A Vintage Wedding

Our wedding took place on August 8, 2009. The day started out with a deluge of rain; I sat at my hair salon and watched the sheets of rain run down the windows, praying that I would be able to get to my car with updo intact.

Thankfully, as I drove across the 35W bridge to go to the church, the sun started beaming at me through the clouds. By the time everyone started arriving, we had a bright and sunny day.

That morning, I had woken up at 5:30 am out of sheer excitement. I couldn’t believe it was finally our wedding, the day I had planned and imagined since the moment I first saw a bridal magazine. Yes, I was one of those girls. I dreamed about my wedding for years and even hosted little weddings for my barbie dolls (I was always upset when the girl/guy ratio of the attendants was off, and would usually borrow my brother's GI Joes to make it even).

That being said, as I grew older the marriage behind the wedding became my dream. The wedding is important because it’s a celebration of the relationship, but the wedding is not the main point. So, I spent time trying to incorporate meaningful details into the wedding to "personalize" it, but I tried not to go overboard with spending and worrying because (seriously) it's ONE day. I didn't even feel that pretty on my wedding day because I was stressed out and I always get stress zits. Blech.

We decided early on that our wedding would be affordable. Not the affordable you read about in bridal magazines (read: under $20,000), but really truly affordable for our lifestyle. We didn’t want to start our marriage in debt, and I knew early on that my parents would not be able to contribute large sums of money to the wedding fund. So, we set our budget at around $6,000 for a wedding and reception for 175 people. That included everything from the clothes we wore to the rings we exchanged to the catering.

We were able to stick to the budget by cutting out things that we felt were not significant to us as a couple. My husband hates dancing, and the reception was held at our church where they have a “no dancing” policy for the reception hall. Problem solved. Instead of hiring a DJ, we had my brother set up a sound system to play an ipod playlist through.

We also hand made a lot of the elements for the wedding; my mother in law sewed the table runners, my aunt helped me with the bouquets and flower arrangements, my husband assembled the table numbers, and several of my aunts contributed decorative items and helped to decorate the church and reception hall.

We decided to go with a sort of vintage feel. We didn’t want a costume party, so I made sure it wasn’t too specific in terms of decade. We also incorporated some newer elements to make sure everything blended well. My dress had a vintage look to it- I love the 20’s style sequined shift look with a mermaid type skirt and I found exactly what I wanted for under $500. I was very adamant that I did not want to spend thousands of dollars on a dress that I would wear for ONE DAY. I think that was one of the best decisions that I made! I felt beautiful and unique; the dress was perfect for me.

We also utilized the talent that we had among our family and friends. We had two extremely talented photographers: my cousin Yetta and my friend Andrea graciously “gifted” their time and talents to the wedding. My cousins Hannah and Sam played the violin for our ceremony. My aunt Jane and my friend Nicole helped with the flower arrangements.

My parent’s friends hosted our rehearsal dinner at their beautiful home. There were so many people that gave their time and talents to help us, and it was such a blessing to have them involved in the wedding. Some of my favorite memories are from the days leading up to the wedding when we were finishing up the details and just enjoying each others company. It was like one great, big party!

Now that we have been married for almost 3 months, it is so wonderful to look back and remember that day. It wasn’t “the best day of our lives.” If it was, then what would we have to look forward to? I am looking forward to learning how to love my husband and be a better wife to him over the coming years. I am looking forward to experiencing life with my best friend by my side. I am looking forward to all the memories that are yet to come, the ways that God will mold us and change us as we grown closer to each other and closer to Him.

All photographs by Yetta.