1) Length of Engagement
You should first decide how long you want to be engaged. Some people choose two months, six months, even two years -like we originally planned.
2) Who Should BeThere
When making a list of possible people to invite, you should always take into consideration: Who SHOULD be there? This will help you decide a lot better. A co-worker you see once a week vs. your cousin you grew up with? Hm. Tough decision.
3) Budget, Budget, Budget!
Weddings that cost over $40,000 dollars BAFFLE me. That's college tuition! Or a car! Or a down payment for a house! Seriously. Think about this a bit. Which is more important?
Forging ahead!
I went through, literally, three wedding dresses. Like, I bought one, returned it; bought one, returned it; bought one.....and you get the idea. The best thing to do is to actually go to a store and try one on instead of ordering one you see on-line. This will help your sanity, esp. when you have five thousand things going on all at once. Don't snap at the nice shopgirl because you're stressed out. Believe me. It's not worth hurting someone's feelings. I finally choose a simple, white cotton strapless dress that was on sale at J-Crew for $79. It was perfect. I also went to Sephora with a picture and learned how to apply the make-up I wanted for the look I wanted. I went with a basic, natural look. Yes, the make-up was a bit pricey, but it was awesome and did not melt off my face in the dead of the June sun. PLUS! It lasts forever! I still have my Smashbox powder left and I love it. Def. worth the $60. Here is a pic of me getting ready for the wedding:
I never thought I would have so much fun getting ready!!
Okay, so by now, you're wondering about the venue. We had initially put down a deposit on a venue in my hometown. But after many considerations, we decided that maybe a big wedding just wasn't plausible. So we opted to go small. So small, it would be just the two of us.
We live 1 1/2 hours from Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Northwestern Arkansas is beautiful! And I have always loved Eureka Springs, an eclectic little town in the hills of Arkansas. It is a popular place for weddings and events of all kinds. Luckily for us, the town embraces the unconventional and we decided to get married outside on the deck of a treehouse.
Getting to tell people we got married in a tree is amazing. And our hosts did an excellent job taking care of everything!
Wedding packages are a lifesaver, esp. if you are going low-key like we did. Our wedding package covered:
2 nights in a treehouse
the ceremony
the officiant
a carriage ride after the wedding, complete with treats and champagne
pictures of the ceremony
dinner on our private deck at our treehouse
PLUS! When we returned to our treehouse after the downtown carriage ride, it was decked out in rose petals and candles.
The couple who run Oak Crest Cottages are AMAZING! They were so nice, we're going back for our anniversary! Our wedding package was $599 (now, the price has gone up to $629). I would highly recommend checking out wedding packages in Eureka Springs if you are close enough. The town is super friendly and you will not meet nicer people. Here are some helpful links:
Our Trip!
I took off work for a considerable amount of time. Of course I did! I was getting married!! I am lucky enough to work at a huge hospital where we get insane discounts. Our first night in Eureka, we stayed at the Basin Park Hotel, which is smack dab in the middle of downtown. We didn't have to pay for parking, and we could walk anywhere. For instance, we found this refreshing spring:
The whole town is built on springs, hint the name. Anyhoo, we stayed at the fabulous Basin Park, which is rumoured to be haunted. They also have a fabulous restaurant on the second floor (and a spa!!). The morning of our wedding, we had breakfast in the cave room. The hotel is built onto the side of a mountain. The cave room is literally a cave and was used as a speakeasy in the prohibition era.
Flowers!
I did not have a bouquet before we left for our trip as I was not sure what to do to to preserve it. After checking out of the hotel, we embarked on a journey to find a nice bouquet and boutinerre. Luckily, I had looked up some places the night before. I found a lovely place called Lollipops and Roses. The owner had a scarce inventory, however, she told me the night before, she made a bouquet of white roses and baby's breath with a matching boutinerre. She said that she was going to sell it for $60, but for me, it would be $30. I gladly accepted.
We had lunch with his parents at a great place called Local Flavor (oh yes, we eloped, but both our parents joined us! Haha!). After checking in at the treehouse, we got ready for our big day.
After getting dolled up, it was time for our ceremony. We got in the car and drive five miles to our venue.
Le Ceremonie!
It was literally over in ten minutes. I giggled. Justin was nervous. I left the tag on his wedding band. Whoops!
We had a ton of great shots thanks to Justin's dad and Elaine, who is one-half of the Oak Crest Cottages team.
I never understood why wedding photographers cost so much. A lot of photogs I checked out had "packages starting at $1200". What the frick?!?!? We used simple tricks to make our pictures look pretty darn good: black and white and a little website known as Poladroid.net. You can download a free program that can make your shots look like old fashioned Polaroids! I love this!! Can life get any better??
So after, the ceremony, we embarked on our carriage ride around the historic downtown district. Lucky for us, our parents had beaten us and were there in full parent form, photographing us as we were on our romantic carriage ride!
And when we stepped into our treehouse, this is what awaited us:
Excellent dinner! Excellent dessert! Excellent place all around. I urge you to check this place out. You will fall in love with it!!
Funny story - we were married on June 27, along with a few friends of mine: Aimee (Connecticut) and Megan & Jason (Fayetteville). On the latter, it meant that my two bffs, Ike and Mel were nearby. We got to meet with them the next day at the Rowdy Beaver. Awesome place. One of the best things about Eureka Springs is that there is no shortage of vegetarian cuisine. The RB had the best veggie burger I have ever had in my life. If you are ever down there, be sure to check them out.
(Mel and I had to buy beavers. Come on. You know you would to!!)
Our fourth and final night was spent at the Crescent Hotel, which is touted as America's most haunted hotel. It is gorgeous! We have stayed there a couple times, and have loved it. They also host ghost tours every night for the thrill seeker in you. Apparently, we stayed in a haunted room! To my knowledge, nothing paranormal happened. But they have the best dang breakfast - ever!
So much fun!! I can honestly say this was the best trip we ever took - not only did we get to stay in fun places and eat great food, uh, hello! WE GOT MARRIED!! And we didn't break the bank doing it
Etsy, Etsy, Etsy!
Not only am I a buyer on Etsy, I am a seller, too! Ha! Just had to throw that in there. I found a lot of fun things on Etsy for my wedding.
Bought:
1 Birdcage Veil from QuirkyBeauty
1 necklace and bracelet from JustBe Designs
2 hankies as souvenirs for the mothers at HankyLady
(oh, and be sure to check out MY shop Bluebird Vintage)
[TPW readers, please see blog The Tea Pot Bride for lovely pictures!]
total of all wedding costs:
Package plus tax: $629
Gas: $25
One night at the Basin Park: $129
One night at the Crescent (w/ STJ discount): $98 (this came with free breakfast for two!)
Marriage License: $58
Flowers $30
$969!!!!
Of course, this doesn't include the cost of all my accessories, but we did manage to get about $500 cash for wedding presents, so really, the trip/wedding was only about $400!
For our "reception", we just had an open house as we had just moved into a new apartment before the wedding. It was so fun just to have a casual party with friends, family, and food. Unfortunately, we were having so much fun, we didn't take pictures! Haha. But as invites/announcements, we utilized the Poladroid software. We took a few pics, then Poladoided them. Using watercolor paper and glue, along with a fun font, we constructed invites to our friends. We used vintage postcards as RSVPs and enclosed them with the invite. Everyone enjoyed them, and we ended up getting to keep the postcards as people had to send them back! Hahaha. I made all the food for our party, and Justin put songs from our playlists onto an iPod so we could have continous play. It was truly a fun party!
Next time.....
Fun cupcake recipes and my 27th birthday cocktail party!
Tralala!
Mrs. Kearbey
