One of the many things that a good wedding photographer will try to capture are all of the many small details about your wedding that often go unnoticed by the guests, but might be special to you (since you chose to incorporate them into your special day).
Today I wanted to share some of the small (but special) details that I incorporated into our wedding. I totally recommend getting a list of the small things that you definitely want captured so you can make sure your photographer captures all of the intricate details that you put thought and effort into!
Our ring box & invitations – perfect for a mountain wedding!The ringsThe dress before the Bride puts it onThe cake & wedding topperThe Bride’s bouquet (I crafted this myself!)Ceremony decorGetting ready
Good morning & thanks for joining me on another Smoky Mountain wedding review! Today I’m here to talk bridesmaids!
These will be your go-to gals and if you go the traditional wedding route, will be vital in staying sane on your wedding day.
It was a tall task for us to ask an entire wedding party to make a ten (or more) hour drive to Tennessee, but we have amazing friends that were down to have a mini vacation in the mountains with us. We had five Bridesmaids and five Groomsmen join us, which was great!
When planning a wedding and choosing a date for the ceremony, it’s important to consider which season and background and foliage you want. I am an October baby in love with the fall, so I always knew I wanted to be married in October. I love when the trees change color and the pops of orange, yellow, and red give the scenery a warm glow. I chose green and orange to be my main wedding colors, along with accents of red and brown. My bridesmaids all wore different colors and different styles of dresses. I actually let my girls pick their own color and style of dress so that they could pick something that was comfortable to them and made them feel confident. All I gave them was a color palette and tone to choose along the lines of, but they all chose excellent dresses!
I’ll write more about my flower arrangements later, but I accented each bouquet with the colors of each dress making the colors all flow beautifully together. I highly recommend having your ladies where an arrangement of colors or styles because in my opinion it really gives the look more definition and opportunity for expression. Although the foliage in Tennessee at the beginning of October was just beginning to really change, the collage of fall colors really made everything pop and have a real sense of autumn.
Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over, and I have committed to spending less time on toxic social media platforms, I have more time to commit to my writing. I got married in October of 2022 near The Great Smoky Mountains and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I did my wedding fairly inexpensively and we still had a beautiful wedding of our dreams. I spent less than $10,000 on our wedding, so I am here to share my tricks and advice on how I was able to save money and still have a wedding that was beautiful and just to our liking.
I started wedding planning right after we had our son Leon. He was born October 27th of 2021, and as a matter-of-fact, I believe we chose our wedding date while in the hospital for his birth. Anyway, it was 26 days short of being ONE YEAR that I spent planning, preparing, and readying for our wedding day. Now this was a lot of pressure! Dylan and I have been dating since 2016, had our first daughter and got engaged in 2018, had Leon in 2021, and then finally tied the knot in 2022 after nearly four years engaged. Once we had Leon, I think we both realized that it was finally the right time to focus and put the money towards officially becoming one. Raising kids in a relationship is hard and we have never really cared much about the labels. We love one another, cherish the family we have created, and it was finally time to wrap it up in a pretty little bow. I was VERY excited to finally share the same last name as my partner and two children.
So the first detail I really want to dive into about our special day is the veil.
As I was searching for photographers, I went online and looked at wedding shots that I wanted to make sure I got. I found beautiful photos of couples underneath a beautiful, long veil and I just knew that the Cathedral veil was for me. From the get-go, I knew I wanted to reenact those photos – and let me say, I am so pleased that I did because they are quite possibly my favorite shots from our wedding.
When I went shopping for my dress, I tried on several veils while at the store. Each one of them was no less than $400. Now, Dylan and I were paying for a majority of the wedding ourselves so I absolutely knew that a triple-digit price point was not going to work for me. So what did I do?
What any cheapo Mom does.
I got on Amazon.
And believe you me, I found the veil that you see pictured here. For LESS THAN $40!
I have never been one to care about the glitz and glam of name brand items, so going cheap never bothered me. If you are one that has the capability to spend the money on pricier accessories, go for it! But that won’t be what you find on this page, because I put together my entire wedding as cheap as I could and only splurged on certain aspects.
My advice on choosing the veil of your dreams:
Research styles and get an idea of which type of veil is best for you before you go dress shopping. If you aren’t willing to spend a ton of money on accessories, do not let the salespeople at bridal stores talk you into items that are outside of your budget. They are trying to make a buck, so be prepared to stick to your guns if you are on a strict budget.
Try the veil on with your dress before you buy! One thing about ordering online is that you may have to go through the return process if it doesn’t end up suiting your desire. It is best to research which veil styles work best with certain styles of dresses.
Don’t be ashamed if you have to stay “cheap.” I spent 1/10th of the price on a veil and nobody would even know if I weren’t writing this right now. You are wearing this outfit ONE time, so in the grand scheme of things, you have to weigh how much money you are willing to spend on something so miniscule as a veil. It is a beautiful garnish, but a veil does not define your beauty on your wedding day.
Photo under the veilYou can see the length and beauty of my veil herePhoto with my daughter under the veil; loved the embroidered details!
It’s been while! Just over 8 weeks since I last posted on here. It’s few and far between these days, with a full-time job, two kiddos, a new husband, and I’m also wrapping up a semester in college.
As the headline states… You can call me Mrs!
After six years dating, nearly four years engaged, and two kids later… Dylan & I finally tied the knot down south in Tennessee on 10/1. More to come on that, but I’ll leave you with a few photos from our special day!
I managed to put together our wedding & reception together in less than $10,000 (Todays average cost of a wedding is $30,000)!
More in-depth details to come later, but I wanted to introduce you to the new Chrissy Ruble 😊
I have planned our entire wedding in less than one year and under $10k dollars (which is nearly unthinkable today).
And did I mention… vacation?
Thursday morning at about 4am we will head to Pigeon Forge, TN where we will be married in the Smoky Mountains on Saturday. Send good thoughts, as the long travel (10-12 hour drive) we are asking of our families is what brings me the most worry.
I’ll be sure to update with plenty of pictures after the big day, but here is some of what we have been up to lately!! (Other than full time jobs, college, and wedding planning!
Pumpkin patch Leon is almost 11 months old!Our sweet Della RaeJeep rides!And even time for a date night here & there!
Between the Lens 