Gabriela and Oliver
Sum-up of the wedding vibe: A Brooklyn-chic relaxed wedding with a dash of elegance
Planned budget: $30,000
Actual budget: $35,000
Number of guests: 75
Where we allocated the most funds:
We definitely spent most of our budget on the venue. We feel it was money well spent. Since we were planning our wedding from abroad, it was important for us to choose a venue that included food and furniture in the contract. Although we visited a lot of really beautiful raw spaces, having the responsibility to hire separate catering and furniture rental service appeared to be really daunting. It made it much easier for us to have as few people as possible to contact.
Where we allocated the least funds:
We spent very little money on the decorations. Our venue itself was beautiful and it had plenty of lovely details so we didn’t have to spend much money renting additional decoration like extra lighting. Placing candelabras on the tables was a perfect touch. My mother and her husband own an antique store and they provided us with all the candelabras.
What was totally worth it:
It was totally worth hiring the Flamenco band for our ceremony and cocktail party. Everyone loved the live music and the flamenco performance provided really lively entertainment.
What was totally not worth it:
We made celebratory ribbon wands for the ceremony, which took a lot of time to gather materials and make. One wand was made for every guest and in the end they were not really used.
A few things that helped us along the way:
All the vendors were very accommodating as we planned the wedding from abroad. We often had video calls to go through the plans with each vendor. This was really helpful and gave us a clear understanding of what we would see on the day. It helped us to know how everything would come together and helped us focus on our big day.
My best practical advice for my planning self:
Hire a calligrapher. I felt confident in my writing skills and I have a steady hand so I did all the text myself for the wedding favors and seating chart. Let’s just say that using a calligraphy marker is not enough. I didn’t take into account how important the spacing between the letters and the size and proportions were to the whole look. It was hard to remain consistent and in the end I was still unsure about the look some of the writing. It also took a long time so in hindsight a calligrapher would have been a good investment.
Favorite thing about the wedding:
We loved our venue! Not only was the food out of this world delicious, everything was beautifully presented. The staff was very attentive. The management on the day was really well done, and the groom and bride pre-wedding rooms were a really nice touch. A fabulous experience.
Other Things to share:
We were really happy with all of the vendors we hired. Our photographer, Carey, was fantastic to work with. She took a low profile throughout the wedding day and truly captured meaningful moments of us and our guests. We are thrilled with our photo album!
