Wedding Photos: The Day's Beginning

It is time: The wedding recap is here!! I'll begin with pictures then supply a thorough cost breakdown. Yes, our Nashville wedding for 150 guests was completed for right at $3K.


My wedding dress. Found with bustles (think Beauty and the Beast). Originally $3000 itself, but I was in the right place at the right time: $100. That's not a typo. One hundred dollars. Bustles gone to make it long enough. Already a crinkled dupioni silk with sweetheart neckline.

I added a polka-dotted organza overlay and sash to raise the waistline, and to add an eclectic, etheral touch. See this post for more details about my alterations.

The bird embroidery my mom and I did.

Amy Lynn at work. She was so so so incredible to work with. And by that I mean that she was working, and I was being worked on. I did no makeup work. You know. ; )



This photo makes it incredibly obvious that I am a towering 6-feet-tall. Sorry for being so friggin' intimidating to you, Amy Lynn!

The bouquets were projects I assembled when Michael's was having a half-price sale on all of their silk flowers. There are reasons behind each flower, but I'll explain those when I get to the flower post. I made my hairpiece to incorporate my aqua shoes, the aqua-green-and-orange in my bouquet, and the birds on my sash.


All photography by April Sirit of Evoke Photography. She is better than I could have ever imagined.

I heart Julie and Amy Lynn Brown.

One of my favorite stories about the wedding has surprisingly little to do with Brandon. No offense, dear goofball. Are you familiar with the movie Fried Green Tomatoes? I hail it as the ultimate story about love, but not just marriage and starting a family and kisses love. This is the best-friend-you-never-knew-you-needed love. 'Til death do us part may still apply.

Well, I share this bond with one Julie S. I won't type her last name for privacy reasons, and because maybe I still can't spell it after all these years. (Ok, that's a lie, but it is difficult.) Miss Julie agreed to be my maid of honor, and she put a whole new set of standards on such a position. In summary, a notable contribution was made to our day via this gal. She was well aware of my nervousness regarding only one facet of this wedding: needing makeup that would last the day and photograph well under professional lighting. She saw my sweat and worries, and stepped in to help in such a grand way.

I found Amy Lynn, a Nashville makeup artist through fellow bridal blogger the Budget Savvy Bride. After meeting with Amy, there was so much peace about the whole topic, except for one major detail: I simply did not have it in my budget to hire her. I tried squirming around with some numbers, and even arranging a bridal fair to raise some money and spotlight her. No such luck though. I think you see it coming.... After a few months had gone by, I'd come to terms with doing my own makeup, but I was scared as heck. There was no other way.

On April 18th, a month before the wedding, Julie stopped by my apartment to give me a birthday gift. Sweet enough, in and of itself. She handed me a card where she had written, "Call Amy Lynn. She's waiting to hear from you for your trial run."

WHAT?!!!!! I stared at the card in disbelief for so long. The services of Amy Lynn. GIVEN TO ME? If this is a joke, ouch.

It wasn't. And look what happened because of these two wonderful blessings, in the form of ladies:::






I was on a cloud that whole day. Wow.... Towanda, Julie. Towanda.