McKenzi + Joe
One sentence sum up of the wedding vibe: Unconventional yet bold nuptials that challenged the status quo.
Planned Budget: no planned budget
Actual Budget: $1,250
Number of Guests: 3 (My mom and sister were the witnesses, and my nephew held the ring box I made.)
Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Photographer: Sur La Lune Photography
Where we allocated the least funds: We didn’t spend any money on décor, food or cake. Since it was a small intimate affair we felt it wasn’t necessary. Our elopement took place in the wooden area of the grounds so there wasn’t a need to decorate the foliage. Here are some ways we saved:
- My sister did my makeup
- My dress was on clearance from Torrid ($35)
- Joe’s tux rental from Men’s Wearhouse ($160)
- I already owned black Doc Martens so we only had to buy Joe a matching pair ($120)
What was totally worth it: The flowers! Originally I was entertaining the idea of doing it all myself by watching YouTube videos and getting my flowers from Trader Joe’s, but then I realized after a failed attempt of making a bouquet that I had no idea what I was doing. Plus I didn’t want the added stress of timing the flowers right and what I’d do if they didn’t have the flowers I wanted.
So I called up JulesWTF. She made my flower dreams come true. Equally moody and romantic without being overly “Halloweenie” I wanted a pop of color as contrast against the black attire. Bouq and Bout ($212.74).
What was totally not worth it: Honestly, we didn’t spend money on things that we didn’t need. It was very well thought out and planned. But if I had to choose I probably would’ve rather done my own hair than paying to get it done. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted when I envisioned my wedding day and by the end of the night it was an overly hair sprayed knotted mess. I only paid $25 for a dry styling, so it’s wasn’t a huge flop.
A few things that helped us along the way: Before we got engaged we talked about what we wanted our wedding day to be like and we both agreed on a low-key elopement. My dad passed away when I was 19 and I knew I wanted something small and special anyways. We chose Halloween because it’s our favorite holiday, and we could spend our wedding anniversaries for years to come dressing up in couples costumes.
My best practical advice for my planning self: Throw out any preconceived notions of what your day should look like. Don’t let the opinions of other be the deciding factor for the one day that’s supposed to be about you and the person you love. Zero in on what is most important about the big day and go from there. Remember that your wedding is about you, not about the guests.
Favorite thing about the wedding: Honestly my favorite thing was the laid back vibe. We tried to keep everything relaxed and not let ourselves get stressed out. Notable mentions that ended up being our favorite was the Halloween masks Joe ordered from Etsy. They allowed us to be whimsical and tie in overall theme of Halloween without being too predictable. We also had colored smoke bombs that was a chef’s kiss to our pictures.
