Budget Friendly Elopement
Photo: Alexis Caroline Photography
How do you plan an elopement with a smaller budget? Now I know that we spent more money than some people would on an elopement, but the key is to discuss with your partner your desires as well as the things that are most important to you. My priority during the planning was floral and photography. Where we stayed was close behind because we would be there for almost a week and some beach houses are just too beachy. Below are the steps we took as well as financial details.
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Airbnb Location and Stay- Sunrise Getaway $620 (02/19-02/24)
Once we settled on a location (Wilmington, NC) everything else fell into place. I wanted beachy or rocky and for it to be somewhere neither of us had been before. We had planned to visit Wilmington at some point, so why not make it our elopement destination? Onto Airbnb we went and we found the perfect condo! It was in our budget, on Carolina Beach, and the photos of the interior were beautiful! And it wasn’t one of those beach shabby places with the tacky, kitchy decorations. There were hardwood floors, modern furniture with a neutral/greyscale color scheme. And it was available for the dates that we wanted. The owners, Bill and Renee, were so sweet! Renee kept in touch with me about different locations near the condo for a beach wedding and even sent me some beach/wave tracker links so I could see the area in real-time to check the busyness and the environment. They made our stay so special- with a bottle of champagne in the fridge and everything!
The storm happened so the day before our ceremony, we decided to just have the ceremony at the apartment, with the permission of Bill and Renee and it turned out perfect! We held our ceremony on the balcony and took some photos in front of the window in the bedroom and then down to the beach in our backyard for more photos. This gave us shelter, somewhere to stay warm and dry, and just convenience in general. When you think about there being a reason for everything and everything happens for a reason, this is an ideal example.
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Officiant Reverend Jackie Gantt $175
We found the perfect match for an officiant on Thumbtack: Reverend Jackie Gantt. He’s an actor and radiates kindness, humor, and professionalism. He is willing to do whatever it takes to make the wedding day special, which for us ended up being to stand out in the windstorm as he made us an official husband and wife. Reverend Gantt was open to what we needed and arrived early because it was supposed to storm and he didn’t want to chance being late. He was very comfortable and personable to be around and this made our day so much more special. He is the definition of a kind soul and we are so happy that he was the one who made us officially official.
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Marriage License $80
NC license is $60 and we also wanted two copies of the certified document for $10 each. There was no blood test requirement and it was a very easy process. The ladies at the desk who helped us the day before and the day after were sweet and friendly.
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Alexis Caroline Photography $321
I’ve been thinking about the photography for my wedding day for years. I knew that I wanted a comfy/moody feel and there are certain tones that my heart flutters for. I went on facebook and searched for photography in the North Carolina area. I saw a few photographers who I liked their work and their portfolio, but then I came across Alexis Caroline Photography and looked through her site (beautiful), and I’m not going to lie, I judge a lot based on someone’s website. These days, the website seems to be the main focus for business, in my eyes. Instagram is great, yes, but it’s the same layout for everyone. Seeing the creativity and the brand aesthetic of Lexi’s site was definitely a plus. Whether you’re making your own website (which is a ton of work, trust me, I know) or hiring someone to help with the layout and design, this is the first impression. And she rocked it. Then I read her biography and the fact that she put in there that she wants to make people feel comfortable during their shoot was the main thing that stood out to me. Alex and I are not ones who schedule photo shoots for every occasion and when we do take pictures with each other, it’s an event it seems to capture the one photo that we want. My main goal throughout all of this was to make sure him and I felt the most comfortable during the ceremony and after and Lexi and Abi (Abigail Brier Photography as second shoot) did such a great job making sure the goal was achieved. Even throughout the storm, we all laughed and had a blast and the photos are going to do such great justice to our happiness, though I am sorry, ladies, for making you get soaked and cold! From the detailed shots to the action shots to the personal shots, it was all so perfect. When we got our preview we both stopped what we were doing to look through and there wasn’t a dry eye or a frown anywhere to be seen. We now have our full portfolio and its so much better than I could ever imagine! And Lexi and Abi will forever be on our official documents as our witnesses and we are so grateful for that.
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Burlington for Alex’s suit $250
Once the ceremonial aspects were planned for, we had to figure out our attire. Alex went to Burlington the next day to look at suits. He had free rein on any neutral/earthy color and he actually had fun with it! He found a jacket, pants, vest, undershirt, and some really sexy loafer shoes. The tie had to wait until we got my bouquet, but we still ended up picking a darker tone to go with his suit since he purchased this really cool AR tie clip. He looked fly (and I never use that word haha) but for real. He looked better than I did and I could see the excitement in his face and that is one image that I will never forget.
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Anya’s Bridal and Etsy for Bridal Apparel $560
I found a pretty champagne wedding shaw on Etsy and looked through Anya’s Bridal, specifically the Lillian West line, to find the dresses I liked. I wanted lace, no sleeves, not much puffiness, and not a stark shiny white. After looking through, I had narrowed it down to 16 dresses, wow. Alex and Katie helped me narrow it further down to 4 dresses. I made an appointment at Anya Bridal for February 11th and people were freaking out say that I wouldn’t have my dress in time for an elopement 9 days later. I had no idea though! I had never done this before. So we kept our fingers crossed for days.
But anyhow, Katie and I went to our appointment. Now this part was stressful. My dress lady didn’t take my measurements and when she asked for my size, I didn’t know. All dresses are different. And then she asked what size in normal clothes I wear. Well, smalls and mediums and larges. All shopping stores are different. I asked if she could take my measurements because that’s what they said they would do when I got there and she waved it off. When I showed her the four dresses I liked she glanced over the photos and then dismissed them. We were not happy with that first impression. After trying on dresses ranging on 6 different sizes and repeatedly describing the style I was going for and dealing with frustrations, I found my dress! It was almost a perfect fit, and in Lillian West, and she gave me a huge discount on it. We left happy and I only needed a few small alterations. The we enjoyed donuts from Doughnut Dollies and lattes from The Urban Grind in Atlanta. So the day was successful but for a minute we thought we were going to have to go thrift store shopping for a white dress and calling it a wedding dress.
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Lisa’s Alterations $60
As for alterations, I took my dress to Lisa’s Alterations in Roswell to take in the sleeves, fix the clasps in the back that had broken, and to remove the kremlin. She had my dress ready in 4 days and was only $60 total.
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Bloom Theory Studio under $400
My florist is Connie Nutt from Bloom Theory Studio. I gave her some examples of what I liked and the different things I wanted dealing with colors, and having texture, as well as hangy-down pieces in my bouquet. We also needed a hair comb and two boutonnières (one for Alex and one for Reverend Gantt). We decided to have a silk flower bouquet mixed with some dried flowers as well partly due to us traveling with the bouquet, but mostly because flowers die really quickly on me and I didn’t want to worry about that. She did the best job on my bouquet, hands down. Not like I was worried at all about how it would turn because her talent and eye for art and design is inspirational and I haven’t met many artists personally that I am in awe of, but seriously she sees her creations and executes them in a way that makes me wish I could make floral designs half as great. By the way, I took my bouquet to my Nana who used to be a florist and she was in awe too. Connie exceeded my expectations and desires more than I could even begin to describe. I feel that her creation really spoke to who I am right now and conveyed the perfect amount of peace mixed with a wild heart that was my closest sentiment for this ceremony. And she put an extra hair comb in there for me too! Like I could have cried it was all so perfect and beautiful. Even Alex loved the design and he is rather picky when it comes to pieces like this. And this bouquet was strong enough to stand the storm so we can keep it forever as a sign of our love lasting strong. Connie is in the works of building something new and bigger and more sustainable for keepsakes and decor so you have to check her out @wildrootdesign.
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Curl Envy Salon $135
I went to Curl Envy Salon in Roswell just to have a refreshment course on my hair, so counting this in my wedding expenses isn’t really necessary because I would have scheduled the appointment regardless of the fact that I was eloping. However, I have to give credit anyway because styling my own hair that day would not have been possible without the knowledge and care advise I was given. Didi Dubiose transformed me. She barely cut any of the length off (thank God cause I’m not ready for short hair again) and was still able to shape it up through a Deva Cut (dry cut for curly hair), washed and performed a deep steam hydration on my hair, and then diffused it until completely dry (which took forever because my hair loves being wet). I cannot describe how much better my hair and my head felt after this treat. Didi also educated me on how to care for my hair- Thank God again because no one has ever helped me that much. So, curly haired girls, make an appointment at Curl Envy! Please do this for yourself. You will not regret it. All of the staff are so sweet and knowledgeable. You cannot go wrong with Curl Envy and with your first visit being $100, that is super cheap in consideration of the enormous value of this salon trip.
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Turbo Nail $50
As for my nails, it’s so difficult to find a good nail place that doesn’t dremel down the thickness of my nails. The last time I got them done, my nails were paper thin when I removed the sns myself. Grammy told me that her nail place is great with not over-dremeling so I went to Turbo Nail and Tyler cleaned up my nails and applied a soft white sns, perfect for our day. I did have a referral so that may have discounted the price, but it was a steal for the value they offer! Turbo Nail in Roswell will be my new nail salon.
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Makeup $35
We went to Aveda in the Independence Mall for my makeup on the day of. It took an hour and a half, but it was supposed to be a 20 minute session. She spent an hour on just my eyeshadow and I had to get her to take away the bright blue eyeliner from my bottom lid and the half inch of extra eyebrow she added on and a few other things that weren’t my style. This was the only hiccup during the trip but I can’t complain because it was cheap, but I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to makeup which is to just do it myself (I’m not a makeup person though I am an artist but still). I did take most of the makeup off once we got home so that it didn’t look like I showed up to my elopement with two black eyes because my priority was to still be me and look like myself, but I had coffee and egg rolls waiting for me after so my mood lifted, thanks Alex.
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Miscellaneous Needs $112
Throughout the 2 weeks of really planning, we made some stops to purchase my shoes from Gap ($24), my earrings from Target ($8), a lantern (that was supposed to hang outside on a stake in the ground until we had to change location due to the storm), from Hobby Lobby ($20), a new diffuser from Marshalls for my hair styling ($25), personalized vow books from Ox & Pine ($45) on Etsy, and maybe a few other things that I’m missing right now.
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Total Expenses less than $2800
Not including anything purchase on the trip like souvenirs, food, and coffee, I have added up all of the preliminary expenses. There were certain things like our florals and photography, that I knew would be more expensive that what others could offer, but that was okay because florals and photography were the most important and I want what I want. Though $2500 is still a chunk of money, this was all of our expenses other than food and coffee and the suit can be used again, my hair was a regular life expense, and I can keep my bouquet five-ever! We did receive some generous gifts as well to help and we were so appreciative of that and all of the kindness that we have been shown before, during, and since our trip. I can honestly say that we both have been living such a positive pay-it-forward life and we feel so blessed all around. Thank you all for that.