Reader Inspiration Boards – Sierra Nevada Wedding
I’m actually traveling back to Boston today, after a great vacation with my family. But, I wanted to leave you with a reader inspiration board that is sure to get the creativity (and the motivation) flowing!
This gorgeous board is designed by Rebecca who is looking to create a magazine-worthy wedding for “waaaay under $10,000!” Here is the inspiration…
Here are some of Rebecca’s ideas for keeping the cost down…
1. I found a wonderful private 30 acre vacation rental in the high sierras with a log cabin and a lake as our venue. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, rustic, and private. And much, much cheaper than hiring a formal venue!
2. I will be doing all the flowers myself. I’m even growing most of them myself as I am fortunate to have a large, fertile garden and a green thumb. They will be a mix of burgandy/mauve, peach, gold and green dahlias, callas and roses. I will use all sizes of mason jars as vessels/candle holders, as well as flax wrapped around plastic containers as vases for the centerpieces, and will cover candle shades with flowers to create cool mood lighting. I like the idea of using feathers to add to the nature meets luxury theme
3. I will prepare all the food ahead of time. Again I will be growing most of the produce, e.g., wonderful heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and shallots for the salad, purple and gold potatoes, purple tipped asparagus which fortunately grows for a long season in my west coast yard. I will marinade all the meats ahead of time, rent a giant barbeque, and pay a few local cooking school students to man the barbeque and act as wait staff. Because of the huge saving here I can afford to splurge on luxury items such as lobster, oysters, caviar, filet, etc.
4. Being a graphic designer, I’m creating all the paper goods myself. I’ve already created a retro “wish you were here? . . . we do!”
postcard of the lake at the venue as a save the date. I even super-imposed a picture of my beau and I in a row boat onto the card and then used a watercolor filter to make it look like a painting
5. I’m the lead singer in a band! So my band mates will provide cool laid back mood music throughout the event. And I’ve penned a song as an ode to my husband-to-be that I will perform during the event – my own version of a speech!
6. I got my beautiful, very expensive looking dress custom made by a place in Thailand that I found on Ebay. Cost about $200
7. I also bought the 20×60′ tent on Ebay, much cheaper than renting, and will just resell it afterwards. I will however rent the chairs and tables unless I can find a real deal and do the same as I did with the tent!!
8. I’m accumulating all the linens/tablewares from places like DeeDees Discounts and Ross – going for eclectic luxe meets shabby chic!
I honestly think that Rebecca might be one of the most resourceful people I have ever met! I can’t wait to how all of her ideas translate! Definitely keep us posted, Rebecca!
Wow, that's pretty inspiring .. I love diy-ers :-)
Wow... is there something that she doesn't do??
Wow... is there something that she doesn't do??
I was thinking the same thing - is there anyhing Rebecca does not do? Very impressive.
Oh! Oh! Can you give us the link to the dress seller? I'm also very intreged about the vacation rental idea, hummm....
Abby, I'm so happy about this post today!
Being that I'm just starting out in my career, a lot of the weddings you post end up costing more than I make in a year.
I too, like Rebecca am hoping to spend "waaayy less than $10,000". I will also be doing the invites, dessert bar (instead of pricey wedding cake), some food, flowers, and decor myself.
Another tip for frugal brides is to really pay attention to the location of the wedding. If the venue is in a metropolis you're going to pay a lot more than if its in a private country setting. I'm having my wedding in upstate New York, and it seems the further north you go, the cheaper everything gets!
Best of luck Rebecca... I'm sure your wedding will be absolutely gorgeous!
Wonderful tips!
I am just curious how many guests she is having. Any idea?
What a beautiful board. I love the deep rich colors of the flowers.
Geez, can I hire her for my wedding?
Hi, this is Rebecca, thank you for the kind comments!
Meg, I'll try and dig out the details on the dressmaker - it's past 60 days on Ebay so the link has gone out of myEbay. I got it on a friend's suggestion. You just go into Ebay and type in custom wedding gown and a million sellers will pop up. Most are designer knock-offs, and you need to read the feedback carefully, but I got a dress to my exact measurements for a fraction of the cost of buying in a store here and frankly noone is going to know any different! Be aware that most of the cost is in the shipping so be careful not to overbid. The actual dress itself cost practically nothing! Also, it's a bit of a risk, as you don't get to try the dress on before you buy it. But they generally have good return policies. In terms of the vacation rental, it worked out really well. I'm getting the place for 3 nights for thousands less than it was going to cost me to rent a venue in Tahoe for 8 hours (my original choice of destination). This place is beautiful, and still only 15 miles outside of Tahoe so people can still stay there.
Liz, we're inviting around 100-120 people. Most of them are from my partner's family, which is huge. I'm from the UK so there will probably only be a handful of my family coming. Given the remote location of the venue, we're anticipating that the final number will be around 70-80
Wow! Sounds like it is going to be a great wedding!! I love the inspiration board too. Great colors!
Hey if I were a gardener, caterer, graphic designer and entertainer I could probably do it too.
Where is this wonderful location???? Is it difficult to get to?
Where is this wonderful location???? Is it difficult to get to?
Thank you so much for this post! I love all of the tips. Of course I'm not as multi-talented as you are Rebecca, but nonetheless these are great ideas.
I am in love with the colors. I have been toy-ing with peach a lot lately and I love the images you've found.
When is your wedding?
I recently came upon your site from one of my client's referrals! She absolutely loved your ideas for cutting cost and fresh approach. I took about an hour or so to paruse through your blog and I must say, it's refreshing to find a fellow "bargain shopper". You've really done your homework. Keep up the good work and if you would like any money saving ideas or are just looking for advice or wish to chat you can reach me at www.getquickcare.com. I wish you the best of luck on your new marriage and cannot wait to see the final results!
Jennifer L. McCrackin
Well sure it can be done if you're a renaissance woman! Seriously, everything sounds just wonderful. I'll look forward to a real weddings photo essay later.
The Couture Studio makes gorgeous custom dresses at a great price. Just send us a picture or sketch of your dress, or send a detailed description and one of our designers will do a sketch for you. Contact us at info@thecouturestudio.com!
The Couture Studio makes gorgeous custom dresses at a great price. Just send us a picture or sketch of your dress, or send a detailed description and one of our designers will do a sketch for you. Contact us at info@thecouturestudio.com!
Wow, this almost sounds too good to be true. Whomever is marrying you is one lucky guy!!!!
I absolutely adore the creativity and personal touches planned for this wedding. It's just in print and it already sounds fantastic.
Great post and good luck, Rebecca!
Hi Rebecca,
I love all of your ideas! I'd love to see what you have done for your STDs and invites. Do you have a link to your blog or planning site?
Hi, it's Rebecca, thanks again for all the nice comments. Having just started my own business (videography, photography, graphic design) I think actually I'm a tiny bit nuts for doing all this myself, but I just can't bring myself to spend money on things I know I can do myself, especially when I need to put all the money I can back into the business!! Answers to a few questions:
Emily: The vacation rental I'm using as the location is in Hope Valley, which is south of Tahoe on hwy 88. It's definitely "out there" if you are not familiar with the area, but we have a house in Tahoe and travel hwy 88 all the time as it's the route that most tourists don't know about!! It's completely covered by snow right now, so I'm going to have to go and see it again when the snow melts! But summer and fall in the valley are beautiful so I'm not worried!
Dianne: I will forward the save the dates to Abby once I finish them. I'm embarrassed to say I don't even have my company website up yet, let alone a blog!!! I left the corporate world in January and immediately had a ton of work from my ex-company's large and illustrious alum network so I haven't had a second to get my infrastucture up and running! Actually I take back what I said about being a little bit nuts to be doing all this myself. I'm REALLY nuts!!!
I would love to hear more about the dressmaker should you find the ebay seller. Also, any tips on finding vacation rentals for reception sites? Thanks!!! Your inspiring advice is much appreciated.
Wow thats amazing!
But how did you have the time to do everything yourself??