Off Topic: Our Affordable Second Wedding
Our affordable second wedding
{Off Topic posts are all about the behind-the-scenes life and struggles of being a mom, wife and female entrepreneur. A peek at my real life away from work.}
In August 2018, I finally made the leap and did it…again! While I don’t want to make my new marriage about the demise of my first marriage, if you’ve even been divorced, you know that it takes time — and courage — to remarry.
In my case, it took a little more than four years of being engaged. When I finally found myself ready, I was determined to keep the wedding itself intimate and low key. I wanted the day to be about what matters: family, love and loyalty.
And so, with a budget of about $1500, my fiance and I, set out to have a wedding day filled with connection and celebration.
My affordable second wedding…
Almost all of my family is in Orlando and we are a very close knit bunch, so, my husband insisted that we go to Orlando to get married with the family there. Our affordable second wedding became a destination wedding! Thankfully, my sister and brother-in-law paid for our airfare and we stayed with family, so our entire budget could be spent on the wedding.
In looking for an affordable, yet stunning spot I settled on The Alfond Inn, a boutique hotel in Winter Park, FL. While affordable doesn’t jump to mind when you look up this gorgeous, four-diamond, award-winning hotel, where there’s a will, there’s a way! More on that later.
I got my dress online at Lulus.com for less than $200. It was exactly what I wanted for the Florida heat: breezy, pretty and effortless. The boys wore Polo v-necks, white shorts and coordinating Vans retro-style sneakers. The goal was for everyone to be comfy and happy.
My Mom decided I needed a rose in my hair after the ceremony. I’m smart enough to do what Mama says! Bonus: My son, Jayce, rewarded me for me new ‘do with a big smooch.
Our low-key wedding was elevated a notch by my two gorgeous nieces who decided I needed flower girls. (Obviously they were right!) I asked them what flower girls do at a wedding and they replied, “Throw rose petals.” Exactly!
I went to The Fresh Market and spent about $40 of my budget on flowers for the tables at the reception and roses to make the girls bouquets as well as petals for their flower baskets at the ceremony.
A gorgeous dress will always make you feel like twirling, right? Mine was less than $200 at Lulus.com and best of all... it fit perfectly. No need to try on countless dresses... one virtual trip to Lulus and I was done!
I still can’t believe that our wedding brunch at Hamilton’s Kitchen at The Alfond Inn cost less than $500 for 18 of us but it did.
The room itself is so pretty all we did to decorate was purchase these bud vases via Amazon, and add fresh flowers mentioned above. (One of my sisters provided a centerpiece as well.)
Brendan, my 10-year-old son, gave the most touching impromptu toast. It brought someone in the wedding party to tears... and it wasn’t me. ;-)
Moscow mules are our cocktails of choice and my Mother-in-law picked up these gorgeous moscow mule mugs that read, “Mr.” and “Mrs.”
We rented out a party room with pool attached in my parents neighborhood in Baldwin Park and spent the day after the ceremony + reception swimming and celebrating with all the family, including our four children, our five nieces + nephews, and the rest of our family. It was perfection!
Last but not least, I have to mention our photographer, Lanh Balagtas, who did a beautiful job on our photos at an incredibly reasonable price. Check her out at http://lbalagtasphotography.com.
