This issue contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting me & Girl’s Girl!
If you have wedding-specific questions or advice for future brides, be sure to leave a comment below! 💖
First of all, before we begin, I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for your support of Girl's Girl! Truly so excited for what’s to come and I appreciate your enthusiasm and engagement. Makes me feel less like I’m shouting into the void and gives me the excitement to sit down and WRITE.
Today’s issue is all about my wedding which happened in July 2023! Ryan and I have been together for 11.5 years and we were engaged for a little over 2 years. Highly recommend. It took the pressure off of planning and allowed us to sit with our engagement and enjoy being fiancé and fiancée for a little while.
Today we’re diving into the vendors that were a part of our day (not sharing lengthy reviews as I know most of you aren’t local but if you have questions on a particular vendor LMK! The gist is - they were all great) as well as links to the Etsy shops and items we actually used throughout the day.
This issue wraps up with my personal recommendations on what to splurge and what to save on for your wedding if you end up having one! Grab your bev of choice and let’s chat all things ✨ wedding ✨
I firmly believe our wedding went so well because we had the best team of vendors who are all so talented and truly understood the vision and vibe I wanted to create during the day. I felt so satisfied after our wedding and it’s 100% because the team we hired was killer!
Venue: @theasburyhotel | Coordination: @weddings_with_verve
Florals: @ivyonmainfloral | Photography: @lexitruesdalephotos
Videography: @lpphotovideo | Hair Styling: @hairbymollymac @lockandshade
Hair Cut & Color: @hairby_risa | Makeup: @theglamour_grimoire
Nails: @bravebeautybar | Brows: @waxologybymadi | Tan: @luminosity_studio
DJ & Photobooth: @djseantylor @poshdjs | Catering: @falcoscatering
Welcome Dinner: @crossandorange | Tuxes: @theblacktux
Dress: @daydream_bridal @zavanacoture
Second Dress: @nadinemerabi Sadie Dress | Alterations: @emilykotarskibridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu (blue), Amazon (purple), Lulus (pink), Abercrombie (green)
About the dresses: I told my bridesmaids they could wear any dress they wanted from any site as long as it was their color. I assigned each girl a color (it just so happened that every girl got their favorite color lol) and they took it from there! I helped source dresses but didn’t require that they pick any of the ones I found. I loved the mismatched vibe and the different fabrics. I saw the dresses all together for the first time on wedding day (kind of a risk) but it made me SO excited to see everything else come together throughout the day!
Custom Koozies: Totally Promotional
Custom Matchbooks: PerfectOccasionStore on Etsy
Cocktail Napkins: PAPELCustomDESIGN on Etsy
Signage Design: SincerelyByNicole on Etsy
Wedding Website, RSVPs: The Knot | Registry: The Knot, Amazon. We included cash funds - a honeymoon fund and a bouquet preservation fund through The Knot!
Parent Gifts: Custom Cufflinks with a personal image for my dad from ItsAllAboutThePrint on Etsy. Personalized mom/bride/grandmother portrait from IrysIllustrations on Etsy.
Signage Frames: I DIY’d the table number frames - they were pretty easy tbh! I used these disco tiles and these frames (affordable!) The bar signage frames were from Target and I will for SURE be repurposing in my home!
Misc. Amazon Purchases: These foam glow sticks were def not necessary but I think they really elevated the dance floor and made it fun! I bought a pack of 28 for our 75-person wedding and it was the perfect amount. We got our card box from Amazon for a good price and these fold-up fans for guests since our ceremony was outside in July (we ordered 50 for a 75-person wedding). We ordered these mini notebooks instead of branded “vow books” and I thought they looked so cute. This was the ring box we used that I still use now to store my rings when I sleep. These rechargeable fans were a GAME CHANGER - I used it all morning to stay cool and one of my bridesmaids even had it out on the dance floor with her at one point lol.
Disposable Cameras: Another item that wasn’t necessary but I really wanted. We ended up trying out Cheecam for the wedding so we could have more film images! Really excited to get our pics back it was very easy to order and ship back the cameras and I love that they edit the film for you to ensure the pics look the best they can look. I should be getting a 10% off code soon so keep an eye out!
SPLURGE
Food & Music - these are the two main things your guests will remember and I definitely recommend making sure these things are well done!
Photos - 20, 30 years from now your kids will be looking at your wedding pics. Not your video. Video is nice to have and we still had a video done, I just chose to put more $$ toward a quality photographer.
Flowers - I wanted COLOR and the flowers helped me achieve that. My advice would be to splurge on a few elements that you can reuse from the ceremony to the reception. Our asymmetrical poles were repurposed behind the sweetheart table, etc.
Dress - within reason but like… when are you gonna get to wear a dress like this again?!
Month of coordinator - the sanity saved is WORTH EVERY PENNY.
SAVE
Signage - including the seating chart. My tip is to buy frames for signage that you actually like and can repurpose in your home!
No programs or make them multipurpose (like turning programs into fans)
Invitations, save the dates, menus - basically anything that’ll go in the trash eventually & doesn’t add to the experience
Wedding shoes - mine were actually a last-minute Amazon purchase and then I changed into leather Vans when I switched into my second dress!
Cake - it’s crazy how much you can save by keeping the cake smaller and adding cupcakes instead!
Welcome bags - not necessary and a truly annoying thing to have to put together close to the wedding
Welcome dinner - keep it low-key, don’t make it a second wedding!
His ring (lol) Ryan’s is from Manly Bands
Wedding jewelry - my earrings were from Olive + Piper and I wore my great-grandmother’s diamonds as studs in my second holes.
Bridal party gifts - sort of… get them things they will reuse or re-wear! I got my girls’ can glass cups from Talking Out Of Turn and earrings from Poppy Dot Co that they all ended up wearing day of. 🥹 They looked SO cute.
Formal exit
Drink toppers & stirrers (napkins are cheaper & can be fun)
If you have wedding-specific questions or advice for future brides, please leave a comment below! Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you on August 30th for the next issue 💖
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