One of the best pleasures of having a blog is getting to know our readers, and I am overjoyed to finally share with you the wedding of one of our most devoted and faithful readers, Jessica.
Since her blog, Budget Savvy Bride began in May 2008, Jessica has been planning the ultimate colorful and fun wedding - all while keeping budget and savvy-ness in the forefront. Through the past year, I've gotten a chance to learn about this adorable couple and have enjoyed every minute of their planning.
A talented graphic designer and DIY extroidanary, so many of the details from this event were crafted and designed by this talented bride. From the vibrant yellow and turquoise color scheme to the glamour of her bridal veil, Jessica and Eric took a series of roller-coaster events, paired them with cost-cutting measures and every though a few last minute scrambles came into the picture, the result was a beautiful and heart-felt wedding.
From the bride herself:
I can honestly say that our wedding day was the best day of my life thus far. I planned so much and spent so much time on DIY projects and personal touches and in the end it went by in such a blur. But a happy blur. :) We faced some obstacles the week of, seeing as how we had planned an entire outdoor event and there was rain slated to roll through our area the entire weekend. The night of the rehearsal dinner my DOC, venue director and rental company came up with a completely alternate setup for the wedding the next day. Talk about chaos!
In the end everything turned out perfectly and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. We were married under a covered porch at the Sam Davis Home, and then we flipped the space into the reception. Groomsmen and other guests helped move the chairs and situate the tables, and no one minded a bit. I got so many compliments on all my little details from our guests and that really meant a lot after putting so much time into everything. The rain even held up for most of the day- we were able to take all our photos outside, and the cloudy skies made for such rich colors in the photos. Photography was priority one for me and I couldn’t be happier with the moments that were captured by our photographers, Chris and Adrienne. I was on a roller coaster of emotions that day and they were there to catch every laugh, tear, and ugly cry, haha.
I am proudest of the steps we took to save money- doing a lot of research and finding the most cost-effective options. We paid for most of the event by ourselves so that was a huge accomplishment. We were able to do it all without going into debt! Woo-hoo! :)
Throughout her planning, Jessica posted countless stories of her plans. Since her and Eric paid for the majority of the wedding themselves, there was craftiness around every corner. Her invitations ended up costing an incredible $1.11 a piece!! I loved that during every step of the process she encouraged her own readers to help her choose their favorites including a vote for their favorite Save the Date to a chance to help select a perfect color palette.
Loved all the bridesmaids in coordinated dresses. The subtly in the colors is sheer perfection. And seeing these dapper groomsmen in a beautiful sea of khaki suits makes me long for a romantic Southern getaway.
Flowers we done by their coordinator, Tara Milam of Lavish Events in Nashville. The bouquet at top has all yellow mums, daffodils, gladiola. I'm adoring those pomanders Jessica crafted the weeks leading up to the big day (at $5/each a totally smart cost-saving solution to ceremony decor). A tutorial can be found here.
Ebaying yielded blue mason jars (according to Jessica, they were her splurge at $2.50 each) and thrift stores supplied additional containers for their centerpieces ($.30-$.50 each). All the table runners were made from burlap purchased at the farmer's co-op for a total cost of $40 (that includes all 15 tables!!)
Love, love, love this sock shot. In fact, I think Mr. Cupcake may have worn the exact same socks on his wedding day as the groomsmen. Check out Eric and his Best Man in the yellow pair!
Since there's so many amazing photos, I'll be sure to do a second recap later in the week with a complete list of their vendors and lots of more great pix of this adorable couple.
Stay tuned!!!
July 3, 2009 
