for a day that was both beautiful and meaningful in so many ways. All the sweet details came together to create a joyful day that was completely reflective of Shelby and Ian.
Read on to hear what Shelby wished they had done differently and see how much this book lovers wedding cost. 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.
From the Bride:
We had spent so much time making every last detail perfect except for one thing, Our band was amazing and the music couldn't have been any better, up until they took their breaks. I had kept putting off making a play list for inbetween their sets.
When the wedding finally rolled around I had just picked a couple songs to play on repeat. I felt like it caused guest to stop dancing and in some moments it changed the mood of the reception. If I could go back I would have carefully created a long playlist with music that matched our theme.
Our budget was tight and we tried keeping everything simple:
The venue, tables, chairs and food ended up costing right around $5000.
We had a morning wedding so we capped our alcohol at $700.
All of our decor cost under $500 and that included; books, flowers, mason jars, burlap, invitations, ribbon).
Our live band ended up costing (with tip) $1800.
Family friends made all of our desserts.
My new mother-in-law gifted us all of our wedding favors (homemade jam).
My parents gifted us our wonderful photographers and my wedding dress. (my dress was a total of $1600).
I believe total our wedding ended up costing $10,000-$11,000.
- Band: End of the Line Band
- Photobooth: All Star Booth
- Photography: KMI Photography Inc
- Venue & Caterer: Balcony on Dock
- Wedding Dresses: The Wedding Dress Shoppe