Imperfect Perfection

 

I am so excited about our latest home project...this is something I have been wanting (but couldn't decide on the details... until now) for a long time!  It took us a day and a half to finish this project.

I love our old house but sometimes it can seem a little small, so I knew I needed to maximize every inch.  For the hallway I wanted a place for: umbrellas...I mean this is Florida we are talking about, purses, coats/jackets, dog leashes and shoes.  Below is my inspiration photo.

I went with gold to match the legs of the bench.  I painted all my hooks and picture frames to tie it all together.  AJ and I built this shelf out of wood and molding.  I painted it white, hung the hardware and voila!

I am so in love with having photos on the walls!  This is because our house is all brick which makes hanging things much more difficult and your had better be sure you want what ever it is hung there, cause once your drill through brick, there is no going back:)

STILL TO DO: I am still searching for a large antique looking mirror for the wall opposite the shelf.  Mirrors are after all, a small house's best trick to looking more spacious!  I am looking for a used mirror that I can re-finish in order to save money.

What do you think?

So, we did it...after 8 happy years together, we tied the knot! I cannot express how wonderful our wedding day was. I am not sure if it was luck or just good planning on our part, but NOTHING went wrong.

I want to take some time to let people know how we planned a wedding for around $10,000 and walked away from the alter, debt free (this included our honeymoon).  I firmly believe you can plan your dream day without spending $20,000, $30,000 or more!

After getting engaged, March 4, 2012, we didn't start planning the wedding until July or August 2012. I relied heavily on www.theknot.com for planning purposes; their guest list tool and checklist was awesome!  Also, I was lucky enough to be planning my wedding in the days of Pinterest.

Our biggest money saver was on the venue which was at Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, GA.  Once we toured the plantation, we knew this was perfect for us.  However, after seeing their venue fee packages, I thought we could not manage it on our tight budget.  Then, I asked the coordinator if they had any off season prices.  They did!!!  If we could handle not having Saturday wedding, we could cut the venue fee in half ($1800 to $950). It was an easy decision to get married on a weekday, because I knew no matter what day we choose, the people that matter to us would be there regardless.  In addition, because we chose a weekday, we were able to set up the venue and have the rehearsal on property because the night before, because once again, no bride chooses a weekday.  This was a big bonus because I have been in weddings where the bridal party had to set up the venue the day of the wedding, to say the least, that is stressful. 

Once we knew our venue and date, it was time for all the other details to be decided on.  I started with the guest list.  I knew keeping under 100 guests was crucial to keep costs down.  We ended up with 135 people on the list and around 85 actually attended.

Next was the photographer, I had someone in mind, but she lived several hours from me and was awesome, so her rates reflected that.  However, like all the websites say, call in your favors.  The photographer cheered with me in high school so I gave her a call.  I will not go into detail about the exact dollar amount (out of respect for her future bookings) basically, I told her my photography budget and waited to see if she agreed, which she did!

After that, I started going through the list of wedding expenses and started concentrating on the more expensive ones and began researching alternatives, here is a breakdown of what I did:















   
Honeymoon:  At first, we wanted to go on a week long honeymoon to an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean.  But, after obtaining quotes (approx. $4,400 for 5 days, not including airfare), we quickly realized, we were not going to be able to afford it.  We booked a 7 day cruise (balcony suite) with Carnival for only $1,800 for the two of us!  It was amazing...we went to Cozumel, Belize, Honduras (Mahogany Bay) and Costa Maya!

I can not even put into words how wonderful I felt the day AJ asked me to marry him.  I remember walking around all day in a bliss, nothing could upset me. 

AJ and I met his sister Amber in Myrtle Beach SC for vacation.  On Sunday morning (3/4/12), AJ woke me up and asked me to go for a walk on the beach before we had to meet everyone for breakfast, which he must have known I would never pass up. After he stalled for a while, he took a deep breath and said "I had rehearsed this so many times (got down on his knee) and nothing is going to come out as perfectly as I want it too. So I am just going to ask you, Courtney...will you Marry Me?!"

I was in tears the second I heard him say he had rehearsed this...that is when I knew! I dropped to my knees and said yes.
When I looked up, I saw his sister and her friends all around us, taking pictures. He set this up, and that is why he was stalling :) 
 
People were out on the hotel balconies having their morning coffee and were all cheering, it was so wonderful. We spent the rest of the day with huge smiles glued on our faces!

Such a great day!  Now, lets do this wedding thing!!!