It’s been a busy past few weeks. I got married on November 22, and it was the best day ever! We wanted a small, intimate wedding, with family and close friends. Also, no wedding party, just us. So, planning was pretty much a breeze! Since we were also keeping it small, we didn’t have to spend much to get what we wanted. We opted for a courthouse wedding. But, we also wanted to be able to have our families witness it. Luckily, the courthouse we decided on allowed us to not only make an appointment, but bring guests! It was perfect. The super nice judge who I had spoken with when I called for information, ended up marrying us, which was super cool. And she reserved a conference room so that our guests would be comfortable and everyone had a seat.
We spent most of our money on our rings and the honeymoon. I didn’t include those numbers in the budget that I’ll share, but outside of that, we were able to get what we wanted, and what was important to us for just over $3000! In today’s world where weddings cost the price of a starter home, we were thrilled that we were not only saving lots of coins, but we have so many great memories from the day.
Budget
As you can see, our next biggest expense was attire. But hello, we’ll have those pictures forever, so we wanted to look fabulous! Fun fact, my husband’s tux costs way more than my dress and shoes combined, but he did look smokin hot, so I’m good with it!
First things first
If you decide to go on a smaller scale for your wedding, the first thing you want to do is decide on a ceremony spot. If you want something a little jazzier than the courthouse, some other ideas are your home, a park, clubhouse if you live in a neighborhood with one available to rent, attorney’s office, your pastor’s study…you get the picture! If you plan on having a few guests be sure that whatever the option you go with has enough space to accommodate. We were so very lucky that the courthouse had the space, and since we were able to make an appointment, we didn’t have to worry about other onlookers. Not all of them work the same way, so be sure to check first. Next you’ll want to find a space for whatever you plan to do after your wedding. We opted for a dinner. I reserved a private room at a restaurant. We paid a fee for the space and then ordered appetizers for our guests. We also had a champagne toast that was very nice. Our guests did purchase their own meals and we informed them that that would be the case on the invitation. No one seemed to have an issue with the arrangement, but I did worry about how that would be received.
Other considerations
We had all the elements of a traditional wedding, but we did it our way. You may want to consider how many guests you would want to invite and whether or not you can live with not everyone being able to attend. It was such a difficult decision deciding who we’d invite and I so wish everyone could have been there to witness it, but due to limited space, it just wasn’t possible. And speaking of invites, create your own for less using a site like Vistaprint.
Also be sure to hire a great photographer, if nothing else so that you can capture the memories. I would have loved a videographer as well, but decided not to.
All in all, our day was perfect, besides not being able to invite everyone. Here’s one of my favorite pics from the day. And can’t forget the cake. Not only was it delish, but so very pretty!
Our photographer was truly amazing!
If you’re planning a wedding and planning on keeping it small, I’d love to hear your ideas. And if you have questions, feel free to comment.
Being Kindra 
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