Fall Wedding - Beautiful and Cheap

You've just decided you'll get married next fall and you're so excited. But then, reality sets in and you begin to get a little nervous. Are we even able to afford the wedding of our dreams? The economy is tight now, and how can you have a beautiful wedding without lavish spending?

My husband proposed in October, almost a year before our September wedding. At first we were going to plan a small wedding in our home, but then we talked about family and friends with whom we wanted to share our special day - and that wasn't going to work.

Immediately you must secure the church or any places that you want your wedding or reception. That often dictates the actual date of your wedding, as many are booked months and even years ahead. Because our home is quite large, we decided to have a church wedding and hold our reception at home. We were very lucky as it turned out to be a beautiful fall day and everyone could be in or out and the kids had enough things to keep them busy.

I chose fall colors of various browns and tans - including copper. We bought long dresses suited especially for my sister and daughters at huge markdowns - right off the rack. The small amount of alteration was covered by the store. Shades ranged from tan to dark brown. My granddaughter's flower girl dresses, also on sale, included a doll dress exactly the same. I purchased dolls and dressed them in the identical dresses for their gifts. The guys all wore black suits which were either already in their wardrobes or were something that would be an addition to their wardrobe. My dress was also a brown tone - but very full of bling - and simply beautiful. A first time bride would have time to perhaps chose a gown on sale at a bridal store. Don't just buy something because it's cheap. You want to feel like a princess in your dress, but by spending a little time looking, it doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars.

I used all artificial flowers purchased from Hobby Lobby and Michaels. During the winter I designed everyone's bouquet and the boutonnieres for the guys. I varied the bouquets to compliment the dresses and designed little baskets with leaves trailing on ribbons for the flower girls. Our church has a ledge the entire length of the altar. I used a fall floral centerpiece with pumpkins in the middle and extended full garlands of leaves out from the centerpiece.

Unity candles were purchased after Christmas. They had a bit of glitter with the words "joy" on them for a very beautiful addition.

A nephew brought his convertible and gave us the traditional wedding ride through the streets of town after our wedding.

My sister and I spent the couple days before the wedding preparing food. We made a delicious macaroni salad, cut up a pile of fruit, and she made my wedding cake. She tried the frosting a couple of times to get just the right shade of copper. The cake was decorated with beading and she placed a small shimmering brown candle on top. We also used fall leaves...it was simply beautiful.

An assortment of meats and cheeses, veggies and chips added enough to make the tables colorful and to satisfy everyone here. We set up bars in the garage and the basement so a variety of drinks were easily available. The kids especially loved the self-pour lemonade container.

We didn't know how to do the "toast" so everyone could join in the fun. The best man suggested that we simply go round room to room, I'd never seen that done before - but it turned out to be huge fun and a great success. It seemed very intimate to each group.

We set up food buffets in the kitchen and in the basement and kept food chilled in coolers with plates and bowls filled and ready to set out. Garbage cans were marked for recycling and garbage.

Our clean up was a snap. We put away or sent home with friends and relatives the bit of food that was left over. The next day we took down the decorated tables and bars. There was no fuss - no muss.

Because we were busy at the time, we chose to take our honeymoon in November. That gave us two events to think about and look forward to. We felt we made a wise choice as we enjoyed the warmer climate in November.

Anyone who chooses could use our plan as a base, changing what they wanted. More or less money could be spent and you'd be able to enjoy a great wedding day. It's the memories of the day and the people who join you in celebration that make the day so special.

Examples of great deals were one of the dresses purchased for $35 at Von Maur, the flower girls dresses, including the identical doll dresses] for $30 and sale flower stems and ribbon for less than one dollar at Hobby Lobby and Michael's. [Using the higher end stores also gave us free alteration.]

I hope you are as happy as we were when we celebrated a wonderful day. We were 71 and 65 years old and we're still having fun.