Marni, 35 & Adan, 36

Dallas, Texas

Wedding Date: April 19, 2008

Number of Guests: 50

Wedding Cost: $5,800

Wedding Ceremony Location: Backyard of the maid of honor’s mother

Wedding Reception Location: Maid of honor’s house

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

We wanted something sentimental, classy, charming and casual. Budget was also a large factor because we were funding the event.

What are some the challenges that you faced planning an intimate wedding?

• Finding locations that fit within budget and availability. We were lucky to have my best friend’s mom offer up her backyard and house for the ceremony.
• Timing of events and who would be handling things like reception set-up, wedding location break down, music, etc. Everything worked out perfect for our backyard wedding in the end, but had to make sure to pay attention to the little details when planning.

Was it difficult to pare down the guest list?

Yes, it was difficult to not be able to invite everyone we knew.

Did you have any ‘issues’ with the small guest list from friends and family? If so, how did you address them?

There were some difficult conversations around why some people were invited and not others. Ultimately, we kept the list to family and close friends – not just casual friends. We found that sharing our decision to have a small, intimate wedding with limited seating was well received by mostly everyone. Explaining the limitations of the location (since it was at a friend’s house and not a paid location) helped keep people who were not invited from feeling left out.

What were the highlights of the ceremony?

We had perfect weather for an early evening outdoor garden ceremony – the only weekend in April that it didn’t rain! My best friend’s husband officated the ceremony. It was very special for me in particular because he has been like a big brother/father to me for over a decade. Getting most of the photography done BEFORE the ceremony was another highlight. This really helped reduce stress because we had time to relax and have fun prior to the wedding. Also, when the ceremony was over we only had to take family and friends’ photos and we were able to move from one venue to the next within an hour.

What were the highlights of the reception?

My maid of honor made 8-10 gallons of sangria as our wedding present. This helped keep costs down and gave us a wonderful specialty drink. We both were able to have fun and talk to everyone who attended. Everyone was able to relax and enjoy the party. No ties – and shoes were optional!

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?

We got to enjoy everyone and every moment. I remember every detail of our day. For a fraction of the price of a large ceremony, we had something that was special and personalized. We had a blast!

What advice do you have for couples who are considering an intimate wedding?

Prioritize! Find one item that you both are passionate about and splurge on that. For us, it was photography because we knew photos would last a lifetime. We found Lynn’s style and approach to fit with our taste and style of how we wanted our day captured. The second thing was food, so we made sure the caterer had a delicious variety items and instead of a sit down dinner, we did heavy appetizers, buffet style. My best advice?  When friends offer help – take them up on it!

View more photos of Adan and Marni’s Picture-Perfect Backyard Garden Wedding Here.

Vendors:

Photographer: Lynn Michelle Photography

Catering: TX Chef

Cake:  HVN Creations

Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas

Flowers:  Your Perfect Wedding

Hair: Jim Puttnam

Make up: Erinn Hedrick

Reception decorations: Costco & best girlfriend

Beer and Wine: Costco and Tom Thumb

Wedding DJ: Bride’s sister.

Photos: Lynn Michelle Photography

If you’re having a small guest list, it might not be appropriate to have a wedding head table – especially if half your guests will be up there!

Darin and I (we had 50 guests at our wedding) didn’t like the idea of a head table. I didn’t want to feel like I was on stage all night. I wanted to feel like I was part of the group.

Rather than be set apart from our guests, we sat at a round table that was placed among the other tables in the tent. Since we had a small wedding party, our table included both sets of parents, my maid of honour and Darin’s best man.

Here are other great alternatives to the wedding head table:

The Sweetheart Table – This seems to be the most popular alternative to the head table. It only includes you and your significant other and can be situated wherever you want.

John and Kerry, for instance, chose to sit at a sweetheart table in the middle of the room.

“The other tables formed a circle around us…. It was a great feeling to be surrounded by our families and friends. I recommend the sweetheart table all the time to friends planning weddings.”

The Community Table – If you’re having a very small guest list, why not have everyone sit at the same table. You can’t beat that for intimacy! This format worked out beautifully for Shannon and Robert, who had eight guests.

“The entire evening we felt as though we had just our friends over for dinner. It was truly amazing,” says Shannon.

If you have a larger guest list you can do what Mellinda and Rondell did. They had 57 guests at their medieval themed wedding, and had guests sit at a “U” shaped table – with the head table at the bottom of the “U”.

The “I’ll Sit With Whomever I Want” Table – Maybe you’ll have a small wedding party (or won’t have one at all). Why not include your closest family members at your table? As I mentioned earlier, Darin and I choose to sit with our parents. We wouldn’t have had it any other way!

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Not sure what you’re going to do with that boatload of wedding photos you’ll have post-wedding? Well, ladies, go raid your recycle bins for this super easy DIY wedding photo project. All you’ll need are some jars and bottles, photos, an exacto knife, a pencil, and ruler. I discovered this over at Design Sponge where you can read all about how to make these cool creations. Place them near a window and enjoy!

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Move over wedding cake – there’s a new and less expensive alternative: wedding pie.These deep-dish brides prefer flaky crust to buttercream and fruit-filling over fondant. And they love the variety that goes with all things pie. Cherry, berry, pumpkin, pecan, apple, and coconut cream are just a few flavours that are showing up on the wedding dessert table.

According to these pie-loving brides guests love it.  And so do grooms who really love the idea of leftovers.

Why are pies a perfect alternative to wedding cake?

They are less expensive.

Not everyone can bake a wedding cake, but when it comes to pie, you’re bound to find someone who’s adept at rolling out dough.

They’re pure comfort food. Pies give everyone the warm fuzzies. They remind us of our grandmothers and of a time when things were made from scratch.

They encourage guests to mingle, especially if you put a different type of pie at each table. This encourages wedding guests to find the table with their favourite flavour and chat with guests at the same time.

They’re different. Everyone expects wedding cake. Who expects delicious, mouth-watering pie?

You can highlight some of the local fruits in your area. Bake them when the fruit is in season and freeze them or enlist a local bakery.

Variety.

Can anyone say leftovers?

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Creating a shadow box with one or several of your favorite wedding day mementos is a great way not only to preserve your wedding memories, but also to display them.

You can place everything from a wedding invitation, to your dried floral bouquet, to a collage of wedding day items inside a shadow box.

Your DIY Wedding Shadow Box:

•  Purchase a shadow box. Make sure it is constructed out of acid free material.
•  Gather the item(s) you want to display.
•  Use fabric or special acid free paper to cover the backing – which should also be acid-free. Choose paper or fabric that compliments the items you will be placing inside the shadow box. Glue the fabric or paper to the backing using spray adhesive.
•  Arrange your items the way you want them onto the background.
•  If you will be using dried or pressed flowers, spray them beforehand with a flower sealer.
•  Attach your memorabilia using white latex adhesive.
•  After putting the frame together, apply wrapping paper, wallpaper, or any other special paper (it doesn’t have to be acid-free) to the back of the shadow box. You can even cover the back with a collage of wedding photos. Also use the back to include a written description of what is inside the box.

An alternative to a DIY wedding shadow box is simply a special storage box to hold all of your items.

Heather, whose hobby is bookbinding, made a unique storage box called a drop spine box (when the top of the box is opened, one of the sides drops open) for all of her wedding keepsakes.

“We put the guest book, all the returned RSVP cards, select cards people gave us, the wedding programs, my veil, a copy of the readings our friends did in the ceremony… our vows, an invitation, a favor and an invitation to my bridal shower,” she says.

Hatboxes and gift boxes can act as storage boxes. You can also buy something simple and decorate it yourself by painting it, or using decoupage and dried flowers from your bouquet. (If the box is cardboard make sure you keep it a dry place, otherwise it could get mildew.)

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