Anastasia + Feliks
One sentence sum up of the wedding vibe: Very chill and laid back. Joyous and warm.
Planned Budget: unplanned
Actual Budget: 7000
Number of Guests: 35
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Photographer: Everly Studios
Where we allocated the most funds: I think we spent the most of food and wine. We wanted a small wedding to begin with but then when COVID happened, we needed to downsize even more and host the celebration fully outdoors. We love the food and ambiance at Bacchus.
Where we allocated the least funds: We spent the least on outfits! We didn’t want to wear anything too traditional or uncomfortable. Originally we were hoping to do lots of dancing! We chose our favorite colors (olive green) to match our love of greenery and the outdoors. We both decided to rock hats to be casual but stylish. Anastasia wore a patterned flowy cocktail dress with a green hat. Feliks wore simple green slacks and a white linen button down with a hat.
What was totally worth it: Everything we ended up spending money on was totally worth it! Honestly wouldn’t change a thing!
A few things that helped us along the way: We knew we did not want to spend a lot of money on our wedding. We would rather spend big bucks on our house or a vacation. Therefore, we chose a really economical venue. Bacchus was incredibly affordable for food and open wine bar. We did all of the decor, favors, flowers, and cake DIY and with the help of family and friends. We made the flowers arrangements, which were very limited, from local grocery store flowers and greenery. I also made my own bouquet. We didn’t go for traditional clothes like a gown and suit. We stayed in an affordable hotel nearby the venue where we got ready. In total we probably spent about $7,000 on everything.
My best practical advice for my planning self: Do exactly what you want for the day—not what others want or expect! And if things don’t go as you had originally planned or hoped, all that matter is that you two get to have a good time.
Favorite thing about the wedding: We did try to incorporate family and culture into our wedding. We did this by having Armand (Anastasia’s brother) officiate the ceremony and Ilona and Alisa (Feliks’ sisters) make traditional Russian desserts.
Anything else: We created personalized gift bags with COVID necessities like masks and hand sanitizer. We also gave out customized candles with the “keep the flame burning” tags. Some favorite parts of the wedding included the personalized ceremony and exchanging of vows. We also really enjoyed cutting the cake and eating it too! Overall we just loved connecting with friends and family we hadn’t seen since before the pandemic started!
