Six Things Couples Don't Think About When Having A Backyard Wedding.

Today I'm going to be talking about a few things people don't think about when they decide to have their wedding in their backyard.  The best thing about having it in your backyard is you don't have to pay to rent a venue, you can easily start to set up for the wedding whenever you want, and after the wedding you don't have to worry about getting everything out by a certain time.

There are a few things to consider, however:

1. Parking: Where are all of your guest going to park? With 200 guests, you could have 100 cars, or even more if couples/families don't drive together! Having people park on the street five blocks away, and walk  to your house isn't the best thing to do.  My tip: What you need to do is find a large parking lot, like a church or a school (it will be empty at night), less than a mile away.  You'll of course want to get an okay from them, and the city.  If the lot is close and not on a busy street, you could rent/borrow golf carts, and have someone drive your guests over to the reception.  You could find a limo company that has a shuttle bus that would fit 15-20 people at once, so you could easily transport them to your house. You'll have to have to for the whole time, however so it will be expensive.  Something else is a valet service.  Have people drive up to your house, and the valet will park their car for them.  
2. Bathrooms: Your wedding is taking place outside, which means the outside will look put together and clutter-free. The house, however will be where the caterer is prepping food, and where all the prep work for the day happened.  Do you want people walking through that? Also, people will be drinking, and the bathrooms will get trashed. Not that your friends and family won't respect your house, but when people are drinking they sometimes aren't thinking. Can you imagine 200 people using one, or maybe two bathrooms all night? There will be lines the whole night, which means people will be missing important parts of the nights festivities.  Your bathroom also might not be able to handle so much use in one day. My tip: Rent luxury porta potties.  Yes they do cost a lot, but it's just something you have to consider.  
3. Caterer Prep Space: When you bring in a caterer, they need a place to work, cook, and keep things warm.  Hopefully your caterer will be honest with you about what they can use in your kitchen, and what they will need to bring in/rent (extra stoves, etc.) and if it will cost you more, once you decide on a menu, and they see the property. 
4. Sound:  Obviously if you're having your wedding at your house, there are neighbors! You have to think about the loud music that will be playing late into the night.  You must contact the city before your event to make sure you can even have your wedding in your backyard. You DON'T want the cops showing up to break up the party at 9:00.  You also need to talk to all of your neighbors and let them know about your wedding so they can prepare for the noise. 
5. Theres going to be a mess:  When it's dark outside you're not going to notice the napkins, and empty beer bottles on the ground.  The next morning will be a lot to clean up.  You'll have to sort out all the rentals for the rental company to pick it up.  Tables clothes and napkins put in linen bags, chairs and tables taken down, etc. Having a team help you either that night, or the next morning would be a good option. 
6. Day Of Coordinator: And finally, you need to have someone in charge!  Yes I mean hiring a wedding planner to help plan before hand and day of, or even just a day of coordinator.  When you rent a wedding venue, there are people who work there, but when you are having it at your house, it's just you and your family.  There has to be someone to make sure the day goes smoothly, someone to answer all of the questions (there will be A LOT!), and to take care of anything that goes wrong.  Yes things will go wrong, but that shouldn't be something the mother of the bride should have to deal with.  They will also help set everything up in the morning, and take everything down, and clean up at night.  

Happy Planning!

XO, Val

outside wedding. by vebullock on Polyvore

Garden Wedding Ideas
elizabethannedesigns.com

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weddingchicks.com

A Romantic Outdoor Wedding in Washington
theknot.com

North Carolina Lovebird Wedding
ruffledblog.com

Ways To Save Money On Your Wedding!

I understand that everyone has a budget, and there are plenty of ways to keep costs down:  

• Trim your guest list by eliminating kids, and plus ones.  
• Use candles instead of flowers as some, or all of your centerpieces. 
• Check with your venue and see if they have vases, votives you can use before you buy/rent them.
• Skip chair covers and sashes if it's an extra cost at your venue.  
• Have a buffet, or family style instead of a sit down dinner. 
• Have a small cake for the two of you to cut, and have sheet cakes (hidden in the back of course!) or cupcakes/cake pops for your guests. 
• Forget the limo and/or Photo Booth unless it fits into your budget. They're both fun, but not necessary.  
• Try to borrow a veil, sash/belt, and/or jewelry from a family member or friend as your "something borrowed/old". It will save you so much money!

Here are some examples of things not to do when looking to save money: 

• Not feeding your vendors. I once saw an article about ways to save money on your wedding, and one was not serving your vendors, or giving them a cheaper meal.  This is something that is not okay.  Your vendors will work VERY hard on your wedding day, and they deserve more than a turkey sandwich and a bag of chips.  

• A cash bar. It's NEVER okay to have a cash bar.  When someone gets invited to your wedding, they won't expect to have to pay for their own alcohol.  Limit it to just beer and wine and one or two signature drinks if you have to cut bar costs, but don't make people pay.  

• Only having one entree.  Some people think that a good way to cut costs is to limit people's choices to only 1 entree instead of the standard 2 or 3.  You will probably save $2-3 per person that way, but not everyone likes/wants chicken.  It's best to have chicken or fish, a red meat, and a vegetarian option. 

• Not having a DJ.  Some couples feel like hiring a DJ is an unnecessary cost when you could use your friends speakers and an iPod.  This is fine if you're just looking for some background music throughout the night, but not if you want people to dance and have a fun time.  A DJ is what really gets the party started.  There are ways to find a cheaper- but still a good- DJ.

• Skipping Hors d'oeuvres.  My number one rule is: your guests should NEVER be hungry! When your guests arrive at the venue for cocktail hour, there needs to be food! I'm not saying you need to spend $5-$10 extra per person for a ton of food that will fill up your guests before dinner.  You should however have some kind of cheese, fruit, veggies, etc. to hold them over.  

Happy Planning!!

XO, Val.  

just married. by vebullock featuring silk scarves

Kate Spade silk scarve
katespade.com

Jen and Mike's Wedding | July 11, 2014

I had the pleasure of working with Jen only nine months after I helped her older sister Rachelle with her wedding. Being laid back is something that runs in the family! They both cared about getting married, and the rest of the details didn't matter much!

On the day of the wedding, Jen- who's already gorgeous- was STUNNING!! She would have loved to have her wedding outside, walk barefoot through a field, and put fresh flowers in her hair.  But being Catholic, that wasn't really an option for them.  She settled for a beautiful church wedding, a great pair of shoes, and a lovely crown of fresh flowers (and bouquet) from Chris' Floral, in her hair.  

Jen and Mike's First Look with Gra Photography, and the reception took place at St. George Fellowship Centre in Akron.  

Right after they their first look! So happy!!

I'm so happy I got a picture with the newly weds!!! 

Jen and Mike were such a pleasure to work with.  They are so in love and couldn't stop smiling the entire night!! 

XO, Val. 

The Perfect Fall Wedding!

When you think of a fall wedding, you might think rustic, and a red, orange, yellow and brown color scheme, but it can be much more than that! When I think of a fall wedding, I of course think of the beautiful changing leaves, and crisp fall air, but I also think of rich colors, and hearty food!

Fall weddings have always been a very popular time to get married.  If you’re having a fall wedding, don’t think that you have to have bales of hay, pumpkins, and burlap.  It also doesn't mean you have to have a halloween themed wedding!!

Instead of putting your bridal party in orange, try plum!  Orange, yellow, and red flowers will really pop!

Some couples think that since they are having a fall wedding, they need to have part or all of their wedding outdoors.  In Ohio the weather is VERY unpredictable! If you have your wedding in early fall- september, and early october- you could have nice weather to be outside, but the leaves probably won't change by then.  If you wait until mid-October into early November, you'll have a much better chance of beautiful fall leaves, but it could be 30 or 40 degrees and there could even be snow by then!! Everyone wants that perfect 60 degree day with the beautiful leaves, and the slight chill in the air.  The chances of getting that are, unfortunately, very rare.

You can still have the feel of a fall wedding without being outside.  Your centerpieces can have fall colors, you can have pumpkin flavored desserts, or your favors could be a delicious caramel apple.  You can even have a "candy bar" where guest fill a bag with candy!  It's like adult trick-or-treating! YUM!!

fall wedding by vebullock featuring fall home decor

As you can clearly see I LOVE fall! It's my favorite time of the year! If you can't/don't want to have your wedding in fall, it's also a great time to do engagement pictures!

Happy Planning!
Val



Red Arrow Photography

Fall home decor
etsy.com

Fall silk wedding bouquet in rust and burnt yellow, bridal bouquet
etsy.com

Unexpected Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Day!

Today I want to talk about a couple things that could save you money on your wedding day!

Over the summer, and into the Fall, three of the couples I am working with have opted to not have a bridal party.  A bridal party is something that people just assume needs to be part of your big day.  The biggest cost to the bride and groom when it comes to a bridal party is the flowers.  If you have five bridesmaids and five groomsman in your bridal party, plus parents, grandparents, and the two of you, you could be close to $700 in just bouquets and boutonnieres.  There are many expenses the bridal party takes care of, but flowers isn't one of them.

Something else is bridal party gifts. No one says you have to give them gifts, but it is expected.  Spending at least $50 on each person is pretty standard.  With ten members of your bridal party, that's around $500 that you probably didn't budget for.

Also, if you don't have a bridal party, a rehearsal dinner isn't necessary.  It's again, a large cost, and if the two of you are paying for it yourself, it could break the bank.  If someone else has offered to pay for the rehearsal (it's traditional for the grooms parents to pay), you can still have it with family, close friends and out of town guests.  You could also explain to the person that offered to pay that since you're not having a bridal party, a rehearsal dinner isn't necessary, and maybe that money can be put to better use somewhere else in the budget.

It's becoming more and more popular to have a close friend of family member marry the couple  instead of hiring an efficient or minister for their wedding day.  I have three couples this year that have opted for this option! If you're getting married outside, or at a venue other than a church, you're going to have to hire an officiant or a minister to marry you.  It's again a cost most couples don't think about. Good officiants charge between $250-$400, and some even charge for traveling and the rehearsal!  If you have someone you know marry you, it will be much more personal. You should offer to pay the fee for them to get ordained, but that's only around $50.  Get them a nice gift to thank them, but even then you're saving so much money.


Hope this helped!!
xo, Val

outside wedding. by vebullock featuring bridal gowns

Nicole Miller bridal gown
nicolemiller.com

Home decor
paperstyle.com

Is it worth it? Real Flowers.

Hi everyone!

Today's 'Is it worth it?" is going to be talking about real flowers for your wedding day vs. fake or silk flowers.  

I'm just going to start out by saying that I would never recommend fake flowers to anyone, and in my opinion real flowers are always the way to go. I think most of the time people look at flowers for your wedding day as an unnecessary expense. Also, that they're just gong to die (true), but if you buy fake flowers what are really going to do with them after the wedding, anyway? 

When you go to a florist you could spend $1200-$1500  on your flowers (bouquets, boutonnières, centerpieces).  You might think that is an insane amount of money to spend on flowers but you have to understand that you're paying for this persons time and experience when it comes to flowers.  They know what they are doing and they do all the work for you.  

via the knot.

via the knot.

Aren't these bouquets just stunning?

If you go to your local hobby lobby and look at the prices of silk flowers, you might be surprised.  You could ultimately spend $30 for one bouquet.  You may also think they look just like real flowers, but they don't. People can tell they aren't real. 

If you think making your own bouquet is easy, buy your own real flowers, and make your own that way! You could pick up some flowers a few days before your wedding at your local grocery store, Sam's Club, or even Trader Joe's. It's no secret that anything that has to do with weddings is going to be more expensive, its annoying, but true.  So buying them at the grocery store, they are exponentially less expensive.  My advice would be figure out what is in season for your wedding month, figure out when the grocery store gets their flower delivery, and try to find out from a worker what they will be getting, and if you can request something in particular- it never hurts to ask! Just remember, you cant be too picky. 

You could also order flowers online if you're looking for particular flowers.  You would order them, and they are delivered to you a couple days before your wedding day.  The risk with this is they may not come in the condition you want, and you won't have time to order new flowers in time.  You can try fifty flowers. 

I hope this helped you!

XO, Val