Fabulous Frugal Weddings





I love celebration events of all kinds...weddings, showers, garden parties, or the "hey, whatcha doin' tonight, wanna come over?" impromptu get together.  So when a couple of my friends were getting married, I offered my place for a garden wedding.  The couple wanted an intimate wedding with close friends and family (a list of about 50) so I figured I could handle that.  My friend, Betsy, and I began to plan.  We decided to rent the china, stemware, napkins and overlays for the table. I borrowed tables, chairs, tablecloths, silverware, and serving pieces from many different friends. I made the floral arrangements, bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres.  My garden provided a beautiful backdrop with blooming hydrangeas, lily's, impatiences, dahlias and other blooming flowers and shrubs.  I hung white lights around the deck railing and gazebo and draped them with fabric.  We erected an arch and covered it with lights and tulle. The table centerpieces were simple but elegant lanterns. I placed lots of candles around the garden, hanging chandeliers, and additional lanterns.  The couple wanted a dinner reception so we came up with a menu that seemed to please everyone - California salad, beef tenderloin, chicken marsala, grilled asparagus, roasted red potatoes, rolls and butter - and of course the cake for desert.  Carol, another dear friend, pitched in and made the California Salad, Betsy cooked the beef tenderloin and asparagus and provided the rolls and butter pats, my dear sweet fabulous husband made the chicken marsala and the red potatoes, and I made the cake.  The day of the wedding was perfect. It was warm but not uncomfortably warm.  The evening sky became overcast but not threatening which kept the sun setting from blinding the guests as the ceremony began at 6:30pm. Everything came together and I was so pleased to have the privilege to be a part of this wonderful event.  The ceremony was very touching.  The groom sang to his bride and she read from the Bible to him.  She read in Spanish and he interpreted in English. The vows were beautiful and we all were so happy for the newlyweds.  Miraculously, we calculated the food perfectly.  Everyone got  what they wanted (it was buffet style) and some even got seconds.   After all was said and done, we had 5-6 slices of beef tenderloin, 4 chicken breasts, on only a handful of potatoes left.  After dinner, we danced and celebrated until late in the evening. Five minutes after the last guest left my house, it began to rain.  God truly blessed us with a PERFECT evening.

Now I do not want to imply that I pulled this off alone.  Many people contributed to making this a very special day for our friends.  The groom's neighbor, who was a minister, offered to officiate.  The grooms brother video taped the ceremony and his nephew (who is a wedding photographer) did the photography.  Another friend provided sound equipment and the music. The bride was from Columbia and since some of her family was not able to attend, another friends Skyped the entire ceremony so they could see and hear everything that was going on.  And a lot of people were praying for all of us as we prepared for this celebration.  When family and friends come together, frugality is possible.

I have attached a few photos - Enjoy.
                                                                             




 Friends and family gathered to celebrate the wedding of our dear friend




To the best of my knowledge, this events total cost was in the neighborhood of $2000.00







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