Budget

Reception Venue- 11,000
Food and Service- 1,900
Beverages- 1,900
Cake- 200
Amusement Rentals- 4,000
Other Rentals- 1,450
Dresses, Alterations, and Shoes- 1,000
Officiant- 100
Photographer- 2,200
Wedding Rings- 65
Popcorn- 65
Decorations (an estimate of all my DIY projects)~1,800

Total of about 25,000

Attached is my timeline.  I think it will only be relevant for those with a weekend wedding, but when I was planning I had a hard time knowing how long to estimate for every step.  Hope this helps.

Timeline

Tent Decorations

The infamous Martha Stewart Pom Poms

The 300 feet of flags that went around the outside of the tent

The tent all empty and set up before the reception

Table Decor

Tables numbers, which were carnival ride polaroids stuck in a jar of rock candy

The three circular tables were decorated with leftover confetti strands, vases, balloons, and cranes

The Lounge Furniture got an orphaned Pom and some origami

The tables had the runners my mom made.  We got our rentals from the caterer and I love how colorful the plates were.

A close up of our “center pieces”

The one giant pom pom I made.  It couldn’t even support itself!

Drink Decorations:

Everyone got a jar with their name on it

The straws were really popular and didn’t melt like I expected

A close up of the drink dispensers.  They are on top of boxes stuffed with law books and covered with a sheet I bought at Goodwill

Random Decorations

Ribbon wands for the ceremony

Cocktail napkins with facts about us as a couple

Skittles at the photobooth table

The inside of our guest/photo book

Matches for the sparklers

The spakler display

Escort card display

Close up of pinwheels

After Dark Pictures:

Vellum flowers on the event barn porch. They had an outlet in the ceiling which made it so much easier to hang.  Also in the rain the vellum just curls more, which makes the flowers prettier.

The tables with candles lit.

Origami Balloons after dark

The End.

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Past
Part 13:Sunday Morning
Part 12:Party Party
Part 11: Eating a Rainbow
Part 10: Fun and Games
Part9: Reception
Part 8: Pre-Reception Drinking and Popcorn
Part7: Ceremony
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

At 1, I decided to motivate to clean up the tent, but when I got there it had been mostly done already by Vicki and my mother’s husband.  That was a possibly the best wedding present we received.  I gave away most of the decoration and pushed guests to bring home jars of rock candy.  In the end I only took home the origami balloons, 2 jars, and 2 vases of pom pom flowers.

Most people left around one, with a few stranglers hanging around until 5 with whom we drank our left over beer.   J and I went to have dinner in town at the Rattlesnake Cafe, which was super tasty.  Back at HH, we ate left over cake and cupcakes.  The next morning at 8am we packed up and drove back to DC.

Pictures by our friends Evan and Shannon

Next Up:Details
Past
Part 12:Party Party
Part 11: Eating a Rainbow
Part 10: Fun and Games
Part9: Reception
Part 8: Pre-Reception Drinking and Popcorn
Part7: Ceremony
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

and Bonfire S’mores.

At 9:00, it started pouring, at which point the dancing really started.  The HH staff made a mad dash around the tent zipping up the sides  and then you couldn’t even tell it was raining inside the tent. We only lost an hour of the rides rental and the lightning was spectacular.

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Next Up: Sunday Morning

Past
Part 11: Eating a Rainbow
Part 10: Fun and Games
Part9: Reception
Part 8: Pre-Reception Drinking and Popcorn
Part7: Ceremony
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

This was the whole table.  I had bought three serving trays at Goodwill and spray painted them red for the cupcakes.

We had two cupcake flavors, ginger peach and chocolate peanut.  They were so amazingly yummy.  The peach even had real peach slices under the ginger frosting! It was the best cupcake I have ever had.

We cut the cake at around 8.  There was no real plan for announcing it.  J and I went around and told all our guests that we would be cutting the cake in 10 minutes.  The only reason I wanted to do a cake cutting, was that I wanted to make sure I got to see the inside of it. Our caterer took the ribbons from the ceremony and wrapped them around the knife to coordinate for pictures. How awesome was that?

I think my favorite wedding pictures are the series of faces we made while cutting the cake.

1. Surprise at how pretty it was

2. Because we didn’t take the flags off first, the cake came out in two pieces, red through yellow and green through purple.

3. Happiness cause it was so pretty

4. Laughing at the fact that I just picked up the cake with my fingers and now it was stuck to my fingers by the frosting

5. Laughing at J cause she had done the exact same thing

This was the inside of the cake after a professional had cut it.  The rainbow colors were so vibrant and perfect!

(image by guest)

And super tasty!

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Next Up: Party Party

Past

Part 10: Fun and Games
Part9: Reception
Part 8: Pre-Reception Drinking and Popcorn
Part7: Ceremony
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

The chair swing ride was so much fun.  My only real regret of the wedding is that I only got to ride on it twice. J managed 5 rides!

Somehow by complete accident,we managed to get a ride in our wedding colors.

The game booths were super fun.  People got so silly trying to win.

I love mini-golf, as soon as I saw it was a rental option, I had to have it.  I played 2 games and lost both.  I blame it on the hill.

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Next Up: Eating a Rainbow

Past
Part9: Reception
Part 8: Pre-Reception Drinking and Popcorn
Part7: Ceremony
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

The Indian food was so amazingly yummy that looking back at this pictures makes my mouth water.

We didn’t have to wait in the buffet line, as they brought the plates to us and then checked to see if we wanted more food.  My only regret was that I wasn’t hungry when we ate, but I was later at 10 pm and I wished I had saved a couple samosas.  It was soo amazingly tasty.

I think my Mom put the pomanders from the ceremony on our chairs and they look really cute.

I think 90% of our guests were happy with food. I heard of 2 people who went to Wendy’s to eat and a couple of people for whom the food was too spicy. However, there are some new Indian food converts, so I think it worked out.

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Next Up: Fun and Games

Past
Part 8: Pre-Reception Drinking and Popcorn
Part7: Ceremony
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

After the ceremony, everyone followed us up to the tent. Our friend who was in charge of the iPhone for the ceremony music,  turned on the wedding playlist

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I really love these pictures of everyone making there way up to the reception, it feels like a parade to me.

Once in the tent, people could do one of several things:

1. Find their seating assignments.

2. Get a beer (that was my first priority)

3. Relax on the patio with said drink

4. Get some popcorn in a ridiculously cute bag

5. Take pictures in our “photobooth”

Baby has a moustache!

6. Get a non-alcoholic drink. The Mango Lassi were super tasty.  They did stop up the plug about halfway through the reception because they were too creamy.

The one sour note of the pre-reception was the officiant.  I had previously asked her the cost of her services in an email and she ignored the question. She choose after the ceremony as the time to remind me about payment.  When I asked her the exact cost of services, she wouldn’t tell me a number.  I had to consult with Vicki the next day, who asked her for me and was told it was $100. It seemed like very poor customer service to me.

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Next Up: Reception

Past
Part7: Ceremony
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

The nervousness was not aleviated when the officant still hadn’t shown up with 15 minutes to go. The ceremony site was all ready.

People started sitting down at 4:45 and taking a ribbon wand with them.

At 4:50 every one was seated, but there was still no officiant.

At this point I was freaking out. The officant finally showed up with 5 minutes to go before the ceremony. I didn’t know at the time, but a big storm looked like it was coming in, so Vicki was trying to hurry things along so it won’t start raining during the ceremony.

During this picture, I was asking J if we could just get married inside the house and then pop out and tell everyone we were already married and go celebrate. I don’t know why I look so happy cause she said no.

At 5 minutes after 5, we started walking out of the house to “Sea of Love” by Cat Power. Our friend used the sound system in the tent to play the song from J’s iPhone. I was sprinting and everyone made fun of me for the rest of the night for walking so fast. I think it took us a total of 30 seconds to get to the officiant.

I had cobbled our ceremony together from the Internet. This is the end product:

“Good afternoon! We are here today because two people met and something special happened. You can call it love at first sight, call it fate, call it a chemical reaction, but they call it the reason for living. It isn’t a surprise to those of you that have known J and Sparrow that they decided to marry. In fact, it is obvious to anyone who has spent time around them that they are two people who love to be in each other’s company, because that is when they are the happiest and most complete.

So let the ceremony begin!

Goodridge v. Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health
Marriage is an enormous private and social advantage for those who choose to marry. Marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family…. Because it fulfils yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition. (By Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall)

J and Sparrow have chosen their maids of honor to read to you a poem called “I Like You” which was chosen by them to express their love to each other: (J had given this book to me as anniversary present 2 years ago).

“I Like You” by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
I like you and I know why.
When I say something funny, you laugh.
I think I’m funny and you think I’m funny too.
You know how to be silly,
That’s why I like you.
I like you because you know when it’s time to stop being silly.
Maybe day after tomorrow,
Maybe never.

And if I get lost,
Then you are the one that is yelling for me.
I like you because I don’t know why but…
Everything that happens is nicer with you.
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you.
It must have been lonesome then.

And so J and Sparrow’s friends and family, we are here to share with them this joy and hope, and to see them off on the path they will walk together.

VOWS
I, J, take (you), Sparrow, to be my wife, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love.
To love you without reservation and to demonstrate that love in action, as well as word. To turn to you and not on you in times of trial; and to practice honest and thoughtful communication, especially when its most difficult to do so. To challenge and inspire you to be all that I believe you can, and to welcome the same from you with an open heart. To make passion a priority, and faithfully work to entice and attract you through the years. I vow to trust in your love and put apology and forgiveness above ego. To take ownership of my health and to care for yours; to celebrate your joys and share your sorrows as long as we both shall live.
(and then I said the same)

A WEDDING WISH
On behalf of your loved ones who are here with you today, I will offer to you, J and Sparrow these three suggestions:

Be constantly grateful for the presence of this precious person who has chosen to make a life with you.
My second suggestion is this:
Make each other the recipient of daily kindness. The world can be a tough place and any of us can be subject to rough handling.
Be generous with compliments.
Be attentive and helpful.
Each of you can, by your tenderness toward each other, kind words and thoughtful actions, make your marriage and your home an uplifting refuge.

Last, but perhaps most importantly, make truth the unfailing bedrock of your lives together. A happy, loving marriage is built on trust and respect. That trust and respect can only be sustained if you are both deeply committed to always being open and truthful in every exchange no matter how small.

My hope for you is this;
that you have many long years to delight in each other’s company, to feel gratitude for your great good fortune in having found and loved each other, to a make home together that is at once sheltering and welcoming, to each do meaningful, productive work at home and in the world and to love and be loved by the friends and family who have come here today to support you…

(J and I got the same rings and they were only half a size different.  I had asked the officiant to keep them in the box so that I would know which was which, but she didn’t.  I guessed right, but I was terrified of jamming the wrong ring on J’s finger and never getting it off again.)

Ceremony of the Rings
These two rings that you are about to exchange will be the outward symbols of your vows. They are signs anyone can read—declaring to the world that you have made the commitment to share all that you are and all that you have with one another—in happiness and in sorrow, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health—as you spend the rest of your days loving and caring for each other.
I give you this ring as a sign that I choose you
To be my lover, my partner and my best friend, to the end of my days
Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you
J and Sparrow remember to treat both yourself and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together.
PRONOUNCEMENT
Inasmuch as you have consented together in this ceremony to live in wedlock and have sealed your vows in the presence of this company and by the giving of these rings, By the power vested in me by the State of Vermont, I now pronounce you married.
Congratulations, you may kiss!”

To be honest, I was terrified through the whole ceremony.  There was never any moment that I forgot everyone else was there.  During the ceremony, my legs took turns was shaking violently and I was trying really hard not to laugh inappropriately.  The canopy was a little short because my Grandfather didn’t want it to blow away in the wind, but we were standing so close to the front, that it kept hitting me in the face.  I didn’t realize until after that I wasn’t speaking very loudly and I guess half the guests couldn’t hear me. Luckily, J projected enough for both of us.

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We walked back up the aisle to “Push It” by Salt n Peppa

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Next Up: Pre-Reception Drinking and Popcorn

Past
Part 6: Portraits
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There

J’ friend made our flowers for us and they were really pretty.  However, I think this might be the only time I actually remember holding them.

We had a little break and then we did our couple pictures.  Our venue turned out to be perfect because we had 3 acres of different backgrounds.

Forest Background

Funny Well Pump Background

Plain Background

During this one, Kelly asked me where my feet were and I didn’t understand until I saw this picture.  It does look like I have no feet!

Path Foreground

And our rings had their picture taken too.

All images by Kelly Prizel Photography

Next Up: Ceremony

Past
Part 5: Saturday Morning
Part 4: Friday Night
Part 3: Setting Up
Part 2: Bennington Marriage License
Part 1: Getting There