Weddingbee bios

As we started our planning, we tried to keep everything simple.  We didn't want the wedding to get out of hand and become less and less about the marriage. In doing so, we wanted to pick our bridesmaids and groomsmen accordingly.  We didn't want to have a big party but we didn't want any of our close friends to feel left out.  I am sill close with many of my friends from high school, keep in touch with life-long friends from church, and was still making memories with my besties from college. 

So, we tossed our friends out of the picture and picked: our siblings.  We're both one of five children total and so the symmetry thing still worked out for us.  However, it just so happens that I have four brothers...but they cleaned-up real nice just for their dear sister : )

For our simple outdoor wedding I wanted the bridesmaids [technically groomsmaids] to feel comfortable.  It was just my husband's two sisters who would look good in just about anything.  However, with one in California, I didn't want to make getting a dress really complicated. So, I set simple guidelines and trusted their fashion senses. They could pick out anything black and tea-length. Older sister M used it as and excuse to get a new LBD she could wear again and again, and younger sister M found one on clearance at Target for $6! Everyone got what they wanted, and the girls look great!

[Older sister M, Sister-in-law N, Hubs, Me, Youngest older sister M]

For our outdoor/backyard July wedding, we wanted to keep everything simple.  Weddings can get out of hand quickly and we tried our best to stay grounded. When it came to finding just the right attire for the little ones in our wedding I didn't quite know what to do. I wanted Ellie my FG to feel like a princess...but our wedding wasn't exactly a black tie affair.

One day I wandered into the Children's Place while running errands at the mall.  It was there that I found clothes for all of the kids in our wedding for under $15 a piece! I have the heart of a bargain shopper and was absolutely thrilled.  The dress fit the style of our wedding and Ellie looked perfect in her white, eyelet sundress!

We somehow stumbled across a semi-sketchy ebay seller from China selling legit Tungsten Carbide rings for $17 and no shipping! Score!

Mine was not such a bargain. But I love it nonetheless. Post-wedding I had my rings stuck together and they fit much better now. Horray. Also, I kept telling Mr. M that there was no need to get bling on my wedding band...but quickly changed my mind as soon as we set foot in the jewelery store : ) Anything for his wifey.

 

 

Although it was a backyard, it was not the typical backyard.  My in-laws home is out in the beautiful countrysde of west Michigan.  Their neighbors are elderly and have nothing better to do with their money than...keep a BEAUTIFUL yard.  With one phone call we had our dream ceremony setting reserved for a totally of $0 : )  We borrowed a gorgeous terrace/arch for, you guessed it, free and rented a few hundred chairs.  All in all, what we got was the perfect set-up for my dream wedding. Oh, and that pond definitely has a fountian in the middle that was going during the ceremony = perfect.