Just like we promised, we’re back with the rest of our list of “No Regret” items from our September wedding! If you’re new here and have no idea what we’re talking about, you can check out part one right here. [And if you don’t give a hoot about anything wedding related, here’s a link to our latest post highlighting our workshop.]

So let’s continue…

DIY-ING [ALMOST] ALL OF OUR ENTIRE WEDDING 

We mentioned this in our previous wedding post, but when we first started looking for venues, we came across the most beautiful botanical garden conservatory. At that moment, we were sure it was meant to be. It was everything we wanted; a unique, beautiful space filled with greenery and live plants with hundreds of five star reviews. It only fit 180 guests, but hell, we were determined to make it work and make some cuts. And when we went in to look around and get the information packet, we found out it was $58,000 to rent. Not to buy, but to rent. Alan about shit his pants, and Laryssa couldn’t find the door fast enough. So we kept looking.

When we looked at a few other venues, we learned pretty quickly that 1) everything was super expensive, and 2) everything was super cookie-cutter and pre-packaged, and we worried that if we went with one of these venues, our wedding would be a very, um, standardized wedding. And if you know us, standardized wasn’t a word we wanted associated with our wedding.

So when we found our venue, which we talked about in more detail in our previous post, we fell in love with it not because of all of the bells and whistles, but because it was a blank slate for literally everything. We had the freedom to bring in everything we wanted, do whatever we wanted, set up however we wanted, and, most importantly, bring in any vendors we wanted.

Having this freedom meant we had to get creative, as we were responsible for everything. By the end of it, the list of things we ended up DIY-ing ourselves was quite extensive, including all of our wedding invitations and ceremony programs, table signs, centerpieces, our bar, bridesmaids gifts, Laryssa’s jacket, and a ton of other things that made the day special. We think it saved us a good amount of money as well, but we’re not about to add up our receipts or anything just in case.

RENTING OUR AIRBNB

This was another overthought detail that was well worth it! We love Airbnb; we used it when we traveled to Hawaii for our honeymoon, up north for a quick weekend trip, and even on some work-related trips. So, when we found the most beautiful Airbnb in the Jackson area, we booked it.

We paid about $300 for the Airbnb for the night before our wedding day. Laryssa, all of her bridesmaids, and her mom stayed there, and the cost to house that many people in hotel rooms would have been way more expensive.

In the morning, it made for a great spot for hair and makeup and Becca’s famous biscuits and gravy. And when we added two videographers, a photographer, three hairdressers, a makeup artist, a mother-in-law, a sister-in-law, and two grandmas, there was still plenty of room without feeling crowded.

Our last reason we loved this AirBnB, which is evident in the pictures, is that it was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! If getting reading at the Beck Street House wasn’t an option, this was our best next choice. The shots of the girls getting ready were so much more meaningful and scenic in this house verse a hotel room or conference room.

Again, we love traveling with Airbnb! Never stayed at an Airbnb before? Here’s a link for ya! If you use our link, you’ll get $40 off your first home booking and $15 to use toward an experience worth $50 or more. If you have any questions about renting an AirBnB, just let us know!

GOING WITH A LOCAL AND TRUSTED FLORIST

We were so excited to work with the [woman], the myth, the legend Kathy Fiebig as our florist. Laryssa has known Kathy since she was a little girl, and always knew she wanted Kathy to do the flowers for her wedding someday. But, when we picked our venue all the way in Jackson, we questioned about the logistics and weren’t sure if it would be possible so far away from home.

Eventually we asked Kathy, who owns Ka De Floral, and we were so excited when she said she was available and would be willing to be our florist! Again with us being so detail-oriented, we wanted to hire a florist we could trust to make 100% of the decisions, without us having to do any second-guessing. Per her usual, Kathy, her husband, and assistant Ursela made our ceremony and reception absolutely beautiful and exactly like we had envisioned it.

We also loved that Kathy went above and beyond with special touches we hadn’t even thought of, such as putting greenery on our memory table and appetizer tables, helping with Laryssa’s veil [which use to be her mom’s!], and even having cold bottles of water for us when exited the sanctuary.

We can’t thank Kathy, her husband Don, and their assistant Ursula enough for making our day so meaningful and beautiful!

IRONING THE TABLE CLOTHES

We don’t want to throw any shade or hurt any feelings, but with the two of us being so OCD and detail-oriented, this is something we notice in a lot of other wedding photos. Often the tables are beautifully decorated, but the table clothes themselves are full of wrinkles, which, well, annoys us. We tried to think of every small detail, so before putting table clothes down, we made sure to iron and steam them for a picture-perfect reception space. A huge shout out to Laryssa’s mom, her sisters, and her cousin Em for ironing these bitches.

RENTING BEAUTIFUL MISMATCHED CHINA 

This was also another decision we made pretty early on in the wedding planning process when we came across M&M Wedding China on Facebook. Michele collects and rents out mismatched china, silverware, and goblets for weddings and other events, and was absolutely wonderful to work with. We knew we wanted to use real china all along and debated buying it at thrift stores and garage sales, but when we [okay, when our sister Kylie] came across her Facebook page, it was way more affordable and practical to rent it than to buy it ourselves. Her china and silverware, paired with large gold chargers, were the perfect finishing touch on our guest tables. We also paid extra to NOT have to wash all of the dishes before returning them, which we have absolutely no regrets about. (Did we mentioned our venue didn’t have running water?) 

RENTING COMFORTABLE AND STURDY CHAIRS

Again, we don’t want to throw any shade – but we’ve all been to a wedding before with the cheap ass plastic chairs, where with enough alcohol, our overly-excited asses might just hit the floor. You know what we’re talking about. When we crunched the numbers, we realized that to rent comfortable and sturdy chiavari chairs was only a few dollars more than the plastic ones, so we went with them. We rented chairs (and gold chargers) from Great Lakes Chiavari. Kyle and his staff were wonderful to work with and were super flexible when it came to bringing the chairs in early for our rehearsal dinner. When the chairs showed up on Friday, our family could finally start to see the vision for the space that we had all along. 

DOING OUR RESEARCH, THINKING THINGS THROUGH, AND TAKING OUR TIME 

We were engaged for more than two years, so yes, we took our time. Except for the last two months or so when we were in “oh shit!” mode and really had to pound the pavement. But really, being engaged for so long and having a venue booked more than a year in advance really gave us time to do research, find the best prices, read reviews, and so on.

And before we go, here’s some more of our favorite shots throughout our wedding day.

In the end, it was so exciting to see every single detail we spent so much time on finally come together to make a picture perfect day. We’re so thankful for everyone who made our wedding possible like our parents, our family, our friends, and our amazing vendors (except for our tuxedo vendor, but that’s a story for another day.) And now that we’ve had time to process everything, it’s especially rewarding for us to say that our list of regrets is extremely minimal and completely overshadowed by our no regret items and by how personal and beautiful the day turned out to be.

However, we are also extremely thankful to be done wedding planning. But if anyone’s interested in having a backyard garden wedding at the Beck Street House, just let us know. No, seriously. This is goal we have for someday down the road, but we have a hell of a lot of work to do in our backyard before then.

Much love!

A+L

Photography by Andrea Kerbuski.