When it came time in the wedding planning process to order my invitation suite, I was immediately drawn to the calligraphy handwritten addressing on beautiful shiny gold envelopes. I was also immediately discouraged when I saw the price of these beautiful envelopes.
Of course I was determined to figure out a way to have this type of envelope as part of my invitation suite.
Our beautiful wedding ceremony location! Once I visited I knew instantly that this is where I wanted to say “I Do”.
There were certain things that I knew I wanted in a wedding venue. First I wanted the venue as outdoors as possible. We got married in August so it’s still very warm at that time of year in California. His venue was great because the ceremony was under this beautiful floral arbor and then the cocktail hour was outdoors as well. The reception was technically indoors but we had access to the courtyard where the cocktail hour was held which was outdoors. The courtyard was just through a double set of doors so you could still see the dance floor even if you were outdoors enjoying the nice evening weather.
Wedding Venue: Chaminade Resort and Spa
Location: Santa Cruz, California
The second most important thing was obviously cost. This venue was a little more costly than my original budget BUT the wedding coordinator did everything she could to make my dream wedding happen. We had an alternative menu and I diy’d most of the decor so I was able to stay on budget. I also didn’t do any upgrades that were offered in the wedding packages mostly because I didn’t think they were necessary but to also stay on budget.
Those were really my only two top priorities. Location was important but most of our family and friends are local or within a couple hours so I knew Santa Cruz was already a good location. Santa Cruz also offers so much and since we got married on a Friday that gave our guests the opportunity to make a mini vacation out of the weekend.
The staff, resort amenities and accommodations, and our overall experience at Chaminade Resort and Spa was phenomenal. I would do this day 1000 times over if I could!
I love how you can publish your love story online. It’s such a great way to share your love and also a nice keepsake. A modern version of newspaper announcements.
Loving my Toms wedding shoes!
I was looking for something comfortable, stylish, but also something more like a sandal because of our August wedding near the ocean. I thought these were perfect! These are the Champagne Grosgrain Women’s Clarissa Wedges via the Toms wedding line. I bought them online for a little over $70. Pretty inexpensive if you ask me! I love how the material goes all the way down instead of cork (which they have also if that’s your style). I feel like I can stay in these shoes all night long! I cannot wait to wear them!
My mother puchased another pair of wedding shoes and I was originally going to wear the ones she got. They’re actually the ones in my wedding photos but I didn’t actually wear them. I ended up wearing my Toms.
Here’s a slideshow of the shoes in my photos and the ones I actually wore.
Photo Book Guest Book:
I created my photo book guest book using Shutterfly.
First off, I love the quality that Shutterfly produces. I’ve ordered various items from them in the past so I wasn’t the least bit hesitant in ordering my guest book from their site.
If you’re hesitant buying your guest book from Shutterfly because of the price let me tell you that my book was free! My fiance and I created our gift registry at Macy’s and one of many awesome perks is that you get a free Shutterfly Guest Book. Okay so mine wasn’t completely free, I paid $35 because I ordered extras (matte cover finish, glossy paper, and a few extra pages). But it would’ve costed over $60! I think it’s a pretty awesome deal when I purchased all the extras when I normally wouldn’t have if I had to pay the full cost of the photo book.
It’s extremely easy to create. You can create your own page designs or you can use the suggest page layouts. All you have to do is upload your photos and add/edit any text. I used photos from our engagement photo session with out photographer to fill the guest book. It is extremely easy to navigate their site and user friendly.
For those of you who are planning an event and looking for a cheap alternative but still want high quality I highly suggest the guest books from Shutterfly.
Guest Book Sign:
Love how my diy guest book sign turned out! $5 frame at Target and used my @silhouette.inc to create the design.
Just choose a font and cut out a design with your cutting machine. At the time of making this sign I was a newbie with Silhouette Studio so I only used simple text and nothing fancier but to this day I still like that I decided with just text because less was more.
DIY Table Numbers
Tips
And that’s it! Quick, easy, and inexpensive table numbers for any occasion.
My Wedding Dress!
I purchased my dress at Sunday’s Bridal in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. who wouldn’t want a designer gowns at a discount?! The staff made me feel special and made this moment very memorable. I highly suggest this store if you’re looking for designer gowns but on a budget.
Mariesah 
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