What do Thailand and a Michigan campground have in common? Find out! Brandon and Lee’s wedding took place at a campground around the corner from Lee’s
parents’ house, where she had gone often as a kid and on into high
school. Their candle favors, handmade yarn hangings, Lee’s
scarf, and Brandon’s suit all either came from Thailand or were Thailand
inspired from a time when the two of them took off on an adventure and
lived there together.
The combination of the Thailand pieces and the
woodland campground theme blended really very well. With so much prettiness there’s no way it could fit into one post so you’ll find the rest in the full gallery, photographed by Little Blue Bird Photography!
A Special Day For A Special Couple
From Little Blue Bird Photography: From the moment we arrived at Lee’s parent’s house to begin
photographing her wedding day, we knew it would be something special. I
love when brides decide to get ready at their childhood home, first of
all – there are pictures of them on the walls and their parents’ wedding
photos. It was obvious that this was a special day for a special couple
loved by so many – this became more apparent as the day went on – in
the emotion in Brandon’s face during their first look, the warm welcome
we felt from their family and friends, and the joy in the dancing in the
lodge.
For A Perfect Wedding Make It Personal
I love the
personal elements to this wedding – for example, I was able to
photograph her dress hanging in her parents’ bedroom window right next
to THEIR wedding photo.
This is the wedding that I have been waiting to photograph – I told my
husband and second shooter that I loved it so much that I wanted to
cry…but I totally didn’t…not even when Brandon (who I was told was
not an emotional guy) cried upon seeing his bride at the end of the
aisle or while the two said their vows (which they wrote themselves).
Do Things In An Order that is right For You
From the bride: We
started dreaming up our wedding when we were living abroad in Thailand,
so naturally we wanted pieces of Thailand weaved into our wedding day
along with our love for the woods and outdoors. Because of this, we had
our favors purchased prior to setting up any of our major vendors. I did
everything out of “order” (so to speak), I did not follow any timeline
or pre-made “to do lists”, rather, we completed tasks as it made sense
for us and our life at the time. First piece of advice: do what works
for you and your fiance. Second,
if you are all about the DIY details (which we were), enlist others to
help!
Late Dinner? Dig Into The Desserts Early!
We
offered fresh made gourmet pizza as a part of our meal. At one point
during the middle of the meal, something went wrong mechanically with
their pizza oven and there was a delay. My husband and I visited the
tables who were waiting for food and I (a woman with a serious sweet
tooth) directed them to have dessert before dinner! I’d say that was a
fair trade off 😉
Read on to see the budget breakdown and budget advice for this wedding! Please note that costs change as the years go by.
We
saved in numerous ways and spent on the areas that meant a lot to us.
We felt strongly about quality, locally sourced, food and drink. Because
of this, our largest expenses were toward food and beverage. Based
on my research, our music, photography, and my wedding dress expenses
were “middle-of-the-road” and worth every penny we spent. They were
truly incredible.
We
rented a 250-acre camp that served as our accommodations, wedding and
reception site, which ended up being less than $1500 for the entire
weekend — huge savings! Along
with our reasonably priced venue, we saved on decor, floral
arrangements…pretty much anything that could be DIY. I preserved
eucalyptus, and collected various preserved greens from friends and
family to create all bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpiece arrangements,
and so on. My father made gorgeous re-purposed railway tie centerpieces,
the entire wedding ceremony site, along with many wood decor details.
My talented, artistic sister-in-law and brother made all of our signage
from re-purposed wood. You get the drift, everyone used materials that
were free (or reasonably priced), which kept our budget down.
We
also purchased and shipped many items while we were abroad, including
our favors ($50), table runners ($50), and my husbands wedding band
($60) from Thailand. My husband had his entire outfit for the wedding
custom made in Vietnam for $100. These international purchases were a
fraction of the cost (and very meaningful for us) compared to what we
would have spent on those items here in the states.
When you get creative and use your resources, you truly can manage a wedding budget!
Inspired by the thriftiness of this bride? We sure are! Follow in her footsteps and learn to DIY your own faux or dried floral bouquet with this post: How To Make A Faux Flower Bridal Bouquet.
