Jonathan and Sarah were married in May at the Denver Botanic Gardens. They wanted an intimate wedding which didn’t cost the Earth (in terms of budget and the environment!) They spend around $7000 on their day and it was perfect.
“We wanted our wedding to be small, twinkly, warm, delicious, inviting and with minimal impact on the environment”, began the bride. “The Botanic Gardens and The Mercury Cafe actually fit all of those things! As Jon took me jitterbug dancing for our first date at the Mercury Cafe, that was absolutely going to be our reception spot. We wanted to choreograph our first dance to ‘Some Enchanted Evening’. Which we NAILED by the way! Having our ceremony at a garden allowed us to save a fortune on flowers and decorations.”
“We didn’t do any printed out programs for environmental reasons so instead I wrote out seating charts on an old mirror that I had. We added strips of our wedding color fabric. I also made a wine picnic basket for our unity ceremony with help from Hobby Lobby and Michaels.”
“Surprisingly one of my favorite parts of the day was getting ready!” Sarah continued. “I was with all the most important ladies in my life, with mimosas flowing like wine, getting ready at an incredible hotel, looking adorable in our kimonos that I bought as their bridal presents from Etsy. Also, walking down the aisle with my dad was magical, looking at all the people who love us and want us to be married and happy.”
“Our ceremony venue was one of our biggest expenses but Jon’s dad surprised us by booking it for us as it was always a dream of ours to get married there! However the big savings surprise came from The Mercury Cafe. The place is always decked out in twinkle lights, flowers, unusual art, figurines and beautiful murals on the walls so we didn’t have to do much in the way of décor ourselves.”
“The owner, Marilyn, was our personal contact, and because we also had them cater the dinner, she cut us an amazing rate and was able to get the best, inexpensive food. She also let us stay and party it up LATE without any stupid fees like buying more time, cake cutting fees or cup rentals. They provided Everything!!! I also bought my dress online, which I realize is totally a gamble, but the dresses I just kind of liked at the big bridal stores were soooo much money. I found mine on Etsy and was able to custom make my perfect dress. It saved me me ooodles of money.”
