(Recap] Ghost Town Wedding

April 11 came and went and we've been happily married for a few weeks now. The day went by incredibly fast and so did the week leading up to it. We did not have a big budget, we thought $1,500 would be enough but we upped that to $2,000 and we came in at $2,291, but my mom, matron of honor and bride's maid helped pay for some of it. The budget does not include our rings since we saw those as a long term item/investment. I’m going to try to keep things in order and cover everything, so here we go!

Our centerpieces were made from wine bottles, we asked friends to save them for us so we had a various assortment of shapes and sizes. We removed the labels by baking them at 250º for 20 minutes and we used a putty knife and razor blades to scrape the hot labels off. Some bottles had residual goo on them which came right off with goo gone. We spray painted them grey, silver and black all different finishes too. Then we wrapped the tops in turquoise and purple macramé because it was thicker than string or yarn. Before wrapping the tops we attached fishing line to later put beads on for some sparkle. We grouped them in threes on each table and filled them with an assortment of flowers.

I found my dress at David’s Bridal for $114 with shipping on my second trip out. I took my Mom with me for her opinion, I originally wanted an A-line dress, but a trumpet style with a couple appliqués was incredibly flattering on my figure. My Mom spotted some dark purple peep toe shoes with sparkles on the toes for $22 on sale, she said they were so me and bought them for me. This all took place on Father’s Day which was comforting thinking that my Dad may have been smiling on us that day.

A week before the wedding my best friend and matron of honor flew out from Alaska, it was so nice to have her company and help to finish things up. I would pick her up after work and we worked on the finishing touches to the bouquets I made. I bought all of my flowers from two different dollar stores for some variety. I used wire to create accent spirals in the bouquets and I added in some brooches and shiny bits. for the handles we used purple ribbon and lace. I love mixing textures and layering things because it gives them more interest and depth. The boutineers were super simple to make, we paired a couple flowers/stems together with two spirals each. For my husband's I created one large spiral as well to put behind the flowers.

I had my nails done two days prior to the wedding. I love gel nails and I am not very careful with my hands so they’re perfect. I actually still have them today, so they really last! I had my hair and make-up done at the LOOK Style Society in Vegas, I highly recommend them if you’re in the area. I did not do a trial run, but I made sure I had a couple pics for hair and make up to show them what I wanted. I was blown away at the results, I have never ever felt so beautiful in my life. I was turning heads just walking to my car!

For the day of my husband and I woke up together and hung out until I had to leave to get my makeup and hair done. The grooms man and brides maid picked him up and took him out to the Ghost Town to get things in order before I arrived. After my hair and makeup, I picked up my matron of honor and she helped me get into my dress and I put on my jewelry while she was lacing me up. Then we headed out together.

We were running a half hour behind my anticipated schedule, so it wasn’t too bad. As soon as I got to the ghost town we did a first look and even thought my husband had seen me in my dress he was absolutely stunned and at a loss for words. Side story time: I tried on my dress when it arrived, but I forgot to undo the snaps on the modesty panel and got stuck in it with my arms above my head. I yelled at my fiancée to come help and he said no, he couldn’t see me in my dress before the wedding. I explained what a dire situation I was in and he came in with his hands over his eyes, but he kinda needed his hands to help me.

We didn’t do a rehearsal for the ceremony, we just went for it. When we were ready to walk we couldn’t find the best man with the rings, he had sat down with the guests. We got him in line and the two pairs walked before my husband and I walked down together. My (almost) husband said, “Well, here we go!” We didn’t have any music so my husband started humming “Here Comes the Bride” and everyone joined in. I was overflowing with joy and I laughed the whole way down the isle. It’s one of my favorite memories from the day, it was absolutely perfect! It turns out we were supposed to give our rings to the two best people and not both of them to the best man, oh well, that was worth a chuckle. When the Bishop asked us to turn towards each other and repeat after her all I could see was my husband with love and sincerity in his eyes when he was speaking to me. Our bishop was such a genuine caring and lovely woman.

We did some photos after the ceremony because we couldn’t fit them in prior. We hit the “magic hour” for lighting and it was absolutely stunning. We chose our location with photos in mind, I love the juxtaposition of old and formal. We had no idea there was stained glass set up where we were having the ceremony, it certainly wasn’t there when we toured the place. It was a happy surprise though.

The ceremony was held at an Eagles Lodge because my Mom is a member and she’s able to get some nice discounts, it also had a bar and that was important to us. We had Omar The Taco Man who set up on site and cooked the meats. The food was delicious and we both regret not being able to get seconds. Our cake was a store bought red velvet one which we put a topper on. We also had 60 chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for the guests and my husband had a home made chocolate chip cookie cake which he hid from the guests, they totally missed out.

We were able to set up for the reception the night prior and our bridal party helped as well as a couple others. This was very stressful and upsetting at times, people thought they had better ideas and weren’t listening to my fiancée and I’s wishes. We also got separated and there was some miscommunication or no communication between us, but we got things the way we wanted and left. Make it a point to stick together when there are crowds, I have a feeling this advice is also good in marriages.

We found an amazing freelance DJ, but the company he worked for double booked him and he had to cancel a month prior to the wedding. That was a bit stressful, but we dealt with it and found another DJ for less. This new DJ was terrible at communicating though and was giving off some warning flags, but we had no other options. The night we were setting up an associate of his sent me an email on his behalf, saying he couldn’t make it. I was LIVID. This is now the third DJ and the wedding was in less than 24 hours. When we showed up to the reception and there was music playing we rejoiced. We had not one, but two DJs who were working together and very kind and understanding.

We only had our first dance planned, which was “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King. Everything else we really didn’t care about, we just wanted to hang out with our friends and loved ones. Someone told the DJ we were doing a money dance, so we did a money dance! My cousin and husband surprised me with an Uncle/Niece dance since my Dad died a few years prior. That was a really special moment and he made me cry, I was doing so well too! There was clinking of glasses and my husband and I would have to find each other and kiss, that was pretty fun and unexpected.

Here's a link to the whole album.

Photography by Two Peas Pictures. They do some phenomenal work!