Jess's Do It Yourself Wedding

It's only fitting that while promoting my "I DO-it-yourself" Wedding Class that I talk about one of my good friends, Jessica who is the ultimate do-it-yourselfer. She is creative and crafty-talented. She is at heart an artist with an unbelievably logical and practical mind. She and her fiance are getting married September 1st and of course I am helping her with her wedding, but she's doing a bunch of it herself!

I thought it would be beneficial to all of you if I give you tid-bits here and there about what Jessica is doing and how she's doing it. She has agreed to let me release the details in this forum.

Jessica and Lance have a limited budget. It's certainly not shoestring, but it's less than the average ($26,000). She on the 10-15K budget. Given this, she's making decisions based on what means the most to them and letting some of the other details go. She had an opportunity to be sponsored for a wedding at Cheyenne Mountain Country Club (very exclusive), but decided on her church's reception hall. This allows her to spend money on decor (flowers, lights, linens) to create the exact atmosphere she's envisioned. She can also hire a caterer - who are typically less expensive than on-premises caterers. AND best of all and one of the biggest savings to her budget, she can purchase her own alcohol. (The mark-up on alcohol is usually very high). She's also limiting her bar to beer and wine, which always helps.

The first tid-bit I wanted to share was Jessica's save the date. As I mentioned, Jessica is VERY crafty and very creative, so she's decided to make her own invitations. Often I hear brides say this and I groan to myself, because, while this will save them money, most brides do not have the talent and patience, not to mention time, to pull it off. But look here at Jessica's Save the Date (I whited out her website) - it looks professional. It's simple enough that it didn't take Jessica too long to make, yet it is fun, personalized to her theme and colors and also elegant. And it cost a fraction of what my custom invitation designers would charge (you have to pay for their time afterall!).

Jessica purchased her paper from Archivers and I believe she purchased the ribbon at Joanne's. She used the die-cuts from Archivers, purchased and used the flower hole punch and printed the light pink part on her home printer. Best of all - she stuck them in her Christmas cards to save on postage and give her guests plenty of time to make arrangements.

Check back in the next 8-9 months for additional posts on Jessica's Do it yourself wedding and her wonderful money saving ideas!!

Happy Planning!

-Melissa

www.MoonriverWeddings.com