About time, right?
As you all know my wedding was almost 100% DIY. Our only hired vendor was the caterer. I’ll take you all through the timeline, how we got it all done, and the day itself. I’ll also give you guys a rough estimate of what we spent because I think it’s important for people to know that you can have your dream wedding on a budget. Enjoy!
Details:
Wedding Date- 10/1/11
Time- 1:30pm
Guests- 121
Thursday, 9/29:
We held our wedding at the Windfall Dutch Barn (http://www.cherryvalley.com/windfall/index.htm). The location was PERFECT for us. It was right up the road from the place where we got engaged and it is an area that we love. On Thursday our friends Jake and Jaycie came into town (Jake was the Best Man) and we took a load of stuff up to the barn. The barn itself supplies the tables, chairs, bathroom, electricity and running water. Everything beyond that we brought in ourselves. It took multiple vehicles/ trips to get everything up and back!
On the first day we took up all of our pumpkins, gourds and big stuff that we used the truck to haul. This included 22 cases of water and 40 cases of soda!
Once we’d unloaded everything, we got to work configuring the tables. This was the hardest part. The barn is pretty small. The owner indicated that we could comfortable hold 120 people. We had 121 guests and needed 13 tables set up. There are a few things in the barn you aren’t allowed to move (the stage) and the piano. Determining the best way to fit the tables was difficult. Originally we planned to hold the ceremony outside. We also planned to put the food outside. Our wedding day was a washout and we knew that they were forecasting rain. Instead of being able to take advantage of the beautiful landscape, we had to find a way to make everything work inside. And we finally did, luckily. This was a stressful night, but good friends made it so much better!
It took us a few hours at the barn and by the time we left we were starving. Many of Jon’s family members were in town so we ran home and changed and rushed to Jon’s sister’s house where they were having a welcome dinner with family. I can’t even remember now but I think we got there at like 8-9:00. We ate and honestly we were pretty much useless. We tried to socialize but we were exhausted. We’d spent the day getting things cleaned packed and together and then hauling and unloading the truck plus setting up tables and chairs. That combined with the stress pretty much turned our brains off by 9:00!
Thursday night we headed back home and another friend arrived from out of town. The five of us went to sleep with a full morning of set up ahead of us.
Friday:
Friday morning we started hauling everything up to the barn. We had many extra sets of hands that day I think ten people ended up dropping in to help throughout the day. We had “make your own” sandwiches for lunch and got everything set up in the barn. We also set up a tent outside the barn in hopes that people could use it in the event of a slight drizzle instead of a torrential down pour. We couldn’t have pulled the wedding together without everyone’s help. We set up everything we could, made a list of what needed to be done in the morning and had a quick rehearsal and then hightailed it home. We had flowers to harvest and the rehearsal dinner to get ready for.
The flowers weren’t put out until the day of, but some of these detail pictures will give you an idea of what we set up.
Our flowers were a real hope and prayer. I think we planted the flowers in 6 different intervals to try to capture some blooms in time for the wedding. We did something right because on our wedding day we had 5, 5 gallon pails of sunflowers! We cut them on Friday night and left them in the garage overnight.
The rehearsal dinner was held at a local 50’s dinner and was planned completely by Jon’s family. The dinner had a 50’s theme and we actually had the dinner all to ourselves. There was an Elvis impersonator outside and inside you could grab a table and order off of the special menu. While you enjoyed dinner you could play a song on the jukebox or get fresh with Marilyn Monroe 
Everyone had a wonderful time. Many people wore their 50’s attire and there was lots of dancing! Well except for the bride and groom We hate to dance but got called out a few times. There are some pictures and funny memories to prove it. We spent the evening mingling with everyone. It was a great chance to catch up!
After the rehearsal, I headed up to my parents with my cousin Alyssa and friend Casey and we got more of the food ready. My mom and Brittany (my brother’s girlfriend) worked hard all day on Friday setting up dessert and appetizer trays. We prepared all the appetizers ourselves and my mom made 90% of the desserts. I also made a few dessert options along with Jon’s mom and two of my mom’s friends. It is wonderful how everyone is willing to chip in to make the day extra personal and special! After plating everything up I headed home, ready to crash!
Friday night, the boys headed out to a hotel for the night and I stayed at home. Despite the fact that we avoided traditions for the most part, we still wanted it to be a surprise when we saw each other on our wedding day. Staying home also meant we didn’t have to worry about who would take care of the animals. Chickens really don’t care if it’s your wedding day and the dog still needs to pee 
Saturday morning the guys along with Jon’s sister and few other friends and family set up the remaining things for the wedding. The food was brought in and the flowers put out. I was not involved in this part at all. I’m so thankful for all of the wonderful people in our life that helped pull together the remaining pieces!
Saturday morning I went with my grandmother and cousin to the hairdresser where we had our hair done. My grandmother’s hairdresser runs a small shop in her basement and it was perfect! I forgot my veil and as soon as we got there, my cousin had to go back to get it! You lose your mind on your wedding day I’m pretty sure, haha. After the hair we came home went over a few last minute things and did our makeup. Yup I decided to go with powder and water proof mascara. It literally took 2 minutes to put on! My dress was still at my parents’ house (so Jon couldn’t see it) so we went up there to get dressed. My wedding outfit consisted of
Veil- Made by Jon’s mom out of my mom’s veil (which was originally made by my grandmother)
Dress- JC Pennies Prom dress $120
Jewelry- Turquoise/ silver jewelry gifted by my Aunt (Godmother)
Shoes- My cowboy boots that I always wear
We took a few pictures and then we were off to the wedding! My cousin drove us, in my car, and honestly I didn’t feel like we needed a limo or any transportation at all. I hung up my sweater in the window so that guests couldn’t see me waiting as they came in.
We had a great friend hang out and direct everyone where to park. Thanks to all the rain, the parking “fields” were mud pits and we had to use the road for parking. We didn’t have any issues thanks to Hudson! Once everyone was ready inside, They came out to get me and Hudson escorted me to the door under an umbrella. We walked in to a string quartet version of “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns and Roses
and back out to “Shook me all night long” by ACDC
The ceremony was performed by our town justice and was very quick. She spoke about making our house a home and a place to escape from the rest of the world, it was pretty much perfect and we hadn’t even discussed that with her!
Appetizers went out while we took family pictures. Our friend Jaycie had a list of a few of the pictures we really wanted and other than that we’ve pieced things together through a flickr site. We didn’t hire a photographer but instead opted to give everyone the login for our flickr site and they’ve uploaded their pictures. This worked out so well! And cost $25 instead of $2,000!
Dinner was served at 3:15 and it was southern style BBQ! We had 2 kinds of pulled pork and BBQ chicken. It was very tasty! After everyone was served the bridal party and my mom started putting out the desserts. We cut our cake and then started the dessert buffet. We had 34 different options! It was wonderful and there was something for everyone.
By the time dessert was out the appetizer tables were broken down and that became the dance floor. Due to the weather, a few of our spaces had to multi-task. Music played, drinks flowed, the rain fell and we were all cozy in the barn!
My favorite wedding detail was the tractor. My grandfather passed away almost 2 years ago, but his daughter and her husband have one of his old tractors. They’ve done a lot of work on the tractor and it is beautiful. My favorite pictures from the day include the tractor and I know that my grandfather was at our wedding to enjoy it.
Our wedding was an amazing day. We worked our butts off to pull it all together and I think that showed. The day was about our love and a reflection of our lives and that shined through!
Rough Budget:
Venue: $400
Food+ tip: $1500
Kegs: $200
Soda: $200
Soda: $120
Water: $55
Gown: $128
Hair/Jewelry: $0- Gift
Grooms suit: $80
Officiant+ License: $100
Bouquets: $50
Seeds for décor: $120
Music: $0
Photographer: $25- Had to upgrade to Flickr’s professional version
Invites: $12 +30 in embellishments
His Ring: $80
Her Ring: $400
Favors: $72
Ice: $150
Other Food and Costs:$150
We had a TON of leftovers. Like 35 cases of soda and 17 cases of water and 30 bags of chips kind of leftovers. We’ll be eating this stuff for at least the next year! So those amount – what we took back home to eat + other things I forgot to include = ~$4,000- $5,000 we spent on our wedding.
Now I’m going to toot my own horn for a minute… We were engaged for 10 months we planned our wedding and paid for it all by ourselves. This was very important to us. It is completely possible to have the wedding you want, on your own, without anyone going into debt. Wedding planning basically taught me that I hate the wedding industry and the gimmicks they use to push what is “important” to have a “perfect” wedding. It is ridiculous! Make it your own day!
