After dating for a little over 5 years, and being engaged for 11 months, we finally tied the knot! It took a lot of work, and a lot of time, but in the end, it was exactly how we had envisioned it to be. For even more photos and more details about our wedding you can check out these posts about us getting ready, our first look, our ceremony, the portraits, and the reception.
We tied the knot on Sunday, November 13, 2011. Yes, we got married on a Sunday. Why? It helped save us money. Although we didn't really have a "theme" for our wedding, saving money became our mantra.
We created both our save the dates and our wedding invitations through online printing sites. For our save the dates, we decided to go with postcards, and ordered them through Zazzle. Why? Didn't have to buy envelopes and postage is cheaper. Dan's mom took the pictures for our save the dates using a basic point-and-shoot camera.
Our invitations were made using photos from our professional engagement shoot at Lake Eola. We ordered them through Shutterfly using coupon codes and gift cards. (Sorry for the crummy cell phone photo.)
We got married at the Winter Park Farmer's Market. We chose to have both our ceremony and reception there to save money and time (read more about choosing our venue here). They provided all the of tables and chairs for the entire event.
It was all hands on deck to get everything ready and organized once we got to the venue. Both families and the wedding party chipped in and made sure that all the little details were taken care of. We were blessed to have day-of coordinator services offered to us (for free!) by one of Dan's friends at church. A couple of the girls from the church's youth group were recruited to help out as well.
We got ready right there at the venue. The girls wore whatever black dress they owned. The boys wore whatever black suit they owned with a black tie and teal shirt. My dress came from David's Bridal and only cost $300. And I even did my own makeup - with the help of my bridesmaids.
All of the flowers throughout the ceremony and reception (with the exception of the sunflowers - which were in honor of my Granny) were silk flowers. My bridesmaids made all the bouquets and boutonnieres. Can I just say, my girls were amazing!!
My bridesmaid made the sign that our ring bearers carried down the aisle. Our former youth pastor made the trip down south to officiate our wedding. And my dad made it in the nick of time to walk me down the aisle.
Our ceremony was short and sweet - just the way we wanted it to be. Jokes were made. Laughing at ourselves happened on more than one occasion. The kids were squirming and ready for it to be over with. All in all, I'd say it was perfectly us.
Our reception was just as laid back as our ceremony. Simple borrowed table cloths covered the tables. Inexpensive glass cylinders with dyed water and floating candles topped most of the tables. The others had shallow bowls with black sand and candles placed on top of square mirrors. All of our silverware and dishes were of the disposable kind, with the exception of our toasting glasses.
The food was probably the place where we saved the most money. Our parents and friends made the veggies, salads, and meatballs. And a good friend from Dan's church offered to make our cake as their wedding gift to us. The rest of the food - pasta and breadsticks - came from Pizza Hut. Although there was a slight mix up on the size of the order, everything turned out great.
There's so much more to our wedding, so I hope you check out the posts mentioned at the top of this page. Our wedding was exactly what we wanted: simple and laid back. We really could not have asked for a better day.
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