Trina and Jessica wanted their wedding to be rustic, honest and personal so did a lot of DIY projects and picked Trina’s parent’s home as their venue.
“Every aspect of the wedding was personal,” explained Jessica. “From homemade signs for the tables and mum-in-law planting flowers around the house, to relatives making our bar and chuppa. Our close friend married us and our caterer was a personal friend as well. Everything had a personalised stamp on it and it made it really special.”
Although they planned for an outdoor ceremony, it rained heavily meaning they had to move it into the marquee. However despite the weather, the ceremony was the couple’s favourite part of the day. “Our ceremony was performed by our close friend,” said Trina. “It was short and simple and we wrote our own vows to make it special. It was down pouring by the time the wedding was supposed to start and everyone was on their phones tracking the patterns of the storm to decide if we should have the ceremony outside or under the tent! In the end we decided rain or shine it didn’t matter, we were getting married to the person we love so rain come at us! The moment we said ‘I do’ was our favourite part. It felt like finally being able to breathe knowing we’d made it to that moment. We were finally married!”
The couple did a lot of DIY projects for their wedding to make it personal to them and to save money. “We had a strict budget for the wedding so a lot of the things we could make or do ourselves we did. We also were extremely fortunate and had an incredibly crafty and talented support network willing to write chalkboard signs, make sangria, and build our bar! Having a wedding at home also cut out the cost of a venue which was great.”
Their biggest expense in the end was hiring things. “The rentals were out biggest cost. You think you’ll save a lot of money having a wedding at home, and you do, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to think about the tent, the tables, the chairs, the lighting, the cutlery, the bathrooms! It really adds up!”
“The one thing we wish we’d known before planning our wedding was how much mental space planning takes up, and as much as you say you won’t sweat the small stuff you do anyway! Wanting it to all be perfect causes so much stress. But the best thing about planning our wedding is being able to look back on that day saying WE DID IT AND WE PULLED IT OFF!”
“Our advice for future couples is don’t ask for anyone else’s opinion! You think you want it, but you really don’t. The day is about the two of you and it’s best if the big decisions are left to the two of you.”
