I decided to show Andy is wedding band before everyone arrived. I love, love, love these pictures of Andy… the lighting was perfect and he really was so excited to see that thing! The ring has a funny story too.. We actually bought Andy’s wedding ring from his ex girlfriend. True! She worked at Zales and got it for us at wholesale price. It is a tungsten carbonate ring. Andy’s looks almost identical to this one from Amazon.
- Tungsten is a super hard metal. It can not be cut off of your finger… there is hope that the ring could be broken off of your finger.
- Tungsten is a darker metal than silver or platinum.
- Tungsten resists scratches.
Here are our rings. I do not have a wedding band. We’re thinking it will be an anniversary gift down the road? That along with tattoos of our initials… or maybe just a big ol’ J for Andy!
The dress details…
Our wedding party…
Andy’s office had an interesting reaction to our whole wedding debacle. At first they didn’t think we were serious about the living room wedding thing with 4 guests, and at one point the ladies in his office were planning our wedding for the office conference room! In the end, they just wanted our day to be extra special which we really appreciate. Andy’s office gave us a generous gift certificate to Casablanca, a fancy cafe with beach views, for our wedding meal. These are the only pictures from our delicious, fancy, wedding dinner!
I forgot to mention the ladies in his office also decorated his car with red hearts and lots of streamers! Look at that, we even had a getaway car!
Since we didn’t have a photographer, there are not a ton of pictures of Andy and I. One of these days, we are going to get a real photographer, put our happy day sign back up, bake lemon blossoms and have a pretend wedding! 2-22-2012 was a happy day!
Andy’s office gave Andy the day after the wedding day off. We toured the Bonnet House, ate pizza on the beach, and swam in the ocean. It truly was wonderful.
Since C.R.A.F.T. is all about Creating Really Awesome Free Things I feel like I need to give you the love celebration budget break down:
- Marriage license – $93.00
- Flowers – Gifts
- Decorations – hand made and up-cycled with lots of love 🙂
- Food and beverages – $22.00 for the ingredients I did not already have at home
- Invites – hand made and my stash of card stock and a good ol’ XACTO
- Wedding Bands – Andy’s was $30 and I’m band less. (The diamond in my ring was a generous gift from my parents!)
- The dress – 1st one cost $24.99, the winner was a gift
- Notar y- $65.00
- Wedding night dinner – Gift
Of course this type of wedding is not for everyone. And honestly, I’m still a little nervous I hurt my grandparents feelings. It was nice that our parents were totally on our side for the simple, DIY wedding we imagined. After all, my parents eloped, without telling anyone, and went to an amusement park in Houston, TX for their honeymoon!
- Engagement announcement
- Part 1– Engagement part and the 1st dress
- Part 2– Final wedding dress and another bachelorette party
- Part 3– Invites, decor, and food
- DIY thank you cards
- How to change your last name
- Simple wedding scrapbook
Comments & Reviews
This looks so fun! My fiance and I are going to “elope” next June after I graduate from school. He also just moved to FL (but I’m a little closer than you were). I’ll probably going to use some tips from your site when we do tie the knot 😉
I had no idea about your wedding- I knew you were married (duh) but knew nothing about the actual event. Thanks for sharing- this was great to read!
I LOVE this! Joel and I worked half days on the morning of our wedding too. But our wedding was TWICE the size of yours … with 8 guests. 😉 I love the yellow flowers on the window sill. 🙂
Jamie,
I just wanted to drop you a few little notes! I love your blog! I read a little of it yesterday, and ALL THE REST of it (well, nearly most of the rest of it) today. I loved it! All your crafty ideas and projects, organizing ideas, etc. EVERYTHING is so cool! I wanted to also add, that I too, did not have a wedding band when my husband and I got married (1 year and two months ago) we just celebrated our ONE YEAR in June this year!!!….we just didn’t have enough money for a band. I didn’t want to settle on a little ol’ band because that’s all we could afford. (my engagement ring is custom 🙂 – not because I’m picky, but because my husband secretly met with a jewelry designer the place he bought my engagement ring, and HE picked it out….which makes it so much more special to me)….anyway….my family lives in Kansas and his family all live in Ohio….so we ended up compromising and having wedding in St. Louis, right in the middle between the two places. It was a destination wedding for everyone….to be fair to both parties. Back to the band……(I get side tracked…) We just used a pretty band I already owned, plain with some CZ’s set into it, used it for the ceremony. (I think it was like $10 at like Khol’s or Target or something?)…anywho, used it during the ceremony as the “symbol” for our bands. When we could afford a matching band to my engagement ring, he got it for me for christmas about 6 months after our wedding. We put it on a payment plan, and it’s just as lovely as I imagined. Still, not a big deal to me that I got it AFTER the wedding. I will have it forever, and the promise is still the same. Plus, I love it!!!! I did get to pick out my band, so that was cool. Not every bride (errr, uh, wife) gets to do that.)
Also, I have had a couple close friends that they chose an engagement ring that didn’t really “GO” with a band. I personally think if YOU are happy with the engagment ring alone, JUST have the ring!!! IT’s YOUR RING, it’s on YOUR FINGER. If that is what you want, that is what you should have. Not everyone wants a band. And even if you do and can’t afford it, save money together and get one later on down the road. Its kinda a bonus if you can pick it out later to your taste.
So far, Andy loves his tungsten carbide ring! They are a great price too 🙂
I was in 2 weddings last summer, and both of the grooms have tungsten carbide bands! I think that their durability is great!
Congratulations!! I love the simplicity and and the emphasis on what really matters. You two look so happy, just beautiful.
Thanks for sharing this touching story of your wedding. I love how this is just what the two of you wanted and no one talked you into a larger ceremony. The pictures of both of you in front of the window with the sign is just preious. Scrapbook your pictures and share them with your grandparents when you treat them out to dinner. They will love the special time with you both. Hugs to both of you. Best Wishes.
i'm happy someone else out there is wedding bandless with me!!
Yes! It did auto-correct…thank you for noticing and letting me know 🙂
What a beautiful day! It is so real and so lovely. I am also wedding bandless. I just wear my engagement ring. I love it, but I do get the question every now and then if I'm engaged or married.
Congratulations! What a beautiful small wedding. In our country we have a saying- "Miya Biwi raazi toh kya karega kazi". Means for a wedding the most imp. thing is love of bride and groom to each other. Even I had exactly a small wedding like this. I am sure your grandparents will understand you. May your whole life fill with happiness.
Congratulations! We a VERY simple wedding too. Just remember its YOUR day, and if simple makes you happy, then that's what it is. 🙂
Super cute and congrats! It's important to do what matters to you and your man! My husband and I decided on a super small destination wedding in Kauai, Hawaii, we had 14 guests total that included just our parents and siblings. It was an amazing time, and even though it was a year and half ago I still can't get over how perfect the day was, or how much I want to be back there! I think it is so special that you got married in your living room- you'll forever think special things about your marriage corner by the window 😉
Congrats!! And I thought I had a small wedding with 16 guests, minus a whole bunch of relatives that were not pleased! I'm glad you had the wedding you wanted. I loved your dress, you were beautiful that day! Congratulations!
It looks like it was perfect! So pretty and how I would like to imagine my day being if I ever found myself wanting to seal the deal. (umm… did you get autocorrected when talking about the ring gift from your parents?) Congratulations!
so cute… and it seems like it was perfect for you guys! Congrats!! Love your dress by the way!
How sweet! Congrats to you.
Congratulations! Such simple sweetness is so beautiful:-) Happy Day Indeed!